SUNSHINE IF ETERNAL; 5; GEMINI
By Ginny :)
OK, here comes part 5. I think it's part 5. If it isn't forgive me, my maths has gone downhill since... yesterday. I dunno. :) I'll just say now that Gem is more then a little strange, and seems to have her own kind of semi- logic, for want of a better word.
I hope y'all had a happy christmas and will have a cool new year. And happy [now slightly belated] birthday, Peter, and Milly [my siblings], happy- not belated yet- birthday Frances and Robbie [my friend and her brother], and Esme- Rose [my cousin] and Hanna [my other cousin]. Too many people have January birthdays!
And, I would just like to say, of course I'm going to do a part from Peter Pettigrew's POV. He is a cool charactor, and I, personally, like him. He's funny. Live with it. :)
You will have to forgive me for Gem. She is a very strange girl and you might find her either annoying or funny. Just warning you...
I'm going to shut up now...
Ginny :)
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The kid named Pettigrew stuck his ugly mug round the railway carriage door. We all looked at him. Because that's what you do, isn't it, when someone you have seen vaguely once and don't wish to see again walks into the same room as you? You look at them. Which is fair enough, actually.
I was still feeling mildly surprised at finding that the boy I'd stuck up for was Remus Lupin. Moony. Whatever. I mean, I could see it was him... the face was the same, and the figure too, but there was a far more haunted look in his eyes then I remember, and there was something new about him... something really different. Not necessarily what you saw when you looked at him, but more of what you felt. That sounds really weird, doesn't it? He seemed to have aged more then a year over the time I hadn't seen him in. That's probably even weirder.
I suppose, you want to know something about me, although exactly why you would want to do this is unclear at this stage. I mean, what's there to tell? I'm 11, adopted by a Muggle family, consisting of a mum, a dad, and a younger sister who woke me at 6am this morning singing 'Silent Night' at the top of her lungs, apparently oblivious to the fact that it's September. I have no clue who my parents are, and don't really care [A/n; She is NO relation to Voldemort! Promise! Or anyone else you'd know of, I shouldn't think...]. I was in a fire when I was a baby and I don't know if my mum and dad were killed, or still alive, or even living on Alpha- Centuri. Well, they might be. Doubt it, but they might be. The one thing is the fire... it still haunts my dreams. I just remember the heat, and flames leaping up around me, and then a face looking at me though the flames; then I wake up. This might be from my past, but it could equally be just a dream. I have scars over me from the fire, but I know nothing about it, save what dreams tell me. And who trusts dreams? I mean, I once dreamed that my teeth turned into rice pudding and fell out my mouth, and it's a fair bet that that's nothing relevant to real life. Oh well.
You will have to get used to me talking about stuff irrelevant to everything, because I am hopeless at talking sense the whole time. If you don't understand what the hell I'm talking about, let it pass. I'm weird. Just bear that in mind.
I've known Moony for years. Him, his sister Petrova, his mum and dad, and a cat called Nemo. Nemo used to sit outside in the garden and yowl all night. My dad once said that 'that cat and that boy would drive him to drink between them, but at least that boy slept at nights.'
Wasn't that interesting?
Good.
Anyhow, that Pettigrew kiddie stuck his head round the door, looking more then a little nervous, as well he might. He was greeted by 3 unfriendly glares, and Moony staring right out of the window again.
"Er, yes, well, hello again," he was small, plump, and skittish. With a face, in all honesty, that reminded me of a rat. But then, I think that rat's are cool animals. I used to have a pet one, called Tizz.
Peter seemed really nervous, but unlike Moony, it was a jumpy sort of nervousness, as opposed to Moony's 'keep still and maybe I won't get noticed, you never know,' sort.
"What do you want?" Sirius looked at him with distaste.
"Come back to crow?" I put in. I wasn't about to be friendly to him. I mean, let's face it, he'd been hanging around with that Snape gumbo, and that wasn't exactly promising.
"No, I, I just-"
"-Wanted to come and piss us off some more?" James finished Pettigrew's sentence for him.
"No, actually, that's, that's not it at all, you know. Um."
I noticed that while he talked he fidgeted with his hands anxiously.
"What, then?"
Moony had obviously decided that being quiet was the best option. A year ago, he would have joined the fray quite happily. Quiet people can be really depressing!
"I, er, decided to apologise."
"You did, did you?" James looked unimpressed.
"Yes," Peter replied "I did," he paused "Sorry?" he suggested, after a moment.
"You are, are you?"
"Yes."
"You think so, do you?"
"James, please stop talking like that," Sirius complained "you're not ever going to be a cool guy super hero type thing, so let it go."
"That right, is it?"
"Yeah, James, quit it!" I interrupted.
He rolled his eyes "Alright, pardon me for breathing!
"Look," Pettigrew decided to take another wild stab at friendship, "I said Im sorry. And I am. Friends?" He looked at James and Sirius, then Moony, and then at me.
"Oh, alright," I said, braking the silence that had occurred while everyone considered this interesting offer "Friends. Gem Littleson."
"What?"
"That's my name, brainbox."
"Oh, alright."
"...And yours is what?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
James, Sirius and Moony decided to rejoin the conversation, and actually make friendly terms with Peter.
"James Potter, that's me!"
"Sirius Black, Michelle at weekends!"
"Sirius, that joke's getting old now."
"The old ones are always the best!!!" Sirius did a grin that usually would have got him locked up in a place with soft walls and lots of nice men in white coats.
"Whatever," James shrugged.
"I'm Remus Lupin, aka Moony."
"Ah huh," Peter came and sat down in the carriage. If you want my opinion, he didn't see so bad. No worse then 'Moony's' sudden personality switch. Well, it seemed sudden to me if no one else, and since no one else here actually knew him, that wasn't really surprising. Eh well.
"So..." Peter floundered for something to say. No one seemed quite sure as to weather he was accepted into the group or not. Not that 'group' is exactly the right word, but you know what I mean. I wasn't sure if they all accepted me as a friend yet, but give it time and life'd find a solution...
"So... what House do you all want to be in?" he looked around hopefully.
"Gryffindor!" Sirius and James chorused at once.
"I don't know," I said, simply, and with complete truth "I don't know nothing about Houses."
Remus stopped looking out of the window, and answered "I suppose Gryffindor. Or Ravenclaw. Or Hufflepuff. Not Slytherin. What about you?"
Peter looked as though he didn't know, and didn't care "I don't know, and I don't think I care just now," he voiced exactly what I'd been thinking he'd say, "I just don't want to do this, this test thing."
"Test?" I looked at him sharply. No one had mentioned a test to me "What, like an exam or something?"
"I don't know," Peter answered, frowning "What I do know is that I don't want to do it. At all."
"Fair do's," Sirius leaned back in his seat "I bet you that I fail easily. I'm World Class in the art of failing things. Do you think the Guiness Book Of Records would have me?"
"Shouldn't think so," I flicked a strand of hair back over my shoulder "I think they only take people from this planet. So you don't qualify."
"Hey, thanks."
"My brother told me there was a test, but I thought that he was kidding..." James bit his lip "He said that he hoped no one died this year..."
There was a pause. The kind made by lots of people thinking rather nasty thoughts. The paused was followed by everyone laughing at themselves and at each other for being so over- dramatic. Of course no one'd die... would they? No, I told myself, they wouldn't make us do anything really dangerous already. Right? Um... heh heh heh.
"... I know how sorry you'll all be if I die," Sirius said, with unnecessary melodrama in his voice.
"Well, we'll wait 'til you've actually copped it before we have a party," James reassured him.
"You know, I feel so lucky to have a friend like you."
"You should do. I'm just The Master!"
"Of course you are. Keep taking the tablets."
"Oh don't worry, I will!"
"Actually," I put in at this point "I'd try and keep away from them, if I was you, James."
"Yes, but you aren't!"
"And believe me, no one is more thankful for that then I am, but--"
Unexpectedly, Moony cut in.
"Gem?"
"Yes, hello?"
"Can I talk to you for a moment? You know, in private?"
"Ooooh!" James interrupted with an annoying hoity- toity noise. You didn't have to be Einstien to guess what he was hitting at. You didn't have to be Einstien to guess he'd got the wrong end of the stick, either.
"Shut up, freak. OK, sure Moony."
We both got up, and left the other idiots in there to chat about... something. In the little corridor that there are usually in between carriages in trains, Moony turned to me. He was flicking with his fingers annoyingly enough.
"Well, what?" I asked, although I'd guessed already.
"Er," he blinked uncertainly, "Look, you know about... everything, don't you?"
"Oh yeah..." I put on a stereo- typical fortune- teller attitude, "The past... the present... and... the futruuurrreee..."
"Er?"
"Oh for Heaven's sake! Don't you think that 'everything' is a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Well, yes."
"Exactly," I rolled my eyes "Everything about what?" I knew what he was referring too, but I'll be damned if I'm going to take hints from people on trains, no matter who it is.
"You know what I mean. About..." he lowered his voice, as if anyone could actually have heard us in the corridor, "Me... being a, a werewolf?"
"Oh, that!" I managed to fake mild surprise, "Yes, of course I know. Obviously I know. Let's face it, it's not the kind of thing you can forget."
Moony didn't say anything, but it was a fair bet that he saw my point. I can remember that kid that... that... copped it. Adam. I never liked him much- too bossy- but still... his getting killed cured that. That sounds evil doesn't it? Aw, bloody hell. I'm no good at admitting my feelings about this stuff. I cover them over. I don't let myself think about Adam's good points, because then I know I'll miss him.
"And," Moony continued, leaning forwards, as if conspiratorially, "you shan't tell... any of them... will you?"
"Heh heh, ask no questions and I'll tell you no lies, kiddo."
"Gem! This is serious!"
"Where?"
"Eh?"
"Get it? In an American accent, Sirius and serious sound the same, and-"
"Gem!"
"What?"
"We're English for one thing, and they actually sound different," he bit at his finger nail "I can see you won't listen ."
"You sound like a teacher."
"Gem... just... just... please." I was startled to see that he looked like he wanted to cry.
"Look, I'm sorry," I apologised "Of course I won't tell them. What kind of an idiot do you think I am? No, actually don't answer that!"
He almost laughed. God, he'd changed. I thought about giving him a sisterly hug, but decided against it. He used to be like my brother, and in a way he still is, but it's weird, to think that this strange, shy, serious boy is Remus Lupin. Kind of creepy, you know? Hanging round with him won't make me serious! I decided. Nah- uh. No way. I'll stay me. Hyper, cheerful, very... Gem-ish. Yeah! Secondary school, here we come...!
We both returned to the carriage. The 3 boys that had remained in there looked at us with expressions that were nauseatingly suggestive. Boys are all the flipping same, and these were obviously sick- minded individuals. But who cares, eh?! They were kind of cool, in their own sweet way.
Both Moony and I returned to our seats, faces expressionless.
We all chatted for the rest of the journey, and it wasn't until the train drew up into Hogsmeade station that I remembered what I might have let myself in for.
The 'test' loomed ahead.
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The end!!!!! Pleas r/ r/ r [read, review, and remember me for the Phoenix quill awards!!! Yeah, as if...]
Have a nice day... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! HAVE A GOOD ONE!!!!!!!!
Ginny :)
