Chapter 16: - Guilt tripping and the furthering of the divide

There was no way that any of them even Miriam could talk their way out of this Dumbledore had expressed his feelings on the subject of the curfews at the start of term feast, but instead of looking infuriated at them he looked kindly at them his long silver hair and beard sweeping down his back and the front of his dressing gown, and he smiled at the first years as he repeated his question to Frank who was looking uncharacteristically nervous,

"W-We were looking for Miriam's Kneaz-"

"Kitten!" Miriam said cutting Frank off with a look of warning

"He's very little" Lily said almost amazed at how brave she had been to have spoken to the headmaster.

"It should really have been expected" Dumbledore said looking slightly grave and speaking as though he hadn't heard their explanation "When things are forbidden then the urge to push those limitations is always a strong impulse to counteract, especially in the young."

"We didn't do it on purpose professor!" Miriam said a little too heatedly for Lily's liking "I've lost my Knea-Kitten, I mean my Kitten, MacMikelmouse he got out of the common room and we had to find him!"

"It's Artemis isn't it?" Dumbledore asked looking very keenly at Miriam over the rims of his half moon glasses as Miriam nodded looking a little nervous, "MacMikelmouse is a very fine name for a fine creature like a...Kitten, it has absolutely no meaning you know" Miriam nodded looking as confused as the others about the professor's strange conversation

"My grandfather named him" she said slowly as though this explained everything.

"I knew your grandparents very well Miss Artemis, you are the spitting image of your grandmother when she was your age" Lily saw Miriam smile obviously pleased at the professor's words, "She was an exceptional witch Miss Artemis and will be sorely missed"

"I know" Miriam said glumly,

"Come" Dumbledore said holding his arms wide "I will escort you back to your common room" The first years followed Professor Dumbledore down the corridor and up several flights of stairs, Lily was amazed at how energetic the professor was and unlike the first years he wasn't out of breath when they reached the seventh floor, and they crossed the corridor towards the fat lady's portrait.

"I must beg you not to stray from your common room again" Dumbledore said has he called out the password and the Fat lady swung forwards tutting at the first years, "Certain nights at Hogwarts are not as safe as others and for your own safety I ask you to abide by the rules" they all nodded to show the professor that they had all understood,

"Very well, to bed" Dumbledore said waving his hand at the opening. The first years all climbed through the portrait hole not believing their luck of having escaped Peeves, Filch and at meeting Dumbledore up close and not receiving punishments for being out after curfew. Lily looked at her watch it read, Twelve forty-five. They had only been out of the common room for just over half an hour but it had felt much longer then that,

"Miriam!" Amy and Dymphna called as they saw Lily, Miriam, Frank and Alice enter the common room,

"Are you alright" Dymphna called rushing over to them with Amy by her side,

"You didn't get in any trouble did you?" Amy asked looking concerned,

"What happened to you?" they both said in unison as they looked at Frank's cut cheek.

"This rivalry has got to stop!" said Remus Lupin who was sitting on one of the comfy chairs by the fire still looking very pale and slightly ill, sitting in his lap curled up and fast asleep was a tiny striped and speckled fur ball: MacMikelmouse

"Mac!!!" Miriam cried ecstatically rushing over to Remus, and picking the small kitten up, "You found him! You found him! How can I ever thank you?" Miriam said tears rolling down her face as she hugged Remus and kissed him on the cheek several times as Mac hissed loudly and his lion like tail thumped against Miriam's body.

Remus looked very shocked at Miriam's behaviour, and although he was very pale Lily could have sworn that she saw his cheeks blushing red under his pallid complexion, Miriam still hadn't let go of Remus and was hugging him very tightly as though it had been her who he had saved,

"I helped as well!" Lily heard Frank mumble next to her and Lily smiled, and Amy and Dymphna cooed as Miriam kissed Remus again.

"Where was the fur ball?" Frank said loudly has he moved over to Miriam and Remus and prised them apart,

"What?!?" Remus said blushing even more as Amy and Dymphna giggled and he rubbed the cheek that Miriam had kissed looking slightly dazed "Oh!, James and Sirius had hidden him in our dormitory, I found them trying to stuff him into one of their trunks"

"They didn't?" Lily gasped, Remus nodded.

"And you rescued him!" Miriam said in awe smiling very broadly as Mac nuzzled her cheek purring very loudly now that she was no longer embracing Remus,

"Well he kind of rescued himself" Remus said smiling as he moved closer to Miriam and Frank laughed as Mac took a swipe at Remus' face

"I did say they were fiercely loyal" Remus said backing away and Mac settled down purring again,

"You did indeed" Amy said giggling "You should see Sirius and James' faces!" Amy and Dymphna then dived into a long explanation of what had happened when Lily, Miriam, Alice and Frank had left the common room.

James and Sirius had been bragging about how easily Miriam was to manipulate especially when they had discovered what she cared for more then anything else, and when Alice and Lily had followed her out of the common room they had killed themselves with laughter. That was until Amy and Dymphna had hexed them both with the jelly legs curse and they wobbled off up to their dormitory to try and look up the counter curse. It was shortly after that that Remus had headed off to the dormitory to help them and he had found them with Mac.

"Their now at the hospital wing" Dymphna said laughing "Peter had to take them. You should have seen their faces!" Dymphna and Amy burst out laughing pulling their hands across their own faces in imitation of scratch marks.

"So it's a really good thing that you four didn't get into any trouble tonight, because it would have made everything worth while from them" Remus said moving closer to Miriam as she continued to give all her affection to Mac who purred very loudly but kept his eyes narrowed and fastened onto Remus as though he was some sort of a threat to his mistress.

"Remus also thinks that we should put an end to all this pranking that we started" Amy said sounding a little disappointed,

"No!" Lily said surprising herself once again that night at what she had said "They we're the ones that started this! If hadn't had been for them we'd have finished our homework and have gone straight to bed, but no they couldn't let anything drop and we could have been expelled to night or worse!!!"

"Lily-" Miriam said but Lily wasn't in any mood to listen to reason, she now wished that she hadn't tried to have stopped Miriam with some of the plans she had suggested to revenge Severus' beating. But now the thought of Severus Snape's bruised face when he had been discharged from the hospital wing, Miriam's distress at the though that she'd never she her beloved pet again and the fact that she, Miriam, Alice and Frank could have been seriously injured tonight by Peeves or the fact that if Filch had discovered them in the bombsite that was now the trophy room he would have personally ensured that McGonagall would have expelled them. All this boiled over in Lily and she finally burst.

"Tell them!" Lily said angrily to Frank and Remus "that if they are after a fight then we are more then capable and willing to give them one!" Amy and Dymphna cheered but Miriam and Alice exchanged shocked looks at this sudden change in Lily

"But-" Frank began but Lily cut him off,

"No Frank you can either be with us or against us, the choice is yours. You have to decide. The same goes for you Remus," the rest of the first year girls looked at Lily impressed and Lily could feel a strange sense surge through her body energizing her,

"To war ladies!" Lily said pointing towards the stairs of the girls' dormitories and Alice, Amy and Dymphna smiled mischievously, as Lily led them up towards their dormitory, Miriam chasing after them and Frank and Remus were left standing in the common room looking bewildered.

"Now who sounds like an insane General?" Miriam said as she reached Lily and the girls climbed the spiral stairwell towards their dormitory.

Lily couldn't help but smile as they all changed into their pyjamas and nightdresses, and climbed into bed, Lily saw Mac curled up next to Miriam's pillow still purring as Miriam pulled her drapes closed. Lily kicked off her slippers and slipped under her covers pulling her drapes around her. Lily was still smiling as she laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes.

'What have I done!!!' she though sitting up immediately. How could she have said what she had? Miriam was the one that was supposed to come out with insane ideas Miriam was the one who should have pledged a war upon the boys and have rallied the girls into battle! Miriam was the insane one of the group!!! Lily was the nice one, the one who was supposed to keep a level head at all times!

'How! How could she have let this happen!' Lily asked herself and the answer that she got back disturbed her even more 'Because James and Sirius deserved it!'