I'm so sorry this took so long. Please don't throw rotten food at me. Please, please don't. I just took a shower. Life has been throwing so many curves at me, it's almost unreal. I have to read 25 books in a month, I had a standardized test to take last week, an algebra test, a Civics test, and a science test. And you can also blame Cody, my best friend, for telling me I could not waste my life away in front of the computer and dragging me to see the Grudge 2. Which sucked. That's what I get for being best friends with a guy. Them and there stupid, stupid movies.
I just read the book Mrs. Mike. Has anyone else read it? I can't find a single person who has, and it's a great book. If you haven't read it, you should! If you have read it, please tell me! I need someone to talk to about it. Also, if anyone has seen the last 5 or 6 episodes of Degrassi could you tell me what's been happening? My satellite got blown over in a storm and they're taking forever to fix it.
This is a kind of goofy, strange chapter, but I just wanted to show everyone what all the characters are like to me.
Thanx for all my reviews, guys. Writer's block sucks and it really helps when you show me why I'm still trying to battle it. Ha. I'm so sappy, even over stupid stuff like this.
Warning: Chapter contains Slytherin sleuths, telling secrets, coffee highs, mysterious (and intelligent) beds, and slow moving clocks... Don't say I didn't warn you.
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Chapter 14: Of Discovering Ourselves (part one)
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." -- Dumbledore
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"Many of you may find what I am about to declare very hard to believe." Dumbledore swept his gaze around the Great Hall, lingering here and there for a moment before coming to rest at the Gryffindor table, where we sat, of course, anxiously awaiting the announcement of Head Boy. We were all extremely worried about Lily, seeing as her last prospect for a partner didn't turn out that well. I could only hope it was Remus, and not Snivellus. Oh, the horror!
Okay, so I'm being slightly melodramatic. Greasy git that he was, I honestly didn't think Snape would do anything to Lily. Not that I wanted him to be Head Boy, of course. As a matter of fact, I almost wished I had behaved myself properly these last 6 years, so I could have the job. Almost.
My thoughts were interrupted once more by Dumbledore's mystical voice, which seemed to come from no where to pick up his speech.
"Jason Edwards, my first candidate for the position of Head boy, has found himself ill-disposed to do the job, due to a certain, er... Injury he aquired earlier on the train." You could never be positive with Dumbledore, but I was almost sure I heard a hint of humor in his voice. I grinned.
"Although it has never happened before in the History of Hogwarts, the young man I am about to allow to lead you is not a prefect, but a young man who many of you look up to. He is a good student, an excellent flyer, and a very, very loyal friend. James Potter, would you come here please?"
I flet the grin slide off my face like Stinksap. It was not the first time my name had been called during a feast. But never, ever had anyone heard my name called out for some sort of praise, except for in Transfiguration, and certainly not for a leadership position. But that was exactly what Dumbledore was doing.
I was about to slump lower in my seat when I felt a hand on my arm, and I turned to look into Lily's happy, shining green eyes. I realized that if I couldn't do this for myself, then I could do it for her. I could do anything for her.
And so, slowly but surely, I, James Potter, the illegal Animagus, the prankster extrodinaire, and, above all, the Marauder, made my way to the staff table. Taking the badge from Dumbledore, I felt this was a turning point in my life.
But I was still going to prank the Slytherins. Nothing could stand between a Marauder and mischief making, not even the love of there life (even though sometimes I think Lily was amused by our antics).
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To most people, Lily Evans is very un-perfect in a number of ways.
For one, she has a temper. A temper which, when provoked, could face down Armagedon without a shiver of fear.
She is also very, very studious. She thinks constantly about her grades, which has annoyed more than a few people, and it is often discussed among certain students that Lily Evans should be transferred to Ravenclaw.
Lily Evans hardly ever worries about her appearence. It is not uncommon to see her bent over her plate at breakfast, her hair in a ponytail, her robes more than slightly askew, and with a complete absence of make-up. And Lily Evans also has very bad posture, even though slumping does not agree with such a short girl.
Yes, by normal standards Lily Evans was very un-perfect. But I, James Potter, happened to love the un-perfect perfection of Lily Elizabeth Evans... Isn't that what love is about, anyways? Finding perfection in an un-perfect person?
"Oi!" I looked up, two weeks later, from the Potions essay I was trying to write for the Velvet Slug to see the gray eyes of Sirius Black smiling at me. Yes, I understand that most eyes don't smile.
But when you're Sirius Black, anything is possible. Like only raising one eyebrow at a time. How does he do that? But anyways, back to the present.
"I think Jamesie-poo was thinking about a giiiiiirrllll." I glared at him.
"Shut your mouth, Orion." Sirius narrowed his eyes, and I winced, realizing what a low blow that must have been. If he hated his first name, he loathed his middle name with a passion.
"Alright, Bambi. You asked for it." Stealthily, he stood and leaped onto the table. He opened his mouth, and I knew what was coming, but for some reason, I wasn't prepared. "Jaaaaamess Miiiichaeeel Pooooootteeerrr luuuuurves Lily Elizaaabeth Evaaaaaans!" Yes. Alert the Prophet, the Quibbler, and Witch Weekly, and report it to the WWN.
Sirius Orion Black, the rebel, the bad boy, the Hogwarts heart throb, is singing. And it sounds like nails on a chalk board.
"Sirius, stop. Now. Before you hurt yourself or someone else." I turned to see Abby, a book in her hand, grinning up at Sirius. And I couldn't help but wonder about the sense of humor Fate had, throwing Abby, the quiet bookworm, together with Sirius, the loud, attention seeking Marauder. But I could tell that Sirius had fallen hard for Abigail Marie, and that Hogwarts would soon have to find a new player, because this one was soon to be taken.
In the midst of Sirius's singing, Abby's reproachful grinning, and my wondering, I had failed to see or hear Remus come through the portrait hole. But out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a figure heading up towards our dormitory, and from the silhoutte, it couldn't be Peter. I turned back to Sirius and Abby, who were still looking at each other shyly.
"Sorry to break up this little staring contest, but Sirius and I have work to do." Abby rolled her eyes at me.
"Puhleaze, James. You have never done an honest days work in your spoiled, sheltered life." I scowled at her, but she continued. "Go ahead, plan your next full moon adventure. I don't care." Sirius and I turned to look at each other, gaping like fish. Abby looked over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Jamesie-poo. Your secret is safe with me."
"How did you know?" Sirius was still staring at her, his mouth open. She winked.
"I have my sources."
I watched after her, my mind still buzzing with her sudden declaration. How did Abby, the quiet one, the bookwarm, the one who was modest and hated attention, find out our secret? But I didn't have time to dwell on that, so I turned back to Sirius.
"Come on, Padfoot. Remus is up in our room, sulking about something, and we, the cheer-er-uppers, must go cheer him up, before he pulls us all into his strange portal of self-misery."
Sirius looked at me, raising an eyebrow. (How does he do that? Grrr.)
"How many cups of coffee have you had today, Prongs?" I looked down at my hands, trying to remember, and began counting on my fingers.
"Errr. About seven, I think. And it was more like a little bit of coffee with some sugar." I watched as Sirius shook his head, obviously amused.
"Merlin, James. Lily warned us not to let you have coffee." I just grinned cheerfully at him, glad they didn't listen to Lily. Much as I love the girl, she looks out for me a little too much.
"Yes. Well. Back to the mission. We have to go find Remus and figure out what his problem is, Sirius. Seriously." And so we began trooping up the stairs, keeping an eye out for a certain rat named Peter, because when something puts a Marauder down, it usually takes all of us to cheer said Marauder up.
But as we entered the dormitory, which was already covered in old socks, smelly shirts, and Drooble's wrappers, all of my own cheerfullness vanished at the sight of Remus. I had never seen a person look so sad without crying. He sat up against his headboard, his knees pulled up to his chest, his elbows propped up on his knees. He looked worse than he did around full-moon time, and that was saying something.
Sirius and I both sat ourselves down on either side of the morose-looking Marauder and pulled ourselves into the same positions, waiting for him to say something. It was an unspoken rule that we never asked questions; if he wanted to tell us, he would tell us. If he didn't, than he didn't have to. But we were always there, letting him know without words that he could tell us everything and we wouldn't ever leave him.
But we hadn't sat in that position since 2nd year, when he had come clean and told us about his furry little problem. Of course, we already knew. We just couldn't figure out how to get about asking him. So we waited, knowing Remus to be an honest person, and sure enough, the three of us, plus Peter, had sat on this very bed and swapped our biggest secrets. But more on that later.
Finally, Remus decided to talk. His voice was cracking from unshed tears, and his face turned paler with every word he spoke.
"I have to tell Kelli. She deserves to know." I didn't know what to say, and apparently neither did Padfoot. I would have loved to say, 'Go ahead, Remus. She'll accept you any way that you are." But I didn't know Kelli enough to determine her reaction, and Sirius didn't, either, so all we managed to say between the two of us was:
"Oh. Okay." Remus sighed and leaned his head back against the headboard.
"I'm not good enough for her. I mean, what if I hurt her?" He shook his head as if to clear it out, and crawled from the four-poster to take up pacing the floor. "Or what if she had some deathly fear of werewolves that I don't know about? Or-"
"Moony, mate, you really need to stop or you're going to give yourself a mental breakdown." Sirius looked at him sternly, and I fought the urge to laugh at this bizare scene in front of me. Usually Remus is the one looking at Sirius sternly, not the other way around. Suddenly I had a brain wave, which happens quite a bit when I'm sitting in Moony's bed. Maybe that's why he's smart, because he got the smart bed. Oh well. We'll never solve that mystery.
"I have a brilliant idea. We haven't pulled a prank in two weeks, right? And people are on the edge, waiting for it, because of course they're expecting it. So instead of our annual Prank the First Years gig let's get the Slytherins, and get them bad. Because this is our last year, and we have to go out with a bang." Remus raised his eyebrows at me.
"James, we still have 9 months before we go anywhere. So don't worry about going out with a bang, alright. We have time." I pouted at him.
"Come ooon, Moony. This will take your mind off Kelli, and it will relax us a little bit. No one has really said anything, but the whole school's gotten jumpy over all this Voldemort business. We need this." Remus sighed again, and this time it was a submissive one.
"Alright. Let's get down to business."
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"Spill." I hadn't spoken a word since I had sat down next to Lily at the breakfast table, due to the fact that I was shoveling food into my mouth, but she still knew. How can she read me so easily?
"I don't know what you mean, Lilykins. Could you pass the syrup? And your hair is falling down." She pushed the offending hair behind an ear and passed me the gleaming bronze liquid, but I could tell she knew something was up. And it wasn't long before she voiced her suspicions again.
"What are you and the Marauders planning, James?" I had the sudden urge to tell her that we weren't planning anymore, that we had already planned and set said plan into action, but decided against it, knowing that the spectacle to take place at dinner wouldn't be nearly as funny if she already knew what was going to happen. I just shook my head, and, glancing at my watch, grabbed her arm.
"Come on, Lils. Let's go or you'll be late to your favorite class."
The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever, as if the teachers had bewitched the clocks to take as long as they needed. Sirius, Remus, Peter and I were restless the whole time, fidgeting, playing Exploding Snap in the back of the room, experimenting with the Marauder's map during Transfiguration. Potions, the last class of the day, seemed to be the worst, as we not only had to deal with the extra-slow moving clocks, but the Slytherins and the Velvet Slug as well. Sirius and I, however, had to refrain from going into hysterical bouts of laughter everytime Snape, Rookwood, or Avery went by, seeing as they all had something coming, as did Rosier, my little brother Regulus, and the rest of their worthless House.
When dinner finally arrived, the Marauders and I made sure to get seats facing towards the Slytherin table and ate as fast as we could, willing the others (others meaning Lily, Alice, Frank, Kelli, and Abby, seeing as Kelsey was sitting with her friends in her year) to do the same, because as soon as dessert time rolled around, they wouldn't be able to breath from laughing.
And indeed, when the first wafts of treacle tart made their way to our nostrils, you could hear benches scraping as the whole Slytherin House got to its feet, and a select few, including the afore-mentioned, climbed to the top of the table and paired off, preparing to dance.
I cued to Frank, who was our accomplice, and he let the needle drop on the record player that we had borrowed from the Velvet Slug. As the waltz made it's way throughout the room, laughter could be heard mingled with it, as the whole Great Hall, including the teachers, watched Slytherin sing lyrics such as:
"We wish, oh we wiiiish we were Gryffindooooors, Where the great, and miiiighty roooooammm."
Composed by the wonderful yours truly, there were a whole six verses and a chorus, so, as you can tell, it would take much too long to put it all here.
As the song drew to a close and the Slytherins took a bow and sat down, never to remember a thing about tonight's dinner, I saw Remus pulling Kelli, who was still wiping tears of mirth off her face, out of the Great Hall and toward Gryffindor Tower. He glanced back, and I sent him the thumbs up sign, but I couldn't help feel my stomach sink a small bit.
I kept my friends at the table as long as I could, trying to delay getting to the common room so I could be positive Remus and Kelli had enough time to talk, but soon the Hall was emptying and we had to leave as well.
I was afraid, upon entering the common room, that we would be walking in onto something extremely private, and indeed we were, but it was not at all what I had expected. You see, when the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, Abby and I looked at each other, for we both heard a familiar female voice screaming at the top of her lungs.
"You are so cold hearted! How could you do this to him?"
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Mwarharharharharharharharhar. I'm so bloody evil... Sorry. But I promise I already have half of the next chapter written so it should be up on Friday at the latest.
Once again, I apologize for such a delay. And once again, you can blame half of it on Cody!
Sunni