Chapter 41: More Chickens
January 25, 1994
"Good job, Melinda, please wait for your results," Aliya announced. "Next up… CANDICE WEBER!"
Candice gulped, running a hand through her wavy black hair. She hoped her auditions went well. The Magical Dance club sounded interesting.
"Good luck," Neville whispered to her. He was wearing a black tank top and black tights.
"Oh, er, thanks."
"Is Kylie going to be coming?" he asked before turning red.
"Er, no?"
"Oh, okay."
"Candice Weber?" asked Aliya again. "Are you there?"
"Talk to you later," muttered Candice before walking onto the stage. "Sorry, Aliya."
Aliya smiled reassuringly. "It's alright, don't worry. You ready?"
Candice took a deep breath. "Yep."
"Whenever you're ready."
Candice turned back to the magical speakers as the music started playing. She closed her eyes, facing her back towards the audience, and then she did a flip. Completely synchronized with the music. She'd been practicing this for days, it came naturally to her now as she started to dance.
It felt like an hour, though it had only been seven minutes, when the music came to an end and she landed in her last pose, her arms outstretched.
"Great job!" said Aliya enthusiastically, smiling. "That was really cool, Candice. You can wait for your results. They should come in a day or two."
"Sure, thanks," Candice replied.
"Next up, NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Neville, pulling up his pants. "I'm not ready!"
Ginny propped up her arms and put her head on top of them.
What should she give Harry for Valentine's Day?
He'd hated the singing valentine Lockhart had encouraged her to give last year. She needed something better… something which would come from the bottom of her heart. Something that truly meant something to him.
"A locket?" she asked herself. "Nah, that wouldn't work. Hey look, hey, Hermione!"
Hermione, who was entering the room, looked at her. "Yeah, Ginny?"
"It's Valentine's Day soon," Ginny said matter-of-factly. "What should I get Harry?"
"Oh," said Hermione. "Definitely a card. Hand-made. Don't order something."
"Okay," said Ginny. "I want something that comes from the bottom of my heart. Something that means something to him, you know?"
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "I get what you mean. Maybe… I don't know, Ginny, what he wants is to get away from all the pressure of being under this burden of you-know-who. He wants to get away from the attention, just be normal. Live a normal life without people staring at him, Sirius Black being after him, people whispering about his scar, you-know-who trying to kill him… he wants an easy life."
Ginny frowned, an idea popping into her head at the word 'easy'. Her eyes widened and she grinned.
"Thanks so much, Hermione, this was great."
"Did you get it?"
Ginny grinned wickedly. "Oh, yes, Yes, I definitely did."
James was going nuts.
There was no way… no way… that Padfoot was walking on the Hogwarts Grounds. That was unsafe, and Dumbledore would never allow it.
But he knew his friend. He knew what Sirius looked like as a dog. He would never mess it up. How many other black dogs were wandering around Hogwarts?
"James?" asked Remus softly, coming up behind him. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I've… I've seen a dog," whispered James, shaken. Remus wouldn't laugh at him. Remus would understand. But he didn't know if he'd admit it to anyone else. Not even Lily. She'd say he was going mad and comfort him… but he knew he wasn't wrong.
"A dog as in…"
"Like, a huge black dog. One that's really large. One that's… One that's Padfoot."
A look of understanding, horror, and surprise flashed on Remus's face. "Padfoot?"
"I know, I know," mumbled James, rubbing his hands against his forehead. "I'm going mental. But I swear…"
Remus sat down thoughtfully. "You're not going mental. Harry thinks he's seen it too."
"What?!" cried James hoarsely. "Harry? He can't know! Does he know?"
"No, he doesn't know it's Sirius," Remus explained quietly, looking around to make sure they weren't being overheard. "He thinks it's the Grim."
James's hands clenched into a fist. "Both forms of Sirius are notorious, aren't they?" He felt mostly relieved that people would know Sirius, whether as a human or as a Grim, but the slightest bit of protectiveness was still there that people were defaming him. It would take him a long time to get rid of that.
"They are," Remus whispered. "James, you have to know. Sirius isn't good anymore. He's a murderer. He's killed people. He killed Peter, James, and he tried to kill you."
"I know," growled James. Then he paused. "Remus… Remus, do you think it's possible that there's some misunderstanding? That Sirius isn't the bad guy? That someone… framed him?" It wasn't likely. He knew it wasn't true. But still, he hoped. He hoped that there was a chance that Sirius was innocent. That he wasn't guilty.
"I know what you mean," Remus said softly. "I know what you want. I want it too. But he's not, James, he's not good. There isn't much of a chance. But who knows?" He gazed off at the sunrise. "Who knows, Prongs? Maybe. Maybe there's a chance. However low it is."
James sighed, sinking his head into his knees. "Yeah. Maybe. Maybe there is."
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" Draco yelled, looking down into the brown eyes of Hermione. "Oh, of course. The Mudblood."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "An insult gets old after it's come out of your mouth once, Malfoy, did you know that? You ruin the effect."
Anger was evident in the lines on his face. "Granger, you will regret this."
"Ooh, threat," mused Hermione. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks, Malfoy, and that's just gotten old. Not cool."
Draco scowled. "You seem to be witty."
"I know," Hermione responded sarcastically. "Much wittier than your friends Crabbe and Goyle."
Draco's lip curled into a sneer. "Watch what you say about my friends."
"Or maybe Liana?" Hermione asked. "I'm sure she's much more witty. You can't do anything that doesn't involve hurting Harry, can you?"
Draco's lip curled. "No, Granger. I don't think I can."
And he swept away without another word.
"Left, Potter, left," ordered Oliver as Harry swerved left.
"Sorry."
Oliver nodded, spinning around in mid-air and coming to a halt as he surveyed the field. "Johnson, what are you doing?"
"I'm doing what you asked!" cried Angelina, her eyes widening. "Take a 90 degree angle and-"
"That's after Fred gets the Bludger!" Oliver yelled over the pounding wind. "Seriously, Ang?"
"Sorry," she muttered, running a hand through her black hair.
"It's fine, just wait. And George… What the heck are you doing?"
George dropped his chicken, and it fell to the ground, wailing and cawing. "What's wrong?"
"You brought a… You brought a chicken onto the Quidditch Pitch!" screeched Oliver. "Where did you get that from?"
George grinned. "My skills."
"Our skills," amended Fred.
Oliver bared his teeth. "Get back in your positions."
"Definitely," agreed George
"Sure," replied Fred, as the two of them flew to their spots.
"I feel bad for the chicken," murmured Harry.
Tonks fingered Remus's maroon jacket.
He was really the kindest man he knew. How could anyone be so nice, and loving, and kind, and… and perfect? How did anyone not like him? What was their problem?
If it was up to her, she'd go smack Snape in the face for all the things he'd done to Remus, but he had restrained her. Remus had. And he was the one on the receiving end of the insults!
The man was unlimited.
"Tonks?" came a voice.
She turned around, smiling. "Hey, Remus."
"What were you thinking about?" he asked, walking over to her and leaning against the table she was standing next to. "If I'm allowed, of course."
"Nothing really. Just about… well, you." A light blush crept up her cheeks.
"All good things, I hope?" Remus asked, smirking.
"Mostly," teased Tonks, leaning up to grin at him. He smiled back, putting his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into him comfortably.
"Well then, we need to change that," he mused. "I only want good thoughts of me in your mind."
She laughed.
"Coincidentally, Valentine's Day is coming up," he noted casually, interlacing their fingers. "Anything you want?"
"Nah, don't bother." She knew that he didn't have much money, and she didn't want him spending it all on her.
"But I have to get you something," he said. "What do you want? What would you like?"
"Nothing, seriously," assured Tonks. "Don't waste your money all on-"
"Waste?" repeated Remus, looking offended. "Waste? Tonks, how could I waste my money on you? I'd gladly be willing to spend everything on you, Tonks, don't worry about it! I can't just let you sit there without anything."
He wasn't going to give up, but Tonks really didn't want him spending anything. "How about you make the day special for me, then?" she suggested. "You don't have to buy anything, per se."
He grinned. "I like that."
"Hermione!" cried Lavender, running up to Hermione. "Hi, Hermione, I had a question."
"Go ahead," Hermione said, leaning back on her chair. Lavender and her had never really been good friends, but they didn't hate each other either. Lavender wasn't her type. She was too girly.
"You're friends with Ron," Lavender stated. "And, well, I like him."
Something flared inside Hermione. "You like Ron? As in…"
"As in like like," Lavender confirmed. "And I know you're friends with him. Can you get me close to him?"
Hermione snapped. "Seriously? Is this all you can do? You want to play with people, use people, and just push people to get to what you want? When you have to pick a team, you don't come to me. When you want to pair up, you don't come to me. When you want to talk to someone, you don't come to me. But when you want to get to Ron, you come to me?"
Lavender didn't seem perturbed. "Yep."
"You…" Hermione's eyes flashed. "I'm not helping you. This was a wasted attempt. You can't just use me whenever you want, Lavender. Find another way for Ron to like you back."
Lavender blinked. "Please?"
"No!" cried Hermione exasperatedly. "No, I am not helping you. Find some other way. You can't use me, though, I won't allow it. Go find someone else worth your time. Don't just chase after a silly schoolgirl crush, okay? You don't like Ron."
"Er, yeah I do."
Anything left in Hermione snapped. "Shut up! You don't understand what I'm trying to say, and I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. Just leave and don't even try getting to Ron through me. If I were you, I wouldn't get to him at all. He wants people with personality, Lavender, the one thing you don't have."
And she slammed the door with a loud BANG!
Emmeline's day wasn't going well.
First, she'd spilled applesauce all down her top. So, naturally, she had already got annoyed.
Then it turned out she hadn't paid the bills, and she had to go and pay them all over again.
Now there was a guy at her doorstep, trying to raid her house for some information.
"Where's your warrant?" she asked.
"I don't have one!" he yelled. "Let me go in!" He tried to push past her into the house, but she reared back her leg and kicked him on to the sidewalk.
"What do you expect to find?" she snapped. "Hidden leopards? Extinct toads? Illegal ostriches? Well let me tell you, mister, you're only going to find dirty laundry and music players!"
"I need to find-"
"Get out," snarled Emmeline. "I don't want you coming back here ever again!"
"But-"
"Goodbye," Emmeline said coldly, slamming the door.
Merlin, what had he wanted? She had nothing hidden in her house, unless you counted the stolen radio. Well, you probably did, but she'd stolen that ages ago, and she'd left half the price on the shelf. So technically…
She plopped down on the couch. Her temper could get the better of her sometimes, but she was fiery and fierce. Everyone said so. Just a short-tempered girl.
Just then, something knocked on the window. She looked over at it and saw the owl delivering the Daily Prophet hovering there. She let open the window and he dropped the newspaper on her lap.
Weird Sisters Attend Concert in Edinburgh (pg. 2)
Tips and Tricks to Keep Your Hair Young (pg. 4)
Sirius Black Sighted in London (pg. 5)
Blizzard Storm Predicted to Hit England (pg. 7)
Emmeline skimmed through the contents and flipped open the page about Sirius Black. It probably was the most important, though she did want to see the way to keep her hair young. Weather forecasts were boring, but the Weird Sisters were also cool.
Sirius Black Sighted in London
Sirius Black is a mass-murderer who has escaped from Azkaban. He was in Azkaban for the charges of murdering Peter Pettigrew, and a street full of witnesses (see pg. 11).
He has most recently been sighted in London, a few miles away from Diagon Alley. What he might've been doing is unknown. He was sighted by a Muggle man by the name of Andrew Kuttle.
"I was on my way to work and I saw this man. I thought I knew him from somewhere, so I decided to approach him and ask him," Kuttle says. "But his eyes looked wild and his hair wasn't well kept and his clothes were all wrong. He was hiding in the shadows, by the bushes. Like he didn't want to be seen."
Kuttle then continues to describe Black, to confirm that he is indeed Sirius Black and not some homeless vagrant.
"He had long black hair. It was curly and unkept. All over the place. His face looked chalky and pale. He looked like he really needed food or water. Like a homeless guy," Kuttle explains. "I felt bad for him. He was wearing grey rags. It wasn't… right."
We ask Kuttle if he knows where Black had gone, but Kuttle doesn't seem to know.
"I didn't want to associate myself with these people. If he was a homeless person or someone on the run, I didn't want to get into the mix. Homeless people don't hide. And I think I've seen his face on some poster. Maybe a WANTED poster?" is what he says. "I didn't want to be involved in a police matter."
Nobody else seems to have seen any sight of Sirius Black. He must be-
Emmeline put the paper down, sighing. Could no one write about happy things these days? That Sirius Black was such a jerk. Going around and killing people. She hoped he got sucked dead by a Dementor. Peter had always been annoying at school, but he didn't want to kill him. And she knew the two had been friends. So why would one kill the other? Sirius had always been shady. Covered by a cloud.
"Weird Sisters time," she muttered, flipping open the page. It was just about the latest concert with an interview with Enola, one of the guests, and a Sister himself. The paper was losing its touch. There was also a blurb welcoming their new author, Rita Skeeter. She'd written the one about how to keep your hair young. Nothing important, really, nothing fun or mind-boggling.
She was definitely getting bored these days.
She needed entertainment.
She hoped she got it soon.
Dean and Seamus were talking.
Mainly Seamus.
"-and then I told him to shut up. Have you seen his face? It's all pale and really grey. Like he hangs out in the mud all the time. How dare he have the guts, though, to just walk up to me like that! And say that to me! Anyway, once I told him to shut up, he didn't shut up. He asked me what was wrong and why he should be quiet because he wasn't doing anything. He was doing everything! I even told him that. I told him right then and there, and I yelled at him and explained to him why he was being dumb," Seamus was saying.
"Yeah, totally," murmured Dean.
"Right? So anyway, then Aliya came up to us, and she-"
"Aliya?" asked Dean loudly, turning to Seamus. "Aliya what?"
Seamus sniggered. "Our boy's in love."
Dean turned red. "I am not."
Even though he knew it was a lie.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Coming up next chapter: Tonks starts work at her new Muggle job, and Dobby sneaks into Hogwarts. Stay tuned! :)