AGAIN, I have nearly 50 reviews! My 50th reviewer gets:
a. A chapter dedicated to them
b. A story (max. 3 chaps.) written for them SLASH INCLUDED.
c. I had a c once…but I don't like self insertation, aka, Mary-Sue, so I'm leaving it out.
Disclaimer: J.K.'s
A/N: I AM SUCH A MORON!! I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER LIKE SOMETIME IN AUGUST AND THEN NEVER POSTED IT!!
Hmm. I wonder if this should be the last chapter…no, I don't think so. This will deal with some pranks, some more Remus/Sirius relationship (still not slash) and some more Sirius/James. N.E.W.T.s will also be coming. Hey, to the reviewer who wanted to see James cry over Annie, it's in this chapter!
And I wrote that thing about the O.W.L.s without a thought to OotP, so it's an entirely different thing. What happened was, James was trying to do a prank on Snape, but it backfired. Sirius tried to help, but just made it worse.
Two weeks had passed since the Quidditch match, and Sirius hadn't had a problem with Quidditch and Remus again. It was now March, and Remus and Lily were trying to convince James and Sirius to start studying.
"You know Siri, you should really start studying," Lily said, laying her head on Sirius' shoulder.
"Come on Flower, I've got plenty of time," Sirius protested.
Lily turned to James. "James? You should study too. Set an example for the younger students. You're Head Boy after all."
James smiled. "I know Lil, but I just don't want to. I didn't study in March for the O.W.L.s, and I did fine."
Sirius laughed. "Yeah, and afterward, you made a total prat out of yourself!"
"You didn't help matters much," Lily pointed out.
Sirius responded to this with a kiss.
"Would you keep that out of the common room? You know, I am going to start studying. I really need top N.E.W.T.s, if I want to be able to get a job, if I can get a job," Remus said testily. The full moon had been only the previous week, at the end of February.
"Okay, we'll try," Sirius replied.
Lily, however said, "You're absolutely right Remus. Sorry Sirius, but I have to put my studies before my boyfriends. I was only introduced to the magical world seven years ago. If I'm going to be able to get the job I want, I'll have to have top N.E.W.T.s as well."
Sirius looked slightly hurt, but said, "Yeah, I guess I might as well do a little extra work. I want to be an Auror, it's the only career I've ever considered." He sighed. "Remus, will you please help me with the Arithmancy assignment?"
Remus shook his head. "Not just yet, I have to finish Charms first, and I wanted to do that damn Potions. Get it out of the way."
James sat down and opened his Transfiguration book. "If you're all studying, I may as well too."
"Why don't you got find Peter if you don't want to study?" Sirius suggested.
"I've looked for him, but I can't find him anywhere," James said glumly.
Sirius stood up. "Come on James, let's go do something. I don't have anything to do, really, apart from Arithmancy." He turned to Remus. "How long will you be working on Potions and Charms?"
"An hour, maybe two," Remus replied.
"Then I'll be back in about two hours. Come on James, let's go do something," Sirius repeated.
James smiled weakly and followed Sirius out of the common room.
"James, are you all right?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Fine, just fine," James replied, but Sirius could tell he was lying.
Sirius put a hand on James' shoulder. "Tell the truth James."
James' lip trembled. Then he got himself under control again. "Well, it's just…with Annie gone, and you spending most of your time with Remus, I feel kind of…lonely, I guess."
"Oh, James, I'm sorry. I know I promised to spend more time with you, but I…didn't. We still have two hours, though you know," Sirius said.
James attempted half-heartedly to smile. "Yeah, I guess."
Sirius sighed. He knew he had hurt James, but he didn't know how to make it up. Then he got an idea. "I'll be right back!"
"Where are you--" James began, but Sirius ran off in the middle of his sentence. "Going," James finished quietly.
Almost immediately, a black dog came bounding towards James. He laughed at first, then said, "Sirius, what if you get caught?"
Sirius glanced around, transformed, then said, "James, I've got a bloody brilliant idea. This is what I need you to do." He explained his plan, and James laughed.
"Bloody brilliant!"
Sirius transformed and followed James to the Transfiguration department. James peered into the classroom and found Professor McGonagall grading essays.
"Excuse me, Professor?"
She looked up. "Yes Potter?"
"Um, I was looking through a book, and I came across the Animagus register. I was wondering if you could show me…?"
She hesitated, then sighed, "Oh, all right." She transformed and a tabby cat was sitting on her desk.
"That's really amazing. I wish I could do that," James said, sounding as if he were in awe.
McGonagall meowed.
Taking this as his cue, Sirius barked and ran down the corridor and into the classroom. McGonagall hissed. Sirius lunged at her, barking madly. McGonagall gave a frightened meow and ran from the room. Sirius chased after her. James chased after them.
"Why don't you just change back Professor?" he called. McGonagall stopped and turned back into herself.
"James Potter, I am absolutely disgusted. What an unworthy trick! De--"
"Wait Professor, I had no idea about the dog, honest I didn't! I was just curious about Animagi, really!" James interrupted.
McGonagall opened her mouth to respond. Sirius barked again, and she shrieked. "Potter, I'll let you off punishment if you can get rid of the thing!"
James nodded and ran towards where he had seen Sirius disappear. He found Sirius leaning against a wall, fist stuffed into his mouth.
Sirius and James ran up a flight of stairs and burst out laughing. "That was so funny!" James gasped. "You should have heard her scream!"
"I did!" Sirius replied. "You are such a good actor. 'I had no idea Professor.' Brilliant!"
James grinned. "I don't think she believed me. She just wanted me to get rid of you!"
Sirius laughed, then said, "Come on James, let's go for a walk."
The two boys walked outside and sat under a tree by the lake.
"What's up Sirius?" James asked.
Sirius sighed. "Well, I wanted to ask you something. Do you think I should tell Dumbledore about…you know…my parents?"
James looked thoughtful. "Well…yes Sirius, you should. Your parents could kill you someday you know. And I don't want that. None of us do."
Sirius sighed. "That what Remus keeps saying. But James, I don't want to. I know I could be killed, but…I guess I'm kind of…afraid to tell Dumbledore."
"Take your time. But please Sirius, tell him soon."
"I will," Sirius sighed. "I will."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then James said, "I sent a letter to Annie a couple weeks ago. It came back this morning. Opened, with 'Fuck you' on the letter."
Sirius looked surprised. "What did you write to her?"
"I just wrote, 'Dear Annie, I miss you. Maybe we can arrange a visit over the summer? James.' I don't know why she replied like that," James said.
"Hey, James, I couldn't help overhearing," Arabella said. "And I know why she replied like that."
James' head snapped up. "Why?!"
"Because, she was only dating you for the sake of having a boyfriend. She didn't even like you as a friend very much. She only hung out with you Marauders because first of all, Lily was her best friend, and second of all, she had a crush on Sirius," Arabella said smugly.
"How the hell do you know that?!" James demanded.
Arabella's smug look faded a bit. She looked sorry for James now. "She was always talking behind your back mate. In the changing rooms especially, after you guys left. And in the girls' showers. She would ask if any of us had seen Sirius naked, that sort of thing."
James looked heartbroken.
"Oh, I'm sorry James, I shouldn't have told you."
"No 'Bella, I needed to know. Thanks," James said quietly.
Arabella nodded and walked away.
"What a bitch," Sirius remarked.
James sighed. "Oh well. She's gone now."
"James, I know you're not being truthful. I know you loved her," Sirius said.
"Fine!" James shouted. "Fine, I loved her! And she didn't even like me! She's just a superficial bitch!" He started crying. He tried to hide it, but Sirius wasn't fooled.
"It's okay Jamie," Sirius said softly, hugging James.
James pulled away after a few minutes, sniffling. "I thought she loved me," he said softly. "Oh well, there's still…never mind." He sighed. "Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
Sirius checked his watch. "Oh! Look James, I'm sorry, but I have to go do my Arithmancy. Remus will be done now. But I promise, really promise this time, that I'll spend more time with you. Okay?"
James nodded. "I'll come with you. I have Transfiguration to do." The two of them walked up to Gryffindor Tower.
The common room was quiet, except for the scratching of Remus and Lily's quills. Lily was reading a History of Magic book and taking notes, Remus was scribbling furiously on a long sheet of parchment.
"…to create the potion. Done!"
"Shhh!" Lily hissed.
James sat next to Lily and opened his Transfiguration book and took out parchment, quill and ink. He began to write without even opening the book.
"So, Remus, will you help me now?" Sirius asked, sliding into the seat next to Remus.
Remus looked up. "Yeah, sure. Take out your book, some parchment, what you've got so far, and quill and ink." Sirius took everything out. "So, what's the assignment?"
"That one on how Arithmancy can be used to translate runes."
"Oh, right. I did that one yesterday. What do you have so far?" Remus asked, peering at the parchment.
"Um…'How Arithmancy Can Be Used to Translate Runes.' Then my name and the date," Sirius said sheepishly.
Remus sighed. "All right. See, the rune for…" Remus explained the whole process, then said, "Okay, think you can do it now?"
Sirius nodded. "I think so."
"Good."
After an hour or so of working, Sirius yawned, stood up, and stretched. "I'm done. I think I'll go get another bottle of ink and toss it in my bag. This one is almost gone."
He walked upstairs and opened his trunk. He dug around, looking for another bottle of ink. He didn't find the ink right away, but he did find something else.
A bloodstained shirt.
Sirius clenched his fists. He remembered that day well. It had been a rainy day, and his father had sent him to the store, warning him not to get wet unless it began raining again…
A fourteen-year-old Sirius walked into the store. "Good morning Mrs. Baker," he said to the woman at the counter.
"Oh, good morning Sirius dear. What can I do for you today?"
"I need some wormwood and some essence of murtlap. Oh, and some milk," Sirius said, consulting his list.
Mrs. Baker smiled and told him, "You know where the milk is. I'll have those ingredients for you by the time you get back to this counter."
Sirius got the milk, went back to the counter and got the ingredients. He paid, smiled at Mrs. Baker and walked out the door.
He was promptly tripped by a little girl. He landed in a mud puddle.
"Oh, you poor dear, I'm so sorry. Elsie, you should be more careful," the girl's mother said.
Sirius gulped. He was going to be punished severely. "I-it's okay."
Sirius walked home nervously. His father swooped down on him as soon as he arrived and slapped him across the face, hard. His nose began to bleed. Then he slapped, punched and kicked everywhere he could. Along with his nosebleed, Sirius had several new bruises and old cuts were bleeding again. His white shirt was steadily turning red in several places…
"Sirius?"
Sirius jumped and spun around, tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Remus…it's only you."
Remus walked closer to him. "Sirius, what's wrong?:
"Well, I was looking for some ink, and I found this instead," Sirius began wildly, gesturing to the shirt in is other hand, "And then I started to remember stuff--everything that led up to this, and I was kind of lost in memories, you know, and then you--"
"Sirius, Sirius, calm down. It's all ri…Remus trailed off when he realized what Sirius was holding. "I never realized how bad it was," Remus whispered.
Sirius looked at him in confusion, then realized Remus had noticed the bloodstains on the shirt. "Oh…" He stuffed the shirt back into his trunk. "It doesn't matter Remus, really. This happened to me when I was fourteen. I'm used to it by now."
Remus just shook his head. "It does matter."
"Look Remus, let's not start this again, all right?" Sirius asked, rummaging for ink again.
Remus made a noise of irritation. "Fine."
Sirius sighed. "Why does everyone insist on trying to get me to tell Dumbledore?"
"Because, Sirius, we care about you," Remus said frostily.
Sirius sighed again. "I know Remus, but I just don't want to tell anyone else, Dumbledore especially. I've been living with it since fourth year, and I'm actually legally of age now, I still have all my stuff at home of course, but I'm about to leave and so I won't have to deal with them anymore."
"But what about Lyra?" Remus asked quietly.
Sirius froze. Remus had struck a nerve. "Corvus and Ursa are not going to do that to Lyra! She's their pride and joy!"
"Sometimes when a child is abused, after they leave home, the parents get addicted to abusing. They will turn to the 'perfect child' the one whom they once considered so much better than the abused one and will ruthlessly beat them," Remus said.
Sirius shook his head. "They won't. I know it. She's a perfect little angel."
"Sirius, you're so naïve," Remus told him scathingly. "You think once you're gone your parents will be warm and loving? They're only nice to Lyra to make you feel even more neglected."
Sirius clenched his fists again. "I am not naïve! I am more mature and have gone through and experienced more than anyone else I know!" He added quickly, "Excluding you of course."
"Gone through more I can believe, but mature? Please," Remus replied.
"You should know. You and James should know, I'm more mature than I act. Acting immature is…" Sirius' voice dropped in volume. "My veil. My curtain to hide behind," he finished quietly.
Remus sighed. "This isn't working. I'm trying to convince you to tell someone, I'm only making you angry."
"I appreciate it Remus, I do, but…I can't. I've told you that since Christmas," Sirius said sadly.
"I know." Remus was quiet for a moment, then said, "Isn't life strange?"
"What do you mean?"
Remus shrugged. "Well, people change so much. I know I've changed a lot since first year. Hell, I've changed a lot in the course of this year. And even though I hate to admit it, sometimes at night I almost start to cry at the thought of leaving this place in three months."
"Yeah, I've changed a lot too. Hogwarts has gone from being school to being home, and all my friends…are more like my family now. And now that you mention it, I don't really want to leave it. I mean, I'll be going out into the world, pretty much by myself. It's scary," Sirius said.
"It'll probably be harder for me," Remus said thoughtfully, "You know, since I'm a werewolf. And also…I always expected my parents to be there to help me. But they won't be. I'll be on my own."
Sirius shook his head. "No Remus, you'll have us. Your friends."
Remus smiled. "I know Sirius. And thanks. Come on, let's go downstairs."
"I don't know if I want to brave Lily," Sirius said jokingly.
Remus laughed. "She's not that bad Sirius!"
"Yeah, she is. But that's one reason I love her so much." Sirius hesitated, then said, "Remus, I'm kind of worried about James."
Remus frowned. "Why?"
"Because, earlier when you and Lily were doing work and James and I weren't, Arabella told us that Annie was only dating James for the sake of having a boyfriend and she didn't even like him very much. And she only hung out with us Marauders because Lily was her best friend, and she had a crush on me." Sirius hesitated, then asked, "Did you ever--? I mean, did she ever…mention anything to you?"
Remus shook his head. "No. But James told me plenty of times that he thought he loved Annie. I hope he doesn't take it too hard."
"Oh, so now you're talking about me behind my back. You're such a good friend Sirius," James said accusingly.
Remus hastily said, before Sirius could reply, "James, Sirius was only trying to help you."
"Well, that still doesn't give him the right to talk about me behind my back," James countered.
"James, I wasn't talking about you in a bad way!" Sirius said. "I was just worried about you. You're one of those people that never talk about anything."
"Like you?"
Sirius looked away from James and muttered, "Yes, like me."
James sighed. "Okay. Never mind."
"James, I--"
"Forget it," James said forcefully. "Just forget it."
Sirius said quietly, "All right."
"So, James, what brings you up here? I thought you were studying." Remus asked.
"I finished, and besides, I thought you were studying," James replied.
Remus shrugged. "Well, I finished too. And I don't need to study that much right now. It's only March."
Sirius grinned. "Let's see. Three Marauders not studying. And invisibility cloak. What should we do?"
"Maybe we should convince McGonagall that there's another dog around," James said with a grin.
Remus looked confused. "McGonagall? Dog?"
James got a faraway look in his eye. "Yeah, it was this excellent prank Sirius thought up. I 'innocently' asked McGonagall to show me her Animagus form, which is a cat--"
"Oh no. Don't tell me…?"
"Yup. Sirius chased her. And you should have heard her scream when he barked…"
Remus tried to conceal his amusement. "But Sirius, you could have been caught."
Sirius smiled a lopsided half smile and winked. "No way in Hell will I ever get caught. At anything."
"Someday you will Sirius. Someday you will."
Gohan Hugger: @9: Mmm. I prefer Sirius myself…but with him dead, Remus is looking pretty good… @8: Well, maybe. Prison sounds good…very good.
RnRForever: WE'LL SEE.
Black Penther: Thanks!
Katie: Um…um…what do I say in response to this? I already responded to it, two months ago. Um…I finished Chronicles, but you know that. And um…now I see what you mean about responding to my reviews of Loss being hard! Well, I feel like a moron, so you can embarrass me with that…or with my stupid nickname. Um…moving on:
Sparks the insomniac werewolf: Um…Well, I really wasn't expecting people to out and out TELL me that he was a crybaby…I was actually ranting to myself. But, thanks for the compliment!
Marauders4ever: Thanks! But, this isn't novel length…so I couldn't post it on Schnoogle.com. Is it?
MooNi13: Thanks.