Chapter 55
Their work was complete by the time the sun started to go down and James couldn't help but marvel at it. They had transformed the inside of the small cottage into the inside of... a larger cottage. Because of the large amount of work that the three marauders had to do, they had never been so glad to have magic. It would have been horrendous to do everything manually.
James, Sirius and Remus had successfully added another room onto the house by transfiguring some of the trees that grew around the backside of the cottage. The new room was hidden from muggles with a few charms- that Sirius had found in books that he'd nicked from his parent's house. For a door, James had transfigured a peice of the wall, connecting the new room to the kitchen. Their new room looked similar to the Griffindor common room when they were finished. The second room still wasn't a lot of space, though.
Remus added a second floor into the new room through a bit of ingenuity and a strong shielding charm. Sirius had transfigured a tiny staircase from some branches that he found outside, before using a growing charm to make the staircase the right size. The boys also used the spell that made the inside of tents larger than the outside to make the walls and roof ballooned out. They had also expanded the bathroom and transfigured the shower into a full sized bathtube.
With their invisible second floor hovering above their new room, James flung Gail's bedroom door open to find the mousey girl asleep on her bed.
"Wake up, Gail, we're finished," James spoke without even thinking about playing a joke on her. He strode over to the bed before pausing. Without looking at the ground, he had stepped on to a piece of paper.
Bending over, James scooped the little, balled-up note into his palm. Gail was still breathing heavily and hadn't even moved. He noticed the smell before he could even examine the paper. Without a second thought, James smoothed the note out and glanced at it. His jaw dropped and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Prongs, what are you doing- what's that?" Sirius was beside James in a second, reading over his shoulder. Sirius was soon laughing as hard as he could, bracing himself on James' shoulder. Tears rolled down the dark haired boy's face.
"Padfoot, Prongs, what's going on?" Remus drifted over to the too. His eyes were fixed on Gail, though, who was still burrowed in the folds of her bed. She must have been tuckered out, not even waking up when Sirius was laughing so loudly. James made a move to shove the love note into his pocket, but was foiled by Sirius.
"Look at this," Sirius snatched the scented parchment from James' hand and handed it to Remus. Way to go, Padfoot! Causing havock and drama was what he did best. Everything was going fine until Remus' eyes hit the bottom of the note. Remus immediately crunched the letter in a fist.
"Excuse us for a minute," Remus gave them a look. James knew it was time for them to leave. He immediately pulled Sirius out of the room. Padfoot was still laughing like the note was hillarious, until James jabbed him in the stomach.
"Enough already," James hissed, closing the door and leaning against it.
They stood at the door because James and Sirius were such good friends of Remus. They were there in case Gail had given serious thought to the love note and had decided to smash Moony's heart into a thousand pieces. Of course, James didn't have the time to tell Remus that the note was obviously discarded when he stepped on it.
Gail awoke slowly to hand shaking her shoulder gently. It took her a second to remember that the boys were remodelling the cottage. She bolted up and gasped for breath, causing her her forhead to colide right into Remus' cheekbone.
"Ouch," Gail groaned, rubbing her forhead. Remus didn't really move, he simply continued to loom over her.
"What's going on, Remus?" Gail asked with her hands still massaging her forhead, unaware that the others had been asking the same question moments before.
Remus didn't respond for a moment. He had a mad look in his eyes, and his white fist was clenched around something. He suck his fist out and dropped the note to her lap. It took Gail a second to realize what she was looking at. The unpleasant smell wafted to her nose. She flicked the paper away with a look of distaste on her face and turned her dark eyes back to Remus. The werewolf in Remus seemed to calm down after witnessing her reaction to the note.
"What's going on? That piece of rubbish stinks," Gail smiled fondly at Remus, moving in to give him a sweet kiss.
"Mmm- thought you had a secret lover," Remus muttered darkly, pressing his lips against hers a bit more forcefully. He was more passionate than usual. Gail could have sworn that she felt his tongue slide across her bottom lip.
Gail pulled away, aware that they were situated on her bed, and Remus was pushing his luck. He seemed mildly peeved for a moment, before running a hand through his sandy brown hair.
"Sorry," Remus muttered quietly, resting his face in his hands. Gail could help but scoot forward to trace where his hands had been, along his scalp and through his hair. She hadn't been close enough to notice before, but there were strands of silver present in his hair, likely caused by his affliction and the stress of said affliction. Patches of his hair were coarse in places and smooth in others. Running her hands through his hair was strangely pleasing, and Remus seemed to enjoy the moment, too.
"So you thought I was secretly seeing- who was it, Kyle Singe? That we were having secret rendevous at work when you weren't looking?" Gail asked, putting on a sweet voice as she pushed Remus' hair out of his face. His face was slightly warmer than her hands.
"Er-" Remus paused for a moment to study Gail with a doe-like expression on his face, "yes. Sorry."
Gail laughed cheerfully and leaned her shoulder against his arm. He seemed to stiffen for a moment, before relaxing. They remained quiet for a moment before Gail decided to talk.
"You can have a talk with Singe, if you want. Tell him to leave me alone- or whatever makes your ego feel better."
The idea seemed to perk Remus up quite a bit. He smiled sweetly at Gail before standing up and sweeping towards the door, "we'd better let those two know that we haven't killed one another. So they can stop listening at the door."
With the last three words he spoke, Remus swung the door open and admitted his two friends into the room. They were both wearing bashful looks. Gail ignored Sirius' stare. She probably had bedhead and he was staring at her like she had a few extra heads. James was laughing nervously for some reason.
"Alright, Moony?"
"Fine, Prongs. Just fine."
"JAMES POTTER." A deep voice echoed through the now-cavernous kitchen before Gail could even open her mouth to scold the meddling boys. James' father had arrived and his voice resounded through the cottage with a twinge of worry.
"Dad? I thought you were staying with the Lupins. Everything alright?" James wandered into the kitchen with a stream of his friends behind him. Gail almost felt out of place there, but she remembered how kind the Potters had been to her and those feelings melted. Even Gail could tell that Mr. Potter had seen better days. The normal mirth in his eyes had fled and he didn't even smile when he greeted the residents of the small cottage.
"You weren't here this morning," Mr. Potter said sullenly, after pulling out of a quick embrace with his son.
"Sorry, we thought it wouldn't be a good idea to remain here. Just in case," James was speaking, but his voice seemed eerily steady. He seemed to be examining his father for traces of depression.
Gail had been worried that Mr. Potter would end up in the same position as Mrs. Prewett after the death of her husband. She knew she didn't have to worry after studying Mr. Potter for a few seconds, though. He had a strong look of determination in his weathered eyes. He was firmly telling James not to be so reckless. Travelling was extremely hazardous these days, since the Death Eaters were gaining even more power.
"Vampires," Mr. Potter was saying, "a majority of them have joined him, too- rumors that I doubt. Vampires are far too proud to play second string to a bunch of wizards."
"I don't think the vampires would join him- they normally dislike being controlled by humans as much as centaurs, perhaps more." Gail commented dryly, aware that four pairs of eyes were focused on her when she spoke, "for them, it's like us being controlled by cows, chicken or sheep- utterly humiliating. Besides, they're not all evil."
"There you have it, Dad," James spoke cheerfully enough, "creature expert Gail has spoken."
Mr. Potter nodded, "Dumbledore echoed the same statements. He thought the vampires would want to stay out of a wizarding war."
"If they were smart, they would," Sirius growled moodily. His gaze was fixed on the table as he continued speaking, "what about the dementors?"
"So far, they're still sided with the Ministry," Mr. Potter sighed heavily, "but they might not be for long. Not if he offers them more. So far, he's more interested in human followers- because they're more adept and easier to control with foul means. He wants havock- and he has it. The Ministry really can't do anything to stop the attacks, they always arrive too late and people just don't know the proper procedures to protect themselves."
Gail assumed that what Mr. Potter meant by "people" was "people like us."
"The aurors are inspecting our house. We should be able to go back in a few days," Mr. Potter continued. His weathered face froze in pain at the thought of going back, only to melt a second later. Gail assumed he was thinking about his deceased wife.
"We'll be holding her funeral next week. Until then, it would be for the best if you stay with Gail, if she'll have you," Mr. Potter finally spoke again after a moment of sombre silence. His voice was like the crack of a pistol. How could Gail have forgotten that the two remaining men would have to burry Mrs. Potter. The thought made her chest hurt. Gail had to swallow around the lump in her throat.
"Of course James- and Sirius- can stay here," Gail found a voice that was not her own. It was somehow detached from her overwhelming senses.
"Thank you," Mr. Potter smiled as best as he could, even though he was obviously in pain, "I should get going now. You boys be good and keep each other safe."
With that, Mr. Potter exited the little cottage as quickly as he had come.
Gail was dragging all three boys along with her to work the next day. There was no way she would leave them alone at the cottage. She had assumed that they would torment Flink or burn the whole place down. James, always interested in seeing new things and having adventures, was more excited about it than either of his mates. Sirius was grumpy after being awoken quite early in the morning and Remus was scowling at everything with a permanent grimace on his face. So there the three boys were, waiting outside while Gail was fetching her pet crup.
"Geez Moony, what did the tree ever do to you? Someone'll think you don't like trees, from the way you keep glaring at it." James was teasing his friend to lighten the mood, but it didn't really have the right affect. Moony's eyes narrowed and he continued to glare at the leafy tops of the willow trees.
"I think he just misses the great whomper," Sirius chiped in, "he gets lonely without Greg."
"Padfoot, mate! You must be losing it," James flung his arm around Sirius and laughed momentarily, "we've never named the whomping willow 'Greg,' have we?"
Remus snorted indignantly, turning his eyes to Gail and the little dog.
"Remus, take Sirius and apparate over there. I'll take James."
"No way. I'm going with Moony, I've already done my time with you," James vetoed that idea, sticking close to Remus. Last time, he had thrown up in his mouth. Gail was horrible at apparating.
"No way, I'm going with Moony too," Sirius was standing on Remus' other side, staring warily at Gail. His fear was correct. Maybe Moony had told him about Gail's poor excuse of apparating. Gail glared furiously at all three of them before lunging forward and taking hold of Sirius' arm. In a flash, the two of them were gone and James was left standing next to Remus.
A very harrassed looking Moony grabbed James by the shoulder and apparated. There was no motion sickness in James' stomach afterwards, either. It was a pity that Sirius was hunched over a few feet away, evacuating his stomach of its breakfast contents. His apparition sickness must have been severe. Gail, the woman of stone, had no sympathy for him and simply stepped around him.
"Padfoot! My mate- Watch where you're aiming that," Jame patted Sirius on the back, stepping around the pool of vomit and following Gail into the large greenhouse-like building. The stench hit him when he entered. Definitely the living quarter of many little animals. Remus passed by James with Sirius on his heels.
"Urgh," Sirius held a hand over his nose, "stinks like Kreacher in here."
"More workers? Wonderful, Gail," a masculine voice errupted from James' right, "you two boys can help clean out the stalls today."
"No way," Sirius glared at the man as if he was calculating whether or not he could hex the man and get away with it.
"Psst, Padfoot," James pulled Sirius close and whispered, "Gail works here. Don't do anything to get her in trouble- or else she will be a plague for both of us. You know how much she knows, right?"
Sirius grudgingly nodded, and sulked as if he had been sentenced to a life sentence in Azkaban.
Gail couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Sirius and James shoveling piles of dung out of the stalls. They were working without complaining, even though Sirius looked like he was going to kill someone. She could barely hear him, but she supposed he was muttering huffily about on and on about 'a poor use of his skills' or something like that.
This was good enough revenge for every bad pranks the two boys had ever played on anyone, including Gail and the rest of the students at Hogwarts. She wouldn't forget this moment. It was truly a heartwarming experience to see Sirius sweating and mad, shoveling animal feces. James was a lot more stoic about the whole thing- but he still looked like he wasn't enjoying himself.
Meanwhile, Remus had gone missing while Gail was too busy watching over the fallen marauders. It was strange for him to not be around, he usually stuck fairily close to her. She had a rough idea of where he'd gone. The french intern was still at work early, but Kyle Singe was nowhere to be seen.
Sure enough, Remus had called the Hufflepuff out and was giving him a good lecturing. Gail wished she had borrowed James' invisibility cloak, so she could go listen to her boyfriend defend her. The best she could do was weasle herself in between two winged horses to watch them talk outside. Things looked really tense between the two boys, from what Gail could see on the other side of the glass wall. It must have been hard for Remus, who always wanted people to like him.
Singe was laughing suddenly with a rather rude look on his face, Gail could have sworn that she saw him mouth 'coward'. The next moment, Remus' wand was drawn and he was practically breathing fire at the Hufflepuff, who stopped laughing immediately and held his hands up in appology. That solved everything. Remus backed off and stalked back into the greenhouse.
When Gail "ran into him," he already look very put-out.
"Thank you," Gail beamed at him, "you solved that little matter, right?"
"Yes," Remus confirmed, snaking an arm around her for a second, "back to work. Henry wants my help with the some of the dark creatures- they got a new shipment of hinkypunks in and they need to be sectioned off and sent to the different schools."
With that, Remus walked away as quickly as he could, stopping only to have a word with James and Sirius. He didn't pause to look back, but Gail could tell the whole thing had flustered him like a bad rash. The tops of his ears were quite red.
Kyle Singe was a lot slower to come back inside. When he noted that Remus was gone, he stood next to Gail without a word. When she didn't say anything to him, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Why'd you show my note to him?" Singe asked angrily, "don't you have any manners?"
"Why no, I don't believe I have any manners- least of all for someone that only hits on- well, someone else's girlfriend," Gail commented dryly, "and the hogwash about being better than him? Bullcrap."
Furiously, Singe rounded on her and glared ruthlessly. He had an air about him that made Gail think of an aristocrate. That was exactly what Singe was: a bossy, annoying noble who thought he was better than everyone else. It was no surprise what he wanted to ask when he spoke, "what do you see in him? He's a bloody pushover- a coward."
"He's no coward and I would watch my mouth if I were you. The two over there are looking at you and you could become a target for some nasty spells, care of their love," Gail snapped before continuing more gently, "I chose Remus. That's all that you need to worry about. Now get back to work before I complain to Henry about your advances."
Wordlessly, Singe swung around and walked jerkily away, as if he had burned the bottoms of his feet. Gail, relieved about the confrontation being over, finally relaxed. The muscles in her next had become tense over the last few minutes and were twinging painfully. At least that ordeal was over, for now.
Author Note:
Kyle Singe, ladies and gentlemen. He's a bit stuck up, if I do say so myself. Hopefully he will make a few more appearances. He doesn't seem to like Remus very much, hm?
Sorry about the late update. I dragged my feet a bit today. Not feeling so good.
-Rue
Apocolips: Yes! I'm glad you got the idea. My brothers used to kid about tying rocks to my head to keep me from growing – that's why I'm so much shorter than them! Thank you for the review.
XxGrimmy: Haha~ Well, I imagine that Petunia looks like a vulture and Vernon looks like a toad. Walburga, walrus iceburge. Yes, Gail crushes boys completely. Haha.
Revvy: What do you mean by "done?" I'm just curious. Yes, the beginning of the story is rather like Cinderella- but hopefully, I'll be able to spin it away from the norm. Or at least make it long enough that you forget how horrible the beginning is. I am a weird author, but not so weird that Gail would remain creepy for the entire story. Thanks for the input, anyway.
