A/N: Severely disappointed by the measly two reviews that I got for the
last chapter (though I love my two very faithful reviewers teknocat and
evil). But I will take the time to thank all of my reviewers so far in this
chapter, since I've been slacking on that for a while. (It will thank
everybody for chapters 8 and 9.) Yeah, but seriously, I'm feeling down
about this story and have actually considered putting this on hiatus
because I don't have enough interest for it. So until I get 10 more reviews
this story is officially on hold (a.k.a. 36 reviews)!
Anyway, my reviewers:
Teknocat: Thank you for giving me mondo cuteness factor awards! (for chapters 8 & 9)
BlackWiltedRose: I know... I sure wish I had a guy like Sirius! Mia's just too darn lucky!
Doodleflip: Sirius is really sweet. There's just something about his personality that makes him automatically likeable.
EVILMWHAA HA HA HA HAA: Thanks for the new review! You are by far my most faithful reviewer and I thank you so much for that! Anyway, sorry this story may go on hold, but I hope to keep it going! For you! :blows kisses:
And that's it you pathetic bunch of losers! Just kidding, but seriously, I'm review deprived and I really feel no urge to write without reviews. Just warning you!
But yea, this chapter was fun because I got my first try at writing a Quidditch match. I'd really like your opinion on how I could have made it better or more interesting.
---
Chapter 10- February (or, "The Quidditch Tourney")
The day that the whole school had been counting down to had arrived. It was the traditional first Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match. It had come late this year due to the tragic weather conditions in December and January, but had managed to come nonetheless.
"Alright guys. I know that it's cold and that it's going to be a hard game, but I know we've trained well for this and we're prepared."
"You don't say," muttered Sirius sarcastically as he hugged himself and shivered with the cold.
"Shut up Black," said Brenda, the Seeker, one of two girls on the team, and possibly the most sane, "you're just bitter about the six in the morning practices that James made you come to."
"Damn right I am." The rest of the team, minus James and Brenda, nodded sympathetically. James was a slave driver. A brilliant coach and trainer, but too tough and fanatical in their opinion.
James ignored them. "I don't need to tell you that this game is very important, just make sure that you..." James, Gryffindor team captain and all around cocky and self assured guy, trailed off as he caught sight of a beaming Lily waving at him from the stands. He tentatively waved back desperately trying to ignore the suppressed giggles coming from behind him . "Erm, anyway," he said, regaining some of his composure, but still blushing, "their team is strong, but we've got the great skill of our three Chasers-" He beamed at Sirius and Miller Morgan, a slight blonde boy with a look of great apprehension on his face "our wonderful Seeker Brenda, our two hearty Beaters and our wonderful keeper!"
"We'll win this James, no sweat," assured Harvey Johnston, the biggest one of the group and their strongest Beater. His co-Beater, Gordon Hanson, nodded fervently by his side as he swung his bat menacingly.
"Right then. Let's go. Oh, and good luck." James turned around and marched onto the field, reveling in the shouts of approval from three quarters of the school. He grinned and threw a thumbs up toward the section where Lily, Mia, and Remus (who defined himself as "someone too smart to get himself involved in something that stupid and deadly and risk getting his brains bashed out by a big chunk of metal or a Slytherin". He was always rather long winded) were sitting.
"Welcome to the Hogwart's Quidditch Field. Please quiet down enough so I can introduce the payers." Tom Felton, a Gryffindor and the self-appointed announcer, smiled genially as he waited for the crowd to quiet down. When he finally found the decibel level low enough he began to shout, "And here's our very own Gryffindor team! Put your hands together for James Potter, the handsome and brilliant Chaser and captain of the team!" After this he was drowned out by screams (mostly female). James rolled his eyes but smiled and waved nonetheless. "Then we have our other two Chasers, Sirius Black" (loud screaming that surpassed even James' applause) "and Miller Morgan (a decent amount of noise. He was fairly popular after all). Then we have our two superb Beaters, Harvey Johnston and Gordon Hanson (louder shouts). We also have our Keeper Evelyn Perry and our Seeker Brenda Whisp (this was followed by loud wolf whistles)!"
The applause was nearly deafening as the crowd roared with unrestrained excitement. Even Lily, normally quiet and reserved, was screaming her head off. Everyone could tell that this would be a good game.
"And," Tome added sullenly, "there's the Slytherin team. Nasty gits."
A loud chorus of boos were heard that quickly drowned out any cheers from the pitiful Slytherin section along with a yelp of pain as Tom was elbowed in the stomach by Professor McGonagall.
"Introduce them," she hissed, trying to use her best "now let's be fair" look that was not very convincing in Tom's opinion.
"Fine, fine. That's the Slytherin team. There's the team captain, Lucius Malfoy. He's a Seeker, or something. And... the rest of them. Satisfied?"
A slight smile twitched on the professor's face and she nodded curtly. She pointedly ignored the outraged shouts from the student portion of the Slytherin section and the loud screaming of Professor Vestal, the Potions mistress.
Meanwhile, down on the field the young Madame Hooch forced the two captains to shake hands and then alternately not break the other's finger's off. She was also ignoring the leering gaze of Marcus Thompson, the Slytherin Keeper, that was currently roaming over her shapely body.
Would the boy never learn? She was nearly thirty... Well, twenty six, but that was much too old for that young pervert.
Snorting in contempt, she began her usual lecture. "Now I want a nice clean game... From all of you." She threw the last comment towards Lucius Malfoy and his team who tried their best to look innocent and failed miserably. "Mount your brooms," she said, ignoring the sniggering of Marcus.
James threw one last smile toward the Gryffindor crowd before totally immersing himself in the game. Sirius looked more focused than normal as he stared intently at the box near Madame Hooch that contained the balls.
Suddenly the whistle was blown and fourteen students plus Madame Hooch soared into the air and into their respective places. The balls quickly hurtled after them.
"And the Quaffle is quickly taken into possession by James Potter!"
James grinned as he heard the cheers of the crowd and felt the rush of the wind pour over his body, flushed and hot with anticipation for the game. Suddenly his happiness was erased when he saw the glaring face of Adrian Flint, a seventh year girl, if you could call her that.
"And a quick pass to Black in the face of that horrendous monstrosity-" He cut short when he saw the look on McGonagall's face. "Sorry. And here we go- and Black is off with the Quaffle, speeding towards the Slytherin end- Ooh, Owch- he's grazed by a Bludger on his face, but he appears to be okay as he shoots a neat pass to Morgan- Morgan to Potter, back to Morgan, but oh-intercepted by Slytherin- Brandon takes the Quaffle, racing towards the Gryffindor goal- it looks like he's going to sc- no, stopped by Perry, who, along with being a superb Keeper is also very beautiful and I was just wondering if she'd like to go out with me?"
"TOM!"
"Sorry Professor." But Tom didn't look at all sorry as Evelyn smiled shyly at him and gave him the thumbs up. "Anyway," he continued with a huge grin plastered on his face, "Potter again has the possession- oh, nice dive around Flint as he maneuvers around her- passed to Black and then to Morgan- Potter, coming close- dodges around Thompson- GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw cheers filled the stadium as the Slytherins sat shivering and sullen.
"Slytherin possession- Flint to Drundle and oh- that'll leave a mark- Flint, you really must remember to dodge those Bludgers- and the Quaffle's back in Gryffindor possession- Black takes it (a collective swoon from the female population of the student body) and races towards the goal- he's going to- oh no, it's been stolen by Drake who nearly shoved Black off of his broom- dirty b-"
"TOM!"
"Sorry again. Well, Slytherin possession- Drake to Flint and back to Drake- they nearly- hey, is that the Snitch?"
An excited murmur rose from the crowd as everyone peered intently around the field.
"Where is it?" Lily heard a first year cry shrilly. She giggled and waved at James when he looked over at the noise.
"James nearly fell off his broom," Remus commented vaguely. He had long ago stopped paying attention to the game. Every since Amber had sat beside him.
"That's because he loves Lily," Mia giggled. She laughed even harder when she saw Lily's face turn bright red.
"Shut up and watch the game," said a sixth year Ravenclaw snidely from across the aisle.
Mia threw her an evil look, but turned back to the game at hand.
Suddenly, Brenda began streaking towards the opposite side of the field. Everyone immediately forgot what they were supposed to be doing and stared intently at Brenda's progress. Lucius Malfoy could only watch as she snatched the Snitch from midair and held her hand high.
"ANG GRYFFINDOR'S WON!"
The entire Gryffindor team shot towards Brenda and nearly killed her as they slammed forcefully into one another.
"Owch," she said, her voice being muffled from her face being pressed into James' robes.
"Walk it off," Sirius said cheerfully as he planted a kiss on her head, "we've won!"
"And Gryffindor wins one hundred and sixty to ten! What an amazing match!" Tom crowed joyfully over the screams and shouts of happiness. "This means that Gryffindor is one step closer to winning the Cup this year, something that has not been done since Rodney Herndon's famous '69 match!"
Finally the team was able to land in a large mass, pulling it off with no injuries, albeit a little jumbled. Finally they had disentangled themselves and were greeted with an onslaught of well wishers.
Sirius, topping over six four, was able to see clearly over the crowd and thus managed to meet Mia somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
"We won!" Mia giggled at Sirius' enthusiastic words as she kissed him on the cheek.
"You were great, though there wasn't much time for you to score. Brenda is really good."
"Thanks." He gave her another kiss, but quickly drew back and wiped something dark from her face.
"Sirius! You're hurt!" She grabbed his face and turned it so she could inspect the gash in the fading light. "Well, it looks worse than it is. Here-" she cast a quick healing charm. "There! All better!"
"You're the best," he said as he hoisted her up. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and he began taking her back to the castle.
"You're not too shabby yourself," she acknowledged.
Sirius nodded, a goofy grin still plastered on his face. "Shall we head back to the Common Room? I hear there's going to be a great after party!"
"Well how would you know that? It's not like you were planning it or anything," Mia said sarcastically. She couldn't remember how many hours (or so it had seemed) she had spent listening to James and Sirius plan their victory party. "But how do you know you're going to win?" She would always tease them. They always gave her their frighteningly identical smiles and said, "We will."
"Shut up," Sirius said good naturedly as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Isn't this romantic? You're so gross and sweaty!" Mia stuck her tongue out at him and before he could reply, Remus had burst in between them. Before they knew what had happened they found their arms draped around Remus.
"Great game today! Good job!" Remus flashed a brilliant smile at the bemused couple trying to hide their laughter. "What?"
"I've never seen you this happy before, that's all. What's up?"
"Well Mia, it just so happens that Amber is going to be my date for the party tonight!"
Mia grinned. "That's great!"
"I know. I still can't believe it," Remus said in wonder.
Mia laughed and poked Remus in the side with her free arm. "You've really got to be more confident because I know for a fact that a lot of girls in this school fancy you." Seeing the shocked look on his face, she continued, "why if I wasn't stuck with this lug here-" she gestured towards Sirius who made a face "I'd date you myself!"
Remus blushed, but looked extremely gratified.
They continued to chat about the game until they reached the Common Room and the ensuing chaos.
---
The next morning Sirius stumbled down into the Great Hall for breakfast looking for all the world as if he had been hit with numerous Bludgers. He took the seat next to Mia, the only other seventh year Gryffindor besides himself and Lily awake. He had piled a great mound of fried food on his plate before he realized that Mia was undoubtedly not paying attention to him.
"Hi Mia."
"Hey." He could tell her mind was still not focused on him.
"Mia? Are you okay?" Sirius looked concerned as he sat down next to her for breakfast the morning after the game.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said distractedly, still staring.
He followed her gaze and found she was watching Lily. "What's with her?"
Mia shrugged and continued her staring.
Lily was sitting at the far end of the table reading a paper away from the main crowd of the table. Her features were drawn and hard and her face was pale as she focused intently on the paper in front of her. She almost looked like she could cry.
Sirius shook his head. Lily doesn't cry.
"I'm going to go find out what's wrong," he said, pulling Mia out of her reverie.
"Ok. Be careful."
He was puzzled by that comment, but smiled and walked over to Lily who paid him no mind. Even as he sat down next to her she did not look up from the paper.
"Hey Lily," he said brightly, "what's going on?"
Her head snapped up and she met his gaze. Sirius was surprised to see her eyes blazing and a snarl across her normally smiling lips. "Nothing. Now leave me alone."
Sirius stared at her in shock as she got up and stalked out of the Great Hall. Once she had left he grabbed the paper, eager to see what had gotten her so upset.
A Shocking Muggle Attack
Hathaniel Nawthorne
The so-called "Death Eaters" that have been plaguing
the wizarding community for years have finally placed action with their
words.
Early this morning (the approximation was about three a.m.) four Muggle
homes
in Haddock were attacked. The situation was passed off as an accidental
fire that started in one house and spread to the other three to the Muggles, but this
was obviously the work of magic. The Aurors that have been on the scene since shortly after the attack are mystified about how the attackers got into the
town unnoticed. They said that it had been a target for suspicious activity and
had been watched carefully by the Ministry. Several suggest that they had contacts within
the town, but
this gigantic slip is a blow to the Ministry's reputation.
"This is just horrible," Amides Finch, head of the Department of Muggle
Affairs,
commented as we caught him surveying the scene with a look of horror and
regret on his face. "Just know that we will catch whoever did this and
they will be brought to justice."
The names of those killed were not disclosed, but it was said by a
Ministry official that some had relations to the wizarding word and had
been considered a
threat to the "pureblood mentality" of the Death Eaters that attacked.
Sirius reread the article hoping for some mistake. "James?"
James, who had entered during the time Sirius had been reading the article, looked up with scrambled eggs hanging would of his mouth. "'Uh?"
"Where does Lily live?" Sirius tried to contain his worry, but he could not hide the tremor of apprehension in his voice.
"Here stupid."
"Shut up Prongs. This is serious. Where do her parents live?"
"Haddock."
"Oh my God." Sirius' sharp intake of breath was enough to alert his friends that something was wrong.
"What?" Mia's face was clouded with concern. "I knew there was something wrong with Lily this morning. She looked really depressed."
"Lily! What happened? I'm confused," whined James.
"Read this," Sirius ordered.
Mia, Remus, and James crowded around the paper and read the proffered article. All looked up at Sirius in shock as they finished reading the article.
"You don't think...?" Remus left the question unasked as if it would be truth if it was spoken.
"I don't know, but it sure seems like it. And Lily thinks it too."
All four friends stared at the door, marking the spot where their distressed friend had last been seen.
---
A/N: Yay! The end! Oh, and I would like to know if anyone would be interested in becoming a charactre. I've got a great idea for a new charactre, and hey, why not make it a reader. Anyway, there will be something about that in the next chapter!
Anyway, my reviewers:
Teknocat: Thank you for giving me mondo cuteness factor awards! (for chapters 8 & 9)
BlackWiltedRose: I know... I sure wish I had a guy like Sirius! Mia's just too darn lucky!
Doodleflip: Sirius is really sweet. There's just something about his personality that makes him automatically likeable.
EVILMWHAA HA HA HA HAA: Thanks for the new review! You are by far my most faithful reviewer and I thank you so much for that! Anyway, sorry this story may go on hold, but I hope to keep it going! For you! :blows kisses:
And that's it you pathetic bunch of losers! Just kidding, but seriously, I'm review deprived and I really feel no urge to write without reviews. Just warning you!
But yea, this chapter was fun because I got my first try at writing a Quidditch match. I'd really like your opinion on how I could have made it better or more interesting.
---
Chapter 10- February (or, "The Quidditch Tourney")
The day that the whole school had been counting down to had arrived. It was the traditional first Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match. It had come late this year due to the tragic weather conditions in December and January, but had managed to come nonetheless.
"Alright guys. I know that it's cold and that it's going to be a hard game, but I know we've trained well for this and we're prepared."
"You don't say," muttered Sirius sarcastically as he hugged himself and shivered with the cold.
"Shut up Black," said Brenda, the Seeker, one of two girls on the team, and possibly the most sane, "you're just bitter about the six in the morning practices that James made you come to."
"Damn right I am." The rest of the team, minus James and Brenda, nodded sympathetically. James was a slave driver. A brilliant coach and trainer, but too tough and fanatical in their opinion.
James ignored them. "I don't need to tell you that this game is very important, just make sure that you..." James, Gryffindor team captain and all around cocky and self assured guy, trailed off as he caught sight of a beaming Lily waving at him from the stands. He tentatively waved back desperately trying to ignore the suppressed giggles coming from behind him . "Erm, anyway," he said, regaining some of his composure, but still blushing, "their team is strong, but we've got the great skill of our three Chasers-" He beamed at Sirius and Miller Morgan, a slight blonde boy with a look of great apprehension on his face "our wonderful Seeker Brenda, our two hearty Beaters and our wonderful keeper!"
"We'll win this James, no sweat," assured Harvey Johnston, the biggest one of the group and their strongest Beater. His co-Beater, Gordon Hanson, nodded fervently by his side as he swung his bat menacingly.
"Right then. Let's go. Oh, and good luck." James turned around and marched onto the field, reveling in the shouts of approval from three quarters of the school. He grinned and threw a thumbs up toward the section where Lily, Mia, and Remus (who defined himself as "someone too smart to get himself involved in something that stupid and deadly and risk getting his brains bashed out by a big chunk of metal or a Slytherin". He was always rather long winded) were sitting.
"Welcome to the Hogwart's Quidditch Field. Please quiet down enough so I can introduce the payers." Tom Felton, a Gryffindor and the self-appointed announcer, smiled genially as he waited for the crowd to quiet down. When he finally found the decibel level low enough he began to shout, "And here's our very own Gryffindor team! Put your hands together for James Potter, the handsome and brilliant Chaser and captain of the team!" After this he was drowned out by screams (mostly female). James rolled his eyes but smiled and waved nonetheless. "Then we have our other two Chasers, Sirius Black" (loud screaming that surpassed even James' applause) "and Miller Morgan (a decent amount of noise. He was fairly popular after all). Then we have our two superb Beaters, Harvey Johnston and Gordon Hanson (louder shouts). We also have our Keeper Evelyn Perry and our Seeker Brenda Whisp (this was followed by loud wolf whistles)!"
The applause was nearly deafening as the crowd roared with unrestrained excitement. Even Lily, normally quiet and reserved, was screaming her head off. Everyone could tell that this would be a good game.
"And," Tome added sullenly, "there's the Slytherin team. Nasty gits."
A loud chorus of boos were heard that quickly drowned out any cheers from the pitiful Slytherin section along with a yelp of pain as Tom was elbowed in the stomach by Professor McGonagall.
"Introduce them," she hissed, trying to use her best "now let's be fair" look that was not very convincing in Tom's opinion.
"Fine, fine. That's the Slytherin team. There's the team captain, Lucius Malfoy. He's a Seeker, or something. And... the rest of them. Satisfied?"
A slight smile twitched on the professor's face and she nodded curtly. She pointedly ignored the outraged shouts from the student portion of the Slytherin section and the loud screaming of Professor Vestal, the Potions mistress.
Meanwhile, down on the field the young Madame Hooch forced the two captains to shake hands and then alternately not break the other's finger's off. She was also ignoring the leering gaze of Marcus Thompson, the Slytherin Keeper, that was currently roaming over her shapely body.
Would the boy never learn? She was nearly thirty... Well, twenty six, but that was much too old for that young pervert.
Snorting in contempt, she began her usual lecture. "Now I want a nice clean game... From all of you." She threw the last comment towards Lucius Malfoy and his team who tried their best to look innocent and failed miserably. "Mount your brooms," she said, ignoring the sniggering of Marcus.
James threw one last smile toward the Gryffindor crowd before totally immersing himself in the game. Sirius looked more focused than normal as he stared intently at the box near Madame Hooch that contained the balls.
Suddenly the whistle was blown and fourteen students plus Madame Hooch soared into the air and into their respective places. The balls quickly hurtled after them.
"And the Quaffle is quickly taken into possession by James Potter!"
James grinned as he heard the cheers of the crowd and felt the rush of the wind pour over his body, flushed and hot with anticipation for the game. Suddenly his happiness was erased when he saw the glaring face of Adrian Flint, a seventh year girl, if you could call her that.
"And a quick pass to Black in the face of that horrendous monstrosity-" He cut short when he saw the look on McGonagall's face. "Sorry. And here we go- and Black is off with the Quaffle, speeding towards the Slytherin end- Ooh, Owch- he's grazed by a Bludger on his face, but he appears to be okay as he shoots a neat pass to Morgan- Morgan to Potter, back to Morgan, but oh-intercepted by Slytherin- Brandon takes the Quaffle, racing towards the Gryffindor goal- it looks like he's going to sc- no, stopped by Perry, who, along with being a superb Keeper is also very beautiful and I was just wondering if she'd like to go out with me?"
"TOM!"
"Sorry Professor." But Tom didn't look at all sorry as Evelyn smiled shyly at him and gave him the thumbs up. "Anyway," he continued with a huge grin plastered on his face, "Potter again has the possession- oh, nice dive around Flint as he maneuvers around her- passed to Black and then to Morgan- Potter, coming close- dodges around Thompson- GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw cheers filled the stadium as the Slytherins sat shivering and sullen.
"Slytherin possession- Flint to Drundle and oh- that'll leave a mark- Flint, you really must remember to dodge those Bludgers- and the Quaffle's back in Gryffindor possession- Black takes it (a collective swoon from the female population of the student body) and races towards the goal- he's going to- oh no, it's been stolen by Drake who nearly shoved Black off of his broom- dirty b-"
"TOM!"
"Sorry again. Well, Slytherin possession- Drake to Flint and back to Drake- they nearly- hey, is that the Snitch?"
An excited murmur rose from the crowd as everyone peered intently around the field.
"Where is it?" Lily heard a first year cry shrilly. She giggled and waved at James when he looked over at the noise.
"James nearly fell off his broom," Remus commented vaguely. He had long ago stopped paying attention to the game. Every since Amber had sat beside him.
"That's because he loves Lily," Mia giggled. She laughed even harder when she saw Lily's face turn bright red.
"Shut up and watch the game," said a sixth year Ravenclaw snidely from across the aisle.
Mia threw her an evil look, but turned back to the game at hand.
Suddenly, Brenda began streaking towards the opposite side of the field. Everyone immediately forgot what they were supposed to be doing and stared intently at Brenda's progress. Lucius Malfoy could only watch as she snatched the Snitch from midair and held her hand high.
"ANG GRYFFINDOR'S WON!"
The entire Gryffindor team shot towards Brenda and nearly killed her as they slammed forcefully into one another.
"Owch," she said, her voice being muffled from her face being pressed into James' robes.
"Walk it off," Sirius said cheerfully as he planted a kiss on her head, "we've won!"
"And Gryffindor wins one hundred and sixty to ten! What an amazing match!" Tom crowed joyfully over the screams and shouts of happiness. "This means that Gryffindor is one step closer to winning the Cup this year, something that has not been done since Rodney Herndon's famous '69 match!"
Finally the team was able to land in a large mass, pulling it off with no injuries, albeit a little jumbled. Finally they had disentangled themselves and were greeted with an onslaught of well wishers.
Sirius, topping over six four, was able to see clearly over the crowd and thus managed to meet Mia somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
"We won!" Mia giggled at Sirius' enthusiastic words as she kissed him on the cheek.
"You were great, though there wasn't much time for you to score. Brenda is really good."
"Thanks." He gave her another kiss, but quickly drew back and wiped something dark from her face.
"Sirius! You're hurt!" She grabbed his face and turned it so she could inspect the gash in the fading light. "Well, it looks worse than it is. Here-" she cast a quick healing charm. "There! All better!"
"You're the best," he said as he hoisted her up. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and he began taking her back to the castle.
"You're not too shabby yourself," she acknowledged.
Sirius nodded, a goofy grin still plastered on his face. "Shall we head back to the Common Room? I hear there's going to be a great after party!"
"Well how would you know that? It's not like you were planning it or anything," Mia said sarcastically. She couldn't remember how many hours (or so it had seemed) she had spent listening to James and Sirius plan their victory party. "But how do you know you're going to win?" She would always tease them. They always gave her their frighteningly identical smiles and said, "We will."
"Shut up," Sirius said good naturedly as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Isn't this romantic? You're so gross and sweaty!" Mia stuck her tongue out at him and before he could reply, Remus had burst in between them. Before they knew what had happened they found their arms draped around Remus.
"Great game today! Good job!" Remus flashed a brilliant smile at the bemused couple trying to hide their laughter. "What?"
"I've never seen you this happy before, that's all. What's up?"
"Well Mia, it just so happens that Amber is going to be my date for the party tonight!"
Mia grinned. "That's great!"
"I know. I still can't believe it," Remus said in wonder.
Mia laughed and poked Remus in the side with her free arm. "You've really got to be more confident because I know for a fact that a lot of girls in this school fancy you." Seeing the shocked look on his face, she continued, "why if I wasn't stuck with this lug here-" she gestured towards Sirius who made a face "I'd date you myself!"
Remus blushed, but looked extremely gratified.
They continued to chat about the game until they reached the Common Room and the ensuing chaos.
---
The next morning Sirius stumbled down into the Great Hall for breakfast looking for all the world as if he had been hit with numerous Bludgers. He took the seat next to Mia, the only other seventh year Gryffindor besides himself and Lily awake. He had piled a great mound of fried food on his plate before he realized that Mia was undoubtedly not paying attention to him.
"Hi Mia."
"Hey." He could tell her mind was still not focused on him.
"Mia? Are you okay?" Sirius looked concerned as he sat down next to her for breakfast the morning after the game.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said distractedly, still staring.
He followed her gaze and found she was watching Lily. "What's with her?"
Mia shrugged and continued her staring.
Lily was sitting at the far end of the table reading a paper away from the main crowd of the table. Her features were drawn and hard and her face was pale as she focused intently on the paper in front of her. She almost looked like she could cry.
Sirius shook his head. Lily doesn't cry.
"I'm going to go find out what's wrong," he said, pulling Mia out of her reverie.
"Ok. Be careful."
He was puzzled by that comment, but smiled and walked over to Lily who paid him no mind. Even as he sat down next to her she did not look up from the paper.
"Hey Lily," he said brightly, "what's going on?"
Her head snapped up and she met his gaze. Sirius was surprised to see her eyes blazing and a snarl across her normally smiling lips. "Nothing. Now leave me alone."
Sirius stared at her in shock as she got up and stalked out of the Great Hall. Once she had left he grabbed the paper, eager to see what had gotten her so upset.
A Shocking Muggle Attack
Hathaniel Nawthorne
The so-called "Death Eaters" that have been plaguing
the wizarding community for years have finally placed action with their
words.
Early this morning (the approximation was about three a.m.) four Muggle
homes
in Haddock were attacked. The situation was passed off as an accidental
fire that started in one house and spread to the other three to the Muggles, but this
was obviously the work of magic. The Aurors that have been on the scene since shortly after the attack are mystified about how the attackers got into the
town unnoticed. They said that it had been a target for suspicious activity and
had been watched carefully by the Ministry. Several suggest that they had contacts within
the town, but
this gigantic slip is a blow to the Ministry's reputation.
"This is just horrible," Amides Finch, head of the Department of Muggle
Affairs,
commented as we caught him surveying the scene with a look of horror and
regret on his face. "Just know that we will catch whoever did this and
they will be brought to justice."
The names of those killed were not disclosed, but it was said by a
Ministry official that some had relations to the wizarding word and had
been considered a
threat to the "pureblood mentality" of the Death Eaters that attacked.
Sirius reread the article hoping for some mistake. "James?"
James, who had entered during the time Sirius had been reading the article, looked up with scrambled eggs hanging would of his mouth. "'Uh?"
"Where does Lily live?" Sirius tried to contain his worry, but he could not hide the tremor of apprehension in his voice.
"Here stupid."
"Shut up Prongs. This is serious. Where do her parents live?"
"Haddock."
"Oh my God." Sirius' sharp intake of breath was enough to alert his friends that something was wrong.
"What?" Mia's face was clouded with concern. "I knew there was something wrong with Lily this morning. She looked really depressed."
"Lily! What happened? I'm confused," whined James.
"Read this," Sirius ordered.
Mia, Remus, and James crowded around the paper and read the proffered article. All looked up at Sirius in shock as they finished reading the article.
"You don't think...?" Remus left the question unasked as if it would be truth if it was spoken.
"I don't know, but it sure seems like it. And Lily thinks it too."
All four friends stared at the door, marking the spot where their distressed friend had last been seen.
---
A/N: Yay! The end! Oh, and I would like to know if anyone would be interested in becoming a charactre. I've got a great idea for a new charactre, and hey, why not make it a reader. Anyway, there will be something about that in the next chapter!