Disclaimer: If by some miracle of God, you have read this before, then it probably doesn't belong to me. If it is unfamiliar, then it probably does. 'Nuff said.
CHAPTER TWO
Two weeks after the start of the new school year, Lily Evans sat in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fire with four of her best friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, Ana Marie Croft and Christina Eastman studying the day's lesson in potions. "I just can't stand this! Lily yelled and threw her potions book, accidentally hitting Sirius in the head. "Sorry, Si. It's just that we've been back for two weeks, and we haven't done a decent prank since the one on the train! We have to get started, or we'll lose our edge."
Sirius rubbed his head where the book had hit him. He glared at Lily, "well, I don't know how you expect me to think now, you've knocked all of my brains out!"
"It can't be that bad, Si," laughed James. "You didn't have that many to begin with! Lily's right, however, we need to get going on something. Anyone have any ideas?"
"Well, now that you mention it…." Lily said with that gleam in her eyes that her friends had come to know all to well. "I have been thinking on something."
"Oh, Lil, what have you got planned now?" asked Ana. "something nasty against Snape? Or perhaps something to that mangy cat Mrs. Norris?" Ana had always been something of a follower. A brilliant student, she just didn't have the malice that most of her friends did. She was, however, very good at pointing out the flaws of a plan, and fitting the pieces in just so they would work out.
"Well, I thought that maybe we could…" Her voice faded out as Molly Bell, Head Girl of Hogwarts, walked in through the portrait hole entrance of the Gryffindor house.
"May I have your attention please? I have some exciting news! First of all, classes for the next few days have been canceled." Molly waited until the excited hoots and hollers in the common room died down. "Professor Astra has discovered a special meteor shower passing through Cassiopeia which will not happen again here for another thousand years or so. The Headmaster believes this to be vital to your studies and has changed lights out curfew to six o'clock beginning tonight. You will be expected to report to the Great Hall at eleven where you will all be able to view this event. That is all." With that, Molly left the common room to tell the other houses.
"Wow! No classes! Who would've thunk it?" Christina exclaimed. "I wonder what's so special about this meteor shower anyway? I've seen dozens of them!"
"Yeah, but do they all pass through Cassiopeia? Say, Jay, isn't that close to Uranus?" Said Sirius. "Oh, I just thought of something. Moony is going to miss all of this! It's that time you know."
"Oh, you're right, Si. We should sneak up to HQ to tell him before it gets dark." (HQ was the code name for where Remus went every month during his changing into a werewolf) Lily pondered this for a minute. "We'd be able to get up there and back before dark if we left after curfew, wouldn't we?"
"Well, count me out, no offense to Remus or anything, but I want to get some sleep so I don't miss any of that shower." Ana sighed. She loved anything that had to do with the heavens. Sometimes her friends wondered if she were a Moon Child, although she frequently denied it.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later that afternoon, in the Great Hall, Ana walked up to Professor Astra with "What's in the Stars? Astronomy Foretold." book in her hand. "May I ask you a question professor?"
"Certainly dear, what's on your mind?" Professor Astra looked at his best pupil.
"Well, it's about this meteor shower. In my book, it says that when one sees a meteor shower, death is foretold. Also, anything passing through Cassiopeia means that the beginning of a series of events that will have a great impact on the future is about to take place. Does the headmaster believe that this may be something that we need to be concerned about?" Ana looked up at her professor concernedly.
"Ah, little one, don't concern yourself with such rubbish! Dumbledore just wants us to witness a miracle of nature. Something like this only happens once in many generations. Now, off to bed with you, you don't want to be too tired to see this, do you?" With that, Professor Astra continued the preparations for viewing the stars later in the evening.
Ana set off for the Gryffindor common room. She was thinking about what her book said, and what Professor Astra had told her. I somehow don't believe him. Why would something so strange be so coincidental? And why would this meteor shower be so important that the whole school would get involved? Some of us aren't even taking Astronomy! They wouldn't care if it were a meteor shower or a comet! Lost in thought, she didn't even notice Lily, James and Sirius until she almost ran them over.
"Oy! Ana! Watch where you're going!" Sirius exclaimed. "What's got you so brain dead?
"Sorry, Si, didn't see you there. Where are you guys off to?" Ana said.
"Well," said Lily, "we're off to tell Remus about the meteor shower. Maybe he can look out his window and see it before he transforms fully." Said Lily. "I don't think he would want to miss this."
"Before he transforms into what?" Severus Snape stepped out of the shadows of the corridor. He had an evil grin under his hooked nose.
"Oh, eat worms and die, Snape." James said. "It's none of your business. Come on, guys, let's go back into the common room. I forgot something."
Sirius hung back in the hallway and watched James's, Lily's and Ana's retreating backs. "Want to know where Remus is, Snape? Just prod the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow. You'll find a passageway under there. Follow it until the end, that is, unless you're too chicken." With that, Sirius spun on his heel and followed his friends into their common room.
"Where did you go, Si? We looked behind us, and you weren't there. Snape wasn't giving you any trouble, was he?" Lily looked at Sirius in concern.
"Nah, Lils. You just got your wish. I have just played a great prank on that cretin Snape." Sirius winked at Lily. "It's going to get him off of our backs for good."
"What did you do, Si?" Lily's eyes got wide at the prospect of Snape being made a fool of. At that moment, Professor McGonagall walked into the common room.
"What are you all still doing up? Lights out was twenty minutes ago! To bed, with all of you! Not you, Miss Eastman. Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you upstairs in his office. Hurry up, I will escort you." McGonagall's usually stern eyes seemed to soften a bit when she looked at Christina. As they left the common room, James, Lily, Sirius, and Ana, headed up to their dormitory rooms.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"So, Si," James said later when they had already gone to bed. "What did you do to Snape? You never told us."
"Oh, you're going to love it. I told Snape how to get up to HQ. By the time he gets there, Moony will scare him out of his wits!" Sirius laughed at his own joke. "I only wish that I could be there….. Say, what's wrong with you, Jay?"
"Are you out of your mind??? What if Moony bites him, or worse yet, what if he kills him??? How do you think Remus will feel then??? I can't believe you did that! I have to go and stop him!" With that, James jumped off of his bed, grabbed his robes, and ran out of the room leaving Sirius to ponder what he had done..
A/N Does this make as little sense as it seems to? I think that I may have eaten too many chocolate frogs in the process of writing this. Hmmm… Again, let me know what you think! If it's too boring, I'll quit. ~~Ryn
CHAPTER TWO
Two weeks after the start of the new school year, Lily Evans sat in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fire with four of her best friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, Ana Marie Croft and Christina Eastman studying the day's lesson in potions. "I just can't stand this! Lily yelled and threw her potions book, accidentally hitting Sirius in the head. "Sorry, Si. It's just that we've been back for two weeks, and we haven't done a decent prank since the one on the train! We have to get started, or we'll lose our edge."
Sirius rubbed his head where the book had hit him. He glared at Lily, "well, I don't know how you expect me to think now, you've knocked all of my brains out!"
"It can't be that bad, Si," laughed James. "You didn't have that many to begin with! Lily's right, however, we need to get going on something. Anyone have any ideas?"
"Well, now that you mention it…." Lily said with that gleam in her eyes that her friends had come to know all to well. "I have been thinking on something."
"Oh, Lil, what have you got planned now?" asked Ana. "something nasty against Snape? Or perhaps something to that mangy cat Mrs. Norris?" Ana had always been something of a follower. A brilliant student, she just didn't have the malice that most of her friends did. She was, however, very good at pointing out the flaws of a plan, and fitting the pieces in just so they would work out.
"Well, I thought that maybe we could…" Her voice faded out as Molly Bell, Head Girl of Hogwarts, walked in through the portrait hole entrance of the Gryffindor house.
"May I have your attention please? I have some exciting news! First of all, classes for the next few days have been canceled." Molly waited until the excited hoots and hollers in the common room died down. "Professor Astra has discovered a special meteor shower passing through Cassiopeia which will not happen again here for another thousand years or so. The Headmaster believes this to be vital to your studies and has changed lights out curfew to six o'clock beginning tonight. You will be expected to report to the Great Hall at eleven where you will all be able to view this event. That is all." With that, Molly left the common room to tell the other houses.
"Wow! No classes! Who would've thunk it?" Christina exclaimed. "I wonder what's so special about this meteor shower anyway? I've seen dozens of them!"
"Yeah, but do they all pass through Cassiopeia? Say, Jay, isn't that close to Uranus?" Said Sirius. "Oh, I just thought of something. Moony is going to miss all of this! It's that time you know."
"Oh, you're right, Si. We should sneak up to HQ to tell him before it gets dark." (HQ was the code name for where Remus went every month during his changing into a werewolf) Lily pondered this for a minute. "We'd be able to get up there and back before dark if we left after curfew, wouldn't we?"
"Well, count me out, no offense to Remus or anything, but I want to get some sleep so I don't miss any of that shower." Ana sighed. She loved anything that had to do with the heavens. Sometimes her friends wondered if she were a Moon Child, although she frequently denied it.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later that afternoon, in the Great Hall, Ana walked up to Professor Astra with "What's in the Stars? Astronomy Foretold." book in her hand. "May I ask you a question professor?"
"Certainly dear, what's on your mind?" Professor Astra looked at his best pupil.
"Well, it's about this meteor shower. In my book, it says that when one sees a meteor shower, death is foretold. Also, anything passing through Cassiopeia means that the beginning of a series of events that will have a great impact on the future is about to take place. Does the headmaster believe that this may be something that we need to be concerned about?" Ana looked up at her professor concernedly.
"Ah, little one, don't concern yourself with such rubbish! Dumbledore just wants us to witness a miracle of nature. Something like this only happens once in many generations. Now, off to bed with you, you don't want to be too tired to see this, do you?" With that, Professor Astra continued the preparations for viewing the stars later in the evening.
Ana set off for the Gryffindor common room. She was thinking about what her book said, and what Professor Astra had told her. I somehow don't believe him. Why would something so strange be so coincidental? And why would this meteor shower be so important that the whole school would get involved? Some of us aren't even taking Astronomy! They wouldn't care if it were a meteor shower or a comet! Lost in thought, she didn't even notice Lily, James and Sirius until she almost ran them over.
"Oy! Ana! Watch where you're going!" Sirius exclaimed. "What's got you so brain dead?
"Sorry, Si, didn't see you there. Where are you guys off to?" Ana said.
"Well," said Lily, "we're off to tell Remus about the meteor shower. Maybe he can look out his window and see it before he transforms fully." Said Lily. "I don't think he would want to miss this."
"Before he transforms into what?" Severus Snape stepped out of the shadows of the corridor. He had an evil grin under his hooked nose.
"Oh, eat worms and die, Snape." James said. "It's none of your business. Come on, guys, let's go back into the common room. I forgot something."
Sirius hung back in the hallway and watched James's, Lily's and Ana's retreating backs. "Want to know where Remus is, Snape? Just prod the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow. You'll find a passageway under there. Follow it until the end, that is, unless you're too chicken." With that, Sirius spun on his heel and followed his friends into their common room.
"Where did you go, Si? We looked behind us, and you weren't there. Snape wasn't giving you any trouble, was he?" Lily looked at Sirius in concern.
"Nah, Lils. You just got your wish. I have just played a great prank on that cretin Snape." Sirius winked at Lily. "It's going to get him off of our backs for good."
"What did you do, Si?" Lily's eyes got wide at the prospect of Snape being made a fool of. At that moment, Professor McGonagall walked into the common room.
"What are you all still doing up? Lights out was twenty minutes ago! To bed, with all of you! Not you, Miss Eastman. Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you upstairs in his office. Hurry up, I will escort you." McGonagall's usually stern eyes seemed to soften a bit when she looked at Christina. As they left the common room, James, Lily, Sirius, and Ana, headed up to their dormitory rooms.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"So, Si," James said later when they had already gone to bed. "What did you do to Snape? You never told us."
"Oh, you're going to love it. I told Snape how to get up to HQ. By the time he gets there, Moony will scare him out of his wits!" Sirius laughed at his own joke. "I only wish that I could be there….. Say, what's wrong with you, Jay?"
"Are you out of your mind??? What if Moony bites him, or worse yet, what if he kills him??? How do you think Remus will feel then??? I can't believe you did that! I have to go and stop him!" With that, James jumped off of his bed, grabbed his robes, and ran out of the room leaving Sirius to ponder what he had done..
A/N Does this make as little sense as it seems to? I think that I may have eaten too many chocolate frogs in the process of writing this. Hmmm… Again, let me know what you think! If it's too boring, I'll quit. ~~Ryn