(Disclaimer; I own, as usual, nothing. *Turns to the Marauders* what do I own?
Remus *obediently* nothing.
James: *rebelliously* nothing.
Sirius:*wickedly* I'm yours if you want me…
Me:*faints*)
James: thanks…!
LauraKay: why thank you. I feel warm and fluffy inside!
Elvencherry07: haven't heard from you either. Hullo again! She might end up with Remus…she might not…guess…
Naoko-san: thanks a lot. Nice to be loved…
To everyone: I will update basically every day until I go back to school, at which point there will be a long and annoying silence. Read my bio to find out why. Also a warning: later, this probably should be R-rated. It just about hovers on the borderline. We'll see what ff.net do if I leave it as PG-13. Also, it will later contains Badly Written Angst. If this offends you like it does my beta, I recommend you stay away. Or at least tell me how to improve it.
It was a week or so after this little incident when the news came; James' parents were going away for the last few weeks of the summer. "They arranged it before all you lot turned up," James explained gleefully, "And of course they can't cancel now." Lily did a dance of joy. "Have you told Rem yet?" Sirius asked.
"Yep; he'll be here as soon as they've gone."
"What about Caz?" queried Lily hopefully.
"No…on holiday in the Bahamas," replied Sirius. Lily sighed; much as she enjoyed Tulah's company, she missed her friends Caz and Anna a lot.
Diary,
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed – three new people at a time was quite enough for me to cope with.
I thought Remus'd be alright though – I seemed to remember him helping me with some History of Magic once, and thinking he was the best out of the Marauders.
That was before I met Sirius, of course.
Just read back through that, and sounds as if…well, as if I like Sirius. And I don't. He's a friend, that's all. Plus he's got Lindsay.
Anyway, I was right about Remus – he's lovely. Blue eyes and blondish hair – like me, the opposite of the rest of them. But he's just as good at pranks, if not better! Here's what happened one gorgeous hot day when we decided to eat outside, and Remus and I volunteered to make the punch…
"Great punch, Remus," Lily complimented, licking the excess from her lips.
Remus smiled his usual sunny smile. "Thank you, thank you. I owe it all to my beautiful assistant."
Tulah took a bow.
Sirius and James, who had been surreptitiously watching Lily drinking her punch to make sure Remus hadn't spiked it, now gulped their own down, satisfied that it was safe.
James immediately turned into a goldfish; Sirius became a small rabbit, which twitched its nose confusedly. James changed back with a small pop, blinked, looked around and seized Remus by the neck.
"It was Tulah!" Remus choked, struggling in his friend's grip.
Tulah fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Who? Me?"
The rabbit, meanwhile, had discovered the jug of punch sitting on the patio. Before either Tulah or Remus could stop it, it had taken an investigative sip.
Sirius reappeared almost at once…but with a difference.
The table exploded with laughter. Sirius frowned. "What?" Tulah pointed a shaking hand at his head; Sirius ran his own hand through his black hair.
When he felt the rabbit ears he got a bit of a shock.
Remus and Tulah were hiding under the table from Sirius, still shuddering with silent laughter.
Remus glanced up and met Tulah's eyes, they both smiled before Tulah whispered. "I hope he gets the ears off,"
"Sirius? He'll probably put them on James instead," Remus joked.
They smiled at each other and then Remus leaned forward to press his lips against hers. When he broke away again, both of them were gasping for breath.
"S-sorry," Remus stuttered, casting his eyes towards his feet. "Just wanted…wanted to try it." He turned and lifted the corner of the tablecloth to leave but Tulah stopped him with a light touch on his sleeve.
"Want to try it again?" she asked shyly.
Sirius, on hearing that Remus and Tulah were together, looked up from his game of chess for just long enough to comment, "You work fast Rem!"
James didn't look up at all; he merely took advantage of the chance to slip Sirius' bishop up his sleeve.
"Right," Sirius announced, "It's nearly term-time…in three days, in fact…and we have to end the holidays with a bang."
"Hear, hear!" shouted Lily and James.
"I propose," Remus said quietly, from where he sat on the sofa with one arm slung around Tulah's shoulders, "That whatever we do this year doesn't involve blowing the roof off again."
Sirius looked crestfallen. "Well, if you're sure…"
James sat up. "We could go up to the point," he suggested. "With some Firewhiskey."
"Not very explosive," Sirius complained.
"No," Lily said thoughtfully, "It's not in our usual style…"
"It's not even a prank," Sirius added in disgust.
"…But it'd be fun," Lily continued, ignoring Sirius as usual.
Sirius glared at her. "You just want to make out with James," he accused. Lily shrugged noncommittally, shooting a wicked glance in James' direction…which he duly returned. Remus' arm tightened fractionally around Tulah's shoulders. "I think it's a good idea," he remarked.
Sirius, outnumbered and the only single person in the room, backed down with a rebellious mutter of, "Bloody boring," and the matter was settled.
That night they went, as planned, to the point. Tulah had never been before…so when, at the top of a huge hill after half an hour's tiring walk, the ground suddenly stopped and gave way to the raging ocean fifty feet below, she let out an involuntary gasp of awe.
"Great, isn't it?" James grinned.
Tulah could only nod.
They lay on the cliff-top watching the sun go down in all its burning glory. James pulled Lily into his arms, and for once she let him; Tulah laid her head silently on Remus' shoulder. Nobody spoke.
Sirius, sitting slightly apart and watching them all together, felt jealousy seeping through his veins. He suddenly craved the pleasure of Lindsay's uncomplicated attentions. It was with some surprise that he realised he was sighing. ::Like a lost lover:: he thought, amused.
"Look!" Tulah exclaimed. "We're leaving Sirius out."
Sirius jumped. "What?"
Everyone had gathered around him. "We're not leaving you out, are we Padfoot?" asked Lily, concerned. James adopted a saintly expression.
"Not lonely, are you Siri-wiri?" he lisped.
Sirius promptly clouted him over the head. James ducked and aimed a blow of his own at Sirius' stomach. Sirius dodged that, and soon one of their famous boxing matches was in full swing. Remus and Lily began to commentate.
"…Nice right hook there from Mr Prongs, but Mr Padfoot's onto him; he blocks that and…he swings…yes…!"
"…And Mr Prongs is down, lovely punch there from Mr Padfoot…"
"…Mr Prongs appears to be winded…but no, he's up…"
"Well, he was…beautifully well-aimed kick, Mr. Padfoot."
Sirius raised his arms in mock triumph. James grabbed him by the ankles and tripped him over.
"Foul!" bellowed Sirius. Lily and Remus consulted each other and came to the conclusion that it had been a draw.
Sirius sulked.
Later, around midnight, James produced a bottle of Firewhiskey.
The first gulp made Tulah's eyes stream and her throat burn painfully. Sirius whacked her hard between the shoulder blades, which only made matters worse.
Remus and James, having managed to finish half the bottle between then, merely lay on the grass laughing weakly and with a touch of hysteria.
"Sirius! Did you have to do that?"
"…ha, ha, ha…"
"Sorry."
"…he, he…look at Tulah!"
"Toolah!"
"Toooooooolah."
"Uh-huh…that's my name."
"Naaaaaame!"
That was Sirius.
"You're not drunk!" Tulah accused.
"Not yet!" He gulped down about a quarter of a bottle in one go, screwed up his face momentarily and swayed slightly. Tulah and Lily looked on with interest; Sirius blinked, made a shuffling step towards them, and fell over. He rolled over onto his back, cackling with laughter. Remus and James joined him.
The two girls surveyed their prostrate friends despairingly. Lily grinned and offered Tulah the remains of the bottle. "Come on…we may as well have some fun."
Tulah opened her eyes cautiously.
She didn't appear to be dead…although her head felt suspiciously tender.
She risked moving it slightly and let out a groan of pain. ::Ok…just don't move, and you'll be fine…::
A hand entered her line of vision, holding a large mug of something fizzy. She grabbed it with both hands and gulped it down; it was foul, but it cleared her head fractionally.
Coughing, she smiled at the person by her bed.
"Better?" asked Remus softly.
Tulah nodded. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
He sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around her.
"Memo to self," she said grimacing. "Never drink Firewhiskey again."
Remus smiled. "Hmm…it does have a bit of a kick to it, doesn't it?" he said, his face buried in her hair.
Tulah snuggled into his chest and raised her lips to his for a good-morning kiss. It was just on the verge of going a little further than intended when there was a loud and meaningful cough from behind them. They sprang apart immediately, much to Sirius' amusement. "Don't let me stop you," he protested amiably. "I just came to say, breakfast's ready, and I wouldn't be late…Lily's not in a very good mood."
He directed an evil grin at Remus and left, sniggering. "Why is Lily cross?" Tulah inquired worriedly.
Remus laughed. "Oh…she was the only sober one last night, so she had to get us all home."
Tulah winced, then they both went reluctantly downstairs to face Lily's wrath.
"Hogwarts letters are here," Lily announced, coming in with the post, her bad mood evaporating. She handed out the letters before opening her own.
As she read, her face turned slowly redder and redder, until it was a deep crimson which clashed horribly with her bright hair. She pressed one hand over her mouth. "I…"
James looked up from his own letter, his face even redder then hers.
"Ladies, Gentlemen and Owls," Sirius announced to the room in general, "I am pleased to verify all rumours that Mr. Prongs and Miss Evans are indeed Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He managed to remain serious for all of ten seconds after his little speech, before collapsing into helpless laughter.
"Snape's just gonna die!"