Wolf. Kili . . . we are surrounded by people who don't know what iceblocks are. It's essentially frozen cordial on a stick!
Oh wow.
fold my love: Well, you're not going to see the lasting consequences just yet, but I had to tie it off in a happier mood. But you're not seeing anything in regards to that just yet.
castiellarke: Haha, thanks :)
Maddie (Guest): Well, I update when I finish the chapter, to be frank, but that generally happens about once a week - twice when I'm on a roll. The updates have been a little slow lately because I've been finishing my other story, but that's almost done now, and you should be seeing frequent updates soon.
Katherine: Haha, okay. Sorry that there's none this chapter, but there will be some coming up ;)
LukeSkywalkr: First, can I just say I love your name (massive Star Wars fan, here), and yeah, haha, I couldn't think of a good way to introduce the nicknames. So it was stupid, and I rolled with it. But I have to ask, for you Americans, how do you get snow, but also ridiculously hot weather at the same time?
Fires of Black Chaos: Yeah, you're not alone. I had 3 people (4, including you) say you didn't know what they were.
james-lily376: Well, that's not going to happen until a long way down the track, though to be honest, I haven't actually thought about it. I would assume somewhere around fourth or fifth year . . . that's something I'll have to think about.
Guest: Thanks :)
TheShadowCat008: Yeah, I know :( I don't like making Remus feel bad, but I have to.
Earth. bound. wolf: Nup. They got dungbomb lettuce instead. And yes, Drumsticks are the best!
It'sAKiliThing: Yeah, well since almost every chapter seems to feature the girls, I decided for the boys just to have some guy time. But hey, the girls are back now. And thanks, I've nearly finished my other story :) I've just got an epilogue to do.
Okay, so read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!
Cheers!
~Ice.
29 – Valentine's Day
Marlene
'Up, Black, up!'
'Mgnef . . .'
'Psh. I have parcels for you.'
One of Sirius' eyes popped open, and he surveyed Marley with slight interest. 'Oh?'
'Mmm hmm.' She plopped herself on the end of his bed and promptly dumped all of the wrapped gifts in her arms on top of his legs. 'It's Valentine's Day, and, of course, I took the liberty to double check that nothing was spiked with love potion. Well, I might have made Lily do it – I wouldn't be able to tell a love potion from a cure for boils, but you're safe anyway.'
'Those are for me?' he said with slight raised eyebrows. Marley nodded.
'All from "secret admirers".' She huffed. '"Secret", my foot. Just keep an eye out for all the third years that are eyeing you off more than they should, and you've got your mystery senders.' She cracked a grin. 'Maybe you should go give each and every one of them a long winded speech of thanks.'
Sirius shook his head, laughing. 'Nah. That'll take too long. I'll just gobble up the chocolate and be on with it.'
She swatted him. 'Inconsiderate turd.'
'At your service.'
'Oh bloody hell.' She grabbed one of the top parcels and pegged it at James' sleeping form on the next bed over. 'Oi! Jamesey!'
He just grumbled and rolled over.
Marley smirked. 'It's from Lily.'
James was sitting up and had that parcel torn open within the next three seconds, eyes wide. He then let out a groan and tossed down the box of chocolate cauldrons from Olivia Brown, shooting a glare at Marley. 'You liar.'
Marley smiled sweetly. 'That got your attention. Anyways, there's a couple more for you over here if you bother to get off your bum.'
James grumbled and army-rolled off the bed, before heaving himself, blankets and all, onto Sirius' and creating one big doona nest.
Marley grinned. 'Look at you two, the pre-teen heartthrobs.' She divvied up the stack of gifts and shoved them either way, before getting up. 'I'm off. I've better things to do with my life than hang around with you losers all day.'
Sirius gave a half wave, still eyeing off the presents. 'Bye.'
With a scoff, Marley threw the door open with enough force to scare Peter out of his sleep, and went down the stairs two at a time. Lily and Kayla were waiting down on the couches in the common room.
'Let's go get some food, yeah?' Marley said, and with a nod at that suggestion, the three of them went out of the portrait hole and started making their way down to the Great Hall at their leisure.
About halfway down, just as they were about to catch a moving staircase, one of the portraits spoke up.
'Are you by chance Miss Lily Evans?'
Lily paused, and turned. 'Um, yes. Why?'
The portrait, a man with a white powder wig, lacy cuffs and all that jazz, unrolled a scroll of parchment. 'I have been asked to deliver you a long and . . .' He trailed off, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. '. . . well worded poem that a mister James Potter gave to me last night.'
Lily blinked twice before responding. 'No thanks, we really must be off. Terribly sorry, but it's unavoidable. Bye!' With that, she grabbed Marley and Kayla by the wrists and shot down the staircase.
'Woah, hold up, bronco!' Marley said as they skidded around a corner. 'What was that about?'
'Can't stop,' Lily hissed, and a second later, Marley realised why. The man was chasing after them, shoving the occupants in other portraits out of the way.
'Wait!' he cried. 'I haven't read it to you yet!'
'I'm sorry,' Lily replied, 'but I haven't the time! Maybe another day!'
Seconds later the three of them were in the Great Hall, where there were absolutely no portraits for the man to use. Lily plopped down on a bench at the Gryffindor table, rather red in the face.
'What was that about?' Marley asked incredulously.
'It's Potter,' Lily said. 'Any note from him is bad news.'
Kayla raised her eyebrows, while Marley just grinned. 'You didn't want a love note read to you in public.'
Lily spluttered. 'I – that's not true!'
'So you do want the love note.'
Lily paused. 'That wasn't what I meant either. I don't want the poem at all.'
'What could be so bad about it?' Kayla asked. 'It's just James. For all you know, he's Marauder, Transfiguration genius, and closet poet.'
Lily pulled a face. 'Closet poet?' She shook her head. 'What I'm getting at here is that he'll be out to humiliate me. That letter will probably be comparing my hair to a burning tree, and my eyes to . . . pickled toads or something.'
Marley guffawed. 'Pickled toads? Don't you have a high opinion of yourself, Lil.'
Lily rolled her eyes. 'It was the first mildly disgusting thing that came to mind.'
'And quite inaccurate if I do say so myself,' came a voice from behind them. Marley turned to see James standing there, holding something behind his back. He grinned at all three of them.
'Where are the others?' Kayla inquired. James shrugged.
'Fairyland. Anyway, I myself would compare Miss Lilykin's eyes to emeralds. Toads are too pale and mushy, especially pickled. I should know. Mum's rather partial to using them in medicines.'
Marley winced. 'Ah, yes. I remember that day. Nasty stuff, that was.'
James nodded in agreement. 'Not quite sure I ever recovered. Anyway,' he said, now focusing his attention on Lily. 'Miss Evans! I have a gift for you.'
'Oh no,' Lily said, leaning away slightly and narrowing her eyes. 'What now, Potter?'
James grinned. 'Just want to give you some flowers.' He whipped the said object - a bouquet of lilies – from behind his back. 'Lilies for the Lily!' He shoved them at her, and Lily leaned back, getting a face full of flowers.
'Potter - !' She broke off and sneezed. 'I –' She sneezed again.
'Were the flowers not up to the customer's expectations?' James asked seriously, his hazel eyes glittering with amusement from behind his glasses. 'Would you like a refund?'
'I'm –' Sneeze. '- allergic -' Sneeze, sneeze. '- to lilies!'
James paused. 'Oh.'
But after a moment, a small grin appeared on his face. 'Oh well. Keep them, but at arm's reach. Farewell, Miss Lily Evans!' Then before Marley could process it, he was gone.
With another sneeze, Lily went to set the flowers down on the table. Her eyes were red and watering something horrid.
'Well,' she said, wiping them and regaining some composure. 'They are actually pretty flowers. I might put them in a vase or something, just away from me.'
'See,' Marley said pointedly. 'He is thoughtful, even if he's not bright enough to be keeping tabs on your allergies. He tried, at least. I don't see Snape giving you flowers.'
Lily huffed. 'Severus is presently busy, and doesn't have to give me flowers. Personally I don't think Potter was being very original, lilies and all. I think there might be a really bad pun behind all of this.'
Marley shrugged. 'Or something else. Who knows?'
Lily picked up the flowers again and surveyed them, pinching her nose to prevent inhaling the pollen.
'Well -'
BANG!
Swearing followed as Marley ducked for cover. They were engulfed in black gunpowder of sorts, and Marley could hear Lily coughing.
'Lil! You okay?'
Somewhere from within the cloud, there was response. 'Yeah -' Cough, cough. '- I think I'm alive.'
'Who blows up flowers, seriously?' Kayla's voice said, sounding irritated.
'Huh?'
Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Lily was sitting there looking stunned, with a soot covered face. The lilies were no longer in her hands – all that was left were charcoaled stumps of what had formerly been the stems. Lily's eye twitched. 'Potter.'
Marley blinked, eyes wide. 'Um, Lil, let's get you cleaned up.' Kayla made a noise of agreement, and they both took her by an arm and led her out of the hall before any attention could be drawn to them.
Lily spent the entire trip back up to the dormitory spewing a long chain of profanities of everything her remotely pure, thirteen year old mind could conjure up, all having to do with that 'no-good, prattish bastard Potter'. Really, Lily's vocabulary was a lot more extensive than Marley would have expected. Though, when growing up around the Marauders, one learns stuff a lot quicker than they usually should.
Upon entering the dormitory, the three girls went to the bathroom. Kayla soaked a washer in some warm water before wringing it out and passing it to Lily, while Marley tried in vain to dust the soot out of her hair. Lily took the washer and cleaned off her face, still muttering insults under her breath.
Then, completely out of the blue, she burst into tears.
'Why does he have to hate me so much?' she wailed. 'He s-started it, and now he . . . he won't bloody leave me alone!'
Marley and Kayla exchanged a look over the other girl's shoulder. If only she knew . . .
Sirius
No, Sirius Black did not run away from that group of third year girls. He just . . . strategically disappeared. While sprinting off down the corridor . . .
He hadn't been here before. This corridor was a different sight, and judging by the dust and cobwebs on every surface, it suffered from a lack of use.
He pushed open the door and poked his head into the nearest classroom. The desks were all piled up against one wall, and the room was completely bare save a filing cabinet near the door. Wondering what he might find inside, Sirius closed the door behind him. With a bit of straining, he tugged it open.
There was the sound of something moving behind him, and Sirius whirled around.
Nothing was there.
Frowning and feeling slightly suspicious, he turned back to the filing cabinet.
He leapt back with a scream.
Oh no. Oh nononononononono . . .
Walburga Black glared down at him, fury etched on every feature of her terrifying face.
'Sirius Orion Black!' she screeched. Sirius felt his breath hitch in his throat and backed up, fear pounding in his heart. 'You coward of a boy! You dared not to come home and face your parents as you should have! Instead you hid! You didn't come back and get punished for your crimes against your family! You are a disgrace, and no son of mine!' Disgust could be read all over her face.
Sirius wanted to run, but the door had become bolted somehow. Instead he tried to move away from his mother. She was here to take him away from Hogwarts . . .
'You're lucky I haven't burned you off the family tree!' Walburga screeched. 'And, oh, when I get my hands on you . . .'
Fear had taken over Sirius. He tripped over a desk in his attempt to run away, and screamed. Once he started, he couldn't stop. Because nothing was more terrifying than his mother. Nothing. She was the most ghastly thing he had ever known, and wouldn't hesitate to hurt him. He slipped backwards and hit the floor.
In the background he could hear the door slamming open. 'Sirius!'
Marley had burst into the room, and in an instant she laid her eyes on the woman before her. Then she did the most stupid thing Sirius thought she could ever do. She dove on his mother, tackling her to the ground. Suddenly the shape of the older woman started morphing, but before Sirius could work out what it was – or see it, for that matter - Marley had shoved it back in the filing cabinet and turned the key, locking it in there.
Sirius was still shaking.
Marley's face was the most welcome thing he could have seen right then. It was unusually anxious as she crossed the room to him and sat on the floor beside him.
'Are you okay?' she whispered. Sirius tried to put on a brave and cocky face like he usually would have, but he found he just couldn't. Before he realised what he was doing, he shook his head.
'Do you want to talk about it?' she asked. Sirius swallowed, and a long silence passed before he said anything.
'What was that?'
Marley shrugged slightly. 'I don't know. A shape shifter of some sort, I think.'
That made sense. Only now Sirius was starting to realise that his mother wouldn't randomly pop out of a filing cabinet.
'Was that – was that . . . your mother?' Marley whispered. Sirius nodded mutely. At this, she continued. 'I think that creature is meant to take on the shape of your fears or something.'
That would explain a lot.
Marley swallowed lightly. 'Look, I'm not going to let her hurt you, okay? I promise.' She took his hand and laced their fingers. 'She'll have to go through me first.' Her brown eyes were piercing his with such an intensity that Sirius felt slightly inclined to look away, but he just couldn't.
'This is going to sound stupid,' Marley murmured, 'but I'm here for you. I'm not going to judge you.'
Sirius nodded, feeling his eyes starting to well up. 'I know,' he whispered.
So he buried his face in her shoulder, and cried.
:(
Question: What's a random fact about yourself?
Answer: I like to drown - and I repeat, drown - my pasta in Italian herbs.
Leave your answers in the reviews!
