Disclaimer: We do not own anything but Alexa, Lyla, and Blair. Anything you recognize belongs to the esteemed J.K. Rowling, and we are only borrowing them for a short while.
Author's Note: Hello you lovely ladies and gentlemen! It's babyblue here. I am so unbelievably sorry that I haven't updated this story normally in what has now been almost 4 years. I don't know how I could have ever let it get to this, but you could say that I took a bit of a hiatus from Harry Potter fanfiction to dabble in the Soccer fandom for a bit. However, I am back to where my heart truly lies – with the Marauders. I want to thank you for sticking with this if you're crazy enough to check back on us, and if not, then I want to say thank you for finding us again. We would be nowhere without our readers. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 10 of the Marauder's Guide. I hope you all enjoy and deem us worthy of your reviews. Love always, Babyblue and AmuletGirl.
Previously On The Marauder's Guide: To All Things Good…
The summer started with preparations for the Wedding of the Year, aka Lyla and Remus being joined in Holy Matrimony. After moving out of their respective houses, Remus and Lyla joined the long list of newlyweds who live in a new apartment of their own, preparing for the birth of a little baby Lyla. Sirius and Alexa are currently together again, after spending the majority of the summer tiptoeing around the fact that they were still madly in love with each other. James has just been named Head Boy, while Blair frets over the idea of James and Lily in such close quarters. As the summer came to an end, the six best friends that anyone could have were reunited on the platform of the Hogwarts Express, where they got their first taste of the brewing war between Voldemort and his followers and the Order of the Phoenix. Which leads us to this very chapter…
Alexa's Point of View
Rule 44: Should a marauder, or an associate of a marauder, be put in a tricky situation, it is your duty as a fellow marauder to prevent said marauder or associate from being harmed.
"The headmaster would like to speak with the six of you." McGonagall began walking away as I looked over at Lyla, who seemed just as shocked as I was. She shrugged her shoulders, moving to follow our Head of House when said woman glanced behind her and said in her sternest voice, "Now." It was like my legs were moving of their own accord as they followed her from the doors of Hogwarts to the Grand Staircase. I felt Sirius take my hand in his own, his thumb rubbing over the tops of my knuckles, and I let myself relax into his side.
The train ride had been one of the most silent rides I had been on in my 7 years of school. The trolley never once made its rickety way down the corridors, there were no first years running around the compartments looking for friends, and not once did I hear the telltale sound of magic being done. It had been empty, long, and silent, with only occasional questions and their answers breaking the barrier in our own compartment.
Blair, who had been silent since her outburst of tears when she saw that James was in one piece once we got back to the platform after the attack, finally spoke. "What do you think is going on? Do you think this is about the," she lowered her whisper even more, "Order?"
Remus shrugged, his arm around Lyla's waist tightening imperceptibly. "It could be. Though it wouldn't make much sense for Alexa to be here then, seeing as he made it perfectly clear that we be of age to join."
"Hey! I resent that." I spoke up, trying to lighten the dark mood that lingered over my friends. Sirius, understanding what I was trying to do, bumped my nose lightly with our joined hands.
"Tiny little Alexa Parker, still but a wee tyke of 16," James, for the first time since we got on the train, cracked a smile and a little joke. I felt a sense of relief wash over me. If James, who looked the most troubled of us all, could crack a joke then I knew things were going to be all right.
"Maybe he just wants to see us about keeping us all in line this year," I looked at Lyla with a raised eyebrow, then pointedly at her stomach.
"Says the mother-to-be. Maybe we should have been the ones keeping you in line after all this time, hmm?" I used my free hand to pull Lyla away from Remus, and then put my arm through hers. She squeezed my arm, pushing her elbow into my own, and I removed my hand from Sirius' to pat her very pregnant belly. "Did you hear that, Little Alexa? Your mommy is a very bad influence on all her friends."
"If you would please unhand my wife," Remus said playfully, giving Lyla a quick kiss on the cheek. "And we've told you numerous times, we're not naming our baby Little Alexa. We can't have another one of you running around. One's bad enough."
"A very true assessment, Mr. Lupin." We all looked up from our teasing to find Dumbledore standing in front of us, a pleasant smile on his face despite the fact that his eyes were troubled. "If you would please follow me?"
I stepped in line behind Lyla as we made our way up the stairs, trying to listen to James and Sirius' whispering behind us. Blair, who was at the head of the line, looked behind her at all of us, pulling a face and nodding at the long line of gargoyles lining the winding staircase as we followed our headmaster up to the top.
"What are you two talking about?" I said in my lowest voice, pausing before entering the office to look at James and Sirius, both who appeared rather guilty to be caught.
"Nothing, love. Let's go in," Sirius put his arm on my lower back, ushering me into Dumbledore's office. I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing something was going on but not wanting to push it. As we gathered around the desk in the middle of the room, I tried not to be amazed at how much the office seemed to have changed since the last time I had been in this room. Everything seemed to shine with some sort of hidden magic, and just as I was starting to turn my head every which way to get the best staring in, Dumbledore began to talk.
"I'd like to thank all of you for the courage you showed on the platform today, especially you Mister Potter. Taking your Head Boy duties seriously already." There was a slight smile on his face as he said this, and I looked over to the chair two down from mine to see James turn slightly red in the ears at the compliment. "Now, I know you must have some questions about why this happened and how it happened, but I can only tell you at this point that it is being looked into by some of the top aurors in the Ministry and they assure me they are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of it."
"With all due respect, sir, how do they plan to do that exactly?" I looked in surprise at Blair, who looked very skeptical at the idea of the Ministry doing anything to help. Dumbledore looked at Blair, his eyes twinkling again as he nodded in agreement.
"They haven't deemed it necessary to inform me of their ideas yet, Miss Winchester, but I assume it will be met with much deliberation and looking deeply at pieces of parchment." I couldn't help the grin that formed on my face, despite the fact that the subject was so serious. I found great comfort in the fact that, even in the face of the dangers we faced today, Dumbledore was able to be so upbeat. If that wasn't enough for me to feel safe, then what was?
As Dumbledore continued to talk, and answer the questions of the very quizzical group of people I called friends, I thought about how, even though there was nothing to prove me right or wrong, the castle I had called home for the better part of 6 years felt so much safer than I had even felt at home. Within the walls, the winding hallways, the hidden chambers, I felt like nothing could reach me. It felt that nothing would hurt me here. For what felt like the first time in hours, I took a real breath, one that wasn't tinged with worry or fear.
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to realize I had been staring blankly at a portrait of one of the past headmasters for the better part of the last ten minutes. He had the most outraged look on his face, and I felt myself blushing as he shook his head derisively and muttered something about ungrateful children. As I looked back at my friends, I realized that everyone was staring at me, Lyla rolling her eyes as Sirius and James sat stoically and unimpressed. When I turned to Dumbledore, he was smiling slightly, the troubled look in his eyes replaced by amusement.
"Uh, could you repeat the question?" I felt myself color even more as Dumbledore's smile widened and he let out a slight chuckle.
"As I was saying, Miss Parker, you are still under age and will not be of age until the twelfth of December, is that right?" I nodded and Dumbledore looked satisfied as he turned towards the rest of the group. "I'm sure you are well aware at this point then, of the group I have begun to organize known as the Order of the Phoenix. While it is true that many of the members of the group and I have decided that all members be of age when joining, I'm willing to make a special exception in this case. You are a bright witch, Alexa, and seeing as the rest of your friends have already been instituted as members, I would like to also extend the offer to you."
I felt the breath leave my lungs, my fear of the war beginning outside the walls crowding my thoughts. I felt Sirius take my hand and squeeze lightly, before he spoke. "I'm sorry, headmaster, but I don't think it's right for Alex to join yet. She's not old enough and it's not safe for her to be out there."
"I agree with Sirius," James said as he steepled his hands together. He looked over at me, giving me an apologetic look. "I couldn't stop the rest of us from joining, but I don't think it's right for Alexa to be apart of it yet. What if she were to get hurt?"
"I'm right here, you know? And I'm not a child. I've had just as much schooling as the rest of you. I'm just as capable." I spoke up, feeling anger bubbling inside of me as Sirius and James looked at me like I was out of my mind. I turned to my sister, to Remus and Blair that were sitting on the other side of me. "Tell them they're wrong."
"Alexa," Remus started, and I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to agree with the other two Marauders. I shook my head in disbelief.
"Lyla is pregnant, Remus. She's joined the Order, and no one has had anything to say about that." I gave my sister an apologetic look, but she smiled at me.
"I think she should be allowed to make the decision for herself." I gave Lyla and appreciative look, which she returned. "I don't want anything to happen to Alexa, but I also don't want anything to happen to anyone else, and if everyone else was allowed to join then I say she should be able to as well."
I turned to Blair, who shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, Alexa. This is your choice to make and yours alone." She reached over, patting me on the arm in her mother hen way. I sat up straighter in my chair, looking at Dumbledore who had watched the exchange silently, the half-smile ever on his lips.
"Sir, if it's all right with you, I'd like to have a few days to think about it." I couldn't tell what Dumbledore was thinking, and I wanted so badly to take back my words, but I knew that what I was saying was what I wanted. How could I commit to something with all my support if I didn't know that I would be able to be a fighter when the time came? It was selfish, probably one of the most selfish things I had done in my life, but I knew what was coming and what was associated with war. How did I know I'd be able to kill someone, even someone as cruel as Voldemort, when I could barely stomp on a bug?
"I think that is a very smart decision, Miss Parker. I'll expect your answer in a short time, then." He looked at the rest of my friends, to Blair and Lyla who returned his smile, to Remus who did his best to seem unworried, and to James and Sirius who both looked like he'd just told them he wanted Slytherin to win the House Cup. "Now, I'd like a few words with Mr. Potter about his position about Head Boy, but the rest of you may be dismissed. I believe dinner should be starting shortly." We stood up to leave, Sirius pulling the door open and almost running poor Lily Evans over as she stood poised to knock. "Miss Evans, right on time, please come in."
I looked over at Blair, gauging her reaction, but she seemed calm as she placed a chaste kiss on James' cheek, smiled a greeting at Lily, and followed after Sirius. As Remus went on ahead, I walked with Lyla, who was slow going on the staircase as she tried not to fall. "Hey, thanks for sticking up for me in there, Lyls. I know it was just something little, but I appreciate it."
"It's a hard decision to make, Alex. But it's one that I don't want anyone else making for you. And besides, what are sisters for if they don't take your side every once in awhile?" She stepped from the last stair, letting out a breath and frowning down at her pregnant belly. "I can't wait to just give birth."
"Preferably not here in front of Dumbledore's office though, yeah?" I teased and she rolled her eyes. "You know, sisters are also for sharing their cool new digs with their other sister?"
"Ah, yes, let me just tell Remus, who by the way is my husband, that he needs to go back to sleeping in the boy's dormitory. I'm sure that will go over swimmingly. I mean, why would he want to sleep with his wife anyway?" Lyla stated sarcastically, and I shrugged my shoulders and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Anyway, I've heard she snores and likes to keep the room frigid like an icebox. Who would want to sleep with that anyway?" We laughed with each other, making our way towards the Gryffindor common room to change into our robes, me making my way to the girl's dorms while Lyla branched off right before the common room to go to her new rooms. The Fat Lady, who looked less thrilled to see me than she did Lyla, asked for the newest password that I hadn't heard yet.
"I'll need the password to let you in." She said with a very arrogant air about her. I glared, biting my tongue from saying something very rude that would probably get me locked out of the common room for weeks to come.
"Can't you just go to your other portrait and tell someone to come out and let me in? Please?" I was close to losing my mind at this point, but she continued to stare at me with her haughty look. I opened my mouth to let out some stream of colorful curses when the portrait swung open and the Fat Lady let out a huff.
"Sorry, Alex! I forgot you wouldn't know the password yet," Blair said, flustered from what appeared to be running down the stairs half-clothed. Her shirt was on inside out, her skirt sideways and half-zipped, and she was only wearing one sock and shoe. "It's flobberworm, by the way. The password."
"Yes, thank you for clarifying. Here was me thinking you were talking about your new perfume." Blair sent me a horrified look, lifting her shirt up to smell it. "I was kidding, Blair! You don't smell like flobberworms." The laughter coming through in my voice must have been too much for Blair because she gave me a wide-eyed look and then took a calming breath.
"Sorry, I just have been panicking a little over what Dumbledore could be talking to James and Lily about. I mean I know they are supposed to have a dorm to themselves and stuff, but Lily's trunk is on one of the beds upstairs so I don't know what's going on and it's killing me." She took a break from freaking out to walk up the stairs to our dorm faster than a human being should go upstairs, and I trudged along after her, trying to catch my breath. I was definitely not looking forward to walking to class everyday.
"You know, Blair," I started, pausing to catch my breath. Why did we have to go so far up to get to the seventh year dorms? "I would think that you'd be happy that Lily will be in our dorms this year, that way you won't have to worry about James and Lily being in the same area."
"You'd think, but then I started to give it a little more thought. If they don't have the same common area for just them, they'll have to go somewhere else to talk about their duties and stuff, and then he'll have to spend even more alone time with her." She looked at me while flipping her shirt back the right way and buttoning it up. I gave her a patented confused face, and she just threw her hands up. "You don't get it, Alexa. But that's okay."
"Look, you just have to trust James to do what is right. He loves you, and that's all you need to know." I started to pull things out of my trunk, looking for the set of newer robes I had gotten that didn't have ink spilled all over one of the sleeves. As I began to get changed into my school uniform, I gave Blair one last nugget of thought to chew on. "And just in case you refuse to let go of this crazy notion in your head, just remember, don't let James in on the fact that you're crazy."
"Don't you worry. I've got this all under control." Blair said, tapping the side of her forehead in a knowing way. I nodded my head, not believing her for a minute. I pulled my brush from my trunk, walking into the bathroom to brush the knots out of my hair and use the mirror to put my hair up into some semblance of style. When I came out, Lyla was sitting casually on my bed, already in her uniform and flipping through a magazine.
"Hello stealth." I said, scooting her feet off my trunk so I could remove some of my bathroom supplies and claim a sink as my own in the bathroom. "When did you decide to take over my title as Queen of Stealth?" I asked when I came back into the room.
"I've always been stealthy, Alexa, I just let you borrow the crown for awhile." I opened my mouth to protest, but then thought of all the times Lyla had snuck up on me when we were younger, and I closed my mouth. "I knew you'd see it my way."
"Whatever," I said, flipping my hair over my shoulder nonchalantly. "Anyway, where's good old Remus at?" I dumped an armful of clothes into one of the drawers of my wardrobe and went back for another load.
"He's trying to get Sirius to hurry up with changing into his uniform. Shouldn't you be sorting those?" Lyla, I could tell, was itching to get up and do it for me, but I waved her off.
"I have a system. Uniforms in one drawer, socks and under things in another, all other clothes in the last drawer, and anything I deem fancy hanging in the top. What's taking Sirius so long, I wonder?" I shut the last drawer, taking my makeup out of the trunk. I looked at the shoes left inside, shrugged my shoulders, and shut the trunk putting it at the end of my bed. Placing my makeup in the bathroom, I came back to sit at the end of my bed and wait for Blair to be ready.
"He's probably scheming up ways to get you to not join the Order." Blair said as she shut her trunk and placed it under her bed. She took a look at herself in the full-length mirror and nodded at her reflection. "Ready to go?" As we moseyed down to the common room, Blair and Lyla chatted about the upcoming year. We spotted the boys waiting on one of the couches. "Should we wait for James or go ahead without him?"
"I'm starved, so maybe we should just wait for him in the Great Hall?" Lyla said, looking hopeful that we would agree. I shrugged, and followed the rest of the group towards the smell of delicious food.
Sliding my hand into Sirius', I waited for him to look down at me before giving him my most charming smile. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Can we not talk about this right now?" He asked, and I continued to look at him, waiting for him to give in. Running his free hand through his ruffled hair, he let out a sigh. "I'm not happy about it. But you've got to understand, Alex, I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. I've only had you back for a short time and I'm not hoping to let go of you anytime soon."
I felt my heart melt a little at his words, and I snuggled closer to his side, letting go of his hand so he could wrap it around my shoulders while I put my arm around his waist. "I don't want to lose you either. I'm not saying that I'm ready to join it yet, but when and if I am, I'd like it if you would support me in my decision. Plus, if you think about it, we'll have each other to watch each other's backs if it does happen."
"Why don't you just stay home and pine away for me though?" I raised my eyebrows, and he cracked a smile to let me know he was kidding. Squeezing me closer, he let out one of his bark-like laughs, and ruffled my newly brushed out hair. I dodged, moving forward before I turned around and looked back at him. "I'm just imagining you hurling insults at Death Eaters."
"I'll have you know my insults are very stinging." There was laughter from in front of me, and I whipped around to send Remus a very harsh glare. "Don't you laugh at me, Lupin. As my brother in law you are bound to defend me and agree with everything I say."
"Not sure that's actually how it works, Alexa." Remus responded and I let out a long-suffering sigh before letting Sirius catch up to me as we walked with the rest of our friends into the Great Hall.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but that was an extremely disheartening sorting and dinner." I nodded my head in response to Lyla's comment, following the rest of my friends out of the Great Hall. Because both Lily and James were from Gryffindor, they had the duty of taking the first years to the common room. I searched Lyla's face for any sign that she was upset about not being a prefect any longer because of her current situation, but she only seemed tired, not emotional.
"Do you think there's something more that Dumbledore and the teachers aren't telling us? I mean, the attack on the platform probably did send a lot of people home to feel safe, but there were a depressing amount of people gone today." Blair stopped at the top of the stairs to wait for the rest of us as we trudged along after her. We queued up behind a group of third years on the moving staircase so we could get to the Gryffindor dorms, and formed a little circle on the stairs.
"Probably; but with the staff here there's always something going on." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and threw a wink at the passing staircase. I rolled my eyes, reaching up to flick him in the ear. "Hey now! I've got to give the people what they want."
"I wonder if they'd like to see you thrown off this staircase?" I mused aloud, and Lyla let out a small giggle before Sirius gave her an offended look.
"Lyla-darling, really? You would laugh at the jest of your best friend dying?" Sirius placed a hand on his heart, making a pitying look with his signature puppy eyes. "I guess my best friend hugs will just be wasted on someone else then."
Lyla rolled her eyes, reaching over to place her hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I have some bad news for you then, Sirius. If you're going to force me to stop being your best friend then I'll have to find new best friends."
The staircase stopped and we continued to the next, longer set of stairs. The queue was shorter this time, and we reached the top, able to get off at the next platform and walk the short distance to the Common Room. The Fat Lady stood looking at us, making her breasts seem larger by arching her back.
"Anyway, if Sirius is through with being a child, we can get back to the original topic. I'm sure that over the next few days we'll see more people coming into the school. Dumbledore did say that the trains would continue to run for the next few day, and that they would send owls to the students that were missing. It's a pretty safe bet to say that everything is going to go back to normal." Remus, always the voice of reason, assuaged most of our fears with his soothing voice and his smart assessments.
Linking my arm with Blair, we rerouted our positions away from the Fat Lady who was waiting for us to give the signal that we'd like to go inside. "Those are some rousing words of encouragement, Reems, and I thank you for them."
"Now, however, I think we should be introduced to your new digs, don't you?" Blair said, smiling winningly and waiting for Lyla and Remus to give in.
"Yeah, but if we show you where they are then you'll be coming to annoy us any chance you get and can we really afford that?" Lyla retorted, placing her hand on her belly and rubbing slightly. "Though, I guess in all honesty I could do with sitting down."
"Well then! It looks like it's settled. Show us the new pad or be forced to endure the Fat Lady sing." Sirius joked, much to the disparagement of the Fat Lady who let out a 'why, I never!' Remus rolled his eyes, but nevertheless took his captive audience a short walk down the corridor, and stopped in front of the painting of a seascape.
"I swear to the three of you if you use the password to your advantage in any way and we find you in here without our permission," Lyla started, looking over at Remus who nodded along with her.
"We'll find you and we won't hesitate to kill you." Remus finished for her, pointing his wand on the middle cloud above the gently moving painting, and muttering a word under his breath that I couldn't hear. I looked to Sirius, then to Blair trying to see if either of them had heard the word (because Lyla and Remus threatening to kill us was nothing new and nothing too worrying), but it seemed we would have no such luck to use their room as our own personal common area.
"After you," Lyla said, waving her hand in a flourish as the painting jumped open and revealed a small walkway. Sirius led the way, no hesitation evident in his walk, and let out a small gasp as he entered the wide room in which the walkway gave way.
"You all have got to be kidding me! This place is the shit!" Sirius clamped his hand over his mouth, and then looked back at Lyla's stomach. "Sorry, little one. I apologize for those harsh words but once you see your home I'm sure you'll say the same."
"I hardly doubt that Lyla's newborn child is going to use the word 'shit' when they first pop out of her." I said, pushing Sirius further into the room and looking around. Lyla's reprimanding of me went in one ear and out the other as I took in her new home for the year. It was done in soft muted reds and white, gold accents scattered around to hearken back to the Gryffindor common room. There were two plush couches in front of a fireplace that was currently dimmed do to the heat that still lingered after summer.
In one corner of the room was a small kitchenette, with an icebox and small stove. I imagined Lyla or Remus awake late at night with their little baby, warming up bottles of milk and cooing them back to sleep. There were three different doors that lead away from the main room, and I walked over to them. One door was already open, and Blair stood inside what I could see was a baby room. There were a few items that we had brought from Remus and Lyla's apartment, and other things that I assumed had been staffed by the school.
Blair cracked a grin when she saw me, having a small laugh as she looked around. "Please just imagine McGonagall picking out this stuff, especially the little plush toys on the changing table." I smiled along with Blair, not able to stop the giggles that were falling from my lips.
"I wonder if she's a fan of elephants in particular or if someone else picked those out?" There was a group of three elephants in the corner, one clearly a mother, the other the father, and the third the child. I rubbed my hand over the toy's soft fur and smiled. Sirius came into the doorway, popping his head into the room and allowing a small smile to take over. "Have you searched the other two rooms yet?" I asked, walking towards the door to go exploring.
"You're going to flip your lid when you see the bathroom," He said, taking my hand and leading me to the door in the middle of what I assumed would be the main bedroom and then the baby room. When we stepped inside, I felt my mouth drop open. The floors were done in a light white marble, while the double sinks were a beautiful deep blue marble. There was a claw-footed bathtub that looked large enough to fit three or four people in, and in the corner the shower contained three showerheads. There was a view of the grounds and the lake from the far side of the room.
"There is a 90 percent chance that I'm going to leave you for this bathroom," I said, placing my hand on the bathtub and running my fingers over the porcelain.
"You would think that but you really won't because if I find you taking a bath in my tub I'm going to be the saddest of people." Lyla said, laughing as I looked at her in despair. "Come on and look at the bedroom; the bed is probably one of the eight wonders of the world."
As we walked into the main room again, the portrait swung open once more. We waited with baited breath as Lyla and Remus exchanged confused glances, until James stepped in carrying the largest lollypop I had ever seen. "Oh good, you're all here. I was hoping to find you guys." He continued gnawing on the candy, casually looking around the room and making noises of approvement.
"Uhm, sorry, James, not to be rude but how did you get in here?" Remus asked, watching in disbelief as James stuck the whole sucker into his mouth, which stretched widely and made the lewdest noise I had ever heard. My face went crimson as Sirius choked on his laugh beside me. Blair rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, shaking her head at him in disgust. As James pulled the lolly back out again, he grinned like a crazy person.
"Well, this was originally going to be the heads dorms, so I have the password. And really, I have the password to all the common rooms so you shouldn't be so surprised." He shrugged, before continuing to eat his lollypop.
"This is such a gross overuse of power," Blair said, pulling the lolly from his hands and tossing it in the bin in the kitchen area. James made a noise of protest as he looked forlornly at the trash.
"It took me ages to convince that first year that lollypops were forbidden in the castle, Bear!" James pouted as she shook her head at him and placed a well-timed thwack to the back of his ruffled hair.
"Oh, man. It's goo to be back, isn't it?" Sirius asked to the general crowd of the room. Lyla made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat before pulling Blair and I into the main bedroom to make us jealous of her new dorm.
"I'm begging you not to make me go! I can't bear the thought of having class today and seeing the teachers again for the first time. Please!" Begging, it seemed, was futile as Blair dragged me down the staircase Monday morning and I held on for dear life. As James and Sirius waited for us at the bottom of the stairs, I continued to plead.
However, it wasn't long before the stairs turned to a slide and Blair and I both went sliding all the way to the bottom. Now, I'll admit, sliding down seven flights of stairs may seem fun in theory, but by the time we landed in the floor by the boys' feet I felt rather sick. "That was so unfunny I forgot to laugh." Blair stated as she started to pick herself up off the floor.
"Yes, well, it's nice to know that we have a surefire way to get you down the stairs if there is ever another need for it," Sirius said, helping me off the floor and keeping my hand after we were standing. I gave him a short kiss on the lips for his help, and then squeezed his hand as tightly as I could with my own until he grimaced.
"That was for knocking us down the stairs, brat." I gave him a cheeky smile, and then started to take in the surroundings. The Common Room was bustling, as students got ready for the first day of classes. I saw first years on the outskirts of the room, checking their uniforms incessantly to make sure everything was in order. A few of the older kids were tossing the book of a small girl to each other above her head.
Pulling my wand from my skirt, I levitated the book from their grasps and floated it back into the girl's hands. When the boys caught my eye, I gave them a patented Evon Parker glare, which they shrunk back from.
"Come on, Alexa!" Matthew and Xavier said at the same time, and I shook my head at them.
"I will not hesitate to write an owl home to your mother, boys. You may be my cousins but bullying is totally unacceptable." The rolled their eyes at me but ceased their teasing nonetheless. As soon as we were out of earshot of my cousins, I let a pretend shiver come over my body. "A little bit of my mother just came out in my voice, and I don't think I liked it."
"It's my sudden authority rubbing off on you, Alex." James said, and I shoved him some with my free hand as I stowed my wand back in the pocket of my robe.
We took turns exiting the Common Room, and when we were all finally out of the portrait, I heard an exclamation of relief. "Finally! What in the heck have you all been doing for so long? We were supposed to leave for the Great Hall ten minutes ago." Lyla, who apparently had turned into a starving beast since she went to bed last night, grabbed my arm and started to drag me to the stairs.
Since my hand was connected to Sirius' at the moment, he was dragged along as well. He, in turn, grabbed Remus, who grabbed James, who grabbed Blair, and we made a hilarious line of gangly teenagers as Lyla led the way with her pregnant belly hormones. When we reached the Great Hall after almost running over at least ten people in the process, Lyla paused, causing our train to run into each other.
"A little warning next time, big sister." I complained and I rubbed the back of my head, which had just been hit by Sirius' jaw. Peering around Lyla's short frame, I tried to catch a glance of what she was looking at. At the entrance of the Great Hall stood a group of boys, each with the Slytherin insignia on their robes, surrounding a small girl who looked absolutely terrified.
"I'm on it," James said without hesitation, his hatred of the Slytherin house taking precedent over the fact that he shouldn't be getting in trouble now as Head Boy. Sirius and Remus followed him, eternally having his back in all situations. Blair and I stood with Lyla, a safe distance away just in case anything bad were to happen, as we watched it all go quiet. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Well if it isn't our fearless Head Boy. Come to join in our fun?" It was a boy with stark white hair, almost a silvery sheen encompassing his head, with pale skin and what I would describe as a 'hoity toity' nose. James stiffened, and his hand went slowly to his wand resting in his pocket.
"I'll take care of this," James told the young Hufflepuff, who nodded quickly and scurried into the Great Hall. I noticed her be received by a group of three girls who were waiting for her at the entrance. "I want an answer, Malfoy, and I won't be asking again."
My heart caught as I realized this was Lucius Malfoy that was heading the group, one of the meanest Slytherins I had heard of. I knew that Snape carried on with him, and that he took particular pleasure in torturing those he deemed to be beneath him. If there was ever anyone I'd like to see James hex into the next century, it was Lucius Malfoy.
"It's none of your business, Potter." I looked at the person who had spoken, realizing them to be Bellatrix Black, who I had originally figured to be a boy. I refused to let myself giggle as I looked at her bad haircut. My eyes travelled to Sirius, who had stiffened immensely. His hands were tensed, one holding so tightly to his wand that I thought it would snap. Remus, realizing the same thing, put his hand on Sirius' shoulder to restrain him if necessary.
As James opened his mouth to speak, there was a throat clearing from behind all of us. I turned to see Professor Flitwick and Slughorn, who were looking at us expectantly. "If you would all kindly disperse into the Great Hall. Schedules will be handed out soon." Slughorn looked at us all individually, his tone making it clear that if we didn't want to spend our first week back in detention we would do as he said, and then he walked into the hall.
"Just watch your back this year, Potter." With those final words, Malfoy and his posse brushed past us all into the Great Hall. James stood rigid, watching as they disappeared into the crowd at the Slytherin table. Lyla moved from her spot, placing her arm around Remus' waist and walking with him to the Gryffindor table. James took Blair's hand, following along, and I stood back, wrapping my arms around Sirius in a tight hug.
Breathing in deeply, I let the comforting smell of my boyfriend wash over me as he squeezed me back. "Are you okay?" I asked, looking up at his face, which was shrouded slightly by his long hair. I pushed his hair behind his ears, earning a smile as I tickled the skin behind his ear.
"I'll be okay." He gave me one last squeeze before placing his arms around my waist and frog marching me to the table with our friends. As we tucked into the food, we waited for McGonagall to bring us our schedules for our final year of schooling. I held my breath slightly, wondering what the year would bring and if it would bring a schedule that would keep me interested enough to not fall asleep in class any longer.
When McGonagall reached us, she gave us a tight smile before finding the correct documents and handing them to us. "Everyone ready?" Remus asked, and I nodded along with the rest of the group, praying I did well enough on my exams to get back into Transfiguration. "Okay, open them and place them on the table."
We all did so, and I let out a huge sigh of relief when I saw the results. "Thank Merlin," I said, a laugh escaping me as I felt a million stones lighter. Blair laughed at me from next to me, rolling her eyes as I placed my hands on Sirius' face from his spot across from me. "You absolute genius tutor." Kissing him quite soundly, I released him with a flourish, feeling proud as his cheeks turned red.
"Please do not extend those same rewards to the rest of us," Lyla said, but I could tell she was just as relieved as I was that I would be continuing with the rest of the group. I took a moment to look at the schedules, feeling pretty happy with what I saw. On Monday's and Wednesdays, I had Charms with James and Remus, while Lyla and Sirius shared Care of Magical Creatures, and Blair went to Muggle Studies. Then, as luck would have it, we had double Transfiguration and double Defense as a group. On the other three days of the week, I went to double Potions with the group, then we had a free period, the I shared Herbology with James again as Lyla, Blair, and Sirius went to Charms, and Remus sat through Ancient Runes. And finally, it all ended with Astronomy.
"Pretty good haul this year," I heard James say, sounding happy with the results as well.
"Ancient Runes again, Remus?" Lyla said with a laugh and he shrugged his shoulders with a good natured smile.
"One of us needs to keep up with the spell breaking," He teased, placing his hand on her stomach and rubbing lightly before he placed a small kiss on her neck.
Fake retching noises came from all around the table, but they only waved us off. "We are married and we will do as we please." Lyla said in her best authoritative voice. There was a round of 'boos' that did nothing to persuade the married couple to quit their kissing and cooing at each other.
James, saving us from what was sure to be a rousing time and an ensuing food fight, stood up, grabbing a muffin in his hand and his book bag in the other. "Remus, Alexa, let's go give Flitwick a proper welcome from his favorite students."
"Please don't torture the poor man, James," Blair pleaded, but James only gave her a saucy wink in return.
"He can't do too much torture, Blair. I suspect it's the reason they separated James and I for Charms this year." Sirius said, flicking a blueberry from his fruit at Remus as he kissed Lyla once again before preparing to leave as well. "Whatever will we do without each other, Prongs? How will I survive?"
"Just remember, they can't take our love from us. They can separate us, they can place us miles apart, but we'll always have our memories and our love." James and Sirius held their hands out towards each other, their fingers barely touching as Blair stood up between them.
"You two are absolutely ridiculous." She said, rolling her eyes, but reaching up to give James a kiss all the same.
"I guess this is goodbye, my love." Sirius simpered, leaning across the table. I let myself laugh, leaning towards him for a kiss. As our lips separated, I shoved a particularly sticky bit of pudding onto his cheek, grinning evilly as I pulled away. "You wound me so."
"A small price to pay for my love." I retorted, taking my bag from Remus' outstretched hand and waving goodbye to my friends as I walked to the last 'first day' I would have at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.