All Alone?
Chapter 19
Disclaimer: No.
A/N: This is the sappy chapter where Sirius and Remus are supposed to get their heads out of their asses and grow up. Okay, that's a bit harsh, but as The Only One You Ever Feared pointed out, they're acting amusingly childish. Like, so Violet's in the hospital, whippie frickin dee! You have your best friend in front of you. So they're going to hug and make up or something like that in this chapter. But I refuse to make it a Slash!!! No offense to anyone out there, I'm not homophobic, but slash fics just aren't my style.
As for what else happens in this chapter, I think you guys are going to like it.
Anyway, on with the story.
Chapter 19
Remus slid out of the fireplace back at his house, though not halfway as graceful as he had at the hospital. He cracked his head on the mantle on his way out as a matter of fact. After lying there for several minutes blinking the spots out of his eyes and trying to think through the blinding pain, he stood up, grappling for his wand.
He performed a pain killing charm and went looking for Sirius. He was sitting on the couch looking slightly better than he had that morning. When he saw Remus enter the room, he stood up and blurted out, "Look, Moony, I don't know exactly what it is that I said, but I know it was really cruel and uncalled for and I'm so so sorry."
"I know." Remus said quietly. "Sit back down. I need to talk to you."
"Oh boy." Sirius muttered. "Everyone's favorite words... What is it?"
"It's about what idiots we've both been..." Remus shifted uncomfortably in the seat. "You've only been back for what? a month? Six weeks? And it hasn't been the same. We used to be best friends."
"We ARE best friends, Remus!" Sirius squawked indignantly. "What do you mean, used to be?"
"You know as well as I do that things haven't been the same since before you... fell through the veil."
Sirius's jaw tightened. He hated when anyone mentioned what had happened. "What do you mean?" he asked stiffly.
"Look at us, Sirius!" Remus said exasperatedly, his voice rising a few octaves. "When you first showed up on my doorstep, and well, after the shock and denial wore off, I was ecstatic! I was no longer the only Marauder left! I had someone to share everything with. And I was happy that way. I hadn't been so happy in my entire life. And then Violet got suspended for attacking Snape and--"
"I always knew she had potential." Sirius said proudly. Remus glared at him but kept going.
"And I was foolish enough to think that I could hide you from her until she went back to Hogwarts. Stupid me, I should have known she was cleverer than that. When she found out, I was happy for you two, of course, but then, it got out of hand. You two were ignoring me in favor of each other and it pissed me off."
"I apologized for that, Moony, remember?" Sirius pleaded.
"I know, Sirius, I'm just getting to the point. And then, when I hit Violet and she ran off, we focused more on the fact that Violet wasn't there and less on the fact that we had our best friend right in front of us and that we had someone to help us through it." Remus looked at Sirius with pleading eyes. "You *are* my best friend, Sirius, and I want it to stay that way."
"You're-you're saying that Violet's gotten in the way of our friendship?" Sirius gaped.
"Yes and no. It's not her fault, we've just been focusing more on her than anything else. I can't imagine how stupid I must have looked wailing about being alone when I had my best friend in front of me. And don't lie, you did the same thing."
"You're right." Sirius admitted quietly. "I did. I never even realized it... Holy shit, I'm an idiot."
"You're not the only one." Remus kicked Sirius's ankle lazily like he used to do in school. "Friends?"
"Of course!" Sirius said, gripping Remus's hand and giving him a one armed "man-hug", that is, he threw his arm around Remus and slapped his back hard a few times. Remus returned it, and it almost became a contest to see who could leave the biggest bruise on the other's back. Finally, Remus gave up and pulled away first, his back starting to really hurt.
"So no more being dumbasses then?" Remus asked.
"No more being dumbasses." Sirius grinned, clapping Remus once more on the back for good measure. He could think of nothing else to say, so he struck up a conversation about just what Violet had done to Snape.
An hour later, a blur of white and blue zoomed out of the fireplace. After a second look, they realized it was Dumbledore in blue robes. He didn't have time to say anything, as he was immediately followed by three Ministry of Magic people in black cloaks. Sirius leapt back behind Remus with a yell.
"Calm down, Sirius." Dumbledore spoke. "It's just Tonks, Arthur, and Kingsley."
"What's going on? What are they doing here?" asked Remus for Sirius.
"They've found Peter Pettigrew. With much persuasion, I got everyone at the Ministry to believe that Sirius is alive. They want us to capture him so we can have a trial for him. I had Tonks, Arthur, and Kingsley come because we wanted to let Sirius decide whether or not he wanted to come to trial and risk being sent back to Azkaban or worse. These are your options, Sirius." Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "You can come with us and sit in a cell until your trial, and risk going back to Azkaban or you can stay here and hide out, and risk being caught and thrown back in Azkaban without a trial. Which do you choose?"
Sirius had inched his way out from behind Remus and opened his mouth. "What are you saying, Dumbledore?" He stammered. "How can I choose between something like that?"
"Please, Sirius, don't get upset--" Dumbledore tried to reassure him.
"NO!" he shouted. "You just come in here and dump all this crap about Pettigrew being alive and the Ministry offering me a trial and you expect me not to get upset?! Are you psycho?!!"
"I am telling you this for the last time, Sirius." Dumbledore said, calmly. "You can either come with me voluntarily, and get a trial and the chance to go free, and get supposed revenge on Pettigrew, or you can stay here and hide out for the rest of your life. And I should let you know that if you choose not to come, the Ministry will start looking for you, and if they find you, chances are, you will receive the Kiss with no trial. For the last time, WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?" He didn't yell, just put emphasis on the words.
"You're serious?" Sirius choked. "Those are my options?"
"Sirius, listen." Remus pulled Sirius aside. "I know this sucks, but you've got to do it."
"And risk getting the Kiss--?" Sirius protested.
"Sirius." Remus put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "I know I'm not you, and if I was, I'd be scared to death. But you HAVE to do this. You have got to put aside your fears and do this! If not for yourself, do it for Violet and me. She loves you and I love you! You're practically--no, you are-- my brother. Seeing you free would be the best gift ever."
Sirius was truly at a loss for words at what his best friend had just said. His eyes were begging.
"Please, Sirius." Remus said softly. "If they've found Peter, then there's no case against you."
"Al-alright." Sirius said, his face white. "I'm going to regret this, but... but I'll go with you." He stepped determinedly over to the fireplace.
After hugging Sirius tightly, Remus grabbed Kingsley's shoulder and muttered in his ear. "Take care of him."
"I will, Remus." Kingsley grabbed Sirius's shoulder and pretended to yank him toward the fireplace.
Remus grasped Sirius's hand breifly before the five disappeared down the fireplace. After a minute, Remus pressed his hands into his face and muttered, "Oh, shit... oh, shit... oh, shit..."
***
About a half-hour before all this, Violet heard Madam Pomfrey bustling around the hospital, fussing over someone.
"Simply dreadful, dear... tsk, tsk, Quidditch, such a dangerous game. Well, Mr. Miller, go sit on the bed that's next to Miss Potter's bed."
Violet gasped and tore off the blanket and made a beeline for the direction of Pomfrey's voice. She saw the silhouette of a short, skinny boy with curly hair limping toward her.
"ERIC!!!" she screamed, running straight into his arms. She didn't see him wince in pain when she collided with his chest, but instead flung her arms around him. It felt like heaven to be in his arms again.
Eric wasn't happy at all about being in the hospital again but the sight of Violet, who was much much thinner, but every bit as gorgeous as she'd been before, made all of the pain worthwhile. He threw his arms around her and inhaled the smell of her shampoo. It was wonderful to have this angel in his arms again. He cupped her face in his hands and started kissing her. She started kissing him back and then pulled back all of a sudden, staring hard at his face.
"Oh my God..." she gasped. His face was practically beaten in. She lightly touched one of the many shiners on Eric's face. He pulled away. "What happened to you?"
"I fell off of my broom..." he muttered, looking away. "While playing Quidditch."
"Huh." Violet stared at his bruises suspiciously, but started kissing him again. She was careful not to touch his bruises, but he didn't seem to mind either way. He put his hand on her back and it started sliding down her back onto her butt. She simply reached behind her and slid his hand back up her back, deepening the kiss.
"Ahem!" coughed Madam Pomfrey. "Get off of him, Miss Potter! He needs his potions."
Violet got on her own bed and watched as Madam Pomfrey force-fed Eric potions that looked like they'd come out of a toilet. After five minutes, his bruises healed over and he looked much better. She finally left and Violet sat on the bed beside Eric. Eric absentmindedly laced his fingers in hers and laid his head on her shoulder. "You've really lost a lot of weight. What happened?"
Violet considered for a second, before deciding to tell him the basics. "Remus and I got into a fight and I had a very stupid moment and ran away from home. They found me over a week later in a cave."
Eric gaped. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. It's not really something to joke about."
"What, did he beat you up or something?"
It was Violet's turn to gape. "Excuse me?" she said, looking shocked and offended. "Why in the world would you think he'd beat me up?"
Eric stammered, trying to think of an excuse. So far, none came to mind. *Good job, Eric. Open mouth, insert foot!* Finally, he sighed. "I don't know why I said that. I just, er, had a blonde moment. Come on, you know that no one can beat you up."
"True..." she said, before playfully putting him in a headlock. "Say uncle."
"Nope." he twisted and pulled at her arms, but her headlocks were unbreakable. She finally let him go with a giggle.
"You're pitiful, Eric. I'm going to have train you up some day."
Eric laughed and tackled Violet to the bed. He straddled her stomach and pinned her arms to the bed with his knees. "I'd like to see you get out of this." He teased, poking her in her ribs.
Violet winced in both pain and laughter. It tickled, but she didn't have any fat there, so it kind of hurt. She easily pulled her arms out from under Eric's knees (and for the first time felt thankful she was so skinny) and grabbed Eric's left hand with her left, put her right arm on the inside of his left arm, and rolled over, knocking both of them off of the bed.
Eric wound up on his back, with Violet lying on top of him. "Guess what." she whispered, closing in on his face. "I just did." She grabbed him by his collar and pulled his face up to hers and kissed him again. They kept kissing for a few minutes, and luckily pulled away just before someone zoomed out of the fireplace. Violet bit her lip and her face turned red.
Remus Lupin stared incredulously at Violet, who was half lying on Eric and still gripping his collar. "What the hell?" he demanded.
Violet scrambled off of Eric. "Remus!" she said breathlessly. "I was showing Eric here some self-defense tips. He needs to toughen up, he's kind of a wuss."
"Really?" Remus arched his eyebrows at her. "And aren't you going to introduce me to your, er, friend?"
"Oh!" she said, relieved that he didn't appear angry. "How stupid of me. Eric, this is Remus Lupin, my guardian. Remus, this is Eric Miller, my--" she swallowed. Both Remus and Eric were looking at her expectantly. "My f-friend."
Remus seemed to buy it and shook Eric's hand. "Nice to meet you, Eric." Remus said in that mild, nice way that made everyone like him.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Eric said quietly, shaking Remus's hand. Violet felt even more guilty at the hurt look on Eric's face.
After he let go of Eric's hand, he pulled Violet aside. "Violet, I really need to speak with you alone."
"Eric, I'll be right back. Remus needs to talk to me." She said to Eric. He ignored her, staring at his feet.
Remus walked across the hospital and sat down on a bed. He motioned for Violet to sit on the bed across from him. Violet sat down nervously. Was this about Eric?
"I'm not sure how to tell you this, Vi..." He put his hand over hers and squeezed it.
"Oh, God, what happened?" Violet panicked, jumping up. "Something happened to Sirius, didn't it? Oh my God..."
"Sit back down, Vi." Remus said gently, pulling her on the bed beside him by her hand. "He's not dead or anything like that, but..." he searched for the right words to say. "You won't be seeing him for a while."
"What are you talking about?" Violet said, growing angry at his evasiveness. "What happened?!"
"Lower your voice, Violet." Remus said quietly. "He's being taken to the Ministry of Magic and--"
"WHAT?!" Violet screeched so loudly that it echoed off of the ceiling and walls, jolting several sleeping paintings awake. "YOU LET THEM TAKE HIM?! HE'LL BE GIVEN THE KISS, REMUS!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!"
Remus covered Violet's mouth with his hand and pulled his fingers back slightly as Violet tried to bite him. "Listen to me, Violet." he said firmly. "If you don't be quiet and let me finish, I'll put a Silencing Charm on you right now."
Violet stared at him angrily before nodding. He pulled his hand away. "I hate you." she muttered.
"That's very nice, but this is more important. Calm down please and I'll tell you the-- don't look at me like that, Violet-- I'll tell you why it happened. They found Pettigrew." He paused to allow Violet to gasp, then continued. "And Dumbledore managed to convince the Ministry that Sirius is really alive. I don't know how, but somehow he did. They arranged a deal with him. If he delivered Sirius to the Ministry of Magic, they would put him a holding cell, in the Ministry, but not in Azkaban. And they would grant him a trial. Dumbledore gave Sirius the choice to come with him and have a chance at being free again. Or he could stay there and wait for the Ministry to find him and capture him without a trial. He did the only thing he could do."
Violet had her face in her hands. "Oh my God, Remus... what if he's voted guilty? I can't sit by and let him get the Kiss."
"Violet." Remus hugged her. "Dumbledore is his defense. He'll be fine. Remember how much he helped you last year? Dumbledore will take care of Sirius, okay, Vi?"
Violet let him hug her and she breathed a shaky sigh into his shoulder. "I'm just scared, Moony. I lost him once, I don't want to lose him again." she said quietly.
"How do you think I feel, Vi?" he reassured her. "But I have faith in Dumbledore. He won't screw things up. Try not to worry too much." He kissed the side of her head. "Well, I'm going back home to take a shower and get something to eat." he gave her one final squeeze and headed for the fireplace. He gave Eric a short nod, who nodded softly in return.
After he disappeared in the fireplace, Violet headed back to her bed beside Eric and sighed. "It'll be okay. It was just a family problem."
Eric turned on his side facing the opposite direction.
Violet stared at him. "You're not talking to me? Eric!" she flopped over on her back. "What's wrong now?"
He ignored her.
"Eric, you talk to me, or so help me God, I will tell Pansy Parkinson that you want to go out with her." Violet threatened.
He turned back toward her. "You don't know?"
"Uh... no. That's why I asked." she said, annoyed.
He sat up, glaring at her. "Does 'This is Eric, my FRIEND' ring a bell?"
Violet remembered and could have kicked herself. "Eric, I'm sorry, okay? Remus doesn't know about us and--"
"Yeah because you don't have the balls to tell him." Eric spoke up angrily.
"Remus is protective of me, okay! I don't know how he'll react if he finds out we're going out!" Violet defended herself.
"So you're ashamed of me?"
"Of course I'm not ashamed of you, Eric! You don't understand!"
"What is it, Violet?" Eric leaned over, looking both angry and concerned. "Will he hit you or something if you have a boyfriend?"
"Why do you keep saying that?! Why do you think Remus would hit me?" Violet said angrily. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say YOUR dad hit you!"
To her utter shock, Eric's face turned white with fear, his eyes widened, and he started trembling.
A pang of realization hit Violet and her mouth fell open. "Oh my God... he does hit you, doesn't he?" she gasped.
Eric sat stock still, staring at something only he could see, before suddenly, leaping up and running out the door.
"ERIC!" Violet yelled after him as he fled through the doors. "ERIC! COME BACK!"
He didn't come back, she looked out the window soon after and saw Eric disappear into the woods. "Shit..." She then did the only thing she could think to do, and that was to Floo back home to get help from Remus.
*
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Bien, c'est tout pour maintenant. Tchao!
(translation: well, that's all for now. Bye!)
LOL. I'm trying to improve my French. Anyway, YAY the story is finally getting actiony! The next chapter will be kind of sappy. Just to warn you.
Chapter 19
Disclaimer: No.
A/N: This is the sappy chapter where Sirius and Remus are supposed to get their heads out of their asses and grow up. Okay, that's a bit harsh, but as The Only One You Ever Feared pointed out, they're acting amusingly childish. Like, so Violet's in the hospital, whippie frickin dee! You have your best friend in front of you. So they're going to hug and make up or something like that in this chapter. But I refuse to make it a Slash!!! No offense to anyone out there, I'm not homophobic, but slash fics just aren't my style.
As for what else happens in this chapter, I think you guys are going to like it.
Anyway, on with the story.
Chapter 19
Remus slid out of the fireplace back at his house, though not halfway as graceful as he had at the hospital. He cracked his head on the mantle on his way out as a matter of fact. After lying there for several minutes blinking the spots out of his eyes and trying to think through the blinding pain, he stood up, grappling for his wand.
He performed a pain killing charm and went looking for Sirius. He was sitting on the couch looking slightly better than he had that morning. When he saw Remus enter the room, he stood up and blurted out, "Look, Moony, I don't know exactly what it is that I said, but I know it was really cruel and uncalled for and I'm so so sorry."
"I know." Remus said quietly. "Sit back down. I need to talk to you."
"Oh boy." Sirius muttered. "Everyone's favorite words... What is it?"
"It's about what idiots we've both been..." Remus shifted uncomfortably in the seat. "You've only been back for what? a month? Six weeks? And it hasn't been the same. We used to be best friends."
"We ARE best friends, Remus!" Sirius squawked indignantly. "What do you mean, used to be?"
"You know as well as I do that things haven't been the same since before you... fell through the veil."
Sirius's jaw tightened. He hated when anyone mentioned what had happened. "What do you mean?" he asked stiffly.
"Look at us, Sirius!" Remus said exasperatedly, his voice rising a few octaves. "When you first showed up on my doorstep, and well, after the shock and denial wore off, I was ecstatic! I was no longer the only Marauder left! I had someone to share everything with. And I was happy that way. I hadn't been so happy in my entire life. And then Violet got suspended for attacking Snape and--"
"I always knew she had potential." Sirius said proudly. Remus glared at him but kept going.
"And I was foolish enough to think that I could hide you from her until she went back to Hogwarts. Stupid me, I should have known she was cleverer than that. When she found out, I was happy for you two, of course, but then, it got out of hand. You two were ignoring me in favor of each other and it pissed me off."
"I apologized for that, Moony, remember?" Sirius pleaded.
"I know, Sirius, I'm just getting to the point. And then, when I hit Violet and she ran off, we focused more on the fact that Violet wasn't there and less on the fact that we had our best friend right in front of us and that we had someone to help us through it." Remus looked at Sirius with pleading eyes. "You *are* my best friend, Sirius, and I want it to stay that way."
"You're-you're saying that Violet's gotten in the way of our friendship?" Sirius gaped.
"Yes and no. It's not her fault, we've just been focusing more on her than anything else. I can't imagine how stupid I must have looked wailing about being alone when I had my best friend in front of me. And don't lie, you did the same thing."
"You're right." Sirius admitted quietly. "I did. I never even realized it... Holy shit, I'm an idiot."
"You're not the only one." Remus kicked Sirius's ankle lazily like he used to do in school. "Friends?"
"Of course!" Sirius said, gripping Remus's hand and giving him a one armed "man-hug", that is, he threw his arm around Remus and slapped his back hard a few times. Remus returned it, and it almost became a contest to see who could leave the biggest bruise on the other's back. Finally, Remus gave up and pulled away first, his back starting to really hurt.
"So no more being dumbasses then?" Remus asked.
"No more being dumbasses." Sirius grinned, clapping Remus once more on the back for good measure. He could think of nothing else to say, so he struck up a conversation about just what Violet had done to Snape.
An hour later, a blur of white and blue zoomed out of the fireplace. After a second look, they realized it was Dumbledore in blue robes. He didn't have time to say anything, as he was immediately followed by three Ministry of Magic people in black cloaks. Sirius leapt back behind Remus with a yell.
"Calm down, Sirius." Dumbledore spoke. "It's just Tonks, Arthur, and Kingsley."
"What's going on? What are they doing here?" asked Remus for Sirius.
"They've found Peter Pettigrew. With much persuasion, I got everyone at the Ministry to believe that Sirius is alive. They want us to capture him so we can have a trial for him. I had Tonks, Arthur, and Kingsley come because we wanted to let Sirius decide whether or not he wanted to come to trial and risk being sent back to Azkaban or worse. These are your options, Sirius." Dumbledore turned to Sirius. "You can come with us and sit in a cell until your trial, and risk going back to Azkaban or you can stay here and hide out, and risk being caught and thrown back in Azkaban without a trial. Which do you choose?"
Sirius had inched his way out from behind Remus and opened his mouth. "What are you saying, Dumbledore?" He stammered. "How can I choose between something like that?"
"Please, Sirius, don't get upset--" Dumbledore tried to reassure him.
"NO!" he shouted. "You just come in here and dump all this crap about Pettigrew being alive and the Ministry offering me a trial and you expect me not to get upset?! Are you psycho?!!"
"I am telling you this for the last time, Sirius." Dumbledore said, calmly. "You can either come with me voluntarily, and get a trial and the chance to go free, and get supposed revenge on Pettigrew, or you can stay here and hide out for the rest of your life. And I should let you know that if you choose not to come, the Ministry will start looking for you, and if they find you, chances are, you will receive the Kiss with no trial. For the last time, WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?" He didn't yell, just put emphasis on the words.
"You're serious?" Sirius choked. "Those are my options?"
"Sirius, listen." Remus pulled Sirius aside. "I know this sucks, but you've got to do it."
"And risk getting the Kiss--?" Sirius protested.
"Sirius." Remus put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "I know I'm not you, and if I was, I'd be scared to death. But you HAVE to do this. You have got to put aside your fears and do this! If not for yourself, do it for Violet and me. She loves you and I love you! You're practically--no, you are-- my brother. Seeing you free would be the best gift ever."
Sirius was truly at a loss for words at what his best friend had just said. His eyes were begging.
"Please, Sirius." Remus said softly. "If they've found Peter, then there's no case against you."
"Al-alright." Sirius said, his face white. "I'm going to regret this, but... but I'll go with you." He stepped determinedly over to the fireplace.
After hugging Sirius tightly, Remus grabbed Kingsley's shoulder and muttered in his ear. "Take care of him."
"I will, Remus." Kingsley grabbed Sirius's shoulder and pretended to yank him toward the fireplace.
Remus grasped Sirius's hand breifly before the five disappeared down the fireplace. After a minute, Remus pressed his hands into his face and muttered, "Oh, shit... oh, shit... oh, shit..."
***
About a half-hour before all this, Violet heard Madam Pomfrey bustling around the hospital, fussing over someone.
"Simply dreadful, dear... tsk, tsk, Quidditch, such a dangerous game. Well, Mr. Miller, go sit on the bed that's next to Miss Potter's bed."
Violet gasped and tore off the blanket and made a beeline for the direction of Pomfrey's voice. She saw the silhouette of a short, skinny boy with curly hair limping toward her.
"ERIC!!!" she screamed, running straight into his arms. She didn't see him wince in pain when she collided with his chest, but instead flung her arms around him. It felt like heaven to be in his arms again.
Eric wasn't happy at all about being in the hospital again but the sight of Violet, who was much much thinner, but every bit as gorgeous as she'd been before, made all of the pain worthwhile. He threw his arms around her and inhaled the smell of her shampoo. It was wonderful to have this angel in his arms again. He cupped her face in his hands and started kissing her. She started kissing him back and then pulled back all of a sudden, staring hard at his face.
"Oh my God..." she gasped. His face was practically beaten in. She lightly touched one of the many shiners on Eric's face. He pulled away. "What happened to you?"
"I fell off of my broom..." he muttered, looking away. "While playing Quidditch."
"Huh." Violet stared at his bruises suspiciously, but started kissing him again. She was careful not to touch his bruises, but he didn't seem to mind either way. He put his hand on her back and it started sliding down her back onto her butt. She simply reached behind her and slid his hand back up her back, deepening the kiss.
"Ahem!" coughed Madam Pomfrey. "Get off of him, Miss Potter! He needs his potions."
Violet got on her own bed and watched as Madam Pomfrey force-fed Eric potions that looked like they'd come out of a toilet. After five minutes, his bruises healed over and he looked much better. She finally left and Violet sat on the bed beside Eric. Eric absentmindedly laced his fingers in hers and laid his head on her shoulder. "You've really lost a lot of weight. What happened?"
Violet considered for a second, before deciding to tell him the basics. "Remus and I got into a fight and I had a very stupid moment and ran away from home. They found me over a week later in a cave."
Eric gaped. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. It's not really something to joke about."
"What, did he beat you up or something?"
It was Violet's turn to gape. "Excuse me?" she said, looking shocked and offended. "Why in the world would you think he'd beat me up?"
Eric stammered, trying to think of an excuse. So far, none came to mind. *Good job, Eric. Open mouth, insert foot!* Finally, he sighed. "I don't know why I said that. I just, er, had a blonde moment. Come on, you know that no one can beat you up."
"True..." she said, before playfully putting him in a headlock. "Say uncle."
"Nope." he twisted and pulled at her arms, but her headlocks were unbreakable. She finally let him go with a giggle.
"You're pitiful, Eric. I'm going to have train you up some day."
Eric laughed and tackled Violet to the bed. He straddled her stomach and pinned her arms to the bed with his knees. "I'd like to see you get out of this." He teased, poking her in her ribs.
Violet winced in both pain and laughter. It tickled, but she didn't have any fat there, so it kind of hurt. She easily pulled her arms out from under Eric's knees (and for the first time felt thankful she was so skinny) and grabbed Eric's left hand with her left, put her right arm on the inside of his left arm, and rolled over, knocking both of them off of the bed.
Eric wound up on his back, with Violet lying on top of him. "Guess what." she whispered, closing in on his face. "I just did." She grabbed him by his collar and pulled his face up to hers and kissed him again. They kept kissing for a few minutes, and luckily pulled away just before someone zoomed out of the fireplace. Violet bit her lip and her face turned red.
Remus Lupin stared incredulously at Violet, who was half lying on Eric and still gripping his collar. "What the hell?" he demanded.
Violet scrambled off of Eric. "Remus!" she said breathlessly. "I was showing Eric here some self-defense tips. He needs to toughen up, he's kind of a wuss."
"Really?" Remus arched his eyebrows at her. "And aren't you going to introduce me to your, er, friend?"
"Oh!" she said, relieved that he didn't appear angry. "How stupid of me. Eric, this is Remus Lupin, my guardian. Remus, this is Eric Miller, my--" she swallowed. Both Remus and Eric were looking at her expectantly. "My f-friend."
Remus seemed to buy it and shook Eric's hand. "Nice to meet you, Eric." Remus said in that mild, nice way that made everyone like him.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Eric said quietly, shaking Remus's hand. Violet felt even more guilty at the hurt look on Eric's face.
After he let go of Eric's hand, he pulled Violet aside. "Violet, I really need to speak with you alone."
"Eric, I'll be right back. Remus needs to talk to me." She said to Eric. He ignored her, staring at his feet.
Remus walked across the hospital and sat down on a bed. He motioned for Violet to sit on the bed across from him. Violet sat down nervously. Was this about Eric?
"I'm not sure how to tell you this, Vi..." He put his hand over hers and squeezed it.
"Oh, God, what happened?" Violet panicked, jumping up. "Something happened to Sirius, didn't it? Oh my God..."
"Sit back down, Vi." Remus said gently, pulling her on the bed beside him by her hand. "He's not dead or anything like that, but..." he searched for the right words to say. "You won't be seeing him for a while."
"What are you talking about?" Violet said, growing angry at his evasiveness. "What happened?!"
"Lower your voice, Violet." Remus said quietly. "He's being taken to the Ministry of Magic and--"
"WHAT?!" Violet screeched so loudly that it echoed off of the ceiling and walls, jolting several sleeping paintings awake. "YOU LET THEM TAKE HIM?! HE'LL BE GIVEN THE KISS, REMUS!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!"
Remus covered Violet's mouth with his hand and pulled his fingers back slightly as Violet tried to bite him. "Listen to me, Violet." he said firmly. "If you don't be quiet and let me finish, I'll put a Silencing Charm on you right now."
Violet stared at him angrily before nodding. He pulled his hand away. "I hate you." she muttered.
"That's very nice, but this is more important. Calm down please and I'll tell you the-- don't look at me like that, Violet-- I'll tell you why it happened. They found Pettigrew." He paused to allow Violet to gasp, then continued. "And Dumbledore managed to convince the Ministry that Sirius is really alive. I don't know how, but somehow he did. They arranged a deal with him. If he delivered Sirius to the Ministry of Magic, they would put him a holding cell, in the Ministry, but not in Azkaban. And they would grant him a trial. Dumbledore gave Sirius the choice to come with him and have a chance at being free again. Or he could stay there and wait for the Ministry to find him and capture him without a trial. He did the only thing he could do."
Violet had her face in her hands. "Oh my God, Remus... what if he's voted guilty? I can't sit by and let him get the Kiss."
"Violet." Remus hugged her. "Dumbledore is his defense. He'll be fine. Remember how much he helped you last year? Dumbledore will take care of Sirius, okay, Vi?"
Violet let him hug her and she breathed a shaky sigh into his shoulder. "I'm just scared, Moony. I lost him once, I don't want to lose him again." she said quietly.
"How do you think I feel, Vi?" he reassured her. "But I have faith in Dumbledore. He won't screw things up. Try not to worry too much." He kissed the side of her head. "Well, I'm going back home to take a shower and get something to eat." he gave her one final squeeze and headed for the fireplace. He gave Eric a short nod, who nodded softly in return.
After he disappeared in the fireplace, Violet headed back to her bed beside Eric and sighed. "It'll be okay. It was just a family problem."
Eric turned on his side facing the opposite direction.
Violet stared at him. "You're not talking to me? Eric!" she flopped over on her back. "What's wrong now?"
He ignored her.
"Eric, you talk to me, or so help me God, I will tell Pansy Parkinson that you want to go out with her." Violet threatened.
He turned back toward her. "You don't know?"
"Uh... no. That's why I asked." she said, annoyed.
He sat up, glaring at her. "Does 'This is Eric, my FRIEND' ring a bell?"
Violet remembered and could have kicked herself. "Eric, I'm sorry, okay? Remus doesn't know about us and--"
"Yeah because you don't have the balls to tell him." Eric spoke up angrily.
"Remus is protective of me, okay! I don't know how he'll react if he finds out we're going out!" Violet defended herself.
"So you're ashamed of me?"
"Of course I'm not ashamed of you, Eric! You don't understand!"
"What is it, Violet?" Eric leaned over, looking both angry and concerned. "Will he hit you or something if you have a boyfriend?"
"Why do you keep saying that?! Why do you think Remus would hit me?" Violet said angrily. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say YOUR dad hit you!"
To her utter shock, Eric's face turned white with fear, his eyes widened, and he started trembling.
A pang of realization hit Violet and her mouth fell open. "Oh my God... he does hit you, doesn't he?" she gasped.
Eric sat stock still, staring at something only he could see, before suddenly, leaping up and running out the door.
"ERIC!" Violet yelled after him as he fled through the doors. "ERIC! COME BACK!"
He didn't come back, she looked out the window soon after and saw Eric disappear into the woods. "Shit..." She then did the only thing she could think to do, and that was to Floo back home to get help from Remus.
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Bien, c'est tout pour maintenant. Tchao!
(translation: well, that's all for now. Bye!)
LOL. I'm trying to improve my French. Anyway, YAY the story is finally getting actiony! The next chapter will be kind of sappy. Just to warn you.