Chapter 11

Gail awoke one Saturday morning, a few days before the beginning of the Christmas break. She felt quite peaceful, but that peace was broken when a loud hoot forced her to open her eyes. An owl was sitting on her bedside table with its leg stretched out. She didn't know how long the bird had been there. The tawny haired girl reached a hand out from under her pillow and tugged the letter free. She nodded thankfully at the owl, who hooted and flew off through the dormitory's open door.

Sitting up, Gail unfolded the note and scanned it. It was her father's handwriting. It looked like he had written it fast.

Dear Gail,

I've gone to visit some of my relatives in Sweden for a few months. I will give them your well-wishes. As it stands, I won't be able to pick you up so please remain at school over the holidays. I love you. Be good and remember to behave. I don't want any more letters about detentions.

Much love,
Papa

Gail read and reread the note several times. She couldn't recall any relatives in Sweden that she knew of. She didn't bother about such a small detail, though, because she had heard of very few family members, to begin with. She carefully folded the letter and stuck it into the side of one of her textbooks.

Amber was awake, Gail noted, and she was taking up a considerable portion of the bathroom. The blonde had curled her hair, much the same as when she had gone on a date with Sirius Black. The blonde's makeup was a touch on the heavy side, but Gail didn't say anything.

"Oh!" Amber turned on a warm smile, "good morning Gail."

"Morning Amber," Gail responded sleepily, "have a date today?"

"Yes," Amber positively beamed at her, "I did what you said. I found a boy that would treat me good. We're going to have a picnic in one of the greenhouses."

"Who's the lucky boy?" Gail chuckled, running her hairbrush through her dusky hair. Her hair was still somewhat smooth from the charm that had been put on it. Lily had been able to replicate it on her own red hair, but the effect didn't last more than half a day, "someone I know?"

"Ravenclaw's Jeremy Watson," Amber answered breathily, "he's no Sirius Black, but his looks are up there, and he's incredibly witty."

Gail smiled. She couldn't think of anyone more suited to Amber than a Ravenclaw that cared what others thought of him. Watson was known for being only interested in girls from a well-off background. Yes, Watson and Amber would have a successful relationship, if only in theory.


Gail didn't look forward to Christmas at all. Lily's parents had invited Jo over for the holidays, and the blondes had gone home as well. She found that it was utterly odd to wake up in the Griffindor dormitory with only her cat, Mati, present. The lack of heavy breathing shook her somewhat. In the moments between being asleep and awake, she felt the distinct difference between being lonely and being alone. For a moment, being alone seemed far worse.

Gail slowly opened her eyes, staring at the wizard clock on the table for a seconds. She slowly stretched her back, feeling it crack in several spots. She dressed herself in a mundanely festive sweater and a plaid skirt that fell around her ankles. She had pulled on some stockings to protect against the winter air. On her way down the stairs, she heard whispering. The whispering stopped when she entered the common room.

Sitting near a table, that they had transfigured out of one of the chairs, James and Sirius were stuffing their faces. There were platters of pancakes, eggs and bacon sitting in the middle of the table.

"Mornin' Forester!" James greeted cheerfully. He was wearing what looked like a hand-knit sweater. The details on his sweater were well done. Griffindor's emblem adorned the front of the ruby red sweater. Whoever had made it had put a large amount of effort and love into it.

Gail noted that Sirius had a similar sweater on, but in a darker red. He also looked over at her and offered a cheeky smile, "mornin'."

"Where are Peter and Remus?" Gail asked slowly approaching the two, eying them suspiciously. The common room was empty except for them. She assumed that the majority of Griffindors had gone home or had been forced to evacuate by the marauders.

"Wormtail went home and Moony wasn't feeling well, so he went to the hospital wing," James piped up, noticing that Gail was staring at his sweater, "jealous? My mum made them for us."

Gail shifted uncomfortably, turning a little red in the face. Sirius laughed at her in his normal half-barking way, "we got some house elves to bring food up to the common room. You can have some, if you want."

"Thanks," Gail muttered, nestling next to James on the couch and grabbing a pancake. She nibbled on the pancake for a bit, ignoring the stares of the two boys, "poor Remus. Sick on Christmas."

After a long moment of silence, Gail finally got up the nerve to start a small conversation, "get anything good for Christmas? Besides the sweaters, I mean."

"I got a howler from my mom," Sirius grinned, "a really nasty one, too. A pair of socks from my uncle and some muggle magazines from my cousin, Andromeda."

James grinned like her was superior, "I got a pocket watch from my dad, some chocolates, the sweater... What about you Gail?"

Gail shrugged neutrally, "I got a bracelet from my dad, a book from Avalon and Melanie, a muggle ring from Amber, a quidditch poster of some guy from Jo, and Squeak-Socks from Lily."

"Socks, huh?" James stored the information about Lily in the back of his mind.

"What about your mum?" Sirius asked casually chewing on a piece of bacon, "didn't get any from her?"

"She's been dead for too long to send gifts," Gail said bluntly, doing her best to ignore their reaction by shoveling food into her mouth until her stomach was full.

"Ah," Gail said, looking over at the ancient clock in the common room, "I was going to swing by Professor Kettleburn's hut to see if he needed help with anything."

James looked mildly interested, "we'll come with you!"

Sirius nodded, agreeing with James, "he might let us walk around the forest, right?"

Gail shrugged, pulling out her wand, "accio." Her winter gear flew through the air. She pulled on her thick, winter robe and scarf. She also ensured that her boots were tied properly at the top. Gail was surprised that the two boys were ready to leave quickly. She was equally surprised that the two didn't attempt to frolic in the snow on the way. She briefly remembered the snow fight that the marauders had orchestrated in their second year. She hadn't seen anything, but she had heard that quite a few Slytherins had gone to the hospital wing afterwards.

When the three students arrived at Kettleburn's hut, Gail rapped on the door with her knuckle. There was a scraping of chairs and the door flung open. The dusky haired girl was left staring at the chest of a rather massive man.

"S'thin' I help yeh with?" The towering man asked. Gail regarded him for a moment. He looked rather similar to a devilish woodsman, with eyes like black beetles.

"We're looking for Professor Kettleburn, sir," Gail responded meekly, "we thought we would give him a hand if he needed it."

The man grunted, stepping aside, "c'mon in. S' too cold out there for yeh young'uns."

Gail walked in, minding the snow on her boots. Sirius and James didn't, though. They tracked quite a bit of snow in. They all settled themselves on a piece of furniture, leaving the largest chair for the burly man. When the large man had sat down, he stared at them.

"You must be Hagrid," Gail said wistfully, "Professor Kettleburn said he was training you."

"Aye," Hagrid nodded his shaggy head, "S' been lettin' me stay here with him."

"Oh," Gail nodded, "my name is Gail Forester, and these two are James Potter and Sirius Black."

Hagrid took note of the two boys, offering them a nod. Gail admired how shy Hagrid seemed. It was apparent that he hadn't been in contact with other witches and wizards very much. He was far from trusting.

"Care of Magical Creatures is my favourite class," Gail rambled, "I simply love taking care of animals, magical or not. Do you... do you like animals, Hagrid?"

Hagrid stared at her for a moment before nodding, "aye, I wish I ha' me own pet dragon."

Gail's face lit up, "oh, I think we share the same dream! I just wish it wasn't so hard to get a dragon egg by legal means."

Hagrid finally smiled, "ah, yeh're the gall tha' Kettleburn was talkin' about."

Sirius yawned, already bored with the direction that the conversation was going, looked about ready to fall asleep. James, who was more interested in Hagrid than the conversation, wasn't even paying attention. Both boys seemed to make the gruff man a little quieter by not talking.

"Ah," Hagrid said, "Kettleburn should be back soon. He might be needin' yer help."

At that moment, the door slammed open. Kettleburn stood there, staring at the four people in his house for a moment. He looked quite puzzled.

"Professor!" Gail stood up, "we came to see if you needed any help today."

"In the festive mood, are we?" Kettleburn smiled fondly at the girl before turning to Hagrid, "why don't you take these three to feed our special guests? I'm sure they'll enjoy it."

"Alrigh'," Hagrid agreed, pulling on his coat.

Hagrid led the three students to the edge of the forest before stopping. There was one smallish wooden crate that seemed to be humming. Hagrid walked over to it and opened it. Several cream coloured balls of fur jumped out.

"Puffskeins!" Gail laughed, catching one in her arms.

Hagrid nodded, "some of th' thir' years get t' care for 'em for a while. Dunno why anyone would want t' look after these..."

Sirius caught one and tossed it in the air like a quaffle. Gail wasn't amused by the sight. She cuddled her puffskein closer, while responding to Hagrid, "I think they're cute."

"Girls," James grinned, juggling three of the fur balls. Gail snorted, ignoring the two boys that were doing their best to get her to 'throw down the gauntlet'. She wasn't mad, though, she just thought it was disgusting to act so carelessly with a living creature.

"They like being tossed around – gently," Sirius grinned, motioning at the one that was practically purring in his hands. Gail snorted, causing both Sirius and James to laugh.

If Gail had been nervous around the two boys before, she wasn't anymore. They were easier to be around when they weren't causing trouble or being prats. She felt herself smiling and laughing more than she had in a while. They had fed and played with the large puffballs. They spent so much time outside with the puffskeins that Gail had lost track of the time. She was thankful that her stomach reminded her to eat. They had finished putting the little fur balls back into their wooden crate.

"Supper time," James grinned, running a hand through his hair to mess it up.

"Thanks fer helpin' wit' these lil guys," Hagrid smiled at the students, "yeh get yerselves back up to th' castle afore it gets dark."

Gail nodded, "goodbye Hagrid. It was nice meeting you."

Upon entering the Great Hall, Gail's head swivelled around. Remus was not in the Great Hall. There were no house tables at Christmas. James sat down among some other Griffindors. She sat beside James and Sirius sat on the other side of him. It felt strange that Peter and Remus were missing.

"Watch this..." James muttered to the two other Griffindors. He pointed his wand, under the table, at the far end. Gail noted that Snape and some of his 'friends' were sitting there. There was a one second pause before the other students started scooting further down the bench. Snape's head jerked around as if he was looking for something.

"Oh, good one," Sirius grinned at his friend, with a knowing look, "making the bench fart."

Gail couldn't help it. The idea of a farting bench made her laugh quite loudly. Sirius and James joined in her mirth, and they had a good moment.

"Good one, James," Gail grinned before finishing off her mashed potatoes.

"Gail," James laughed.

"Gail," Sirius echoed his friend, a devious smile on his face.

"What, what?" Gail looked up to see both of them staring at her.

"You have potatoes on your face," James stated, using the back of his hand to wipe it off her face.

"Again," Sirius barked, "messy eater."

Gail dared a small glare at Sirius. Before she could retort anything back at him, a small hand pressed on her shoulder. Swinging her head around, Gail found herself face to face with Professor McGonagall. The head of Griffindor seemed extremely somber.

"Miss Forester, Professor Dumbledore would like to speak with you, follow me."

Gail nodded, getting up from the table. She caught James' worried look for a moment, but she still turned and followed the professor out of the hall. She could only wonder why the headmaster would want to speak with her...


Author Note:

This chapter was a little slow. It's a precursor for the next chapter. I hope I've given all of you enough hints! I think there have been five in total. Kudos if you can find or remember them!

Next chapter is going to be a little crazy.

Anyway, on the show must go on. Today's Deleted Scene is from my favourite "fairy tale". It's quite long. I hope you enjoy it.
-Rue


Deleted Scene: Gail White and Lily Red

Once upon a time, was a lonely widow. In front of the widow's house were two rose trees; one red and one white. The widow often called her two daughters nicknames corresponding to the rose bushes; Rose Red and Snow White. Their true names had been forgotten. The two girls were busy and cheerful for much of the year. Rose Red was more rambunctious and spirited than her sister; she often ran through the fields collecting flowers and dreaming of adventure. Snow White was more gentle, and often stayed indoors to help her mother with chores. During her spare moments, she would read or play with the family's kitten.

Rose Red had sleek, dark red hair that looked almost akin to the colour of the roses she was nicknamed after. She had wonderful, emerald green eyes that reminded her mother of springtime. There was hardly a moment when a cheerful smile was not on Red Rose's face. Snow White's hair was not as vibrant, it was more a dusky tone, closer to that of her mother's. Her skin was fair and pale, like snow. Snow White had calming, dark brown eyes.

The two daughters were inseparable. This was because they adored each other very much. They had vowed that neither would leave the other, forever, and they would share everything. The two girls, Rose Red and Snow White, would often walk together, hand in hand, though the forest while picking berries. No harm would befall them. The animals of the forest would approach the two girls timidly. A hare would take food from their hands, a stag would dance around them merrily. Birds would sing around them constantly. If night fell in the forest, the two girls would find a cozy piece of moss to sleep on. They would find no harm in the forest. Their mother knew not to worry.

The two girls took turns keeping their mother's cottage neat and tidy. Often, Rose Red would bring flowers for her mother, and leave them on the bedside table. Snow White would watch that the fire remained large enough to keep the cottage warm through the winter. She would also prepare breakfast for her mother and sister.

"Snow White, bolt the door," their mother said one wintry evening as she was preparing to read a large book to the two girls. There was a loud knocking on the door, which prompted their mother to speak, "quickly, Rose Red, open the door. A traveller must be stuck in the snow storm."

Rose Red quickly pushed the bolt and opened the door, expecting to see a poor traveller. This was not the case. A large bear stood on its haunches, staring down at the girl. Rose Red screamed and leapt back. Snow White hid behind her mother's bed. The family's cat had its haunches up, its eyes glaring at the bear.

"Don't be afraid, I will do you no harm! I'm almost frozen. I just want to warm myself up a bit," the bear grumbled, his fur covered in snow.

There was a look of pity in the widow's eyes as she spoke, "poor bear. Come in and sleep by the fire, but make sure you do not burn your coat."

The bear looked at the girls, "would you knock some of the snow out of my fur?"

The girls, timid around the bear, used a broom to sweep the snow out of his fur. Slowly, the bear and the girls became more comfortable to each other's presence. The bear had stretched himself out by the fire, and was half asleep. The girls soon began to play with their large guest. They would pull at his fur with their hands and rolled him about the cabin. The bear took it all and laughed, "please leave me alive."

The widow allowed the bear to sleep by the hearth at night. At dawn, the girls opened the door to let the bear leave. After that night, the bear came back every evening at the same time, and allowed the girls to amuse themselves before bed. Winter was soon over, and the bear told the girls that he could not come back for the whole summer.

"Why won't you be able to come back?" Snow White asked, upset that she would not be able to see him for a while.

"I must go and protect my treasure from evil dwarves," the bear grumbled. In his haste to leave, the bold scratched him, removing some of his fur. Snow White thought she saw some gold under the fur, but the bear moved too quickly for her to see clearly.

After a short amount of time, the widow sent her two daughters to get fire wood from the forest. While they were walking hand-in-hand, the two girls spotted something next to a tree. As they approached, the saw that it was a dwarf with a malformed nose, greasy hair and an extremely long, black beard. The dwarf had the end of his beard caught in the crevice of a tree.

"Why are you just standing there?" The dwarf snapped nastily, "come help me. I can not get away, you ugly, sleek, milk-faced things."

The two girls tugged on the beard, but could not free it. Red Rose looked the dwarf in the eye, "wait here, we will go fetch someone to help."

"Why would you fetch someone?" The dwarf snapped again, "you two are already two too many for me, you senseless goose."

"Be patient," Snow White commanded the dwarf gently, as she pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket, "I will help you."

With that, Snow White carefully snipped the ends of the dwarf's beard off. The dwarf went flying backwards and landed on his bottom. The little man scrambled to grab his bag that was full of gold. He snarled at the girls, "uncouth people, to cut off a piece of my fine beard. Bad luck on you!"

With that, the dwarf ran off without looking back at the girls.

A few days later, the girls were going to catch some fish for their mother when they came across the dwarf again. He looked like a grasshopper, jumping towards the water. Red Rose decided to speak up, "where are you going? Surely, you don't want to enter the water?"

"I'm not a fool," the dwarf snapped at her jerkily, "the accursed fish is trying to pull me in."

The dwarf had been fishing. Unluckily, his black beard had become tangled with the fishing line. He was slowly being dragged towards the water by his beard. The dwarf was going his best to hold onto anything around him, but it was no good. The girls made it just in time. Carefully, Snow why clipped off the part of his beard that was snagged on the fishing line, much to the dwarf's dismay.

The dwarf looked down at his beard before screaming at the girls, "you toad-stool! You've disfigured my face! You've cut off the best part of my beard! Now I can't show my face to people! I wish you had been made to run the soles off of your shoes!"

With that, the dwarf snatched up a bag of pearls. Without another word, he dragged the back again, and disappeared behind a stone.

A few days later, their mother had asked them to head to town to buy needles and thread, and laces and ribbons. On their way, they found the the dwarf had been caught by an eagle and was about to be carried off. The two girls, full of pity for the poor dwarf, grabbed onto him and pulled him free from the eagle.

The dwarf was ungrateful again, "could you not have been more careful? You pulled at my coat and now it has holes. You helpless, spoilt creatures."

The dwarf picked up his sack of gems and went back into his hold, behind the rock. The girls were used to him ungratefulness, and continued on their way to the town. On their way back, the girls passed by the dwarf's hiding spot. The evening light caught on the dwarf's treasure and sparkled radiantly.

"What are you looking at?" The dwarf snapped, his face becoming red with anger. He started to insult the two girls quite loudly until he heard the bear approaching through the forest. The dwarf darted up in fright, but he couldn't get to his cave, the bear was too close.

In dread, the dwarf cried out, "please spare me! What would you want with such a small fellow as I? Come, take these two wicked girls. They will fill you up and make you fat."

The bear took no notice of his words, but gave the wicked dwarf a single blow with his paw. The dwarf did not move again. This scared the two girls, who had run away.

"Snow White, Rose Red, wait. I will come with you," the bear called to them. Recognizing his voice, the two girls waited. When he approached them, his bear skin fell off. There he stood, with light tan hair and kind eyes. He was dressed in gold.

"I am a King's son," he spoke gently, "I was bewitched by that dwarf, who had stolen my treasures. Upon his death, I have been freed. My name is Remus."

Snow White curtsied to the prince, "my real name is Gail. My sister is Lily."

Gail was married to their bear-prince. Her sister, Lily, married his younger brother, James. The two sisters divided everything between them, including the dwarf's treasure. Their mother lived peacefully and happily with her children for many years. She took the two rose-trees with her, and they stood before her window, and every year bore the most beautiful roses, white and red.


The Comment Gallery
Hosts: Bellatrix Black, Gail Forester
Special Guest: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew.

Bellatrix: Welcome to the Dark Gallery. I'm Bellatrix Black. Today we'll be discussing the best uses for the unforgivables.

-Bella pulls out her wand and points it at Gail-

James: Hold it right there, Black. Move away from Gail.

-Marauders have their wands pointed at her-

Bellatrix: Fine...

-Bella walks off-

Remus: Finite.

Peter: Oh wow, this room is so cool.

-Gail can't get up-

James: Since Gail has been K. for today, we'll be helping out. Wormtail, read the first review.

Peter: The first review is from MaxRideRox.

Sirius: Of course you like me, you have great taste.

-Bella's sob of frustration is heard in the hallway-

James: I don't know how often Bellatrix will be in the story in the early chapters. Gail tends to keep her head down a lot more than us. Remember that time in Transfiguration? We made her hair red with the Griffindor lion imprinted on the back of little Bella's head.

Remus: And you got scolded by McGonagall. And given twice the amount of detentions that the rest of us got.

-James shrugs-

Sirius: Trust me, we prank my two wonderful cousins almost as much as we get Snivellus.

Peter: The next review is from A-A-Angel of Apathy.

-Peter blushes-

Sirius: Apparently, Remus has a girlfriend. Ooooh~

-Remus hides behind a book-

James: I can't believe how girls have fights over stupid things like Sirius.

Sirius: HEY! ... I'm not stupid.

Peter: I felt more sorry for Evans than Gail. She was probably being pulled by both sides of the argument. Of course, it wasn't shown because Gail kept to herself over the two weeks.

Remus: No she didn't. She confided in me.

James: What did she tell you?

Sirius: TELL US! IT IS YOUR DUTY!

-Peter looks overly excited-

Remus: Oh, I don't know...

-Remus caves, seeing that he got three puppy-dog eyes. Gail moans and rolls over-

Gail: Don't... Remus... Don't give in!

Remus: I can't... I'm sorry Gail. My willpower is just not strong enough!

-Sirius makes the "score" motion with his arms-

Remus: Never mind, I forgot what I was going to say.

James: Well, that's all there is for the Comment Gallery. Send in your reviews for Gail, who will be back next time!

Sirius: Send me more fan mail.

Remus: Because the two of you really need to inflate your egos more.

Peter: See you!