Author's Note:

Arina-Peachy- You're too kind. (:

lilirox187- You and your lovely reviews always make me smile! (: Thank you for such compliments!

nacho5- Indeed, you were. ;)

13Zander13- Aww thanks! (: I'm so glad you like the story!

Spot'sGalFrom1899- Thank! ;D Your wish is my command!

Chapter Eight

Even though it was Saturday, Hermes still wailed as soon as the first rays of light begin to peak through the windows at 6:30. Despite me being a morning person, Saturday was the one day I allowed myself to snuggle a while longer in the warmth of my blankets. If only my blasted cat could understand and appreciate the serenity of Saturday like I could.

So with a groan that was thoroughly muffled by my pillows I convinced my body it wanted to get up and slowly sat for a moment, looking around in a daze.

Figures. My roommates were out like the sun. I guess they were bound to grow immune to the caterwauls sooner or later. I stood up and stretched my arms over my head before rummaging through my trunk, scratching Hermes behind his ears as he leaped up on my bed and rubbed against my arm. I threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a blue and black flannel with fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm.

Another reason Saturdays were so special was because I got to roam around in regular clothes instead of the stuffy, constricting robes that Hogwarts worshipped upon. Oh, and no tie. Those things were damn near impossible to dress.

I scooped Hermes up into my arms and rested my cheek against the top of his head, smiling for a moment when I heard his strong purrs. He really was a good cat, more intelligent than most. He was still young too, which made me hopeful he'd be around for a long time to come. Parting with him would be like parting with a piece of my heart.

"You're a good boy, Hermes." I noogied his head before setting him down to finish getting ready for the day. I did all the essentials before putting my hair in a waterfall braid. Then, at 7:00, I leaped onto Lily's bed with a loud, "MORNING CHICAS!"

Lily's and Marlene's heads popped straight up, both disheveled and red-eyed. Lyla, as I had expected, smashed her pillow closer to her head and scowled while still keeping her eyes shut. So it was gonna be like that.

I hopped off of Lily's bed, leaving her to wallow in her redheaded Lily-ness (because she, unlike moi, didn't understand the sanity of getting up before 7:30 on the weekends) and leaped onto Lyla's, wrestling the pillow away from her and hitting her with it. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I sang merrily, and very off key.

Usually, I'd allow them to sleep and head down to the common room to wait until someone got up, but not today. Today I had a girls day planned.

I let out a grunt as Lyla abruptly sat up and shoved me off of her bed, my butt taking the brunt of the fall. I glared at her while she gave me a look that was between a scowl and a triumphant smirk.

"You twat."

"You were the one hitting me with a pillow!"

"Only because you wouldn't get your lazy bum out of bed!"

Both of us were smacked in the face with a pillow and we whirled around to stare at Lily and Marlene, who had their arms crossed.

"First off, keep yelling, I don't think the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest can here you. Second, no more pillow hitting-"

"But you just-"

Lily gave Lyla a scathing look and she grudgingly shut her mouth.

"Second, no more pillow hitting. And third-"

It was then Marlene decided to pitch in. "Why the bloody hell did you wake us up CJ?!"

Lily scrunched her nose. "Not how I would've phrased it, but what she said."

I sighed and ran a hand over my face before standing up so I could evenly face all three of them. "Look, we haven't had much down time since we got back, and I was thinking we could have a girls day today. Y'know, pig out on junk food, a little truth or dare, would you rather, and makeovers."

All was silent until Lyla smirked and rose from her bed, a devious look in her eyes. "We're starting with truth or dare. No questions asked."

I yelped as she thumped me on the back of my head with another pillow before skipping to the bathroom, ignoring the chides from Lily and eye-rolls from Marlene.

-TIME SKIP-

"Benjy? Benjy Fenwick?" Lyla stared at Marlene. "Why would you have the hots for a bloke like him?"

Marlene glared at Lyla and shoved a chocolate truffle in her mouth before saying. "Whadda fean er 'uy fike 'im?"

Lily and I shook our heads in disgust, and I popped a Every Flavored Bean into my mouth, cringing at the taste. Dirt. Yuck.

Lyla shrugged and leaned her back against her trunk. She was sitting Indian style at the foot of her bed, all four of us sitting in a circle facing each other. "He's just so…know-it-all. And possessive. You become his girlfriend, and any contact whatsoever with the opposite sex earns you a scolding."

Marlene frowned and, thankfully, swallowed before replying. "How would you know?"

"Because she went out with him in the beginning of last year." Lily said knowledgeably.

"Yeah," I ate another bean and licked my lips, savoring the taste of pasta on my tongue, "all she did was ask Remus if he had a quill she could borrow and Fenwick went berserk. Called her a cheating wench."

Lyla blinked. "You remember that?"

I nodded. "Of course. The look on Remus' face when Fenwick punched him was priceless. And the fact Remus actually hexed his hair purple in retaliation was downright unforgettable."

Marlene cracked a smile while Lyla and Lily both laughed at the memory.

"Although," Lily said, grinning uncharacteristically evilly at Lyla, "If that were to happen today, I could understand Fenwick's behavior."

I rolled my eyes and was about to tell Lily to lay off the whole 'Lyla-likes-Remus' theory when I noticed a red tinge creeping up Lyla's neck and resting on her cheeks.

"No way," I shook my head and pointed an accusing finger at Lyla, "You do like Remus!"

"Hey!" Lyla hissed, slapping my finger away. "Keep your voice down.

Raising an eyebrow, I whistled. "And your actually worried about someone hearing. I guess you were right, Lils," I turned to the redhead and admitted. A satisfied smirk settled on her lips.

"I know."

I rolled my eyes. "Humble as ever, I see. But seriously Lyla, why didn't you say anything?"

For all the years I had known Lyla, never had I ever seen her shy away from a question about guys. Yet, here she was, avoiding my gaze and staring at her hands in her lap. "It's different, CJ. This time it's different."

"I can see that." And I really could. Ever since Lily brought it up, Lyla had suddenly shed her usual smooth, forward, unabashed exterior and replaced it with a blushing, shy witch who wouldn't utter a word about her crush. It wasn't like her at all. And that's how I knew. It was definitely different this time.

Way to go Remus.

"Well about you CJ?" Lyla brusquely fired back, her shoulders confidently set as all traces of coyness evaporated.

I choked on a pumpkin pasty as I stared wide-eyed at my best friend.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't be daft," Lyla smirked, "What about you? Who tickles your fancy?"

I choked again and glared at the grinning blonde. "Seriously? Fine. If you must know…" I trailed off, noticing the way Lily and Marlene's interest had peaked at the change in topic, "I wouldn't mind getting to know Gideon Prewett a bit better."

There were a few squeals and giggles as they teased me about Gideon, and despite my growing red face, I shrugged off their comments. "Whatever guys, it's no big deal." I noticed we were low on chocolate and hurriedly stood up. "I'm gonna make a brief kitchen run." I bolted out of the room a bit too quickly, but at this point, what did I care?

As I leaped down the steps and into the common room, I couldn't help but take note of the Marauders, who were all suspiciously avoiding my questioning gaze. I raised an eyebrow at them, and only Remus had the decency to look me in the eye and give me a strained smile.

They just get stranger and stranger the more I get to know them. I rolled my eyes and headed out into the hall.

"CJ, wait up!"

It was Sirius. I stopped for a moment, allowing him to catch up before we began to walk in a comfortable silence towards the kitchens. I could tell there was something Sirius wanted to say by the way he kept opening and closing his mouth, his eyes scrunching as he tried to find the right words. I let him take his time as we strolled through corridors and descended staircases, wondering what could be on his mind.

When he did finally speak up, it was nothing if not trivial. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," I answered, giving him an odd look. He smiled back unsurely.

"Well, good."

It was silent once more until he said abruptly, "Why Gideon Prewett?"

I froze and rounded on him, eyes wide. "What the bloody hell Sirius?" I stared at him, my eyes glaring holes into his, a tad difficult to do seeing as he was now avoiding my gaze. "What are you talking about?" Then it hit me. I gaped at him and he finally looked at me, a guilty glint in his eyes.

"You spied on us!" I yelled angrily, my hands resting on my hips as my nostrils flared. I probably looked like a banshee, and by the way Sirius was cowering, I was screeching like one too.

Sirius looked like he was groping for an appropriate response, but couldn't find one. I poked him in the chest, my voice dangerously low. "Does the word privacy mean anything to you?" He swallowed and I had the satisfaction of seeing him look uncomfortable. But instead of groveling for forgiveness, he cautiously patted my finger away and ran a hand through his black hair.

"Why Gideon Prewett?" My eyes widened and I gawked. The nerve of him! I had just caught him spying, and he didn't even have the decency to apologize and then beg for forgiveness? I had half a mind to hex him into next year. In fact, I was reaching for my wand, anger coursing through me as I ranted in my head when Sirius stopped me, his eyes now pleading as he stared at me. There was genuine confusion and, yes, regret. Good. He should regret being an eavesdropper.

I sighed. "He has brown eyes."

This made Sirius frown.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I shoved him rather harshly. "Don't think this means I'm okay with you eavesdropping on us Sirius. I know you're a Marauder, but come on, have a sense of morality, okay? How did you even swing Remus into your little scheme?"

This earned me a smirk in reply. "We mentioned Lyla, and he caved."

"What does that suggest about Remus?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

Sirius grinned. "What do you think it suggests?"

I bit my lip and rolled my eyes before tickling the pear and entering the kitchens. "I think you should just give me a straight answer for once."

Turning away, I asked a house elf for a supply of chocolate. They nodded and hurried off before I faced Sirius again. This time, a frown was on his face. "Look CJ, about Regulus-"

I held up a hand, my lips pursed in a firm line. "Don't start, Sirius." My tone held a warning in it and, thankfully, he picked up on it and nodded reluctantly. "Thank you."

As soon as I had the chocolate in hand we began to make our way back to the Gryffindor common room, the atmosphere between us clearing as we bantered harmlessly and joked around, laughing like maniacs and probably waking 90% of the Hogwarts population. Sirius was in the middle of telling a particular amusing story involving a pair of bright pink boxers and peanut butter when the heavens opened and we stood in shock, completely drenched. Our gazes snapped up to see Peeves gleefully laughing above us, water balloons in hand.

"Peeves!" Sirius yelled, not looking mad, just irritated. I couldn't help but chuckle, and soon I was full out laughing. Seeing him look so frustrated, yet looking like a drowned puppy at the same time just made me bust out. Sirius was staring at me like I had grown a second head before a grin tugged at his lips and soon he was joining in on my raucous laughter. We remained like this all the way back to the common room, and were still having trouble quieting ourselves as we stumbled through the portrait hole right in the middle of war zone.

The other three Marauders, Lily, and Lyla were all face to face, the latter two looking particular red. But at the moment, I didn't care why they were fighting. I took one look at Sirius's waterlogged locks and we started cracking up all over again.

Author's Note: Woo. It's been awhile.

Please review, and give me some feedback. Positive or negative. Either way, I'd really appreciate it. 3

Sincerely,

Blue