*Remus's POV*
"Are you alright?" I nudged her.
She was nibbling her food, absent minded. She became quiet all of a sudden since evening.
"Never better," she faked a smile.
I raised an eyebrow.
"So, that's why you are trying to have your soup with a fork! I never knew one could do that!"
"What?" She looked confused at her bowl of soup and her fork. "Oh! This?" She faked a smile again. "No... I...It's not that. I.. I like the way the soup passes through the fork. How liquids...make a way for themselves to pass...the...ummm...hurdles...in their way to reach their destination. Or it can be another way. They just slip...past everything easily. Give them a little space and they just..." She trailed off stirring her fork in the soup.
"Kitty?" I called her.
"Hmmm?" She did not look at me.
"Remember this. If you want to talk about anything, I'm all ears."
She nodded,"Thanks."
"Hey, Pryde!" Marlene called. "Why don't you tell us about your amazing abilities? You know, the seer thing and everything that happened today?"
"Yeah! To me, divination was all about making up things!" Gideon chuckled.
"Yeah! I'll never forget my O.W.L.S. I made up an interesting story. Predicted the tragic death of my cat I never had. The examiner was almost in tears by the end of the prediction," Fabian laughed.
"You got an E! I remember that!" Cardoc laughed and everyone joined him.
"Well, divination isn't all shit. If you think it is, then there shouldn't be a 'Hall of Prophecies' in the Department of Mysteries, and people guarding it," Kitty replied smiling. Another fake smile.
"Hey! No offence!" Gideon raised his hands.
"None taken," she shook her head smiling. "Well, it's divination. And I can understand. It could be boring."
"So, how do you do this?" Fabian asked. "The connection?"
"Years of practice I guess. But it doesn't work with everyone. I donno why," she shrugged.
"What do you mean it doesn't work with everyone?" Dorcas asked.
"Well, for example, in my case, it works with James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Black."
"And what about others?" Frank asked.
"Why just them?" Alice asked.
"I'm just a beginner. And I still don't understand the laws of this advanced magic clearly. And every time I practice it, I get terrible headaches. And they were the first people I practiced on."
James and Sirius were having a hard time trying to control their laughter. Lily and I looked at her ad if she's grown an extra head.
"Don't stare at me. I'm living a lie. I have to lie. I still don't understand why it should be kept a secret that I'm from the future and was a muggle. I really don't like this seer shit," I heard her voice in my head. I guess Lily did too. She chuckled.
"So, can you predict anything?" Marlene asked eagerly.
"Yeah, deaths," Kitty replied coolly.
James, Sirius, Lily and I choked on our juice.
"Deaths?" Dedalus whispered.
"Are your predictions accurate?" Dorcas asked.
"Pretty much," Kitty shrugged.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and Moody grunted.
"What are you doing?" I nudged her hard.
"Ouch! Answering their questions of course?"
"Are you serious?!"
"Fck no! It's him," she jerked her towards Sirius. Some chuckled at the old pun.
"So, tell us, who is going to win this...war?" Marlene.
"Well, I've predicted few things and changed them. So, I guess it'll be us," she shrugged.
"You predicted and changed few things? What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"For example, your fates."
"Well, that's a good chat," Dumbledore interrupted.
There was tension in the room and it can be clearly seen.
"What do you mean our 'fates'?" Benjy asked.
She looked him straight in the eye and raised her eyebrows.
"You don't mean our deaths, do you?" Gideon asked.
She bit her lip and sighed.
"Enough of this!" Moody growled.
James, Sirius, Lily, Peter and I were looking at each other confused.
She turned to Dumbledore. They both stared at each other for a moment.
"That's all rubbish," Gideon mumbled.
She arched an eyebrow at him.
"Your wish," she shrugged and got back to her dinner, leaving everyone staring at her.
"Go on then. Tell us, how would we have died," Fabian raised his eyebrows.
"I don't think we should be talking about the events that won't occur anymore," Lily said hastily.
"Knowing things is not gonna hurt," she looked at Dumbledore. "They'd be more careful," she added. He sighed. She took a deep breath.
"Alright, don't interrupt me. Any questions, ask me after I'm done," she looked at everyone. And they nodded.
"Fabian and Gideon Prewett," she turned to the twins. "Murdered by a group of six Death Eaters led by Antonin Dolohov.. Fought and died like heroes. Caradoc Dearborn disappeared. His body was never found. The Bones family, almost completely destroyed, Benjy Fenwick, brutally murdered...only bits of him were found..." Her voice broke. She sipped her juice. She looked at her glass and continued.
*My POV*
"And Marlene McKinnon and her family, murdered by Death Eaters, including Travers. Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally. So were James and Lily. Frank and Alice...suffered something worse than death. They were tortured to insanity, by Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Junior."
The room was quiet. I shouldn't have said this. I should've shut my mouth. Shouldn't have started it. Damn your anger Pryde. You are a disgrace Kitty Pryde. You are an idiot.
"Murdered?" Gideon and Fabian asked confused.
"Disappeared?" Cardoc continued.
"Were found?" Benjy added.
"Tortured?" Frank asked. He and Alice were holding their hands tight.
"You talk like these have already happened," Dorcas narrowed her eyes.
Shit. What have I done?
"I...I told you what I saw. You know, the inner eye? I saw you what I told..." Wait what? Damn you Pryde. "Sorry.. I told you what I saw," I corrected myself.
"Crouch Junior? Isn't he still at school?" James asked.
"He is," Dumbledore turned to me and looked at me curiously.
"Sorry, I forgot about it. He isn't one of them, yet. But he will be... soon," I replied.
"No way! He is Crouch's son! He won't do that! Crouch is completely against You-Know-Who! So is his family!" Dedalus said.
"And you say his son will go against his father!" Emmeline said.
I tilted my head and gave a weak smile. "Aren't the Blacks supporting Voldemort and we still have few Blacks who turned their back on their families? Honey, this is a war!" I said matter-of-factly.
Silence.
"Pudding is here!" Tinky yelled breaking the silence. "No more talking about bad things. They will never happen! Why worry about things that will never happen? They just turn everyone mental." She served pudding.
"See? She is right. Those are never gonna happen," I smiled at everyone.
"How are you so sure about that?" Gideon asked.
I turned to Peter and grinned. And then to James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore.
"I just know," I winked at him.
*Sirius's POV*
"Alright there, McKinnon?"
She gave a weak smile.
We were on our way to my room for some rest. We have to go patrolling in West London in an hour.
"Come on! Spit it out," I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"It's... It's... Was she telling the truth?"
"Who, Pryde? You aren't still thinking about it, are you?"
She sighed.
"Marls, it's not going to happen."
"So, she was telling the truth then," she looked me straight in the eyes.
I did not answer.
"I don't know. I never believed in such things. But, I saw the look in Dumbledore's eyes. And yours, James's, Remus's and Lily's. And I realized...I...I can't believe! Half of the Order gone and-"
I cut her off mid sentence. I grabbed her and kissed her hard on her lips.
"I don't want to hear it. About the deaths of people I love. I don't. I had enough. Voldemort is successful in taking everything dear to us. And I'm not letting him to take away our sanity too. I don't want him to disturb our lives even more. This is the moment. I don't want to worry about the future. I don't want to brood over the past either. It's the present I care about. I've got my brothers, Lily, the Order, a war to fight and you in my arms right now. And I'll make sure nothing goes wrong," I told her fiercely.
She stared into my eyes. Her blue eyes glistened with tears. Her lips curled up and she nodded.
"You're right. It's the present, we should be thinking about," she leaned in and kissed me hard on my lips.
I pushed her against the wall, slid an arm under her shirt, kissed her hard and bit her lip. She moaned in pleasure and tugged my hair.
"How very romantic!" A drawling voice interrupted us. If you want someone to spoil a perfect moment, you should call Pryde. I turned to her smirking.
She was leaning on the wall, a couple of feet away from us. "I do like the chemistry and physics between you two. But I'd appreciate if you two..." She paused and looked from Marlene to me. "Get a room!" She exclaimed waving her hands impatiently.
"I prefer it here, Pryde. Anyway, I don't remember asking you for an audience," I told her still smirking. Marlene giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"You're blocking the way, git," she rolled her eyes. She was right. Marlene and I were right at the foot of the staircase. "Besides, who in their right mind would want to be the audience to your pa...romantic stuff? Not me! Even if you pay me. Excuse, me," she said and hurried up the stairs grumbling.
"She is weird, you know?" Marlene said running her fingers through my hair.
"Don't mind her," I said and kissed her again hard.
*Remus's POV*
I entered her room and it was a total mess. Bed upturned, chairs thrown aside, clothes everywhere. She was frantically walking around the room, throwing things aside mumbling incoherently. "How did I miss it?" "No. It wasn't there at all." "Not possible." "What the FCK am I going to do?"
"What is going on?" I asked walking in.
She did not respond. She did not even notice me.
I tugging in my heart increased.
"Hey! What the hell is going on?" I asked again walking to her. I could guess something was wrong with her. I've been feeling it since the moment we came home.
"Kitty! What the hell is going on?" I grabbed her by the shoulders and yelled.
At last, she looked at me.
"Re...Remus! God! I'm sorry. I didn't notice... I thought you...When did you... I...I was searching for it...I forgot...I lost..." She stammered, looked around, searching for words.
There was pain in her eyes. I could hear her heart beat. It was faster than usual.
"Kitty, shhh... Calm down."
"I...I'll clean the room," she tried to get away from me, but I was holding her tight.
"You can clean it later. Calm down, first. Here, sit," I pulled a chair for her.
She was looking around the room.
"Well, what's wrong?" I asked again slowly.
"I lost it. I don't remember where I kept it. I've been searching for it. That's a very important thing. It got loads of things-"
"Pull yourself together! You aren't making any sense. What are you searching for exactly?"
She stared at me. "My...my cell phone."
"Your... Your cell phone? You are worried about it?" I asked bewildered looking at the room.
"It might not be important to you. But it is very important to me," she mumbled getting to her feet.
"No...no... I didn't mean it that way. I thought it was something else. Something more...serious."
She stared at me, "It is serious," she whispered.
"What the hell is going on here?" Lily walked in. "What happened?" She looked around the room and then at us, confused.
"She is searching for her cell phone," I replied.
"This?" She asked waving it.
"Thank Merlin! Where did you find it?" Kitty got to her feet and took a step forward and then everything happened in a blink of an eye. She tripped on a shirt on the floor. I caught her before she fell and then I tripped on another shirt. We both lost our balance and
THUD!
We fell on the floor, I on top of her.
"Oooh...looks like someone's having a great time getting cozy! I knew you had it in you Moony. Always wild," Sirius walked in, looking around the room, smirking.
"Shut up, Padfoot," I muttered. "I'm sorry," I told her, getting to my feet.
"Pryde, I think you should stop letting people know your emotions all the time, especially when you are involved in such things," he said looking at Remus and I. "Or panicking about the whole romance thing... Its not excitement. Its panic of course," He paused and frowned talking to himself. I helped her up. "Unless," Sirius continued, looking at Kitty. "You are...really a lesbian," he raised his eyebrows.
*My POV*
"A What?! I...I'm not a lesbian!"
"Then what is wrong with you?" He raised an eyebrow and rubbing his chest. His hair was messy and had lipstick smeared on his cheek and chin.
"What do you mean what's wrong with me?"
"We are having this strange tugging in our chests. Like every time we connect. But this is different. We sense something is wrong...like pain," Lily replied looking at me concerned.
"Pa...pain?" I looked at them confused and continued. "I'm not in pain. Well, actually I am. Well, I was worried about my phone. I thought I lost it. That's all," I said walking over to Lily and taking it from her.
"A phone? All this strange tugging nonsense was because you were worried about your phone? What are you going to do with it? I thought you were in some trouble!" He exclaimed waving his hands.
Marlene entered the room. "And I come running and find you getting cozy with Moony. Is that how you search for something?"
"Oh I'm really sorry that this strange stupid thing interrupted you in the middle of your quest in exploring your girl! I never knew how this stupid thing works. Great! Now I cannot feel my feels in private! And, I have a lot to do with this thing," I snapped at him.
He scoffed, "Well, I can imagine."
"Sirius!" Lily sighed.
"By the way, about getting cozy with Remus-"
"Kitty -" I raised my hand and didn't let Remus finish what he was about to say.
"Boy, who wouldn't want to get all cozy with a man like him? He is all warm...like...this is bloddy winter and one doesn't need fire for warmth if they are cuddling with him. And he is tall, with strong arms, comfortable, and more flexible than you. And considering the furry little problem and the size of his boxers, he's a natural. Like you said, 'wild'. Above all, he smells like chocolate and books, he is sexy, a smart ass and a keeper. What else does a girl want in a man?" I looked him from head to toe for once, shook my head and walked out of the room, giving everyone, one last look. Sirius was sneering, Remus was red, Lily and Marlene stood there gobsmacked.
*Lily's POV*
I walked out into the courtyard.
"Do you know you are underdressed? Just PJs and a cloak?" I shook my head. She was sitting in a corner in the portico, staring at the dark sky. "At this rate, you'd freeze to death in an hour or two." It was heavily snowing.
"Who cares," she mumbled.
I sat beside her and cast heating spells around us.
"I do."
She looked at me.
"I do care. So does James, Mr and Mrs Potter, Remus, Peter, Dumbledore, Sirius -"
She scoffed.
"What?"
"Black? He doesn't even give an owl shit about me."
I chuckled. "Owl shit, feel my feels...you really are funny." I paused. "Its him, isn't it?" There. I asked it.
"Him what?" She looked at me confused.
"Sirius."
"Sirius what?"
"I remember our first conversation. Dumbledore said it was your love for someone that brought you here." Her eyes widened a bit. She turned away from me. "And you agreed to it. Said you are in love with someone from here. It's Sirius, isn't it?"
She laughed. "Lily, I thought you were the brightest one. Who in their right mind would fall in love with Sirius? I mean, he's good looking and a talented wizard, but...he's not a serious relationship guy or a family guy. And a calculated person like me, would never fall in love with a guy like him and waste time and energy. Unrequited love? That sucks," she shook her head.
"And I thought you always made some sense. You never thought about the unrequited love before falling in love with someone who did not exist back there in your world? You fell in love with a person...a person from a book you've read. Wow! Unrequited love, did you say?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I...it was different," she mumbled.
"Can I have your phone for a moment?" She gave it to me.
"Who in their right mind would fall in love with Sirius? Isn't that what you said? Then why does it say, 'Mrs. Padfoot warns you to take your filthy hands off her phone, you slimy git'?"
Awkward. Silence.
She looked at me wide eyed. She opened her mouth a few times to say something. But she couldn't. After a minute, she looked away from me.
"I saw the look in your eyes when you saw Sirius and Marlene together. I know the look very well. I've seen it in James's eyes many times. And how you babbled about Remus moments ago. I remember how you yelled at Dumbledore that night, defending Sirius. You did not want us to tell Sirius about Peter because you didn't want him get hurt. I see the way you look at him."
"I don't look at him!"
"Yes, you don't. When people are around and you know they'll be watching you," I smiled.
Silence.
"I never knew..." she whispered to the sky. "I shouldn't have said all those things. I was angry. Poor Remus gets it all the time," she rubbed her eyes.
" I don't know what to say. Marlene is my friend and-"
"Nah! Don't say anything," she shook her head. "I'm alright. I'm fine. I'm totally fine. A book, chocolate and something interesting, will clear my mind. I'm good," she faked a smile.
We sat in silence for few moments, staring at the dark sky.
"Lily?"
"Yes?"
She turned to me at last.
"No one can know."
"That your love for Sirius brought you here?"
"Lily, I love you guys too. It's not just Sirius. It's not only just my love for him. There's a lot. I love you guys too. I told you that night. He's just a part of it. Please."
I nodded.
"Besides, I'm a mature person. I can accept failures and rejections, and move on quickly. It ain't that hard," she shrugged.
Silence.
"Do you still feel me?" She asked.
"A little," I replied. I can still feel the slight burn in my chest.
She nodded."Well, I donno about freezing to death. But if I don't empty my bladder right now, it's gonna burst, killing me eventually," she said getting to her feet.
I chuckled and got to my feet too.
"Lily, I forgot to ask you. How many times did you and James defy Voldy?"
"Twice."
She sighed.
"Alice and Frank?"
"Twice. Why?"
"Be careful. You're gonna defy him again. Soon."
"What do you mean?"
"You four will defy him thrice and live to tell the tale."
"Oh!" That's all I could say. Defy him again? Last time, Alice and I almost lost our lives.
We walked back into the house.
"There you are!" James said aloud. He was laughing. They were all in the entrance hall.
Remus was still red and Sirius was scowling at Kitty. Marlene stood there, her face pink. She was trying to hide her laughter. Peter was chuckling.
"Kitty, is it true? Did you call Sirius, short, uncomfortable, inflexible, unattractive, dumb, tame and doesn't smell good?" James laughed. His face turned pink.
"Well, no. I said Remus is tall, more comfortable, flexible, sexy, smart ass, wild and smells awesome. But you know what? I like the other version. It sounds better than what I actually said," she grinned.
"Well, who cares about the load of shit she says?" He turned to her still sneering. "Why don't you see for yourself?" He pointed towards his crotch.
"Sirius!" James, Remus and I yelled at once.
Kitty scoffed. "Even if you put a knife to my throat or push me into the sea, I wouldn't do that terrible thing."
He scoffed. "Believe me, no one in their right mind would want to make whoopee with you!"
"Yeah only the wild ones with enough guts can do me! Not old wankers like you!"
"Who the fuck-"
"Enough!" Peter yelled. I was taken aback for a moment. Peter never yells. "Stop it both of you! You are out of your minds!" He
Silence.
Kitty and Sirius were both glaring daggers at each other.
"You're acting like immature baboons," Remus said.
"Totally," James, Marlene and I said in unison.
"Now, you listen to me Pyde," Sirius said through gritted teeth.
"Oh are you gonna cry, Black?" She mocked him.
"Let's see who is going to," he sad and swiftly waved his wand. Tarantulas and roaches appeared and started clawling on Kitty's body.
She started jump up and down, screaming. Sirius started laughing his are off.
Remus, James and I swiftly waved our wands and vanished them.
"Hey, its okay. They're gone. Calm down," I held her tight. She looked all over and shuddered.
"Very unimpressive, Black...just like the way you are in bed. Poor girls! I pity them!" She sneered and stormed out.
"Marl, Peter, can you give us a minute?" James asked. They nodded and took their cloaks and walked out.
"What was all that about?" James asked him fiercely.
"Wha... What? You're taking her side?"
"No one is taking sides, Padfoot," Remus said calmly.
"Bollocks! You're on her side. Of course you would. She lifted you up...into the sky, Moony!" Sirius waved his hands.
"Quit being a drama queen, Sirius," I sighed.
"Padfoot," James said slowly. "You know why happens of she is panicked. You know what happened at Mungo's. Didn't Dumbledore warn us to be careful?"
"Her magic is just like that of 11year olds. Uncontrollable," Remus said calmly.
"But she was the one who started it!"
"Padfoot, she's having a hard time," I said.
"So she is allowed to say whatever the fuck she wants to? To me?" He raised an eyebrow.
"She didn't mean it," I sighed.
He snorted.
"She's hurt, Padfoot!" I looked him in the eye.
"So she decides to hurt me?"
"Well, you're an easy one," I shrugged.
"What?"
"Listen, she's hurt. She probably wanted an argument so she could let everything out. Who is an easy target among us all?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Me?! I'm the easy one?" He askd incredulously.
"Well, she probably wouldn't want to argue with me. She knows I'm not the arguing type. Not with women," James smirked.
"And, she knows I'm the smart and the calm one," Remus smirked.
"And, I'm a woman. We have a languge. I would've understood it immediately and try to talk her down but she didn't want that," I smiled.
"And Wormtail? No one argues with wormy," James chuckled.
"So, that leaves you," Remus shrugged.
"So you mean, I argue with women, am dumb, can't understand a woman and an easy target for an argument?" Sirius frowned.
"Didn't you two had a row moments ago?" Remus asked.
"Who is always ready for a fight?" James asked.
"Who gets angry easily?" I asked.
"Who adds more fuel to the fire easily?" Remus asked.
"Who got into arguments at least once in a day, at Hogwarts?" I asked.
"Don't you all have work to do?" Sirius frowned putting on his jacket.
"She's a good person, Padfoot," Remus said patting on his back.
"I know you would say that, you comfortable, flexible, sexy, smart ass," Sirius scoffed.
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus muttered going pink as we all laughed.