Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 7
The dance came and went. It was originally scheduled to be outside, but it rained and everyone was crammed, smelly and wet inside the Great Hall. James hadn't reconciled with Lily in time to go to the dance. She had taken the liberty of barricading their the door from their dormitory that led to the common room, so they were unable to visit Hogsmeade that particular weekend. They eventually got out by blowing off the door by wedging Dung Bombs in the cracks and lighting them. By the time they had cleaned up all the debris, everyone was already back from the village and they had gotten detention, to boot.
Sirius never got up the nerve to ask the dark-haired Ravenclaw to the dance. They spent Halloween in a secret annex they had found behind a bookshelf in the quiet study room of Gryffindor Tower (the study room itself was annexed to the common room). He dubbed it 'The Bachelor's Pad'. It was a good hiding place. After all, they still took great pleasure in terrorizing the school. If the police knew of a criminal's stronghold, it was no good. So they proceeded to make their own 6th year boy's dormitory into the decoy-a basic map of the school on the wall, a few Dung Bombs hidden conspicuously under the bed, a couple of failed prank plans on parchment stuffed into a bureau.
However, the true Bachelor's Pad had the elegantly detailed Marauder's Map laid out on the planning table and several well-designed future pranking plots complete with x's, o's, and dotted lines on the drawing board. On the opposite side of the bookcase there was, of course, a place to store more books. It was jam-packed with documents on wild charms, intoxicating potions, and other things the quartet deemed exciting. There was an entire file cabinet on where they filed their prank reports. The planning table was nearly unmanageable with all the parchment that had been used for brainstorming. They had also moved several cots in there if they had to lie low for a night or two. It was the inner depths of their crime wave and the beating heart of their method.
The Halloween rain was the basic definition of the Marauder's mood that day. They sat on the overstuffed chairs, mulling over the brainstorms with little result. They said few words to each other. James was absentmindedly drawing a picture of Lily. It was a Marauder's secret that he was a top-notch artist. It was he who had drawn the Map and laid out sketches of desired results in pranks. The picture he was drawing had her smiling and looking thoughtful, twisting a small flower between her thumb and forefinger. It was so real Sirius felt he could reach out and touch her hair swishing in the breeze. When James was done, he used Spellotape to put it up on the wall with other drawings. Some were of Lily and others were of the four. Some were of animals, a recurring consistency of rats and dogs. Sirius smiled and remembered once, when they had attended an art fair at Hogsmeade (illegally, of course), a collector had remarked at not only his irrefutable talent but also the will power of the specimen.
"I declare, this is fine," the collector mused over James' display of animal pictures. "Especially for someone so young. I know plenty of gems in the rough, but you, son, are a diamond. How defined the fur! How exquisite the detail!"
"Thank you," James mumbled breathlessly, with the other three close by his side, beaming.
"But I must ask," the collector said coyly. "The quality of the art of some would be much greater if those dang animals would stay still. I tell you, I saw a lass painting a Top Kennel Crup. You know, those beasts that look like dogs? How well it was trained in comparison to others. But even a dog's got to move once in awhile. How do you get your model to stay so still?" James had grinned at Sirius.
"I have my ways," he said cryptically. The art collector raised an eyebrow but moved on. One of Sirius' favorite things to do was recall their many adventures in the village, or any time they spent together. It gave him a good feeling thinking of his friends.
Peter had transformed into a rat. He had made himself a maze with a bit of pound cake at the end. He ran it, and even though he designed it, he was still confused. Sirius moved the pound cake over to the section where perplexed little rat was swiveling his head around, as if the choices of moving forward were advancing enemies. Wormtail glared up at him, but accepted the gift. He ran back to the start, and proceeded to take a rat nap.
"So when's the next d-" James began.
"Please shut up," Sirius said.
"This is ridiculous," Remus said. He scratched his head candidly. "If you took action, you wouldn't have to be moping and feeling sorry for yourselves. James, go up and out with Lily-"
"What? Up and out?" James squinted. Remus blushed.
"It's something my brother says," he said quietly, like it was a secret. "You know, make up and make out. He's way too into girls."
"I see," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"And Sirius, I really don't know what to say. You've never hesitated to ask a girl out before." This all brought on stares from the four. He leaned back and looked away.
"I don't know. I just," he mumbled and took a breath, "want to be careful."
"She's just a girl," Peter put in, back in human form. "They're all pretty much alike. Harmless, usually."
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Sirius countered.
"Huh?" Peter winced.
"Look, she's just-" he paused and rubbed his temple. "-Not someone you'd want to rush with."
"You've spoken to her, what, twice?" Remus inquired.
"So? I can tell. She's not the type I usually go for. Excuse me, I've got homework to do." He got up. It was unusual that he'd be so sensitive about discussing girls. It was usually his pleasure to kiss and tell. Something put him on edge. But he wasn't ready to give up on the enigmatic Ravenclaw. He knew in his gut that it was far from over.
I want to take a second to thank my reviewers:
Thepaxilfairy- thanks. BTW thank you for pointing that out. I might go back and redo it.
Unseenstag- I thought that was kind of cute. Thanks!
Mad-eye Potter- Really? Wow. Thanks.
Padfootprankster13- takes bow thank you!
The dance came and went. It was originally scheduled to be outside, but it rained and everyone was crammed, smelly and wet inside the Great Hall. James hadn't reconciled with Lily in time to go to the dance. She had taken the liberty of barricading their the door from their dormitory that led to the common room, so they were unable to visit Hogsmeade that particular weekend. They eventually got out by blowing off the door by wedging Dung Bombs in the cracks and lighting them. By the time they had cleaned up all the debris, everyone was already back from the village and they had gotten detention, to boot.
Sirius never got up the nerve to ask the dark-haired Ravenclaw to the dance. They spent Halloween in a secret annex they had found behind a bookshelf in the quiet study room of Gryffindor Tower (the study room itself was annexed to the common room). He dubbed it 'The Bachelor's Pad'. It was a good hiding place. After all, they still took great pleasure in terrorizing the school. If the police knew of a criminal's stronghold, it was no good. So they proceeded to make their own 6th year boy's dormitory into the decoy-a basic map of the school on the wall, a few Dung Bombs hidden conspicuously under the bed, a couple of failed prank plans on parchment stuffed into a bureau.
However, the true Bachelor's Pad had the elegantly detailed Marauder's Map laid out on the planning table and several well-designed future pranking plots complete with x's, o's, and dotted lines on the drawing board. On the opposite side of the bookcase there was, of course, a place to store more books. It was jam-packed with documents on wild charms, intoxicating potions, and other things the quartet deemed exciting. There was an entire file cabinet on where they filed their prank reports. The planning table was nearly unmanageable with all the parchment that had been used for brainstorming. They had also moved several cots in there if they had to lie low for a night or two. It was the inner depths of their crime wave and the beating heart of their method.
The Halloween rain was the basic definition of the Marauder's mood that day. They sat on the overstuffed chairs, mulling over the brainstorms with little result. They said few words to each other. James was absentmindedly drawing a picture of Lily. It was a Marauder's secret that he was a top-notch artist. It was he who had drawn the Map and laid out sketches of desired results in pranks. The picture he was drawing had her smiling and looking thoughtful, twisting a small flower between her thumb and forefinger. It was so real Sirius felt he could reach out and touch her hair swishing in the breeze. When James was done, he used Spellotape to put it up on the wall with other drawings. Some were of Lily and others were of the four. Some were of animals, a recurring consistency of rats and dogs. Sirius smiled and remembered once, when they had attended an art fair at Hogsmeade (illegally, of course), a collector had remarked at not only his irrefutable talent but also the will power of the specimen.
"I declare, this is fine," the collector mused over James' display of animal pictures. "Especially for someone so young. I know plenty of gems in the rough, but you, son, are a diamond. How defined the fur! How exquisite the detail!"
"Thank you," James mumbled breathlessly, with the other three close by his side, beaming.
"But I must ask," the collector said coyly. "The quality of the art of some would be much greater if those dang animals would stay still. I tell you, I saw a lass painting a Top Kennel Crup. You know, those beasts that look like dogs? How well it was trained in comparison to others. But even a dog's got to move once in awhile. How do you get your model to stay so still?" James had grinned at Sirius.
"I have my ways," he said cryptically. The art collector raised an eyebrow but moved on. One of Sirius' favorite things to do was recall their many adventures in the village, or any time they spent together. It gave him a good feeling thinking of his friends.
Peter had transformed into a rat. He had made himself a maze with a bit of pound cake at the end. He ran it, and even though he designed it, he was still confused. Sirius moved the pound cake over to the section where perplexed little rat was swiveling his head around, as if the choices of moving forward were advancing enemies. Wormtail glared up at him, but accepted the gift. He ran back to the start, and proceeded to take a rat nap.
"So when's the next d-" James began.
"Please shut up," Sirius said.
"This is ridiculous," Remus said. He scratched his head candidly. "If you took action, you wouldn't have to be moping and feeling sorry for yourselves. James, go up and out with Lily-"
"What? Up and out?" James squinted. Remus blushed.
"It's something my brother says," he said quietly, like it was a secret. "You know, make up and make out. He's way too into girls."
"I see," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"And Sirius, I really don't know what to say. You've never hesitated to ask a girl out before." This all brought on stares from the four. He leaned back and looked away.
"I don't know. I just," he mumbled and took a breath, "want to be careful."
"She's just a girl," Peter put in, back in human form. "They're all pretty much alike. Harmless, usually."
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Sirius countered.
"Huh?" Peter winced.
"Look, she's just-" he paused and rubbed his temple. "-Not someone you'd want to rush with."
"You've spoken to her, what, twice?" Remus inquired.
"So? I can tell. She's not the type I usually go for. Excuse me, I've got homework to do." He got up. It was unusual that he'd be so sensitive about discussing girls. It was usually his pleasure to kiss and tell. Something put him on edge. But he wasn't ready to give up on the enigmatic Ravenclaw. He knew in his gut that it was far from over.
I want to take a second to thank my reviewers:
Thepaxilfairy- thanks. BTW thank you for pointing that out. I might go back and redo it.
Unseenstag- I thought that was kind of cute. Thanks!
Mad-eye Potter- Really? Wow. Thanks.
Padfootprankster13- takes bow thank you!