A Well-Deserved Tail
"Ray, you'll go first with Sannia." Mrs. Whittier said, pushing Ray forward. "Mom!" Sannia said, a scowl on her face. "I know how to get through the barrier, Ray already told me and so did a couple of my older friends, I wanna go by myself I don't need-" Ray sighed. "Just come on, Sanni." Ray pushed her sister, and seconds later, they were both standing on platform 9 and 3/4.
Sannia went off to find her friends, and Ray went to find Lily. She found her within minutes. Lily squealed when she saw Ray, and soon they were hugging and catching up on their summers. Lily had spent the entire summer in Egypt with her family. As Ray and Lily tried to push their trunks into the second to last compartment (their usual one) Lily told Ray how she tried to levitate her sister onto the top of a pyramid.
"But Mum caught me. She yelled at me for a little while, but she was laughing." Lily said. Ray laughed out loud. "Ray! Hey, Ray!" Ray heard a male voice yelling behind her. She spun around just in time to get trapped in a back breaking hug. "Hey, Cary!" Ray said, finally squeezing free. Cary was in the same year as her and Lily. Seconds later, Lily was trapped in a hug as well.
Cary pushed his trunk into their compartment, then went off to find his best friend, Morgan, promising to come back with Morgan later. Cary knew that Ray had had a crush on Morgan since her third year. He winked at her, then turned around and left.
Lily laughed then went back to struggling with her trunk. Ray turned around, her cheeks reddening as she followed suit. Suddenly, someone came up behind Lily and pushed her trunk in for her. Lily turned around, then groaned. Ray let her trunk go and spun around. Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew and Sirius were standing behind them. "Need some help, Evans?" Potter said, a smile on his face. "Not if you were the last little slime on Earth, Potter." Lily said maliciously, narrowing her eyes. "Is this what someone gets for being a good citizen?" Potter said, raising an eyebrow.
Lily ignored him and hopped into the compartment. "Hey, Whittier." Potter said. Ray rolled her eyes. "What?" Potter smiled at her, then put an arm around her shoulders. "Walk with me, talk with me." He said, steering her away from her compartment. Sirius pushed her trunk into the compartment, then dragged his own into the next one and entered it. Remus shook his head and joined Sirius.
"So, Whittier...I mean, Reagan. We're friends right?" Potter said, in what he thought was a winning voice. Ray scoffed. "Ok, Ok, so we're not friends. But we could be. We don't have to have all this hostility towards each other." Ray laughed openly at this. "Spit it out Potter. The train's leaving in a few minutes." Potter stopped walking, and turned to Ray.
"Look, Whittier, it's as simple as this. I want Lily. You can help me. We could be a real team ya know?" Potter said, searching her eyes. "Forget it, Potter. Lily despises you. You're a conceited jerk in her book, not to mention in mine. So, why would I help you?" Ray said.
"Whittier, Whittier, Whittier. You're forgetting who I am." Potter said, shaking his head and sighing. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Whittier, I know you want Morgan Ferguson. I can help. I can get you what you want." Ray looked shocked that he knew her crush, but she quickly recovered. "Forget it, Potter. I'm not going to be scheming behind Lily's back. She's my best friend."
The train whistle sounded, and Ray turned around to join Lily in their compartment. She jumped in, and just behind her, Potter said, "You'll change your mind, Whittier, don't worry. You'll come around."
Ray rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Lily. "What did Potter want?" Lily asked, looking suspicious. "Nothing, just wanted a chance to start the torture before the school year started." Lily rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I loathe that boy!" She cried, just as the compartment door opened. Morgan and Cary strolled in laughing.
Morgan sat down next to Ray. "Hey, Mouse." He said, mussing her hair. Mouse was the nickname he'd given her in third year when Cecilia Rowens had accidentally turned her into a mouse during a transfiguration class. "I told you not to call me that, Morgan." Ray said, pushing his hand away, but shyly smiling.
Lily winked at her from across the compartment, as she and Cary started talking about their summers. Cary and Lily had been flirting since they'd known each other, but it had never gone beyond that. Ray had always wondered why, but every time she'd asked Lily, she'd just go red and change the subject.
Soon, the compartment was filled with more of their friends, and they were speeding off towards Hogwarts.
"Women! Always sticking up for each other!" James Potter said, in the compartment right next door. Sirius chuckled, then looked at his best friend. "C'mon Prongs. You think she'd really help you? She hates you!" James slammed his hand against the wall, making the wall shake.
Remus just shook his head, and returned to the book he was reading. "Oh, come on, Prongs. Maybe someday Lily will see you for the good guy you really are." Remus said, his eyes still gliding over the page. "Yeah..."James said, a new look of determination on his face. "Yeah!" He yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
Sirius chuckled again, then turned to the door of the compartment. An evil grin appeared on his face as he saw who was walking by, already in his robes, and his head in a book.
"Hey, Prongs. Here's something to cheer you up.." Sirius said, leaning his toward the door. James snapped his head toward the door and a grin appeared on his face. "Allright, Snivellus?" He said loudly.
Severus Snape dropped his books and plunged his hand into his robes. James took these few seconds to attack. There was a flash of red light, and Snape's ears were growing larger by the second. Snape howled, then shot a spell at James, who ducked. The spell hit Sirius instead. Sirius's usually black hair changed swiftly to bright purple.
Sirius got one look at his locks and shot a spell at Snape. Snape started jumping on the spot, his robes caught with green flames. Snape was just about to put the flames out, but someone muttered the countercurse behind him before he had the chance.
Reagan and Lily were standing behind Snape, looks of anger on their faces. Reagan lazily muttered a spell, and Sirius' hair turned back to it's usual raven color. Lily righted Snape's ears.
"Hey, Evans." James said, smiling at her. "Eat dirt, Potter." Lily said, spinning around to leave. Snape threw a look of hatred towards James, then started to turn away. Sirius flicked his wand, and a white streak appeared in Snape's oily hair. "Can't you ever grow up, Black?" Reagan said, throwing him a withering look. She pointed her wand at him, and seconds later, a tail was poking out of the back of his jeans. Lily almost fell over with laughter. Reagan smiled at him.
"You allright, Snape?" Reagan said, turning to him. Snape looked questioningly at her, then stalked away. "Fine, you're welcome very much!" Reagan yelled after him. Ray turned around just in time to see Sirius trying to send a spell her way. She stopped it in midair. "Watch it, Black. Or you'll have some nice ears to go with that tail." She said, turning away.
Lily was still laughing, but she led the way back to the compartment. When they got back to their compartment, Lily was still howling with laughter. Ray could hear Sirius' friends laughing heartily next door, while Sirius yelled at them to shut up. She could hear him trying to make the tail dissapear, but to no avail.
"What happened over there?" Morgan asked. "I just had to teach Black a little lesson," Ray shrugged, then opened a book to finish the rest of her potions essay. "She gave him a tail." Lily laughed, and a few of their friends jumped up to go see it. "It won't go away for about a week. He can try all he wants, but it'll only get longer," Ray said.
Ray had once asked Sirius why they all picked on Snape, and he'd replied, "Because he's an evil git." Ray had never really seen evidence to bring truth to this. True, he knew an awful lot of spells, but that didn't necessarily make him evil. And being in Slytherin didn't necessarily make you evil either. Just a bit of a prat, Ray thought, laughing inwardly.
Sannia and Thalia entered just then, interrupting her musings. Sannia had a grin on her face, and Thalia wore a very ugly look indeed. "What did you do that to Sirius for, huh?" Thalia exclaimed. Ray rolled her eyes. "He's a git. He deserved it." She said, turning back to her potions essay. Thalia turned around and stalked off, probably to go bow at Sirius' feet.
Sannia took a seat by Lily, and began talking to her about all the different people she'd already met. Lily didn't really get very many words in. Once Sannia had stopped to take a breath, Lily put a couple words in. "So, excited to be a new Gryffie?" Sannia grinned, then went into a long explanation of why she was a prefect candidate for Gryffindor.
Finally the train began to slow down, and Sannia stopped talking to go back to her compartment. Lily and Ray made Morgan and Cary wait outside while they changed, and they'd just finished when the train finally stopped. Ray was excited to get back to Hogwarts, to her four poster bed, and her friends, and especially, Quidditch.
Everyone jumped off the train and headed to the carraiges, which were pulled by Threstrals. Reagan couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. In fact, Ray was quite glad that she couldn't. You could only see threstrals if you'd seen death. Morgan helped her into a carriage, and Lily and Cary jumped in behind them.
After they got in the castle, they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table and watched the sorting. Sannia hadn't had the hat on for more than a few seconds when it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" for the whole Great Hall to hear. Sannia jumped down from the stool, grinning from ear to ear.
As soon as the sorting was over, Professor Dumbledore gave his usual speech, then started the start-of-term feast. Ray piled as much food on her plate as she could. She hadn't eaten on the train because of the whole fiasco with Sirius and his friends. She started shoveling food into her mouth. "Merlin, Ray, how do you eat so much but keep your figure?" Kiara Atwell asked, eyeing Ray's plate with something like jealousy. Kiara was always on this diet or another. Ray thought she had no reason to diet, she was perfectly fit, but Kiara didn't see it that way.
Down the table, Sirius caught Ray's eye. His now 3 foot tail was wagging behind him while he ate, and he looked like he'd like nothing better than to throw a good hex Ray's way. Ray winked at him. She felt bad, but what could she do. Before the incident in the train, Ray had hoped maybe she and Sirius could put aside their differences this year and be friends. She could see now that this year would be just like the last. A brutal battle between neighbors, both friends and enemies.
"Ray, you'll go first with Sannia." Mrs. Whittier said, pushing Ray forward. "Mom!" Sannia said, a scowl on her face. "I know how to get through the barrier, Ray already told me and so did a couple of my older friends, I wanna go by myself I don't need-" Ray sighed. "Just come on, Sanni." Ray pushed her sister, and seconds later, they were both standing on platform 9 and 3/4.
Sannia went off to find her friends, and Ray went to find Lily. She found her within minutes. Lily squealed when she saw Ray, and soon they were hugging and catching up on their summers. Lily had spent the entire summer in Egypt with her family. As Ray and Lily tried to push their trunks into the second to last compartment (their usual one) Lily told Ray how she tried to levitate her sister onto the top of a pyramid.
"But Mum caught me. She yelled at me for a little while, but she was laughing." Lily said. Ray laughed out loud. "Ray! Hey, Ray!" Ray heard a male voice yelling behind her. She spun around just in time to get trapped in a back breaking hug. "Hey, Cary!" Ray said, finally squeezing free. Cary was in the same year as her and Lily. Seconds later, Lily was trapped in a hug as well.
Cary pushed his trunk into their compartment, then went off to find his best friend, Morgan, promising to come back with Morgan later. Cary knew that Ray had had a crush on Morgan since her third year. He winked at her, then turned around and left.
Lily laughed then went back to struggling with her trunk. Ray turned around, her cheeks reddening as she followed suit. Suddenly, someone came up behind Lily and pushed her trunk in for her. Lily turned around, then groaned. Ray let her trunk go and spun around. Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew and Sirius were standing behind them. "Need some help, Evans?" Potter said, a smile on his face. "Not if you were the last little slime on Earth, Potter." Lily said maliciously, narrowing her eyes. "Is this what someone gets for being a good citizen?" Potter said, raising an eyebrow.
Lily ignored him and hopped into the compartment. "Hey, Whittier." Potter said. Ray rolled her eyes. "What?" Potter smiled at her, then put an arm around her shoulders. "Walk with me, talk with me." He said, steering her away from her compartment. Sirius pushed her trunk into the compartment, then dragged his own into the next one and entered it. Remus shook his head and joined Sirius.
"So, Whittier...I mean, Reagan. We're friends right?" Potter said, in what he thought was a winning voice. Ray scoffed. "Ok, Ok, so we're not friends. But we could be. We don't have to have all this hostility towards each other." Ray laughed openly at this. "Spit it out Potter. The train's leaving in a few minutes." Potter stopped walking, and turned to Ray.
"Look, Whittier, it's as simple as this. I want Lily. You can help me. We could be a real team ya know?" Potter said, searching her eyes. "Forget it, Potter. Lily despises you. You're a conceited jerk in her book, not to mention in mine. So, why would I help you?" Ray said.
"Whittier, Whittier, Whittier. You're forgetting who I am." Potter said, shaking his head and sighing. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Whittier, I know you want Morgan Ferguson. I can help. I can get you what you want." Ray looked shocked that he knew her crush, but she quickly recovered. "Forget it, Potter. I'm not going to be scheming behind Lily's back. She's my best friend."
The train whistle sounded, and Ray turned around to join Lily in their compartment. She jumped in, and just behind her, Potter said, "You'll change your mind, Whittier, don't worry. You'll come around."
Ray rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Lily. "What did Potter want?" Lily asked, looking suspicious. "Nothing, just wanted a chance to start the torture before the school year started." Lily rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I loathe that boy!" She cried, just as the compartment door opened. Morgan and Cary strolled in laughing.
Morgan sat down next to Ray. "Hey, Mouse." He said, mussing her hair. Mouse was the nickname he'd given her in third year when Cecilia Rowens had accidentally turned her into a mouse during a transfiguration class. "I told you not to call me that, Morgan." Ray said, pushing his hand away, but shyly smiling.
Lily winked at her from across the compartment, as she and Cary started talking about their summers. Cary and Lily had been flirting since they'd known each other, but it had never gone beyond that. Ray had always wondered why, but every time she'd asked Lily, she'd just go red and change the subject.
Soon, the compartment was filled with more of their friends, and they were speeding off towards Hogwarts.
"Women! Always sticking up for each other!" James Potter said, in the compartment right next door. Sirius chuckled, then looked at his best friend. "C'mon Prongs. You think she'd really help you? She hates you!" James slammed his hand against the wall, making the wall shake.
Remus just shook his head, and returned to the book he was reading. "Oh, come on, Prongs. Maybe someday Lily will see you for the good guy you really are." Remus said, his eyes still gliding over the page. "Yeah..."James said, a new look of determination on his face. "Yeah!" He yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
Sirius chuckled again, then turned to the door of the compartment. An evil grin appeared on his face as he saw who was walking by, already in his robes, and his head in a book.
"Hey, Prongs. Here's something to cheer you up.." Sirius said, leaning his toward the door. James snapped his head toward the door and a grin appeared on his face. "Allright, Snivellus?" He said loudly.
Severus Snape dropped his books and plunged his hand into his robes. James took these few seconds to attack. There was a flash of red light, and Snape's ears were growing larger by the second. Snape howled, then shot a spell at James, who ducked. The spell hit Sirius instead. Sirius's usually black hair changed swiftly to bright purple.
Sirius got one look at his locks and shot a spell at Snape. Snape started jumping on the spot, his robes caught with green flames. Snape was just about to put the flames out, but someone muttered the countercurse behind him before he had the chance.
Reagan and Lily were standing behind Snape, looks of anger on their faces. Reagan lazily muttered a spell, and Sirius' hair turned back to it's usual raven color. Lily righted Snape's ears.
"Hey, Evans." James said, smiling at her. "Eat dirt, Potter." Lily said, spinning around to leave. Snape threw a look of hatred towards James, then started to turn away. Sirius flicked his wand, and a white streak appeared in Snape's oily hair. "Can't you ever grow up, Black?" Reagan said, throwing him a withering look. She pointed her wand at him, and seconds later, a tail was poking out of the back of his jeans. Lily almost fell over with laughter. Reagan smiled at him.
"You allright, Snape?" Reagan said, turning to him. Snape looked questioningly at her, then stalked away. "Fine, you're welcome very much!" Reagan yelled after him. Ray turned around just in time to see Sirius trying to send a spell her way. She stopped it in midair. "Watch it, Black. Or you'll have some nice ears to go with that tail." She said, turning away.
Lily was still laughing, but she led the way back to the compartment. When they got back to their compartment, Lily was still howling with laughter. Ray could hear Sirius' friends laughing heartily next door, while Sirius yelled at them to shut up. She could hear him trying to make the tail dissapear, but to no avail.
"What happened over there?" Morgan asked. "I just had to teach Black a little lesson," Ray shrugged, then opened a book to finish the rest of her potions essay. "She gave him a tail." Lily laughed, and a few of their friends jumped up to go see it. "It won't go away for about a week. He can try all he wants, but it'll only get longer," Ray said.
Ray had once asked Sirius why they all picked on Snape, and he'd replied, "Because he's an evil git." Ray had never really seen evidence to bring truth to this. True, he knew an awful lot of spells, but that didn't necessarily make him evil. And being in Slytherin didn't necessarily make you evil either. Just a bit of a prat, Ray thought, laughing inwardly.
Sannia and Thalia entered just then, interrupting her musings. Sannia had a grin on her face, and Thalia wore a very ugly look indeed. "What did you do that to Sirius for, huh?" Thalia exclaimed. Ray rolled her eyes. "He's a git. He deserved it." She said, turning back to her potions essay. Thalia turned around and stalked off, probably to go bow at Sirius' feet.
Sannia took a seat by Lily, and began talking to her about all the different people she'd already met. Lily didn't really get very many words in. Once Sannia had stopped to take a breath, Lily put a couple words in. "So, excited to be a new Gryffie?" Sannia grinned, then went into a long explanation of why she was a prefect candidate for Gryffindor.
Finally the train began to slow down, and Sannia stopped talking to go back to her compartment. Lily and Ray made Morgan and Cary wait outside while they changed, and they'd just finished when the train finally stopped. Ray was excited to get back to Hogwarts, to her four poster bed, and her friends, and especially, Quidditch.
Everyone jumped off the train and headed to the carraiges, which were pulled by Threstrals. Reagan couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. In fact, Ray was quite glad that she couldn't. You could only see threstrals if you'd seen death. Morgan helped her into a carriage, and Lily and Cary jumped in behind them.
After they got in the castle, they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table and watched the sorting. Sannia hadn't had the hat on for more than a few seconds when it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" for the whole Great Hall to hear. Sannia jumped down from the stool, grinning from ear to ear.
As soon as the sorting was over, Professor Dumbledore gave his usual speech, then started the start-of-term feast. Ray piled as much food on her plate as she could. She hadn't eaten on the train because of the whole fiasco with Sirius and his friends. She started shoveling food into her mouth. "Merlin, Ray, how do you eat so much but keep your figure?" Kiara Atwell asked, eyeing Ray's plate with something like jealousy. Kiara was always on this diet or another. Ray thought she had no reason to diet, she was perfectly fit, but Kiara didn't see it that way.
Down the table, Sirius caught Ray's eye. His now 3 foot tail was wagging behind him while he ate, and he looked like he'd like nothing better than to throw a good hex Ray's way. Ray winked at him. She felt bad, but what could she do. Before the incident in the train, Ray had hoped maybe she and Sirius could put aside their differences this year and be friends. She could see now that this year would be just like the last. A brutal battle between neighbors, both friends and enemies.
