~Year Seven~
'Oh, dear. Oh, dear...oh, dear...oh, dear...'
No one had arrived early. For the first time in a long time, my Platform's first occupants were none of the Marauders. In fact, it was Severus Snape. Without any of his usual companions. He was sitting on a bench, reading a Potions book quietly.
The first Marauder to enter was, in my opinion, the only non-Marauder.
Peter Pettigrew.
"Severus," he politely acknowledged.
"Ratboy," Severus replied, not bothering to lift his eyes from the book.
"Why do you still call me that?"
"Because only a rat would betray his closest friends as you have this past summer."
Peter rubbed the inside of his left forearm unconsciously, and I gasped.
'The Dark Mark!'
"I have only done what they deserve. They were never my friends! They tolerated me. And just barely."
Finally, Severus closed hid book and glared balefully at the boy above him. "No. Are you blind or simply stupid? They have always helped you out, been loyal, taken punishments for you, and that is essentially friendship."
Peter tried to sneer, though it came out more as a grotesque twisting of his lips. "How would you know?"
Severus stood, towering over the suddenly fearful boy. "Rat. Leave. Me. Alone."
He strode away onto the train.
And I began to see Severus Snape in a completely different light.
Peter looked around him as if expecting an attack, shrugged, and walked into a train car far from the one Snape entered.
"So, we'll get a flat somewhere and live there after school ends. But until then, we'll live at my house."
"Since I've been officially kicked out of my house. Brilliant idea there, Sirius. But it'll have to be in the wizarding world and somewhat isolated, considering the moon."
If only I could scream, I would have yelled at couple, told them that, without a doubt, they must *not* trust their supposed friend. But alas, while a wall may see and hear everything, it cannot tell its secrets. My hands were tied, so to speak.
"OK, Moony, so no flat. A cottage perhaps?"
"Considering our impecunious status?"
"If that means we're piss-poor and jobless, then yup."
"Hm. In an isolated, forested area would be wise."
"Yeah..."
"Fantastic."
They spoke for another minute or two before the other two Marauders appeared, since I now no longer considered Peter a true Marauder.
As James and Lily walked toward them, Lily murmured something into her boyfriend's ear, and, in response, James laughed before unexpectedly hoisting bodily Lily over his shoulder. She shrieked in laughter.
Remus and Sirius, upon seeing their friends in such a pose, also burst out laughing.
When the two reached them, Lily pounded on James' back. "Oh, let me down, you Neanderthal!"
His face and voice contorted to replicate that of a caveman. "Urg. Woman insult man. Man must prove manhood." He then lightly smacked Lily's wriggling rear next to his twisted face. "Must keep woman in place."
A muttered incantation, and James suddenly found himself wearing an apron and holding a feather duster in the hand unoccupied by his squirming girlfriend.
Lily giggled, still trying to free herself. "Serves you right, Caveman. Lemme down."
"Nope." With a whish of his wand, the garments disappeared.
Whispering in Remus' ear, Sirius said, "Ten quid they're married before the end of the year."
"James'll never get the stones. You're on."
"What *are* you two plotting?" Lily yelled over her boyfriend's shoulder, now ineffectively hitting him to force her escape.
"Just your ruin, sweets," Sirius, still ever the charmer, retorted.
"Alright," James retorted. "Just don't colour outside the lines."
"Right."
They walked to the train, Lily giving up her attempts and simply holding herself up with her head in her hand and an elbow into his back. Before boarding, however, James abruptly turned around (much to Lily's chagrin) and looked about my Platform.
"Where's Peter?"
The others peered about as well, each shaking their heads in turn.
"Dunno." A though popped into Sirius' mind, and he blinked. "Hey, did either of you see him over the summer?"
Each shook their heads again.
"Perhaps he is waiting for us inside," Remus suggested.
The others agreed, heading inside, Lily still strewn upon James' shoulder.
And I shuddered, suddenly with the strongest presentiment an inanimate object in the wizarding world could have.
All I could do was hope for the best...
The whistle blew, the train leaving the platform.
***
The whistle blew, the train approaching the platform.
"For James finally accepting his ball-and-chain!"
Various yells - including Lily's half-hearted rebuttal - flew into my confused ears from the anonymous Gryffindor's outburst.
"And just in time for me to win ten pound!" Sirius yelled above the cheerful din, nudging Remus in the ribs.
Remus blithely ignored him. "And for the only spell powerful enough to make Lily accept!" he cried happily.
'Maybe Remus hasn't paid up yet...' I thought vaguely, too ecstatic to really be all that coherent. I just wanted to scream! 'Did you really...?!'
"What spell?" asked Lily, still fingering something on her left hand.
The werewolf smiled. "Not a clue. But when it wears off and you come to your senses, do tell us?"
Laughing, Lily smacked him lightly upside the head. "It only took the power of his love," she remarked, leaning into James' embrace. Looking at her hand, a requisite ring upon the ring finger, she added, "And a diamond the size of the M25." (*1)
I squealed happily as only a wall could squeal. 'They've finally done it! Engaged!'
Sirius and Remus both snorted in response to Lily's sappiness.
"Oh, like you two are any better," James grumbled good-naturedly.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, sensually wrapping himself around his boyfriend, "but at least we can pull it off."
The other couple burst out laughing as Remus blushed furiously.
Simultaneously, I briefly noted Severus Snape walking out of the train alone, making his way over to the exit. Pausing, he looked back at the Gryffindors, still in the midst of tormenting the newly-affianced, and shook his head with an almost wistful sigh. A short glance down to his left arm, vigorously rubbing it as one would try to rub out an ill-fated stain, and then, he was gone.
I could only hope that he would take the right path rather than the path he was treading at that time.
'Speaking of treading the wrong path...'
Peter Pettigrew stepped off the train, a frown marring his previously young- looking face. Seeing the group of Marauders, the frown twisted into a cruel smirk. Under his breath, he whispered, "Don't be so happy, *Potter*. Soon enough, all Mudbloods - like your *darling* fiancée - and Muggle-lovers like yourself and your *friends* will all fall to the Dark Lord's power. Soon enough..."
I felt so utterly useless when I heard his whisper. How could something meant to be silent ring louder than a scream in my ears?
Wormtail slithered off the platform, and I silently shrieked in desperation.
And everyone else remained completely oblivious.
By this time, my platform was emptier than full, and the Marauders were saying their goodbyes.
"Alright, Moony, Padfoot. We'll see you next week," Lily said.
"Please visit us," James stage-whispered, "or else Wings'll have no one but me to go over wedding plans. And I'm sure that, over the next couple of months, I'll get more than my fair share of hearing about them."
"Not to mention that you'll be at the wedding." Remus nodded sagely.
"Hopefully," Sirius added, earning a swift elbow in his ribs, thanks to his boyfriend, who smiled innocently back at him.
"We'll come over," Remus interjected over Sirius' exclamation.
With a cheerful wave, Lily and James walked out, hand-in-hand.
Remus took a step towards the exit when Sirius laid a hand on his elbow, effectively stopping him.
"Hey, Remus?" The boy had turned serious suddenly, his tanned face tinting pink. Almost shyly, he took Remus' hand, leading him off to a more secluded area.
"Yes?" Remus patiently prodded, knowing that the taller boy, for all his volume and extroversion, could be extraordinarily shy when the topic was important.
"Well, you know how we decided to live together after graduation and all?" He started absently playing with Remus' fingers as the other boy frowned slightly.
"Yes..."
"Well, I've had another idea."
"Oh." The frown increased, his amber eyes wavering.
"Remus...I don't know how to say this 'cause I'm not as eloquent with words as you, so I'll just ask you." Keeping hold of his hand, Sirius pulled something out of his pocket, fingering it out of even my view. "You know I love you, right?"
"Of course..."
"And you love me, right?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Of course, you loon."
"Alright, alright. I get the point."
Without ceremony, Sirius slipped a golden ring onto Remus' left ring finger.
"Remus, I want to be yours. And I only want you to be mine. Forever. Will you allow me to be handfasted to you?"
While not articulate with words, Sirius certainly had a powerful way with simple, human emotion.
Amber eyes widened at the simple gold band on his finger, identical to the one I saw already adorning Sirius' finger. "Oh...Siri..."
"I know it's nothing next to Lily's, but..."
Suddenly, before he could continue his own objections, Sirius found himself with an armful of a wizard-werewolf.
In a whisper so like Remus, he murmured in Siri's ear, "I love you so much, Sirius."
Sirius gleefully tightened his grip on the bundle in his arms. "You have no idea how glad I am that you said that. I just can't live without you. If you hadn't said yes..."
Smiling with all his heart, Remus kissed Sirius as if he had not seen him for years, as if he simply needed the touch, as if he couldn't survive without the feeling of Sirius' mouth upon his.
Because, sometimes, words, no matter how expressive they might be, are nothing compared to the mere action of a simple kiss.
The train whistle remained silent.
(*1) OK, I'm really NOT British, but I've read Good Omens something like five times. Does that count? (Wistful sigh) Email me if this reference is wrong.
MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE: No, this is NOT the end! There's an epilogue after this. So, stay tuned for more...if you dare! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! (Muse slaps her.) Ow! Dammit, Spike! Stop doing that! (Author and Muse begin to brawl) We'll be back...right after...these...commercial messages... OW!
Scarby13@hotmail.com or the cutest of all buttons. Yes, that one right down there... Hopefully, the one right below your mouse arrow. Go on... I dare ya... Please?
~Clamat, sed ubi asinus est?~
'Oh, dear. Oh, dear...oh, dear...oh, dear...'
No one had arrived early. For the first time in a long time, my Platform's first occupants were none of the Marauders. In fact, it was Severus Snape. Without any of his usual companions. He was sitting on a bench, reading a Potions book quietly.
The first Marauder to enter was, in my opinion, the only non-Marauder.
Peter Pettigrew.
"Severus," he politely acknowledged.
"Ratboy," Severus replied, not bothering to lift his eyes from the book.
"Why do you still call me that?"
"Because only a rat would betray his closest friends as you have this past summer."
Peter rubbed the inside of his left forearm unconsciously, and I gasped.
'The Dark Mark!'
"I have only done what they deserve. They were never my friends! They tolerated me. And just barely."
Finally, Severus closed hid book and glared balefully at the boy above him. "No. Are you blind or simply stupid? They have always helped you out, been loyal, taken punishments for you, and that is essentially friendship."
Peter tried to sneer, though it came out more as a grotesque twisting of his lips. "How would you know?"
Severus stood, towering over the suddenly fearful boy. "Rat. Leave. Me. Alone."
He strode away onto the train.
And I began to see Severus Snape in a completely different light.
Peter looked around him as if expecting an attack, shrugged, and walked into a train car far from the one Snape entered.
"So, we'll get a flat somewhere and live there after school ends. But until then, we'll live at my house."
"Since I've been officially kicked out of my house. Brilliant idea there, Sirius. But it'll have to be in the wizarding world and somewhat isolated, considering the moon."
If only I could scream, I would have yelled at couple, told them that, without a doubt, they must *not* trust their supposed friend. But alas, while a wall may see and hear everything, it cannot tell its secrets. My hands were tied, so to speak.
"OK, Moony, so no flat. A cottage perhaps?"
"Considering our impecunious status?"
"If that means we're piss-poor and jobless, then yup."
"Hm. In an isolated, forested area would be wise."
"Yeah..."
"Fantastic."
They spoke for another minute or two before the other two Marauders appeared, since I now no longer considered Peter a true Marauder.
As James and Lily walked toward them, Lily murmured something into her boyfriend's ear, and, in response, James laughed before unexpectedly hoisting bodily Lily over his shoulder. She shrieked in laughter.
Remus and Sirius, upon seeing their friends in such a pose, also burst out laughing.
When the two reached them, Lily pounded on James' back. "Oh, let me down, you Neanderthal!"
His face and voice contorted to replicate that of a caveman. "Urg. Woman insult man. Man must prove manhood." He then lightly smacked Lily's wriggling rear next to his twisted face. "Must keep woman in place."
A muttered incantation, and James suddenly found himself wearing an apron and holding a feather duster in the hand unoccupied by his squirming girlfriend.
Lily giggled, still trying to free herself. "Serves you right, Caveman. Lemme down."
"Nope." With a whish of his wand, the garments disappeared.
Whispering in Remus' ear, Sirius said, "Ten quid they're married before the end of the year."
"James'll never get the stones. You're on."
"What *are* you two plotting?" Lily yelled over her boyfriend's shoulder, now ineffectively hitting him to force her escape.
"Just your ruin, sweets," Sirius, still ever the charmer, retorted.
"Alright," James retorted. "Just don't colour outside the lines."
"Right."
They walked to the train, Lily giving up her attempts and simply holding herself up with her head in her hand and an elbow into his back. Before boarding, however, James abruptly turned around (much to Lily's chagrin) and looked about my Platform.
"Where's Peter?"
The others peered about as well, each shaking their heads in turn.
"Dunno." A though popped into Sirius' mind, and he blinked. "Hey, did either of you see him over the summer?"
Each shook their heads again.
"Perhaps he is waiting for us inside," Remus suggested.
The others agreed, heading inside, Lily still strewn upon James' shoulder.
And I shuddered, suddenly with the strongest presentiment an inanimate object in the wizarding world could have.
All I could do was hope for the best...
The whistle blew, the train leaving the platform.
***
The whistle blew, the train approaching the platform.
"For James finally accepting his ball-and-chain!"
Various yells - including Lily's half-hearted rebuttal - flew into my confused ears from the anonymous Gryffindor's outburst.
"And just in time for me to win ten pound!" Sirius yelled above the cheerful din, nudging Remus in the ribs.
Remus blithely ignored him. "And for the only spell powerful enough to make Lily accept!" he cried happily.
'Maybe Remus hasn't paid up yet...' I thought vaguely, too ecstatic to really be all that coherent. I just wanted to scream! 'Did you really...?!'
"What spell?" asked Lily, still fingering something on her left hand.
The werewolf smiled. "Not a clue. But when it wears off and you come to your senses, do tell us?"
Laughing, Lily smacked him lightly upside the head. "It only took the power of his love," she remarked, leaning into James' embrace. Looking at her hand, a requisite ring upon the ring finger, she added, "And a diamond the size of the M25." (*1)
I squealed happily as only a wall could squeal. 'They've finally done it! Engaged!'
Sirius and Remus both snorted in response to Lily's sappiness.
"Oh, like you two are any better," James grumbled good-naturedly.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, sensually wrapping himself around his boyfriend, "but at least we can pull it off."
The other couple burst out laughing as Remus blushed furiously.
Simultaneously, I briefly noted Severus Snape walking out of the train alone, making his way over to the exit. Pausing, he looked back at the Gryffindors, still in the midst of tormenting the newly-affianced, and shook his head with an almost wistful sigh. A short glance down to his left arm, vigorously rubbing it as one would try to rub out an ill-fated stain, and then, he was gone.
I could only hope that he would take the right path rather than the path he was treading at that time.
'Speaking of treading the wrong path...'
Peter Pettigrew stepped off the train, a frown marring his previously young- looking face. Seeing the group of Marauders, the frown twisted into a cruel smirk. Under his breath, he whispered, "Don't be so happy, *Potter*. Soon enough, all Mudbloods - like your *darling* fiancée - and Muggle-lovers like yourself and your *friends* will all fall to the Dark Lord's power. Soon enough..."
I felt so utterly useless when I heard his whisper. How could something meant to be silent ring louder than a scream in my ears?
Wormtail slithered off the platform, and I silently shrieked in desperation.
And everyone else remained completely oblivious.
By this time, my platform was emptier than full, and the Marauders were saying their goodbyes.
"Alright, Moony, Padfoot. We'll see you next week," Lily said.
"Please visit us," James stage-whispered, "or else Wings'll have no one but me to go over wedding plans. And I'm sure that, over the next couple of months, I'll get more than my fair share of hearing about them."
"Not to mention that you'll be at the wedding." Remus nodded sagely.
"Hopefully," Sirius added, earning a swift elbow in his ribs, thanks to his boyfriend, who smiled innocently back at him.
"We'll come over," Remus interjected over Sirius' exclamation.
With a cheerful wave, Lily and James walked out, hand-in-hand.
Remus took a step towards the exit when Sirius laid a hand on his elbow, effectively stopping him.
"Hey, Remus?" The boy had turned serious suddenly, his tanned face tinting pink. Almost shyly, he took Remus' hand, leading him off to a more secluded area.
"Yes?" Remus patiently prodded, knowing that the taller boy, for all his volume and extroversion, could be extraordinarily shy when the topic was important.
"Well, you know how we decided to live together after graduation and all?" He started absently playing with Remus' fingers as the other boy frowned slightly.
"Yes..."
"Well, I've had another idea."
"Oh." The frown increased, his amber eyes wavering.
"Remus...I don't know how to say this 'cause I'm not as eloquent with words as you, so I'll just ask you." Keeping hold of his hand, Sirius pulled something out of his pocket, fingering it out of even my view. "You know I love you, right?"
"Of course..."
"And you love me, right?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Of course, you loon."
"Alright, alright. I get the point."
Without ceremony, Sirius slipped a golden ring onto Remus' left ring finger.
"Remus, I want to be yours. And I only want you to be mine. Forever. Will you allow me to be handfasted to you?"
While not articulate with words, Sirius certainly had a powerful way with simple, human emotion.
Amber eyes widened at the simple gold band on his finger, identical to the one I saw already adorning Sirius' finger. "Oh...Siri..."
"I know it's nothing next to Lily's, but..."
Suddenly, before he could continue his own objections, Sirius found himself with an armful of a wizard-werewolf.
In a whisper so like Remus, he murmured in Siri's ear, "I love you so much, Sirius."
Sirius gleefully tightened his grip on the bundle in his arms. "You have no idea how glad I am that you said that. I just can't live without you. If you hadn't said yes..."
Smiling with all his heart, Remus kissed Sirius as if he had not seen him for years, as if he simply needed the touch, as if he couldn't survive without the feeling of Sirius' mouth upon his.
Because, sometimes, words, no matter how expressive they might be, are nothing compared to the mere action of a simple kiss.
The train whistle remained silent.
(*1) OK, I'm really NOT British, but I've read Good Omens something like five times. Does that count? (Wistful sigh) Email me if this reference is wrong.
MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE: No, this is NOT the end! There's an epilogue after this. So, stay tuned for more...if you dare! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! (Muse slaps her.) Ow! Dammit, Spike! Stop doing that! (Author and Muse begin to brawl) We'll be back...right after...these...commercial messages... OW!
Scarby13@hotmail.com or the cutest of all buttons. Yes, that one right down there... Hopefully, the one right below your mouse arrow. Go on... I dare ya... Please?
~Clamat, sed ubi asinus est?~