Ponderings of the Soul

Chapter 5

We were sprinting down the hall, or I should say Sirius was sprinting, I was just, you know, kind of barely hanging on as we slid down hallway after hallway, and I don't know if it was my imagination or not, but I could have sworn we dashed through a solid wall or two…Anyways, we were going pretty fast, and Sirius was apparently taking me somewhere, though I had no idea as to actually what or where this somewhere was…is.

There is one noticeably good thing about this whole, err, affair, Sirius has seemed to momentarily forgotten about my collapse. Maybe not forgotten, but at the very least distracted. The whole "escape" couldn't have possible taken more than a few minutes, cause the next thing I know, we're standing in front of the…infirmary? Oh God! I didn't think he was actually serious when he was speaking with McGonagall! This is going to be so embarrassing!

"Whew! That must have been some kind of record!" Sirius exclaimed. "Was that a riot or what?! That was so cool! Gotta give Jamesie the props on that one! Almost beats the confetti catastrophe from first year!"

"Uh…all it was some trick smoke, not very original if you ask me. But if you were to have added a simple laughing charm--"

"Oh! But they will be laughing trust me!" Sirius interrupted. "Didn't you wander why we got out of there so fast?"

"To escape the blame that you're surely owed," I suggested.

"Well, besides that!" I looked at him blankly, not quite sure of exactly what he was referring too. "There was a charm on that smoke, and it was to be set off no later than 15 seconds after initial ignition." He paused before giggling, "James put a tickling charm on it. They'll all be rolling on their sides laughing their heads off! Even the Slytherins! What a sight to see! Too bad we're missing it, but I had too get you to the---"

I cut him off, briskly changing the subject, "But won't the teachers figure out what you've done and just reverse the spell?"

"Well if they can stop laughing long enough maybe…Oh and did I forget to mention that there is 15 minute minimum before our charm will react to another, reversal or otherwise." Sirius smiled at me devishly.

"Wow, you're good…" I said in partial disbelief. Why does he suddenly remind me of Andric?

I didn't realize I'd spoken my thoughts aloud until Sirius asked, "Who?"

"Uh, oops! I was just thinking, err, aloud."

Sirius chuckled, "That's okay. I'm as guilty at times!"

"All of the time you mean!" a voice from behind said in humor. I spun around so fast I almost did a double take (whatever that means). I looked a bit ruffled, I'm sure, but Sirius looked as if he'd been expecting him, which knowing him, he probably had.

The boy moved from the shadows into the flickering torch light with Sirius and me. I noted straight away that he was by far one of the most handsome -- I'd even say beautiful --guys I've ever met. Not as striking as Sirius for sure, but definitely some competition for him. He was handsome in a…messy sort of way. He had a disheveled mess of black silky locks crowning his head, and to-die-for rich brown eyes that seemed to pierce right through you, able to see beyond any façade… thin wire spectacles perched precariously on the bridge of his nose… I realized I was staring as this new boy gave me an odd look and whispered something to Sirius that sounded an awful like, "Are you sure she's all, you know, there?" This made Sirius laugh and me to stop staring, a faint blush beginning to color my cheeks.

"Hey Em," Sirius started. I raised an eyebrow at the shortening of my name, but didn't say anything and he just continued, seemingly not noticing. "This is my best mate, James, James Potter… Ain't he a doll?" He reached over and pinched James' cheek, and James just smiled wide, with his cheek still being held captive by Sirius' thumb and index finger. "Jamesie! Meet my beauty super-ior. My new girl Em!"

"You wish!" I laughed at his last comment. Sirius winked at me as James just laughed.

"Ouch! Rejected! Shot down! That's gotta be a first!" James said. James and I became quick friends, as Sirius had already been deemed buddy for life in my mind. We stood there chatting for a bit, our original purpose forgotten for the time being…

Unbeknownst to the trio, a crimson-eyed young man's eyes glinted with something close to pure malevolence; his plan was falling into place perfectly.

A/N: Okay, very short chapter. Sorry about that. Not a very good one either…And sorry for making you guys wait over a month for this chapter! I've just been so busy! Ack! SO much to do! Christmas break started today though, so I decided to start it off with something productive! Making this chapter! Lol. I still have a ton of chores to do, but they can wait. I hope you guys know how much I'm "sacrificing" for you by making this chapter first. Lol . I had originally planned for this to be WAY longer. But after writing that last line, I knew I was doomed to stop there for now. As soon as I post this though I'm going to start the next chapter. I really hope you enjoyed. Thanks to all of my reviewers! Yay! I have eleven! Yes! 11! Woo-hoo! Oh and per chance would any of you wonderful readers be interested in becoming a BETA for me. I would so so so, appreciate it! Thanks again and catch ya next time!

Reviewer Thanks

Smileyface3: Thanks! Glad you liked it. Romance between them?…Maybe….evil cackle (lol)

Thestral tamer: There is a reason for her convulsions…I just haven't figured out what it is exactly. (lol) You should try the recipe! Tell me how it tastes! - Sorry for making you wait so long, I was being lazy. And this was a lousy, not to mention extremely short chapter. Sorry about that!

Mellonim: I'm so happy! You like it! You really like it! Yay! I love getting encouraging reviews! Thanks!

Rose/Misao (whoever you are!): lol. I'm going to call you later and read this to ya! Aren't you happy! Lol. Talk to ya later! Hope you like the chapter!