Hey Guys! How are you? Well, I hope… personally I've been sick the last couple of days (huge bummer) but I'm on my way back to health again ;) Yay! And by the way; notice that this chapter is a bit longer again! :D
Anyway; there's not much to tell… there'll be a little poll at the end of this chapter, so PLEASE READ THE LAST AUTHOR NOTE! :D
Enjoy!
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The faint twittering of birds woke me from an uneasy sleep. I had had nightmares lately about how Sirius had fallen of his broom. It wasn't really the fact that he 'fell' that scared me (though of course I was) but more that crucial moment were I didn't knew what had happened to him. Was he dead? Was he fatally injured? All these scenarios had been manipulated into horrific dreams by my apparently psychotic brain.
I lifted my head off the white sheets of the hospital bed; I had fallen asleep, while watching over him and my head had lulled unto his bed throughout the night it seemed.
The soft light of the early morning was shining through the large windows of the hospital wing, bathing all beds and other furniture in a red glow. A light amount of snow had dropped during the night, and it seemed that the winter was coming sooner than usual. For a second I just stared at the breathtaking surroundings outside the windows; the snow was just the right amount to cover the grass, and the school grounds looked as if they had been emitted by a large white duvet, the sun radiating of it, making it glitter in orange.
"Good morning, Beautiful," his voice already sounded healthier and stronger than it had the evening before.
"Good morning, Honey," I answered in our usual playful banter, turning to him; he was as good-looking as always as he grinned at me, the glint in his eyes reignited.
"I like the tone of that,"
"No wonder," I rolled my eyes at him, "Half of the school calls you that,"
"But you don't," his grin had subsided as his gray eyes held mine in a suddenly very intense gaze that felt like it was creeping up under my skin. I felt how my breath got caught in my throat and my heart fluttered like the wings of a small bird.
"Did you just catch your breath?" his tone was back to being funny and playful as the grin from seconds earlier reappeared on his face.
"No, I didn't," why should I please him and embarrass by telling him I did? Lying seemed like a better offer.
"Yes, you did,"
"No, I did not!"
"I've still got it," he sighed happily while winking at me.
"You're unbelievable," I exclaimed hotly, though I didn't succeed in hiding a tiny smile.
"I know I am, and admit it or not; you love it,"
"I think I choose… not,"
The hour's ticked away feeling like nothing but mere minutes to us as we kept teasing each other. It was nice to know that he was all right and in a good mood without much pain, though he did wince a little every now and then when he moved his arm.
Noon quickly arrived and with it did our friends; Lily, James and Remus, bringing greetings from our fellow Gryffindors.
"Alice and Frank really wanted to come but they had to do some kind of essay, I think," Lily explained while James passed us stolen buns and muffins from breakfast. I hadn't even realized how hungry I had been, and began swallowing big chunks of the food, while listening to our friends – and their gossip…
"They're just planning to have some kind of make-out session in the library," James added in a low tone.
"Alice wouldn't do that," Lily argued.
"Nah, you're right. Then they're probably just vowing each other eternal love and such things, which reminds me, Lily, have you thought about the trip-"
"How is your arm, Sirius?" Lily quickly interrupted, earning an amused glance from James.
"Um, better," Sirius answered his mouth filled with a bun.
"And you, Hayley?"
"I'm fine," I answered indifferently, "I wasn't the one injured after all,"
"Yes, but you did stay here an awfully long-"
"What is this?" the displeasured voice of Madam Pomfrey injected. She came striding towards us from her office, her face set in a strict manner, "I only allowed Miss Thorne to stay; not half of Gryffindor tower!"
"Really, it's no problem," Sirius tried but he was being simply ignored by the school nurse.
"Out!" she said, pushing Lily and the others towards the door, "Mr. Black needs immediate rest. You too, Miss Thorne,"
"But-" it was to no use though; Madam Pomfrey practically kicked me out of the room ignoring all protests from either Sirius or me.
I was left standing outside the double doors of the hospital wing, as they were being closed with much force by the aggravated Madam Pomfrey. Lily shot me a small apologetic smile, while James was talking to Remus in a hushed voice.
"Sorry?" Lily tried, but I decided to shrug it off. It wasn't their fault anyway; Madam Pomfrey would probably have kicked me out sooner or later.
"No harm done," I told her and she seemed to relax a bit, "Do you have any plans for the day?"
For a moment it almost seemed that she was about to look over her shoulder and at James, but she ended up not doing so – probably realizing how obvious it would have been (as if we all hadn't already figured it out…).
"No," she shook her head from side to side as she replied, "you?"
"Nope. Seems like it's going to be a long day of hanging out…"
…
"You should have seen McGonagall - She had a complete fit!" Lily exclaimed.
"She really did," James nodded, seated in the armchair beside Lily's, "I don't even wanna know what went through Mulciber's head as he saw McGonagall striding towards him – Nostrils flaring and eyes lightening,"
"Wait, Mulciber was the one who hit Sirius?" I asked. No one had actually briefed me about what happened after I had left the game yet, and I was still as dumb about the whole affair than I had been before it.
"Yeah. He's the only one who actually knows how to hit a bludger the right way. The other guy – I think his name is Stanley – he's only on the team to match up with the criteria's,"
"Guess they'll have a pretty crappy season then," Frank announced from his seat nearest the fireside in our common room; Alice (of course) sitting close by.
"What do you mean?" I was sitting cross-legged in the love seat, though I could easily have laid down since I had it all to myself, but I knew that that the much dreaded tiredness simply would get the better of me if I did.
"Well, McGonagall had a heated discussion with Slughorn about Mulciber's punishment; she wanted to ban him completely from quidditch and all Hogsmeade trips, but Slughorn thought it would be way too harsh-"
"It would be justified!"
"Yes, but you know Slughorn; he may not seem like it but he can be pretty stubborn-"
"So can McGonagall,"
"Anyway, he ended up getting banned from quidditch from now on and until New Years Eve has passed. On top of that he also got detentions from now and until Easter with professor McGonagall,"
"Well, that's the least they could give him," I muttered, but even though I'd rather seen him banned altogether from school, I was still satisfied that he at least had gotten some kind of punishment.
Evening had fallen and we practically just stayed seated in the Gryffindor common room, while chatting about everything that came to mind. Hours may have ticked by without us noticing, not that it would have mattered much anyway; the atmosphere was relaxed and chilled as we laughed our hearts off over old memories and the latest gossip. Of course Alice and Franck weren't spared either, along with James and Lily. The latter were more fun to tease though, since Lily still denied any kind of relationship between herself and James;
"We're not together!" She exclaimed.
"Come on! We know you are," I retorted once again, while the surrounding crowd consisting of our friends (and her lover boy) sniggered.
"But-"
"You don't stand a chance,"
"But I-"
"What's going on here?" an extra person had joined in on the conversation, though he wasn't sitting anywhere near us.
I turned round to try and find the source of this well-known voice, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"I could hear you all the way from the hospital wing, you know," he continued, "and yeah, Hayley's right; you're definitely hooking up with Prongs,"
Suddenly he emerged out of the shadows near the portrait hole; perfectly healthy looking, though he seemed weary. I smiled at him as James, Remus and Peter got up to greet their best friend, the others giving him 'welcome back's and 'you look well's.
"The Marauders are reunited," James declared proudly as he swung his arm around Sirius' shoulder in a brotherly manner.
"As if they would ever split," Sirius grinned, though Peter seemed to twinge oddly at that. I shot him a confused frown, but he just smiled – quite nervously though – back at me. Leaving the matter with Peter behind me, I returned my attention to Sirius who was lowering himself unto the love seat beside me- wait, what?
"What are you doing?" I asked him, making him stop in the act of 'sitting down'.
"What do you mean?" he replied frowning lightly with a smile grazing his lips.
"You're sitting down. Here?"
"You're scared that you won't be able to control your need for me?" he teased playfully, before plunging into the soft cushions of the two-man couch.
"No. What need? Talking about yourself again?"
"You can be such a pain at times," he sighed though it was clear from his tone that he hadn't really meant it.
"Let me see; what was it you told me this morning? 'I know I am, and admit it or not; you love it,'"
"And if I recall it proper you replied with 'I think I choose… not'" he grinned as we held each other's gaze for a second or two, though quickly breaking it as we noticed the quietness around us.
I turned my body towards him and stretched my legs so they were sprawled over the couch, my feet resting in his lap.
"It's your luck you're not that tall," he laughed as he gripped my right foot, making me squeal, "or else I couldn't give you this amazing foot massage,"
I simply stared at him, my mouth popped open into an o-shape, as he began massaging my foot. I began squirming like crazy as his hand caressed my foot in a soothing way, the laughter escaping loudly from me.
"St-op!" I giggled hysterically and he quickly added two and two together;
"You're ticklish?" he laughed although he kept massaging.
"Ye-ye-yes!" I started wildly kicking into the air with my other leg, "Co-could y-you maybe s-s-TOP,"
"Top?"
"STOP!" I practically yelled at him, but he kept going, "Yo-you're un-un-beliv-able!"
"I know," he grinned and continued his torturing.
Our friends simply rolled their eyes before continuing to more urgent matters (like the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade the following weekend)… except one though.
A/N: Hi again! So that was the 11th chapter… what did you think? In the next one they'll be going to Hogsmeade, and on that occasion (and to celebrate the last chapter, which was the 10th!) I would like to ask you a question;
Who should get the most romantic action while in Hogsmeade?
The contestants are Alice/Frank, Lily/James and (of course) Hayley/Sirius… who shall it be? You decide… tell me in a review or PM…
Remember to review, lovelies! ;D See ya!
-Marie