Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I hold any claim to said literature. Special thanks to the
writers of the song I used, called "On the Street where you live" from "My Fair Lady"
Chapter 4
All alone in the common room, Remus looked about, searching for a companion. All the students who were
left in the common room were busy.
"Where's Sirius when you need him?" Came a voice behind Remus' left ear.
"I know its you, James. No need for the sneakiness. I haven't a clue where he is, why?"
"Well, Athena's hexing anybody and everybody who comes near her."
"Why do you need Sirius then? Won't he just aggravate her more?"
"Ah, The Starchild doth speak with a honeyed tongue."
"Don't think I don't know what that means, you prat. And Sirius does not have a honeyed tongue.
If anything, he's got a bristly one."
"How'd you know then, Remus? Did you try out this bristly tongue of his?"
"Yurgh, don't be gross James. I'm just saying that Sirius has a tendency to irritate people. If
Athena is really mad, Sirius wouldn't be a good mediator."
"He speaks to women differently, Remus. He's the only one I know who can get away with
kissing Lily Evans and not get punched in the face by Maximillian."
"You know very well you could too, if you only you'd turn on that charm of yours that we all
know and love." Smiling, Remus lightly hit James on the arm. Sitting down across from Remus, James put
his feet up on the table.
"How about a game of wizard chess? Loser has to do the winner's potions homework."
"Oh, but I've already done my Potions!"
"Well, what haven't you done?"
"Defense of the Dark Arts. I despise Malfoy's essays."
"Yeah, a whole twelve feet! You're on! I haven't done mine either!"
"Well, I've started, but I only have a couple of inches down, okay?" Shoving his work aside,
Remus summoned the wizarding chess set from the cubby on the wall. "Accio Chess set!" he mumbled. It
flew over, hitting James sorely on the head, then setting itself down in between the two of them.
"Ah! You did that on purpose!" Rubbing his head and smoothing down his untamable hair, all to
no avail. Smiling his secret smile, Remus tapped his nose and said, "I'm white."
"No fair! I was black last time!"
"Alright, you can be white." Twirling the board around, Remus waited for James to move.
Taking his move, James made polite conversation.
"So, Remus, did you see the hooters on Alicia, that Ravenclaw prefect?"
"Hooters? Be polite James. And no I didn't see them, nor do I have any intention to."
"Going to be a eunuch then?"
"No, I just like girls who have more than a nice pair of floaters on their chest. A brain would be
nice."
"Haha, that's typical. Check."
"Typical of what? Check."
"An intellectual such as yourself."
"An intellectual? You flatter me. Checkmate."
"Ah! No! Defense Against the Dark Arts Essays!"
"Haha, I'll clear you of your debt to me, good sir, and help you write your essay. Now, get some
parchment and sharpen your quill. We both have the same topic, right?"
"No, I have Origins of The three Unforgivable Curses. You?"
"I have Origins of the Basilisk. You need help?"
"No, I'll be fine. I'll ask Sirius to help if I get stuck."
'Sirius? Why? I'm already offering my help to you."
"Alright, alright. I'll ask you for help when I need to, deal?"
"Deal."
Pulling out his parchment, James sat himself down and took out his quill. He began.
"The Origins of the three Unforgivable curses all depended on one person. Namely, Branwen
Maddocks. She was the most powerful Sorceress after Merlin, but she was evil." Taking a look at it, he said
to himself, "Looks like a nine-year-old wrote it."
Re-writing it, he jazzed it up a bit. It soon read, "The cradle of the three unforgivable curses rests in our
very own English Wizard History. The mastermind behind it all was a sorceress named Branwen H.
Maddocks. One of Merlin's many proteges; Branwen always resented her bastard nature. She alone,
amongst hundred of whelps, inherited his magical prowess.
Maturing with a rich noble family, Branwen grew up wealthy, and was denied nothing. She was of
muggle parentage, and when she came to terms with her magic, was sent for an apprenticeship with Merlin
and Nimue. Branwen would hopefully carry the old ways into the new age, and would live on forever as a
druidess. Merlin wished to bring the old Gods back to Britain, the emerald isle, and he needed blood for the
ceremony. Branwen was to be the first to resurrect and rule the people. When she was deemed too old to
rule the people, she would appoint her successor, a druid that she trained since he was born. But, she would
never die, just lose her youthful aspect.
Seeing that she grew up spoilt and fawned over, she was extremely vain. The mere thought of
losing her young looks sent her into pandemonium. And being a sacrifice wasn't such a wonderful thought
either. So, in the late hours of the night and wee hours of the morning when Nimue slept and Merlin took
servant girls to his bed, Branwen invented spells to torture her captors. Late one night, she happened upon
the Cruciatus Curse, the curse that sets one's very bones on fire, causing great pain.
Summoning a servant girl who had just emerged from Merlin's bed, she put the curse on her, with
her Ollivanders wand. Writhing in pain, the girl begged her to stop.
Pleased with herself, Branwen employed the girl to be a test subject. At night Olwen (for that was
her name) was to be put under the curses that Branwen came up with, and in the day, she lived like a queen.
Night after night, Branwen tried the curses on her, until she reached the Avada Kedavra Curse.
The flashing green light and the dead thump on the floor brought Nimue running. Demanding to know what
was going on, Nimue stood spellbound as Branwen put the Cruciatus curse on her.
Commanding Nimue's secrecy, Branwen co-conspired to kill Merlin. Calling him out for a
wizard's showdown, Branwen shot the Avada Kedavra Curse at him. The Speeding Death caught him
unawares, and he died on the spot. The second life claimed by the odious curse was the one of the greatest
wizard of ancient times, and it was a shame." Reading through and seeing it fall short a couple feet; he
enlarged his writing using a simple spell. Looking around to see if Remus was done, James' eyes fell on his
chum, fast asleep on the table, all twelve feet of parchment—front and back—were covered in tiny print, all
about the origins of the Basilisk.
Making Remus light as a feather, James' floated his companion up to the bedroom and set him on
his bed. Turning around he saw Sirius in the doorway with a broken nose.
* * *
Looking at James from the doorway, Sirius took to thinking, 'I wonder if I had acted like James if Athena
wouldn't have broken my nose.' Going over to James, Sirius was greeted by,
"What the devil happened to your nose? I always knew this whole Dueling Club idea was a bad
notion! Come on, off we go to Madame Pomfrey."
"That new head nurse? Whatever happened to that pinhead of a head nurse? Ms. Strailker?"
"She ran off with Mr. Ryan, the clerk sent from Gringotts to oversee the tuition intake."
"A regular little soap opera, ay?"
"Quite. Now, off we go to Poppy Pomfrey!" Declared James, sticking his fist in the air like a
revolutionary. A little down the hallway when all was quiet, James ventured,
"Why the bloody broken nose?"
"No need to get vulgar, Jimbo." Sirius teased.
Laughing James said, "You know what I mean."
"Well, Athena was all worried that I might get hurt when I was dueling Barty—"
"What were you doing battling Barty? Aren't you supposed to duel with your friends?"
"The meeting would've been boring I had. We learnt this new spell called Draconousto, which
calls forth a dragon spirit from the wizard's wand. And if your wand had dragon heartstrings, then the
dragons who supplied them would appear and physically attack your opponent when you controlled them
with your mind.'
"Wait, so you mean to tell me that a dragon popped out of your wand?" James asked
incredulously. Shaking his head and chuckling, Sirius said,
"Try three."
"Three?"
"My wand has three dragon heartstrings, remember? A Horntail, a Ridgeback, and a Fireball."
"That was un-sportsmanly of Barty, he should've accepted that you won and not have tried to
break your nose."
"James, you're not listening! The worst thing that Barty did was spit in my face and stalk off.
Athena did this to me." Sirius said, poison dripping from his words as he pointed to his nose. James walked
on in silence, his shoulders rocking and heaving. As they turned a corner, a snort of laughter escaped his
lips.
"You got beaten up by a girl who likes you? I'll never understand women."
"Neither will—wait, likes me? Are you daft?"
"Have you been pulling?"
"No, I haven't. I can't understand why she likes me though… This is very confusing."
"Speaking of confusing, have you worked out the potion for the Animagi we are to become?"
"Yeah, it's in my trunk." Sirius dismissed the question. "What do you mean, likes me?"
"Are you sure you haven't been pulling?"
"I'm bloody sure! I would know, wouldn't I?"
"Well, you didn't know that she likes you, you might not know if you've been pulling or not.
Anyway, I already have the incantation, I'll write it down while you're in the infirmary." Pushing Sirius
into the infirmary, James sat down on an armchair and summoned some parchment from the common
room. Fiddling around with his quill, Matthew Rogers, the Quidditch team captain for Gryffindor happened
upon him.
"How's my favourite chaser?" Matthew asked, pulling up a chair and giving James a sidelong
glance.
"AH, AH Matt. Mustn't play favourites. What about Peter Johnson, the other chaser? He's good
too."
"Yes, I forgot about him, considering he's my best *mate*." Matt sniggered.
"Sorry, I don't keep up with you seventh years. My puny little sixth year mind is already bursting
at the seams, what with all the homework and social problems we have."
"Haha, quite. I forgot about what it was like in the good old days. Now all of us in the seventh
year are babied, spoon-fed, and the like. The administration must be really morose to see us go. We've all
forgotten what real work is."
"Yeah, I know what you mean… No, I don't. The professors are working us to the bone."
"Yeah, well. Your time will com. Look Potter, I'm not going to ask you again, so you'd better
give an answer right away."
"Whoa Matt, I'm not that kind of guy."
"Stop being a wanker. No, I want to ask you if you'll take on the responsibility of being team
captain when I leave. I'm giving you until next Quidditch practice to think about your answer. See you in
twenty minutes." Getting up off the chair, Matt gave James a nod and went in the direction of the field.
Overjoyed at being asked to be captain, James sped into the infirmary, calling for Sirius, unable to contain
his rapture.
"Sirius! Sirius! Where is he, Madame Pomfrey?"
"In the back, nursing a bad headache."
"Headache? How'd he get that? Blood loss? Is he doing okay?"
"He got the headache because his ears began to ring. Lisa Scully was in the same room as him and
he got rather woozy because of the Blood Flood that I gave him. He lost a lot of blood from his nose.
Suddenly, he's on her and she slaps him so hard that he falls off, unconscious. Typical behaviour of a
sixteen-year-old, I'll wager. You may see him, but don't cause too much excitement." Madame Pomfrey
pointed her wand at a wall and a hatch opened, allowing James to hear Sirius singing.
"I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I, several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live
People stop and stare, they don't bother me
For there's nowhere else on Earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won't care
If I can be here on the street where you live"
James stood in the doorway of Sirius' room, witnessing this loss of sanity.
"Poppy! Poppy dearest, you look absolutely MARVELOUS, Wot Wot?" Sirius cried, waving like
a madman. James grinned and talked in a high, mocking voice, and came over to sit on Sirius' bed.
"Oh SIRIUS! I heard all about your wonderful escapade with the dueling club!"
"Well Poppy, I gave Crouchy what was due…" Beaming delightfully, Sirius sank back onto his
bed and gazed at the ceiling contentedly.
"Haha. That you did, Sirius. That you did." Came a voice behind James. Remus stood in the
doorway and grinned.
"Ah, Minerva! So glad you could join us! I was just telling Poppy here about my capers, wot
wot?"
"I heard, Sirius. From Athena."
At the mention of Athena's name, Sirius cringed and hid under the blankets, quivering like a lump of Jell-O
"Is she gone?" he whispered after a while, peeking out from under the covers.
"She was really disappointed. She made you to look like a complete invalid then you pull a stunt
like that, don't you think that she would feel like she put her foot in her mouth?"
"Up her ass, more like it." Sirius sniggered. "But seriously, when I went to talk to her, she
wouldn't talk to me at first, then she was spewing a stream of acrimonious words, then, before I know it,
she's broken my bloody nose! I ask you, should I really feel sorry for her?"
"She's fragile, Sirius. Even though she comes off strong and undaunted, deep down inside, she is
very scared of everything. We should all try to make her feel appreciated. She came from muggle
parentage, right?"
"Naw, her parents are both squibs, so they moved to the muggle world. But they have wizarding
blood. When they found that Athena had magic, they moved back into the wizarding world. I believe they
both work for muggle relations in the ministry. By the way, how's Arthur?"
"Arthur?"
"Arthur Weasley. I haven't seen him in ages, and he might be leaving soon at half term. We
simply must get to him and have some sort of fun…"
"I shall arrange it. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Potter, please, will you return to your dormitories? Mr. Black,
take a long draught of this, and you'll fall right to sleep." Said Madame Pomfrey, coming in to shoo the
visitors out.
Walking out of the infirmary, Remus and James took one look at each other and burst out
laughing. "So, Poppy, why is Sirius hyped up on headache medicine?"
"Well Minerva, it's a long story…"
"Come on, Poppy. I've got lots of time."
"Well, he got rather woozy after the Blood Flood and he got on top of Lisa Scully. She slapped
him so hard that he fell unconscious. Madame Pomfrey gave him some headache goop then I walked in."
"Lisa Scully? That Ravenclaw prefect?"
"Uhuh. Why?"
"No reason." Remus turned two shades redder.
"Oh well. Maybe I'll ask her to the Christmas formal, if you wont."
"What?!?!" Clearing his throat, Remus asked once more, "what?"
"What?"
"James, be serious. You simply must go with Lily, Sirius must go with Athena, and I absolutely
have to go alone. It doesn't do well for my image. I do have to keep up a reputation, you know."
"Of what? What are you supposed to be?"
"An intellectual. You don't see Dr. Frankenstein running around with some floozy, do you?"
"Well, she's almost your intellectual equal. Of course, she can't do the Wingardium Leviosa
charm, but that's really difficult!" Said James with a frown.
"Don't kid around, Poppy. Look, I'll see you in a bit. I'm going to the library."
"But it's not that time of the month yet!"
"Well, I want to research on a potion that makes my transformations less painful. Sprouting fur is
no laughing matter."
"Shall I come with you?"
"Sure, it'll be a whole lot easier."
Turning around, they went to the library, and James finally felt accepted by Remus.
* * *
writers of the song I used, called "On the Street where you live" from "My Fair Lady"
Chapter 4
All alone in the common room, Remus looked about, searching for a companion. All the students who were
left in the common room were busy.
"Where's Sirius when you need him?" Came a voice behind Remus' left ear.
"I know its you, James. No need for the sneakiness. I haven't a clue where he is, why?"
"Well, Athena's hexing anybody and everybody who comes near her."
"Why do you need Sirius then? Won't he just aggravate her more?"
"Ah, The Starchild doth speak with a honeyed tongue."
"Don't think I don't know what that means, you prat. And Sirius does not have a honeyed tongue.
If anything, he's got a bristly one."
"How'd you know then, Remus? Did you try out this bristly tongue of his?"
"Yurgh, don't be gross James. I'm just saying that Sirius has a tendency to irritate people. If
Athena is really mad, Sirius wouldn't be a good mediator."
"He speaks to women differently, Remus. He's the only one I know who can get away with
kissing Lily Evans and not get punched in the face by Maximillian."
"You know very well you could too, if you only you'd turn on that charm of yours that we all
know and love." Smiling, Remus lightly hit James on the arm. Sitting down across from Remus, James put
his feet up on the table.
"How about a game of wizard chess? Loser has to do the winner's potions homework."
"Oh, but I've already done my Potions!"
"Well, what haven't you done?"
"Defense of the Dark Arts. I despise Malfoy's essays."
"Yeah, a whole twelve feet! You're on! I haven't done mine either!"
"Well, I've started, but I only have a couple of inches down, okay?" Shoving his work aside,
Remus summoned the wizarding chess set from the cubby on the wall. "Accio Chess set!" he mumbled. It
flew over, hitting James sorely on the head, then setting itself down in between the two of them.
"Ah! You did that on purpose!" Rubbing his head and smoothing down his untamable hair, all to
no avail. Smiling his secret smile, Remus tapped his nose and said, "I'm white."
"No fair! I was black last time!"
"Alright, you can be white." Twirling the board around, Remus waited for James to move.
Taking his move, James made polite conversation.
"So, Remus, did you see the hooters on Alicia, that Ravenclaw prefect?"
"Hooters? Be polite James. And no I didn't see them, nor do I have any intention to."
"Going to be a eunuch then?"
"No, I just like girls who have more than a nice pair of floaters on their chest. A brain would be
nice."
"Haha, that's typical. Check."
"Typical of what? Check."
"An intellectual such as yourself."
"An intellectual? You flatter me. Checkmate."
"Ah! No! Defense Against the Dark Arts Essays!"
"Haha, I'll clear you of your debt to me, good sir, and help you write your essay. Now, get some
parchment and sharpen your quill. We both have the same topic, right?"
"No, I have Origins of The three Unforgivable Curses. You?"
"I have Origins of the Basilisk. You need help?"
"No, I'll be fine. I'll ask Sirius to help if I get stuck."
'Sirius? Why? I'm already offering my help to you."
"Alright, alright. I'll ask you for help when I need to, deal?"
"Deal."
Pulling out his parchment, James sat himself down and took out his quill. He began.
"The Origins of the three Unforgivable curses all depended on one person. Namely, Branwen
Maddocks. She was the most powerful Sorceress after Merlin, but she was evil." Taking a look at it, he said
to himself, "Looks like a nine-year-old wrote it."
Re-writing it, he jazzed it up a bit. It soon read, "The cradle of the three unforgivable curses rests in our
very own English Wizard History. The mastermind behind it all was a sorceress named Branwen H.
Maddocks. One of Merlin's many proteges; Branwen always resented her bastard nature. She alone,
amongst hundred of whelps, inherited his magical prowess.
Maturing with a rich noble family, Branwen grew up wealthy, and was denied nothing. She was of
muggle parentage, and when she came to terms with her magic, was sent for an apprenticeship with Merlin
and Nimue. Branwen would hopefully carry the old ways into the new age, and would live on forever as a
druidess. Merlin wished to bring the old Gods back to Britain, the emerald isle, and he needed blood for the
ceremony. Branwen was to be the first to resurrect and rule the people. When she was deemed too old to
rule the people, she would appoint her successor, a druid that she trained since he was born. But, she would
never die, just lose her youthful aspect.
Seeing that she grew up spoilt and fawned over, she was extremely vain. The mere thought of
losing her young looks sent her into pandemonium. And being a sacrifice wasn't such a wonderful thought
either. So, in the late hours of the night and wee hours of the morning when Nimue slept and Merlin took
servant girls to his bed, Branwen invented spells to torture her captors. Late one night, she happened upon
the Cruciatus Curse, the curse that sets one's very bones on fire, causing great pain.
Summoning a servant girl who had just emerged from Merlin's bed, she put the curse on her, with
her Ollivanders wand. Writhing in pain, the girl begged her to stop.
Pleased with herself, Branwen employed the girl to be a test subject. At night Olwen (for that was
her name) was to be put under the curses that Branwen came up with, and in the day, she lived like a queen.
Night after night, Branwen tried the curses on her, until she reached the Avada Kedavra Curse.
The flashing green light and the dead thump on the floor brought Nimue running. Demanding to know what
was going on, Nimue stood spellbound as Branwen put the Cruciatus curse on her.
Commanding Nimue's secrecy, Branwen co-conspired to kill Merlin. Calling him out for a
wizard's showdown, Branwen shot the Avada Kedavra Curse at him. The Speeding Death caught him
unawares, and he died on the spot. The second life claimed by the odious curse was the one of the greatest
wizard of ancient times, and it was a shame." Reading through and seeing it fall short a couple feet; he
enlarged his writing using a simple spell. Looking around to see if Remus was done, James' eyes fell on his
chum, fast asleep on the table, all twelve feet of parchment—front and back—were covered in tiny print, all
about the origins of the Basilisk.
Making Remus light as a feather, James' floated his companion up to the bedroom and set him on
his bed. Turning around he saw Sirius in the doorway with a broken nose.
* * *
Looking at James from the doorway, Sirius took to thinking, 'I wonder if I had acted like James if Athena
wouldn't have broken my nose.' Going over to James, Sirius was greeted by,
"What the devil happened to your nose? I always knew this whole Dueling Club idea was a bad
notion! Come on, off we go to Madame Pomfrey."
"That new head nurse? Whatever happened to that pinhead of a head nurse? Ms. Strailker?"
"She ran off with Mr. Ryan, the clerk sent from Gringotts to oversee the tuition intake."
"A regular little soap opera, ay?"
"Quite. Now, off we go to Poppy Pomfrey!" Declared James, sticking his fist in the air like a
revolutionary. A little down the hallway when all was quiet, James ventured,
"Why the bloody broken nose?"
"No need to get vulgar, Jimbo." Sirius teased.
Laughing James said, "You know what I mean."
"Well, Athena was all worried that I might get hurt when I was dueling Barty—"
"What were you doing battling Barty? Aren't you supposed to duel with your friends?"
"The meeting would've been boring I had. We learnt this new spell called Draconousto, which
calls forth a dragon spirit from the wizard's wand. And if your wand had dragon heartstrings, then the
dragons who supplied them would appear and physically attack your opponent when you controlled them
with your mind.'
"Wait, so you mean to tell me that a dragon popped out of your wand?" James asked
incredulously. Shaking his head and chuckling, Sirius said,
"Try three."
"Three?"
"My wand has three dragon heartstrings, remember? A Horntail, a Ridgeback, and a Fireball."
"That was un-sportsmanly of Barty, he should've accepted that you won and not have tried to
break your nose."
"James, you're not listening! The worst thing that Barty did was spit in my face and stalk off.
Athena did this to me." Sirius said, poison dripping from his words as he pointed to his nose. James walked
on in silence, his shoulders rocking and heaving. As they turned a corner, a snort of laughter escaped his
lips.
"You got beaten up by a girl who likes you? I'll never understand women."
"Neither will—wait, likes me? Are you daft?"
"Have you been pulling?"
"No, I haven't. I can't understand why she likes me though… This is very confusing."
"Speaking of confusing, have you worked out the potion for the Animagi we are to become?"
"Yeah, it's in my trunk." Sirius dismissed the question. "What do you mean, likes me?"
"Are you sure you haven't been pulling?"
"I'm bloody sure! I would know, wouldn't I?"
"Well, you didn't know that she likes you, you might not know if you've been pulling or not.
Anyway, I already have the incantation, I'll write it down while you're in the infirmary." Pushing Sirius
into the infirmary, James sat down on an armchair and summoned some parchment from the common
room. Fiddling around with his quill, Matthew Rogers, the Quidditch team captain for Gryffindor happened
upon him.
"How's my favourite chaser?" Matthew asked, pulling up a chair and giving James a sidelong
glance.
"AH, AH Matt. Mustn't play favourites. What about Peter Johnson, the other chaser? He's good
too."
"Yes, I forgot about him, considering he's my best *mate*." Matt sniggered.
"Sorry, I don't keep up with you seventh years. My puny little sixth year mind is already bursting
at the seams, what with all the homework and social problems we have."
"Haha, quite. I forgot about what it was like in the good old days. Now all of us in the seventh
year are babied, spoon-fed, and the like. The administration must be really morose to see us go. We've all
forgotten what real work is."
"Yeah, I know what you mean… No, I don't. The professors are working us to the bone."
"Yeah, well. Your time will com. Look Potter, I'm not going to ask you again, so you'd better
give an answer right away."
"Whoa Matt, I'm not that kind of guy."
"Stop being a wanker. No, I want to ask you if you'll take on the responsibility of being team
captain when I leave. I'm giving you until next Quidditch practice to think about your answer. See you in
twenty minutes." Getting up off the chair, Matt gave James a nod and went in the direction of the field.
Overjoyed at being asked to be captain, James sped into the infirmary, calling for Sirius, unable to contain
his rapture.
"Sirius! Sirius! Where is he, Madame Pomfrey?"
"In the back, nursing a bad headache."
"Headache? How'd he get that? Blood loss? Is he doing okay?"
"He got the headache because his ears began to ring. Lisa Scully was in the same room as him and
he got rather woozy because of the Blood Flood that I gave him. He lost a lot of blood from his nose.
Suddenly, he's on her and she slaps him so hard that he falls off, unconscious. Typical behaviour of a
sixteen-year-old, I'll wager. You may see him, but don't cause too much excitement." Madame Pomfrey
pointed her wand at a wall and a hatch opened, allowing James to hear Sirius singing.
"I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I, several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live
People stop and stare, they don't bother me
For there's nowhere else on Earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won't care
If I can be here on the street where you live"
James stood in the doorway of Sirius' room, witnessing this loss of sanity.
"Poppy! Poppy dearest, you look absolutely MARVELOUS, Wot Wot?" Sirius cried, waving like
a madman. James grinned and talked in a high, mocking voice, and came over to sit on Sirius' bed.
"Oh SIRIUS! I heard all about your wonderful escapade with the dueling club!"
"Well Poppy, I gave Crouchy what was due…" Beaming delightfully, Sirius sank back onto his
bed and gazed at the ceiling contentedly.
"Haha. That you did, Sirius. That you did." Came a voice behind James. Remus stood in the
doorway and grinned.
"Ah, Minerva! So glad you could join us! I was just telling Poppy here about my capers, wot
wot?"
"I heard, Sirius. From Athena."
At the mention of Athena's name, Sirius cringed and hid under the blankets, quivering like a lump of Jell-O
"Is she gone?" he whispered after a while, peeking out from under the covers.
"She was really disappointed. She made you to look like a complete invalid then you pull a stunt
like that, don't you think that she would feel like she put her foot in her mouth?"
"Up her ass, more like it." Sirius sniggered. "But seriously, when I went to talk to her, she
wouldn't talk to me at first, then she was spewing a stream of acrimonious words, then, before I know it,
she's broken my bloody nose! I ask you, should I really feel sorry for her?"
"She's fragile, Sirius. Even though she comes off strong and undaunted, deep down inside, she is
very scared of everything. We should all try to make her feel appreciated. She came from muggle
parentage, right?"
"Naw, her parents are both squibs, so they moved to the muggle world. But they have wizarding
blood. When they found that Athena had magic, they moved back into the wizarding world. I believe they
both work for muggle relations in the ministry. By the way, how's Arthur?"
"Arthur?"
"Arthur Weasley. I haven't seen him in ages, and he might be leaving soon at half term. We
simply must get to him and have some sort of fun…"
"I shall arrange it. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Potter, please, will you return to your dormitories? Mr. Black,
take a long draught of this, and you'll fall right to sleep." Said Madame Pomfrey, coming in to shoo the
visitors out.
Walking out of the infirmary, Remus and James took one look at each other and burst out
laughing. "So, Poppy, why is Sirius hyped up on headache medicine?"
"Well Minerva, it's a long story…"
"Come on, Poppy. I've got lots of time."
"Well, he got rather woozy after the Blood Flood and he got on top of Lisa Scully. She slapped
him so hard that he fell unconscious. Madame Pomfrey gave him some headache goop then I walked in."
"Lisa Scully? That Ravenclaw prefect?"
"Uhuh. Why?"
"No reason." Remus turned two shades redder.
"Oh well. Maybe I'll ask her to the Christmas formal, if you wont."
"What?!?!" Clearing his throat, Remus asked once more, "what?"
"What?"
"James, be serious. You simply must go with Lily, Sirius must go with Athena, and I absolutely
have to go alone. It doesn't do well for my image. I do have to keep up a reputation, you know."
"Of what? What are you supposed to be?"
"An intellectual. You don't see Dr. Frankenstein running around with some floozy, do you?"
"Well, she's almost your intellectual equal. Of course, she can't do the Wingardium Leviosa
charm, but that's really difficult!" Said James with a frown.
"Don't kid around, Poppy. Look, I'll see you in a bit. I'm going to the library."
"But it's not that time of the month yet!"
"Well, I want to research on a potion that makes my transformations less painful. Sprouting fur is
no laughing matter."
"Shall I come with you?"
"Sure, it'll be a whole lot easier."
Turning around, they went to the library, and James finally felt accepted by Remus.
* * *
