Disclaimer: I do own Harry Potter!! I do! I do…not.
Natural_Blue: *reels `em in* :-P
ping*pong5: …You give me leave to take as long as I need too? You really ARE insane!!!!
Lara Potter: Carpe Diem is Latin for Seize the Day. *joins in on the update dance before realizing she should be writing*
hpdancer92: Yes, you haven't reviewed in a while…you hurt my feelings :'(
TheLaguna: Ah yes…I definitely need luck…to avoid getting attacked by insane reviewers…and their "friends" *coughMelcough*
Mel: Um…sure. Whatever you say, Mel dear. J
jandl: Alright. I'm back to one month. Which is normal. :-P
Atlanta-avalon1.1: Holy cow?! Where?! Poor cow…
spirit: Aww…thankies for reading, Ritkins. Now…READ THE REST OF IT!!!!!!! ^-^
BabyGirl514: You know, if you light my house on fire while I'm sleeping, I guarantee you the smoke alarm wouldn't wake me up and I would die. So…no more story anyways. :-P
Somuchtosay: Sly baby, you can't have Marauders without Snape bashing. But I'll try to keep it down…a little. For you.
cornish-pixy: No h/g. h/g icky. h/hr. g/d.
Carpe Diem
The day after the Gryffindor attack on the Slytherins, Remus was released from the Hospital Wing. To his disappointment, his friends hadn't come to meet him.
When he arrived in the common room it was empty besides a few first and second years. Of course, he thought, today is a Hogsmeade trip…but the carriages don't leave fro half an hour. He hurried up to the dorm, hoping to find his friends getting ready.
Remus opened the door and immediately got hit with a pillow. "Remus!" exclaimed two anxious voices, though one of them was rather muffled. James was sitting in the middle of the room on top of a moving pile of blankets and pillows that seemed to contain Sirius. Across the room Harry was just rolling out of bed and the curtains to Ron's bed were still closed. Soft snoring was coming from Peter's bed.
James suddenly flew forward and Sirius lunged from the pile. Standing up, he grinned at Remus, and then suddenly pouted. "You were supposed to wait for us to come get you, Remmy. We were gonna surprise you."
"Uh…sorry Sirius, but I just couldn't wait to get out from under Madame Pomfrey. I think I see more than enough of her normally." Said Remus, grinning.
"Welcome back, Remus," Harry said through a yawn, walking towards Ron's bed. He pulled open the curtains and Ron groaned as the light hit him then rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head. Harry pulled the pillow away from his and poked him hard on the back. "Get up Ron. We have to meet Hermione and Ron, or they'll have your head."
"Alright, alright…. wait! Why just my head?" Ron asked.
Harry grinned mischievously. "Because I'll make sure they know it was your fault."
Remus laughed. They really do seem like James and Sirius. He frowned, his thoughts being brought back to something he had been pondering. Why do they look at Sirius and James like they've seen a ghost? And why do they always glare at Peter…What could possibly happen in the future to— Remus was knocked out of his thoughts when another pillow hit him full in the face.
"Remus, get in here and get ready, or t least close the door so the rest of us can get dressed!" Remus sighed and closed the door, giving up on the problem for now.
~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione woke up early that morning. She quickly dressed and went down to the common room to wait for the others to be ready. She had been waiting about half an hour when a girlish giggle caught her attention. Looking over she saw the future Mr. And Mrs. Longbottom sitting on the couch and felt a pang of sorrow.
It was so sad to know what would happen to them. To know what would become of them and their son…Hermione had to bite back a sob at the thought Neville. He had been hurt defending Hermione…knocked unconscious…and it was unclear whether he would ever wake up.
Harry and Ron came down the stairs to the boys' dormitories and she stood up to meet them. She tried to smile, but they knew her too well.
"What's wrong, Hermione?"
"Are you alright?"
Hermione nodded and looked at the ground. "Let's go get some breakfast before we leave." The future was a sad place.
~*~*~*~*~*
Draco Malfoy sat in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. Well…pretending to eat breakfast, anyways. He was actually watching a certain redhead at the Gryffindor table.
Try as he might, he couldn't get Ginny Weasley out of his head. Why did he continue to help her? He didn't really care about what happened to her…but, if he didn't care, why did he do things like save her from a curse, and even his own father? She seemed so fragile…defenseless. Draco knew better, of course, having had personal experience with her Bat Bogey Hex, but something about her made him want to protect her…. Draco wasn't blind and could see that she had become quite an attractive young woman, but he also knew very well what lust felt like, and this wasn't it. Besides…he couldn't be attracted to a Weasley.
Suddenly disturbed at the turn his thoughts had taken, Draco instead focused on mutilating his pancakes.
~*~*~*~*~*
The Three Broomsticks was packed with Hogwarts students at noon that day. Arabella had to fight her way through the crowd to get inside the place, and even then she couldn't find a table. After five minutes of being pushed around by the crowd, Arabella had nearly given up and left when she heard someone calling her name. Making her way over to the voice, Arabella found Sirius Black sitting in a corner with a table all to his self.
When she sat down he asked, "Where's Lily?"
Bella looked at him in surprise. "She went to meet James, didn't you know?"
Sirius frowned, then sighed. "James told me he forgot something somewhere and to go on without him." He chuckled a little. "I do believe I've been ditched."
"I know how you feel…ever since James and Lily started going out I feel like she's spending more time with him than she is with me. I guess I shouldn't complain, though. I was the one that made her go on a date with him. I honestly didn't think anything would actually happen between them, though. I just thought he might leave her alone if she went on a date with him."
"James has been in love with Lily for years. I should be happy for him…but I feel like I'm losing my best friend." Sirius added.
"Where are Remus and Peter?"
"They went to Honeydukes, then they're going to Zonkos."
"So its just us, then…" Arabella sighed again.
Sirius picked up his mug. "To us," he said, clanking it against her mug, then took a giant gulp.
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ok…that's all for now, folks. Review! And if you have any ideas, tell me and I'll consider them if they fit in with my plot (which is very broad at the moment). If they don't then…thanks anyways.