So sorry for the late update but when you have one person working 7 days a week and another working 2 jobs it can be a handfull! So we made a long chapter for our readers (if we still have readers) to enjoy! Hope you have had a good summer!
Phoebe and Sadie
Chapter 9:
Sirius was staring meticulously at the cup in front of him. He peered down into the depth of the orange juice inside. It didn't look any different from regular pumpkin juice. Did he really put the potion in? Did he put enough in? He took out the bottle and looked at it. He was only supposed to put a drop in, but he didn't think it was enough. He tipped the bottle the rest of the way and watched a pink cloud rise and form a heart before disappearing. He looked into the cup again. It still didn't look any different. Maybe a whole bottle wasn't enough. Maybe he should make some more. Just then, Nikki walked through the portrait. He hid the bottle in his robes and turned to face her with a smile on his face. She eyed him suspiciously, slowing her pace until she was about seven feet away before coming to a stop.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing. What would give you the idea that I was plotting something?" She glared at him.
"Another one of your plans and you're toast," she said in a low voice. His smile widened.
"Why Nikki darling, I wouldn't dream of it."
"Sure you wouldn't," she said sarcastically. He looked concerned.
"You look a little dehydrated. What something to drink?" he asked offering her the cup. She looked at it and laughed.
"Oh please Sirius. Don't treat me like I'm stupid."
"Humor me. Please?" he asked giving her the puppy dog eyes. Her laughter subsided and she looked skeptically at him.
"You probably put some sort of potion in it." Sirius shook his head.
"What makes you think that!"
"Only that it was sitting here with you the whole time," she said.
"C'mon. You do really look like you could use something to drink," he said. She considered it for a moment.
"I'll go to the kitchens. I could use the exercise." Sirius pleaded with her yet again.
"I poured this for myself and decided that I didn't want it. Don't let it go to waste."
"Then you should have thought of that before you poured shouldn't you?"
"Just take it," he said thrusting it toward her. She looked down at it and sniffed it. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You swear you didn't put anything in it?" Sirius nodded his head, crossing his fingers behind his back. She scrutinized it for yet another moment before she sipped it. He watched her evaluate the taste before drinking it all. All of a sudden, it fell from her hand and her eyes widened, as her body stiffened. He looked at her and smiled to himself. All of a sudden, she closed her eyes and opened them again. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and stepped in front of her to put it on. She smiled up at him, a daze in her eyes. He smiled down at her.
"Stay still," he said.
"Ok," she said simply as he blindfolded her. "Is this some sort of game?"
"Yup. It's a fun game, a game where you're blindfolded at the beginning." He led her to a chair. "Sit down and hold still ok?" He guided her into the chair and began to tie her up. She sat perfectly still and let him tie her. He then took another handkerchief from his pocket and gagged her. "I'll be right back ok?" She nodded her head.
"Murgphf." He ran from the room and into the library. He found Remus reading a book.
"Remus! Remus! It's Nikki! She's tied up." Remus bolted to his feet.
"What happened?"
"It's Frank! He's turned wild! He tied up Nikki, then left." Remus looked skeptically at him and sat back down.
"Nice try, now leave me alone!"
"But you do care for her right?"
"Of course I do!"
"Well, just to let you know, she really is tied up." Remus glared at him.
"Why don't you untie her?"
"Because she'll kill me for tying her up in the first place!"
"And she didn't put up a fight?"
"Nope."
"Because the Nikki I know wouldn't have just sat and let you tie her up like that."
"She's changed," Sirius said.
"How?" Remus asked eyeing him.
"I guess you'll have to find out won't you?" Remus stood.
"Ok then," he said with a sigh. "Lead the way." Sirius led him up to the common room. They both saw Nikki waiting there patiently tied to the chair. She was gagged and blindfolded. Remus looked over to Sirius.
"Was this really necessary?"
"Of course it was! Why else do you think I did it?" Remus sighed and went to her. He undid her restraints and took out the gag. He undid the handkerchief around her eyes. She looked wide-eyed up at him and blinked.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah." She looked around and spotted Sirius. She got up and pranced over to him. She hugged him and laid her head on his chest. She looked up at him after a few moments. "I don't like that game," she said. Sirius' eyes widened and he looked up at Remus, who looked thoroughly vexed.
"I guess she has changed. Happy now?" Sirius vigorously shook his head and pushed Nikki away from him.
"No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! She's supposed to be in love with you!"
"Oh yeah? Well it looks like she isn't. Thanks for rubbing it in my face that she likes one of by former best friends better," he said as he stalked through the painting. Sirius looked at Nikki.
"What are you doing!" She blinked her wide eyes. "You're supposed to be in love with him!"
"What ever are you talking about?" she asked with a small laugh. She came up to him and ran her finger down his chest. "You're the more perfect one. Your dark hair and… dangerous eyes," she said as she lifted her hand to his cheek. "How did I ever miss you? Never mind with him. You're nothing compared." Sirius was amazed for a moment, at who he was talking to, but then he remembered the potion and he wickedly smiled down at her. She smiled back.
"Tell me love, would you do anything for me?"
"Name it," she said simply. Thoughts raced in Sirius' mind. He could make her do anything he wanted, and then turn and fling them in her face.
"Well love," he said wrapping his arm around her. "I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship," he finished leading her out of the common room. Sirius held his head high with all the whispers from the students around them. Nikki had her head against his chest and didn't seem to mind it all. She looked up at him dreamily. All of a sudden, there was a mob or girls standing in front of them.
"Summers," one of them said to her. She looked at them.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"How dare you? You whore! You have now had two of the Marauders!" She blinked at them.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Sirius is the only one I want. He's handsome, and sexy, and hot, and…" She caressed his face. He smiled down at her.
"You do know I'm recording this conversation right?" he asked her. She smiled.
"Who cares," she replied. He smiled down at her.
"And I'm going to use it against you when you come around," he said.
"Against me? What ever did I do to you?" she asked. "I must have been under a spell if I ever did anything to you," she said. Sirius laughed and led her out of the castle. They ran into Lily, Alice, Frank and James. Their mouths all dropped at the sight.
"Sirius! What did you do to her!" Lily shrieked at the sight of Nikki stoking his hair.
"What makes you think I did anything to her?" he asked with a smile. "I'm telling you that she did this all on her own. She finally found a good man for her," he said.
"Remus is going to kill you Padfoot," James replied staring wide eyed at Nikki.
"Nikki! Get over here," Lily said pointing to the ground in front of her. Nikki sneered at her.
"Who are you? My mother? I'm staying with Sirius right here." Lily glared at her. Nikki stuck out a bright purple tongue.
"Oh my God! Your tongue!" Alice exclaimed.
"What's wrong with my tongue?" Nikki asked sticking it out and trying to look down at it. She looked back up at Alice.
"It's bright purple," she said.
"Huh, that's weird. I don't taste anything," she replied.
"Sirius! I can't believe that you put her under the love potion!" Lily yelled.
"How much potion did you put in Sirius?" Frank asked cautiously.
"I don't want to know," Lily replied.
"Not that much," Sirius said indignantly.
"I didn't know you wanted Nikki that badly," James teased.
"I don't want Nikki," he said pushing her away. "The potion was meant for her to fall in love with Remus," he said.
"Not another of your plans," Lily groaned.
"I put it in her drink and she took it. Then I tied her up, blindfolded her and had Remus untie her. She looked right at him, but the potion didn't work."
"No, I think it worked alright. I think that when you blind folded her, you stepped in front of her." Sirius thought for a moment.
"Oh… Oops," he said. Lily smacked herself into the forehead. Sirius looked at her. "Careful with that one James. She's a bit crazy," he whispered.
"I heard that you dolt," Lily said.
"Oh."
"What are we going to do about this?" Alice asked looking at Nikki, who was still trying to see her tongue. Lily sighed.
"We just have to wait it out I guess."
"How long do you think that will take?" Frank asked.
"Depends on how much potion he put in," Lily said looking at Nikki. "It could be a couple hours or… like ten." She looked at Sirius. "How much did you put in?" she asked. He shrugged also looking at Nikki.
"Not too much," he said.
"How much is that?" Alice asked.
"Don't you trust me?" he asked looking at Alice and giving her his puppy dog eyes. Alice hesitated.
"No," Lily interjected for both of them.
"Almost had her too," Sirius said with a scowl.
"So how much did you put in Sirius? And what did you put it into?" Lily asked.
"I put it in a cup of pumpkin juice and I just put in a little bit," he said.
"How much is a little bit?" Lily continued.
"A couple drops," he said. Lily relaxed.
"Good, she'll only be like this for a couple of hours." Sirius looked around.
"Well, now that we've figured it all out, I guess I'll be leaving now." Lily looked at him suspiciously.
"How big were those drops?" she asked. He looked at her sheepishly.
"Maybe they were just a bit bigger than normal," he said quietly. Lily held out her hand. Sirius looked at it. "What?" he asked.
"The vial," she said. Sirius sighed and stuck his hand in his robe, pulling out the empty vial. He dropped it in her open hand. All four stared at it with their mouths wide open.
"You put this whole bottle in!" Lily cried. He shrunk away from her.
"Maybe," he answered. She threw the bottle at him. "I didn't think there was enough in the drink," he explained.
"You moron! Do you have any idea what you've done!"
"Um Lily, how long will Nikki be in love with Sirius?" James asked cautiously.
"Two days," Alice answered.
"Two days!" Frank exclaimed. They all looked at Nikki. She stared at them blankly before retreating behind Sirius.
"Why are they looking at me like that?" she whispered. Sirius smiled down at her and looked back at Lily.
"This can be a good thing," Sirius said.
"How can this be a good thing Sirius!" Lily yelled.
"Well, just think. What an awesome prank this would be. I mean, she'll do anything I tell her to do, and then I can shove it back in her face," he said excitedly.
"I can't believe you," Lily said. "No wait, yes I can. It would be just like you to do something as low as this," she said shoving him aside. She grabbed Nikki by the arm a dragged her back up to the school.
"Where are you taking me? I want Sirius," she whined.
"Well Sirius is a little busy," Lily replied. Nikki looked back at him.
"No he's not. He's just standing there doing nothing. Let me go."
"Like I said, he's busy." Lily pushed her through the school and into the common room. She pushed her into a seat and quickly tied her to the chair.
"I don't like this game," Nikki whined.
"This isn't a game Nikki. Now listen to me." She looked Nikki straight in the eye. "Sirius has you under a love potion. You are really in love with Remus got that? Sirius is using you. You don't love Sirius." Nikki blinked.
"He put me under the love potion?" she asked. Lily smiled. Was this actually working?
"Yes he did. He's going to make you do things that you wouldn't normally do, then he's going to use them against you," Lily said. Nikki looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Naw. He wouldn't do that to me. He loves me." Lily sighed.
"So hopeful," she said to herself. She looked back up at Nikki. "I'm going to find an antidote for you. Stay right here." Nikki blinked and tried the restraints. They held her fast to the chair.
"Ok," she said. Lily walked out of the common room and headed towards the Potions room. Maybe she should get Alice to watch Nikki. She shook her head. The restraints would hold her there. She continued to the room.
Back in the Common room.
Nikki tried the restraints again, but they still held her to the chair.
"Damn that girl! I don't even know who she is and she's got me tied up!" She looked around the room and started to hum to herself. All of a sudden, she heard someone coming through the portrait. She looked over at it and saw Sirius sneak through. He looked around the room and spotted her. "Sirius! You've come to rescue me!" she said excitedly. He smiled at her and went to her side.
"Yes my love. I'm your knight in shining armor." She sighed a dreamy sigh and batted her eyelashes. Sirius' smile widened. He quickly untied her and helped her up. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to kiss him. He looked wide-eyed at her and quickly stepped away. She looked at him funny.
"Something the matter?" she asked.
"Yes, um, I… uh… got a cold soar. Yeah that's right. I…uh don't want you to catch it," he said. He held his breath.
"That's funny. I don't see a cold soar," she said looking at him.
"I…uh…used this new stuff. It…um…makes them invisible. You know, can't ruin my superior complexion," he said quickly.
"Oh, well why didn't you just get that stuff that's gets rid of it?" she asked.
"Oh… well… I uh… didn't have enough money with me at the time. Yeah that's it." He laughed nervously. "I guess you got to just roll with the punches." She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then just shrugged her shoulders and walked up next to him wrapping her arm around his.
"Ok," she said. "Let's get out of here before that girl ties me up again." Sirius nodded and they rushed out of the room.
Lily was walking back from the potions room when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked behind her and saw James smiling down at her. She smiled back.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey yourself," he replied wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "What have you been up to?" he asked looking at the books and parchment in her hands. Lily looked down at them and they began walking toward the common room.
"Just looking for an antidote for Nikki."
"Oh. Did you find anything?" Lily sighed.
"Unfortunately no. I guess I'll just have to keep Nikki under lock and key for the next couple of days." They reached to door to the common room and went inside. Lily looked around the room and froze. James felt her tense and looked around also. He spotted a chair by the window with ropes around the floor of it.
"Wow, I guess you really meant it when you said you were keeping Nikki under lock and key."
"Oh no. She's gone!"
"Yeah. Looks that way doesn't it?" James asked. She dropped everything on the ground and rushed over to the chair. She picked up the ropes. James followed her and looked at the chair. "You really tied her up?" he asked. He put on a mock serious face. "I know you two have had some rocky times, but I've never seen it go this far."
"This is serious James! Do you know what he'll do to her if he finds her!"
"If who finds her?" he asked.
"Sirius of course! He probably untied her. We've got to find her now!"
"Lily, this is probably not as bad as you think. Just relax, I mean Sirius is not going to do anything too bad."
"Of course he will! He's Sirius. Don't tell me you forgot about the fact that they're kind of in the middle of a prank war." James winced.
"Oh yeah that's right. But I mean, still…"
"James, let's be practical here ok? She's under a spell. She'll do anything he wants. He's going to record all conversations and take pictures of things that she normally wouldn't do, then humiliate her in front of the entire school. James, this is very serious. We've got to find her before…" her face paled.
"Before what?"
"Oh my… what if he…" she put her hand up to her forehead and looked in disbelief at the floor at her feet. James thought about it a moment.
"No! He would never do that to her! Plus, Remus would be totally shattered if he did that. Lily! How could you even think that!" She looked up at him.
"James! Look at what he does to women all the time! It was totally possible." James shook his head.
"Not to Nikki he wouldn't. No, he wouldn't hurt Remus like that. Merlin Lily! He's not heartless."
"Well, how should I know what he will and won't do! He's your friend, not mine!"
"I wouldn't hang with him if he did that. Don't you trust me? If you did, you would trust me enough to trust the friends I hang out with."
"Well James, after all the pranks you've pulled on me and my friends through out our years at Hogwarts, I don't know what to trust." James' face grew slightly red, then dulled. He sighed in defeat.
"I guess your right."
"Now will you help me find Nikki before that moron does something to her?"
"Just keep your cool Lils," he said with his palms facing her in a defensive position. "Remember that this is just a prank ok?"
"A pretty foolish one on his part. When will he learn that whatever he does to her, she'll do tenfold back to him?" James laughed.
"He is pretty stubborn," he said. "Kind of like someone else I know." Lily smiled slightly.
"Very funny. Let's just find him ok? Where should we start?" James shrugged. "James!"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know! He's your friend. Don't you have some idea?" James shook his head.
"Nope, not really. He's kind of… well you know… unpredictable." Lily smacked her hand to her forehead.
"Well, where do you think Sirius would go?" James looked thoughtfully at the ceiling before looking back at Lily.
"There's a slight problem with that."
"What?"
"Sirius would either go to the kitchens, or the girl's bathroom. However, he's trying to hide Nikki, so… he probably wouldn't go to either." Lily sighed.
"Well then, what should we do?"
"How about we ask him next time we see him?" James suggested.
"Are you crazy! He'll probably be done with her by then!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" She sighed.
"No."
"Then, what do you want to do about this?"
"Well, I guess we should just start looking around."
"That's going to take forever," James groaned.
"Better get started then huh?" She walked passed him and out the door.
A few days later and Nikki and Sirius were still no where to be found. The map had been lost for a few days now and to many rooms for all of them to be checked through.
Lily had dragged James up and down stairs and all around the school looking for the two. Days later Lily came across a room where noises could be heard. Walking in she found Nikki tied to a chair and a screen playing all the horrible things she did while under the love potion. Sirius was laughing in a corner until he saw Lily. Printed posters were in the middle of the floor flashing Nikki in humiliating outfits.
"What are you doing Sirius?" Lily yelled. She ran over and released Nikki from the chair who began crying and running out of the room.
"I was just going to post these and make Nikki the laughing stock of the school," Sirius explained collecting some of the posters. Lily made them disappear with a swish of her wand.
James was wandering around the halls looking for his girlfriend who seemed to have disappeared when he saw Nikki running down the hall crying and muttering about Sirius and what an ass he was. Sprinting into the room Nikki came out of, James came across an angry Sirius and a furious Lily.
"Hey James, you know, some help would be of use right now," Sirius said to James. He shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean!"
"It means that he's taking my side on this," Lily said. Sirius glared at James.
"No. No it's not. It's just that…" Lily rounded on him.
"What!"
"I'd rather not be in the middle of this whole thing," he said sheepishly.
"James Potter. I can't believe that you don't find any of what he did wrong. How can you be so senseless!"
"I never said that I didn't think it was wrong I just…"
"James! How can you leave me out to dry like that! After all we've been through," Sirius interrupted. James looked at him.
"What? That's not what I meant…"
"Oh so now your on his side," Lily said with her hands on her hips. He whirled to face her.
"No, that's not what I…"
"James, how can you still be on his side after seeing what he did to Nikki?"
"It was a prank Lily. It's not like she got hurt, I mean, look at what she's done to us," Sirius yelled.
"I wasn't talking to you! How can you still be on his side?" she repeated to James.
"He's my best mate Lils, but I'm still with you too," he reasoned.
"Look James, you can't have both. If you're going to side with him, I don't see how we can be."
"No Lils, wait…" She raised her eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"I'll talk to Sirius ok?"
"So, you've turned yet again," Sirius said behind him. He whirled around.
"Not the time Sirius. We'll talk later ok?"
"No, we'll talk now. What's gotten into you mate? You used to stick up for me no matter what. Now you've turned on your best friend."
"Look Sirius, right now I'm trying not to loose my girlfriend ok?"
"You mean ex-girlfriend?" Lily said from behind. James whirled around.
"What? No. What do you mean ex?"
"I mean that if you're going to stand up for Sirius and feel that what he did was alright, we can't be. There's too much difference between us James. This isn't working. We've already broken up once. Obviously there's something wrong here."
"No Lils. Don't do this. C'mon, he's my best mate. I'll talk to him. He'll come around."
"What!" James waved behind him for Sirius to be quiet.
"No James. I'm sorry." Lily turned and went out of the common room.
"I can't believe this," Sirius said from behind him. James ran his hands through his hair.
"Tell me about it," James mumbled.
"I can't believe you didn't stick up for me." James whirled around.
"What?"
"After all we've been through, how come you didn't stick up for me!"
"Sirius, I just lost my dream girl over this!"
"Oh, so you're going to choose her over your best mate!"
"No… yes… maybe… I don't know." James shook his head. "Look Sirius. It was funny at first, but then you took it a little too far."
"It was a prank James. And a damned good one too. I mean look at what she's done to me!"
"I know, but Lily does have a point."
"I can't believe this! Listen James. Obviously you've got some problems ok? But still, best friends stick up for each other no matter what. I'd do the same for you no matter what. Looks like you don't feel the same way," he said glaring at James.
"Now don't you start too, I'm still your best friend, but this case is slightly different."
"No. It's not. And I'm not your best mate any more either."
"What! Sirius…"
"If you're not going to be there for me, I've got to find me some new friends." He stormed out of the common room. James sighed and ran both hands through his hair.
"What the fuck is happening! Why!" he yelled to no one in particular. He trudged up the stairs and closed the door to the dormitories behind him.
"What's up James?" someone asked. He looked up and saw Remus lying on his back on his bed.
"I just lost Lily and Sirius in about five minutes."
"I heard. Me too, although I must admit, it was a bit quicker than that."
"So what do we do?"
"I don't know." Remus sat up. "Let's go to the room of requirement." James shrugged.
"Why not." They got up and went from the room.
Moments later, they stood in front of a blank wall staring at the stone.
"So… what do we say?" James asked.
"I don't know. How about… a room to go to when you've lost the love of your life and your best friend in less than five minuets?" All of a sudden a door appeared. Remus grabbed the handle and pulled. It opened into a casket showing room. Remus shut the door disgustedly. "Not that kind of loss. Fine then, be picky. We need a room to go in after the love of our life breaks up with us and then our best friend becomes…" he paused to think, "not our best friend anymore." The door changed. James pulled it open. They walked into a dark room. After the door closed, soft blues music started to play and the room became dimly lit. There were bottles everywhere. James and Remus frowned at each other. James picked up a bottle and his eyebrows rose.
"Wow this room is good."
"What is it?" James held it up to him.
"Fire whiskey," he said.
"Well then, I guess its bottom's up." Remus picked up another bottle and they both started to drink away their sorrows.
Lily walked into the library. Nikki was sitting at the table reading a book. Alice was sitting across from her. They both looked up as Lily slunk into the chair next to Nikki. Both girls frowned at each other, then at her.
"What's up Lils?" Nikki asked.
"I can't believe…" she started.
"What?" Alice coaxed.
"I just broke up with James," she said staring blankly at the table.
"You what?" Nikki asked.
"Uh oh," Alice replied.
"What happened?"
"He stood up for his best friend and I broke up with him. I was yelling at Sirius and he said he would talk to him. He kept changing sides and when he went more toward Sirius than me, I broke it off."
"Oh Lily. Why did you do it? This is all my fault. I just should have handled it myself," Nikki said shaking her head.
"I can't believe what a terrible person I am. I made James choose between me and his best friend." Alice shook her head in disbelief.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll just go back up to the common room and talk it out with him. He'll probably never want to see me again though," she groaned bringing her hands up to cover her face.
"No, he'll listen. Just… you know… tell him how you feel," Nikki reassured.
"Look who's talking," Lily said eyeing her through her fingers.
"I beg your pardon! I'm only trying to help you," she said indignantly.
"Please you two. Merlin you fight like sisters. This isn't the time nor the place," Alice said harshly. Both girls looked over at her and apologized. "Now, let's get you back up there Lily so you can have a chat with James." All three got up and went to the common room.
James and Remus stumbled into the corridor singing to the tune playing inside the room, each with a half empty bottle of fire whisky in hand. They fell onto the floor.
"Sheesh James. Could you be any clumsier?" Remus slurred out.
"Look who's talking Mooney. You're on the bottom." Remus looked down at the floor underneath him.
"Would you look at that? How did that floor get there?" he asked.
"I don't know, but it's kind of cold don't you think?"
"Get off of me." James stumbled off Remus and sat up. Remus sat up. Both men lifted the half empty bottles in the air.
"To…" James started, swaying. "I don't know. To fire whisky and its magic," he said.
"Sounds good." Both boys lifted the bottles to their lips and flung their heads back. Just then, both fell back to the floor. James noticed a pair of shoes in front of him. He looked up and met the twinkling blue eyes of Dumbledore.
"Hiya Dumbly," he slurred.
"Dumbly," Remus repeated. Both laughed drunkenly.
"How's it going up there?" James asked when his laughter subsided.
"I think the better question is what are you two doing?" They sat up and lifted the bottles in the air.
"To whatever we're doing," they said in unison and threw back their heads.
"I think that's enough for tonight," he said. Instantly the two bottles were whisked back into the room.
"Hey, I wasn't done yet," Remus whined.
"Yeah, this is a record breaking night," James chimed in.
"How many bottles have you two had?" Dumbledore asked. James shrugged.
"Just a couple," he said. Dumbledore looked into the room to find dozens of empty bottles.
"Uh huh," he said. "I think we better get you back to your common room. Do you need me to levitate you?"
"Nah," Remus said waving his hand. "We're fine." Both tried to stand up, but fell back down again in a fit of laughter. Dumbledore raised his eyebrow at them. James waved his hand.
"Maybe we can't walk, but I can still levitate myself." He took out his wand and pointed it at the floor. A stream of blue fire shot out of the wand and onto the floor. James shot up and hit the ceiling. Dumbledore pointed his wand at him and mumbled an incitation that lightly put him back on the floor. Remus erupted in laughter. James' face screwed up in confusion as he ran his hand over the back of his head.
"Nice one Jamsie. Can you teach me to do that some time?" Remus said once his laughter subsided.
"Right then, up we go," Dumbledore said levitating them both. "Follow me, though it's not like you to have much of a choice."
"Hey looky James, the ground's way down there, and we're way up here."
"We're flying with out brooms. It's super James to the rescue." Remus squinted.
"Where are we going?"
"To your common room," Dumbledore replied without looking back.
"I don't want to go there. I want to go back with my pain killers," James whined.
"I think you've had enough tonight, but you're certainly going to need them tomorrow." He walked through the painting, with James and Remus floating behind.
Lily and Nikki were sitting by the fire. Alice had gone up to bed. They sat there talking about James and Remus when they heard someone come into the common room. They looked over and saw Dumbledore with a levitating James and Remus behind him. Their mouths dropped. They ran over.
"Professor! What happened?" Lily asked in shock.
"They were in the room of requirement," he replied.
"Doing what?" Lily asked. Dumbledore was about to answer.
"Oh my," Nikki interrupted. She waved her hands in front of her face. "I think I already know." Dumbledore nodded. He walked over to the couch and laid James on one and Remus on the other.
"I trust you two will watch over them?" he asked them.
"Uh, yeah," Lily said.
"Very well then. Good night to the two of you. And good luck." He left. Both girls looked at each other.
"What should we do?" Lily asked Nikki.
"I guess get damp clothes and put them on their foreheads," she suggested. They got the cloths and lightly put it on their foreheads. Nikki sat next to Remus' head on the floor next to the couch. She gently applied the cloth to his face. Lily was doing the same. She opened the cloth and draped it over James' face. She used her fingers to press the cloth down. When she pulled back to cloth, he opened his eyes to look at her.
"Lily?" he rasped. She dropped the cloth and stared down at him in shock. He closed his eyes again and fell asleep.
"Oh my," Nikki said breaking the silence. "How much did they have to drink?" Lily shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Well now what do we do?"
"Stay up with them I guess," Lily said. They kept applying the damp cloths through out the night, but soon fell asleep.
James woke up to the bright lights in his eyes. He had a massive head ache. He groaned and tried to move. He felt something beside him. He looked over and found a mass of red hair on the edge of the couch beside him. Lily? What was she doing there? He looked over and found Remus on the couch across from him. Nikki was lying on the floor beside the couch. Weird. He sat up, but the wave of nausea brought him back down. Lily awoke with a start. She looked at him.
"James?" she whispered.
"What are you doing here?" She stood up. They heard Remus sit up and groan as he laid back down.
"Oh my head," he moaned. He tried to sit up and again. He put his feet down hard, landing firmly on Nikki. She awoke with a cry of pain. Remus jerked back on the couch.
"Oh my God," both boys said wincing.
"Not so loud Nikki," James moaned.
"Well is someone hadn't jumped on me in the first place," she hissed holding her ribs under her arm.
"If someone wasn't sleeping right there," Remus retorted.
"Sorry for staying up all night with you," she said.
"Nikki," James hissed holding his head. Remus fell back onto the couch.
"What happened?" Lily whispered.
"What do you mean what happened? It's pretty self explanatory," James replied. Lily bent down next to him and wiped the hair form his forehead.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For making you choose between your best friend and me," she finished.
"Don't worry about it." Lily looked over at Remus and Nikki. Nikki was dabbing the cloth across his face. He was watching her face and every movement, but Nikki was firmly concentrating on the cloth in her hand. Lily sighed. She looked back at James and started to do the same.
"I was stupid to make you do that. You should have stuck up for your friend. That's what I would have done, was doing." James shook his head.
"Don't worry about it," he repeated. "Can you just please make this go away?" Lily smiled.
"Nope. It's what you get for getting so damn drunk. By the way, how many did you two have each?" James grinned sheepishly.
"Just a couple," he said. Lily looked skeptically at him. "Ok about a dozen or so each."
"Drinks?" she asked. "That's not so bad I guess," she said continuing with the cloth.
"Um actually… it was more like… bottles," he said.
"What!" Lily shrieked dropping the cloth. James winced. Lily could hear Remus take in a sharp breath. "You both drank a dozen bottles each!" Lily saw Nikki glare at Remus.
"Could you keep it down please?" James pleaded. "For the sake of my sanity."
"I can't believe you two," she hissed to both James and Remus. James was looking at her, but Remus was now glancing at a very angry Nikki.
"We can explain," James said quickly. Lily raised an eyebrow. Nikki looked over at James. He could see the anger flashing in her eyes. He shrunk away. "Remus can do it better though." Both girls looked at Remus.
"Oh gee, thanks James."
"Any time buddy," he replied.
"Well then, we're waiting," Lily said. Remus looked nervously at Nikki.
"Well, um… we decided that we needed a little help drowning out our problems," he said.
"And what problems would you two have?"
"Losing you two and Sirius as our best mate," he finished. Lily looked over at James, her expression softened.
"Oh," she said continuing to wipe his face with the cloth. Lily looked over at Nikki who had begum doing the same thing. She saw Remus grab her hand and stop it. Lily turned back to James. He was looking at her. "I'm sorry," she said yet again. "I don't know what I was doing."
"How many times do I have to tell you, it's alright. Stop your worrying." Lily smiled down at him, but then it faded.
"Oh no," she said. James sat up on his elbows and frowned at her.
"What's the matter? Are you ok?"
"No, I feel terrible," Lily said. James sighed.
"Not about the same thing is it?" Lily looked sheepishly at him.
"Well… kind of. What about Sirius? I mean, you lost him, and Remus did too."
"What about me?" Remus asked from behind. Lily waved for him to be quiet.
"He's going to take some working on," James said easing back onto the couch. All of a sudden the painting swung open.
"HELLO? IS ANYONE IN HERE?" they heard Sirius yell out. James and Remus covered their ears. Lily and Nikki covered their hands with their own and glared over at Sirius.
"Shhhhh," Lily hissed. He walked over and peered over at the couches.
"OH, POOR THINGS. ARE WE A LITTLE HUNG OVER?" he yelled.
"Sirius! Quiet down," Lily whispered. He glared at her.
"Make me," he said. She stood and glared at him. James grabbed at her.
"No, sit down. I'll talk to him." He eased back up into a sitting position. "Hey Sirius," he said.
"I don't talk to you traitor," he said walking away.
"Sirius, we need to talk. All three of us," Remus said. Sirius whirled around.
"Not you too," he said. Remus nodded his head. Sirius stalked back to the couch Remus sat up. Sirius placed his hands on the back of the couch, his knuckles turning white with his grip. His eyes flashed dangerously. "Ok then, let's talk. I'll start. I thought of you two as my closest friends. And you," he said looking pointedly at James, "fed me to the wolves. I can't believe that you didn't stick up for me. Lily was doing the same for her friend. That's loyalty, but you just sided with her. I mean, you know I would have stuck up for you no matter what. And you," he said now looking at Remus, "how could you ever think I would want to steal your precious girlfriend! I'm not that low. Even if I did want her, I wouldn't have sabotaged your relationship. For merlins sake, I was trying to get you two back together because your so love struck with her that you act like a sick dog." He took a deep breath, taking his time to notice Nikki's slightly pink face as she looked down at the cloth in the hands and Lily's wandering eyes. "So, let's talk," he finished. James and Remus stared blankly at him. James cleared his throat.
"Well… Sirius, I just want to say that I'm sorry. And that I was out in a pretty tough position. I mean, I didn't want to lose my dream girl, or my best friend. Actually, I was kind of hoping that you would have understood that to Lily, I had to look like I was talking her side, but after she was gone, that I would talk to you and you would understand, not be so quick to judge me." Sirius blinked.
"Ok, well, seeing as I was being ripped apart by Lily, I was kind of hoping to get a little support from yours truly," Sirius retorted.
"Come on Sirius, you've delt with Lily's wrath before. You sometimes even try purposely to get her mad. Why did you want my support then?"
"Because then was just after a huge prank on one of her best friends. That's much more deadly than any of the other stuff that I do to make her mad." James shrugged.
"Then why did you do it?"
"Are you kidding me? How could I pass off this chance at the best prank ever! It was perfect. Plus, I expected you to at least take some of the heat off me."
"Even if I did from Lily, there's no way getting around Nikki," he said with a small smile. Sirius looked over at her and saw the rage flickering in her eyes. He glared at her.
"You just wait. I haven't finished with Remus yet," he said.
"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you," she said casting a sidelong glance at him. "But after this is all done you're mine," she said with an icy gaze at him. He took a step, his eyes wide, but then he looked back at James and stepped back up to the couch.
"Well, after that lovely conversation, let's get back to the discussion at hand." James shrugged.
"Ok." Sirius hesitated for a moment.
"What exactly were talking about again?" he asked.
"Actually, I believe that we had just finished with me and you were going to say that we were friends again, and then move on to Remus." Sirius gulped.
"Oh. I was afraid you were going to say that." He looked over at Remus. He cleared his throat. "As for you. What do you have to say?"
"About what?"
"About when you blamed me for stealing your girlfriend."
"This girlfriend has a name," Nikki interjected icily. Sirius looked over at her.
"I don't believe that you were invited into this conversation Nikki," he replied. She narrowed her eyes at him. He looked quickly back at Remus.
"Well, I was in the midst of dealing with breaking up with Nikki. And then with all your plans, it felt like it just made things worse between me and her, and the way things were going, it seemed to me that she would never want to go aback out with me again. Then, all of a sudden, just seeing her in love with someone else and just with there with you, acting like she was, I guess I just snapped."
"But it was me. Sirius! Did it ever register in your head that it was me!" Remus shook his head slowly.
"The only thing I saw was the way she acted towards whoever it was. Like I said, I just snapped. Plus, it didn't help your case with what was happening to all your plans," he said darkly to Sirius. Sirius grinned sheepishly.
"Ok, I guess I understand you both now." He sighed. "Wow, this talking things out really works. Maybe I should be a group therapist," he said.
"Sure, just after you get out of the hospital wing," Nikki said. He looked at her like she was crazy.
"I don't have to go to the hospital wing," he said.
"You will once I'm through with you. And if I have my way, you'll be in there a long time," she said standing up. She threw the cloth toward him and said an incitation. In mid air, it turned into a small knife and whizzed right by Sirius' head. Everybody stared wide-eyed at Sirius and the knife that clattered to the floor at the far side of the common room.
"How'd you do that!" James exclaimed. Nikki's eyes narrowed on Sirius.
"The same way I do this." She threw a pillow off the couch at him. She said another incitation and it changed into tow steak knives. They both just missed Sirius narrowly and fell near the far wall. Sirius gulped. He held his hands up.
"Now Nikki…" he smiled awkwardly at her and began to back away. "Be reasonable."
"Oh, so now you want to be reasonable!" She looked away momentarily as if to consider something. "I can do reasonable." Sirius sighed. She threw another pillow at him. Again she said another spell and it changed into an ax. Again, just missing Sirius's head, it fell to the floor and slid on the floor to the other side of the room. "You're right. That's much more reasonable."
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh really? Then what exactly did you mean?" She picked up another pillow and held it in her hand. Sirius gulped looking at the pillow. "Oh and Sirius?" He looked at her, eyes wide. "I would be very careful at what you say next," she finished with a malicious smile. He laughed nervously.
"Well… I was just… thinking… you know, seeing as that's what I do best…" he coughed seeing that Nikki's expression hadn't changed. "Well, seeing that talking these things out works so well… how about we try that?" Nikki considered it for a moment.
"Well, that could work…" Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "But seeing how you're getting the better part of the deal, I think not." She threw the pillow at him and said the spell. Against the pillow turned into an ax and missed Sirius' cheek by mere inches. It fell near the other ax at the far side of the room.
"You know, for a wicked smart girl, you are a little off on your aim," he said.
"I wouldn't tempt me if I were you," she said through gritted teeth. He took a step back from her. All of a sudden, the painting swung open and Alice and Frank entered. They looked at the weapons on the floor. Frank smiled at them, then at Nikki. He bent down and picked up and ax. He walked over to the group and smiled at them.
"Oh, we're having a fight? I want to join in too?" He raised the ax above his head. Sirius spun around, his eyes wide.
"Frank! What are you doing!"
"It was always my dream to be a part of one of these," he said.
"What!" James said in disbelief. Frank looked at him.
"We never have them anymore. I love these." He brought the ax down. Lily shrieked and James lunged forward, but it was tool late. Frank had brought the ax down on Sirius' head. James fell about three inches short of Sirius. Everyone had squeezed their eyes shut. Sirius opened his eyes. He saw Frank and Alice's puzzled looks and saw the ax next to Frank's leg. He stared in shock at Frank and took a step back, landing on James' hand. James wailed in pain as Sirius jumped off it. Lily bent down next to James. Sirius whirled to look wide-eyed at Frank.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked. Sirius choked.
"What's wrong with me! What's wrong with me! You just tried to kill me! What's wrong with you!" Frank looked down at the ax in his hand and stared at Sirius, Lily and James.
"You thought I was going to kill you with this!" he asked them holding up the ax. Sirius nodded. Nikki could no longer keep it in. She burst out in a fit of laughter. Everyone looked confusedly at her. James, Lily and Sirius all looked back at Frank. He looked down at the ax in his hand.
"Uh, Frank?" James cautiously asked him. "What kind of fight were you so happy about having?"
"A pillow fight of course. I mean, there were pillows all over there," he waved behind him to the other weapons. "Except that cloth over there by the door. See?" He brought the ax up over his head again and brought it down on Sirius' head. It hit with a dull 'thud' and slid off to the floor. Nikki's laughter subsided. All five looked at her. She had a malicious smile on her face and her eyes flashed a mixture of smugness and humor. She waved her hand and murmured a quick spell. Instantly, all the weapons turned into pillows.
"Nikki!" Lily shrieked. "What did you do?"
"My dear friend," she replied. "I just played the best prank ever on Sirius here. Instead of turning them into weapons, I just said an illusion spell. Now do you see why my aim was so bad Sirius?" He glared at her.
"But why did you do it to me and James?" Lily asked indignantly.
"You both were in the room when I cast it. Plus, I couldn't have you ruining it by telling him it was just a pillow. I mean, did you see the look on his face!" She burst into another fit of giggles. "Better yet, it's all recorded." She held out her hand. "Accio camera" All of a sudden, a small box flew from on the wall to the hand. She pocketed the tiny camera.
"Where'd you get that!" Alice asked.
"Sirius and his friends weren't the only ones to go out of the country during vacation. I thought it might come in useful and looky here," she replied. Sirius' face went red. Frank cleared his throat.
"Um Nikki? I was just curious as to what they saw," he said sheepishly. Nikki smiled at him.
"Of course. That cloth was a small knife. That pillow there nearer the corner was two steak knives and those two by the door, or the one you had looked like an ax," she finished.
"Oh, thanks," he said.
"My pleasure." Sirius rounded on Nikki.
"This isn't the end," he said to her. She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh on the contrary, it's just the beginning," she replied. He stalked through the painting. James stood up.
"Hey? Don't I get any credit for trying to push him out of the way!" Nikki smiled at him.
"Seeing as he was in no particular danger from a pillow, not really. And also seeing as how you kind of fell short, again, I'd have to say no." James frowned, and then shrugged.
"Oh well. Awesome prank Nikki." She nodded her head in appreciation. James sat back on the couch. Lily sat next to him. Nikki looked around.
"I think I'll go do some homework now. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the library." She walked through the painting. All four looked at Remus.
"What?" he asked. Lily and Alice nodded towards the door. He sighed.
"She'll never talk to me." Lily and Alice gave him the eyes the said 'Oh yes she will.' "Well, what do I say?"
"Ask her for some help with something. Or just tell her that you need to talk." He ran his hand through his hair.
"Come on mate, at least it's worth a try," James said.
"Yeah, worse comes to worse, she tells you that she hates you and never wants to see, hear or speak to you again." The three rounded on him and glared at him. He laughed nervously. "Did I just say that, no I didn't, I men I was just kidding… I'll be up in my dorm," he said quickly before running up the stairs. Lily sighed.
"She really likes you too Remus, she's just…" Looked at the floor in front of her," having some difficulties." Alice looked away. Remus sighed and stood up.
"I guess it's worth a try." Lily and Alice looked at him.
"Awesome!" They both said in unison. Remus smiled at them and headed out the door.
Lily came down from the dorm stairs. James, Alice, Frank and Sirius were waiting for her. She ran up and gave James a kiss and then they all started down for breakfast. They entered the Great Hall and low and behold, the footage from the camera was playing on a big screen. All eyes turned to Sirius as he entered the room. The room filled with laughter. Sirius scowled and headed toward their usual seats. Dumbledore walked in and the room fell silent. He watched the footage with a twinkle in his eye. Once it was done and had started to replay, he waved his hand and the screen was gone. He walked past their seats and stopped behind Sirius.
"Interesting debut Mr. Black."
"Yes, I thought so," he mumbled. Dumbledore continued on to his seat. Lily looked around.
"Hey, has anyone seen Remus and Nikki this morning?" Just then, Remus came and sat down next to James.
"Where's Nikki?" Lily asked.
"In bed," he answered.
"Oooh. Long night Moony?" Sirius asked.
"Not in my bed you idiot. Hers." Lily and Alice looked at each other, then at him. He shook his head. "No! We stayed up looking up something," he said disgustedly.
"Something like the anatomy of a female of male?" Sirius asked.
"Look, Nikki and I are not together. When will you get that straight!"
"How did the library go?" Lily asked quietly.
"Fine. Actually, we are together, but not as close as you guys are suggesting," he said looking directly at Sirius.
"Well, with the way you were talking, you never know," he said before starting to stuff his breakfast into his mouth. Just then, Nikki walked through the door. She came down and kissed Remus before sitting next to him. Sirius stopped eating and looked wide-eyed at them. He gulped.
"Who'd a thought my on of my plans worked after all?" All six looked skeptically at him. "Well, I mean in a round about way I guess. I mean if I hadn't given her the potion, then James, Remus and I wouldn't have gotten into that whole deal, and then Remus would have never told Nikki his true feelings because Nikki would have never listened and then they wouldn't be together right now," he said quickly. They all considered it before shrugging and agreeing. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and they finished breakfast.
They were all headed into DADA. Sirius went in first and then the rest took their seats. The boys in the back and the girls in the front. All of a sudden, a woman came onto the balcony. She had Remus' mother's description. She smiled at the class. All four boy's mouths dropped.
"Oh mother," Remus whispered in shock.
"Literally or figuratively?" James asked.
"Both," Frank answered.
"This can't be a good thing," Sirius said.
"Hello class," came her cheery voice. "I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. My name is Mrs. Lupin."