Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter six: The Salvation of Man Kind
"Merlin! Classes have gotten so bloody boring in this place!"
Sirius Black had been saying essentially the same thing under his breath for the past hour and a half. (Emily had been following them from the last passing period and into potions class.)
Honestly! If she had gone to a school where the stair cases changed of their own free will, ghosts wandered freely about the grounds, portraits were alive (and actually spoke to passers by) and the classes taught things like how to transfigure a desk into a pig using a magic wand, she certainly would not have been bored.
Hogwarts was, undoubtedly the most incredible place she had ever seen in her life. It was impossible to count the amount of times that she had wished herself into an abandoned, ancient castle littered with ghosts, cobwebs, torches, and creaking stairwells. These ungrateful little prats lived in such a castle and behaved as if walking through it was like taking the bloody morning commute in London. She couldn't understand it.
"Your telling me mate." James Potter echoed his friend. "I mean you'd think first years would be able to handle shrinking solutions wouldn't you?"
Sirius muttered something in agreement while James switched his bag from his left shoulder to his right.
"Were the potions supposed to be grey or blue when they were finished? I wasn't sure." Peter asked rather frantically trying his best to keep up with the other three.
"They were supposed to be green." Remus said turning his head to Peter.
"Don't tell me you messed them up again wormtail." Sirius said exasperatedly
"No." Peter said a little too quickly. "I was just wondering."
"I bet." James said with a smirk that gave Emily the urge to punch him.
It seemed that in her course of following the four, Peter was constantly belittled. True, she had seen his potion and it wasn't purely green as it was supposed to be, but honestly! There was a little thing called tact.
"Good thing lunch is next." Peter said as the four of them turned a corner. "I'm starving!"
Lunch! In her wonder at the magnificence of the castle and her disdain for the four boys she was following, Emily had completely forgotten. Remus had promised to be back by lunch time. And she still didn't have any thing, which she could possibly use as revenge on James Potter.
"When are you not?" James said to Peter, wearing the same smirk.
Was it possible to pull his face into another expression? Oh, she had to get him somehow! If not for herself and Remus, and Peter, for the dignity of man and (most of all) woman kind.
"Yeah wormtail," Sirius added "when are you going to learn that there are other things in life besides food?"
Remarkably it was at this very moment that they passed a group of rather young looking girls to whom Sirius flashed a roguish winning smile. Each of them burst into an assortment of giggles and blushes. Indeed, one of them looked as if she might faint.
For heaven sake! Had the whole world gone mad? Did chivalry matter to any one at all any more? Perhaps now a days a bloke just had to be some what good looking to set girls hearts a flutter. Never mind the fact that he had no manners what so ever! Just because Sirius was handsome, that was no reason to fall into a dead faint at the mere sight of him.
(Emily had temporarily chosen to ignore the fact that upon meeting Sirius she herself had not only threatened to faint, but had blacked out completely. But she also had a broken leg, and a gash in her head so she had an excuse. Two excuses in fact. So there)
Yes. That was it, she concluded. The world had gone completely, stark raving, mad. And it was left up to her to set it right.
She wondered, was there any thing she could find out about Sirius? Perhaps something that even the other three in their little group didn't know?...
No. She reprimanded herself. She had to focus on the task at hand. Find something on James Potter. This was about him, not Sirius Black.
She continued to follow the boys up the corridor and down the next stair well before she remembered. The book.
Before James left the dorm room he had stuffed a book, rather quickly into his bag. She remembered that his entire appearance had given her the impression that he did not want any one to see that book. This included, she was willing to bet, the other three in his group.
She had found it! The perfect means of teaching James Potter, and indeed the male race, a valuable lesson: girls are to be treated with respect, no matter what the time period. Now if only she could search through his bag while he wasn't looking...
She followed the boys Until they reached a pair of tall double doors that were open to the largest and grandest hall Emily had ever seen in her life.
The entire room, indeed seemed to be made of pure gold. There were golden gothic terraces, and arched windows. Four long, golden tables were set out in the middle of the room. A fifth table stood at the head of the hall, and seemed to fly inches off the ground, completely unaided.
But the most amazing thing about this hall was the ceiling.
Or was it a ceiling? For when Emily looked up, she was certain that she was seeing the sky out side the castle, which was sunny with small wisps of clouds.
Emily stared wide-eyed for a few more moments before she noticed that the boys were moving to the golden table at the far right side of the hall. Limping on her leg (which still twinged a bit), she followed them quickly trying to stay true to her mission. She had to get that book. Whatever it was.
"How long do we have for lunch?" Remus asked a little anxiously as the others took seats around the table, where a meal of Shepard's pie, carrots, and lemon custard had already been set out on golden plates.
"'Bout half and hour I think. Not that there's any hurry." Sirius replied with a yawn as he leisurely leaned his chair back on it's two legs.
God, he was gorgeous. True he was also unmannerly, sardonic, and altogether an arrogant little prat. But still you couldn't deny the fact that he was very nice to look at...
"Oh, there is if your moony and a certain blonde female is waiting in your bed." James said with a wink in Remus's direction.
There it was again. Oh she had to get him back, she just had to. Emily shot a fervent glance toward the bag, which James was still holding by the handle
"I told you nothing happened." Remus muttered as he reached into his bag.
"Right." Said Sirius who looked eager to join in a few good rounds of teasing.
"And Wormtail'll be getting top marks in potions next." Peter who had been sniggering along with James and Sirius suddenly turned rather red and a very sulky expression appeared on his face.
"Well," Remus began defensively from behind a book that he had opened over his plate. "Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I detect a note of jealousy."
His face remained mostly hidden behind the large folds of the book he was reading, but Emily was certain that she saw the faint form of a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"What are you talking about Moony?" Sirius asked with another lazy yawn.
"Yeah," James continued. "What've we got to be jealous of?"
Remus gave a half shrug, but she noticed that he was still sporting the faintly satisfied grin.
"How are things with Lilly Evans Prongs?" He asked finally, a triumphant sort of air to his voice.
"What does she have to do with anything?" James said. And Emily was happy to note that his face had finally turned it's own shade of red and his cocky expression had been replaced by a rather sullen one.
"Just thought I'd ask." Remus said lightly setting his book down and picking up his fork "Seeing as she's headed this way."
The effect these words had on James were quite astounding. His manner quickly changed from sullen to near panic. His hand immediately jumped to his hair, and he began ruffling it in the same way he had done on the first night she met him.
Quickly he whipped around just in time to see a girl with thick red hair and large green eyes passing their seats
"All right, Evans?" He called to her attempting to put on a rather suave appearance. Emily wondered for the first time, why he insisted on calling girls by their last names? They were human beings after all not footballers.
Lilly Evans stopped and surveyed James coldly.
"Potter." She said with a curt nod. And with that she continued on her way to the far end of the table.
James looked quickly back to Sirius who gave him a shrug and picked up his fork, focusing on the meal in front of him. James, however, pulled his face into a determined sort of grimace.
"Hey, Evans, wait!" and with that he tore down the table after her. Leaving, his bag completely unguarded. At last!
"Think he'll ever give it up?" Remus asked vaguely taking a stab at one of his carotts while balancing his book in one hand.
"Yeah, when hell freezes over. Or when she finally gives in. Which ever one comes first." Sirius answered, his mouth filled with a rather large bite of Shepard's pie.
. During this conversation Emily kneeled down beside James's bag. Now came the hard part. She had to open it and retrieve the book with out any of the others noticing. She looked quickly to Sirius then to Remus, and finally Peter.
There didn't seem to be any threat of them noticing. Sirius was staring in the other direction watching James's progress (or lack there of) with Lilly.
Emily allowed herself a smile at that. She liked this Lilly Evans. She knew how to put the macho men of her day into their place.
Remus was still intent on his book alternating his hand and his fork in order to turn the pages, and Peter seemed too preoccupied with the lemon custard on his plate to notice anything else.
Now was the moment to do it.
So, not entirely reassured, Emily quickly unfastened the bag. Luckily she did not have to rummage far to find what she was looking for. Lying near the top was a brown book with rather elegant golden trimmings on the front cover. Why exactly James had been so embarrassed about this particular item wasn't exactly clear. Just by looking at it Emily couldn't tell what it was. Of course her first guess would have been a...
"Looks like Prongs got the slap again." Sirius's sudden speech made her jump. Quickly she took the book under her cloak and re-fastened James's bag.
Again her quick reflexes had served her well because, not a moment later James came walking back to the tree, shoulders hunched and clutching the side of his face which had gone red.
"So, I take it we won't be hearing wedding bells for you and miss Evans any time soon?" Sirius smirked, taking a last bite of his custard.
"Shut it padfoot." James muttered sullenly as he began to stab at his food.
"Now, I really should go." Remus said putting his book and his plate along with the uneaten half of his shepherd's pie and custard into his bag.
"As James was so kind to remind me, I do have a lady waiting for me. See you later." And with a satisfied smirk he walked leisurely away from the table. Emily followed in a near panic.
She had to get back to the dormitory, take off the cloak, and somehow hop back into her bed with a near healed leg, before Remus got up to the dorm room.
Grimacing she continued to follow him quickly up several flights of stairs. Finally, they reached the portrait of an incredibly fat woman in a pink frock.
Emily slid carefully in front of Remus so that she would be the first to enter the room. Then, if she was quick enough (not to mention extremely lucky), she would be able to get into the dorm room and at least take off the cloak.
"Cornish pixie" Remus said to the portrait, which immediately slid open. Emily ran as fast as the cloak and her leg would allow her to up the stair well and in through the dorm room door which she shut behind her. Quickly, she untied the cloak and threw it to the spot on the ground where it had been before Remus left.
She heard foot steps coming up the stairs. She took the book in her hands and began to hide it under the covers.
Before she jumped back into bed, she took one last look at the book she had, technically, "stolen". But with every intention of giving it back once she had thoroughly humiliated it's owner by revealing, or threatening to reveal it's contents. But it was all for a noble cause mind you.
After all, if she could get James Potter to act in a chivalrous manner toward women, then there just might be hope for the human race. Yes. That is what this little book was, the salvation of man kind.
She looked it over once more and saw the fleeting form of two letters embroidered on the spine of the book: L E
She barely had time to wonder what they stood for when she heard Remus's foot steps coming closer to the room. She hoped back up on the bed and dragged her right leg back to it's pillow just in time to see the door open.
"Hi." Remus said as he entered the room
"Hello" Emily replied hoping she didn't sound too out of breath.
"I hope you weren't too bored up here."
Emily allowed herself a small smile.
"Oh, I found ways of amusing myself..."