Monday morning, always known for being the quietest, most dead morning of the week at Hogwarts, found itself jolted into reluctant waking this particular Monday. The source, not too surprisingly, was a certain blonde girl who veered from her usual pigtails to a braid this day. Her abnormally loud screech echoed across the hall as she pounced on Sirius, sending the black-haired boy to the floor.
"Usagi, was that necessary?" He grumbled, listening to the ringing in his ears. Usagi giggled, rolling off of Sirius's back.
"Not exactly, but I really wanted to do it." She answered, grinning up at James, who was cracking up and leaning against the Ravenclaw table. The blonde got several glares as she took her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. Lily and Sirius sat on either sides of her, Lily still giggling. Usagi helped herself to breakfast, grinning to herself.
As she lifted the tray of bacon, a sudden dizziness hit her and it slipped from her hand. The clatter earned her another round of stares from the students in the Great Hall, including Lily and Sirius.
"Sorry, slipped out of my hands," she fibbed, placing a few pieces of bacon on her plate without looking at either of them. Remus, who'd also looked up at the sudden crash, observed Usagi's trembling hands as she lowered her fork carefully towards her plate. Frowning, he turned back to his own plate and decided to ignore it for the time being.
The blonde dismissed her own weak state, concentrating instead on her best friend and the redhead's crush of the past six years. It hit her like a brick, and a grin of immeasurable proportions spread across her face. As the group left for class, Usagi pulled Sirius back from the rest of the group.
"Sirius, I need your help with something," she whispered, watching the group ahead out of the corner of her eye. Smiling wickedly, she explained her plan to Sirius in low tones all the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He pulled back, giving her an indignant look.
"I am not doing that." The dog animagus said flatly, folding his arms across his chest to emphasize his point. The blonde rolled her eyes towards the ceiling as she took a seat behind Lily, next to Remus.
"Please, you only have to do one thing." She countered, sticking her tongue out at him. Sirius rolled his eyes right back, taking his text book from his bag and slamming it on his desk with a loud thud.
"Have you ever considered that maybe it's none of your business? Mine either, for that matter." He went on. Usagi glared, just as Lily turned in her desk with an inquiring look.
"What are you guys arguing about now?" The redhead asked, watching mirthfully as Usagi sent Sirius another haughty glance.
"Sirius is being an uncooperative turd, as usual." She seethed, frowning as Sirius snorted. Lily was suppressing her laughter too, if only at Usagi's delicate wordage. It didn't take long for the rabbit to notice her best friend's humor as well. Even Remus was grinning into his assignment. "Oh shove it, the lot of you!"
"I'm sorry, but when you call Sirius a turd I just can't help but laugh," Lily explained, giggling even more as she repeated it. A grin spread across Usagi's face too as she realized the amusement the term held. Right before the bell rang James sprinted in the class and took a seat behind Usagi, so he could talk to Sirius more effectively than sitting in front or behind him. Usagi turned to speak with him first.
"Why are you so late, James darling? You missed me calling Sirius a turd, which apparently was extremely amusing to everyone." The blonde said, shooting a mock-annoyed glance towards Remus. James laughed as well, which had Sirius sulking as the center of everyone's hilarity.
"Set up, actually. We have potions tomorrow, and it's the perfect time to prank Malfoy," James announced. Usagi grinned merrily.
"Excellent, we won't have to watch the grossest make out session in the world anymore!" She exclaimed, and then added, "Plus, we get to see another lovely prank by the Marauders, masters and entrepreneurs. I should get you guys a business card or something."
"Why Usagi, I'm flattered by your...flattery!" James replied extravagantly, sending Usagi into a fit of giggles and the rest of their group as well.
"James, really, you could be more articulate," she said, still laughing.
"Well, I've more pronounced talents in other areas." He countered smoothly, and for some reason or other, Usagi found this statement hilarious. She burst out laughing, just as their teacher, Professor Quirrell, walked in the classroom. As he shut the classroom door, Usagi whirled in her desk and put a stopper on her laughter.
"Forgive me, Professor, James was just saying he was quite talented, if you can see the humor in that." The blonde grinned, watching with satisfaction as the skirmish teacher cracked a smile. He nodded, not reprimanding her or sending her to Dumbledore, so she sighed with relief. As usual with Usagi, she decided at that moment that she liked this Professor, and resolved to protect him as best she could from the harshness of her fellow classmates.
"S-so, I assigned you an essay l-last class on common Curses. If-If you w-would take those out." Quirrell said, looking across the class as several students began digging in their bags. In the back, one of the students thought it would be amusing to mock his stutter. If only the poor soul had known of Usagi's new resolution. The blonde turned sharply in her desk, throwing one of her folders straight at the guy's head, which it connected with splendidly.
"You think it's amusing to make fun of the teacher?" She asked sharply, now standing over the dazed boy and retrieving her folder. The whole class was watching the spectacle she made of herself as she glared, venom-filled, down at him.
"I have several nasty hexes in line if any of you see fit to utter another mutinous peep. You two as well, don't be arses." The braided girl sent an annoyed glance at Sirius and James, who were muttering to themselves, probably about her. James sent her a nasty hand gesture under his desk, which she mirrored unflinchingly as she retook her seat.
"What's got you so bitchy lately, you've been way uptight all year." The bespectacled boy muttered as the Professor continued about his lesson. Apparently stunned, though, that someone had stood up for him with such ferocity. The boy in the back still quivered slightly in his chair.
"I don't know, stupid things getting to me I guess," Usagi shrugged, jotting down a few lines of nonsense on the bottom of her essay to meet the criteria and passing it forward. She reached her hand over her shoulder for James's, but he waved her off.
"I didn't do it."
"Slacker. How do you pass?" She asked, shaking her head in disapproval. James grinned at her.
"I ace all the exams; perfect scores in most of my classes last year."
"You know, I really hate people like you." She replied with some resentment, chuckling as Lily turned to ask why the last paragraph of her essay was about teenage boys. Her answer, simply, was, "Because they're the real common curses."
An odd moment, Usagi and Sirius had the common completely to themselves due to an early departure from dinner.
"Come on, just take it. You can blame it on me later if he finds out!" Usagi persisted, pressing the neatly folded parchment in Sirius's palm. The black-haired boy looked grudgingly down at the article in his hand and back up at his pale-haired companion.
"Some people might call this meddling. James would never send something like that, anyway," He protested pointing to the parchment Usagi was currently folding. She glared at him sharply before tucking it in her bag.
"Look, I just want you to stuff the note in some of his things. It's not rocket science; it's no crime against humanity. If you don't do it, I'm going to the ball with Remus and we're going to be Vampires together." She trailed her sentence dreamily, batting her eyelashes for the annoying schoolgirl effect.
"You're such an evil, manipulative devil woman." Sirius ranted, tucking the note in his pocket sloppily and looking quite upset with himself. Usagi grinned cheekily.
"No, Sirius, I'm simply a female. You, however, are a whiny twit of a man. Or should I say boy?" The blonde squealed as the dog animagus lunged for her, jumping out of the way. The origin of her name seemed most fitting as she hopped around the common room like a wary rabbit, avoiding Sirius. Eventually, Sirius caught up with her reflexive movements and tackled her over the arm of the couch.
"Well hello there, you're awfully close mister." Usagi breathed, giggling lightly. She squirmed under Sirius, but it was like fighting a dead weight, the black-haired boy wouldn't budge. He grinned down at her, their faces merely inches apart.
"I win," As he moved in to claim her lips, the portrait hole suddenly swung open to a crowd of chattering fourth year Gryffindors. Panicked, Usagi found her Wonder Woman strength and gave Sirius a mighty shove off of her. The loud yell of pain that followed directed the group of fourth-year's attentions toward the duo.
"Christ, Usagi, there's a table there!"
"Well that's not my fault, I don't arrange the furniture!" The yelling match continued, and without witnessing a thing, the students dismissed it as a normal squabble between the two of them.
Lily burrowed backwards, deeper into her pillow, as she turned the thin pages of her Defense Against the Dark Arts text book in search of reference. Subconsciously, she wiggled her nose, a frequent habit when she concentrated even though she was unaware of it. The only people who really knew about it were possibly Usagi, a few random students, and, well, James.
As she turned to the page she was searching for, she noticed the folded parchment lodged in the binding between the pages. Her delicate eyebrow crinkled, she lifted the note in her hands and seen it was addressed to her, in sloppy handwriting. Intrigued, as anyone would be, she unfolded it and read.
Lily,
I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to the Halloween Ball. Meet me in the Entrance Hall tomorrow morning before breakfast to tell me your answer.
James
Lily blinked, uncertain, and had to reread the note several times before it hit her. James asked her to the ball! She sprinted to the bathroom, looking in the mirror at the redness of her face. As Usagi would say, it matched perfectly with her hair color. Wetting a washcloth, Lily wiped her face with it and dried it with the hand towel hanging next to her.
When she turned back to the mirror, she seen it did little to cool the warmth in her cheeks. Crawling back into her four-poster, she lifted the parchment to her, intent on reading it once more.
"A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down--" Usagi stopped, tilting her head sideways at her redheaded friend. The scrutiny didn't go unnoticed for long; Lily let out a yelp of surprise as she looked up at the blonde.
"I-I didn't even hear you come in!" She exclaimed, making Usagi snort with laughter.
"Funny, I was singing at the top of my lungs." The blue-eyed girl laughed, flopping down across from Lily on the bed. "What's up?"
"Well, um," she started, looking suddenly quite timid. Usagi, the exact opposite, snatched the parchment briskly from clenched fingers and read over it, her eyebrow arched.
"He really isn't very eloquent." She commented, handing the note back to Lily before laughing, "I assume you're going to say yes?"
"Well...yes," Lily responded, looking quite red in the face again. Giggling to herself, Usagi switched to her own bed and dug a night gown out of her trunk. Tumbling around her four-poster, she managed to change into the clothing without standing up, and tossed her robes off her bed. Lily watched the whole spectacle, trying to calm herself, and rolling her eyes as Usagi smirked with triumph.
"G'night, Lily dearest," she grinned, shutting the curtain around her bed, and celebrating her own victory behind it. Now, she could only hope, James took to his own note just as well. It wouldn't take the two of them long to figure out they'd been deceived, but by then the both of them should've already said yes.
Now that she'd set that straight, she had one more very important thing to figure out. 'What am I going to dress up as for the ball?'
When Lily woke up the next morning, painfully early, Usagi's curtain was still pulled tightly closed, and her robes in a heap on the floor. The blonde was clearly still sleeping, so the redhead slipped off as silently as possible. Changing into her robes, the green-eyed girl checked her reflection in the mirror.
Creeping back to her trunk, she located a black hair tie and returned to the mirror. She pulled her mass of wavy hair in a ponytail, expecting it to look quite messy. Instead, it turned out quite elegant, so she kept it, pulling her bangs down to frame her face.
Careful not to make noise, she went back into the dorm, grabbed her school back, and headed down into the Gryffindor common room. She briefly congratulated herself for not waking Usagi, before leaving the Gryffindor tower all together. Little did she know, Usagi was much awake and had left fifteen minutes earlier.
As it were, Usagi spotted the perfect place to hide while observing the results of her scheme. Her mood was exquisite, but she knew if James's answer didn't start with a 'y' and end with an 'es' there would be one dead Gryffindor the following morning.
Her concentration wavered, but it quickly returned as she seen her best friend descending the staircase into the Entrance Hall. James had yet to arrive, so Lily stood idly off to the side of the stairs to wait for him. Usagi figured, from this distance, she should be able to hear them as long as they didn't whisper.
There were few other students roaming around this hour; only a few early birds who looked forward to an early breakfast, a quiet breakfast. Usagi munched on a piece of toast she'd snagged before hiding, grinning as she seen James sprinting down the stairs. His hair looked particularly messy this morning, and his bag was sloppily dangling over his shoulder, but he offered up a slight grin as he made eye contact with Lily.
Usagi stuffed a large piece of the toast in her mouth to stifle her laughter, as the both of them went equally red. For being the smooth-talking Gryffindor he claimed to be, James was at a complete loss for words. Even Lily, who Usagi knew to be very straightforward and confident, was looking down at her muggle tennis shoes with interest.
"My answer's yes!" The both of them yelled, loudly, and simultaneously. A small group of Ravenclaws sent them odd glances as they entered the Great Hall, and Usagi covered her face with her hands, laughing. They shared confused glances, wondering why they were both offering answers. Then Usagi's familiar laughter reached them, and they whirled towards the blonde's hiding spot.
Figuring she'd rightly been caught, Usagi revealed herself, still shaking with laughter. Lily marched right over and whacked her aside the head, looking like she would rather strangle her. James appeared proportionally upset, but thought better of hitting a girl in any way.
"Usagi...! This is just," and Lily let out a groan of pure frustration. Usagi stifled her humor throwing her arms around their shoulders.
"You guys, it's not that bad. You both said yes, your true feelings are revealed and now you can make out at the Halloween Ball!" She said in a singsong voice, jumping away from Lily as she made to strike her again. Sprinting towards the staircase, she leapt the stairs three at a time laughing like a maniac the whole way.
"Well...um...I guess we're going to the ball together then." James said offhandedly. Though he tried to sound casual, he was obviously prodding, making sure Lily really did want to go with him. Her cheeks flushed a nice shade of red.
"I guess so," she nodded.
"You're pansies, the both of you!" The hyperactive rabbit shouted, somewhere at the top of the swirling stairs, still cackling. As she turned the corner, intent on fetching her school things from the tower before having her formal breakfast, she ran headlong into Sirius as was usual for her. The dog animagus looked annoyed, more so than normal.
"Oi Usagi, watch where you're going. I thought I heard you laughing like a hyena down here." He grumbled, looking down at her scornfully. She grinned up at him, cheeky as always.
"Lily and James are deep, emotional lovers now, don't you know?" She sang, laughing at the look on Sirius's face. As she whirled, though, her world spun more than it should and she lost balance. For the first time all morning, the grey-eyed boy cracked a smile.
"Air-headed klutz," he teased as Usagi returned to her feet. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and his smile faded to concern.
"Hey, remember when you caught me the other day?" She asked after a moment, expression as somber as ever. He nodded. "I think you'll need to be doing that again."
"Wha...?" Sirius didn't even get the whole word out before Usagi's eyes fluttered; she swayed on her feet, and fell forward into him. Wide-eyed, he caught her reflexively so they both didn't go toppling to the floor. Easing her toward the ground, he shook her shoulders gently, trying to rouse her to no avail.
Lifting the unconscious girl in his arms, he set out for the Hospital Wing, taking a shortcut by way of secret passage. He was, after all, one of the writer's of the Marauder's Map. Unable to use his hands, he kicked the door open with one go, much to the displeasure of the nurse.
Once she saw the pale, unresponsive Usagi in the brash boy's arms, she let her reproach subside and pointed at the nearest bed. Sirius placed Usagi there obediently and moved back so the nurse would have plenty of room to operate.
She hovered over the girl for several minutes, checking pulses and Merlin knows what else, while Sirius recounted what had happened in detail. The nurse pulled back from the still blonde, looking quite perplexed.
"She's not harmed physically that I see. She seems to be passed out from exhaustion, or sleep deprivation, or something similar." The nurse bustled over to a medicine cabinet, unlocking it and reading through the labels, while Sirius looked on. "Any strange behavior?"
"Well, she was acting loopy, but that's normal for Usagi." The black-haired boy answered. The head nurse sent him an unreadable look, but she looked irritated as she snatched one of the bottles from the medicine cupboard. She rushed back to the bed, and parting the unresponsive girl's lips, slowly trickled the concoction down it.
Usagi sputtered, choking on the mixture even in her oblivious state. Coughing violently for a few moments, she finally took in a full breath and fell back into her pillow as still as when she arrived. The mediwitch looked even more perplexed, reading the label on the brown bottle in her hands again to make sure she had the right one.
"That's strange..." The woman muttered, walking back to the cabinet and sifting through the labeled bottles again. She returned with another brown container, but the results were pretty much the same, except Usagi hacked on even longer than before. The nurse turned to him, much paler than when he'd arrived. "Go fetch Dumbledore." He didn't need to be told twice.
So, this was fun to write, exceedingly. Usagi is collapsed! Egads! Um...don't hurt me! Encourage me! Review!
♥SachiNyoko♥