A/N: I am so blessed to have the most supportive, intelligent, and ego-inflated reviewers on ff.n! Okay, I may be biased there, but a sincere thanks all the same to Aliera, BeckySharp, Demeter, enoimreH, Ginny Potter, Hana-chan, Iggie, Laurus Nobilis, Lavander Ice, Moonrose, and Triskelion. And of course Sorensen Black - whoops, no, just Sorensen *grin* is to be thanked for her volunteer to beta.
Chapter Four - Quidditch Saturday
Day: 9 Month: 12 Year: 1976
A hand snatched Remus's shoulder in the hall, turning him roughly to face the speaker. It was Rupert Wood, a strong Gryffindor sixth-year who was a frantic fan of Quidditch. "So, Lupin, who're you supporting tomorrow?" he snarled.
Caught off guard by this show of distaste, Remus replied with a lack of ceremony: "Who d'you think?"
"Don't know about that. Going to be decked out in green and silver?"
Remus couldn't have been more bemused if Rupert had began an anti-Quidditch league. "Of course not!…why wouldn't I be cheering Gryffindor?"
"Not's'if you've been showing a whole lot of lion spirit."
Remus blinked. "H - Wait… this isn't about Snape, is it?" Suddenly, the distantness of his Housemates all day made a lot more sense.
Rupert spat an indistinct noise of annoyance. "I'm asking you."
Remus shook his head, trying to get away. "That has nothing to do with it. I'm not about to transfer to Slytherin - what's wrong with teaming up with someone outside your own House?"
"Nothing, just not…" Rupert's expression was of other disgust "…snakes."
Remus readjusted the weight of his schoolbag on his shoulder. "Excuse me, Rupert. I'd like to finish this homework."
" 'Sociating with those murdering little killers…"
An annoyed Remus was dying to remark that Rupert's statement was redundant but bit his tongue. He headed to the library, which was a tad freer of the euphoria epidemic of the Gryffindor common room. Remus was a staunch Gryffindor supporter, loved Quidditch and was highly loyal and protective of his House, probably a result of the years he had thought he would never belong to any of the famous four and instead branded an outcast forever and completely. But sometimes they all got a little noisy before a game.
He got the hint when he got inside and was greeted by a series of hisses from a group of Gryffindors of his age. He bit his tongue again, hurt, but was too practical to get terribly upset just yet. Gryffindors were temperamental and emotional; he knew this wouldn't last very long. Until then, he'd just find a different table to work at.
Easier said than done - even most of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff, allies in anti-Slytherin feelings, were cold to him. A Gryffindor joining with a Slytherin in any activity? Unheard of and frowned upon. Remus had to wonder at this after hearing some whispers about how he and Snape now practically had the school competition won, and how they'd be a real threat at the Gathering. Wasn't that a good thing, that Hogwarts would be competitive? Couldn't - shouldn't - you be loyal to your school as a whole as well as House?
But perhaps that was just him. In the unlikely event he'd have to choose between Gryffindor pride or Hogwarts and Dumbledore, he'd stand by the latter first. He bit his quill thoughtfully as he mentally worked out his Arthimancy, recalling the wonderful rush of joyous adrenaline at the letter Albus Dumbledore sent him five years ago.
After a quarter of an hour, Remus became aware someone was behind him. He continued to write his Transfiguration assignment, waiting warily for him or her to speak.
"Erm. Ahem. Can I talk to you a second, Lupin?"
Remus turned now… it was Snape… he nodded, a little cautiously. No matter what he had told Peter or the rest of Gryffindor, he still wasn't sure what to make of Snape at all.
Snape, very carefully, as if he might trip some sort of ward spell, sat down next to him, making very certain their elbows did not touch. He glanced at the Arthimancy and grimaced before facing Remus. "Thanks for playing along last night."
Remus shrugged. "Figured you had some reason." Snape looked slightly suspicious and looked at him searchingly. Remus answered the unspoken question: "Your eyes looked a little frantic."
"Did they?" Snape replied, faint worry in his voice, and it was the most emotion other than dislike Remus had ever detected in him.
"Yeah. Or maybe I just imagined it. Either way, you must've said that for some reason."
"Liqumbaug said he talked with you." It was Snape's turn to shrug, his face becoming as cool and sheltered as usual, as if ashamed of the small lapse of his front.
"Last week." Remus was about to voice his opinion that it wasn't only Liqumbaug's suggested that prompted Snape's impromptu lie the night before, but decided against it. It wasn't as if he and Snape were sitting down to have some philosophy talk; this was most likely going to be about dueling, really. Merlin's wand, what else could the two of them talk about?
Now Snape sounded faintly impatient. "Well, d'you think he has a point?"
Remus set his quill down completely. "Point meaning…?" Snape looked ready to scowl; being with James so much, Remus was qualified to tell when he was about to do so. "Severus, if the question is 'is this okay with you?' then the answer is 'yes'. If the question is 'd'you think we might do well?', the answer is yes. If the question is 'can we do this without killing each other in exasperation?', well, we'll have to wait and see for that one."
Snape paused, looking a little surprised, but not entirely displeased. In fact, Remus would've said he saw a ghost of a grin smile cross his face if he hadn't known better. "Oh… right then." He forced down the almost-smile before continuing: "What if the question was 'when and where and how often will we meet to practice?' - we do have a lot to do, having never worked together before."
Remus relaxed just a bit; he was glad Snape was taking charge but hoped he wouldn't get to become too much of a dictator. "How often d'you practice yourself?"
Snape looked superior. "Every day, at least twice, if possible."
"Oh good. We're on a similar schedule." Remus grinned to himself as Snape raised an eyebrow, incredulous.
"Really." It wasn't quite a question, but it also wasn't a statement. "You don't think we could do it three times a week?" he finished doubtfully.
Still eying each other cautiously, they worked out the three days best for them.
"Do you want to practice now, at least to see where we are?" Remus asked after this was agreed on.
Snape shook his head. "I can't; we have a Quidditch practice for tomorrow about… about now," he glanced at his watch and stood. "Good-bye," he said stiffly.
"Good-bye," Remus replied. "Good luck with practice."
Snape looked suspicious. "It's against Gryffindor, you know," he pointed out after a short silence.
Yes, yes, I know. Honestly, who else wants to remind me? "Yes, of course. But good luck all the same."
"Th -" Snape cut off, still studying him like a demonstration in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was not a pleasant thought to Remus, who dismissed it hurriedly. "You say too much you don't mean, Lupin." Without a further word, he swept from the library.
Remus watched him go, nonplussed. "He's odd," he spoke aloud to no one in particular.
Day: 10 Month: 12 Year: 1976
It seemed that no matter how many times after other times James pulled off yet another dead spectacular game, by the next match he'd again show nerves. James was so rarely unsure of himself, but Quidditch did it, despite the fact few others could so much as touch him when it came to flying.
"James, hush and try to eat something," Remus said gently, interrupting him and Sirius. The three all knew that "you'll be fine, you always are" had no effect on their Chaser friend, so they had other ways of bringing him 'round. Sirius's was to get into a huge mock battle with him. James was always so keyed up that no one was sure if he really believed they were fighting or not, but all in all, it didn't work quite as well these days as it once had.
"Are you kidding?" James shot back weakly, staring at his full plate (several girls, including Miranda Stacy, had made sure of this) as if it was about to well up and burst in his face. His shoulders were hunched and glasses askew.
"You really want Aidian to clobber you with those Bludgers, don't you?" asked Peter, who never had a problem with food, no matter how apprehensive he was.
This had the desired result. James rested his head on his elbow but slowly forced down several bites before standing and heading off to the Quidditch lockers without another word.
"He's always so moody before a game," Peter said nonchalantly.
Sirius wasn't as lighthearted. "Damn it, he's going to get hurt if he doesn't eat a proper breakfast."
"You sound like Arabella," Peter needled.
"What's wrong with that?" Sirius snapped.
"Nothing."
"'Bella would never say 'damn'… at least not if she thought I was listening…"
The circular conversation continued and wasn't broken when Remus suggested they go out to the field. He ignored them and the attempts of Sillian Lestrange to trip him as they headed out to the field. James's gloomy, dire predictions about what the weather would do loomed mockingly in the form of large overcast grey clouds, but for the moment no rain fell and the winds didn't seem distracting. There was a sluggish humidity, but that was actually a disadvantage to the Slytherins - with their underground quarters, they were more sensitive to heat.
Sirius and Peter's argument finally ended as a group of Gryffindors waved them over excitedly. The boys hopped to their spot in the stands, gratefully accepting the shared loan of Omnioculars.
"How d'you think our chances are?" Miranda Stacey asked after a few moments.
"Our chances of a lockdown or a long, hard-won battle?"
"You'll notice how the thought of losing never crosses his mind," Peter stage-whispered.
"Should it? Here, Lily, like this." Sirius adjusted the Omnioculars for Muggle-born Lily Evans.
"It's a possibility," Remus pointed out, then wishing he hadn't said anything. Now of all times he didn't want to be accused of Slytherin bias.
"Did anyone hear who's commentating now that Mikey left?" Mina Hopkirk asked after a few moments of anticipating chatter.
"I didn't hear -" Sirius began, but cut off with a groan. Lo and behold, Florence van Durischk was sitting next to Professor McGonagall with a satisfied smirk - as well as the magical microphone.
"That's hardly fair!" Peter cried.
"Oh, goody." Lily rolled her eyes. "Just what I wanted - a one-sided commentary."
At that moment, the two teams marched onto the field, cutting off a buzz of protest at Florence's position. The Gryffindor fifth-years set off a spirited shower of scarlet and gold sparks, met spurt for spurt by the Slytherin supporters. James looked positively green and refused to catch anyone's eye.
"You'd think this was his first year as captain or something," Sirius muttered, but even without Omniocular assistance Remus saw all traces of doom leave James from the moment of kick off - they were in James's playground now, and everyone was playing in his natural habitat.
Luckily, between Sirius shouting next to his ear and distant thunder, van Durischk's voice was almost completely drowned out. Remus loved Quidditch - flying as well as watching, but he had never attempted to try out. He was content with the alternative, although James stubbornly (and deafly) signed him up as reverse Seeker.
Rudy Giles-Patil seemed to be perfectly healthy at the moment, though, to Remus's great relief, so there was no need to worry just yet… but to the delight of most fans, his Slytherin opposite, Dickon Bright, headed him off just as well, and for hours the Snitch never got close to caught. Remus personally found ten-minute lockdowns, even in favour of Gryffindor, rather a letdown after how much anticipation they all put into it.
The score was 100-80, Slytherin leading (although from the Gryffindors' angry and disappointed reactions it might've well been a two-hundred point default), when lunchtime could be put off no longer, particularly considering how much of the crowd was adolescent and male. Since no one was willing to miss too much of the match, one person from each cluster of friends would collect food from the Great Hall for the enjoyment of the rest. The Gryffindor fourth, fifth, and sixth-years drew straws; the lot fell to Alfrieda Cresham, who returned, rather bad-temperedly, saying she couldn't bring it for them all.
Remus volunteered before a civil war broke out; Slytherin's lead was depressing enough to force a break anyway. It wound up taking three tries; he was ambushed and tripped the first two times by students who refused to accept his vow of loyalty to Gryffindor. One accused him of brandying out and helping with the fiery havoc wrecked in Aberdeen the night before. Irritated, he snapped a few things he knew he'd regret when he calmed down and stormed outside for the third time, running into Cletus Avery.
He sighed. Just who could make this better - Gryffindor losing, harassed by his own allies - and now Avery. Where exactly was the falling meteorite?
"Ah. Our flashy-staff rogue," Avery smiled nastily.
"Hallo, Cletus." Remus tried to sidestep him and failed.
"Now wait a second, Remmy, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I'm hungry."
Remmy? Remus was about the only one around them who didn't find it amusing. Snickers surrounded them. Since aligning with Snape, he'd lost support of Slytherins and non-Slytherins alike. Sirius had lost his own anger with Remus over the affair in anger at this sudden shunning; Remus had rolled his eyes and told Sirius to calm down since he had no interest in popularity contests anyway.
"Well, it's not too far inside." Remus may not have been worried about popularity contests, but he had to admit it was slightly heartening when a few people grinned.
Avery halted a moment at this reply but quickly picked up his thread. "Yeah, but you're so much closer." He reached out a hand.
Remus glared at him. "Excuse me, Cletus."
"You're excused." Avery continued to help himself.
"Avery," Remus snapped, annoyed that he couldn't stop him. His hands were full.
"Whoo, surnames. Now little Remmy's getting angry," Avery smirked. Several more giggles.
"Oh, quit it, Clet," spoke up a sharp voice from Jennifer Burns, a Ravenclaw fifth-year, who, to his discomfort, had a rather strong crush on Remus. Luckily she was very sensible about it and usually took his hints very well.
"But I'm hungry, Jen dear." Much to Jenny's discomfort, Avery flirted continually with her, and now gave her what was apparently a look of great pleading that was supposed to win her heart.
Jenny gazed at him from her shrewd brown eyes for a moment before her expression softened sarcastically. "Oh, yeah. Remus, how could you be so cruel-hearted? Poor little Cletus can't manage that big long scary walk to the Great Hall."
Avery deliberately bit a sandwich.
"Yes," Remus said consideringly. "You know, Jenny, maybe you're right." He made a move as to send one of the plates into Avery's face, not meaning to let gravity get that far along. Unfortunately, his timing was a little off and the feint failed. The thing flipped around for a few rotations, spattering bits of food on both boys.
Why, oh why did everyone have to find this confrontation more interesting than the Quidditch game? And no one was leaving now.
Quite to Remus's vague amusement, Avery did get a large amount of pudding on his face, the effect being ridiculous and marvelous. Quite to Remus's decided annoyance, the greater part landed on him. And Avery far from lost the chance to gloat. Only until Jenny helped him with a few quick cleaning charms did Avery decide the show was over and stalk off, only throwing a few mocking remarks and threats over his shoulder.
"He's getting annoying?" Jenny guessed.
"Very. Thanks, Jen."
"If James gets a break, tell him I said good luck." This was Jenny's trademark act: pretend she was more interested in James than anyone, and Remus was only more than happy to play along.
"Sure thing. I doubt he will, though. And he'd probably never take it," he finished with a laugh.
"That's James," Jenny grinned. Then she paused and added quickly: "Don't worry about Avery. He's all talk, and you're ten times better than him." She disappeared almost as soon as the words left her mouth, leaving Remus somewhat embarrassed and somewhat pleased.
Peter obviously wanted to ask why they only had half of what they had wanted and why it had taken so long by the time he got back to the stands, but had been rather standoffish lately and relayed this message to Mina, who then asked Remus, thinking it had been her idea in the first place. Remus told of the incident, stripping it of many of the details, but as it turned out, Peter got the gist of the confrontation.
"That git!" he muttered, and "git" was harsh language for the soft-spoken Peter. He was then silent a while, thinking. Remus barely noticed. The game had taken a sharp turn, and there was a chance that Gryffindor would regain its lead.
Slytherin's Keeper was Snape, and he was good at it. But it was the opinion of most, supported by the stats of the past few years, that Gryffindor Chaser Potter was better. This was definitely a sore point with Snape, who never seemed to be happy when Quidditch was brought up, and when recent Gryffindor/Slytherin matches were talked of, became even sulkier than usual.
James would have loved to play wide-open, but often let the other two Chasers, Ted Marague and Ice Hollins, sixth-years, take over if the game seemed to be in a lull after the first exciting half-hour. It had taken him a while to reassert himself and get in sync with Ted and Icey, but he was there now, and with a vengeance. Florence van Durischk grudgingly reported during the next ten minutes that James Potter of Gryffindor had scored - and had to repeat those hateful words two times afterwards.
They were on a roll now. The Gryffindor Chasers got into a swift rhythm. Icey's specialty was scoring and feinting, Ted's passing and setting up, and James had the rare combination of all of them. Together they put the Quaffle past a solid eight times in a half-hour.
Gryffindor was exuberant.
Now Remus was especially glad it was Rudy Giles-Patil playing and not himself; the pressure on him was palpable. It was time for the Gryffindor Seeker to find the Snitch, before the heavy Slytherin Beaters grew even more vicious than they already had, while Gryffindor had the lead. James had a staunch rule that no Snitch should be caught if Gryffindor wasn't leading, whether it would win them the game or not. It lost precious points in the big picture - the Quidditch Cup.
Rudy did his best, but the Snitch just was not in his - or anyone's - sight (luckily, that included Dickon Bright). The hour of high victory passed, and Gryffindor's 100-plus lead began to dwindle as the Gryffindor Chasers tired from their effort and the Slytherin Beaters got more brutal and accurate as time went on.
Next to Remus, Sirius was seething. It was a well-known fact he really wanted that Beater spot, and the fact the Gryffindor Beaters were doing an average-at-best job did not make him happy, as he was sure he could do so much better. Remus secretly suspected Sirius might have made the team last year, or the one before, but James was afraid of hearing that he let his best friend on the team "just because". The idea was strange. James had always seemed above those sorts of concerns. But it was rather obvious, at least to his inexpert eye, that Sirius could do better than what the current Beaters were.
It looked to be a match that might last until nightfall… and had they been sure they would have won, Gryffindor would have been delighted.
*
"You can't eat your cake and have it, too," Arabella Figg, Sirius's godmother, was fond of saying. This proved true for the Gryffindors. Rudy finally caught the Snitch at around five in the afternoon, when Gryffindor had a twenty-point led, so they had won the match - which was good.
They had also missed out on their night game, a rare treat everyone was more than a little disappointed about, particularly Remus. The last Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match had lasted two days, but the end had come when he had been in wolf form in the old Asher house. In fact, he had never seen Quidditch at night - Madam Pomfrey had kept him firmly in the hospital wing the night before the full moon, much to his undisguised outrage, and he'd never had the chance to watch one before. (Pre-Hogwarts, his lone Quidditch game had been in the Venderbury village swamp, and neither of the teams had seven players). From the way his classmates raved, he was sure he was missing out on an essential part to a wizard's life and the greatest miracle one ever had the chance to witness.
Gryffindor had won, however, and they had much more than the Slytherins, who had lost out on their nocturnal game and had a load of shameful and aggravating what-ifs to ponder and fume about all night. Not that too many Gryffindors felt any sympathy. There was going to be a hell of a party that night in their common room; who cared what happened in that of their bitter rivals'?
Peter, as usual, was separate from the cheerful crowd as the party started and would be all night unless someone did something. Remus suspected Peter was still upset with him, but caught Sirius's eye and went over to him anyway to try convincing him to join in.
He was staring out the window when the two arrived. "Poor old Avery," he smiled dryly.
"Still cleaning up?" Sirius guessed. Avery was reverse Seeker for Slytherin, and obviously wanted to take that a step up. For the past few years, however, he had been regulated to slaving for the Slytherin team in hopes of gaining that spot. He and Dickon Bright were in the same year. Avery spent a long hour after each game clearing everything for his teammates.
"Yeah." Peter smiled at them. "Want to take a stroll outside and see if we get any… 'inspiration'?"
Remus and Sirius grinned. "Inspiration" was Marauder-speak for "grand idea for a prank". But Sirius drove hard bargains. "When we come back, you join the party."
"Deal."
"Laugh at most of the jokes."
"Deal."
"Cheer."
"Deal."
"Flirt with Alexandra Donnellson."
Now Peter hesitated. "Deal."
Sirius stared. He hadn't expected to get that one.
Peter shrugged, looking rather pleased he was one up on Sirius. "Avery's been picking on us lately, 'specially Rem. I think it's about time to even things up."
It was Remus's turn to stare at Peter, in grateful surprise. Peter had been furious last Thursday after their dueling lesson, and even after he had cooled down was very stiff. Remus thought he could sympathise, reasoning he wouldn't like it if Peter had so suddenly ditched him to work with someone else, a Slytherin none of them particularly liked, especially. Yet Remus still felt annoyed, and couldn't shake the feeling that he'd still have the same logic: It was nothing personal, it was just a question of who you would do the project with best. It did affect their grades, after all. He always tried to make sure none of them was stuck with him for Potions. Now he felt rather guilty for his annoyance.
Sirius hissed something to James, who was in the thick of things, asking to borrow the Invisibility Cloak. James insisted on coming along.
"Possessive," Remus teased him as they quietly headed to the field. After managing to sneak from the common room unnoticed, this task was a cinch.
"I'm not possessive!" James replied defencively. Sirius sniggered. "I just want to be in on the lark. When do I get details?"
Peter gave them to him as they walked outside; James was soon grinning ear-to-ear. Usually even the Marauders didn't like making a fool of an innocent bystander, but enemies who had been heckling them were free ground. This sounded like very sweet revenge to James. "So what're we going to do?"
"We're going to figure that out as we go along. Let's sneak up one of those towers that surround the field. Then we can check on Avery to make sure he's still there and he has less a chance to see us," Sirius suggested. The vote was unanimous.
Marauders being Marauders, they had figured how to open the secret hollow space inside each of the stone pillars surrounding the field a while ago. Remus and Peter remembered to cast simple Muffling Spells as they clamoured up to the top, exchanging furtive smiles of forgiveness as they worked. Remus couldn't have been happier - the miff was over, and they were in the midst of what just might be a fine prank.
"Any ideas?" Sirius hissed once they had hidden themselves a-top and confirmed Avery's solitary presence on the field.
"Not a one," Peter shook his head. "You know I'm not good with that."
Remus had to confess to not feeling any sudden burst of creativity at the moment, either. During the past few days he hadn't remembered to tuck away any inspirations for future use.
James, who had begun to look serious - well, matters were serious, they were in need of inspiration - suddenly smiled. He pulled out his wand and pointed it to his throat. "Stay quiet and play along," he ordered. The others nodded in excitement. Truth be told, James didn't put up ideas as often as Sirius and Remus, who had a near-constant supply they were chronically pumping out, but when he did get inspiration, it was always well-worth the wait. "Sonorus."
The result was a few skeptically raised eyebrows.
"Cletus!"
James's voice boomed throughout the stadium, magnified and pompous, echoed, regal, but vaguely recognisable. "Cletus Avery!"
Remus wanted to cast charm that would disguise his voice, but was uncertain - perhaps James wanted it to be identified. Sirius - who could practically read James's mind the same James could read Sirius's - had no such hesitation and promptly performed it. James grinned at him gratefully.
Below them, Avery had tensed, straightening, cocking his head for the source of the call. "Who's - "
"Cletus - this is God, Cletus. I saw what you did last night, and I am ticked off!"
Avery was now standing, face pale, and visibly shaking. The sight of his trembling was almost too much. Remus and Peter needed to use more Muffling Charms; James was the only one not nearly dying of laughter.
"Who's there? Bluffing!…" Avery sounded both angry and uncertain, a combination that was very satisfying to the Marauders.
"You heard me, Cletus…" James continued. "I've been watching you, now don't think I haven't!"
There was a decided silence as Avery kept shaking, brushing sweat off his face. "I've been doing nothing!"
James opted for silence. While they had suspicions that was a falsehood to end all falsehoods, no one had a very specific idea of what Avery had been doing. Besides probably taking orders of some sort from the Dark Lord.
"Who's up there?" Avery craned his neck up. "Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew! I know that's you!"
James was obviously yearning to make a decidedly Marauder-favoured remark; Peter shook his head, apparently thinking they should try to not blow their act. Avery hadn't sounded very certain, so there was no need to make him so. So instead James replied -
"You'll have to look farther up than that to see me, Cletus!"
Avery continued to glance over his shoulder and skyward until he hesitantly left the stadium.
"You know the worrisome part?" Remus said thoughtfully as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower, where Housemates were speculating James's, and probably Sirius's, and probably even Remus's and Peter's, whereabouts.
"Hmm?" Peter and James replied. Sirius was still chuckling at the priceless expression on Avery's face.
"Av'ry got really nervous when James mentioned 'what he was doing last night'…"
"So he was obviously doing something," James nodded in satisfaction.
"Unfortunately. And something else, too… someone tried to terrorise Aberdeen last night. Fires and all."
Sirius winced. They may have all suspected it, but so much proof on the matter was a little nerve-wracking. The war was suddenly a few steps closer - one of their very own classmates was on the bad side of it. How much longer before they would take positions on their own?
"Tune me to the wild side of life
I'm an innocent young child sharp as a knife,
Take me to the garretts where the artists have died,
Show me the court rooms where the judges have lied
And each day I learn just a little bit more,
I don't know why but I do know what for...
If I was an artists who paints with his eyes,
I'd study my subject and silently cry
Cry for the darkness to come down on me
For the confusion to carry on turning the wheel."
-- "This song has no title", Elton John
TBC
[Shame on all of you. No one caught the hidden joke in Professor Avis's name from last chapter. Chocolate Frogs to anyone who points it out in their review... Speaking of which, as my fourteen birthday has just passed during the past week, I would be incredibly happy with a nice (constructive, of course, but sheer praise doesn't hurt either) review as a gift. *wink*]
