Disclaimer: Hiyuh. Guess what I don't own? If you guessed Harry Potter, then you guessed right! Congratulations. :D
I dedicate this chapter to: major issues 4 life
-Chapter Nine-
Throughout the next weeks, James and Adena continued on with their seemingly perfect relationship, leaving Sirius to brood all over the place, and Lily to have random mood swings. Adena also kept quick correspondence with Lydia, sending her a new letter nearly everyday, planning her trip, and gossiping as though they still lived in the same place. It was more fun than she'd had in ages.
Adena lounged on her favourite old couch in the Common Room, like she did nearly everyday, these days. She was on her side, now, staring into the slowly crackling fire. She watched as embers flew from the burning logs and disappeared into the air, her dark curls spilling over the edge of the couch like a waterfall. She sighed deeply, very unaware of the person standing behind her couch, watching her with anxious blue eyes.
Adena rolled lazily onto her back and nearly jumped out of her skin as she looked up into that shocking blue stare she had missed so deeply. The girl before her had long blonde hair that fell down her back in elegant waves. Her Quidditch toned body accentuated by the street clothes she wore.
Adena quickly stood and nearly jumped over the couch to get to her friend. And without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her tightly. The girl laughed and hugged her back.
"Jesus, Adena. Chill out, would you? You're breaking me," she said, pulling back to look at her best friend. Adena's eyes were shining with tears. "God, Addy, you're so fucking emotional," she told her with a laugh.
"Shut up," she laughed, wiping her eyes. "I've missed you so much."
"I know," she said with a smirk.
"Oh, Lydia. Wait, how did you even get here? I thought you weren't coming until Christmas."
"Yeah, well, change of plans," Lydia said, her eyes darkening.
"Oh Lyd, I'm sorry," she said, knowing what she meant almost immediately.
"I didn't think he could get any worse," Lydia said coldly. "I just… I couldn't stay there any longer. Mom left, too, you know. She went to Aunt Christine's. She said it would be good for me to get away for a while, too, and to be with you."
"Well, I'm glad you're here," Adena said with a grin. "Who let you in here though?"
"That old guy with the beard…" she said making a face, she hunched over, and imitated an old man. Adena laughed.
"The headmaster, you mean?"
"Ha, yep. I think your mom must have heard from my mom that I was coming early, because she was waiting for me when I arrived. I've never been so glad that your mother is a Healer; she brewed up a quick potion for my queasiness. Have you ever tried apparating across an ocean? God, I thought I was going to die. But anyways, she Flooed me here, right to the old kook. And, Jesus, if that's your headmaster, Addy, I'm so jealous; you know the Wicked Witch would never just let you in to hang out with me," Lydia said, using their nickname for the headmistress at Salem Academy, as she plopped down onto one of the battered couches and looked around. "Hey… So, I get to meet the boys now, eh? The Marauders, right?"
Adena grinned at her friend. She knew that had been one of the things Lydia had been looking forward to most, and she knew how disappointed she'd been when she thought she wasn't going to meet them. She had told her the entire plan she'd concocted with James. Lydia thought it was funny, but swore she wouldn't give anything away.
"And I definitely need to meet this Lily; she must be awesome if you're doing all this with her reaping some benefit, eh?"
They both looked up as they heard the portrait hole open. Adena groaned as she saw who it was. He paused, looked at them, then put on what he clearly thought was a charming smile and sauntered over. Adena turned to look at Lydia's intrigued face. She groaned again. Sirius Black was not the first person she wanted Lydia to meet here.
"Well, hello ladies," Sirius said smoothly. He turned to Adena. "Going to introduce me to your friend, Fire Maiden?"
"Uh, no," Adena said taking Lydia's arm almost protectively. Lydia looked at her curiously before turning back to Sirius and extending her slender hand.
"Lydia Blair," she introduced herself with a smile. She glanced briefly at Adena as Sirius took her hand, and kissed it.
"Sirius Black," he told her, as she drew her hand back.
"Ah, so you're Sirius Black, huh?" she asked thoughtfully, she turned back to Adena. "I see what you mean."
Sirius looked at Adena curiously, and she rolled her eyes at the pair.
"C'mon," Adena said, pulling Lydia from the couch. "You've got a lot of stuff to see."
"Fine," Lydia said, with slight defeat. She turned to Sirius and waved lightly. "See you around."
Adena pulled Lydia to the portrait hole, Lydia stopped briefly at the opening to glance back at Sirius, and with a flip of her blonde hair they were out into the corridor.
"I won't lie," Lydia said as they started walking towards the Great Hall. "I'm a little disappointed. You made him sound so… Godlike."
"I did not!"
"Sure you did," she told her with a teasing smirk.
"Whatever," Adena said leading her friend into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor Table.
Students, particularly of the male persuasion, stopped mid motion to look at the entrancing blonde that seemed to be floating by. And as usual, Adena went generally unnoticed. She was much too used to this to be bothered, though. That's just normal routine when your best friend has got Veela blood running through her seemingly elegant veins, however diluted it may now be, it was Veela blood none the less.
Lydia, as usual, paid little attention to her many admirers, and went to sit where Adena pointed. They sat down with James and Remus. They were both looking only mildly dazed; James looked more phased by it than Remus, though. Adena smirked.
"James, Remus, this is my love, Lydia," Adena introduced. They nodded their hellos as Lydia batted her eyelashes. Adena snorted and spoke under her breath to her friend. "Hey, lay off, will ya? There are plenty of other guys here for you to woo with your undeniable charm and good looks."
Lydia grinned at that as James leaned over to say something to Adena quietly.
"I thought you said she wasn't coming until nearer to Christmas," James asked Adena as though Lydia wasn't sitting there; she didn't mind.
"Change of plans, long story, more later, be nice," Adena breathed. James smiled.
"Well, Lydia, welcome to Hogwarts," he said politely.
"Thanks," she said brightly. "I'm starved."
She turned to look at the food before her. She quickly began piling food onto her plate as more Gryffindors started to file in. Sirius came in first, looking annoyed with Lily and Julia close behind. His point of annoyance was made quite obvious, though, as Bridget flounced in behind them.
"Sirius! Wait up, Siri," she called out to him, and he continued, to ignore her as he came to sit next to Adena.
"She won't leave me alone!" he said angrily, making sure Julia sat next to him, leaving Bridget no chance to sit next to him. He turned back to the disappointed brunette. "Please, just bugger off. I don't like you, so stop following me around."
"B-But-"
"Go on," he repeated, motioning for her to leave. She glared at Adena once she caught sight of her smug look, and turned to stomp out of the Hall.
"Merlin, I thought she'd never leave," he groaned under his breath. Lydia and Adena caught each other's eye, and shared a look before breaking out into laughter. The rest of the Gryffindors stared at them blankly, which only made them laugh harder.
"God, I missed this," Lydia said, wiping her eyes.
"Oh, this is Lydia, by the way," Adena said, realizing she had yet to introduce her friend to the latest additions at their table. She turned to her friend and pointed as she spoke, "That's Lily, and that's Julia."
"Nice to meet you, Lydia," Julia said politely and Lily nodded in agreement. Adena looked at the pair curiously as they began to speak to each other in hushed tones. Lydia caught her attention, though, and they quickly began to talk about other things.
"Oh," Adena said suddenly. "What about Ben?"
Lydia laughed to herself. "Ben? I don't know, he'll probably just come himself, you know he would never pass up the opportunity to see you."
Adena shot her friend a look that clearly said 'don't say anything stupid' then answered as though it hadn't happened.
"Did he know you were leaving?" she asked curiously.
"I'm not completely cold-hearted," Lydia said rather indignantly. "I left him a note."
"Oh-ho. A note, that's so completely warm-hearted," Adena said with a snort.
"You know I can hardly stand that boy. And I thought for sure when you left, he wouldn't hang around me anymore, but Jesus, the kid's got no other friends. You were his only fucking friend," Lydia said, chewing on a half naked chicken bone.
"Shut up, Lyd. You know you don't hate him that much. He's not that bad, he's just a little-"
"Obsessive? Crazy? Addicted?"
"Shut it. He's not crazy, he's just-"
"Crazy?" Lydia asked innocently, Adena gave her a look before attempting to change the subject.
"No, no, no you don't, Addy. Don't you fucking change the subject. You do think he's crazy, don't you?"
"You know I don't, Lydia," Adena said flatly.
"Oh, right, I remember now," Lydia said with a highly theatrical wink. Adena shook her head at her friend, but had a huge grin spread happily across her face. She really had missed this.
"God, shut up, Lyd," Adena said playfully.
"Are you going to show me anything else around here, or what?" Lydia asked, raising one thin eyebrow as her cerulean eyes scanned the hall.
"C'mon," Adena said with a sigh, and she led the bouncing blonde on a tour of the castle.
----------X----------
Lydia rolled over on the cot that had been conjured for her upon her arrival. She looked groggily up at the dorm window. It was still dark out. This had to be the third time she'd woken up tonight. She didn't know why, either. She rolled onto her back, her blonde locks fanning out on her pillow and spilling over the edge of her bed in abundance. She sighed, and stared into the darkness at the ceiling before hoisting herself up and out of her lumpy cot. She glanced over at the sleeping form of her best friend before tiptoeing out of the dorm.
Once she'd closed the door quietly, she turned, and with a sigh trudged down to the Common Room. She was quite surprised to find it occupied once she'd reached it. She glanced at the clock above the dimming fire; it was four in the morning. Before she was even able to step off of the last stair, and attempt to make her presence known, the person seated with his back to her on the couch turned his gray blue eyes on her. She gasped slightly.
"Oh!" She stopped at her place by the stairs for a moment, as the boy looked curiously at her. After a moments pause, she continued towards the fire.
"Hello," she said brightly. She looked at him closely, trying to place his countenance as he nodded hello. "Oh! You're… ah, don't say it. Oh, I know it!"
She looked at him again, taking in his tired appearance. He was laughing at her. She stopped her race to name him, but moved forward to sit next to him on the shabby couch.
"What?"
"Nothing," he said in a voice that clearly said it was not nothing, but he brushed it off. "So, are you going to guess, or do I have to tell you?"
"No, no! I'll get it… R… Raymond… Robert… Rasheed-"
"Oh yeah, that's it. My name is definitely Rasheed," the boy said trying to contain his laughter.
"I was kidding, it's Remus," she said rather flatly. Remus stopped laughing and stared at her.
"Were we even introduced?"
"Not formally. I got a hasty 'This-is-James-and-Remus-but-let's-not-pay-them-any-mind-and-don't-act-so-alluring' from Adena and then the subject was changed," she said, using a whiny high-pitched voice, one very unlike Adena's, to mimic her. Remus laughed at the impersonation. It was basically what Adena had done, after all.
"Well, then, Miss America, why don't tell me about yourself," he said, making Lydia snort at the comparison he had made, but let it go.
"What's there to tell?"
"Well, I figure you've probably got Veela blood in you, right? The way you make guys stop and look is, no offense, not natural. Although, the guys here aren't much for gentlemen, that's beside the point," Remus told her.
"I- Well, yeah, I have got Veela blood, but how did you- I mean, it clearly doesn't affect you," she stated, a little surprised at his sudden accusation.
"Well, I… I'm just not affected that easily by things like Veela," he said vaguely, while avoiding her eye. Lydia wracked her brain trying to think of some reason why a wizard would be able to resist Veelan charm and not want to talk about it. She took the cue though, and changed the subject. She would have to look into it later.
"So… How about our friends, huh? What a crazy bunch. What's going on there?" Lydia asked, making Remus laugh gratefully at her very unsubtle, but highly appreciated subject change.
"Well, James loves Lily, and is going out with Adena, while Sirius loves Adena and is basically ruining that relationship before it even started by messing around with Bridget," Remus told her.
"That slutty brunette that was following him around?" Lydia asked.
"That's the one," Remus said.
"Oh, I see. And where does that leave you?" she asked, almost suggestively.
"Well," he said, eying her. "That leaves me here."
"… Sitting in the Common Room at 4AM talking to some nosy American you just met?" she asked cocking her head. Remus chuckled.
"Yep. That's exactly where it leaves me."
"And… You're ok with that?"
"I think, for now, I am, yes," he told her quietly.
"Alright," she said with a smile. "So, uh, tell me about yourself, Remus."
"I do believe I asked you that first and you revealed… nothing about yourself."
"I told you I was part Veela!" Lydia said defensively.
"I guessed that," Remus reminded her.
"Well, sure but I could have said I wasn't," she said slyly. "So it counts."
"Fine," Remus said with a quiet chuckle. "What do you want to know?"
"Well," Lydia said thoughtfully. She looked up at Remus, and hesitated before continuing. "Why… Ah, why aren't you affected by the Veela in me?"
Remus eyed her, warily. He had figured she would ask that, but he had really hoped he was wrong. She stared expectantly up at him. Remus couldn't help but trust her calm blue eyes. They searched each other's eyes until the intensity was overwhelming. Lydia looked down at the folded hands in her lap.
"Sorry," she mumbled, fingering the hem of her shirt. "You don't have to-"
She stopped when she felt his hand under her chin. He lifted her face to look him in the eye.
"Don't worry," he breathed before leaning forward and kissing her softly. Lydia responded immediately, deepening the kiss. She ran a hand instinctively through his sandy blonde hair. He quickly pulled back though, causing Lydia to look at him in a sort of hurt confusion.
"Wh-" she began.
"Sorry," he said roughly, looking away from her and into the fire.
"No, don't be. Just be sorry you stopped," Lydia said, reaching her hand out towards him, he grabbed it however, and it dropped back into her lap.
"I'm sorry," he repeated more firmly. Lydia quickly stood from the couch, Remus looked up at her in surprise. "What?"
"God, I'm such an idiot," she said, ignoring him. "I can't believe I almost just… again…"
Remus' looks of confusion only deepened.
"Lydia, what-" he began, but Lydia turned her deep blue eyes on him, and he stopped.
"Just… I don't know, are you really a-"
"Lydia," Remus said in a kind of warning tone.
"You're a Werewolf," she said, and it wasn't a question. Remus looked at her curiously; the look in her eyes wouldn't let him lie to her.
"How, uh, how'd you know?"
"I just, well, it doesn't matter. You are one," she said.
"I'm sorry if I… I mean, I understand if you don't, uh, want to, you know… Talk to me an-"
"Oh God, no. Shut up. I don't care," she said, sitting next to him once more. "Back home, my school is filled with Werewolves. Salem isn't exactly a hard academy to get into. They're almost desperate these days. Oh! No offense, of course. God, I sound like I think Werewolves are idiots, or something. I don't think that though, I swear," Lydia said rapidly. She realized with a groan that she was starting to ramble. She looked up at Remus, only to find him looking rather amused. "What? I-"
And she was just preparing for another rant when her lips were covered once more by Remus'. He pulled back after a moment and looked at her dazed expression with a chuckle.
"Don't worry about it," he said, before standing and heading off towards the staircase back to his dorm. Lydia stared after him in wonderment. She didn't even bother going back up to bed, since Adena would probably be waking her up in an hour's time, as it was now after 5, anyways. Instead she decided to take a little self-led tour of the castle. Perhaps not her greatest idea yet.
AN: Ok… Please… Don't… Hate… Me… -ducks- Because I completely understand that this story is supposed to be Sirius/OC, yeah? And I completely understand that the kind of sudden change of main character (for this chappie, at least) may not be to your fancy, but please don't be mad, eh? It's just… Well, I love Lydia dearly. And I thought she needed a little something to look forward to, you know? And who better than everyone's favourite misunderstood and over exploited Werewolf, Remy? So… All in all, I think you must know that I didn't actually intend for said pair to take up so much of this chapter. It just happened. I apologize to anyone who dislikes this. But, you know what they say. Things are gettin' better all the time. Who says that you ask? Me, apparently.
And also, I really just felt the need to finally update before I leave, because I'm leaving, in like five days, to go to Europe for 10 days, and then right after, I'll be camping for 5 more. So there won't be an update in kind of a while… But hey, I think this is my longest chapter yet! I am also hoping to get a lot of writing done while I'm away, though. So look alive. As soon as I come back, you can expect a new update. But until then I leave you with those famous last words:
Please review, for the first of you, I shall have to, Dedicate the next chapter to!
ROFLMFAO. Ok. I didn't even start that out with the intention of a cute little rhyme. It just kind of happened… But hey, all the more incentive to review, don't you think? I sure do. :D
-Lots of freaking love from, Lady Carmilla.
