Disclaimer: I don't own any one except Emily Gardner. Every thing else
belongs to J.K Rowling. Oh, and the titler All in the Timing, is actually
the title of a play, so that's not really mine but it's not J.K's either.
A/N: I know this is a bit strange, especially the beginning. So if you get confused don't worry you haven't missed anything. That's just how it starts.
All in the Timing
Chapter one: A Flair for the Dramatic
"She's still here?"
"Where else would she be Wormtail? She wouldn't've gone any where. Not on that leg anyway."
Emily Gardner lay with her eyes closed listening to strange and rather panicky voices above her.
Where was she? On the ground by the feel of things. Why? That was a much better question.
Not that she minded being on the ground one bit.
After all being on the ground meant that she would be filthy from the dirt. Dirt meant that she looked as though she'd been through hell. In fact she, could vaguely feel a sharp pain in her leg and her head was throbbing like mad.
This meant that she not only looked like she'd been through hell, but felt like it as well.
This meant that something exciting and possibly dangerous had happened to her. She was in the company of male strangers and in a possibly life threatening situation. At last!
(Not to mention that appearing dirty when she returned home would drive her oh- so- proper- uncle mad. Ha! Served him right.)
Her excitement increased when she felt some one lean down and put a hand to her forehead, and even more so when she heard him speak.
"She's out cold." He said in a horse, but very pleasant voice.
Even though she wasn't "Out cold", Emily had no intention of opening her eyes and proving him wrong.
If there was anything her mother had taught her it was that a true actress always waits for the oprotune moment to make a grand entrance.
"It's all in the timing." That's what she would say
It would simply be dramatically anti-climactic to open her eyes so soon after she had been found.
"What do we do now?" Asked a high pitched frantic voice, which was not at all as pleasant as the one that had spoken earlier. Still, it was male and that was what mattered
"Well, we can't just leave her here." The pleasant voice answered.
"What do you mean Moony? Of course we can."
What?! Emily thought still struggling to keep her eyes closed
This voice was new. It was darker and more silky than the other two. However, Emily wasn't certain that she liked its owner at all.
A gentleman never leaves a lady stranded.
"Right." Another voice said. This one was not as hoarse but quite as pleasant as the first that she had heard.
"It's not our fault she was prancing around here on her own last night is it?"
She could not believe what she was hearing. Of all the uncouth, barbaric things to say! A lady is never at fault for an injury she sustains. At least not completely.
"No, but it is our fault that she has a concussion and a broken leg." The hoarse voice said.
Thank you! At least someone in the group seemed to have some manners.
"So, last night she's a meal ticket and now she's a damsel in distress?" asked the dark silky voice
"Moony are you a wolf or a gentleman? Make up your mind!"
"Not so loud." Moony implored.
Emily didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about, but she knew that she liked the one they called moony far better than any of the others. At least he had a sense of propriety.
"What'll we do with her if we do take her?" Asked the high pitched frantic voice.
Well, it was obvious what was supposed to happen.
One of them (Preferably moony) would take her in his arms and carry her back to where he lived, nurse her to health, fall in love with her, loose her to a mysterious villan , rescue her again, marry her and live happily ever after.
But apparently these boys weren't aware of this obvious arrangement as one of them had the nerve to say:
"If we tell Dumbledore or any of the teachers about her, we'll have to tell them the whole story."
"We'll be expelled for sure!"
She had no idea who Dumbledore was or where they would be expelled from, but she knew that if these men had any sense of daring what so ever, they would risk what ever they had to for the sake of an injured soul. Especially an injured female soul.
"Now that I think about it your right Prongs." Moony said. She couldn't believe it! They were all conspiring against her!
"There are plenty of people around here. Someone's bound to find her..." He mused.
Emily was livid.
Couldn't they see that this was her bloody hour of need? How did they know that her condition wasn't serious? How did they know that she wouldn't be DEAD by the time someone else came along?
She wouldn't stand for it. They were not going to leave her like this. Forget about dramatic timing. Drastic times called for drastic measures. And she knew exactly which one's to take.
She would feign waking up from a dead sleep. Then she would proceed to act so confused, terrified, pathetic and strangely loveable that no human soul could possibly leave her with out feeling more guilt than some one who had shot an innocent puppy.
It would work. She was, if she didn't say so herself, quite a good actress. Yet another positive trait she had inherited from her mother.
With out further delay, she gave a moan, turned slightly and slowly began to flutter her eye lashes open. Out of her half opened eyes she could see that she was out side on what appeared to be a grassy hill surrounded by dark trees. The four boys were standing still as statues watching her in silent anticipation.
Perfect so far.
Once she had opened her eyes completely she lost no time in widening them in shock as she stared around at the four of them.
Through this phase she took a moment to look at all of them. They seemed to stand in a semi circle from right to left. She was glad to see that none of them were bad looking at all. Indeed the worst was the blond sort of chubby one on the left, and he was actually quite cute, all things considered.
Next to him was a boy with light brown hair. His clothes were quite shabby and there was an almost sad and worn look in his eyes. Quite mysterious she decided.
Beside him stood a rather small and skinny boy with glasses and quite lovely hazel eyes. His black hair could definitely do with a comb though.
And on the very right end...Emily had to will herself to keep from fainting again, and tried to remember her dramatic plan though she found it quite difficult
. For when she glanced to her right, she was faced with the most handsome boy she had ever seen in her life. His brilliant black eyes were fixed on her as he pushed his elegant dark hair from his face. She stared at him praying with all her might that he was the one they had called moony.
Forcing herself to tear her eyes away from him, she gave quite a loud gasp and proceeded to push herself backward, dragging her limp right leg as far as she could. The light brown haired boy stepped forward to her.
"It's allright." He said in his hoarse pleasant voice. "We won't hurt you." This was obviously Moony. She felt only slightly disappointed. The handsome one hadn't left after all, there was still time. She kept on with her performance.
"Where-where am I?" She asked in a small shaky voice.
"Your in Hogsmede." The boy said moving over beside her.
"Wh-Where?" Emily asked attempting to maintain the small and terrified voice intact. She had never heard of a place called Hogsmede. This truly was exciting
"Do-do you know what Hogsmede is?" Moony asked gently.
Emily shook her head slowly. Remembering to shake with fear and to keep her breathing shallow.
"A muggle? Good God!" The handsome boy said from the back in his dark silky voice. Emily did her best not to glare harshly at him. What had he called her? A muggle? She didn't know what it meant but she was sure that it was nothing flattering.
If he weren't so good looking she decided that she just might despise him.
Instead she pushed her self back a little more channeling her anger into a look of confusion and fear. Luckily they bought it.
Moony threw his dark haired friend a sharp look before kneeling down beside Emily and smiling tenderly at her. He had a very nice smile. She did her best not to smile back attempting to remain confused, terrified, pathetic and strangely loveable.
"What's your name?" He asked
"Emily Gardner." She replied before she could stop herself. She suddenly realized what a horribly boring name she had. She wished she could have given him a more interesting one like...Andromeda, or Eponine or Elenora. Oh, Well.
"Emily." Moony repeated smiling. It was strange how her name sounded better when he said it.
"I'm Remus Lupin." He said. She nodded but decided against speaking, she was supposed to be terrified after all.
After a rather akward moment of silence Remus offered her his hand.
"Can you stand?" He asked. She very slowly, and quite hesitantly put a shaking hand out to his and attempted to pull herself up. As soon as she did however, she felt her leg cave beneath her and she let out a small grunt of pain. Quite a nice touch, even if she hadn't planed it herself.
Remus grabbed her arm to keep her from falling completely. He really was quite the gentleman.
She suddenly felt slightly light headed as though she was about to pass out again. She forced it away. The timing didn't seem quite right, she didn't even know who the others were yet. They were still standing cautiously in the back round. Though she noticed the two black haired boys had approached slowly when she fell back to the ground.
"Emily," Remus began slowly noticing his friends approaching.
"This is James Potter," he indicated the small boy with hazel eyes.
"Peter Petigrew" He indicated the chubby blond boy who was standing a good deal back from the others. She now noticed that he was wearing a terrified look to rival her own. If he was faking it, he could give her a few lessons.
"And Sirius Black" She felt extremely faint once more as the handsome boy grinned at her and gave her a small wink. This coupled with the pain in her leg was almost too much to bear. It must have shown in her face because the good looking boy suddenly pulled his face into the first truly concerned expression she had seen him wear.
"You okay?" He asked with his smooth voice. He sounded different when he wasn't being sarcastic or harsh, indeed his voice and those beautiful eyes not to mention her stinging leg were making Emily's head spin in very quick nauseating circles. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
"Fine" She managed to whisper stupidly before completely blacking out.
So it wasn't exactly the dramatic timing she was hoping for.
At least now they wouldn't leave her there.
At least she'd landed in someone's arms, even if they weren't Sirius's.
She could always get the timing down later.
A/N: I know this is a bit strange, especially the beginning. So if you get confused don't worry you haven't missed anything. That's just how it starts.
All in the Timing
Chapter one: A Flair for the Dramatic
"She's still here?"
"Where else would she be Wormtail? She wouldn't've gone any where. Not on that leg anyway."
Emily Gardner lay with her eyes closed listening to strange and rather panicky voices above her.
Where was she? On the ground by the feel of things. Why? That was a much better question.
Not that she minded being on the ground one bit.
After all being on the ground meant that she would be filthy from the dirt. Dirt meant that she looked as though she'd been through hell. In fact she, could vaguely feel a sharp pain in her leg and her head was throbbing like mad.
This meant that she not only looked like she'd been through hell, but felt like it as well.
This meant that something exciting and possibly dangerous had happened to her. She was in the company of male strangers and in a possibly life threatening situation. At last!
(Not to mention that appearing dirty when she returned home would drive her oh- so- proper- uncle mad. Ha! Served him right.)
Her excitement increased when she felt some one lean down and put a hand to her forehead, and even more so when she heard him speak.
"She's out cold." He said in a horse, but very pleasant voice.
Even though she wasn't "Out cold", Emily had no intention of opening her eyes and proving him wrong.
If there was anything her mother had taught her it was that a true actress always waits for the oprotune moment to make a grand entrance.
"It's all in the timing." That's what she would say
It would simply be dramatically anti-climactic to open her eyes so soon after she had been found.
"What do we do now?" Asked a high pitched frantic voice, which was not at all as pleasant as the one that had spoken earlier. Still, it was male and that was what mattered
"Well, we can't just leave her here." The pleasant voice answered.
"What do you mean Moony? Of course we can."
What?! Emily thought still struggling to keep her eyes closed
This voice was new. It was darker and more silky than the other two. However, Emily wasn't certain that she liked its owner at all.
A gentleman never leaves a lady stranded.
"Right." Another voice said. This one was not as hoarse but quite as pleasant as the first that she had heard.
"It's not our fault she was prancing around here on her own last night is it?"
She could not believe what she was hearing. Of all the uncouth, barbaric things to say! A lady is never at fault for an injury she sustains. At least not completely.
"No, but it is our fault that she has a concussion and a broken leg." The hoarse voice said.
Thank you! At least someone in the group seemed to have some manners.
"So, last night she's a meal ticket and now she's a damsel in distress?" asked the dark silky voice
"Moony are you a wolf or a gentleman? Make up your mind!"
"Not so loud." Moony implored.
Emily didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about, but she knew that she liked the one they called moony far better than any of the others. At least he had a sense of propriety.
"What'll we do with her if we do take her?" Asked the high pitched frantic voice.
Well, it was obvious what was supposed to happen.
One of them (Preferably moony) would take her in his arms and carry her back to where he lived, nurse her to health, fall in love with her, loose her to a mysterious villan , rescue her again, marry her and live happily ever after.
But apparently these boys weren't aware of this obvious arrangement as one of them had the nerve to say:
"If we tell Dumbledore or any of the teachers about her, we'll have to tell them the whole story."
"We'll be expelled for sure!"
She had no idea who Dumbledore was or where they would be expelled from, but she knew that if these men had any sense of daring what so ever, they would risk what ever they had to for the sake of an injured soul. Especially an injured female soul.
"Now that I think about it your right Prongs." Moony said. She couldn't believe it! They were all conspiring against her!
"There are plenty of people around here. Someone's bound to find her..." He mused.
Emily was livid.
Couldn't they see that this was her bloody hour of need? How did they know that her condition wasn't serious? How did they know that she wouldn't be DEAD by the time someone else came along?
She wouldn't stand for it. They were not going to leave her like this. Forget about dramatic timing. Drastic times called for drastic measures. And she knew exactly which one's to take.
She would feign waking up from a dead sleep. Then she would proceed to act so confused, terrified, pathetic and strangely loveable that no human soul could possibly leave her with out feeling more guilt than some one who had shot an innocent puppy.
It would work. She was, if she didn't say so herself, quite a good actress. Yet another positive trait she had inherited from her mother.
With out further delay, she gave a moan, turned slightly and slowly began to flutter her eye lashes open. Out of her half opened eyes she could see that she was out side on what appeared to be a grassy hill surrounded by dark trees. The four boys were standing still as statues watching her in silent anticipation.
Perfect so far.
Once she had opened her eyes completely she lost no time in widening them in shock as she stared around at the four of them.
Through this phase she took a moment to look at all of them. They seemed to stand in a semi circle from right to left. She was glad to see that none of them were bad looking at all. Indeed the worst was the blond sort of chubby one on the left, and he was actually quite cute, all things considered.
Next to him was a boy with light brown hair. His clothes were quite shabby and there was an almost sad and worn look in his eyes. Quite mysterious she decided.
Beside him stood a rather small and skinny boy with glasses and quite lovely hazel eyes. His black hair could definitely do with a comb though.
And on the very right end...Emily had to will herself to keep from fainting again, and tried to remember her dramatic plan though she found it quite difficult
. For when she glanced to her right, she was faced with the most handsome boy she had ever seen in her life. His brilliant black eyes were fixed on her as he pushed his elegant dark hair from his face. She stared at him praying with all her might that he was the one they had called moony.
Forcing herself to tear her eyes away from him, she gave quite a loud gasp and proceeded to push herself backward, dragging her limp right leg as far as she could. The light brown haired boy stepped forward to her.
"It's allright." He said in his hoarse pleasant voice. "We won't hurt you." This was obviously Moony. She felt only slightly disappointed. The handsome one hadn't left after all, there was still time. She kept on with her performance.
"Where-where am I?" She asked in a small shaky voice.
"Your in Hogsmede." The boy said moving over beside her.
"Wh-Where?" Emily asked attempting to maintain the small and terrified voice intact. She had never heard of a place called Hogsmede. This truly was exciting
"Do-do you know what Hogsmede is?" Moony asked gently.
Emily shook her head slowly. Remembering to shake with fear and to keep her breathing shallow.
"A muggle? Good God!" The handsome boy said from the back in his dark silky voice. Emily did her best not to glare harshly at him. What had he called her? A muggle? She didn't know what it meant but she was sure that it was nothing flattering.
If he weren't so good looking she decided that she just might despise him.
Instead she pushed her self back a little more channeling her anger into a look of confusion and fear. Luckily they bought it.
Moony threw his dark haired friend a sharp look before kneeling down beside Emily and smiling tenderly at her. He had a very nice smile. She did her best not to smile back attempting to remain confused, terrified, pathetic and strangely loveable.
"What's your name?" He asked
"Emily Gardner." She replied before she could stop herself. She suddenly realized what a horribly boring name she had. She wished she could have given him a more interesting one like...Andromeda, or Eponine or Elenora. Oh, Well.
"Emily." Moony repeated smiling. It was strange how her name sounded better when he said it.
"I'm Remus Lupin." He said. She nodded but decided against speaking, she was supposed to be terrified after all.
After a rather akward moment of silence Remus offered her his hand.
"Can you stand?" He asked. She very slowly, and quite hesitantly put a shaking hand out to his and attempted to pull herself up. As soon as she did however, she felt her leg cave beneath her and she let out a small grunt of pain. Quite a nice touch, even if she hadn't planed it herself.
Remus grabbed her arm to keep her from falling completely. He really was quite the gentleman.
She suddenly felt slightly light headed as though she was about to pass out again. She forced it away. The timing didn't seem quite right, she didn't even know who the others were yet. They were still standing cautiously in the back round. Though she noticed the two black haired boys had approached slowly when she fell back to the ground.
"Emily," Remus began slowly noticing his friends approaching.
"This is James Potter," he indicated the small boy with hazel eyes.
"Peter Petigrew" He indicated the chubby blond boy who was standing a good deal back from the others. She now noticed that he was wearing a terrified look to rival her own. If he was faking it, he could give her a few lessons.
"And Sirius Black" She felt extremely faint once more as the handsome boy grinned at her and gave her a small wink. This coupled with the pain in her leg was almost too much to bear. It must have shown in her face because the good looking boy suddenly pulled his face into the first truly concerned expression she had seen him wear.
"You okay?" He asked with his smooth voice. He sounded different when he wasn't being sarcastic or harsh, indeed his voice and those beautiful eyes not to mention her stinging leg were making Emily's head spin in very quick nauseating circles. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
"Fine" She managed to whisper stupidly before completely blacking out.
So it wasn't exactly the dramatic timing she was hoping for.
At least now they wouldn't leave her there.
At least she'd landed in someone's arms, even if they weren't Sirius's.
She could always get the timing down later.