DISCLAIMER: Nope, they're still not mine. Don't I wish it though. Property of J.K. Rowling, unless they're not. Eh, you should know what I mean.
A/N: Thanks to all of my reviewers. If I had something to say to one of you specifically, it's down at the bottom. I can't promise about updates, because I still have a lot of summer reading to do, but I'll try and get chapters up as fast as I can write them. Again, thanks.
Slow Down
Chapter Two - A Mask, a Talk, and a Kiss.
The marauders walked through the Entrance Hall and turned right. They then went through a pair of double doors and entered the Great Hall. Sirius looked around and quickly found seats at the Gryffindor table next to some younger fourth year girls.
One of the fourths year stared at Sirius until he winked at her. She blushed a deep red and giggled before she turned to her friends and whispered something very fast. Remus shook his head at Sirius before turning to James.
"So you're sure everything's ready? You got all the spells right?"
"Moony, old pal," James replied, using Remus's nickname. "You worry too much."
James kicked Sirius in the shins from under the table. The sorting hat was just now starting to sing.
"Ow, Prongs. What was that for?" Sirius whispered to James across the table.
'Welcome to Hogwarts,
Or perhaps welcome back.
When it comes to sorting,
I do have a knack.'
'What house you end up in,
Is mine to choose.
Whichever it is,
You cannot lose.'
"If you keep flirting with the poor girl, we're going to have to carry her to the infirmary because she went into shock," Peter whispered back for James. James nodded.
'Do you have courage,
Are you real brave?
Perhaps being a Gryffindor,
Is what you do crave.'
'Or maybe you're loyal,
And patient as well.
Then go on with Hufflepuff,
With them you will dwell.'
"You think so?" questioned a now mischievous looking Sirius.
'For those who are wise,
Their minds full of wit,
Ravenclaw's the table,
That you soon will sit.'
'Is cunning your strong point,
Are you quite sly?
Then Slytherin's your house,
Their pride will not die.'
"Don't even think about it," answered Remus.
'So step on up,
Give it a try,
Don't be nervous,
I do not lie.'
The Great Hall burst into applause as the Sorting Hat finished its song. Professor McGonagall slowly unrolled a scroll with all the names of the first years.
"Ackerly, Camille," she called. A small blonde haired girl came forward and sat on the stool.
Lily turned her head up and looked at the enchanted ceiling that showed the weather. She never got tired of being able to see the sky when inside of the huge castle. Right now, the sky was a dark blue, dotted with numerous stars.
The hat shouted out Ravenclaw and Lily started to wonder how long it was going to take. She was getting hungry.
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Soon enough, Professor Dumbledore stood up. He looked a little peculiar with his deep purple robes and foot long beard, but that was the way that Dumbledore was.
"Welcome, welcome. I'm glad to see you all are back from your summer holiday. I won't hold you from the feast any longer," Dumbledore stated. He sat back down, and gasps could be heard from the first years as food filled the golden platters in front of them.
After putting some food on her plate, Lily started to eat. To her, it felt as if she hadn't eaten all day. Across from her, Shea and Kyne seemed to be engaged in a conversation about which magical animal they'd want to have.
"I think a kneazle would be nicer than a jarvey. It could warn you if someone was untrustworthy, instead of insulting you," argued Shea. "Or them," she added as an afterthought.
"But that's the point," said Kyne. "The jarvey would insult anyone that walked by you. That, and it would chase all your garden gnomes away." She laughed. A couple of the first years that were sitting close to the girls looked up at them in confusion. They had never heard of these so-called animals. Lily looked down at the one sitting next to her.
"You'll learn all about these animals sooner or later. Are you muggle born?" she asked. The first year nodded. "So am I. I had to learn all about magic when I came here. Don't worry, you'll catch on quickly enough." Lily smiled when the first year looked a little more confident. Shea and Kyne gave Lily a weird look.
"What?" Lily asked. They shook their heads.
"Nothing," answered Shea.
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The marauders looked a bit anxious as everybody started to get filled up. All four guys had finished eating already and were waiting as patiently as they could. Soon, the food started to disappear, along with the plates, and Dumbledore stood up again.
Unfortunately, nobody got to hear what he was about to say at the moment because a giant red sequence mask came floating into the Great Hall. Dumbledore sat down with a slight smile on his face. Everybody's attention seemed to be locked on that mask, and whether it was to their delight or chagrin, it started to sing.
'Hogwarts is a lovely school,
I'm so happy to be here
Another year is starting,
No need for a tear.'
'He does know his potions,
But he looks so mad,
Why the frown Severus Snape,
Was the pudding bad?'
Severus, who had looked annoyed when the song began, nearly turned purple when he heard the second verse. He glared at the marauders, as he was sure that they were the ones that had put this together.
'She is head girl,
She's real clever too,
For your hard work, Krystal Turpin,
I congratulate you.'
A seventh year girl at the Ravenclaw table blushed furiously at being complimented by a floating mask during the feast. She shyly waved to the rest of the hall since they were still looking at her.
'He is our head boy,
and quidditch he plays,
You'll be too busy Egan Zeller,
You'll rest for days.'
The head boy, sitting at the Hufflepuff table, looked appalled at the thought of not being able to handle all of his responsibilities. He then saw the funny side at being mad at a mask, and started to laugh.
'I hope you liked my song,
It wasn't way too long,
What I said wasn't wrong,
Don't go ringing a gong.'
The mask floated out of the hall and most people laughed. Most of them were also confused by the lyrics of the last verse, but shrugged it off. Remus looked at James.
"Where did those lyrics come from?" he asked. James pointed to Sirius.
"He wrote them. Where he got them from, I don't know."
Dumbledore stood up once more. He looked fairly amused.
"If we have no more interruptions," he started with a twinkle in his eyes. "First years should know that the Forbidden Forest is," he paused. "Well, it's forbidden. I should also tell you that magic should not be used between classes in the corridors. If anyone would like to try out for their house's quidditch team, tryouts will start in two weeks. I wish you all the best of luck, and now off to bed."
Lily, Shea, and Kyne got up from where they were sitting and went over to the marauders. Lily poked James lightly in the head. He turned around in his seat.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Do we have to show the first years to the common room?"
"I believe 'zat 'vould be 'ze duty of 'ze fifth year prefects," he said, putting on a fake accent. She smiled.
"If you say so James."
"But I do say so," he replied. She rolled her eyes.
The marauders got up from the table and they all walked out of the great hall together. After climbing several staircases, and going down many corridors, they finally reached the fat lady's portrait. James told her the password (Ashwinder Eggs) and they all climbed through the circular entrance into the Gryffindor common room.
The large, circular common room was decked out in the Gryffindor colours, red and gold. To the right of the entrance there was a fire against a wall, with two couches, a low table, and a few chairs thrown in front of it. To the left of the entrance, there were many tables and chairs for those who wished to do homework, read, or play exploding snap. A little behind the tables, in a more secluded part of the common room, were more couches and chairs. Straight across from the entrance were the staircases up to the dormitories.
The seven teens decided to sit in front of the fire, which was almost always lit. Shea sat on the floor in front of the chair that Sirius decided to sit it. Remus sat in the chair that across from them. Kyne was lying down on one of the couches, with her legs thrown over one side. Peter was sitting on that couch, while Lily and James shared the other couch.
"So how did you do it?" Shea asked.
"Do what?" Peter asked.
"I've known Sirius Black long enough to know that those last lyrics of the mask were his," replied Shea. Sirius looked down at her with wide eyes and an innocent face. "Don't give me that," she said while thwapping one of his legs lightly.
"We put a singing charm on the mask first off, and then we wingardium leviosa'd it into the hall," Remus said, answering Shea's question.
"Any reason other than just to have fun?" asked Lily.
"Not really," James replied, looking kind of sheepish. Lily shrugged.
"I suppose it could've been worse," Kyne said.
"How so?" James asked attentively.
"Well, you coul--" Kyne started before a hand was put over her mouth.
"No need to be giving them more ideas. I'm sure they already have enough," interrupted Shea. "Isn't that right, Sirius?" He just smiled.
They all stayed by the fire for a while, enjoying the warmth of it and the company of other people. Lily suddenly stood up and announced that she was going to go get ready for bed.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow morning," she called as she walked up the stairs. James watched Lily walk up the first set of stairs, and across the landing to where the sixth year staircases were. She looked down to where her friends were and waved down to him before she disappeared up the girl's staircase.
Little did James know, that Sirius and Remus had noticed this display of obvious affection on James's part. They exchanged a knowing glance when James wasn't paying attention.
Within the hour, everyone had taken Lily's lead and had gone up the staircases to their own beds. Kyne was the last one to enter the dorm. Lily was already asleep and Kyne suspected that Shea was in the shower since she heard it running. Kyne decided to take a shower in the morning and headed over to her bed. She had just gotten into her bed when the door to the bathroom opened. Shea walked out in her pajamas and went over to Kyne's bed. She sat down.
"What're you thinking about?" Shea asked.
"How we didn't have our beginning of the year talk
with the girls." Kyne looked sad, and Shea knew what she was talking
about. For the past years, after the feast, all five girls in the now
sixth year dorm had gone up to their room and talked for hours before all
falling asleep on random beds or on the floor. But close to the end of
last year, Shea, Kyne, and Lily had gotten into a huge fight with the other
girls in the dorm, Adena and Saria.
It had started out small enough, little picky stuff about
clothes being left on the ground, or using each other's hairbrushes. But
then it had escalated when Saria decided that she liked Kyne's at the time
boyfriend. Lily and Shea had sided with Kyne, and Adena had sided with
Saria. The girls had hardly talked to each other since.
"As bad as our fight was, I think we all could've used
some talking. I mean, we had the summer to cool down, right?" Kyne
asked. Shea hugged her.
"Yeah, we did. But stuff like that doesn't blow
over so easily. We'll just have to see what happens this year I
guess," was the response. "I'll see you in the morning ok
Kai?"
"Alright. Night Shea."
"Night Kai." Shea got up off of Kyne's bed
and headed towards her own which was in between Lily's and Kyne's. She
pulled back the covers and got into bed. After closing the hangings
around her bed, she fell asleep.
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Lily woke up to Kyne jumping on her bed. She hit the unaware
Kyne with a pillow, which sent her flying off of Lily's bed and into
Shea's. Shea opened her eyes, pulled back her hangings and looked at the
site in front of her. Lily was sitting up in bed, holding a pillow as if it
were a bat, and Kyne was sprawled out on the floor next to her bed. Shea
fell back in bed and covered her head with her pillow.
"No you don't," said Lily. "If I had
to get up, so do you." Lily walked over to Shea's bed, stepped over
Kyne, and started to hit Shea with her pillow.
"Lemme alomne," came the muffled reply from under the pillow. "Go take a shower you great lump." Shea got her pillow taken away and then got hit on the head with it.
"Don't call me a great lump, you lazy bum. And besides, Kyne needs to take a shower."
"No, I don't," came the reply from the floor. "I took one before I woke you up, and I think almost everyone is at breakfast. There's no one else in here, and there's no one in the common room. I looked."
"Well aren't you proud," was Shea's response. Kyne sat up and frowned at her. "Kidding, kidding," Shea said as she got out of her bed. Kyne ran for the door.
"I'll wait in the common room for you guys. Hurry up, or we're going to miss breakfast!"
Eventually Lily and Shea got ready and came downstairs. They entered the common room to find James, Remus, and Peter laughing hysterically while Sirius was being tickled by Kyne. Lily and Shea walked over to where the three boys were and asked what was going on. When James caught his breath, he told them.
"Well, as far as we know. Sirius hid Kyne's wand, and won't tell her where it is, so she took to 'torturing' him." Sirius was trying to get up and run away from Kyne, but she tackled him to the ground. James started to laugh again and leaned on Lily for support. He put one arm around her neck and his head in her hair.
"Sirius is extremely ticklish," said Shea as she started to laugh. Sirius was screaming things such as,
"Help me!" "The cavalry is coming." "T'wasn't me." "Oof!" and then the one that Lily liked the most, "Grrr, rawr!"
"Ow," cried Kyne. "He bit me!"
"That's what you get." Sirius, a little out of breath, walked over to where James was still laughing behind Lily.
"Where's her wand, Prongs?" James looked up.
"I have no clue what you're talking about," James replied.
"Jaaaaaaaaames," Sirius whined. James sighed.
"Fine, here." James brought out Kyne's wand from his robes and handed it to Sirius over Lily's shoulder. Sirius walked over to Kyne who was sitting on the floor pouting. He handed her wand to her and then helped her up. He pointed to James, who was trying to hide his 5'11 body behind Lily's 5'5 body, and to say the least, it wasn't working real well.
Kyne started to run at James, but he held Lily around the waist as a hostage.
"One more step, and Miss Evans gets it," he said, pointing his wand to her head.
"Oh, no! Nothing but….wait, what exactly am I getting?" asked Lily. James looked down at her and smiled wickedly.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"Well, yes. Considering that I'm the one that's getting whatever it is I'm getting, I would like to know what I'm getting," she replied. Everyone stared at her after this with confused faces trying to work out what she said. Kyne took this time to step a bit close to James and Lily.
"And what makes you think that I care if you do something to Miss Evans?" Kyne questioned James, trying to use reverse psychology. Lily feigned a look of hurt.
"Because I can see it in your eyes," said James using a fake mystical voice. He hoped that Kyne wasn't about to tackle him too. He then let go of Lily and turned her around.
"Thanks love, you've been real helpful." He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed Sirius's arm, climbed out of the entrance, and ran for it.
"Oh, no you don't," Kyne said before climbing out of the entrance and running after James. Lily had a slightly surprised look on her face.
"I feel so used," she said. Remus, Peter, and Shea, who had watched the whole thing, laughed as they left the common room and went down to breakfast.
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A/N: Ok, that took me a while.
Starborn: When Lily said the thing about getting a broom and flying to Germany, it was just a joke to show how bored she was, and to maybe freak out her parents a little.(which she did)
Tamsy, Daine + Lilac: Here's your second chapter, and why do I get the feeling that you're the one who's going to be pushing me for more chapters??
Insuna Moonhowl: I hope this is long enough for you. I tried.
Abarraine: I hope you're not sad anymore. I have a second chapter now.
To my other reviewers, Shayley Rain, aka T.S.L. , Bronfelen, and Marcie thank you.
You all were so nice in your reviews. I hope this chapter was up to you guys's standards.