Notes: This is another boring chapter. Oh dear… the story is boring even me! I can't think of anything fun to do. Well, next chapter will include lots of picking on Snape… heh heh…
YEAR THREE: PEAR PRESSURE
Page One: Fall (Aka: Femmie Star)
Peter was literally rolling on the floor when Remus entered the train compartment. His face was scrunched into the quintessential map of laughter and his feet were kicking at the air. "OOOOOOOOOHHHH!" he squealed delightedly, and then jumped up to greet his friend. "Remmie, you'll never guess what I found out!" he snorted and then plopped down onto one of the seats and began to laugh loudly again.
"What?" Remus sat down, his nearly golden eyes widening in curiosity.
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Peter held out a book that had been previously clutched in his fingers. "L-look at this!"
The werewolf turned his attention to the page while tucking up his legs on the seat next to him. "Where?"
"Halfway down the first page."
Remus' fingers skimmed along the words until he came to the ones that Peter seemed to be talking about. Almost without knowing, he began to read softly out loud. "Along with the current theory of magical replacement, a Muggle Egyptologist came up with another surprisingly good suggestion. The shafts, though too narrow for a human body, could be considered a crawlspace for the human soul. As one opening points to the stars of Orion's belt, the pharaoh's soul could easily slide up the shaft and be 'launched' into the stars to take his place among the gods. Orion was, at the time, compared to Osiris, the god of the dead which the pharaoh became after his own death. The mystery, though, was the other shaft." Remus looked up. "Peter, I don't see what's so funny."
"Oh keep reading. You'll see." Peter smirked delightedly. Just then, James and Sirius both barged into the room, singing raucously. A scowl from Remus (who wasn't feeling too happy due to the approaching full moon) and a shout from Peter shut both of them up, and they sat down, both grinning.
"The mystery, though, was the other shaft. It pointed towards Sirius, the Dog Star. Though in the day of the ancient Egyptians it was considered the star of Isis, Osiris' consort." Remus shot a look at Sirius, who made a face and then quickly turned his attention back to the book. A blush crept up his cheeks. "Ahem…. Let's see… Therefore the shaft could have been considered a launch pad for the queen's soul. Then, in the afterlife, she could join in the star of all women." Remus stopped again and then suddenly started laughing. "The star of all women?"
Sirius frowned. "What? I am not the star of all women!"
"You're a femmie star!" James crowed delightedly. "Femmie Sirius!" This earned him a heartfelt glare from his companion.
Peter was giggling uncontrollably, his freckles nearly disappearing under the flushed red of his face. "Ah! Ah! Femmie Star!" He pointed at Sirius with eyes streaming with mirthful tears. "Oh, Sirius… that's your new nickname!"
"ARG!" Sirius clutched his head in his hands. "I am not a femmie star! I'm the Dog Fucking Star!"
Wrong choice of words.
The other three boys burst into new cascades of laughter, Remus leading the lot. For some reason, everything that Sirius said took on a high hilarity in his opinion. During the months that they had been on vacation, he had cracked up at every single letter sent by his dear friend. He had also found himself folding the letters and keeping them stored between the pages of his favorite books. At first, he had been a little frightened- fearing that he was actually Fond of his best friend, but then he had managed to convince himself that it was just that he wanted to laugh at the letters again some time. Besides, he had kept letters in the past- particularly when one or both of his parents would visit foreign countries and send him postcards.
Slowly, the laugh subsided and Remus was left with the warm afterglow of mirth. He turned his amber gaze towards Sirius and watched him, a bit of previously absent shyness wiggling in his stomach. The other boy had certainly changed over the summer.
Sirius' hair had grown out until it was now past his shoulders. He had tucked it back into a small tail at the back of his head that curled under delightfully. His eyes, though still the same blue, seemed to have gotten brighter. And his skin which was (before school let out) the normal pink, had bronzed under the sun. His hands and feet had gotten larger- a fact which made him look almost puppyish. Remus loved it.
"Say, Rem- what extra classes are you taking this year?" James leaned out over the open space of the compartment.
"Arithmancy and-" Remus' face scrunched up "I think Divination."
Sirius looked disappointed. "Not Care of Magical Creatures? Aw, Remmie… don't leave me with these buggers." He gestured towards James and Peter who both glared back at him.
"Who's a bugger, Femmie Star?" James growled.
"Thanks a lot for your friendship, Sirius Brat," Peter pouted.
The door to the compartment banged open and Lily bounded in. "Hey, guys! Guess what I did over the summer!!" She looked so pleased that it was almost sickening.
"What?" James asked, leaning back and crossing his legs.
"I went to China!!!"
"Big deal," snorted Sirius who was plainly envious.
"Shut up, dogface. Look!" Lily displayed her wrists which both had slim jade bracelets on them. "My mum got these for me when we went to the Great Wall… even Petty liked it!" She smiled. "My whole family was so happy, and then this old guy taught me a new spell! I have to show you, it's soooo cool!" Without waiting for a response, she pulled out her wand and chanted a quick incantation in what sounded like Chinese. Instantly, a small tree grew from the floor and burst into blossom overhead. Petals swirled down and then the apparition was gone. "Cool, huh?" Lily beamed.
"Wow!" Peter cried, his eyes shining. "Do it again!"
"Yeah, it was hard to see when it went that fast," Remus added.
Lily obliged and then made a face. "Sorry it's so fast. I haven't been able to practice that much, but when I get good at it, I'll be able to hold the tree there for much longer." She grinned at James. "Whaddya think, Potter?"
James shrugged and tried not to look jealous. "I think it's a useless spell."
"Oh and transforming a mouse into a teacup is?" Lily frowned. "Come on, James, it was cool and you know it."
"Fine, fine! It was cool. Now go away. No girls allowed!" Childishly, James stuck out his tongue.
"Then we should kick Sirius out, too," Peter giggled.
"Hey! Don't bring that up!" Sirius cried, his voice cracking in the middle. Everyone, including himself, began to laugh at that.
"Thanks for showing us that, Lil." Remus smiled brightly. "You have to teach me how to do it sometime, okay?"
Lily nodded, leaned over and smacked James on the head, and then flounced out, grinning like her face was going to crack.
"Geez, James, that was mean," Sirius commented, examining his fingernails.
"Eh, she deserved it. Little witch has been calling me all summer." His voice rose to imitate a female's. " 'James, why don't you come see me sometime?' 'James, let's go to Diagon Alley together to get supplies!' 'James, why don't you ever call me?'" He scrubbed at his hair. "It's James James James, all the time! I can't take it!"
"She called you from China?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
"Hell yeah. She called me almost every fucking DAY."
"Oooo!" Sirius grinned. "Someone has a cruuush on Jaaaaames!"
"Eeeeehhh??" The usually calm boy's face went bright red. "She does not!! She's just annoying, that's all!" Before Sirius could reply, he stood up and stomped his foot. "I'm going to the restroom. Don't get into trouble without telling me." And with that, he marched out.
"I think someone is in denial." Sirius commented.
"Isn't that a river in Egypt?" Peter grinned. "Under your star… Isis?"
"ARRRGG!!"
~ * ~
The next two weeks seemed to go by smoothly enough (barring, of course, Remus' early September werewolf) and soon enough the leaves on the trees started to change. Fall happened to be one of Remus' favorite seasons and he found himself in a good mood most of the time. And he was certainly on the top of one of these moods when he walked in on Sirius dancing in the dorm room that Friday.
Some traditional Irish song had been fiddled with by one of Sirius' favorite bands and now it had quite a lot of bass and rhythm added in. The vocals were high and flute-y, reminding Remus of the actual topography of Ireland.
He had lived there about five years ago with his parents and missed it dearly. Near their house there had been a beautiful stream, overhung with willows and reeds and sporting little nooks that were perfect for curling up in and dreaming or reading… One man had actually taken up a particular spot for playing the flute every morning. At first, he had been merely good, but after a while, his music began to show the wild, dreamy nature of the land around. Remus had always scrambled out of bed early enough to shove on his little black boots and his overly large red sweater so that he could sit by the flutist and listen. Sometimes he remembered crying at the sheer beauty of the melody.
Sirius suddenly noticed Remus standing in the doorway. "Hey, Moonchild- wanna dance?" He held out his hand to his companion. "Come with me…" And he dragged Remus into a strange dance that had no set steps or movements, but simply wove in and out of the music like spirits in the fog.
Remus was not comfortable in the beginning, his heart was beating too fast, trying to figure out the nonexistent rules of the dance. But after a while, he began to feel Sirius' movements even before they came, and he complemented them with his own. They moved around the room, touching at the fingers, eyes smiling and bodies sweating. It was beauty beyond anything that Remus had ever known- the kind of beauty that breaks your heart and then puts it back together again. He wanted to cry like he had for the man with the flute, but he was moving too fast and was too much involved in Sirius to even bother.
Suddenly, all too soon, the music stopped. Sirius, as well, ceased to dance, but, surprisingly, pulled the shorter boy to him and held him against his chest. Remus was startled, but soon forgot to be wary in his delight. His super sensitive nose pressed up against his friend's shirt and he inhaled the scent that was uniquely Sirius.
"Remus, it's a beautiful day."
The werewolf nodded, his sensitive ears picking up the sound of Sirius' heartbeat.
"Um, Remmie? There's something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
Sirius disengaged himself from the embrace and walked over to Remus' bed, plopping himself down. He tucked his legs up underneath his body and smiled serenely at his companion. "Come, sit," he said, patting the bed. Obligingly, Remus did as he was told and Sirius's smile widened. "I wanted to ask you… about my animagus form."
"Um… okay." Remus nibbled on his lip. "What about it?"
"I want to try for a cat. Like a large cat- ocelot or cheetah or something. Do you think that would be okay?"
"Well, Siri- it's your form. You have to live with it for … er… however long." Remus gave him half a smile.
"I was also thinking that a large cat might be a little noticeable. Like- maybe I should go for a rather large house cat?"
"Sirius- I know this is kind of a weird question- but why not a dog? I mean, you being the Dog Star and all."
The dark haired boy snorted. "According to Peter, I'm still the Femmie Star."
"Oh, come on," Remus laughed. "It's just a joke. Besides, I'm more feminine than you are."
"That's true." Sirius grinned. "Femmie Remmie."
"Ha ha."
"So you think I should be a dog? I was actually thinking about it, but I thought that maybe that would threaten the wolf's territory. So that's why I thought cat." Sirius shrugged. "Then again, there is the Animagus spell that allows you to turn into the animal that is best suited for you. But you don't know beforehand what that is. That's the only problem."
"What's James going to do?"
"He's going to try the best suited one. Peter's already decided on a form that he likes."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Can't say. It's a surprise."
The two were silent for a moment, then Remus shifted a little. "I'd…" he began, then paused, blushing.
"Hm?"
"Nothing."
"No, tell me."
The blush spread across Remus' cheeks and to his ears, turning them a bright pink even to the tips. "I want you to try the one that is best suited to you."
Sirius turned away but Remus could see the matching blush on his friend's face. "Remmie, I-"
Just then, James stepped into the room. His face was alight with something akin to mad intensity. "Play Quidditch!" he yelled, and then raced out of the room. Sirius and Remus sat on the bed, blinking. In less than fifteen seconds, James' head was once again in the room. "Come on! Play!" Then he dodged out again.
Sirius glanced at Remus and then ran out of the room, yelling, "I call Seeker!!!"
To be Continued
Notes: Ar ar ar…. Maybe I'll put a Quidditch game in the next chapter to liven it up. Any other ideas?
Special Thanks to:
Malfoyslova15- ^_^ I will take that as a compliment! I know there are very few pairings that I read about that I hate the pairing but like the story… I'm glad you enjoyed it. In fact, I read this really great Hiei/ Kuwabara story…. Okay, that's off topic. But anyway, yay!
Sierra Sitruc- Yay! I'm glad you liked it. I liked adding the Potions class in and all… and Lily! Yay! I'm starting to really like her a lot- if you've ever read LunaDeath's stories- she's got the most adorable Lily EVER. I'm totally in love with her!
Juniper Holly- Heh… maybe I write like that 'cause I like to read stories like that. I've had enough angst in my real life to put my dear babies through too much. So they get fluff. Muwa ha ha! Fluff!!!! Er… I should really go to bed… lol!
Killer of Gold Fish- O_O Don't kill the goldfish! Unless they are yummy goldfish… *licks lips* Yeah, Snape will be in the next chapter, I promise. Maybe he can play Quidditch, too? And the guys can play a prank on him after the game or before it? Hee hee! Maybe he can get all snuggly with one of the guys, too… hee hee…
Wolfqueen821- o_O My roommate is making some odd noises over there… I'm really glad you like the story. Personally, I'm finding it horribly boring… *cries*
Scrat- Remus is one of my favorites, too! Him and Sirius and Hermione and Draco and Harry and Snape and… oh hell, I love them all. Even Voldie is fun at times. Though I have to say I'm not that fond of poor Ginny. Lol! Poor thing…
Killing-dance- Heh heh! Peter the rat… I think I am going to have him attempt to be a different animal and then end up a rat or something. I'm really glad you like this story!
Kioko Mitsu- Well, here is the next part! And I am glad that my stories make you feel warm! I'm usually freezing my ass off when I'm writing them, as I sit right next to the air conditioner. …. And my roommate is really making strange noises…. Maybe I should wake her up.. o_O
Dark Peppermint- I still LOVE your pen name! And they will eventually be more than 'good friends' muwa ha ha ha ha…
Vanyel Ashkevron- Heh heh… Mercedes Lackey fan? ^_~ Yay! I'm so glad you like it! I really enjoy it when people get enthusiastic about my stories… *heart* It makes me fell good. Yay!