A/N: I have two things to say:1. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!! Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed, you're all so sweet! 2. Please, don't ask where I got the elephants. I have absolutely NO idea myself. J
DISCLAIMER: I own Aria and Ashley. Sad, yea I know.
Chapter 9: Of Discoveries andMessing with Elephants?
Aria stretched out on a couch on her stomach and closed her eyes, dreaming ofpasta. Real, Italian, mouthwatering pasta, just like they had back home in Venice. Her thick, curly black hair framed her face as it settled into a dreamy expression, remembering the gondolas, the canals, the angels and lions, the rivers that were streets, and the labyrinth of alleyways that made up her homeland. The corner by which she lived, the Campo Morosino in San Marco, was a particularly beautiful area, and was completely inhabited by witches and wizards. But, the beauty of her beloved neighborhood was that if any muggle walked through it, they would never know that it was packed with witches and wizards, for the magical residents lived like any other Venetian, riding gondolas, going to church, and walking around their beautiful city. Rarely did the magical folk ever fly anywhere. Aria always missed her home sorely whenever she came to Hogwarts. Although she loved Hogwarts dearly, and loved studying magic there, it just wasn't the same as her beloved Venice. Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized Sirius was standing in front of her, smirking. She scowled at him.
"What?"
"Did anyone ever tell you that when you think of home you get a really dreamy and hungry expression on your face?" Sirius asked. Aria laughed. "Teach me some Venetian." Aria made a weird face at her friend.
"Um, do you mean Italian?"
"Whatever."
"No, ask me properly and maybe I will." Sirius sighed, and then smiled mischievously.
"Anything for my dear Melody." Aria stuck out her tongue at him, and made room for him to sit down next to her. "Teach me some Italian."
"Well, let's start there. Cara means 'my dear'. So, God forbid, if you wanted to say 'my dear Melody' in Italian, you would say 'cara Aria'," she explained. Sirius stared at her. "Of course, if that's too much for your puny brain to handle, we can drop-"
"Your name means Melody?" he interrupted. She nodded, not blushing at all. "Damn I'm good at this nickname thing. I only called you Melody because you sing all the time." Now she turned deep red.
"Wh-what do you mean I sing all the time?" she asked. He grinned evilly.
"You thought no one could hear you, didn't you?" She nodded. "Well you were wrong. This Marauder is always watching. Or in this case, listening" She moaned.
"If you tell anyone-"
"-How do you say good?"
"We really have to work on your etiquette. I can't remember the last time I finished a sentence. But its Benissimo," said Aria, sounding it out for him. He grinned.
"All right then. You sing benissimo, cara Aria!" Sirius said this imitating her perfectly, and adding in a few hand gestures to make it more dramatic. She rolled her eyes and burst out laughing, as did he. After they had finished, they realized just how close their faces were, about an inch apart in fact. They looked at each other, surprised, and then broke apart, moving away.
"So," said Aria, not sure of what to do next, but wanting to change the subject. "Are you going to tell Lily about Remus?" Sirius shook his head.
"Its Remus's secret, and he has to be the one to decide whether or not he tells her," said Sirius.
"I know," she said softly, laying her head on his shoulder. He instinctively put an arm around her. This gesture felt completely natural for them. Ever since they had become friends, they had stayed up late at nights, talking about anything and everything.
"Its not that he doesn't trust her, or anything like that. Its just that, the stupid prat he is, thinks that she won't want to be his friend after she finds out, and-" he said hurriedly, anxiously looking at Aria and begging her to understand.
"I know," she said again. "He's Remus. He's too noble to let anyone carry his burden or help him. And he'd never want Lily to know because he still doesn't understand that we're his friends and we'd never leave him. He's just that way. God, I still remember how scared he was when we told him we knew. I-I'll never forget his face." Sirius sighed, relieved that she understood. "I-I just wish that there was a way we could help him. You know, to make his transformations more bearable." Sirius almost told her the plan he, James, Remus, and Peter had been working on, but grudgingly decided against it. If she knew, she might want to take part in it, and he couldn't let her. It was too dangerous. If anything happened to her, he wouldn't know what to do.
"Yea," he simply said. They changed the subject to what kind of torture they could subject Snape to next, and had almost agreed on a suitable prank, when, to everyone's surprise, Amos Diggory stormed into the common room. Amos. Her boyfriend. At first, it had been fun. He had taken her to Hogsmeade, and bought her lots of candy, and they had kissed a lot. He used to tell her that she was beautiful and that he loved her every day. They had become such good friends too. Now, he didn't take her out as often, and he always seemed bored and restless whenever she was with him. He didn't tell her that she was beautiful as often, and there weren't as many kisses. They fought more as well. The main subject of their fights always seemed about her being friends with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Amos didn't like the fact that they were friends, and Aria couldn't understand why. No one said a word. It was obvious he was angry, by the way his eyes flashed. When he saw Aria and Sirius on the couch together, it seemed as if he would explode. Aria smiled and got up to kiss him, completely oblivious to the fact that his face was red with anger, as red as a tomato.
"Hey," she said. "How did you get in here? Who let you in?" That made it worse for Amos.
"I think that that is completely besides the point at the moment," he hissed. "We were supposed to meet half an hour ago at the Quidditch Pitch. I come in here and find you snuggling up to Sirius Black, and you ask me, of all things, how I got in here. Don't you think you should apologize?" Aria's mouth hung open in shock.
"Wh-what?" she asked, completely taken by surprise. Snuggling up to Sirius Black? Was Amos high or something?
"You're right, it probably wasn't your fault," he said sighing, calming down a tad. She breathed a relieved breath and smiled warily. "Black probably came onto you, didn't he?" He turned to face Sirius, who now stood up, angry. Aria looked from one to the other and her jaw dropped farther.
"WHAT? Sirius coming onto me? Amos we've been best friends since first year! We don't like each other that way! What's wrong with you?" she yelled indignantly. The very idea! Sirius coming onto her! What was wrong with Amos?
"Sit down, Aria, this is between Black and I," said Amos, never taking his eyes off of Sirius. She stared at him, dumbfound.
"Sit down? What am I, a dog? And this has absolutely nothing to do with him! We were talking! He's my friend! Why do you always get so angry when I mention him and James and Remus and Peter?" she shouted, a lump forming in her throat. They had had these fights before, more often than usual now. She hated fighting. It made her feel like a horrible person. Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Him? Come onto her? What was Diggory thinking? And who did he think he was, telling Aria to sit, like she was an animal? He took a deep breath and smiled, though not at all his usual smile. This one was cold, and mean.
"Don't worry Diggory, I wouldn't dream of coming onto your girlfriend. I can get a girl by asking her, I don't have to steal one from someone else, unlike certain people in this room." Amos snarled, Aria was confused, and Sirius was still smiling that unnatural smile.
"Are you trying to say something Black? Because if you are, just come out with it," Amos took a step closer to Sirius. "That's what real men do, they don't hide behind their words. They get them out in the open. Or are you afraid?" Sirius laughed, a laugh that made her shiver. That wasn't Sirius real laugh. It was cold, just like that smile.
"What I'm saying is that you're an idiot if you think that I'd go down to your level and steal Aria from you. See, I don't have to steal something to get it." That did it for Amos.
"Why you little-"
"Little what? Come on, hit me like 'a real man'!"
"Stop it! Both of you stop it! Please!" Aria screamed, stepping in between the two. This was completely ridiculous. She didn't even understand why they were fighting. They were so alike they could even be friends. Both were stubborn, sweet, and loved Quidditch. Why were they being so stupid? Especially Amos. What was he on? Sirius could see the tears forming in her eyes, tiny though they were, and stepped down. He knew that if Aria burst out crying, he'd get angry and kill Amos, and that if he said anything, she'd be embarrassed for almost crying. Sirius began to walk away. Aria put her head in her hands, and Amos just stood, seething. Without warning, he threw a punch at Sirius's head. He turned around just in time to stop his fist. Aria screamed and the whole of the common room turned to see what he would do next. Sirius looked him in the eye.
"Well aren't you a real man. I bet no girl could resist your male charms." Sirius dropped his fist. Amos glanced at Aria, who was staring at the wall across from her.
"We'll finish this later," he said, and turned to leave. As soon as he was gone, the common room fell back into its usual chatter, except this time it was more excited. Aria made her way to the girls' staircase. She needed to get away before she exploded. She was so angry she couldn't think. What was wrong with Amos? Why was he acting like that? She had almost reached the staircase when Sirius caught her arm and hugged her.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I probably got you into trouble." She smiled.
"It's not your fault. You get me into trouble every day. I've had way too many detentions to count."
"Are you going to be all right?" he asked. She smiled brightly and nodded. Of course, he knew that she was not all right, that she was lying though her teeth. But, he also knew that saying anything would only make it worse. "Ok. I'm in my room if you need anything." He turned to leave, and she stared after him smiling. When he had reached the stairs she called out to him.
"Hey you."
"What?" She smiled at him, a real smile.
"Grazie. Thank you."
***
The position of beater was posted, as promised, that night after dinner, but since she had gone to bed after the tryouts, Lily had not found out if she had become the beater or not. Her friends had though. The first thing she saw when she awoke the next morning were their faces beaming at her, assembled around her bed. She had screamed, and they just beamed at her even brighter. They had waited until she had realized what was going on, and then dropped a bombshell on her, causing her to bolt out of bed, dance, and sing at the top of her lungs all at once. She had made beater. She was on the Quidditch team.
Friday night came along, and Lily went to the trophy room to shine the trophies without magic. She was used to muggle cleaning, since six out of eight foster families had made her and Petunia work for their meals, and one out of the three orphanages had made the children there clean the place from top to bottom. She found the work relaxing, a time to think about things. Things like Quidditch, why Petunia hated her, andJames? Now why, pray tell would you want to think about him? Maybe it's because of the way he dumped Nicole for Elouise Jones, just because Elouise is prettier than she is? Or maybe its because he does that to every girl. Or maybe the way he runs his hand through his hair every so often, or the way his eyes light up when he's happy, or-Lily threw the brush back into a pail of sudsy water, splashing foam onto herself, which did not improve her mood. She was frustrated. Those kinds of thoughts were coming too often. I don't like James that way. No I don't. And if I ever fall for him, hell is going to freeze over because falling for him would be like being gutted by a samurai. Or a knight. Orwell anything sharp. Point is it would hurt, and I wouldn't let me do that to me. Still, the thoughts persisted. Lily scrubbed a Quidditch cup more vigorously. She needed something to take her mind off of James. Something like
It was around eleven-thirty James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter went down to the common room. Each boy carried something with him: James his Invisibility Cloak, Sirius his bag, Remus a book as wide as a redwood tree, and Peter a cauldron and ladle. They scanned the area to make sure that no one was there, and when they were certain they were alone, they gathered at a table.
"Can't we please stop by Snape's bedroom and leave a present for him?" whined Sirius. "It will only take five minutes." James rolled his eyes.
"No, Sirius, but I promise you that if you shut up about your present I'll let you borrow the cloak to leave it tomorrow, ok?" Sirius agreed.
"Are we going to be able to fit under there with all of our stuff?" asked Remus skeptically. "I mean, Sirius here is no mouse. More like an elephant. And he snores like one too."
"Moony, how the hell would you know about how and if elephants snore? Unless there's something you're not telling us. Getting a little action from those thousand pound chicks, are you?" Sirius retorted, grinning. Remus leaned back in his chair, grinning as well.
"Oh yea. Man, you should try them, they're so damn good." James glanced at one friend to the other.
"Do you realize what you're talking about? How the hell did we get from Invisibility Cloaks to messing around with female elephants?"
"Ah, shut up Jamie-boy, you're just jealous of us. We all know you want to mess around with an elephant," Sirius wheezed from laughing so hard. James gave him a look.
"Riiight, well back to Moony's question. I hope we'll fit. I wish we could use a lengthening charm on it, but it repels spells."
"Besides," said Sirius, grinning. "We'd need Lily for that, seeing as she's the best in charms. I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you Jamie-boy? She could teach you some charms and you can use them to charm her pants off!" James groaned.
"First of all, Sirius, I don't like her in that way! We're just friends, unlike a certain Venetian and a certain insane pervert who I'm going to beat the crap out of at any minute. Second of all, don't EVER call me Jamie-boy again."
"Whatever you say, Jamie. And there's nothing going on between Aria and me." James laughed.
"Uh huh, Sirius. Whatever." He threw the cloak over himself and his friends, and they left the common room.
Lily was busy puzzling over the mystery of where Remus went every month, though she cleaned with just as much vigor. She tried to sort out her thoughts, which seemed to be as tangled as Petunia's hair. She knew that he disappeared once a month to apparently visit a family member or deal with a crisis. Also, he hated silver and wolfsbane. She knew this because he always asked to be excused whenever they handled it in class, and was always granted the request. Lily sat back on her heels. She knew that there was something else, something she was missing. She closed her eyes and thought back to that last time that Remus had disappeared. She, Aria, Ashley, James, Peter, and Sirius had stolen every single pair of Snape's boxers, and hung then from the branches of various trees on the grounds. Afterwards, they had sat by the lake and sucked on sugar quills. Lily smiled, remembering the moon and the stars on that nightwait! The moon! It was full! What if-what if Remus is a werewolf? His symptoms are correct, he disappears once a month during the full moon, and he looks tired and sick afterwards, and he can't touch silver or wolfsbane because its like poison to him! Lily shook her head, and almost laughed. She needed to think rationally. Remus couldn't be a werewolf. He just couldn't. He was sweet, and kind, and sensitive, and fun, and caring, and everything a werewolf wasn't. She finished polishing the last trophy and entered the girl's bathroom to wash the polish off her hands. Just as she entered, she heard voices whispering.
"James no, don't put that in yet, we have to add that in the end!"
"Six chameleon tails, not eight. You need to clean out your ears, Sirius."
"Let it simmer first, Peter, then add the boomslang skin!" Lily froze and realized that her friends were in the bathroom. And these weren't Aria and Ashley. It was James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. She found the stall they were in and opened the door. Inside were four horror-stricken boy's faces looking at her, circled around a large, bubbling cauldron. The sight would have been funny if it were not so confusing.
"What are you doing here?" she and the boys asked each other in unison.
"I came in to wipe the polish off my hands. What are you guys doing here? And what are you brewing?" asked Lily. The four boys swiftly exchanged quick glances. Finally, James spoke.
"We-we can't tell you, Lily," he said, sadly. "But I swear that it's not a prank or anything." He and the other three looked pleadingly at her. James had locked his eyes on hers, and she found herself unable to look away. No, not this again. Ah crap, why am I such a sucker for his eyes? Wha-gi-its not his eyes! God, just get a grip and say something! Lily nodded.
"Ok," she said softly. "I just want to ask you one thing." She turned to look at Remus. "Are-are you a werewolf?" Remus's eyes widened, along with everyone else's. He paled, and a flicker of fear passed in his eyes.
"How-what-who-"
"No one told me," she said quietly. "I just put it all together. You disappear once a month on the full moon, and you can't touch silver or wolfsbane. No one told." Remus closed his eyes and sunk to the floor, head in his hands.
"Yes," he said in a dull, lifeless voice. "I am a werewolf." He looked up at Lily, expecting to see fear or anger in her face, and was surprised when he saw sadness and compassion instead. "I was four years old when I was bitten. I've transformed once a month since then. I was sure that I would never be allowed into Hogwarts. The year before I came, Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he insisted that I come, and that as long as certain precautions were taken, there was no reason not to. You know that knot that freezes the branches of the Whomping Willow? It does that so I can get to the passage that leads to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. The howls the villagers hear aren't angry spirits. I-it's me they hear. I transform there, safe from people." Lily was shocked. She couldn't stand the fact that someone as kind and compassionate as Remus had to endure this torture once a month. It all seemed like someone had played a trick on him, a cruel, heartless, sickening trick. Now she understood the secrecy, the nickname Moony, it all made sense. Why? This isn't fair! This isn't right! God, he shouldn't have to go through that! Why him? He'd never hurt a fly! He must be in so much pain every time he transforms! How can someone so innocent be punished so cruelly? Remus stood up, a pained expression on his young face, an expression, Lily thought, he should never have had to wear. "I understand that this changes everything, and that you probably don't want to be friends. I don't blame you at all, really. I just want you to know that I'm honored that we were friends-"
"Remus!" exclaimed Lily, shocked, exasperated, and angry. She hadn't been this close to crying since she had said good-bye to Salem. "What are you rambling about?" Remus looked confused. Lily half-sighed and half-sobbed. "Did you honestly think that I would stop being friends with you because of a little thing like that? Come on! What kind of monster do you think I am? I-I-I'm so sorry you have to go through that. I can't believe-its-its not fair!" She turned her gaze skyward, biting her lip. Damn it, I SO won't cry. Remus wasn't sure whether to hug her or not. Would she recoil? Would she scream? Thankfully, she hugged him. He sighed with relief. She would still be his friend. Lily laughed, despite herself. "Besides, you're the only one of these morons that's capable of civilized conversation." He laughed along with her. James and Sirius looked shocked.
"Really Tigger," said Sirius in a hurt voice. "Is that how you feel?"
"We'll just have to prove her wrong then," said James. "For the next week we will be complete gentlemen." Lily snorted.
"Whatever," she said. "What does the potion have to do with all this?" James' and Sirius' eyes lit up excitedly. "Um, do I want to know?"
"'Course you do, Tigger!" exclaimed Sirius, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Lily moaned.
"You see, werewolves don't affect other animals if they bite them. And we were trying to find a way for us to be with Remus during his transformations without putting ourselves at risk of being bitten. Then I remembered the thing about the animals not being affected, and then it hit me: If Sirius, Peter, and I were Animagi, then we could make the transformations bearable! Remus could rip us open instead of ripping himself open, and we wouldn't even have scars. Of course we'd probably be sore as hell, but eh, what can you do." James explained. Lily stared at her friends with her mouth open.
"Thank you for the graphic descriptions," she said, looking a bit pale.
"You're welcome milady."
"S-so you're going to become Animagi?" she asked faintly. "How-when-"
"We sneaked into the restricted section and found the book, and the potion should be ready in time for the next transformation," said Sirius.
"Whoa," said Lily. "Can I help?" The four boys exchanged glances. "Oh come on! Please?"
"Actually," said Remus slowly, "you can."
"How?" Lily asked.
"When the time comes for us to take the potion, there's something that you, Aria, and Ash can do," said Sirius, in the same way Remus had spoken.
"What is it?" asked Lily impatiently. James picked up the book and began to read.
"The tonic should be drunk on the night of a full moon. Before drinking, a drop of blood from the drinker must be added to the potion. After it has been drunk, a young maiden must chant this spell three times: Vires ad mutare." He looked up from the book. "Since three of us are going to be taking the potion, we need three young maidens to say the spell nine times."
"Ok," said Lily. "I'll tell Aria and Ashley in the morning." She turned to leave, and halfway to the door, Remus called out to her.
"Lily." She turned towards him. "Aria and Ash already know about me. Please, please don't tell anyone about me or the potion." Lily smiled reassuringly.
"I promise," she said. "Good night."
THANKS A MILLION TO:
Chickensoup3-thank you so much!
Xela-yea, me too! that's why I came up with this: fresh, original, hot off the griddle, just like a good pancake.
Cai-Dragon Savious-heeheeheeSirius and Aria alone. I didn't do TOO much, because there are some tiny tots reading. I wouldn't want to scar the for life. And no, I never knew that! I'll try it!
Hermione the Best-gee whiz you're so sweet! Thanks! I'll try to include more ass-kicking in the future!
Malkavian Kirie Croiff-I'm honored my pathetic little fic made you write a long review. Gee whiz, where's my tissue box
Kimali Lautoka-thank you!
Gooey Gooey Cocoa Beans-omg don't think that that's horrible! Personally, I love the death scene too. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not evil. I just think I did a good job if I do say so myself. I'm glad you liked it!
Clavel-eee! I love Tigger too!
Lady fuschia-thank you soooooo much! Man you guys are too much!
Caz-mwuhahahahahyou'll seetime will take its course and tell
Snufalufagus-lol, thanks! I always thought it was cool when authors thanked people personally too!
SiriDragon-thank you!
