A/N Hey guys! I *finally* finished this ch. It took me forever. I think this is the longest one yet. Well, enjoy, and read/reveiw!!!
Chapter Sixteen
Of Grudges, Giggles, and Unicorns
"Remus?" Miranda Himalia said groggily, attempting to open an eye. She couldn't remember anything, and only knew that her right arm hurt horribly.
She sat up and gasped suddenly as she remembered everything. She looked around frantincally, and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It looked like...but it couldn't be....the Hogwarts hospital wing?
"Remus?" She said again, trying to sit up. She heard someone bustle in, and laid down, shutting her eyes, resolving herself to Madame Pomfrey's meddlesome questions.
"Are you okay, Mindy?" A male voice said anxiously.
"Sirius?" She said, opening her eyes in surprise. She sat up again.
"Lay down, you're gonna have one hell of a bruise." Sirius said, forcing her down.
"What...how...?"
"I'll explain when Remus gets up." Sirius said, and then the turned as the heard a groan from the other side of the room.
"Mindy?" An exhausted voice said.
"I'm right here." She said, trying to stand up. But Sirius pushed her back down.
"Harmony!" He called. "They're awake!" Miranda, known to her friends as Mindy, watched as the doors opened and a beautiful teenage girl walked in. Her hair was blonde and wavy, and long. Really long. It went down to her ankles. Mindy, who thought her waist length hair was long, was impressed. She was followed by another teenager, a boy with red hair and freckles. Where did she know him from?
A lightbulb clicked in Mindy's head. Ronald Weasley. The missing boy. The one who's funeral was an hour ago. The one Remus INSISTED on attending because Ron was his former student. What was he doing HERE with Sirius and the girl with the really long blonde hair called Harmony in a room that looked suspiciously like the Hogwarts Hospital wing?
"RON?!" Remus said, standing up and striding over to Ron before Sirius could force him into lying down. Remus stopped in shock before the red head. Harmony's eyebrows were raised, and she was shaking with silent laughter as Remus began to poke at Ron, as if to make sure he was really there.
"Hold on, go back, REWIND!" Mindy said, also standing up and ignoring Sirius spluttering protests. "Isn't he...dead?"
"Well, that's what Crystal told me." Remus replied, his eyes still twice their normal circumference. Mindy rolled her green eyes.
"Like you can beleive anything SHE says." Mindy said grumpily. Sirius shot her a Look, then raised his eyes to the ceiling.
"Oh Lord..." He muttered under his breath.
"Could I PLEASE get an explanation here?" She said.
"Well..." And, 45 minutes, many interruptions, one scream, and six gasps later, Miranda Himalia and Remus Lupin were added to the list of humans in on the Marigold Maurauder's little secret.
"So..." Harmony said. "Why are YOU two out and about on a full moon?"
"Actually, Remus wanted to go to Ron's funeral--"
"You did?" Ron said in surprise, looking at his former Dark Arts professor.
"Well, you had been a student, you knew about Sirius, your best friends with James' son, we thought you were killed by Voldemort...A hell of a lot of people were there." Remus said, shrugging.
"Anywho," Mindy continued, rolling her eyes. " We WERE going to stay until the sun was nearly down, then get to the shrieking shack, but we didn't get there in time..."
"Why didn't you transform?" Sirius demanded.
"You're an animagus too?" Harmony said in surprise. Mindy nodded.
"I'm a parrot!" She siad happily.
"Just when we thought we were gonna get rid of her mindless chitter chatter, she became something that talked." Sirius said, sighing.
"Shut UP, Padfoot!" Mindy said flirtatiously, hitting Sirius on the arm playfully. If Harmony had done that to Harry, Ron wouldn't have been to happy, but Remus didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"No, YOU shut up, Squak!" He replied.
"Now, now, children, play nice." Remus said, grinning a true Maurauder grin, encouraging them further.
"Well, I think--" Sirius began, but he was interrupted by the loudest pair of screams Ron had ever heard.
"OH MY GOD, WHAT IS *SHE* DOING HERE?!" Two female voice screamed. One was Mindy, pointing to the door. And the other, standing at the door, was...Crystal.
"Uh oh," Remus muttered under his breath.
"You can say that again." Sirius replied.
"Uh oh." He said, again.
"Um...did I miss something here?" Harmony asked, looking from one furious female face to the next.
"Sirius, I DEMAND an explanation from you. NOW!" Crystal screamed.
"Did you plan this?" Mindy demanded of Remus.
"Um, well, uh...surprise?" Sirius said, grinning sheepishly at Crystal.
"Too little, too late." Crystal said. Ron inched away from the elder generation, clearly afraid that Crystal and Mindy were going to kill whatever stood in the way of each other.
"Um, excuse me?" Harmony said. "I hate to interrupted this happy reunion, but these carpets were just cleaned yesterday, and I don't want blood spilled on them."
"I'm not spilling any blood!" Mindy said, sounding horrified. "Strangulation is more effecient, and it won't ruin my NAILS!"
"Oh, God forbid anyone ruin your precious nails." Crystal replied, very sarcastically.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Remus roared, standing up in between Crystal and Mindy. "Mindy, Crystal, you have been feuding for twenty years now. TWENTY YEARS! GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!"
"No." They said in unison, then returning to throwing daggers at each other around Remus. Sirius sighed.
"Ron, you take Crystal to her room, and I'll find a room for Mindy."
"And Remus." Harmony said matter-of-factly. "I'll take him to the 5th floor corrider room, shall I?"
"Yeah, I'm SURE Remus wants to sleep in the Charms classroom." Harmony rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Sirius, taking Remus's arm and leading him outside, following Ron and Crystal.
"What is UP with those two?" Harmony asked, as soon as Crystal and Ron had turned left and were out of earshot. Remus rolled his eyes.
"No one really knows." He said. "All I know is that is has something to do with Julia." Harmony knew a little bit about Julia from Sirius's accounts of his Hogwarts days. She would've pressed Remus for more, but he looked rather uncomfortable with the subject, and they were at the room anyhow.
"Well, goodnight." She said, forcing the words to come out in English. Usually, in Marigold, you said goodnight in Nightengale. Remus nodded and collapsed into his bed. Being a werewolf was exhausting. His sleep was deep and dreamless.
However, Mindy's sleep was not. She was running down the streets of Hogsmeade, which was in total and complete chaos. The Dark Mark was hovering in the sky, and there were people crying. Mindy ran through the streets shouting a name.
Julia. That was the name. Even in sleep Mindy felt a sharp pain in her chest at the mention of the name, but the pain increased when suddenly, in her dream, Julia was standing in front of her. People ran around and by them, but they seemed unable to see the apparition of the seventh year Gryffindor.
"Mindy," Julia said. "Why are you crying?" It was then that Mindy was aware of the tears rolling down her cheecks.
"Becuase," She heard herself say, her voice sounding distant and surreal to her own ears. "You're dead." Julia smiled.
"Not really, Mindy, just taking a vacation. And, trust me, heaven is GORGEOUS, better than the bahamas. Seriously, though, it's okay to cry, as long as you don't get all stubborn on me." Julia crossed her arms, giving Mindy a hard stare.
"What?" Mindy said uneasily, starting to squirm.
"You KNOW what I'm talking about, Miranda. Leave Crystal alone."
"Well it's not MY fault, you know!" Mindy said, a bit louder than necissary. "SHE started it!"
"I know, and I'll be talking to her as well. Now, YOU TWO WILL QUIT FIGHTING! End of story." And, before Mindy could object, she suddenly awoke, vividly remembering her dream.
Two stories lower, Crystal was running through a chaotic Hogsmeade when an apparition of Julia appeared...
"Pass the salt, please, Miranda." Crystal said, attempting to force the contempt from her voice. It's hard to be civil to someone you have been fighting with for 20 years. But, Crystal would do anything for her sister.
"Of course," Mindy said, also in an obviously fake voice.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Sirius raised his eyebrows at the two of them, and shot a questioning look at Remus. 'Did you do this?' He mouthed. Remus shook his head, obviously mystified. They continued with their breakfast, until Sirius saw a spider scurry across the ground. He started to laugh so hard that he fell right off his chair. Harmony, Ron, Remus, Crystal, and Mindy all stared at him as if he were going crazy, which they obviously thought that he was.
"Remus," Sirius panted. "Do you remember the time that we set the spiders loose on the Slytherin train compartment in sixth year?"
"OMIGOD!" Mindy said, a grin and a giggle starting to form. "I remember that!" She started laughing, and soon Remus and Crystal caught on as well. Harmony and Ron continued to stare, mystified. This started an all out 'Do you remember...?" from the Hogwarts days of the 70's. Ron and Harmony slipped out of the room while no one was looking, disgusted.
"Do you remember when my dad showed up at Christmas seventh year?" Sirius said, crying with mirth.
"Oh, you gave him SUCH a lecture," Mindy replied, gasping between giggles. Crystal attempted to say something and disolved into another fit of giggles, collapsing on Mindy for support. Mindy, likewise, was leaning on Crystal. Remus broke out of the laughing fit long enough to stare at Sirius, who likewise had temporarily chosen breathing over laughter. Mindy and...Crystal? Getting along?
And with that, they started laughing even harder than they had before.
"Draco?" Ginny hissed, her cheeks on fire from the cold. "Draco, are you here?" She was at the place they had already agreed to meet at Hogsmeade, and even though she was late (Harry and Hermione had been very curious on why she was going to Hogsmeade the day after Ron's funeral when her entire family was at the castle, but she had finally managed to convince them that she needed privacy) there was no sign of Draco anywhere.
"Draco Malfoy, if you don't--" But she was cut off as she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her under a cloak. She looked, and finally saw him...standing right by where she had been.
"What the heck?" She said, avoiding the word her brother would've used.
"It's an invisibility cloak." Draco said smugly.
"I kinda figured that out." Ginny said.
"You don't sound impressed." Draco replied, sounding hurt.
"I'm not." She said.
"Why?" Draco questioned defensively. "You don't know anyone with one of these."
"Wanna bet?" Ginny demanded.
"Who?" Draco asked, sincerely curiuos.
"Harry Potter." She replied, tossing her hair as if this were ancient news.
"WHAT?!" Draco shouted, his eyes widening. "Where did POTTER get one of these?"
"His father left it to him." Ginny said coldly, warning him not to press the subject. So Draco swallowed his questions and they walked into the forest, using the map Harmony had drawn for them to help them find their way back to Marigold.
"GINNY!" Harmony squealed, running forward to hug Ron's younger sister. They hugged, and Ron, who had come up behind Harmony, rolled his eyes. Those two had become rather attached to each other in the short time they had known each other.
"Miss Weasley?" Came a awed voice. "Mr. Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
Ginny looked up to see Remus Lupin, her defense teacher from second year, coming up the path with Sirius, Professor Jenkins, and a blond woman she didn't recognize.
"Hey, I didn't know you two would be down here today." Crystal said.
"Okay, let's make sure everybody knows everybody else." Sirius said. "Who doesn't know who?"
"We don't know her." Draco said, gesturing to blond.
"Miranda Himalia, at your sevice." The woman said, bowing down ridiculously low and then popping up again so fast that Draco thought it must hurt. "Call me Mindy, 'Miranda' is just toooo long."
"Uh-huh." Draco replied, looking as though he were rather afraid for her sanity. Ginny nudged him in the ribs.
"Ginny Weasley." She said, smiling warmly, and holding out her hand. Mindy shook it, giggling for reasons unknown. Draco noticed Lupin snickering, Jenkins rolling her eyes, and Black coughing loudly.
"Anyway," Harmony said, rolling her eyes at her elders. There was something about them all together that made all of them (well, maybe not Crystal...) seem immature. "I have an idea that I think you'll all enjoy."
"Oooo, what, what, what?" Ginny asked. It looked as though she had had too much sugar for breakfast. Harmony laughed.
"C'mon." She replied mysteriously, motioning for them all to follow. They complied out of curoisity.
They all wound up in front of a small brown building.
"What IS this?" Draco demanded. Harmony rolled her eyes.
"It's a stable." She said, as if this were obvious.
"Where are all the horses?" Ron said, genuinely curious.
"Horses?" Harmony said, confusing them on purpose. "Who said anything horses?" Trying very hard not to laugh, she pushed open the door.
The basic layout of the 'stable' was awing enough. Even though it looked about the size of a large living room from the outside, when you went inside it was like an endless green prarie with no fences and always a sunny day in May. But that was not what was so shocking.
Unicorns. Seven shimmering silver unicorns. They galloped around the feild, making a noise that sounded strangely like a child's laughter. Harmony's companions stared in awe. Harmony, smiling, made a noise that sounded like whatever the unicorns were 'saying'. Ron was amazed that he could hear what she was saying.
"Aurora!" She called. "Aurora!"
A tall, radiant mare trotted over to Harmony.
"Yes, Harmony?" The unicorn asked. Everyone else (excepting Sirius and Ron, of course) watched on in complete and utter confusion.
"I'd like to introduce these good people to unicorn riding." Harmony said, looking fondly upon the seven humans who accompanied her. Maybe it was a trick of the bright sunlight, but it looked as if the unicorn, Aurora, had...raised her eyebrows...?
"Let humans...ride us?" She said skeptically. Harmony rolled her eyes.
"C'mon Aurora," Harmony whined. "Two of them are accepted. Please?" She looked at the unicorn with pleading blue eyes.
"You win, as usual." She said, laughing. Harmony grinned.
"Thanks a mil, Aurora." She replied, winking.
"Okay, who shall ride who... hmm..." Aurora said, looking the humans over. "There's eight of you. Two will have to ride together."
"I'm sure Draco and Ginny won't mind." Harmony replied.
"Just one second!" Ron interrupted, but Harmony put up a hand to silence him.
"They're the lightest couple!" Harmony exclaimed. And turned to Aurora before Ron could do any more protesting. No doubt Draco would have made some kind of sarcastic remark if he could understand what was being said.
"Okay, I'll give them Cupid." Aurora said, summoning to a large stallion, who promptly galloped over and stood next to Draco and Ginny, much to thier surprise."
"From here it will be easy. Diana, you get the blonde. Icicle, the dark haired one. No, no, the woman. Okay, Wildfire, Sirius. Of course we know your name, Mr. Black. And Honor, the brown haired man."
"Who am I riding?" Ron asked, looking around at the others, all of whom but
Sirius were looking very confused.
"Don't worry, young Firehair." Aurora said. "Osiris! Get over here!" The seventh and final unicorn, a dignified stallion, trotted over to Ron. Harmony promptly swung onto Aurora.
"Okay, everyone!" She said, speaking English once agian. "Meet your unicorns for today. Ginny and Draco, you will both be riding Cupid. Just get on. That's the ticket. Miranda, yours is named Diana. Crystal, you have Icicle. Remus, that's Honor. And you two already know the names." She made this last comment to Sirius and Ron, both of whom were already astride their unicorns. Then the eight of them left the stable via the still open door, and trotted off into the forest.
The Forbidden Forest was beautiful in the winter. Diamond-like snow covered the ground. At first the party stayed together, but eventually they began to split up...in couples of course. Unicorns have a very good sense of love between other beings.
Ginny and Draco, being on the same unicorn, hardly even slowed down once out of sight and earshot of the others. Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, and she leaned her head against his should, her fiery hair flying out behind them.
"I feel like I'm in a dream." She said, turning slightly to face Draco, her hair now blowing around his face. "Like this is all too good to be true."
"But it is true, Ginny." He whispered, sending shivers up her spine that had nothing to do with the snow all around her. He kissed her gently, and the cold went away.
Cupid, bless his unicorn heart, slowed down ever so slightly and was careful that they didn't bump their heads on the overhanging branches.
Wildfire and Icicle slowed to a walk, allowing Sirius and Crystal to hold hands.
"I wish we could have done this as teenagers." Crystal said, sighing.
"I still feel like I'm a teenager when I'm around Harmony and Ron." Sirius said, laughing softly. "I always do, actually. Except when I'm thinking about Harry. I don't know what to DO, Crystal. I feel like I can't be there for him, and he's never had ANYONE there. I just wish..." Sirius sighed, and Crystal looked up at him sympathetically.
"I know." She said. "Everything's going to be okay. Just...relax for a change. You never got this worried over James."
"James was my best friend, not my godson." Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. But Crystal just smiled.
"Harry is James in miniature. Except that James wasn't internationally famous for always being mortal peril. But if he had been, don't you think he could've handled it?"
"Harry's childhood was much worse than James's."
"Yes, and Harry is all the stronger for it." Crystal said, and to that Sirius had no arguement. Crystal grinned.
"Admit it, Sirius. C'mon...."
"Okay, okay!" Sirius sighed. "You're right." Crystal giggled, and leaned over the now almost non-existant gap between them and kissed him softly on the lips.
"That's a good puppy." She said, and galloped off laughing, as Sirius chased her in mock indignation.
Poor Honor was very restless, and really couldn't stay on course. While Diana, Mindy's unicorn, let her ride like the wind, Remus's poor unicorn was very nervous. He knew, of course, that the being astride him was not a human, but a werewolf. Remus also knew that Honor knew this, and so he and Mindy decided to get off and let the unicorns walk behind for a while. That's when Honor decided he liked the werewold as a human; he understood.
"I feel like a princess." Mindy said, looking around at the forest that had scared her so much in her youth and that she now was falling in love with.
"Does that make me your prince?" Remus replied, raising his eyebrows and trying not to laugh. Mindy went ahead and let the laughter out, as she always did.
"I suppose so." She replied in a thoughtful tone. Remus picked up the small trace of an Australian accent that no one else could. But that was becuase for years, Mindy's move to Australia had been constantly on his mind...especially after she had been married. However, she was back now. Remus said nothing, but he knew that, however much she loved him, Mindy would never forget Wes. He pushed it out of his mind.
"I propose we stay in this forest forever." He said, with mock solomnety. Mindy laughed, and so did Remus.
"In this snow?" She demanded through giggles.
"Sure, why not?" He replied. He was in a 'why not' mood, something rare for the most serious of the Marauders. Even James and Sirius could not make Remus feel as carefree as he did with Mindy.
"Becuase...then THIS would happen!" And without further warning, and much to Remus's surprise, she shoved snow in his face and took off running.
"Oh no you don't!" He cried, quickly packing a snowball and hurling it after her, which she ducked. He ran after her, quickly catching up and pulling her down into the snowbank, laughing like a pair of innocent teenagers who have never felt the pain of loss or sorrow or lonliness as these two so painfully had.
Ron and Harmony rode in silence, simply being comfortable together. Even their unicorns, Aurora and Osiris, were silent.
"I never want to leave." Ron said abruptly. Harmony turned toward him, stifling a giggle.
"Of course not, why would you?" She asked.
"I don't mean the woods and the unicorns and all this other mushy stuff!" He replied, much to the mirth of Harmony, who nearly fell off her unicorn in mirth. Ron was the dreamer of the Weasley family, and liked all this 'mushy stuff' more than any of his older brothers, and perhaps even as much as his sister.
"You don't, eh?" She asked, once she righted herself onto Aurora, who was sniffing in a disapproving way.
"No, I mean Marigold. I never want to leave. I want to stay here forever...with you." He had been looking straight ahead, but with this he turned and looked into Harmony's perfect blue eyes. Blushing, she looked away.
"And you said you weren't into all that mushy stuff," She said, trying not to make it how obvious how very flattered she was.
"No Harmony, I'm serious. I wish I could stay here forever. But..."
"Your family, Harry, Hermione. I understand, Ron." Harmony replied, trying to sound comforting, but really panicking inside. It had never occured to her that Ron would leave.
"I just...I wish there was a way I could be with them and you, without having to choose." He said, looking back down at the unicorn's mane.
They rode on for a few more moments, when both unicorns abruptly stopped. Harmony and Ron looked up, amazed to see how far from Marigold they had come. The trees were thinning, and through them they could see the looming shape of the great Hogwarts Castle. From this perspective the Slytherin fear in Harmony was awoken even more, and she turned away. Then, suddenly, an idea struck her.
"Ron, maybe there is a way." She said brightly. He turned and looked over at her. "I mean, you were accepted into Marigold through...some...tests. So maybe, if I passed something of the same sort, my father would accept my participation in the Human world. And maybe even the rest of us!" Ron smiled at her.
"That might work actually...with a lot of planning...but what would you do for a test?" He replied, as if asking her a riddle.
Harmony turned her face from her boyfriend to the giant castle that loomed over her, frowning down at where she sat astride the silver unicorn, and she shivered in it's shadow. She gulped, suddenly realizing what she would have to do...
"Simple," She said, turning back to Ron. "I'll go to Hogwarts for a few weeks."
Chapter Sixteen
Of Grudges, Giggles, and Unicorns
"Remus?" Miranda Himalia said groggily, attempting to open an eye. She couldn't remember anything, and only knew that her right arm hurt horribly.
She sat up and gasped suddenly as she remembered everything. She looked around frantincally, and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. It looked like...but it couldn't be....the Hogwarts hospital wing?
"Remus?" She said again, trying to sit up. She heard someone bustle in, and laid down, shutting her eyes, resolving herself to Madame Pomfrey's meddlesome questions.
"Are you okay, Mindy?" A male voice said anxiously.
"Sirius?" She said, opening her eyes in surprise. She sat up again.
"Lay down, you're gonna have one hell of a bruise." Sirius said, forcing her down.
"What...how...?"
"I'll explain when Remus gets up." Sirius said, and then the turned as the heard a groan from the other side of the room.
"Mindy?" An exhausted voice said.
"I'm right here." She said, trying to stand up. But Sirius pushed her back down.
"Harmony!" He called. "They're awake!" Miranda, known to her friends as Mindy, watched as the doors opened and a beautiful teenage girl walked in. Her hair was blonde and wavy, and long. Really long. It went down to her ankles. Mindy, who thought her waist length hair was long, was impressed. She was followed by another teenager, a boy with red hair and freckles. Where did she know him from?
A lightbulb clicked in Mindy's head. Ronald Weasley. The missing boy. The one who's funeral was an hour ago. The one Remus INSISTED on attending because Ron was his former student. What was he doing HERE with Sirius and the girl with the really long blonde hair called Harmony in a room that looked suspiciously like the Hogwarts Hospital wing?
"RON?!" Remus said, standing up and striding over to Ron before Sirius could force him into lying down. Remus stopped in shock before the red head. Harmony's eyebrows were raised, and she was shaking with silent laughter as Remus began to poke at Ron, as if to make sure he was really there.
"Hold on, go back, REWIND!" Mindy said, also standing up and ignoring Sirius spluttering protests. "Isn't he...dead?"
"Well, that's what Crystal told me." Remus replied, his eyes still twice their normal circumference. Mindy rolled her green eyes.
"Like you can beleive anything SHE says." Mindy said grumpily. Sirius shot her a Look, then raised his eyes to the ceiling.
"Oh Lord..." He muttered under his breath.
"Could I PLEASE get an explanation here?" She said.
"Well..." And, 45 minutes, many interruptions, one scream, and six gasps later, Miranda Himalia and Remus Lupin were added to the list of humans in on the Marigold Maurauder's little secret.
"So..." Harmony said. "Why are YOU two out and about on a full moon?"
"Actually, Remus wanted to go to Ron's funeral--"
"You did?" Ron said in surprise, looking at his former Dark Arts professor.
"Well, you had been a student, you knew about Sirius, your best friends with James' son, we thought you were killed by Voldemort...A hell of a lot of people were there." Remus said, shrugging.
"Anywho," Mindy continued, rolling her eyes. " We WERE going to stay until the sun was nearly down, then get to the shrieking shack, but we didn't get there in time..."
"Why didn't you transform?" Sirius demanded.
"You're an animagus too?" Harmony said in surprise. Mindy nodded.
"I'm a parrot!" She siad happily.
"Just when we thought we were gonna get rid of her mindless chitter chatter, she became something that talked." Sirius said, sighing.
"Shut UP, Padfoot!" Mindy said flirtatiously, hitting Sirius on the arm playfully. If Harmony had done that to Harry, Ron wouldn't have been to happy, but Remus didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"No, YOU shut up, Squak!" He replied.
"Now, now, children, play nice." Remus said, grinning a true Maurauder grin, encouraging them further.
"Well, I think--" Sirius began, but he was interrupted by the loudest pair of screams Ron had ever heard.
"OH MY GOD, WHAT IS *SHE* DOING HERE?!" Two female voice screamed. One was Mindy, pointing to the door. And the other, standing at the door, was...Crystal.
"Uh oh," Remus muttered under his breath.
"You can say that again." Sirius replied.
"Uh oh." He said, again.
"Um...did I miss something here?" Harmony asked, looking from one furious female face to the next.
"Sirius, I DEMAND an explanation from you. NOW!" Crystal screamed.
"Did you plan this?" Mindy demanded of Remus.
"Um, well, uh...surprise?" Sirius said, grinning sheepishly at Crystal.
"Too little, too late." Crystal said. Ron inched away from the elder generation, clearly afraid that Crystal and Mindy were going to kill whatever stood in the way of each other.
"Um, excuse me?" Harmony said. "I hate to interrupted this happy reunion, but these carpets were just cleaned yesterday, and I don't want blood spilled on them."
"I'm not spilling any blood!" Mindy said, sounding horrified. "Strangulation is more effecient, and it won't ruin my NAILS!"
"Oh, God forbid anyone ruin your precious nails." Crystal replied, very sarcastically.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Remus roared, standing up in between Crystal and Mindy. "Mindy, Crystal, you have been feuding for twenty years now. TWENTY YEARS! GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!"
"No." They said in unison, then returning to throwing daggers at each other around Remus. Sirius sighed.
"Ron, you take Crystal to her room, and I'll find a room for Mindy."
"And Remus." Harmony said matter-of-factly. "I'll take him to the 5th floor corrider room, shall I?"
"Yeah, I'm SURE Remus wants to sleep in the Charms classroom." Harmony rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Sirius, taking Remus's arm and leading him outside, following Ron and Crystal.
"What is UP with those two?" Harmony asked, as soon as Crystal and Ron had turned left and were out of earshot. Remus rolled his eyes.
"No one really knows." He said. "All I know is that is has something to do with Julia." Harmony knew a little bit about Julia from Sirius's accounts of his Hogwarts days. She would've pressed Remus for more, but he looked rather uncomfortable with the subject, and they were at the room anyhow.
"Well, goodnight." She said, forcing the words to come out in English. Usually, in Marigold, you said goodnight in Nightengale. Remus nodded and collapsed into his bed. Being a werewolf was exhausting. His sleep was deep and dreamless.
However, Mindy's sleep was not. She was running down the streets of Hogsmeade, which was in total and complete chaos. The Dark Mark was hovering in the sky, and there were people crying. Mindy ran through the streets shouting a name.
Julia. That was the name. Even in sleep Mindy felt a sharp pain in her chest at the mention of the name, but the pain increased when suddenly, in her dream, Julia was standing in front of her. People ran around and by them, but they seemed unable to see the apparition of the seventh year Gryffindor.
"Mindy," Julia said. "Why are you crying?" It was then that Mindy was aware of the tears rolling down her cheecks.
"Becuase," She heard herself say, her voice sounding distant and surreal to her own ears. "You're dead." Julia smiled.
"Not really, Mindy, just taking a vacation. And, trust me, heaven is GORGEOUS, better than the bahamas. Seriously, though, it's okay to cry, as long as you don't get all stubborn on me." Julia crossed her arms, giving Mindy a hard stare.
"What?" Mindy said uneasily, starting to squirm.
"You KNOW what I'm talking about, Miranda. Leave Crystal alone."
"Well it's not MY fault, you know!" Mindy said, a bit louder than necissary. "SHE started it!"
"I know, and I'll be talking to her as well. Now, YOU TWO WILL QUIT FIGHTING! End of story." And, before Mindy could object, she suddenly awoke, vividly remembering her dream.
Two stories lower, Crystal was running through a chaotic Hogsmeade when an apparition of Julia appeared...
"Pass the salt, please, Miranda." Crystal said, attempting to force the contempt from her voice. It's hard to be civil to someone you have been fighting with for 20 years. But, Crystal would do anything for her sister.
"Of course," Mindy said, also in an obviously fake voice.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Sirius raised his eyebrows at the two of them, and shot a questioning look at Remus. 'Did you do this?' He mouthed. Remus shook his head, obviously mystified. They continued with their breakfast, until Sirius saw a spider scurry across the ground. He started to laugh so hard that he fell right off his chair. Harmony, Ron, Remus, Crystal, and Mindy all stared at him as if he were going crazy, which they obviously thought that he was.
"Remus," Sirius panted. "Do you remember the time that we set the spiders loose on the Slytherin train compartment in sixth year?"
"OMIGOD!" Mindy said, a grin and a giggle starting to form. "I remember that!" She started laughing, and soon Remus and Crystal caught on as well. Harmony and Ron continued to stare, mystified. This started an all out 'Do you remember...?" from the Hogwarts days of the 70's. Ron and Harmony slipped out of the room while no one was looking, disgusted.
"Do you remember when my dad showed up at Christmas seventh year?" Sirius said, crying with mirth.
"Oh, you gave him SUCH a lecture," Mindy replied, gasping between giggles. Crystal attempted to say something and disolved into another fit of giggles, collapsing on Mindy for support. Mindy, likewise, was leaning on Crystal. Remus broke out of the laughing fit long enough to stare at Sirius, who likewise had temporarily chosen breathing over laughter. Mindy and...Crystal? Getting along?
And with that, they started laughing even harder than they had before.
"Draco?" Ginny hissed, her cheeks on fire from the cold. "Draco, are you here?" She was at the place they had already agreed to meet at Hogsmeade, and even though she was late (Harry and Hermione had been very curious on why she was going to Hogsmeade the day after Ron's funeral when her entire family was at the castle, but she had finally managed to convince them that she needed privacy) there was no sign of Draco anywhere.
"Draco Malfoy, if you don't--" But she was cut off as she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her under a cloak. She looked, and finally saw him...standing right by where she had been.
"What the heck?" She said, avoiding the word her brother would've used.
"It's an invisibility cloak." Draco said smugly.
"I kinda figured that out." Ginny said.
"You don't sound impressed." Draco replied, sounding hurt.
"I'm not." She said.
"Why?" Draco questioned defensively. "You don't know anyone with one of these."
"Wanna bet?" Ginny demanded.
"Who?" Draco asked, sincerely curiuos.
"Harry Potter." She replied, tossing her hair as if this were ancient news.
"WHAT?!" Draco shouted, his eyes widening. "Where did POTTER get one of these?"
"His father left it to him." Ginny said coldly, warning him not to press the subject. So Draco swallowed his questions and they walked into the forest, using the map Harmony had drawn for them to help them find their way back to Marigold.
"GINNY!" Harmony squealed, running forward to hug Ron's younger sister. They hugged, and Ron, who had come up behind Harmony, rolled his eyes. Those two had become rather attached to each other in the short time they had known each other.
"Miss Weasley?" Came a awed voice. "Mr. Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
Ginny looked up to see Remus Lupin, her defense teacher from second year, coming up the path with Sirius, Professor Jenkins, and a blond woman she didn't recognize.
"Hey, I didn't know you two would be down here today." Crystal said.
"Okay, let's make sure everybody knows everybody else." Sirius said. "Who doesn't know who?"
"We don't know her." Draco said, gesturing to blond.
"Miranda Himalia, at your sevice." The woman said, bowing down ridiculously low and then popping up again so fast that Draco thought it must hurt. "Call me Mindy, 'Miranda' is just toooo long."
"Uh-huh." Draco replied, looking as though he were rather afraid for her sanity. Ginny nudged him in the ribs.
"Ginny Weasley." She said, smiling warmly, and holding out her hand. Mindy shook it, giggling for reasons unknown. Draco noticed Lupin snickering, Jenkins rolling her eyes, and Black coughing loudly.
"Anyway," Harmony said, rolling her eyes at her elders. There was something about them all together that made all of them (well, maybe not Crystal...) seem immature. "I have an idea that I think you'll all enjoy."
"Oooo, what, what, what?" Ginny asked. It looked as though she had had too much sugar for breakfast. Harmony laughed.
"C'mon." She replied mysteriously, motioning for them all to follow. They complied out of curoisity.
They all wound up in front of a small brown building.
"What IS this?" Draco demanded. Harmony rolled her eyes.
"It's a stable." She said, as if this were obvious.
"Where are all the horses?" Ron said, genuinely curious.
"Horses?" Harmony said, confusing them on purpose. "Who said anything horses?" Trying very hard not to laugh, she pushed open the door.
The basic layout of the 'stable' was awing enough. Even though it looked about the size of a large living room from the outside, when you went inside it was like an endless green prarie with no fences and always a sunny day in May. But that was not what was so shocking.
Unicorns. Seven shimmering silver unicorns. They galloped around the feild, making a noise that sounded strangely like a child's laughter. Harmony's companions stared in awe. Harmony, smiling, made a noise that sounded like whatever the unicorns were 'saying'. Ron was amazed that he could hear what she was saying.
"Aurora!" She called. "Aurora!"
A tall, radiant mare trotted over to Harmony.
"Yes, Harmony?" The unicorn asked. Everyone else (excepting Sirius and Ron, of course) watched on in complete and utter confusion.
"I'd like to introduce these good people to unicorn riding." Harmony said, looking fondly upon the seven humans who accompanied her. Maybe it was a trick of the bright sunlight, but it looked as if the unicorn, Aurora, had...raised her eyebrows...?
"Let humans...ride us?" She said skeptically. Harmony rolled her eyes.
"C'mon Aurora," Harmony whined. "Two of them are accepted. Please?" She looked at the unicorn with pleading blue eyes.
"You win, as usual." She said, laughing. Harmony grinned.
"Thanks a mil, Aurora." She replied, winking.
"Okay, who shall ride who... hmm..." Aurora said, looking the humans over. "There's eight of you. Two will have to ride together."
"I'm sure Draco and Ginny won't mind." Harmony replied.
"Just one second!" Ron interrupted, but Harmony put up a hand to silence him.
"They're the lightest couple!" Harmony exclaimed. And turned to Aurora before Ron could do any more protesting. No doubt Draco would have made some kind of sarcastic remark if he could understand what was being said.
"Okay, I'll give them Cupid." Aurora said, summoning to a large stallion, who promptly galloped over and stood next to Draco and Ginny, much to thier surprise."
"From here it will be easy. Diana, you get the blonde. Icicle, the dark haired one. No, no, the woman. Okay, Wildfire, Sirius. Of course we know your name, Mr. Black. And Honor, the brown haired man."
"Who am I riding?" Ron asked, looking around at the others, all of whom but
Sirius were looking very confused.
"Don't worry, young Firehair." Aurora said. "Osiris! Get over here!" The seventh and final unicorn, a dignified stallion, trotted over to Ron. Harmony promptly swung onto Aurora.
"Okay, everyone!" She said, speaking English once agian. "Meet your unicorns for today. Ginny and Draco, you will both be riding Cupid. Just get on. That's the ticket. Miranda, yours is named Diana. Crystal, you have Icicle. Remus, that's Honor. And you two already know the names." She made this last comment to Sirius and Ron, both of whom were already astride their unicorns. Then the eight of them left the stable via the still open door, and trotted off into the forest.
The Forbidden Forest was beautiful in the winter. Diamond-like snow covered the ground. At first the party stayed together, but eventually they began to split up...in couples of course. Unicorns have a very good sense of love between other beings.
Ginny and Draco, being on the same unicorn, hardly even slowed down once out of sight and earshot of the others. Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, and she leaned her head against his should, her fiery hair flying out behind them.
"I feel like I'm in a dream." She said, turning slightly to face Draco, her hair now blowing around his face. "Like this is all too good to be true."
"But it is true, Ginny." He whispered, sending shivers up her spine that had nothing to do with the snow all around her. He kissed her gently, and the cold went away.
Cupid, bless his unicorn heart, slowed down ever so slightly and was careful that they didn't bump their heads on the overhanging branches.
Wildfire and Icicle slowed to a walk, allowing Sirius and Crystal to hold hands.
"I wish we could have done this as teenagers." Crystal said, sighing.
"I still feel like I'm a teenager when I'm around Harmony and Ron." Sirius said, laughing softly. "I always do, actually. Except when I'm thinking about Harry. I don't know what to DO, Crystal. I feel like I can't be there for him, and he's never had ANYONE there. I just wish..." Sirius sighed, and Crystal looked up at him sympathetically.
"I know." She said. "Everything's going to be okay. Just...relax for a change. You never got this worried over James."
"James was my best friend, not my godson." Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. But Crystal just smiled.
"Harry is James in miniature. Except that James wasn't internationally famous for always being mortal peril. But if he had been, don't you think he could've handled it?"
"Harry's childhood was much worse than James's."
"Yes, and Harry is all the stronger for it." Crystal said, and to that Sirius had no arguement. Crystal grinned.
"Admit it, Sirius. C'mon...."
"Okay, okay!" Sirius sighed. "You're right." Crystal giggled, and leaned over the now almost non-existant gap between them and kissed him softly on the lips.
"That's a good puppy." She said, and galloped off laughing, as Sirius chased her in mock indignation.
Poor Honor was very restless, and really couldn't stay on course. While Diana, Mindy's unicorn, let her ride like the wind, Remus's poor unicorn was very nervous. He knew, of course, that the being astride him was not a human, but a werewolf. Remus also knew that Honor knew this, and so he and Mindy decided to get off and let the unicorns walk behind for a while. That's when Honor decided he liked the werewold as a human; he understood.
"I feel like a princess." Mindy said, looking around at the forest that had scared her so much in her youth and that she now was falling in love with.
"Does that make me your prince?" Remus replied, raising his eyebrows and trying not to laugh. Mindy went ahead and let the laughter out, as she always did.
"I suppose so." She replied in a thoughtful tone. Remus picked up the small trace of an Australian accent that no one else could. But that was becuase for years, Mindy's move to Australia had been constantly on his mind...especially after she had been married. However, she was back now. Remus said nothing, but he knew that, however much she loved him, Mindy would never forget Wes. He pushed it out of his mind.
"I propose we stay in this forest forever." He said, with mock solomnety. Mindy laughed, and so did Remus.
"In this snow?" She demanded through giggles.
"Sure, why not?" He replied. He was in a 'why not' mood, something rare for the most serious of the Marauders. Even James and Sirius could not make Remus feel as carefree as he did with Mindy.
"Becuase...then THIS would happen!" And without further warning, and much to Remus's surprise, she shoved snow in his face and took off running.
"Oh no you don't!" He cried, quickly packing a snowball and hurling it after her, which she ducked. He ran after her, quickly catching up and pulling her down into the snowbank, laughing like a pair of innocent teenagers who have never felt the pain of loss or sorrow or lonliness as these two so painfully had.
Ron and Harmony rode in silence, simply being comfortable together. Even their unicorns, Aurora and Osiris, were silent.
"I never want to leave." Ron said abruptly. Harmony turned toward him, stifling a giggle.
"Of course not, why would you?" She asked.
"I don't mean the woods and the unicorns and all this other mushy stuff!" He replied, much to the mirth of Harmony, who nearly fell off her unicorn in mirth. Ron was the dreamer of the Weasley family, and liked all this 'mushy stuff' more than any of his older brothers, and perhaps even as much as his sister.
"You don't, eh?" She asked, once she righted herself onto Aurora, who was sniffing in a disapproving way.
"No, I mean Marigold. I never want to leave. I want to stay here forever...with you." He had been looking straight ahead, but with this he turned and looked into Harmony's perfect blue eyes. Blushing, she looked away.
"And you said you weren't into all that mushy stuff," She said, trying not to make it how obvious how very flattered she was.
"No Harmony, I'm serious. I wish I could stay here forever. But..."
"Your family, Harry, Hermione. I understand, Ron." Harmony replied, trying to sound comforting, but really panicking inside. It had never occured to her that Ron would leave.
"I just...I wish there was a way I could be with them and you, without having to choose." He said, looking back down at the unicorn's mane.
They rode on for a few more moments, when both unicorns abruptly stopped. Harmony and Ron looked up, amazed to see how far from Marigold they had come. The trees were thinning, and through them they could see the looming shape of the great Hogwarts Castle. From this perspective the Slytherin fear in Harmony was awoken even more, and she turned away. Then, suddenly, an idea struck her.
"Ron, maybe there is a way." She said brightly. He turned and looked over at her. "I mean, you were accepted into Marigold through...some...tests. So maybe, if I passed something of the same sort, my father would accept my participation in the Human world. And maybe even the rest of us!" Ron smiled at her.
"That might work actually...with a lot of planning...but what would you do for a test?" He replied, as if asking her a riddle.
Harmony turned her face from her boyfriend to the giant castle that loomed over her, frowning down at where she sat astride the silver unicorn, and she shivered in it's shadow. She gulped, suddenly realizing what she would have to do...
"Simple," She said, turning back to Ron. "I'll go to Hogwarts for a few weeks."