Sirius's Top Ten

I'm BACK! And a day early! I still have my math exam tomorrow, but there's no real way to study for math, is there?

Alright, major poll here: Should I end this fic with the group finishing off sixth year, and make a sequel with the seventh year, or just leave it at that? Need input, everyone!

Everything is J.K. Rowling's except the plotline, Abby, Cass, Oliver (who might be coming back gasp) and Charlie... You know this by now, don't you?

Chapter 16: Lessons Learned

Was the fact that Tom was different from Remus such a bad thing? Abby honestly didn't know. Tom, whom she had met at the church dance thing last night, was a real sweetie. He had promised he would write to Abby, by sending letters through Mrs. Evans, and asked if he could see her in the summer. She had said yes – she liked Tom, and it wasn't like she was 'in' a relationship with Remus.

The group was silent as they all sat on a single bed on the Night Bus, now used to the lurching of the bed. Lily was lying against James, who was fiddling with her hair fondly. Cass had a muggle magazine and was reading intently, Sirius was off planting dungbombs under a bed on the third level, and Abby was staring out the window.

"Ooh, look, a 'is your boyfriend your soul mate' quiz!" Cass said aloud, eager to end the silence, and looking at Lily expectantly.

"What?" Lily asked, catching Cass's look and look slightly worried.

"Well, obviously you've got to do it with me. You're the only one here with a boyfriend… Unless Sirius here has something he wants to tell us…" She added with a playful smile as Sirius rejoined them, and bringing the group (aside from Abby) into fits of laughter.

"Huh?" Sirius frowned, before a grin spread across his face, and he began to laugh too. He didn't know why they were laughing, but it was always better to laugh with everyone else, even if they were laughing at you.

"First question, Tig. Do you know your boyfriend's favourite sport?" Cass asked, reading off the quiz and looking at Lily expectantly.

"Is there anyone who doesn't know James's favourite sport?" Lily asked, looking slightly irritated. She really didn't want to do this quiz. Sure, she wanted to know whether James was her soul mate, but if it said he was, she wouldn't believe it, since it was just a magazine quiz, and if it said he wasn't, she'd be upset. It would happen that way, she had no doubt.

"You know what I just realized, Jimbo?" Sirius asked, saving Lily from the quiz for the moment, feeling surprised he himself had noticed.

"Hmm?" James asked absentmindedly, twirling one of Lily's ringlets around his finger.

"Not only has Hogwarts gone without a pranking by the Marauders for several days now – "

"A tragedy, really." Cass commented sarcastically.

"But, we've got a quidditch match against Slytherin tomorrow!" Sirius finished, ignoring Cass's comment and Lily's giggle.

James straightened up immediately, knocking Lily forward. "You're RIGHT!"

Lily groaned and shot a dark look at James, who ignored it, his eyes bright and twinkling.

"Padfoot, old buddy, I'd better get to reviewing plays with you!" Immediately he shuffled off the bed, knocking Lily again, and led Sirius to another bed, where they hunched over a roll of parchment James had retrieved from his trunk.

"Ditched by your lover for a game. Any comments?" Cass asked, speaking into her closed fist as if it were a microphone, before offering it to Lily.

Lily laughed, pulling Cass's fist toward her mouth. "I feel… so empty… uncared for…" Lily sobbed, causing Cass to break out into laughter and Abby to smile weakly.

Lily stopped immediately as she saw her friend's face. "Abs, come on, what's wrong?"

"You know, don't you?" Abby said quietly.

Cass frowned. "Know what?"

"You know Remus's secret. The one he doesn't believe he can trust me with." Abby said slowly, trying to contain her emotions. She had never felt so hurt before. She felt sad, and angry with Remus for not being able to trust her, angry with her friends for knowing and not telling her. She was sure that they knew. She hated Remus… but she loved him. Without Remus she felt alone and empty. Abby Scott was in love.

Her friends were silent. How am I supposed to tell Abs that Remus told me, and not his girlfriend? Lily wondered to herself, unable to respond. Luckily, both she and Cass were saved from responding when 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry next, Hogwarts' boomed out in the bus, and several passengers from the upper floors came down, looking very displeased and smelling of dung. Sirius smiled innocently at a particularly frazzled older woman, before the Knight Bus came to an immediate halt outside the wrought-iron gates of the school.

"And they're off! Gryffindor chaser Remus Lupin takes the Quaffle… Sharp pass to chaser Bryan Bell… Back to Lupin… SCORE! Gryffindor is now up by thirty points!" the announcer's voice roared across the stadium, and Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike cheered loudly while the Slytherins scowled angrily at Remus, who was having an amazing game.

The girls were watching in the stands, with a large sign that flashed several different messages in red and golden script, saying things like 'Potter's #1 Fan', 'Best Beater = Black', 'Stomp the Slytherins' or 'Let's Kick Some Esche', Esche referring to Gregory Esche, the Slytherin captain, who, unlike the rest of the school, didn't find Lily's message very amusing.

Despite their valiant messages, all three girls known school-wide now as 'The Marauders' Troupe' weren't paying much attention to the game at all. In their inexperienced-in-quidditch eyes, Gryffindor was a shoe-in. James would pull into a dive, causing Lily to get all worried, he would pull out with the snitch, at which point Lily would drop back in her seat thankfully, and the party would begin. Lily yawned and took a sip of the coffee Cass had brought along, hoping to wake herself up and look somewhat more enthusiastic. No luck. But at least she looked better than Cass and Abby did. Cass was puffy-eyed, having woken up only seven minutes ago. Her normally straight blonde hair currently resembled a bush. Abby was in her pyjamas, and had dark circles under her puffy eyes. Lily only had the puffy eyes, and had thought before leaving the dormitory to braid her hair, preventing a 'bush' like Cass's.

"And Gryffindor beater Sirius Black saves Gryffindor Captain James Potter from a nasty bludger assault!" The announcer screamed happily, causing both Lily and Cass to look at the game with more interest, each at the mention of a certain boy. The Slytherin beaters had teamed up on James, by knocking both bludgers at him at the same time. Sirius, seeing the attack coming had successfully managed to knock both bludgers away.

Cass cheered loudly, and Lily jumped up and down, knocking Cass, who spilled her coffee all over the couple in front of them, who were kissing.

"Ohmigod, I'm SO sorry!" Cass screeched, looking completely mortified, as the couple broke apart and shrieked, the hot coffee scalding their skin.

Trying not to laugh, Lily quickly pulled out her wand, muttering a cooling charm on the two, before realizing: "Oliver?" she asked in disbelief, amazed Oliver had managed such a large display of public affection.

It didn't surprise Cass however, who scowled, no longer resenting spilling her coffee on them, since they didn't seem to be burnt. Prior to spilling her coffee, she had been pretty disgusted by the two, who had looked ready to pull each other's clothes off.

"Err… Yeah, hi Lily." Oliver said with a weak smile.

Lily's attention had already moved to the girl he had been snogging – Belinda Trafo, a fifth year Gryffindor, who blushed madly and looked down as she caught Lily's eye. Ever since Lily's friendship with James began in mid-September, a lot of the school had realized how nice, smart, and pretty Lily and her friends were. Lily's relationship with James had then vaulted her, along with Cass and eventually Abby, into popularity. Not that Lily noticed.

"You're Belinda, right?" Lily asked, frowning slightly as she recalled the girl's name. She was pretty sure she had tutored Belinda in fourth year for Charms.

"Err… yeah. You tutored me in Charms in my third year." Belinda said softly, barely able to be heard as Remus scored again and the stadium roared.

Lily nodded, with a smile. "Thought so."

James watched the interactions between Lily and some other Gryffindor girl from the corner of his eye, swooping overhead for a moment. He felt badly, he hadn't really been around for the past day or so, he had been busy getting his team pumped for the game. He circled the pitch, ignoring the Slytherins jeering as he soared passed, and a smile crossed his face as he saw the girls' banner flash to read: 'Potter's #1 Fan' and a redhead right beneath it.

That's when he saw it, a glint of gold floating right in the centre of the sign. Immediately he dove down, putting on speed as he hurtled toward the stands, the snitch, and a terrified looking crowd.

Is James crazy? What the hell is he doing? Cass wondered frantically, as she closed her eyes, wincing in preparation for the sickening crash she was expecting to hear when James hit the stands. She clutched Lily's arm, trying to offer support, while Abby huddled against Cass, thinking along the same lines.

Lily's eyes widened in horror as James dove straight down toward the crowd, but her eyes found the snitch hovering a few metres above them, and she smiled softly to herself, suddenly not as afraid. Will he be able to pull up in time though?

Am I going to be able to pull up in time? James wondered at that moment, his arm outstretched, his hand making contact with the small golden ball, before he pulled his broom upward. He was going too fast… he wouldn't pull up in time… He could feel the eyes of the entire school burning into his back, Lily was right in front of him… His broom wasn't in control any longer… He only saw the look of disbelief and fear in Lily's face as they collided, and the world went blank.

"Do you think they'll wake up soon?" Remus asked quietly, breaking the silence he and Abby had been in since they had arrived in the hospital wing.

Abby shrugged quietly. Sirius and Cass were outside, fending off most of the school and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team, all of whom, wanted to know about James and Lily's condition.

"Come on, Abby. Please don't do this." Remus muttered impatiently.

"Do what, Remus?" Abby asked angrily, the volume of her voice rising slightly.

"Do that! Why are you being so volatile?" Remus replied, his voice becoming louder than hers.

"Volatile? Why shouldn't I be volatile?!" Abby replied, her voice matching his.

"If you can't be quiet, I will ask you to leave." Madame Pomfrey interrupted huffily as she came between the two, looking stern.

"Sorry." Abby muttered. "We're just worried about our friends. How are they?"

"Mr. Potter has a mild concussion, five broken ribs, and a broken wrist." Madame Pomfrey said with a smile. "He'll be out in the next few days."

"And Lily?" Remus asked anxiously.

"Concussion, broken leg." Madam Pomfrey began. "However, she was impaled by Mr. Potter's broomstick, and although magic will be able to heal her, it could take up to two weeks for a full recovery. And she'll be very stiff when she does recover."

Abby sighed thankfully, sinking into a chair. Madame Pomfrey smiled at the two, before muttering something about chocolate for James, and rushing off to her potion and healing stores.

The infirmary door opened, and Cass slipped in, followed by Sirius, who had to lean heavily against the door to shut it, and locked it quickly behind him. Immediately they both approached Abby and Remus, looking anxious.

"So, how's James?" Sirius asked, glancing at the drawn curtains to his left.

"Apparently he'll be fine. Concussion. Broken ribs. Broken wrist."

"Oh. And Lily?" Sirius added, glancing at the bed next to James, the curtains drawn around it as well.

"Yeah." Added a hoarse voice. "How's Lily?"

"Jimbo?!?" Sirius asked in disbelief, yanking back the curtains surrounding James's cot to see a bruised, tired, worried looking James.

"Hi Padfoot." James said softly, his throat felt scratchy and dry, it hurt to talk. "How's Lily?"

"She's unconscious." Abby said shortly with a smile. James looked to beat up to take the truth; she wanted to spare him from it for now.

"I can't believe I couldn't pull out…" James muttered softly.

"Not your fault, mate." Sirius said with a reassuring smile, looking strangely sincere.

"At least we won… But still, I can't believe it… Lils…" James was muttering to himself softly, looking almost as guilty as he felt.

"Actually… there's a rematch in two weeks." Remus said softly, causing James to look up at him with a frown, and the rest of the group to glare at him.

"What?!?" James looked absolutely bewildered, and other than Remus, none of his friends would meet his eye.

"The snitch you saw. It wasn't the game snitch, it was some object Snape and his cronies transfigured to look like a snitch, and then levitated over Lily. They did it on purpose, knowing you wouldn't be able to pull out, and that you'd go after it. You crashed right into her. Your broom impaled her… Snape thought it was all very funny. The Slytherin seeker caught the real snitch about two minutes later. Dumbledore was furious, Avery and Lestrange are facing expulsion, and Snape has a good two years worth of detention." Remus said evenly, looking emotionless.

"Remus!" Abby glared at him angrily. "He didn't need to know that right away! He's supposed to be resting!"

"So, we're supposed to keep him in the dark?!?" Remus replied angrily.

"You weren't opposed to keeping me in the dark!" Abby retorted.

"I… My broom… Impaled Lily?" James asked softly, watching Abby and Remus size one another up.

Cass looked at James and smiled gently. "It was a mistake, James, I'm sure Lily doesn't blame you at all. She's going to be fine."

Remus was about to yell at Abby with a good comeback, but remained silent when he caught James's upset look.

"I can't believe I was so stupid. All I wanted to do was win, show her how good I was…" James muttered softly, more to himself than anyone else.

"Jimbo! It was the Slytherins' fault!" Sirius interrupted, sitting on the end of James's cot. "Stinky Slytherins."

The entire group agreed.

James was out of the hospital within three days, his wrist and ribs fully healed, and under strict instructions to come to the infirmary if he felt dizzy at all. As soon as he started classes again, he took over Abby and Cass's task of taking notes, diligently keeping them neat as possible.

Sirius was sickened by his friend's behaviour, since he no longer had anyone to goof off with in classes. Remus had always refused, Cass wouldn't go near him, and Abby wasn't in any of his classes.

"That had to be the most boring lesson EVER." Sirius complained, as he, Abby, and Cass walked to the infirmary to check on Lily, who had yet to regain consciousness.

Cass laughed. "You said that in History of Magic too."

"And in Muggle Studies." Abby added, chuckling quietly to herself.

"And at lunch, after Amos's fascinating lecture." Sirius added slyly. Cass grimaced and hit him on the arm playfully. She should have seen that coming. I didn't see it though.

Amos had approached Cass at lunch, and made a very heartfelt apology in front of everyone. Sirius had called it 'the James approach', referring to when James had made an apology to Lily. Cass could remember it vividly…

She had just sat down between Sirius and Abby for lunch, when she saw the familiar head of blonde hair approaching. 'Great' she had thought. The last person she wanted to talk to while Lily was in the hospital wing. She could almost picture her accusing Amos of helping the Slytherins. What he had said, about muggles, was inexcusable.

"Cassebear, can we talk?"

He used the nickname he had made up for her before they had broken up. She used to think it was cute, but now, she found it exceptionally sappy.

"No."

"Please. Just let me undo a few mistakes."

She grudgingly agreed, only because she knew Lily would have wanted her to. He then asked Abby to move down a bit, and she obliged, sliding away from Cass to make room for Amos. He didn't sit, however, instead, he stood up on the bench, and pulled Cass up with him.

"Excuse me." He said loudly, getting the attention of the room. "I've taken a page out of James Potter's book – "

"Ha! Knew he was going for 'the James approach!" Sirius had interrupted loudly, before nodding, as if giving Amos consent to continue. Amos glared, but turned face the hall again.

"And I'd like to apologize to Cassidy. I'm sure many of you heard our break-up argument, and I'd like to set some facts straight. My comment about muggles was cut short, I meant to say 'muggles you don't know', and I apologize to Cass and her friend, Lily Evans, and all muggle-borns for not making that clarification beforehand."

He had turned to Cass then, and looked into her eyes with a deep and meaningful stare.

"Please, Cass… Let's try this again. I was an idiot, but I've learned my lesson, and I promise I'll make it up to you. Would you consider a date with me?"

"I'll think about it." Cass had answered softly, prompting the entire hall to break out into applause, except for Sirius.

"Sirius!" Abby said in disbelief, interrupting Cass's thoughts. "It was sweet!"

The trio quieted down as they entered the infirmary, knowing Madame Pomfrey would bite their heads off if they were too loud. Cass was in the middle of muttering something to Abby when she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Tig?" Cass asked softly, a smile creeping across her face. Lily smiled at her friends, who looked astounded. Lily was sitting up in her cot; the curtains pulled back, her hair in tangled ringlets. She looked tired, but very pleased to see her friends.

"Tig…" Cass repeated softly, taking a step forward, still in shock.

"I was going to wake up eventually!" Lily laughed, eyeing her friends' expressions. Suddenly, they realized it wasn't a dream, and smothered Lily in hugs. They explained the whole happening to Lily, who looked quite angry at the mention of Snape and the Slytherins, and how quiet and guilty James had been.

"Where is he now?" Lily asked curiously, munching on a bar of Honeydukes chocolate, which she had taken from the huge pile of get-well gifts.

"James? Err… dunno. Probably asking some Professor if you can have an extension for an essay, since he thinks you're still unconscious." Sirius muttered, ripping open another envelope from a large pile. "Oh, look, another get-well card. This one plays music. It's from that Belinda girl."

Lily nodded, ripping open an envelope from her family. She smiled as she unfolded her mother's stationary, and read the quick scrawl of her father.

Dearest Munchkin,

We received an owl from your head of house, informing us you had been injured during a quidditch match. Your mother was mortified, but this only peaked Charlie's interest in the game. Your mother, of course, has now forbidden him to play it, until you come home and explain it to her.

Please write when you've woken up, Professor McGonagall informed us that you'd be fine. Attached is a letter for Abigail, from some chap named Tom, and one for you from Mario. Don't like that boy.

Love, Dad.

Lily frowned, and looked at the next sheet of paper, which had 'ABBY SCOTT' written across the top and underlined several times. She grinned, and tossed the paper at Abby, hitting her in the forehead. Abby frowned at Lily.

"It's from 'some chap named Tom'" Lily explained, quoting her father and imitating him almost perfectly.

Abby and Cass laughed, and Sirius gave a short chuckle, before looking a bit concerned.

"You're not serious about this Tom guy, are you?" He asked as Abby began reading her letter.

Abby frowned, pausing from reading her letter. "I don't know."

Cass took this opportunity to snatch the letter from Abby's hand, and despite Abby's protest, she began to read it aloud, putting on a macho voice, trying to sound like Tom.

"Dearest Abby – " she rumbled, as Lily and Sirius broke down in laughter. "I've been thinking about you a lot recently, ever since I met you at the church dance. Do you believe in love at first sight? Because, I think I do now…" Cass trailed off, and Lily and Sirius had both stopped laughing. Abby angrily snatched the letter back, clutching it tightly.

"He said he's in love with you, Abs." Cass said quietly ignoring the flushed angry face Abby was giving her.

"So?" she retorted.

"What about… You and Remus…" Cass asked tactfully, slowly, trying not to get Abby angry.

Too late. Cass had touched a nerve, and the normally quiet, peaceful, kind Abby was replaced with a fiery one, that could rival Lily's infamous temper. "WHAT ABOUT US?!? IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T REALIZED, REMUS AND I ARE NOT TOGETHER! IF HE CAN'T TRUST ME, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE WON'T EVER BE TOGETHER!" Abby's voice was ringing through the infirmary, and the group was lucky Madam Pomfrey was at lunch, or Abby would have been forbidden to come again.

"Calm down, Abs." Lily said quietly, looking over her friend with emotionless eyes. "Cass was just curious, and I think she gets the point now. Are you going to write Tom?"

Abby was silent, and looked down at the letter, reading from where Cass had left off.

… Do you believe in love at first sight? Because I think I do now… Abby, I'm afraid I'm in love with you. And I know this will probably scare you, but I want everything out on the table. I know you go to boarding school with Lily Evans, and that it's somewhere in Scotland (Mum couldn't remember exactly where Mrs. Evans said it was), and a relationship might be hard, but I'd like to give it a try. What do you think?

Love, Tom.

Abby was scared, really scared. Not as scared, as she had been when James had crashed into Lily and she thought she'd never see her friend again… Not as scared as she had been when Cass had yelled out that she liked Remus… Not as scared as she had been right before her first kiss with Remus… But it was still high up there. 'I want everything out on the table.' That was the one thing Remus wouldn't offer, and the one thing she wanted.

"Yes. I think I will." Abby said softly, with a weak smile. Sirius grimaced, and looked extremely displeased, but Lily gave her a warm smile, and Cass grinned as best she could.

"JAMESIE!!! MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS!!!" Sirius screeched, finding James sitting in the common room, pouring over a Potions essay.

"What, Padfoot?" James groaned, looking up from his essay to see his hyper, bouncy friend.

"You shouldn't be so grumpy! We have things to celebrate! But we also have things to be sad about, so perhaps you should be grumpy… But you have to be happy, I mean, it's great news. So maybe a combination of both… But they're opposites – "

"Padfoot?" James interrupted suddenly.

"Yes."

"Shut up and tell me what's going on."

"Oh. Well, that chap that Abby met at Lily's is writing her, and she's writing back." Sirius said first, deciding to have some fun with James.

"Is that the bad news?"

"Yes! Horrible, isn't it? Abby's completely obsessed with this honesty bit." Sirius spluttered.

"Calm down, Padfoot. What's the good news?"

Sirius paused, trying to create a dramatic effect, and irritate James further when he finally found out. "Lily's awake!"

But instead of being yelled at for taking so long to tell James something so important, which was what poor Sirius was expecting, James dropped his quill, pulled himself onto his feet, and dashed from the common room.

He'd never seen James run that fast.

"So, Abby's met another guy?" a voice behind him asked solemnly. Sirius turned to see Remus, his other best friend, looking pretty upset. He had dark bags under his eyes, and looked pretty pale.

"Err… Yeah. She met this muggle named Tom at the church-dance-thing Lillers took us to. He wrote her a letter." Sirius offered bluntly, but quietly. Sirius never was one for tact.

"And he's writing to her?" Remus asked, his voice even, though Sirius could tell he was fighting back emotions. Sirius was never one for tact, and Remus was never one for public displays of emotion.

"Yeah. Sound's a bit loony if you ask me - "

"I… I have to tell her, Padfoot." Remus said slowly, before making his way to the portrait hole.

"Moony!" Sirius called urgently to his friend's back. Remus spun around, and Sirius could see that Remus really was in love with Abby, and that he needed to tell her. "Good luck."

Coming up:

- What happens when Remus tells Abby that he's a werewolf?
- Will Cass take Amos back?
- Will we get a mushy LJ scene? (Answer: A bit of one!)