Again, thanks to my fabulous beta PhoenixFanatic999 for betaing this chapter! You rock, Paul!

Also, I'd just like to point out that I have a new story up! Well, it's not really a story, to tell the truth, but more of an anthology of Harry Potter one-shots that I do for challenges or just do for fun!

Adios! (See, my 'espanol' is still awful!)


Chapter Seven: James Potter Tells Awful Stories


Review Replies: Clevernugget: Glad you liked it! Yeah, I do write drama an awful lot, don't I...:/ ForeverTeamEdward13 Yeah, poor Remus, i have a feeling I'm going to make him sad a lot more in the upcoming chapters. Yeah, sad little guy. very sad. Mabel: You did a double review, just saying, but I'm glad that you think that this isn't mary-sue-ish at all! That makes me HAPPY! beba78: I know, right? Lily is a bit psycho right now...just saying :D You don't think she's a bit too OCC, right? georgethecunt: Welll heeeellloooo :D I initially wasn't going to post this chapter until tomorrow, because I was supah busy today, but decided, 'just because georgethecunt is having a rotten day, I will' so here you go! A shinyyyy chapter! xXxFredWeasleyForeverxXx: Errrrrr...Remus is sad? Well, just to clear things up a bit, Remus is just a little...tireedd probably because of the next chapter! Ew, no, not that way, this is not going to be lemon, I'm perverted, yeah. :D Long reviews are always lovedd! HGromanticsap: OH NO! IMMA FAILURE AT LIFE AGAIN! *headdesks* I am a failure. I am a complete FAILURE! GrippoMustaine1996: LOL love your name, just sayin'. XD Awww, thanks for the sweetttt review! The story isn't going to end for a longgg time. The Donut Eater: LOL ROFL. You make me smile. Annabel and Remus, sittin' in a tree... And no, I don't know how it would work for someone to shag a ghost...o.^


Before Dawn (The Night is Darkest)

Plot: Annabel: sixth year. She's made to be partners with Remus for this stupid Herbology project, and in turn, they become friends. Petty drama, this guy named Blake that Lily is just in love with (He's a real prat, that one) and her friends, Noelle and Alice already in drama, it's no wonder her life is messed up! And there's something on the loose, a big something.

And it's attacking the sixth years.


Quote: I really want to love somebody. I do. I just don't know if it's possible forever and ever. ~Jim Carrey


"I'm ready to make up when you are," Annabel said finally to Lily a day later. "Are you?"

Lily looked up, her mouth pressed into a line. Green eyes stared at smoky blue ones, and then dropped to the floor abruptly. Suddenly, Lily looked abashed, very abashed, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

"I feel so guilty," Lily said suddenly, her eyes snapping back up, but resting about an inch lower than Annabel's eyes. "I feel like I'm the slag, hanging over Blake like that. I'm sorry. I promised that I would stop, but I didn't."

"Yes, you did," Annabel said. After all, she was ready to make up, but she wasn't ready to stop the anger welling up in her whenever Blake's name was uttered. "And it's quite annoying. Do you think that you're ready to stop?"

Usually, this would ignite a flood of angry words from Lily, leading to a fight, but Lily just gave a deep sigh and a weary smile. "You know," she said, "if James is ready to stand up to me for you, you've got some powerful friends."

This made Annabel smile. "Am I still turning into a Potter?"

"No," Lily said after some thought, "No, you aren't."

Noelle, who had been watching this while she brushed her hair, rolled her eyes. "Goody then," she said sarcastically. "Now can we eat? Alice and I are practically expiring with hunger here while you two are proclaiming your undying friendship, blah blah blah."

Annabel stuck her tongue out at Noelle and everything seemed alright, for that day.

So they went down to breakfast.

Annabel felt large hands cover her eyes. "Guess who?" said a familiar voice.

"Well," Annabel said, grinning, "From the feminine, high-pitched voice, I can only deduce that it is the one, the only, Janice Potter!"

"JANICE?" James dropped his hands from her eyes. "That's seriously the best you can do, Anakin?"

"Anakin?" Annabel scoffed. "Please. Siria has to back me up with the fact that Janice is a good substitute for James."

"I have to agree with Anakin," Sirius said. "Ouch!" Annabel had hit him on the shoulder.

"Don't call me Anakin!" Annabel said, pouting.

"Alright. Didn't mean to stick it up your arse. Ow!" Sirius glared. "Woman, at this rate, my arm is going to fall off. Ow!"

Lily had hit him this time. "Whoops, my arm slipped."

James' head whipped around so fast that he nearly hit Remus in the face with his bag. "Lily-flower!" he cried.

"And I'm out of here," Lily grumbled. True to her word, she had replied to Blake's advances with monosyllables, and it seemed to have made her grumpy. Or maybe she was grumpy because Alice had tripped and sent waffles dripping with maple syrup onto her shirt. But hey, what was magic for? "I have rounds tonight," she reminded Annabel. "With Remus."

"Oh!" Annabel turned to Remus. "So I guess I can't review our final project tonight?"

Remus shrugged. "Depends on what time we get back. Sometimes, it's only ten, but those are rare. Most likely, Lily and I will be back at twelve, twelve-thirty, one?"

"Well, that's specific," Noelle snarled.

Sirius gave her a smile. "Hey beautiful," he said. "How's it going?"

Noelle stared at him. "You know, I feel like it's awkward getting flirted with someone who's part girl, so sorry, but bye." She waved and fairly ran out of the hall. Alice remained, picking at her food.

With an annoyed and amused look on his face, Sirius threw his hands up into the air. "What happened to 'sex god' that's what I say! Women-OUCH!" This was because both Annabel and Alice had hit him at the same time. "Fine! Tweetles!"

"Tweetles?" James and Alice said at the same times.

"You know?" Sirius said, waving his hands expressively. "Women are birds, birds go tweet-tweet, tweet plural is tweetles?"

"Tweetles isn't a word, Padfoot," Remus said, a slight grin on his face.

"Right you are, Moony!" Sirius said. "Peter, add that to the list of 'Awesome Words that the Awesome Sirius Has Made-Up'!" As Peter took out a piece of paper that was weathered at the edges and folded so many times it was soft and crinkly, Sirius snatched it out of his hands. "Wait-what is this? 'Awesome Words that the Awesome Siri-kins?" Sirius gave a doggish growl. "WHO DID THIS?"

"I did," James said.

Sirius deflated. "Prongs!" he whined. "Why?"

Alice turned to Annabel. "Why are they changing moods so fast?"

"Puberty," Annabel said. "It's the answer to everything."

Alice snorted with laughter.


"Homework assignments, up!" Professor Flitwick chirped. Lily got out her homework and discreetly passed Alice a note.

What happened when I was gone at breakfast? Noelle looks nauseated and annoyed. -Lily

Nauseated? Why? -Alice

Why the hell do you think I'm asking you?

I dunno

Well?

Have you noticed that Noelle is fairly sensitive around Sirius?

Uh, no...Why would she be sensitive around him? He's the most un-sensitive person that I've ever met!

And the 'sex god' of Hogwarts.

I feel like an idiot, but what does that have to do with anything? I'm confused! I'm utterly, completely, confused! I'm supposed to be the top in my class, but right now, I feel like an idiot! AN IDIOT!

You had to get that out, didn't you?

Yes, it's been bottling up inside of me for ages. Where's Annabel?

Oh, some Slytherins hexed her, so she went to Madam Pomfrey. She'll be out in a minute or two.

Right on cue, Annabel burst into the room. Lily twisted in her seat to see her friend, and gave Annabel a smile, which Annabel returned full-time as she ran and gave Flitwick a note from Madam Pomfrey. "Sorry I'm late Professor." Some Slytherins snickered. "I got hexed by some low-life scum." Annabel gave Flitwick a wide, innocent smile as the Slytherins glared.

"Perfectly alright, considering the circumstance!" Flitwick squeaked. "Now, off to your seat!"

Annabel settled in a seat not too far away from Lily, enabling Lily to flick a note at Annabel asking the same question about what happened with Noelle. Annabel scribbled down something, the tip of her tongue just barely sticking out of her mouth, and then she quickly flicked it back at Lily.

Honestly, I don't really know. I mean, this isn't the Noelle that we all know and love. This is one that's happy around us, shy around boys...do you suppose she went through adolescence? Naw, all of us have gone through it and come out for better or for worse. Maybe she's one of those people who is feeling really awkward about her feelings about boys. -Annabel

You don't suppose she's bulimic, do you? -L

Annabel's response was instantaneous and she threw the note back to Lily in a nanosecond. NO! Definitely not! The Noelle that I know would never do that to her body!

Lily tried to reason with Annabel. Well, Alice said that Noelle was looking nauseous.

Annabel actually stopped for a second and tapped the side of her quill against the table, brushing the feather against the wood of the desk before scribbling something down. Lily felt something hit the side of her head and then bounce to the floor. Quickly picking it up, Lily read, Well...there's a slight chance that it's not bulimia. It may just be a case of fancyitis.

Fancyitis? There's no such thing!

Yes, there is. It's where a girl is head over heels in lurve! Mwa ha ha!

Lily stole Annabel a look and shook her head.

Forget it-you're impossible!

Only to you, love.


Alice slammed the book onto the desk in front of her friend, Daphne. "Here," she said.

Daphne blinked owlishly at her. "Thanks."

Daphne was one of those undersized sixth years who were brainy, but odd. As it was, she was a bit peaky, with a button nose and pretty gray eyes that contrasted oddly with her honey-colored hair, and she was short. Pretty short.

"What book is it?" Daphne asked.

Alice stared at her friend. "You gave it to me. How do you not remember what book it is?"

"I did?" Daphne turned the book over and stared at the cover. "The Four Armed Wand. Hmm..that does sound familiar. What's it about?"

"I don't know!" Alice cried. "You gave it to me!"

"So I did," said Daphne, sounding relieved. "What an honor. Thanks for lending it to me."

Alice threw up her hands. Daphne was impossible.

But not altogether an idiot.

"Hey," Daphne called out, suddenly looking quite thoughtful. "Frank broke up with his girlfriend."

Alice froze. And slowly, she turned around. "He did?" she said softly.

Daphne nodded.

"Oh," Alice said.

Then she ran to Lily.


Lily was not altogether sympathetic, but she seemed to be the solid foundation to the house. "You can't believe that just because Frank broke up with his girlfriend that he's going to shoot right for you," she told Alice. "These things take time to tide over."

Alice scowled. "I know, it hasn't even been a month at school, but I love Hogwarts. It's a magical place, and I feel...I feel like anything can happen when we're here."

"Anything can happen," Noelle said lightly, checking her appearance in the mirror and brushing on some makeup. She sat behind Alice and started braiding Alice's elbow-length brown hair. "I think I should cut my hair short. Shall I?"

"Sure," Lily said.

"It'd look cute," admitted Alice.

Annabel slammed into the room with a ferocious scowl on her face. "Lily!" she said.

Or more like...mouthed.

"Annabel?" Alice yelped, standing up. "What happened?"

Annabel gestured towards Lily. Lily, standing up, performed the counter curse, and Annabel was once again able to talk again. "Thank you!" she cried. "Stupid Slytherins!"

"Why do they keep cursing you?" Lily asked patiently.

Annabel shrugged. "I can't help it, Lily. Whenever I see one of those big, fat, oafs, words just spill out of my mouth to insult them."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "And you can't help it, can you?"

"Nope, absolutely not," said Annabel with complete sincerity.

Lily sighed. "I hope you didn't curse Snivellus. After all...we used to be friends."

Annabel frowned.


Severus was having an awful week. Well, his days were always awful. Firstly, his 'comrades', 'friend's, 'assholes' and he were passing by Annabel, Lily's closest friend, when suddenly she turned on them and started shouting insults at them.

You'd think this would make them mad.

But instead, Mulciber gave Annabel a lopsided smile and said, "Go out with me, baby?"

"Never!" screeched Annabel, stomping on Mulciber's foot. "You absolute IDIOT! How DARE you even SUGGEST such a thing?"

"Langlock," Mulciber snarled at her.

It was a pity, really. Annabel was a nice girl to Severus, oh, well, used to be. Before he made Lily sad. And depressed. And called her a mudblood. By accident, of course!

Severus sighed and bent over his books. He was supposed to be helping the Death Eaters, and right now, he was studying for a formula for a potion.

A potion that, incidentally, involved in turning someone invisible.


"Gee, I wonder why the Marauders haven't been doing any pranks lately," Lily said sarcastically as she, Annabel and Noelle sat down at the table. Alice was sitting next to Daphne, across the hall, and she waved at her friends.

Annabel felt a surge of hope. Was James finally following her advice and well, 'deflating' his head and becoming a slight bit more mature?

"Don't worry Lily-flower," James said, and Annabel had to muffle a shriek as she whipped her head around. "We're planning one."

"You're despicable!" snapped Lily, her eyes flashing bright green.

"And lovable," said James, grinning.

Annabel sighed. "Alright, where's Sirius?" she asked. "Wherever you are, he is."

"Actually, he isn't with me," James commented casually. "He's off sticking his tongue down some poor girl's throat before he dumps her like last night's garbage."

A small noise escaped from Noelle's throat and she fled the hall.

James stared after the girl. "What's wrong with her?"

Lily stood up in a swift movement and slapped James quickly. "Nothing's wrong with her," she snapped. "Annabel?"

Annabel sighed, casting one longing look at her plate. "I'll go console her."

There were downsides to being the empathetic one when Alice wasn't around.

Annabel found Noelle sitting in the library, her hair falling in butterfly-light strands across her face. Her eyes stared into the distance.

"Ahem?" Annabel asked.

Noelle snapped her head up. "I should cut my hair," she said, laughing hoarsely and pushing her hair away from her face. She looked past Annabel and her eyes turned as cold as stone.

"What?" Annabel asked, turning around. She scanned the room, skipping over a boy with gray eyes who was snogging a girl to death, and then slowly backtracked and focused on the boy. Noelle was ripping a piece of parchment into tiny little pieces, looking anywhere but at Annabel and Sirius. "Oh."

"Don't sound like that," Noelle snapped.

"What?" Annabel asked, surprised.

"That 'Oh'!" said Noelle looking completely aggravated. "Like you know what all my troubles are and can fix them with a wave of your wand. Bippity-boppity-boo! Ha!" She took a deep sigh and massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers. "Sorry. A little crabby today I guess I am. A little hungry too."

Annabel thought about her plate at the table, untouched, and felt a stab of sympathy for her stomach. "Well breakfast is already over," she sighed, shifting her rucksack from one shoulder to the other. "I guess we'll just have to make do until lunch. Unless the professors are giving out free food..." Her face lightened up, but then darkened. "I'll just have to wait."

Noelle laughed and grabbed her bag. They walked along the corridor to Transfiguration, where Alice and Lily were sitting together, whispering, and they took a seat together, in the back. Sirius slipped in just when the bell rang, and to Annabel's outrage, he sat with a blonde girl. To further her rage, he was only a seat away. Noelle's jaw clenched.

That is, until Sirius turned around and threw a note at Annabel, hitting her square on the forehead. Annabel picked up the note from where it had bounced onto the floor and opened it. The first thing she saw was this:

This is for the eyes of Annabel only.

Noelle scowled, but turned away. The minute she did, ink started appearing on the page, showing a long paragraph written in Sirius' messy script that drove all of the teachers crazy. Annabel nearly dropped the note in shock at how much was written there.

Hey Anna. (Annabel scowled at the abbreviation) Sorry about dismissing Noelle like that, but she's seriously frustrating me (haha, get it Anna? SERIOUSLY? Siriusly? No? Not even a prize?) with her weirdness. Not that she is completely weird or anything, but she's acting weird. Please don't kill me. You can kiss me however...I wouldn't mind. But Noelle is acting...WEIRD. Awkward. So I'm sort of confused about it...hey, you're her friend! Why don't you help out a poor chap and tell me what the hell is wrong with her? You know...friend to friend stuff Anna...

Annabel scribbled down, Oh, of course Siri-kin, anything for Siri-kin...Honestly Siri-kin? Just because you're Sirius Black doesn't mean I have to grovel at your feet. Can you honestly imagine me groveling at your feet?

His answer was immediate. Of course I can. I can imagine everyone at the school groveling at my feet...apart from James and Remus of course.

Why not Remus? Isn't he mild?

Sirius' reply was so ferocious that Annabel blinked several times. Remus will NEVER bow down at my feet, even if I have to kick him in the face to prevent him from doing it. Neither will Peter...but he likes to, so whatever. Us Marauders are equal, and like brothers.

Annabel's mouth curved up slightly. Wow. I just wish that you would tell Lily that.

Yeah, me too. Too bad she hates our guts.

No, she hates James and you...she likes Remus and Peter...well, sorry, but she doesn't like Peter that much either.

Thanks. Ha ha ha hee hee hee. No, not funny.

Ha ha ha hee hee hee? What the hell is that?

That, madam, is the Sirius laugh.

I most fervently do not want to hear the Sirius laugh in real life.

That's what James says.


"Remus are you okay?" Annabel asked, concerned. The boy's eyes were bloodshot when she decided to sit with the Marauders that day with Lily (who protested a fair bit) Alice and Noelle (who sat as far as she could from Sirius) "You look awful."

"Because that's nice, Annabel," snorted Alice. Noelle was wolfing down food, and so was Annabel.

"I'm fine," Remus said.

"You sure? Maybe you should go to Pomfrey. She probably-"

"-I said I was okay!" Remus interrupted, a definite edge in his voice. Annabel fell into a silence, a hurt feeling gnawing at her conscience. His eyes softened somewhat. "I'm fine, Annabel. Just a little tired."

"Oh," Annabel said softly.

Alice, however, was laughing with James, something that people did not see very often, so Annabel scooted a little closer to see what they were talking about. It was a story about James nicking something from Lockhart that Lockhart was apparently gushing about magic problems and Bone needing a solution to a magic problem. Not so funny in Annabel's opinion, but apparently James was embellishing somewhat. Ah well, James always did tell awful stories.

"And then I walked over to the lout and told him, 'Gee, that's too bad, Bone. You know what, I think I know the solution to all of your troubles.' And there I handed him the golden stone that I snitched from Lockhart, and you know what the lumphead does? He takes it and says, 'Thanks'!"

Alice was doubling over with laughter. "What a blockhead!" she said. "You honestly did that? What happened? Did Lockhart find out?"

"Well, the next day when Lockhart's interrogating everyone, Bone walks over to him and says, 'Now I can beat you in the role, because I have a magic rock', and holds up the rock. Lockhart's eyes get really big like this-" and here James bulged his eyes so he looked like some kind of toad, "-and he asks, 'Where did you get that, Bone?' in this really tight voice like his knickers are pulled up too high, and Bone goes, 'Blimey, I got it from this nice chap who told me that it was blessed by priests.' And of course, the mayor's there, and he goes all, 'Well, what a smart rock,'and heaps on the praise on Bone."

"And then...?" Alice breathed, her eyes shining with anticipation.

James was puffing out with pride. "Well, naturally Bone goes, "Well, blimey sir, if you really like the rock, I think you should have it," and in front of Lockhart he hands over Lockhart's greatest treasure to the mayor, and Lockhart's all helpless. And you know what the mayor does next?"

"What?" asked Alice.

"Well, naturally, the mayor is all proud to have that rock because obviously it's buzzing of magic, and I'm telling Tommy that I'm going to win the ten galleons from him. But then you know what the mayor does? He goes over to Lockhart, the blockhead, and says, "Hey, mate, you know, since you've done such a good job, why don't you take this rock?" and Bone, the old arse, says, "Sure, sure, Lockhart, go take it." And Lockhart's all smiles and thank you's, and I had to pay Tommy the ten galleons. But I won it back."

"How?" Alice was grinning madly.

"Well, naturally, I cut his purse."

Alice gasped. "You didn't?"

Annabel looked around and grinned as she saw that down at the table, Frank was glaring daggers at James as he regaled Alice with his tales.

"I did," crowed James, looking triumphant. "But the old miser had pinched away every knut, and all I got were a measly two Galleons.I think that ol' Tommy's dead and gone, but you can't be sure. So now I have to search every place before I sit down, because Tommy wants those two galleons, see."

"Surely, he must've forgotten...how long ago was this?" Alice asked.

James winked. "Lovely, lovely, innocent Alice, don't ever change, will you? Love, it was only a day before school starts."

Alice whacked herself in the forehead. "I forgot who I was talking to momentarily," she said, laughing. "I'm talking to James Potter. I should've known!"

James assumed a mollified air. "Well, I am quite well-known, you know."

Frank stabbed a sausage.


"Mate, you alright?" James asked Frank, who was looking more sullen than ever.

"What're you playing at?" Frank asked sharply.

James stared at Frank, lost for words. "What?"

"What're you playing at with Alice? Going to break her heart?" Frank was turning a dull red and seemed to be struggling for words, but he kept at it. "She's a nice girl. Doesn't..deserve to have her heart broken."

James laughed. "Blimey, Frank, didn't know you had such a high opinion of the girl. Listen, Alice is nice. She's sweet, she's smart, and hell, she's pretty too." This didn't seem to help Frank, because he was turning redder, so James hastily added, "but she's not my type. You know that I still like Lily-flower."'

"But you didn't look at her once this entire time. You were talking to Alice." Frank was sounding whiny.

"Of course not!" James said. "It's that Blake guy from Ravenclaw. He's ruining the relationship that Lily-flower and I have."

Frank stared at the taller boy for a second. "Uh...you and Lily don't have a relationship, James."

James winked. "That's what everyone things. But Lily and I have the truest, most romantic relationship...in here." He tapped his skull.

"No wonder you're so muddled," Frank murmured.

"Excuse me?" James tried to look offended, but instead succeeded in making himself look extremely stupid. The two boys started laughing, pounding each other on the back, and wrestling around on the floor. Soon, Sirius joined them, tugging at Frank's clothes and putting James into a head-lock so easily that it almost shamed James, so he swept Sirius' feet out from under him and started to wrestle with his friends.

Remus yawned and stared moodily at the floor.


Yay! Loong chapters! Unfortunately, at this point, the chapters start getting a bit shorter for about three chapters, like 2000 words or something, but I think you can handle that. And I won't update for a day or two.

OMG HARRY POTTER THE SEVENTH MOVIE IS COMING OUT TOMORROW *Dances a happy dance* SO. FREAKING. EXCITED. And a little sad.

Review?