Chapter Seven: A Wizard Named Sarah


Note: Updating again, because we just wanted to make you smile! :-D


The sitting room at Twelve Grimmauld Place was deafeningly silent as Sirius and Remus stood side-by-side. They stared with uncertainty at the fireplace that James had just walked into before vanishing in green flames.

"You and James took a while getting the drinks," Remus said, breaking the heavy silence.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the couch casually. "We had a lot to catch up on I suppose," he said, sitting down and staring at the werewolf's back.

"Such as?" Remus asked quietly, already knowing the answer, as he continued to look into the empty fireplace. He felt the overwhelming urge to floo after him.

"I told him about Pettigrew, Remus," he said bluntly, his grey-eyes swimming with emotion as the standing wizard finally turned to meet his gaze.

Remus walked over to the couch and sat down slowly. He let out a sigh. "Good." He only hoped that James could somehow use the information to right all that had gone so wrong.


"Harry, you can't actually be considering going," Hermione insisted as she sat at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast with Harry and Ron.

Ron and Harry traded confused looks.

"Of course he's going!" Ron spoke up for his best friend.

Hermione frowned as Harry and Ron continued to eat while her plate remained untouched. "You can't be serious! It's a terrible idea, Harry. Leaving school grounds without permission is against the rules. You could get in big trouble if you're caught."

"Well then we won't get caught," Harry said, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"Harry, listen to me," she looked around to see if anyone was listening to them before leaning forward and speaking in a hushed tone, "What if you were to run into a Death Eater? Or something happened to... James?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing will happen. We'll be careful. It'll be fine. I promise." He stubbornly ignored his friend. "He was going to go whether I agreed to or not, Hermione. Do you want me to let him go by himself?"

"No, of course not. Just tell him he can't go. Dumbledore said he wasn't to leave for any reason," Hermione reminded him.

"He can't really do that though, can he? Since he's his dad," Ron whispered.

"Not yet he's not," Hermione pointed out. The two boys across from her looked at her like she had sprouted a few extra heads.

The witch sighed. "Fine. But I still think it's a bad idea, and promise me you'll stay under the cloak the entire time. And if you see anyt-"

"-Sure Hermione! I gotta get down to the field. Wish me luck!" Harry interrupted her, standing up quickly. Ron picked up a biscuit to take with him and stood up too.

"Good luck," Hermione said, the double meaning clear in her voice.

"What about me? Aren't you going to wish me luck, too?" Ron asked, smiling at the girl expectantly.

"Break a leg, Ron," she said testily.

"Why would you say such a horrible thing to me?" Ron demanded angrily, his voice rising in pitch.

"It's a muggle phrase for good luck, Ron. Come on," Harry said, pushing the boy away from the table before Hermione could argue with him anymore.

"But she didn't tell you to break a leg! I think she really meant it!" Ron protested as Harry continued to move him further away. Hermione threw up a hand and covered her mouth as she laughed.


"Are you ready, Romulus?"

Remus turned to Sirius questioningly.

"It's your school name while we are here, right? Just thought you should get used to hearing it," Sirius grinned at the werewolf.

Remus shrugged his shoulders and turned back to searching his trunk for his scarf. "Whatever you say, Sarah," he said nonchalantly.

"That's not my name!" the boy snapped before adding in a calmer voice, "It's Seirios. But most people just call me Sirius," he said like he was greeting someone for the first time.

"Padfoot, you can't use your actual name."

"Actually, Moony, I can, because Dumbledore approved it," he said indignantly. His expression shifted to one of apprehension as he continued, "He said he didn't have any concerns about a connection being made." The wizard sat down on Remus's bed.

"You're really worried about your looks that much?" Remus asked, finally addressing the other boy's concerns. "I gather new scars every month, Sirius, and I already have grey hairs," he said pointing at his locks. He pulled out the scarf he had been searching for and wrapped it loosely around his neck.

"Yeah, but you can pull it off, Moony. It doesn't sound like I am quite as lucky," Sirius moped.

Remus stood up from his trunk and sat down beside the wizard. "James is just giving you a hard time, because you are actually for once taking him at face value. That's not like you at all," he said, shoving the other boy's shoulder with his own playfully.

Sirius swayed, a smile flitting across his lips. "Yeah, I guess maybe this is all just getting to me a little," he admitted, nudging the other boy back in kind. "You're right. James is a tosser. Let's go," he said, standing up. He smiled confidently, offering his hand to the werewolf. "Shall we Romulus?"

Remus took the hand and allowed the taller boy to pull him up. "Indeed, Sarah."

"That's not my bloody name!"


Lily sat on the couch, trying desperately not to look up from her book.

"There it is. I'll need this too. Oh, and can't forget this. I think that's about it, then."

Lily lowered her book just enough to peek at the only other wizard in the room. James was standing by his bed and was dressed to go outside. Lily frowned and set her book down.

"We aren't supposed to leave, Potter," she said, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm aware of that," he said lightly, clearly not deterred. "You know. You didn't say anything when I asked Harry to go out later," James pointed out.

"Yes. Well. I didn't know what to say then," she said, unsure of how to respond. She had seen how excited Harry had gotten when James had offered to spend more time with him. Her gut response had actually surprised her. She hadn't wanted to stop them but rather to join them. Lily shook her head to clear the foolish thoughts from her mind and then glared at the boy.

"Right. Well, I'll be going now. Unless.. Do you want to join me?" James asked slyly as he picked up his gloves.

Lily started to decline out of habit, but stopped before the words could leave her mouth. She looked at his outfit again. He was dressed to go outside and had chosen his Gryffindor colored scarf, hat and gloves to wear. A smile tugged at her lips.

"I'm going to go watch Harry," he added, grinning with an excited glint in his eyes.

"I'll get my stuff."


"Potter..."

"My apologies, Lily."

"You know. When you keep doing the very thing you just apologized for it's hardly convincing," she whispered sharply as she held the cloak over her head. She stopped suddenly, thinking she heard something, and James bumped into her from behind again.

"Pott-" James's hand covered her mouth tightly. She let out a squeak when the boy's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back closer to him.

"Shhh-Filch," James whispered in her ear quietly.

Lily swallowed hard and nodded. The wizard lowered his hand, but kept his arm around her waist as the old squib walked by them slowly. He walked closer to where they were standing and Lily leaned further back against James, their bodies completely pressed against each other. She heard the boy behind her let out a small whimper.

"Who's there!" Filch demanded, whipping around, searching for the source of the noise. He turned his head towards the two wizards, his face only inches from Lily's. The witch held her breath as James's tickled her ear. Filch began to move closer when a meowing noise came from the next corridor.

"Mrs. Norris!" he called out and took off after his feline partner.

"That was close," Lily sighed. She took a step forward and James's arm dropped from her waist. She frowned when James didn't respond. She turned around to see the wizard frozen with a startled look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

James blinked and cleared his throat. "Oh, uh. Nothing. Just, uh - we should hurry," he said, not looking at her.

"All right," she said slowly. She turned back around and they continued on their way to the field. James followed her quietly, not bumping into her the rest of the way.

They walked outside, still under the cloak, and both were happy for the windless day as they made their way to the bleachers. Lily started to walk around to the front when James's hand tapped her elbow.

"No, this way," he whispered, pointing over her shoulder to the back of the bleachers. "Come on," he said, taking her hand.

Lily felt her palm warm as James gently held her hand in his. He guided her around the students and up a rear stairway until they were standing behind a row of unoccupied bleachers with a clear view of the pitch. He released her hand and pulled the cape off of them.

Lily smoothed down her hair, fighting the blush that was stubbornly pushing its way up into her cheeks. James didn't take notice as he peered though the space, his eyes searching the field. The red-head exhaled slowly before walking over beside him and looking out as well.

Cheers erupted as the announcer introduced Gryffindor's seeker, Harry Potter. The boy flew out at an impressive speed and the crowd roared in response. Lily smiled widely and found herself glancing over to James, who was mirroring her expression, before they both looked back eagerly to watch the match.


Huh? Huh?

:-P