Eulogizing Memoirs

Amelie Rae Lanhoss

A/N-Most definitely for Spastic Asian; who gave me the kick in the ass I needed to finally get this latest chapter completely pulled together and posted. And of course for K.M.L.: who gave me inspiration years ago when you taught me to grow up – though I'd give anything for you to have taught me a different way. Speaking of teaching/learning, I have my first Driver's Ed. class at 9 in the morning and it's currently a bit past midnight (cringes) wish me luck! Review responses aren't in my bio right now but I'll put them up as soon as I get back. So anyways, I hope you all enjoy the long overdue Chapter 13

-C.R.C.

Chapter 13-The Beginning Of The End Of An Era

"Mya," Lily looked at me concernedly, "are you alright?"

I just nodded, I know I've been acting strangely all day but I'm incredibly nervous about what I'm supposed to be doing tonight.

He laughed at this for a minute before settling down.

"This is a quick funny story," he informed me, "it happened on the second Monday night of term. Now, Mya and Lily were more alike than just the fact that they could both have conversations with me minus any sexual innuendos; they were also both very, very smart and slightly obsessed with grades, well, from my 17-year old point of view anyway, and they both wanted all of us to start studying for our N.E.W.T's in September of our seventh year. Remus was the only one of us they could convince to study with them more than one night a week as James, Peter, and I did.

"Anyways, on that Monday she had seemed pretty restless all day and no one knew why or quite how to go about asking her if anything was wrong. We, her and I, had been paired up on Friday of last week for a Herbology project. Professor Sprout said we would have to come down and check on our plants at least once a day though it would probably be better if we took care of them twice a day.

"It was about an hour after supper in the Great Hall when she dragged me out of the common room to go see our plant. I have to admit that I kept complaining about how she had dragged me away from my friends until about halfway there when we heard Snape and a few other members of the group he sometimes hung out with talking and coming towards us, she pulled me behind a knight's armor statue and covered my mouth with her hand when I opened it to talk. She told me to keep quiet and then peered around the statue with her wand in hand. About a minute later she mumbled a spell I couldn't quite hear, the next thing I heard was a loud 'what the fuck Snape!'

"She tried to hide her grin from me before she motioned me to look out too. She had somehow jinxed Snape so that he was wearing only a fluffy pink towel around his waist and a pink flowery bathing cap. He was also holding a rubber duck and singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' It was completely hilarious, I half expected soapy brushes to come at him. Our laughter, though, was how the other Slytherins caught us, we ended up running the rest of the way to the greenhouse."

I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I cast those charms at Professor Snape that first time – or when I will – or – tenses confusion again. I have to just relax and…and…oh screw it, as soon as Malfoy and I are back in our time Professor Snape's going to kill me. I sighed loudly and looked up when I felt someone grab my arm and pull for me to stand up; Malfoy was looking back at me seeming…slightly worried, actually, if it would be possible for a Malfoy to be concerned about me…other then worrying that I'm not dead.

"C'mon, My, lets get going to Herbology."

Surprised, I stood up to follow him out hearing Lily talk to Benjy behind us.

"Thanks for telling Drake to talk to Mya, I'm worried about her."

I could imagine Benjy's shrug easily.

"No problem, it's probably just a dream thing, Drake gets really quiet sometimes too and says that's the reason." The doors' closing prevented me from hearing anything else Benjy might have said. Instead Malfoy – who was still grasping my elbow – pulled me out into the courtyard off the hallway outside the Great Hall. He seemed uncomfortable as he paced the small area.

"I don't…your personal health – or lack there of in this case – doesn't worry me at all, Granger…but it does worry some people."

I looked at him surprised as he ran a hand through his 1976-dark brown-almost-black-hair and muttered what sounded suspiciously like, "though I'll never understand why."

"The point is Granger – you've been acting weirder than usual the past couple of days and you've actually worried Evans enough that she asked Benjy to tell me to talk to you as your supposed cousin and only family member here. So. Whatever your problem is: snap out of it."

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, Malfoy, your concern is touching and all but I really don't need it, I'm fine."

He waved off my statement. "I know that, but your weirdness has Evans worried about you. And…" He seemed to be going through some kind of inner battle, "frankly, I'm also finding it…it's a little…unsettling."

Did Malfoy just come dangerously close to actually saying that he worried about a Gryffindor and a Muggleborn at that!

"So – and I can't believe I'm saying this – you need to get better soon, Granger, no matter what you do, get better soon."

The words 'get better soon' seemed to echo strangely and we stood there not quite looking at each other for an indefinite number of minutes before Lily's head appeared from around the corner.

"Hey, you two! We're all going to be late to Herbology if you two don't get a move on."

"Coming," I smiled at her while Malfoy merely walked towards Benjy and Quiet-Tim. I followed in Malfoy's footsteps and exited the courtyard before smiling and chatting with Lily all the way down to the greenhouse where I sat next to Sirius – my partner for our current project. It took most of the way from that small courtyard to the relatively large greenhouse for me to force the same strange feeling I had first gotten on our way to get ice cream a while back to the back of my mind. Feeling as if there was a possibility – especially a probable possibility – that Malfoy and I are closer to being friends than sworn enemies is a strange and scary feeling indeed.

"We have to check on our plant, Sirius"

"Yeah, sure Mya, as soon as I'm done with this game." Siri smiled and waved me off before turning back to his game of Exploding Snap with Harry's dad.

"Come on Sirius! Professor Sprout said we had to check on it more than once a day! Do you want to fail or something?" If we don't leave now I'm not sure I'll be able to get the courage again to hex Professor Snape.

"We won't fail, My, stop overreacting about schoolwork like Lily – just give me a few more minutes."

Overreacting? Can you even overreact about schoolwork in your N.E.W.T. year? Sometimes 17-year-old Sirius and James Potter are so much like Ron and Harry.

"Now Sirius, before we're stuck out past curfew." Amd with that I dragged Sirius by his arm out of his chair, across the common room, and to the portrait hole.

"Past curfew! We still have almost two hours left! Don't you think I have time for at least another game of Exploding Snap before that?"

"I'm sure you do, Siri, along with time for a second and third and fourth game even if not more but school's more important! And besides, afterwards I won't bother you at all and you can play Exploding Snap till you drift off from exhaustion."

"Never thought I'd see Sirius choose school over playing a game!" Remus called out from the other side of the room, laughing.

"Nah, mate," Harry's dad replied loudly as he dragged Lily into his lap again and wrapped her in a bear hug, "he's choosing following a pretty girl over playing a game. What else would get him away from a game of Exploding Snap?"

I fought a blush and pushed Sirius out into the hallway. He's my best friend for crying out loud! Nothing is going to happen between us – blushing shouldn't even be a possibility! I shoved back the traitorous part of my mind that whispered how I wouldn't mind if something were to happen and took a deep breath when I heard the Slytherin's coming. I quickly pulled Sirius behind a knight's armor: the unexpected motion actually causing him to stop complaining about how I had ripped him away from his friends just for a school project. He looked like he was about to talk– either to ask what I was doing or make some comment about how he 'knew' I just wanted to be alone with him, I wasn't sure – so I covered his mouth with my hand.

"Be quiet," I whispered before turning to peer around the armor-turned-hiding-place to see Professor Snape and younger versions of the Lestrange brothers and a woman who resembled Sirius – more than likely his cousin Bellatrix if she was hanging out with Professor Snape and the Lestrange's. Taking a deep breath and offering up a little prayer to the god I didn't believe in that Professor Snape wouldn't kill me when Drake – Malfoy, I can't believe I actually just thought of him as Drake – and I were put back in our own time I carefully concentrated and pointed my wand at him.

"Mens Mentis Exsertus Exertus."

I ducked back around, surprising myself by smiling in anticipation. Sirius looked like he was about to talk again so I shook my head once and listened. Neither of us had to wait long.

"What the fuck, Snape!"

"What's wrong with you!"

I grinned – slightly pleased at what I had done, I have to admit – and motioned for Sirius to look around the knight's armor we were still hiding behind. I looked around it with him and as soon as he started laughing loudly I did too - really, who wouldn't have at the sight of Severus Snape in an abnormally fluffy pink towel and flowery bathing cap? Add the fact that he was holding a yellow rubber ducky in one hand and singing a children's nursery rhyme, who wouldn't have collapsed in laughter?

"Where's the laughing coming from?"

"Behind the armor! I bet it's those damned Gryffs again!"

"We're going to hex you into the next millenium!"

Despite the fact that I was still doubled over in unstoppable laughter I managed to leap to my feet, drag Sirius up with me, and take off down the hall while the Slytherins continued chasing us. We escaped into the relative safety of Hogwarts' rolling front lawn still laughing - and now wheezing too - but didn't stop running until we were in the Greenhouse where Siri grabbed my hands and spun me around, laughing. And then he kissed me. He kissed me. Kissed me! If he wasn't spinning me around again I wouldn't be moving at all. He kissed me. And was somehow able to completely brush it off and just keep laughing and spinning me around. He actually kissed me. Granted it was over as quickly and suddenly as it had started but I can't believe he kissed me!

"That was brilliant Mya! You're brilliant! I can't believe-" he broke off to laugh some more, "did you see the Slytherins' faces? They couldn't believe it either! You're amazing! You totally have to show us all that spell when we get back up to the tower!"

Still laughing he dragged me over to where our plant was, the laughter had been completely shocked out of me - I can't believe Sirius never said anything about kissing Mya. I can't believe he kissed me.

"This is so boring."

Well we're studying for N.E.W.T.s! Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests! Did he actually expect it to be a roller coaster ride of fun or something? Both Lily and I glared at Sirius for his casual attitude towards what might be the thing that most influences what we can do once we graduate from Hogwarts but James stopped writing and threw his quill down on to the table next to the one Sirius had abandoned.

"You're absolutely right, Padfoot! Come on, girls, it's the second night in a row we've been studying for tests that won't come for another nine months! Nine months! Don't you think we have plenty of time to study?"

"No, James!" Lily almost yelled back, sounding exasperated. "These tests are going to affect the rest of our lives! We have to remember seven years of study! Nine months is an incredibly short amount of time to review seven years worth of material! Don't you even care, James Potter, about your fut-"

Whatever else Lily was going to tell James about his future was cut off when he effectively silenced her with a kiss, it was rather adorable to watch Lily blush lightly before pulling away.

"You're going to be the death of me James Potter."

"It's just one night, Lily flower, just one night for me and Siri to relax out on the Quidditch Pitch instead of in this stuffy library. Pretty please let me go, flower?"

Lily mocked a sigh. "Fine, fine, go on then - have fun."

James kissed her again before grinning and standing up. "Right-o then, to the Pitch my fellow Marauders!"

Expecting that all four of them would already be up and out the library doors Sirius startled me when he hugged me from behind.

"You sure you don't wanna come with, Mya?"

I rolled my eyes. Doesn't he know by now that each time he asks me to go somewhere over studying with Lily I always say no? Hasn't he noticed?

"Yes, Siri, I'm sure I don't want to go."

He hugged me tighter for a second.

"But you won't be mad if I go instead of stay and study like the good little boy that I'm not?"

I laughed at him - as if I really expected my restless best friend to be able to sit still studying for more than an hour or two. "No, Siri, I won't be mad - even though I still think you should pick school over playing Quidditch I wouldn't actually expect you to."

It was his turn to laugh before he kissed my cheek and practically skipped out of the library after James and Pettigrew - Remus had stayed behind with us to study a little more as always, though it was certain he'd go join them in an hour or so.

"So - Miss Mya Taite - you and our dear Sirius Black, huh?"

"Remus! No!" Lily burst out laughing.

"Oh - shut up, Lils!" But despite my best efforts I highly doubt either of them failed to notice the slight blush I felt creeping over my face. It was true, after all, that the Sirius in this time often acted as if he has a crush on me. Shaking the thought and tuning out Lily and Remus' teasing I re-focused on minotaurs.

"Shh! You're going to get us all caught!" I hissed furiously back at Sirius. It wasn't the first time I'd given the Marauders a prank idea to use against the Slytherins - and every time we almost got caught because Sirius couldn't stop snickering.

"I c-c-can't h-help it! Just ima-imagining their faces!"

"Then don't imagine their faces, Padfoot! I think it's hilarious just thinking about it too but Mya's right: if you keep laughing like that you're going to get us all caught!"

"If we're caught out after curfew again McGonagall'll kill us!"

Despite all the whispering and Sirius' not-so-quiet laughter we had finally reached the portrait to the kitchens and I reached up impatiently to tickle the pear - the longer we stayed in the hall the more chance we had of getting discovered and being put in detention.

"It's not the pear Mya, it's the orange, remember?"

Wha? But I'm so sure it's the pear! I know I've seen Fred and George tickle it tons of times and it opens! Oh. Right. Fred and George. 20 years in the future. I guess they've changed the fruit you have to tickle to get in by our normal time. Ah well, the orange it is then! And in we go.

"Welcome back Sirs and Miss!"

I looked down to see a squeaky-voiced house-elf looking at us with an expression of euphoric joy.

"Do Sirs and Miss wants more ice creams? Twilly will get thems more!"

"No, no Twilly, that's not what we're here for-"

"Speak for yourself, My! I'll take a double chocolate ice cream cone, Twilly."

"Yessir! Right aways Sir!"

"Sirius! We are not here for food! Stay focused!"

"Sorry, My, Twilly offered and I completely forgot!"

He kissed my cheek again - effectively sidetracking my mind. Why does he keep doing that anyways? I can't figure out why and I'm sure it's just slowly driving me crazy!

"Here yous is Sir! Can Twilly get the Sirs and Miss anything else?"

"Butternup can help the Sirs and Miss toos!"

"And Slippery toos!"

"Slippery?" What kind of a name is that? Even for a house-elf!

"Yes Miss! I is Slippery! But most calls Slippery Slippy!"

"Ah...Slippy, then?"

"Yes Miss!"

"Slippy, we'd like you to do us a very big favor, if you could, it would make us very happy."

Damn is Siri good at manipulating the elves, then again, I guess it doesn't take much. But Slippy looks almost disgustingly desparate to do the favor Sirius mentioned to make us happy. Desparate.

"Yes," Remus said earnestly, "you see, the Slytherins have been complaining lately about not feeling very well so Madam Pomfrey has asked us to deliver a..."

"Stomach-Soothing potion."

"Right, thanks Mya, a Stomach-Soothing potion so that you can put a little in each of their cups tomorrow morning at breakfast."

Slippy twisted his ears a bit.

"Sirs and Miss is sure it came from Madam Poppy? Just a Soothing-Stomachs potion?"

"We're positive, Slippy, the potion went straight from Madam Pomfrey's hands to ours, it's just a Stomach-Soothing potion."

Slippy seemed to hesitate for a moment. "If yous is sure..."

"We're positive, Slippy," Sirius added in after James, "we would be ever so grateful if you could do this to make us and all the Slytherins so...happy."

Slippy's head bobbed up and down quickly. "Okays Sirs and Miss, okays."

And even though I felt slightly guilty about tricking the little elf I watched carefully as Remus passed him what was actually a weak Connecting Concoction so that when one Slytherin was...er...charmed to look like they were wearing red and gold robes with either red or gold hair every other person who had taken some of the Connecting Concoction from the same batch would turn identical to that person once they touched them. At least, that's what would happen for 24 hours. It was weak because - while I was with them for getting the Slytherins back - it wouldn't do to have the Slytherins walking around for the normal two weeks the concoction lasted in Gryffindor colors, the longer they stayed under the potion's effects the longer the teachers had to trace it back to us - though it would be perfectily obvious that Gryffindors had done it.

"Thank you very much, Slippy."

"Oh! Miss is too kind! Slippy is only doing Slippy's job Miss!"

At that Pettigrew, our lookout - who I despised having at my back but how was I supposed to explain that without saying why? - climbed hurriedly into the kitchens.

"Grimmins just passed! We have a great shot at making it back if we head back now."

Grimmins? Oh yeah, the Filch of this time.

"Right then, let's go!"

Still holding his ice cream in one hand Sirius slung his other arm around my shoulders.

"C'mon My, don't feel guilty! The Slytherins deserve it! And that was a brilliant idea you had - the Slyths'll definitely be afraid of catching Gryffindor Fever again! They won't come near any of us!"

He laughed and kissed my cheek again. And my mind got sidetracked again. Why does it keep doing that?

"Sirius?"

I tried tiredly rubbing the sleep from my eyes. What I'd give to have been able to sleep just a few more hours before my nightmare woke me up.

"Hey, Mya, are you always up this early?"

"I could ask you the same thing, y'know." The Sirius of my time might be my best friend but I'm not so sure I want to tell the Sirius of this time about my nightmare.

"Nope, I'm not, I just kept imagining the Slyths faces tomorrow at breakfast and I couldn't sleep." He grinned while I slumped down in the armchair next to him.

"I don't blame you - thinking of the Slytherins' faces would stop me from sleeping too."

He laughed. "Why're you up though, Mya?"

I took a deep breath and said in a would-be casual voice - "Oh, I just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Aw. C'mere." He patted the spot on the couch next to him. With a small sigh I moved to the couch and slumped back down. He hugged me. "What was it about?"

"I - I had a friend - a very good friend - who...died a while back...sometimes I still have nightmares about it, that's all." So I'd managed to tell the Sirius of this time after all. Even if it was a very abbreviated version of the story I'd told the Siri of my time.

He kept hugging me. "I'm sorry, My, I know what it's like. Try getting some more sleep."

And despite the fact that I hadn't had any hot chocolate and hadn't re-lived my usual nightmare in excruciating detail, while Sirius held me I was almost able to doze back off.

"Smile everyone!"

The sound of a camera taking a picture went off and I knew that Allie Figg had taken the photo of the Marauders, Lily and I that would end up in the front of the photo album I gifted Sirius with 20 years from now. Allie had recieved a new camera from her parents for her birthday and it had been a day of picture-taking for her. It seemed like she had taken pictures of just about everyone.

"Okay, thanks you guys."

"You're welcome, Allie."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Okay!" Sirius called out happily before - ah! Wasn't expecting that - before he picked me up and spun me around, "I'm starving! Who else is coming with to the Great Hall for lunch?"

Though Lily tried to make a break for it when James grinned at her she hadn't gotten far enough, fast enough and so James followed Sirius - who had actually slung me over his shoulder by now - with Lily slung over his own shoulder all the way from the lake to the Great Hall. Remus and Pettigrew were laughing the whole way.

"Put me down, Siri!"

"Nah, Mya, I think you're fine just where you are."

I groaned. When Sirius said something like that there was no way he was going to budge. Luckily for Lily and I, almost as soon as we entered the Hall Professor Samolson...er...well, I suppose he came to our rescue in a way.

"Black! Potter! Put Evans and Taite down now! This is a school! Appropriate behavior is expected."

"Aw, c'mon, Prof -" Professor Samolson glared at Sirius for the shortened version of his title, "we were just having some fun!" He grinned but Professor Samolson glowered even more.

"I said down BLACK! DOWN! Or it'll be detention!"

As usual, the threat of detention didn't sway Sirius or James much. But then Professor McGonagall came along.

"Black, Potter, put Miss Evans and Miss Taite down immediately. It may be the weekend but that in no way means all codes of conduct have flown out the window. Miss Taite, if you'll follow me, the headmaster would like to have a word with you."

"Geez, My, what'd you do without us knowing?"

By now Professor McGonagall was pretty much out of earshot.

"I dunno, Siri, I didn't think I'd done anything. Put me down, will you? I'll go find out."

He finally set me down and I almost ran to catch up with Professor McGonagall.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Taite? What is it?"

" Do you know why the headmaster wants to see me?"

"I believe it has something to do with your return home."
Home? I can't believe I forgot! I've gotten so used to getting up in the morning, jogging with Lily, eating breakfast with Sirius, Lily, James, Remus and Peter, studying with Lily and Remus, helping James, Remus, Sirius and Peter pull pranks...all the times we had so much fun - the six of us - no matter what we were doing...I'd forgotten I was only here for a month. Drake - I've even started to think of Malfoy as Drake! - and I have to be leaving within the next couple days, it's already almost October. I can't believe we're actually leaving so soon.