Chapter 16 The Bet

The first Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, came and went without much fuss. Mur spent most of the game grinning widely. Like last year, Black wouldn't fly anywhere near her, and he missed the bludger once because he was too busy making sure she wasn't in the way. Gryffindor, of course, had the best seeker Hogwarts had seen in years, and although Mur had knocked bludgers at Potter all through the game, he still caught the snitch before the Ravenclaw seeker ever saw it.

The noise from Gryffindor tower got truly obnoxious around 2 am when Sirius let off all the wet-start fireworks he and Remus had purchased from Zonko's the year before. He would have set of James' stash too, but he'd locked his trunk and Sirius couldn't get at them.

Muriel lay in bed, listening to the muffled bangs from the other side of the castle and smiling. 'Black will surely have detention Monday night,' she thought.

She made her way down to breakfast alone. Not surprisingly, most of Gryffindor House came in late. The Hufflepuffs were uncommonly late as well and although Muriel didn't know where their dormitories were, she was sure they were closer to Gryffindor tower than hers.

She sat a little apart from the younger Ravenclaws and cast a wary glance at the Slytherin table. Severus was already standing to leave, and several others got up to follow him. She shook her head. It angered her that he thought she'd bother trying to get him to talk to her in public after he'd ignored her for so long. As she watched, Severus bumped hard into someone in the entrance hall.

Instantly her wand was out and her shield charm cast. Potter's curse was deflected harmlessly toward the upper levels. She flicked her wand at Severus a second time. She watched as he blinked twice, then slowly turned toward her table. But by the time his eyes found her, she was buttering her toast as though nothing had happened.

James, Remus and Peter entered the hall looking extremely tired. They chose seats just behind Muriel, which surprised her. They rarely sat this close to the head table. Professor McGonagal was missing this morning, however, so perhaps they felt it was safer than usual.

"Where's Black?" Mur asked as the boys sat down.

"Still asleep," Remus answered, grinning lopsidedly. He thought it hilarious that she still called him that, considering how long they'd been dating now. "McGonagal had him out on the grounds chasing down his own fireworks all night."

Muriel laughed. "I thought I heard some interesting noises last night. When will he serve that detention?" She laughed again when Potter told her Sirius would have detention the very next day, Monday.

Muriel turned back to her food and was surprised to see that she had been joined at her table by Aurora Youngdahl, a seventh year Hufflepuff who'd never bothered to speak to her before. She raised an eyebrow, unconscious of the fact that Remus and James had both turned in their seats and were giving the pretty blond the same look. Aurora failed to notice this as well.

"So, Muriel," she began, trying to sound friendly. "I hear you're dating Sirius Black." Muriel smirked a bit. Aurora was beautiful, and probably very talented at something. She was not what Muriel considered a powerful witch, and she was definitely abysmal at Occlumency. Muriel knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it. She took a moment to marvel that the girl had only just heard about this.

"Are you here to bet me 50 galleons that he won't want me for more than 3 weeks?" she asked wisely. Actually Aurora had only wanted to bet 10 galleons, but Muriel figured she'd have a little fun. The look on the girl's face was so superior that Muriel could hardly wait to wipe it off. She could feel James and Remus' attention on them, and knew they would help.

"That's right," Aurora said haughtily. "The boy has never stuck with anyone for more than a week. I'll bet you 50 galleons that you don't last TWO weeks." She held out her hand to shake on it and Muriel looked over her shoulder at the Marauders as she took the girl's hand. They were all smirking, even Peter.

As soon as Aurora released her hand and turned to go, Muriel spoke up. "Hey mates, how long have Black and I been dating? Surely it's already above 2 weeks, isn't it?" Aurora turned back slowly, a horrible look on her face. Muriel turned to face her. "We've been seeing each other since last year's Halloween ball, actually." She could feel the panic rising in Aurora, and changed her smirk into a smile. The girl didn't have the money, so she thought she'd better let her off the hook.

She was just about to dismiss the whole thing when Aurora's eyes flashed angrily. "Two MORE weeks, then. I'll bet you 50 galleons you can't keep him over the NEXT two weeks," she hissed.

Muriel could see the plan that was forming in the girl's mind. She had lots of loyal friends who would be happy to throw themselves at Sirius if, in addition to the chance to bed him, they could help Aurora save face on this bet. Muriel blanched a bit. Sirius really had never been good at holding women at bay, and it'd been over a year since he'd done more than kiss anyone. She turned slightly toward the Marauders and saw the worried expression on Remus' face.

Well, here was her chance to find out what the boy was made of. She shook hands with Aurora a second time and watched her walk smartly away. Behind her, she heard Remus swear under his breath. "Oh Remus, don't worry," she said without turning around. "She never said we couldn't warn him."

Muriel sat through Herbology, carefully inspecting the mind of each girl in Hufflepuff. They were frustrated and starting to panic. The two weeks were nearly gone, and Muriel got the impression that Aurora had told them all that they'd have to help her pay the debt if they couldn't at least get Sirius to kiss one of them. Remus had warned him the minute they got to their first class, and Sirius had been careful not to let anyone near him in all that time, including Muriel.

She laughed silently to herself as she remembered the stinging hex he'd cast when she'd taken his hand unexpectedly in the hallway between classes. She wondered how many of Aurora's friends had gotten a similar welcome. Her plant was swaying menacingly in front of her, as if it sensed her distracted state. Professor Lowry had told an interesting tale earlier about how one of these man-eaters had accidentally been left in a muggle florist shop, causing the owner to write a screenplay called "Little Shop of Horrors." Apparently he was one of only a few muggles ever to get past his memory charm well enough to write down his experience. Luckily the movie was far from accurate, and cast in a very humorous light, so no one took it seriously. The ministry never even bothered to go back and put a new memory charm on him!

Muriel held up a rat by it's tail and looked at it carefully. Feeding rats to these plants made her nervous, as Professor Lowry had told her when the plants arrived that he was getting the rats by walking around the dungeons at night casting summoning spells. Mur had been sure to warn Peter right away, but always checked her rat for markings, just in case. Seeing none, she dangled it over the plant in a bored fashion. Two more days and she wouldn't have to worry about this stupid bet anymore.

She was headed back up to Ravenclaw tower when she heard an odd noise coming from an empty classroom. She pushed the door open a crack and stifled a gasp. It was Aurora, being frisked rather passionately by a man with a long black ponytail. She fought back the urge to barge in. That wouldn't do anyone any good. Instead, she stepped silently into the room and reached out with her mind to touch Aurora's. The girl felt nothing but victory, which didn't surprise Muriel at all. If Aurora had actually cared about Sirius, Muriel would certainly have known it before now.

Then she reached out her mind toward Sirius, whose back was to her. Nothing. She raised her wand. "Legilimens," she whispered. The two were making so much noise that they wouldn't have heard her, but the kind of intrusion she'd just caused was far worse than a little noise.

Muriel was thrown backward as he pushed her forcefully out of his mind, the spell breaking. He fumbled for his wand, swearing vehemently, but it was too late, she had seen enough. "Petrificus totalus," she gasped, raising herself quickly from the floor. He fell over backward, landing with a satisfying thud. Muriel matched her grin to Aurora's, causing the blond girl's smile to falter.

"Brilliant." Muriel said coldly to the still body on the floor. "You got wind of the bet and thought you'd take advantage of it to make a fool out of me. Merlin knows you're capable of the potion. I've never seen you make it, but you were a fully qualified Potions Master by 5th year, so it wouldn't have been hard." She was standing over the immobile man now, intent on getting to say her piece. She didn't look up until she heard the door creak.

"Accio Aurora," she said forcefully, pointing her wand at the door. The girl came flying back into the room and Muriel stepped out of the way, letting her sail hard into the wall. She let out an "oomph," of surprise and fell to the floor.

"Don't you want to see who you were kissing, Youngdahl?" Muriel's voice was angry and her eyes narrowed. Aurora, though she didn't understand yet, remained silent. "It won't take more than an hour of your time," she said, rooting around in his robes and pulling out a flask, which she emptied with her wand and placed back in his pocket. After a few minutes Muriel heard several voices calling her name. She smiled at Aurora, who hadn't moved. "That will be the marauders I think." She looked at the still body in front of her and added, "All of them."

"I'm in here!" she called when they got close enough. Sirius sprinted through the door and caught her in a hug as Aurora's mouth fell open.

"Are you alright?" he asked breathlessly, before he noticed himself, lying on the floor. "What's going on?" James, Remus, and Peter banged through the door, looking worried.

"Don't worry, boys, it's all under control." Muriel turned back to Aurora and the other Sirius, who was just beginning to move again. "Accio wands," she said. Their wands flew into her hand. Then she conjured manacles and quickly snapped them onto the unresisting forms.

"Aurora, you can have your wand back when you arrive in the Great Hall for tonight's Halloween feast chained to the boy you were so anxious to kiss. And you," she turned back to the now squirming form on the floor. "You can have your wand back when you ask me for it."