A/N: I'm back! Sorry it's taken this long, but I'm semi swamped. I'm skipping to the beginning of the gang's second year because as a few of you pointed out, it was starting to drag. Sorry! Hope you enjoy :)
The noise in the Great Hall was deafening as everyone reunited with their friends from the previous year. Lily spent most of her time at dinner staring across the table to where James and Sirius were discussing Quidditch tactics, Becky and Vanya were comparing notes on love potions, and Remus was talking to Elisabeth. Even Kerstie was distracted during the few minutes when she came to talk to Ari, who was disgusted at all the mushy stuff going on, especially since it meant the only person to talk to was Peter. She was glad when it was time to head up to the dormitories. Most of the gang settled down in the common room to play chess or talk, but Ari went straight up to the girls room. As she passed Lily's bed she noticed the envelope lying on the end of it. Wondering what it could be, since mail was passed out in the morning, she reached out to pick it up, only to drop it when she heard a noise outside the door. She jumped over to her own bed and pretended to be rummaging through her trunk as Lily opened the door.
"Ari! You shouldn't be up here all alone! Sirius said I should come and get you and tell you to stop...what's that?" The redhead threw herself down on her bed and slit open the envelope. Ari watched intently as Lily's face went from dead white to bright red in a matter of seconds.
"Good news?" she asked mildly. Lily jumped and dropped the letter as if it had burned her.
"Um...nothing really. Just a...uh...reminder about something. Yes, a reminder." Lily's face now matched her hair in color, and was deepening to purple. Ari grinned to herself.
"Really? Why didn't they...ow!" Ari collapsed as a sharp pain stabbed through her head. She was vaguely aware of Lily screaming for someone to help, and tried to tell her friend that she was fine, but was distracted by the pictures forming in her minds eye. She saw a woman who looked a lot like Kerstie, only older and tired looking. The woman was crying her eyes out, and looked as if she had been beaten. The scene then shifted to one of an older Lily, carrying a child...Ari strained to see more, but then flashes of brilliant green light streaked across her vision and she lapsed into unconsciousness.
ONE WEEK LATER...
"Sirius! I'm fine! Madam Flumpora said so! There is absolutely no reason why I can't try out for Quidditch!" Everyone in Gryffindor tower was covering their ears as the Black twins went off at each other. Sirius had told Ari that she wasn't well enough to attend the Quidditch trials that afternoon, and it hadn't gone over well. They were still arguing, albeit in more muted tones, as they sat down to breakfast. The fight would probably have lasted all day if the mail hadn't arrived just then.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Ari hissed before turning to open a letter from her mother. Across from her, James turned pale and went rigid, much to Sirius' amusement. Ari gave her twin a sharp look, and when he grinned back at her, began to have serious doubts about what had been in Lily's letter. Rolling her eyes at Sirius, she turned back to her breakfast, only to have it interrupted again by Sybil Trelawny, a sixth year who had a reputation for being a little 'odd'.
"So this is the girl who sees visions?" The older girl sneered. "You certainly don't look the part, my dear." Ari looked the girl over, knowing that all her friends were as well. Sybil wore the traditional black robes, but she had thrown on a black lace shawl, and she had on shockingly pale makeup, with glittery eye shadow. She had huge glasses that magnified her eyes, and her arms and neck were weighted down with so much jewelry it was a wonder she could still stand. Her long dangly earrings touched her shoulders, and her hair was all in ringlets held up with silver combs. The result was interesting, but not particularly attractive. Ari gazed at her coolly.
"If you expect me to walk around looking like an overgrown beetle, think again." she advised. "And it's not like I asked to see things...it just kind of happened." Sybil pulled back, outraged.
"You...you...insignificant child! I shall read the fire omens for you tonight!" With that, the girl swept off, leaving the Gryffindors gaping behind her. Finally Becky broke the silence.
"Ooh, fire omens." She put on a melodramatic accent. "I see that you will turn orange and red and have issues with water!" Everyone burst out laughing.
Later that day, Ari was up in the girls dormitory, hunting for Lily's letter. Sirius had brought their argument to Madam Flumpora, the nurse, who had agreed with him that Ari shouldn't attempt Quidditch. So now she was stuck waiting another year to play. But at least she had the dorm to herself, as anyone who wasn't trying out was watching. She found the letter under Lily's pillow, and thought she would gag from the sappiness of it. Opening it, her fears were confirmed - the letter was written in Sirius' handwriting! Ari threw herself onto her bed and groaned...when would he learn to leave the matchmaking to her?! He always botched it somehow. Hearing noise in the common room, she stuffed the letter back under Lily's pillow and pretended to be asleep. The other girls came barreling into the room, cheering, "Lil-y! Lil-y!" Elisabeth noticed that Ari was asleep and tried to shush them, but Ari rolled over and sat up.
"I take it someone did well in tryouts." she remarked wryly. Lily grinned at her and motioned for Becky and Vanya to calm down.
"I'm a Chaser! And so is Sirius, and James made Seeker." she finished dreamily. Becky noticed and giggled.
"I think our little Lily is growing up!" she announced in a terrible southern accent. "Does deah, deah Lily have an eensy weensy crush on our deah friend James?" Lily blushed furiously as the girls ragged her.
"Alright, maybe a little bit of a one." she confessed. "But don't you dare say anything about it to anyone!" The girls promised, and then listened to Vanya as she proposed a plan to get James and Lily together in time for the Winter Ball.
A FEW WEEKS LATER:
It was the night before the Winter Ball, and only two people in Gryffindor were asleep - Lily and James. The girls had set it up so that Sirius wrote another false letter to Lily asking her to the Ball, and then Ari persuaded her to say yes. Lily went up to James and said she would love to go with him to the Ball, and he was too stunned to object. Vanya was quite delighted with herself for thinking of it, although Sirius protested that it was he that started it. Vanya was going with Sirius, Elisabeth was going with Remus, and Becky was going with Clancy Darbull, a Hufflepuff also in his second year. Ari ended up going with Peter because she felt sorry for him. Now, at two in the morning, she was regretting it. Her original plan had been to go with Kerstie, since neither of them had dates, but a few days before Kerstie had announced that she had been asked, but she wouldn't say by who. Ari rolled over in bed, muttering to herself and wondering about the mystery man. Slowly her lids began to droop, and she drifted off.
The day of the Ball, all classes had been canceled, since the teachers all realized that students wouldn't be able to concentrate. The Great Hall was being decorated, and up in the dorms last minute preparations were being completed. Two hours before the dance, all the girls were sitting on their beds in their dress robes, giggling nervously - all but one. Elisabeth had come in earlier and drawn the curtains to her bed, and hadn't come out since. The girls were starting to worry about her.
"Elisabeth? Lissy? Are you alright?" Becky called softly through the curtains. Her only answer was a muffled sob. Now seriously concerned, Becky pulled open the curtain and revealed a forlorn girl curled up in a ball on the bed. "Lissy! What's wrong!" Vanya, Lily, and Ari ran over to the bed. The distraught Elisabeth was almost incoherent, but they managed to make out the words "Remus" and "doesn't like me". All four stared at each other in shock.
"Lissy, Remus adores you! The two of you hardly even speak to the rest of us!" Lily reminded her gently. Elisabeth raised her head to gulp in some air.
"I...I know...but he...he.." she dissolved again. Lily threw her arms up in the air in frustration.
"We're not getting anywhere here." Ari announced firmly. "I'll be right back." She raced down the tower stairs and up to the boys dorm. "Sirius! Open the door!"
Her twin's head popped into view and glared at her. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"Oh, that's real nice." Ari retorted sarcastically. "Elisabeth's in tears because she thinks Remus hates her. Any idea what's going on?" The door flew open and two astonished faces popped out.
"WHAT?!" James and Sirius yelped in unison. Ari raised her eyebrows, and James cleared his throat. "Uh, well, you know how Remus hasn't been looking to good these past few days?" Ari nodded. "Well, he got really sick this evening and went to the nurse. That's all - he asked us to tell Lissy, and..." Ari sighed in exasperation.
"And you botched it up." The two boys nodded bashfully. "Great." An idea popped into Ari's head. "Tell Peter I'm going to have to stay with Lissy tonight, and I'm really sorry...etc, etc. Ok?"
"Ok, see you later!" The door shut and Ari ran back to her dorm. After she related the story to Elisabeth the other girl sat up.
"I feel silly," she confessed. "Thanks for staying with me, Ari." Becky grinned.
"And she got away from Peter - I think Ari had personal reasons too!" she crowed. Everyone burst into giggles.
AT THE BALL:
Ari and Elisabeth sat at a table on the edge of the Great Hall, looking for Kerstie. Half an hour into the dance, she showed up at the table, looking not at all like the Kerstie Ari had known for 12 years. She wore black, lacy, dress robes with dark red lipstick and black eye shadow, and silver bracelets halfway up both arms.
"Kerstie!" Ari leapt up to hug her friend, but Kerstie brushed her away.
"Please, Ariella, Kerstie is so childish! I'm going by my middle name now." She sat down and pulled a compact out of her sleeve, gazing adoringly at her reflection. Ari stared at her in shock.
"But - you always hated your middle name!" she objected. Kerstie shrugged.
"Well, my new boyfriend likes it just fine." she announced. Ari's mind reeled.
"How'd I miss this?" she exclaimed. "I know we've been growing apart a little, but really! Your first boyfriend?" Kerstie looked over and saw a figure making his way across the floor to her.
"Here he comes now!" Kerstie purred. Ari turned around and came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.
A/N: So, is this chapter any better? I've got some plans for the rest, and it's going to focus in on Kerstie and Lucius somewhat. Not completely though! Good for you if you can guess what Kerstie's middle name is! Constructive criticism is always welcome, so are nice things, and flames make me laugh. And I still need a title! So whatever you do, please please please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! Hey, that rhymed! :) - Ariella
The noise in the Great Hall was deafening as everyone reunited with their friends from the previous year. Lily spent most of her time at dinner staring across the table to where James and Sirius were discussing Quidditch tactics, Becky and Vanya were comparing notes on love potions, and Remus was talking to Elisabeth. Even Kerstie was distracted during the few minutes when she came to talk to Ari, who was disgusted at all the mushy stuff going on, especially since it meant the only person to talk to was Peter. She was glad when it was time to head up to the dormitories. Most of the gang settled down in the common room to play chess or talk, but Ari went straight up to the girls room. As she passed Lily's bed she noticed the envelope lying on the end of it. Wondering what it could be, since mail was passed out in the morning, she reached out to pick it up, only to drop it when she heard a noise outside the door. She jumped over to her own bed and pretended to be rummaging through her trunk as Lily opened the door.
"Ari! You shouldn't be up here all alone! Sirius said I should come and get you and tell you to stop...what's that?" The redhead threw herself down on her bed and slit open the envelope. Ari watched intently as Lily's face went from dead white to bright red in a matter of seconds.
"Good news?" she asked mildly. Lily jumped and dropped the letter as if it had burned her.
"Um...nothing really. Just a...uh...reminder about something. Yes, a reminder." Lily's face now matched her hair in color, and was deepening to purple. Ari grinned to herself.
"Really? Why didn't they...ow!" Ari collapsed as a sharp pain stabbed through her head. She was vaguely aware of Lily screaming for someone to help, and tried to tell her friend that she was fine, but was distracted by the pictures forming in her minds eye. She saw a woman who looked a lot like Kerstie, only older and tired looking. The woman was crying her eyes out, and looked as if she had been beaten. The scene then shifted to one of an older Lily, carrying a child...Ari strained to see more, but then flashes of brilliant green light streaked across her vision and she lapsed into unconsciousness.
ONE WEEK LATER...
"Sirius! I'm fine! Madam Flumpora said so! There is absolutely no reason why I can't try out for Quidditch!" Everyone in Gryffindor tower was covering their ears as the Black twins went off at each other. Sirius had told Ari that she wasn't well enough to attend the Quidditch trials that afternoon, and it hadn't gone over well. They were still arguing, albeit in more muted tones, as they sat down to breakfast. The fight would probably have lasted all day if the mail hadn't arrived just then.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Ari hissed before turning to open a letter from her mother. Across from her, James turned pale and went rigid, much to Sirius' amusement. Ari gave her twin a sharp look, and when he grinned back at her, began to have serious doubts about what had been in Lily's letter. Rolling her eyes at Sirius, she turned back to her breakfast, only to have it interrupted again by Sybil Trelawny, a sixth year who had a reputation for being a little 'odd'.
"So this is the girl who sees visions?" The older girl sneered. "You certainly don't look the part, my dear." Ari looked the girl over, knowing that all her friends were as well. Sybil wore the traditional black robes, but she had thrown on a black lace shawl, and she had on shockingly pale makeup, with glittery eye shadow. She had huge glasses that magnified her eyes, and her arms and neck were weighted down with so much jewelry it was a wonder she could still stand. Her long dangly earrings touched her shoulders, and her hair was all in ringlets held up with silver combs. The result was interesting, but not particularly attractive. Ari gazed at her coolly.
"If you expect me to walk around looking like an overgrown beetle, think again." she advised. "And it's not like I asked to see things...it just kind of happened." Sybil pulled back, outraged.
"You...you...insignificant child! I shall read the fire omens for you tonight!" With that, the girl swept off, leaving the Gryffindors gaping behind her. Finally Becky broke the silence.
"Ooh, fire omens." She put on a melodramatic accent. "I see that you will turn orange and red and have issues with water!" Everyone burst out laughing.
Later that day, Ari was up in the girls dormitory, hunting for Lily's letter. Sirius had brought their argument to Madam Flumpora, the nurse, who had agreed with him that Ari shouldn't attempt Quidditch. So now she was stuck waiting another year to play. But at least she had the dorm to herself, as anyone who wasn't trying out was watching. She found the letter under Lily's pillow, and thought she would gag from the sappiness of it. Opening it, her fears were confirmed - the letter was written in Sirius' handwriting! Ari threw herself onto her bed and groaned...when would he learn to leave the matchmaking to her?! He always botched it somehow. Hearing noise in the common room, she stuffed the letter back under Lily's pillow and pretended to be asleep. The other girls came barreling into the room, cheering, "Lil-y! Lil-y!" Elisabeth noticed that Ari was asleep and tried to shush them, but Ari rolled over and sat up.
"I take it someone did well in tryouts." she remarked wryly. Lily grinned at her and motioned for Becky and Vanya to calm down.
"I'm a Chaser! And so is Sirius, and James made Seeker." she finished dreamily. Becky noticed and giggled.
"I think our little Lily is growing up!" she announced in a terrible southern accent. "Does deah, deah Lily have an eensy weensy crush on our deah friend James?" Lily blushed furiously as the girls ragged her.
"Alright, maybe a little bit of a one." she confessed. "But don't you dare say anything about it to anyone!" The girls promised, and then listened to Vanya as she proposed a plan to get James and Lily together in time for the Winter Ball.
A FEW WEEKS LATER:
It was the night before the Winter Ball, and only two people in Gryffindor were asleep - Lily and James. The girls had set it up so that Sirius wrote another false letter to Lily asking her to the Ball, and then Ari persuaded her to say yes. Lily went up to James and said she would love to go with him to the Ball, and he was too stunned to object. Vanya was quite delighted with herself for thinking of it, although Sirius protested that it was he that started it. Vanya was going with Sirius, Elisabeth was going with Remus, and Becky was going with Clancy Darbull, a Hufflepuff also in his second year. Ari ended up going with Peter because she felt sorry for him. Now, at two in the morning, she was regretting it. Her original plan had been to go with Kerstie, since neither of them had dates, but a few days before Kerstie had announced that she had been asked, but she wouldn't say by who. Ari rolled over in bed, muttering to herself and wondering about the mystery man. Slowly her lids began to droop, and she drifted off.
The day of the Ball, all classes had been canceled, since the teachers all realized that students wouldn't be able to concentrate. The Great Hall was being decorated, and up in the dorms last minute preparations were being completed. Two hours before the dance, all the girls were sitting on their beds in their dress robes, giggling nervously - all but one. Elisabeth had come in earlier and drawn the curtains to her bed, and hadn't come out since. The girls were starting to worry about her.
"Elisabeth? Lissy? Are you alright?" Becky called softly through the curtains. Her only answer was a muffled sob. Now seriously concerned, Becky pulled open the curtain and revealed a forlorn girl curled up in a ball on the bed. "Lissy! What's wrong!" Vanya, Lily, and Ari ran over to the bed. The distraught Elisabeth was almost incoherent, but they managed to make out the words "Remus" and "doesn't like me". All four stared at each other in shock.
"Lissy, Remus adores you! The two of you hardly even speak to the rest of us!" Lily reminded her gently. Elisabeth raised her head to gulp in some air.
"I...I know...but he...he.." she dissolved again. Lily threw her arms up in the air in frustration.
"We're not getting anywhere here." Ari announced firmly. "I'll be right back." She raced down the tower stairs and up to the boys dorm. "Sirius! Open the door!"
Her twin's head popped into view and glared at her. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"Oh, that's real nice." Ari retorted sarcastically. "Elisabeth's in tears because she thinks Remus hates her. Any idea what's going on?" The door flew open and two astonished faces popped out.
"WHAT?!" James and Sirius yelped in unison. Ari raised her eyebrows, and James cleared his throat. "Uh, well, you know how Remus hasn't been looking to good these past few days?" Ari nodded. "Well, he got really sick this evening and went to the nurse. That's all - he asked us to tell Lissy, and..." Ari sighed in exasperation.
"And you botched it up." The two boys nodded bashfully. "Great." An idea popped into Ari's head. "Tell Peter I'm going to have to stay with Lissy tonight, and I'm really sorry...etc, etc. Ok?"
"Ok, see you later!" The door shut and Ari ran back to her dorm. After she related the story to Elisabeth the other girl sat up.
"I feel silly," she confessed. "Thanks for staying with me, Ari." Becky grinned.
"And she got away from Peter - I think Ari had personal reasons too!" she crowed. Everyone burst into giggles.
AT THE BALL:
Ari and Elisabeth sat at a table on the edge of the Great Hall, looking for Kerstie. Half an hour into the dance, she showed up at the table, looking not at all like the Kerstie Ari had known for 12 years. She wore black, lacy, dress robes with dark red lipstick and black eye shadow, and silver bracelets halfway up both arms.
"Kerstie!" Ari leapt up to hug her friend, but Kerstie brushed her away.
"Please, Ariella, Kerstie is so childish! I'm going by my middle name now." She sat down and pulled a compact out of her sleeve, gazing adoringly at her reflection. Ari stared at her in shock.
"But - you always hated your middle name!" she objected. Kerstie shrugged.
"Well, my new boyfriend likes it just fine." she announced. Ari's mind reeled.
"How'd I miss this?" she exclaimed. "I know we've been growing apart a little, but really! Your first boyfriend?" Kerstie looked over and saw a figure making his way across the floor to her.
"Here he comes now!" Kerstie purred. Ari turned around and came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.
A/N: So, is this chapter any better? I've got some plans for the rest, and it's going to focus in on Kerstie and Lucius somewhat. Not completely though! Good for you if you can guess what Kerstie's middle name is! Constructive criticism is always welcome, so are nice things, and flames make me laugh. And I still need a title! So whatever you do, please please please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! Hey, that rhymed! :) - Ariella