Disclaimer: I don't own James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Snape, Malfoy, or any
of JK Rowling's other characters. I do, however, own Carmen Willows, Morgan
Fay, and all of the teachers that I made up.
Dedication: This chapter is in loving memory of the person who died in book 5. I love you!
Okay, sorry it's been so long. Book 5 came out and then my computer wasn't working, but here it is now. I hope you like it!
THE RAIN ALWAYS FALLS
Chapter 10: A Mysterious Disappearance
The next morning in the common room, the six of them were in their usual armchairs. Carmen was doing extra homework ("Will you ever stop reading?" Sirius commented) while everyone else was merrily chatting.
"It worked perfectly. You should have been there, Moony. I bet they're still hanging upside down," Sirius was telling them.
"We better get downstairs," James told the five of them. "Classes start in an hour." Everyone grabbed their bags and began for the Great Hall.
'It was rather funny,' Carmen thought to herself, thinking about their red and gold hair. Then she felt a little guilty, remembering Lucius and how nice he had been to her on their first day back. 'Well, there's nothing wrong with him. He had never done me any harm. It was rather immature.' She told this to Sirius.
"Well, I bet you weren't thinking that when you were hanging onto the statue of Candyce the Confused trying not to collapse with laughter," he said.
"As funny as it was, it still wasn't very nice," she told him.
"Who cares? They're Slytherins. You know, last year, they turned all of our robes pink. They're not very nice, come to think of it."
"Well, if they're 'just Slytherins,' you can think of me as 'just a prefect' who, by the way, can take points away from houses if she finds anyone doing magic in the corridors," she spoke scathingly.
"You're right," he said immediately. "It wasn't very nice at all. Very immature, indeed." He shook his head vigorously and smiling hopefully. By this time, they were in the Entrance Hall, just outside of the Great Hall. Carmen spotted Lucius coming out from a dark corridor to the right.
"I'll be right back," Carmen told the others.
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, but then he saw Malfoy. Heat began to rise in his face as she gracefully walked over to him. He entered the Great Hall without another word.
"Hi, Lucius," Carmen said.
"Hello," he said rather stiffly. She noticed that he hat quite a large hat on, probably covering his hair sporting the Gryffindor colors.
"Look, I'm really sorry for what Sirius and James did yesterday. It was very childish, and I really don't approve of that sort of thing," she told him. To her surprise, he gave her a small smile.
"Thanks," he said.
"By the way, you have a little - ," she brushed her own hair away from her forehead. Lucius had a small strand of red sticking out of his hat.
"Thanks," he said again, hastily stuffing it back inside the elastic of the hat.
"Well, I'll see you later," she waved and entered the hall. Sitting down across from Sirius, she caught his eye, but he hurriedly looked at his plate.
*******************
That afternoon, Morgan was sitting alone in Muggle Studies, looking a little impatient. She bounced her leg up and down beneath her desk. Three minutes before class began, Professor Kerk asked her to approach his desk. She got up and walked briskly to him, wringing her hands.
"Miss Fay, I'm very surprised about the quality of your essay on the muggle space program," he began. She had asked to turn it in early in hopes of learning her grade sooner.
"Was - was it alright?" she asked hopefully.
"It was one of the best essays that I have ever seen written on the subject. I'm very impressed. You've really seemed to have found your strength. Keep up the good work." He gave her roll of parchment that was her report back to her and continued working. She went back to her desk feeling that a balloon was swelling inside of her. She looked down at her paper to see an A+ written across the top. She turned to show Remus her accomplishment and to thank him, but - he wasn't there.
'Oh,' she remembered, 'he's not here. I'll just show him later.' She shrugged, looking a little put out, as the lesson began.
*************************
That night at dinner, Lily, Morgan and Carmen were sitting together in the Great Hall. "So, what do we have to do tonight?" Lily asked.
"We have astronomy in the West Tower at eleven. We're supposed to be able to see Saturn tonight," Carmen explained with pleasure. "Wait, something's wrong." She looked up and down the table. "Where's the comment, 'You like class too much,' or, 'Don't you care about anything but school?' Where's Sirius? And James and Remus?"
"Remus is visiting a sick aunt, but I don't know where Sirius and James went," Morgan told them, looking around the hall.
"Strange," said Lily. "Wonder where they could be?"
"Oh, that reminds me," Morgan began. "Carmen, I wanted to ask you. What's going on between you and Sirius?"
"What?" Carmen asked, a little too quickly.
"What's going on between you and Sirius?" she repeated politely.
"Nothing is going on. Why would you ask that?"
"Because it's so obvious that you like him." Lily now had joined the conversation. "And he eyes you during practically every class. You haven't noticed that?"
"And did you see him at breakfast this morning after you talked to Malfoy?" Morgan asked. "He was positively jealous!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Carmen said, going slightly red in the face. "There is nothing 'going on' with me and Sirius. So, how's quiditch practice going?"
**********************
"Ouch! Stop stepping on me!" James hissed.
"Sorry, but it's kind of hard to see your foot when it's invisible," Sirius whispered back. The two of them were under James' invisibility cloak. He had inherited it from his father, and it was his most essential piece of rule-breaking equipment that he owned, except perhaps for the Marauder's Map, something of their own creation.
"All clear," James said, taking the map out from underneath the cloak for one brief second. "Where's Wormtail?"
"He's meeting us out there. Said he could get there without our help." By this time, they had made their way onto the grounds. "There's Peter." A small brown rat was sitting on a large rock safely away from the Womping Willow. They took off the invisibility cloak, and James whispered a spell that made an opening in the rock. He tucked it inside and sealed the rock again.
"Let's go. Remus is waiting," Sirius said, making sure there wasn't anyone else on the grounds. In a split second, he transformed into a great black dog. Sirius glanced to his left and saw a stag standing where James once was.
They set off toward the Womping Willow where Peter ran to the trunk, dodging the branches as he went, and pressed a knot in the tree. Its branches immediately stopped flailing about, and the three of them disappeared behind the tree.
*************************
"Where could they be?" Lily, Carmen, and Morgan were walking up the spiral staircase that led to the top of the West Tower. Class was about to start, and the boys still hadn't showed up yet.
"I don't know, but it's," Morgan checked her watch, "three minutes to eleven." The three of them took seats in scrubbed wooden chairs toward the back of the room. In her impatience, Lily looked up. As always, there was no roof in this room, and the classroom simply opened up to the heavens. Of course, this was ideal for an Astronomy lesson.
"Alright class," came a voice from the front of the class. Professor Abbot emerged from a door on the left with a large stack of papers in her hands. "These are star charts that I want you to fill out. Please note that you must finish before class ends, otherwise, the only other time that you would be able to finish is one hundred and sixty two years from now. You may -"
James, Sirius, and Peter had just burst in the doorway, panting and gasping for breath. It looked as though they had just sprinted the length of the quiditch pitch. "I'm sorry we're late, Professor, we -"
"That's quite alright. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, otherwise I will be forced to deduct points from Gryffindor," the professor said, turning back to the papers in her hands. "Now take a seat." All three boys took the only empty seats, a row in front of the girls. "As I was saying," she started again, passing out the papers, "I want you all to pair up, and complete the charts. You have one hour."
Peter grabbed Sirius as a partner before anyone else said anything. Peter was always afraid that people would feel that they 'got stuck with him' if he was the only one left, so he liked getting to pick first. Carmen paired with Morgan, which left James and Lily. He took his chair, still breathing heavily, and pulled it over to the side of Lily's desk. He sat down and pulled the parchment closer. "Okay, let's get started. Where do you recon Venus is?"
"Where were you?" Lily asked politely, as she drew Venus on the parchment.
"Oh, um, we were, well, we just forgot about class," he said, not looking up.
"We missed you at dinner, too."
"Well, we weren't hungry." She noted that as he spoke, he looked slightly nervous. He ruffled the back of his hair. Lily smiled slightly even though he knew that he wasn't telling the truth. "Let's just get to work, shall we?"
'Well,' she though, 'I'll just have to find out what's going on myself, then, won't I?'
~ Well did anyone like this chapter? I know, it's not great, but the next chapter I'm really going to love writing. I've had the image of it in my head for weeks. It will either be the next chapter or the one after that, so check soon! Now, you know what to do. Clickity, click, click, click!
Carmen Willows
Dedication: This chapter is in loving memory of the person who died in book 5. I love you!
Okay, sorry it's been so long. Book 5 came out and then my computer wasn't working, but here it is now. I hope you like it!
THE RAIN ALWAYS FALLS
Chapter 10: A Mysterious Disappearance
The next morning in the common room, the six of them were in their usual armchairs. Carmen was doing extra homework ("Will you ever stop reading?" Sirius commented) while everyone else was merrily chatting.
"It worked perfectly. You should have been there, Moony. I bet they're still hanging upside down," Sirius was telling them.
"We better get downstairs," James told the five of them. "Classes start in an hour." Everyone grabbed their bags and began for the Great Hall.
'It was rather funny,' Carmen thought to herself, thinking about their red and gold hair. Then she felt a little guilty, remembering Lucius and how nice he had been to her on their first day back. 'Well, there's nothing wrong with him. He had never done me any harm. It was rather immature.' She told this to Sirius.
"Well, I bet you weren't thinking that when you were hanging onto the statue of Candyce the Confused trying not to collapse with laughter," he said.
"As funny as it was, it still wasn't very nice," she told him.
"Who cares? They're Slytherins. You know, last year, they turned all of our robes pink. They're not very nice, come to think of it."
"Well, if they're 'just Slytherins,' you can think of me as 'just a prefect' who, by the way, can take points away from houses if she finds anyone doing magic in the corridors," she spoke scathingly.
"You're right," he said immediately. "It wasn't very nice at all. Very immature, indeed." He shook his head vigorously and smiling hopefully. By this time, they were in the Entrance Hall, just outside of the Great Hall. Carmen spotted Lucius coming out from a dark corridor to the right.
"I'll be right back," Carmen told the others.
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, but then he saw Malfoy. Heat began to rise in his face as she gracefully walked over to him. He entered the Great Hall without another word.
"Hi, Lucius," Carmen said.
"Hello," he said rather stiffly. She noticed that he hat quite a large hat on, probably covering his hair sporting the Gryffindor colors.
"Look, I'm really sorry for what Sirius and James did yesterday. It was very childish, and I really don't approve of that sort of thing," she told him. To her surprise, he gave her a small smile.
"Thanks," he said.
"By the way, you have a little - ," she brushed her own hair away from her forehead. Lucius had a small strand of red sticking out of his hat.
"Thanks," he said again, hastily stuffing it back inside the elastic of the hat.
"Well, I'll see you later," she waved and entered the hall. Sitting down across from Sirius, she caught his eye, but he hurriedly looked at his plate.
*******************
That afternoon, Morgan was sitting alone in Muggle Studies, looking a little impatient. She bounced her leg up and down beneath her desk. Three minutes before class began, Professor Kerk asked her to approach his desk. She got up and walked briskly to him, wringing her hands.
"Miss Fay, I'm very surprised about the quality of your essay on the muggle space program," he began. She had asked to turn it in early in hopes of learning her grade sooner.
"Was - was it alright?" she asked hopefully.
"It was one of the best essays that I have ever seen written on the subject. I'm very impressed. You've really seemed to have found your strength. Keep up the good work." He gave her roll of parchment that was her report back to her and continued working. She went back to her desk feeling that a balloon was swelling inside of her. She looked down at her paper to see an A+ written across the top. She turned to show Remus her accomplishment and to thank him, but - he wasn't there.
'Oh,' she remembered, 'he's not here. I'll just show him later.' She shrugged, looking a little put out, as the lesson began.
*************************
That night at dinner, Lily, Morgan and Carmen were sitting together in the Great Hall. "So, what do we have to do tonight?" Lily asked.
"We have astronomy in the West Tower at eleven. We're supposed to be able to see Saturn tonight," Carmen explained with pleasure. "Wait, something's wrong." She looked up and down the table. "Where's the comment, 'You like class too much,' or, 'Don't you care about anything but school?' Where's Sirius? And James and Remus?"
"Remus is visiting a sick aunt, but I don't know where Sirius and James went," Morgan told them, looking around the hall.
"Strange," said Lily. "Wonder where they could be?"
"Oh, that reminds me," Morgan began. "Carmen, I wanted to ask you. What's going on between you and Sirius?"
"What?" Carmen asked, a little too quickly.
"What's going on between you and Sirius?" she repeated politely.
"Nothing is going on. Why would you ask that?"
"Because it's so obvious that you like him." Lily now had joined the conversation. "And he eyes you during practically every class. You haven't noticed that?"
"And did you see him at breakfast this morning after you talked to Malfoy?" Morgan asked. "He was positively jealous!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Carmen said, going slightly red in the face. "There is nothing 'going on' with me and Sirius. So, how's quiditch practice going?"
**********************
"Ouch! Stop stepping on me!" James hissed.
"Sorry, but it's kind of hard to see your foot when it's invisible," Sirius whispered back. The two of them were under James' invisibility cloak. He had inherited it from his father, and it was his most essential piece of rule-breaking equipment that he owned, except perhaps for the Marauder's Map, something of their own creation.
"All clear," James said, taking the map out from underneath the cloak for one brief second. "Where's Wormtail?"
"He's meeting us out there. Said he could get there without our help." By this time, they had made their way onto the grounds. "There's Peter." A small brown rat was sitting on a large rock safely away from the Womping Willow. They took off the invisibility cloak, and James whispered a spell that made an opening in the rock. He tucked it inside and sealed the rock again.
"Let's go. Remus is waiting," Sirius said, making sure there wasn't anyone else on the grounds. In a split second, he transformed into a great black dog. Sirius glanced to his left and saw a stag standing where James once was.
They set off toward the Womping Willow where Peter ran to the trunk, dodging the branches as he went, and pressed a knot in the tree. Its branches immediately stopped flailing about, and the three of them disappeared behind the tree.
*************************
"Where could they be?" Lily, Carmen, and Morgan were walking up the spiral staircase that led to the top of the West Tower. Class was about to start, and the boys still hadn't showed up yet.
"I don't know, but it's," Morgan checked her watch, "three minutes to eleven." The three of them took seats in scrubbed wooden chairs toward the back of the room. In her impatience, Lily looked up. As always, there was no roof in this room, and the classroom simply opened up to the heavens. Of course, this was ideal for an Astronomy lesson.
"Alright class," came a voice from the front of the class. Professor Abbot emerged from a door on the left with a large stack of papers in her hands. "These are star charts that I want you to fill out. Please note that you must finish before class ends, otherwise, the only other time that you would be able to finish is one hundred and sixty two years from now. You may -"
James, Sirius, and Peter had just burst in the doorway, panting and gasping for breath. It looked as though they had just sprinted the length of the quiditch pitch. "I'm sorry we're late, Professor, we -"
"That's quite alright. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, otherwise I will be forced to deduct points from Gryffindor," the professor said, turning back to the papers in her hands. "Now take a seat." All three boys took the only empty seats, a row in front of the girls. "As I was saying," she started again, passing out the papers, "I want you all to pair up, and complete the charts. You have one hour."
Peter grabbed Sirius as a partner before anyone else said anything. Peter was always afraid that people would feel that they 'got stuck with him' if he was the only one left, so he liked getting to pick first. Carmen paired with Morgan, which left James and Lily. He took his chair, still breathing heavily, and pulled it over to the side of Lily's desk. He sat down and pulled the parchment closer. "Okay, let's get started. Where do you recon Venus is?"
"Where were you?" Lily asked politely, as she drew Venus on the parchment.
"Oh, um, we were, well, we just forgot about class," he said, not looking up.
"We missed you at dinner, too."
"Well, we weren't hungry." She noted that as he spoke, he looked slightly nervous. He ruffled the back of his hair. Lily smiled slightly even though he knew that he wasn't telling the truth. "Let's just get to work, shall we?"
'Well,' she though, 'I'll just have to find out what's going on myself, then, won't I?'
~ Well did anyone like this chapter? I know, it's not great, but the next chapter I'm really going to love writing. I've had the image of it in my head for weeks. It will either be the next chapter or the one after that, so check soon! Now, you know what to do. Clickity, click, click, click!
Carmen Willows