Chapter 2-
Remus Lupin fiddled around with the small, black box with his hands. Every couple minutes, he would freak out, thinking he had lost the box, but then he'd look somewhere completely obvious (like his hands) and there it would be.
Remus was currently in a horse-less carriage, on his way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He liked traveling this way, due to his fear of being spliced and his childhood fascination with horses. But now, even reminiscing about childhood wouldn't help him. His head was swimming, his palms were aching, and he was nervous as hell.
'Ok.' Remus told himself. 'Just remember to breathe. She'll say yes, and if she doesn't, no matter what Sirius says, you will not melt into nothingness. Oh, god, Where's the box?!'
Remus spazzed out for a second before remembering he was holding the tiny black box in his own two hands. He let out a great sigh of relief, and sunk back into his seat. He was so nervous about finally seeing Andromeda Stone that night, that he didn't even notice Hogwarts castle becoming larger and larger as he approached.
~*~
"What the hell is a mugwump?" Andromeda asked Severus, opening a packet of chocolate frogs only to find Dumbledore's card in it.
"What are you talking about?" Snape asked, not because he cared, but out of pure habit.
"It's under Dumbledore's name." Andromeda replied, showing him the back of the card. "Mugwump."
"Do you stay up nights thinking about these things?" Severus asked, not even looking at the card. Just as Andromeda was about to say something particularly nasty about Snape's hair, the doors to the dungeon swung open. Of course, this didn't matter, because Snape and Stone were currently in the courtyard.
But, moments later, whoever the door-swinger-opener was, he/she soon found Severus and Andromeda in the courtyard.
"Is that who I think it is?" Andromeda asked, seeing a person strolling towards them.
"I certainly hope not." Severus said, but Andromeda's presumptions were correct, this person was indeed familiar.
"Ramar Raven?" Andromeda called out. Ramar looked as though she had something else on her mind, other than petty small talk.
"You left me in New York City!" Ramar yelled, even though she was in perfect earshot of Severus and Andromeda.
"Oh, shoot." Andromeda said, clasping her hand over her mouth. "I forgot! Oh, Ramar, we didn't mean to leave you!"
"YOU didn't mean to leave her." Severus said under his breath. Ramar gave him a glare that would freeze an unfreezeable dealy that could not be frozen.
Andromeda and Severus were recently in New York City, where, upon many other things, they had made the acquaintance of Ramar Raven, a former Hogwarts student. There were so many things going on, that they completely forgot about her.
Just as Ramar was about to say something, Dumbledore's voice sounded over the courtyard.
"Severus and Andromeda-..." It said, "Please report to my office immediately."
"Oh, what did you do now?" Andromeda said, turning to Snape. He shrugged.
~*~
"I have a problem." Dumbledore told Snape, Stone and Raven.
"That's the fourth time you've said that, Albus." Snape replied. "And I'm not getting you any tea."
Dumbledore made a confused face and continued. "Ferret hamster pants." He said.
"What Albus means," Minerva McGonagal said, interrupting, "is that in the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names, Gilderoy Lockhart wants a big part in it. Of course, we can't let him, or he'll end up blasting our men to kingdom come. So we're sending him on a mock mission, and you're going to take him."
Andromeda, Snape and Ramar all stood there, stunned. Ramar headed for the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Andromeda asked.
"I think I've got a case of the wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time syndrome. Gotta go." She said, but as soon as she opened the door, she collided with Remus, who was quickly followed by Sirius Black and Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Remus!" Andromeda exclaimed, rushing to him to kiss him on the cheek. Sirius looked hurt.
"No smooch?" Sirius whined. Gilderoy gave him a peck on the cheek. "Gaaaaaah!" Sirius moaned, taking out his wand to disinfect his face.
"Gilderoy," Minerva began, "We're giving you a very important mission."
Gilderoy clapped.
"First," she continued, improvising wildly, "You will have to go through the forbidden forest to the Caves of Consequence... and the, er, Sea of Silence, to the...Beach of... Badness... and the Field of Forgetfulness. Finally, you will reach the Castle of Clumsiness and you have to rescue the Princess of..."
"MUFFINS?" Gilderoy exclaimed, hardly able to contain himself.
"Whatever floats your boat, Gilderoy." Minerva replied, rolling her eyes. Gilderoy did a little skippy-jump. "Gilderoy, we're giving you some of our best men. Severus Snape, Andromeda Stone, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and..." She looked at Ramar, "Whoever that is."
"But Remus can't go!" Sirius said, jokingly, "He has a previous engagement!" Remus elbowed him in the ribs.
"Here's a map." Minerva handed Gilderoy a map of the lands described earlier. It was etched carelessly on the back of a McDonald's menu. "I suggest you all pack, sleep, yadda yadda, yadda, you leave tomorrow, the end."
~*~
"There goes your so called 'Romantic Weekend'." Sirius said, as he and Remus lugged their bags to the great hall.
"It would have been plenty romantic if YOU hadn't insisted on tagging along." Remus replied.
~*~
"I don't want to go." Ramar said, "A weekend with Gilderoy is not my idea of fun."
"Well, you've been drafted." Andromeda said, closing up her bag, "You can't escape misadventures with this group."
~*~
"Gun, check. Poison, check. Suffocation book, check. Kidnapping bag, check." Severus counted the things in his Gilderoy Survival Bag. Now to pack the Sirius Survival Bag.
~*~
End chapter. Next chapter, the troop ships out and marches their way through the forbidden forest and all its creatures and danger.
Remus Lupin fiddled around with the small, black box with his hands. Every couple minutes, he would freak out, thinking he had lost the box, but then he'd look somewhere completely obvious (like his hands) and there it would be.
Remus was currently in a horse-less carriage, on his way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He liked traveling this way, due to his fear of being spliced and his childhood fascination with horses. But now, even reminiscing about childhood wouldn't help him. His head was swimming, his palms were aching, and he was nervous as hell.
'Ok.' Remus told himself. 'Just remember to breathe. She'll say yes, and if she doesn't, no matter what Sirius says, you will not melt into nothingness. Oh, god, Where's the box?!'
Remus spazzed out for a second before remembering he was holding the tiny black box in his own two hands. He let out a great sigh of relief, and sunk back into his seat. He was so nervous about finally seeing Andromeda Stone that night, that he didn't even notice Hogwarts castle becoming larger and larger as he approached.
~*~
"What the hell is a mugwump?" Andromeda asked Severus, opening a packet of chocolate frogs only to find Dumbledore's card in it.
"What are you talking about?" Snape asked, not because he cared, but out of pure habit.
"It's under Dumbledore's name." Andromeda replied, showing him the back of the card. "Mugwump."
"Do you stay up nights thinking about these things?" Severus asked, not even looking at the card. Just as Andromeda was about to say something particularly nasty about Snape's hair, the doors to the dungeon swung open. Of course, this didn't matter, because Snape and Stone were currently in the courtyard.
But, moments later, whoever the door-swinger-opener was, he/she soon found Severus and Andromeda in the courtyard.
"Is that who I think it is?" Andromeda asked, seeing a person strolling towards them.
"I certainly hope not." Severus said, but Andromeda's presumptions were correct, this person was indeed familiar.
"Ramar Raven?" Andromeda called out. Ramar looked as though she had something else on her mind, other than petty small talk.
"You left me in New York City!" Ramar yelled, even though she was in perfect earshot of Severus and Andromeda.
"Oh, shoot." Andromeda said, clasping her hand over her mouth. "I forgot! Oh, Ramar, we didn't mean to leave you!"
"YOU didn't mean to leave her." Severus said under his breath. Ramar gave him a glare that would freeze an unfreezeable dealy that could not be frozen.
Andromeda and Severus were recently in New York City, where, upon many other things, they had made the acquaintance of Ramar Raven, a former Hogwarts student. There were so many things going on, that they completely forgot about her.
Just as Ramar was about to say something, Dumbledore's voice sounded over the courtyard.
"Severus and Andromeda-..." It said, "Please report to my office immediately."
"Oh, what did you do now?" Andromeda said, turning to Snape. He shrugged.
~*~
"I have a problem." Dumbledore told Snape, Stone and Raven.
"That's the fourth time you've said that, Albus." Snape replied. "And I'm not getting you any tea."
Dumbledore made a confused face and continued. "Ferret hamster pants." He said.
"What Albus means," Minerva McGonagal said, interrupting, "is that in the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names, Gilderoy Lockhart wants a big part in it. Of course, we can't let him, or he'll end up blasting our men to kingdom come. So we're sending him on a mock mission, and you're going to take him."
Andromeda, Snape and Ramar all stood there, stunned. Ramar headed for the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Andromeda asked.
"I think I've got a case of the wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time syndrome. Gotta go." She said, but as soon as she opened the door, she collided with Remus, who was quickly followed by Sirius Black and Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Remus!" Andromeda exclaimed, rushing to him to kiss him on the cheek. Sirius looked hurt.
"No smooch?" Sirius whined. Gilderoy gave him a peck on the cheek. "Gaaaaaah!" Sirius moaned, taking out his wand to disinfect his face.
"Gilderoy," Minerva began, "We're giving you a very important mission."
Gilderoy clapped.
"First," she continued, improvising wildly, "You will have to go through the forbidden forest to the Caves of Consequence... and the, er, Sea of Silence, to the...Beach of... Badness... and the Field of Forgetfulness. Finally, you will reach the Castle of Clumsiness and you have to rescue the Princess of..."
"MUFFINS?" Gilderoy exclaimed, hardly able to contain himself.
"Whatever floats your boat, Gilderoy." Minerva replied, rolling her eyes. Gilderoy did a little skippy-jump. "Gilderoy, we're giving you some of our best men. Severus Snape, Andromeda Stone, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and..." She looked at Ramar, "Whoever that is."
"But Remus can't go!" Sirius said, jokingly, "He has a previous engagement!" Remus elbowed him in the ribs.
"Here's a map." Minerva handed Gilderoy a map of the lands described earlier. It was etched carelessly on the back of a McDonald's menu. "I suggest you all pack, sleep, yadda yadda, yadda, you leave tomorrow, the end."
~*~
"There goes your so called 'Romantic Weekend'." Sirius said, as he and Remus lugged their bags to the great hall.
"It would have been plenty romantic if YOU hadn't insisted on tagging along." Remus replied.
~*~
"I don't want to go." Ramar said, "A weekend with Gilderoy is not my idea of fun."
"Well, you've been drafted." Andromeda said, closing up her bag, "You can't escape misadventures with this group."
~*~
"Gun, check. Poison, check. Suffocation book, check. Kidnapping bag, check." Severus counted the things in his Gilderoy Survival Bag. Now to pack the Sirius Survival Bag.
~*~
End chapter. Next chapter, the troop ships out and marches their way through the forbidden forest and all its creatures and danger.
