Chapter 8: Secrets and Hidden Feelings
Moony's Story
Well, at least it didn't take me two months, right? Two WEEKS, perhaps, but not two MONTHS. Yeah. Thanks a lot for the reviews! Here's the eighth chapter.
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I sat, frozen, on the bed for a moment. Then I realized Sami had run off.
"Sami!" With a strangled cry, I leaped up from the bed and sprinted after her
"Well, really!" I heard Madam Pomfrey cry as I dashed past her. "I still need to look at you, you know! You can't just leave!" I ignored her.
I burst through the doorway and into the corridor, looking left and right for a sign of Sami. Luckily, everyone was eating dinner in the Great Hall, so I didn't need to search through a crowd of students. I saw Sami's curly brown head almost at the end of the corridor on my left.
"Sami, wait!" I yelled desperately as I tore after her. Sam's head turned for a second, and I could see that her face was tear-streaked. Then she ran on, faster than ever. She turned right. I reached the cross-section a few seconds later and turned right, too.
"Please, stop! I need to talk to you!" I shouted. This time Sami didn't turn back, but I could see her shaking her head furiously as she ran.
Why wouldn't she talk to me? Sure, you didn't meet a student Animagus every day (was it even legal?) but it wasn't something you needed to hide. It wasn't dangerous for other people to know…was it? Maybe Sami did have something to be scared of. But so did I! She couldn't honestly believe she was the only one with secrets.
'Well,' I thought, 'If she won't stop herself, I'll make her…'
I fumbled with my robes for my wand. My fingers touched wood, and I pulled it out, pointed it at Sami's back, and whispered "Impedimenta!"
Nothing happened at all—in my haste to stop Sami in her tracks, I had completely forgotten about my inaptitude with magic.
I moaned. For once, why couldn't I be a normal witch? Why did I have to be so much like a Squib?
I decided to try again. "Impedimenta!" I said nervously, trying not to trip over my own two feet. Sami was starting to get so much of a lead that I was going to lose her. She was about to turn another corner, and I wasn't even halfway down the corridor yet.
Again, absolutely nothing happened. I am such a complete failure. I had seen fourth years perform this spell successfully, and here I was in my seventh year, about to graduate, struggling to do the Impediment Jinx.
I would try one last time. "IMPEDIMENTA!" I roared. I was thrilled when a beam of light shot out of my wand—
Except that it came out of the wrong end.
I was blasted off my feet in a shower of red sparks and landed some six feet away on my back. The pain made my eyes water and knocked all the air clear out of my lungs. I struggled violently to move, but it was hopeless. I had finally successfully performed the Impediment Jinx- on myself.
I am such a complete and utter failure!
Slowly, the spell began to wear off. After about 30 seconds, I was able to raise my head. Sami had disappeared. Well, I hadn't really expected her to hang around and wait for me.
Curse me and my clumsiness!
I impatiently waited until I had regained use of my legs, then, moaning, scrambled upwards and ran to the end of the corridor. It was then that I realized I had no clue which way Sami had gone.
Double curse me and my clumsiness!
I had to think, but my mind was swirling and I couldn't imagine where she had gone. For a second I was scared that maybe she had run to the Ravenclaw common room—there was no way I'd be able to get in there, I didn't even know where it was! But no, Sami was too smart to go there when she knew I was following her. She'd lead me right to it, plus I'd see her use the password.
Where did girls go when they were upset? Think…I really should know this, considering I'm a girl myself…
Then it hit me.
The Bathroom!
Girls were always going to the bathroom—to get out of class, to fix hair and makeup, to meet friends and talk. Surely they went there to cry as well. I immediately set off for the nearest bathroom, which was a floor away.
A hidden passageway and two trick staircases later, I found a girl's toilet. I was panting and gasping for breath, but I (hopelessly, but it was worth a try) smoothed my hair and pushed the door open.
I heard a gasp, and then a hushed silence filled the room. It was kind of creepy.
"Sami?" I whispered. I felt it was necessary to be quiet. However, I felt the word echo throughout the room and I winced.
A soft sobbing was coming from one of the stalls. I crept gingerly across the floor until I found the cubicle that I was sure Sami was in. Yes, this was it—the sound was coming directly from it, and I could see a pair of shoes under the door."Sami, please, talk to me," I said quietly. Sami didn't answer, but the sobs slowly died away into silence. It was so quiet I could hear my heart beating.
Gathering my courage, I pushed the door open.
Sami, to put it shortly, was a mess. Her hair was tangled from running so hard, and her makeup was running from her tears. Black mascara and eyeliner were smeared across her face as well as her hands, where she had rubbed at her eyes.
Suddenly, I didn't know what to say. Was I supposed to apologize? I hadn't done anything, Sami had blurted out herself that she was an animagus. It wasn't as if I forced her to tell me.
She was probably scared that I would spread her secret, though. I mean, if I was the only one who knew besides her dead Grandpa and Dumbledore, it had to be a pretty big deal.
"Sami?" I began. "Listen, it's okay. I won't tell anyone your secret, I promise."
Sami sniffed, then fixed me with a steely glare.
"Why would you keep my secrets? You hate me!"
I was shocked, and I was sure she could read it on my face.
"Wha—?"
"Oh, don't pretend. I noticed how hostile you were around me in Transfiguration. You wouldn't even look at me—I could tell you wanted to get away from me as soon as possible. I don't what I did to annoy you so much, but you really don't understand how important this is—if the information that I'm an animagus falls into the wrong hands, I'll be dead by the next day."
I stared at her. Tears were still running down her face, and I felt a horrible, bubbling emotion in the pit of my stomach: shame.
Why had I judged her so? She was a wonderful person, and I had treated her as if she was trying to steal Remus away from me on purpose. Now I realized Sami would and could never do such a thing. Remus liked her for the right reasons—her wit, her intelligence, her kindness. Why had it even occurred to me that Remus would develop a crush on someone only for their looks? I wanted to pinch myself.
And I did.
"Ow!" I exclaimed. I hadn't meant to pinch myself that hard.
Sami's mouth twitched, but she didn't smile. I squatted down onto my knees so that I was eye to eye with her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said sadly. "I have been horrible to you, haven't I?"
Sami's eyes grew round and she looked at me hard. Seeing the tears glistening on her cheeks made me want to cry, too.
"You've got to understand," she murmured, "What a big deal this really is. Lives are on the line, here, Mara. My being an animagus…it's helping us fight Voldemort. Please, please don't tell anyone."
"You're fighting Voldemort?" I gasped excitedly. Sami nodded. Without warning, I threw my arms around her. Sami froze for a second, then hugged me back.
"I swear to Merlin I won't tell a soul," I promised. "I don't have anyone to tell, anyway." Sami giggled. "Besides, I have a secret too, and it makes it very important to me that Voldemort is destroyed as soon as possible."
As if we had decided it beforehand, Sami and I both stood up.
"Let's go get something to eat," Sami suggested. "It's getting late. And I still need to go back and see if Lily's awake; I haven't talked to her all day."
"Okay," I agreed. "Do you know what's wrong with her, by the way?"
"It's just the flu," said Sami confidently. "She'll be better by tomorrow, what with all the potions Madam Pomfrey's been giving her. She's just a little tired. Overwork."
I smiled inwardly. 'You're telling me,' I thought.
Sami and I left the bathroom and headed in the direction of the Great Hall.
"You know he reason I acted so bitter towards you?" I said thoughtfully. "And don't laugh." Sami looked sideways at me and grinned.
"I won't. Shoot."
I blushed. "The guy I like has a crush on you."
Sami stopped short and I almost tripped in my haste to stop too.
"Who?"
Now my face was bright red.
"Come on," Sami demanded. "Tell."
"Promise not to tell anyone—especially not Lily."
"It's a promise."
I looked furtively left and right, but of course the hallways were deserted.
"Remus Lupin."
Sami broke into a smile.
"He's a nice guy," she commented. "Cute, too. You have good taste." I grinned foolishly.
"But I'm in love with his best friend," continued Sami wistfully.
"James?" I asked incredulously.
"No," Sami laughed. "Sirius."
I stopped myself from blurting that he liked her too. She'd figure it out on her own, and they'd be a great couple.
"So," Sami asked teasingly. "Was that your secret?"
I paused. How much should I tell her? "No," I replied. "But it was one of them." We both laughed.
I lowered my voice so that Sami had to lean in to hear me.
"If it isn't too much trouble…do you think that sometime…I could see you in your Animagus form?" Sami stepped back quickly and looked at the floor, and I immediately regretted saying anything.
"Can you see the Owlrey from your dormitory?" she asked finally. I nodded. "Good. I go there every morning at six o' clock to stretch my wings. Watch for me."
I held my hand out.
"Friends?" I asked hopefully.
"Friends," Sami replied, and she shook my hand. Together we walked into the Great Hall.
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I realize that not much really happened in this chapter, but hopefully you weren't completely bored, lol. In the next chapter, we'll actually have the beginnings of -gasp- romance! Yay!
BlackLupin: Oh, don't worry, there will be some romance soon! Thanks for the review, and the suggestion to send out an email to alert people that I'd updated. I hope you update SftP soon!
BlackKat99: Hoorah, I got to read another two chapters of your fic! I hope you got my review—your fic is awesome, and I can't wait to catch up on the rest. Thanks for the awesome review, it was very flattering :D
Smiley-Freak :D, DaemonoftheLyre: Thanks a lot for your awesome reviews. Hope you liked this chapter!
Snuffles2984: Thanks for being so faithful with your reviews, it means a lot. I'm sorry I haven't finished your fic yet, hopefully I'll be able to soon!
shadows13: You're also very loyal with your reviews. A million thanks! And I'm so glad you sent your story to me, it's fantastic.
LightningCleave: Hope you enjoyed your ice cream, lol
-Padfoot-Dreamer-