DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise (id est: characters, settings, 'phrases'
etc.) are not my own creation. This said, some characters, settings and
'phrases' do belong to me, just so you know.
And another point I have to make: words that are supposed to be in itallics instead are written like ^this^.
~
Chapter Two
By the end of their first week back, James and Sirius had already landed themselves in detention for causing a stir in a girl's lavatory. On the Sunday, Lily was checking the notice board for exactly that -notices.
'Hmm.' Lily heard someone else approaching the notices, 'there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a couple of weeks -'
'Great! I've been running low on multiplying mice since me and Sirius let them get a bit of exercise in the girls' -'
'Have fun in detention, Potter?' Lily asked.
'Well, hearing the reactions from the girls was more -I bet you were one of the ones that screamed.' James smirked.
'If you think that then you don't know me very well, Potter.'
'So you did scream.'
'I didn't say that.'
'I know you did.'
'I didn't.'
'I don't believe you.'
'I don't care.'
'But I'll pretend to believe you if you go out with me.' James grinned.
'Remus can tell you that I wasn't even in the bathroom at the time.' She turned away as James's face fell and he uttered something that sounded a lot like "used the mice for nothing." As she climbed the steps up to her dormitory she felt her face flush -and she did not want to think about why.
'What do you mean it "breaches the limits," Professor?'
'Kate, this attire is simply unacceptable! Return to Gryffindor tower ^at once^ and change into something more appropriate!' McGonagall looked appalled.
'Actually, Professor,' came another voice, 'as it's not a school day, Kate is free to wear whatever she wants to wear.' Kate turned to see who had spoken. It was Sirius.
McGonagall appeared to be in a state of deep thought about the situation. She clearly disapproved of Kate's skirt which cut off halfway down her thigh and sat low on her hips and the eight inches of bare midriff that was displayed beneath her top and the plunging neckline. Kate could not see anything wrong with it and neither, by no surprise, could Sirius.
'Professor, there's nothing you can do to stop her -I mean, she hasn't broken any ^rules^ so you can't make her -'
'You, Mr. Black, have just displayed a legitimate reason for young women to dress appropriately! Kate does ^not^ need undermining adolescents such as yourself ogling at her!' McGonagall seemed unreasonably outrageous.
'And what are you going to do about it?' Sirius daringly asked her.
'Black! How ^dare^ you speak to any teacher in that tone! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Yeas my own house! Now get out of my face, both of you, before I am tempted to act rather irrationally!'
With that, the two of them bolted around the corner and hid behind a statue of Wilfred the wonderer where Kate laughed into Sirius's chest.
'What are you tittering at?' Sirius asked.
'It's just -oh -a bit rich of ^you^ to be talking about rule-breaking!' She giggled.
He wrapped his arms around her, laying his hands to rest on her hips, and smiled at her provocatively.
'So, what are you going to do?' He asked.
'About what?' Kate asked, unintentionally batting her eyelashes.
'About your "attire".'
'Oh that! Well. you said it yourself -she can't make me change.'
'You make it hard to believe you're Lily's friend!'
'Ah. well. Lily. now ^there's^ a showstopper! But you wait -she won't be her usual self so much this year with our NEWTs to look forward to. I'd say she'd be a bit more -lax- so she can concentrate.'
As the day wore on, students could be found outside chatting away with friends, sitting among the first autumn leaves to fall.
Beneath the warm rays of the sun, on a patch of grass beside the lake, sat four boys making the most of the last few hours of the weekend.
'Hagrid won't mind.' James stated.
'Are you kidding? He'd be thrilled!' Said Sirius.
'But how are we going to get it in there?' Asked Peter.
The other three gaped at him in disbelief.
'We didn't spend all that time making that map for nothing! Honestly! "How are we going to get it in there"-' James mimicked.
'Now Wormtail,' Sirius began to speak to Peter as though he was a teacher explaining something to a student, 'being legends of this school has it's many advantages -and limitless boundaries is one of them.'
Peter nodded as though he finally understood.
'When are we going to do it?' Remus asked.
'Moony! You're going to join in this time are you?' Sirius teased.
'Leave that to me.' Said James in answer to Remus's question.
Monday seemed to drag by as though time had been called to a halt. Quidditch training ended in the late hours of the night, then James met up with Sirius outside the castle and they made their way over to Hagrid's cabin.
'Are you sure about this?'
'Is Sirius Black doubting the great James Potter's plan? Of course I'm sure! Honestly! You're starting to sound like Moony!'
They trudged along the grass until they reached the front door. James rapped on the door with the back of his fist, which was followed by shuffling footsteps. Then, the door opened slightly.
' 'O's there?'
'It's James and Sirius, Hagrid.' Said James.
The door was swung open as far as its hinges would permit and in the doorway stood a giant of a man with a slightly whiskery face and eyes that glinted like black beetles.
'James Potter! Bin wond'rin' when I'd see yeh again!'
Hagrid shifted from the doorway and permit them to enter.
' 'lo Hagrid.' Sirius said gruffly, a bit put out because Hagrid had not acknowledged him.
' 'lo ter yeh too, young Sirius!'
They made themselves comfortable onHagrid's sofa while Hagrid busied himself in the kitchen.
'Would yeh like a cup o' tea?' He asked.
'Yes please!' Sirius replied without thinking.
James and Sirius patiently waited as Hagrid made some tea.
'Now, yeh two don' come visitin' me much no more, so what is it yeh want?'
'Hagrid!' Sirius said in an innocent voice that fooled no one, 'why can't we just see an old friend without being accused of -' James elbowed him as a hint to stop talking.
'How are you, Hagrid?' James asked.
Hagrid eyed him suspiciously.
'Fine, jus' fine. So, what do yeh two want?'
'What makes you think we want something, Hagrid?' Sirius asked in the same innocent tone.
'Why else would yeh come ter visit me?' Hagrid asked.
'Well Hagrid,' said James, 'we were just wondering if you'd mind sharing some of your expertise in magical creatures with us.'
'Well, ah,' Hagrid flushed, 'yeh really ought ter be askin' Professor Kettleburn -'
'We don't think Kettleburn would tell us about the type of creatures ^we^ want to know about.' Siriu said with a glint in his eyes.
Hagrid showed an expression of thought.
'What are yeh two up ter?' He asked.
'Nothing -honestly, we're just curios.' Stated Sirius.
'And we know you know it all, Hagrid, Kettleburn only knows the basics.' James made an attempt at buttering Hagrid up.
'Well, I wouldn' go sayin tha' -'
'What can you tell us about the Ballox?' Sirius cut in.
'The -the Ballox?' Hagrid's eyes widened, 'I'll not tell yeh anythin' 'bout tha'!'
'Why not?!' Sirius asked.
'Yeh're not s'posed ter know 'bout 'em!'
'Hagrid,' James said slyly, 'we know a lot of things we're not supposed to.'
It took perhaps twenty minutes for James and Sirius to get Hagrid to tell them as much as he could.
'They're righ' dang'ros, they are -wouldn' come within a mile of 'em. No sir -they eat anythin' they can find, and tha's pretty much everythin', mind yeh, they'll rip yeh ter shreds before yeh realise it's near yeh. but they don' kill yeh see. eat most of yeh while yeh're still alive. it's the pain they cause tha's got most people 'fraid of 'em. can be righ' violen', they can. but don' yeh go huntin fer 'em now, boys, don'. There's not a soul out there who'd be stupid enough to do tha' -'
'What makes you think we'd do that?' Sirius asked with a false tone of hurt.
'It's late, boys, yeh best be goin' -g'night.'
'Night Hagrid.' The boys said in unison as they left his cabin,
They trudged back along the grass towards the castle.
'Somehow, I don't think Dumbledore would approve of us implanting a Ballox in the Slytherin common room -if, by some miracle, we managed to get a hold of one.' Sirius said sarcastically.
'Shut up, Sirius, I'm thinking.'
~
A/N: If you're finding this boring, you have got to let me know. And if there's anything that doesn't make sense to you (which I'm sure there is), just ask, because I'd be happy to answer.
Just like everybody else, I love reviews -so if you want the next chapter (or you don't want the next chapter) review. I love it when people make suggestions.
That's a hint.
Thankyou to my reviewers, especially Sploogal for her detailed (and critical) review.
And another point I have to make: words that are supposed to be in itallics instead are written like ^this^.
~
Chapter Two
By the end of their first week back, James and Sirius had already landed themselves in detention for causing a stir in a girl's lavatory. On the Sunday, Lily was checking the notice board for exactly that -notices.
'Hmm.' Lily heard someone else approaching the notices, 'there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up in a couple of weeks -'
'Great! I've been running low on multiplying mice since me and Sirius let them get a bit of exercise in the girls' -'
'Have fun in detention, Potter?' Lily asked.
'Well, hearing the reactions from the girls was more -I bet you were one of the ones that screamed.' James smirked.
'If you think that then you don't know me very well, Potter.'
'So you did scream.'
'I didn't say that.'
'I know you did.'
'I didn't.'
'I don't believe you.'
'I don't care.'
'But I'll pretend to believe you if you go out with me.' James grinned.
'Remus can tell you that I wasn't even in the bathroom at the time.' She turned away as James's face fell and he uttered something that sounded a lot like "used the mice for nothing." As she climbed the steps up to her dormitory she felt her face flush -and she did not want to think about why.
'What do you mean it "breaches the limits," Professor?'
'Kate, this attire is simply unacceptable! Return to Gryffindor tower ^at once^ and change into something more appropriate!' McGonagall looked appalled.
'Actually, Professor,' came another voice, 'as it's not a school day, Kate is free to wear whatever she wants to wear.' Kate turned to see who had spoken. It was Sirius.
McGonagall appeared to be in a state of deep thought about the situation. She clearly disapproved of Kate's skirt which cut off halfway down her thigh and sat low on her hips and the eight inches of bare midriff that was displayed beneath her top and the plunging neckline. Kate could not see anything wrong with it and neither, by no surprise, could Sirius.
'Professor, there's nothing you can do to stop her -I mean, she hasn't broken any ^rules^ so you can't make her -'
'You, Mr. Black, have just displayed a legitimate reason for young women to dress appropriately! Kate does ^not^ need undermining adolescents such as yourself ogling at her!' McGonagall seemed unreasonably outrageous.
'And what are you going to do about it?' Sirius daringly asked her.
'Black! How ^dare^ you speak to any teacher in that tone! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Yeas my own house! Now get out of my face, both of you, before I am tempted to act rather irrationally!'
With that, the two of them bolted around the corner and hid behind a statue of Wilfred the wonderer where Kate laughed into Sirius's chest.
'What are you tittering at?' Sirius asked.
'It's just -oh -a bit rich of ^you^ to be talking about rule-breaking!' She giggled.
He wrapped his arms around her, laying his hands to rest on her hips, and smiled at her provocatively.
'So, what are you going to do?' He asked.
'About what?' Kate asked, unintentionally batting her eyelashes.
'About your "attire".'
'Oh that! Well. you said it yourself -she can't make me change.'
'You make it hard to believe you're Lily's friend!'
'Ah. well. Lily. now ^there's^ a showstopper! But you wait -she won't be her usual self so much this year with our NEWTs to look forward to. I'd say she'd be a bit more -lax- so she can concentrate.'
As the day wore on, students could be found outside chatting away with friends, sitting among the first autumn leaves to fall.
Beneath the warm rays of the sun, on a patch of grass beside the lake, sat four boys making the most of the last few hours of the weekend.
'Hagrid won't mind.' James stated.
'Are you kidding? He'd be thrilled!' Said Sirius.
'But how are we going to get it in there?' Asked Peter.
The other three gaped at him in disbelief.
'We didn't spend all that time making that map for nothing! Honestly! "How are we going to get it in there"-' James mimicked.
'Now Wormtail,' Sirius began to speak to Peter as though he was a teacher explaining something to a student, 'being legends of this school has it's many advantages -and limitless boundaries is one of them.'
Peter nodded as though he finally understood.
'When are we going to do it?' Remus asked.
'Moony! You're going to join in this time are you?' Sirius teased.
'Leave that to me.' Said James in answer to Remus's question.
Monday seemed to drag by as though time had been called to a halt. Quidditch training ended in the late hours of the night, then James met up with Sirius outside the castle and they made their way over to Hagrid's cabin.
'Are you sure about this?'
'Is Sirius Black doubting the great James Potter's plan? Of course I'm sure! Honestly! You're starting to sound like Moony!'
They trudged along the grass until they reached the front door. James rapped on the door with the back of his fist, which was followed by shuffling footsteps. Then, the door opened slightly.
' 'O's there?'
'It's James and Sirius, Hagrid.' Said James.
The door was swung open as far as its hinges would permit and in the doorway stood a giant of a man with a slightly whiskery face and eyes that glinted like black beetles.
'James Potter! Bin wond'rin' when I'd see yeh again!'
Hagrid shifted from the doorway and permit them to enter.
' 'lo Hagrid.' Sirius said gruffly, a bit put out because Hagrid had not acknowledged him.
' 'lo ter yeh too, young Sirius!'
They made themselves comfortable onHagrid's sofa while Hagrid busied himself in the kitchen.
'Would yeh like a cup o' tea?' He asked.
'Yes please!' Sirius replied without thinking.
James and Sirius patiently waited as Hagrid made some tea.
'Now, yeh two don' come visitin' me much no more, so what is it yeh want?'
'Hagrid!' Sirius said in an innocent voice that fooled no one, 'why can't we just see an old friend without being accused of -' James elbowed him as a hint to stop talking.
'How are you, Hagrid?' James asked.
Hagrid eyed him suspiciously.
'Fine, jus' fine. So, what do yeh two want?'
'What makes you think we want something, Hagrid?' Sirius asked in the same innocent tone.
'Why else would yeh come ter visit me?' Hagrid asked.
'Well Hagrid,' said James, 'we were just wondering if you'd mind sharing some of your expertise in magical creatures with us.'
'Well, ah,' Hagrid flushed, 'yeh really ought ter be askin' Professor Kettleburn -'
'We don't think Kettleburn would tell us about the type of creatures ^we^ want to know about.' Siriu said with a glint in his eyes.
Hagrid showed an expression of thought.
'What are yeh two up ter?' He asked.
'Nothing -honestly, we're just curios.' Stated Sirius.
'And we know you know it all, Hagrid, Kettleburn only knows the basics.' James made an attempt at buttering Hagrid up.
'Well, I wouldn' go sayin tha' -'
'What can you tell us about the Ballox?' Sirius cut in.
'The -the Ballox?' Hagrid's eyes widened, 'I'll not tell yeh anythin' 'bout tha'!'
'Why not?!' Sirius asked.
'Yeh're not s'posed ter know 'bout 'em!'
'Hagrid,' James said slyly, 'we know a lot of things we're not supposed to.'
It took perhaps twenty minutes for James and Sirius to get Hagrid to tell them as much as he could.
'They're righ' dang'ros, they are -wouldn' come within a mile of 'em. No sir -they eat anythin' they can find, and tha's pretty much everythin', mind yeh, they'll rip yeh ter shreds before yeh realise it's near yeh. but they don' kill yeh see. eat most of yeh while yeh're still alive. it's the pain they cause tha's got most people 'fraid of 'em. can be righ' violen', they can. but don' yeh go huntin fer 'em now, boys, don'. There's not a soul out there who'd be stupid enough to do tha' -'
'What makes you think we'd do that?' Sirius asked with a false tone of hurt.
'It's late, boys, yeh best be goin' -g'night.'
'Night Hagrid.' The boys said in unison as they left his cabin,
They trudged back along the grass towards the castle.
'Somehow, I don't think Dumbledore would approve of us implanting a Ballox in the Slytherin common room -if, by some miracle, we managed to get a hold of one.' Sirius said sarcastically.
'Shut up, Sirius, I'm thinking.'
~
A/N: If you're finding this boring, you have got to let me know. And if there's anything that doesn't make sense to you (which I'm sure there is), just ask, because I'd be happy to answer.
Just like everybody else, I love reviews -so if you want the next chapter (or you don't want the next chapter) review. I love it when people make suggestions.
That's a hint.
Thankyou to my reviewers, especially Sploogal for her detailed (and critical) review.