TOY SOLDIERS

CHAPTER FIVE-THE FIRST MURDER

Deciding to move the detention to today after what happened to me yesterday, Professor Dumbledore lightened the punishment a bit. He allowed Lily, James and Sirius to help.

After that, we headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

We found Remus and Peter already sitting at the table.

"Hey," I said brightly to Remus.

"Hi," he said. "You feeling okay today?"

I nodded. "Never been better,"

He nodded and went back to his food.

"Are you still up to going to the dance next week?" Sirius asked.

"Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"I don't know," Sirius said. "Maybe because of what happened yesterday?"

I smiled. "I'm not going to let this 'clown' scare me. I'm going to the dance and having a good time. Okay?"

Sirius broke out into a grin. "Okay,"

He turned to Remus.

"Hey, Moony, got a hot date yet?"

Remus mumbled something that we couldn't hear.

"Speak up. My hearing aid battery is starting to go," Sirius said cupping his hand behind his ear.

"No," Remus muttered.

"Then ask someone already before the girls ate taken and you have to resort to taking Peter,"

Peter frowned. "Hey,"

Sirius shrugged as if to say 'Sorry,' and then looked back at Remus.

"Look, I'm not going to go okay? Stop nagging me," Remus snapped.

Lily and I exchanged stunned looks. Sirius and James were also stunned.

"Okay man," Sirius said slowly raising his hands in a defensive position. "Sorry."

"I'm going to the library," Remus said as he gathered his things leaving his food untouched and then left the Great Hall.

"What's with him?" James asked. "I think he's been sniffing too much powdered Nute."

"Something is definitely bothering him," Lily mused but then broke out into a huge grin. "I think I have an idea and it might have to do with Hillary."

I looked up stunned. "Me? Why?"

"I'm not telling yet because I'm not sure," Lily said. "But I have a pretty good idea."

"Tell me," James whined exaggeratedly.

"No," Lily said firmly. "In case I'm wrong."

Sirius and James just shrugged and began talking to each other.

Peter began talking to me about the dance.

Lily just sat grinning.

I was worried about Remus.

"I'm going to make sure he is okay," I said as I gathered my things and also left the Hall.

I found Remus sitting at the table with his arms crossed on the table and his chin was resting on top of them. He was reading a book.

I sat down across from him and matched his position. I rested my chin on top of my arms. Our faces were inches apart. My heart pounded a bit. I've never been this close to him before like this.

"Are you okay? You've been acting a bit distant," I asked softly.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"That's the same way I acted before," I said. "Something is bothering you. Please tell me."

I gently moved my face closer to his and gave him a puppy dog expression.

He laughed.

"Well, okay," he said. "I'm having mixed feelings about someone."

"A girl?" I asked. Then decided to have some fun with him. "Or a guy?"

Remus laughed again. "A girl thankfully,"

"What sort of mixed feelings?" I asked sitting up straighter.

Remus' hands were inches from mine too.

"Well, on one hand, if I possibly get involved with her, I'd lose her as a best friend and if something ever happened and we broke up, it would be awkward," Remus said. "And the other hand, I think someone else likes her."

I studied him. "Whoa. You've certainly got a dilemma. Is she going to the Christmas dance?"

"Yeah," Remus sighed.

"Okay. Have you told her how you feel?" I asked.

"No. I even lied about things before because I was terrified to tell her," Remus admitted.

"So why don't you tell her how you feel at the dance?" I suggested brightly. "If it will make you feel better, I'll save you a dance and then you can tell me how it went."

Then my face fell. "But you're not going,"

"Do you want me to go?" Remus asked.

"Sure! It won't be the same without you," I said softly.

Remus hesitated.

"Okay. I'll go,"

"Great!" I said cheerfully.

I put a hand on his. "Things will work out. You'll see,"

He smiled at me.

"Come on," I said taking my hand away. "Sirius is starting to act weirdly…even for him. I think he ate some bad mushrooms or something."

Remus laughed again and we picked up our school bags and went to leave the library when Emmeline entered. I froze.

Remus was standing in front of me.

"Don't start," Remus warned her.

"Shut up," Emmeline growled. "It's her fault I got into trouble."

She went to walk by him to get to me, but he blocked her way.

"Leave her alone," Remus snapped.

Suddenly, Emmeline shoved Remus and he fell back into one of the tables. He banged his elbow really hard that I heard a crack. He cringed and cradled his left arm.

Emmeline stood right in my face.

I stood angry and fearful at the same time.

"You are the reason why I got detention," Emmeline snarled. "You think you can get away with things don't you?"

"It was your fault for insinuating that I'm not good enough," I said coldly. "Next time choose your words carefully."

To my horror, Emmeline pulled out a silver knife. The blade gleamed in the morning sunshine.

"Next time, I'd choose my friends more carefully," Emmeline grinned. "They might start disappearing."

With that, she threw the knife at Remus.

I screamed.

The silver blade pierced his ribs and was stuck there.

Emmeline left the library. I rushed over to Remus and crouched down beside him.

Blood began staining his robe and uniform. I went to put a hand over the wound to help stop the flow when he grabbed my hand in mid air.

"What are you doing?" I cried.

"If you touch the blood and you have a cut, you will become a werewolf too," Remus cringed.

"I don't care," I said yanking my hand from his grip. I put my hand around the blade hoping to stop the bleeding.

"WHAT ON EARTH?" Madam Pince cried.

"Emmeline stabbed him," I said looking up at her.

"Don't move him," Madam Pince said as she fled from the library.

The blood was staining my hands and the cuffs of my sleeves.

"This is my fault," I said quietly.

"What? Why on earth would you think that?" Remus asked sounding angry for some reason.

"Because I started with her remember? I was the one who punched her. If I had not we wouldn't have gotten into trouble and she would not have stabbed you," I said feeling tears forming in my eyes.

"Listen to me," Remus said putting a blood speckled hand on the side of my face. "None of this is your fault okay. I'm going to be fine."

My heart pounded as he kept his hand on the side of my face. I felt him gently stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"You're my best friend," I continued. "If I lost you I don't know what I would do."

Remus smiled. "I'm not going anywhere,"

He took his hand off of my face as Madam Elkin arrived with Madam Pince and the Headmaster.

"What happened here?" Professor Dumbledore demanded.

"Emmeline came into the library and threw the knife at Remus," I said.

Professor Dumbledore looked confused. "Emmeline? Emmeline Vance? That's impossible. She was suspended yesterday for putting a first year in the Forbidden Forest. She left,"

Remus' eyes closed and his body went limp.

Blackness swallowed me up.

"I don't remember Madam Pince pulling me out of the library. I knew I was screaming hysterically," I sighed as James put his arm around me.

We were sitting in the Gryffindor common room around the warm fire.

"Madam Elkin gave you a Dreamless Sleep potion," Lily informed me gently. "You really thought Remus had died…didn't you?"

I nodded, feeling the tears forming all over again.

James gave me a hug.

"You really care about him, huh?" Sirius said quietly.

"Of course! The same way I care about all of you," I said.

But truthfully, I was in love with Remus. The only one who knew it was Lily.

"Madam Elkin said he'll be as good as new in 24 hours," James said reassuringly. "The knife didn't puncture anything."

"How on earth did that happen?" Lily asked.

"Emmeline threw the knife at him…but supposedly Professor Dumbledore said she was suspended yesterday and left for home," I said miserably. "I don't know what think anymore. I just hope no one believed that I would hurt him."

"No way," Sirius said firmly.

"We don't know that. We don't know what people really think," I argued.

No one replied to that.

"I'm going for a walk," I muttered as I got up and left the common room.

I had hoped Christmas would be a bit more cheerful. I began thinking as I walked down the corridor. I pulled my robe around me tighter as a cold blast of air came through the window.

Should I tell Remus how I feel? If I did and he laughed in my face that would be so embarrassing and I would feel like a fool. Plus, he likes someone else now too. I thought.

But I can't go around avoiding it. I think I'll tell him at the dance. I decided.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I froze and turned around.

Could someone be following me?

"Sirius! James! Lily! Peter! Thank God! You scared the crap out of me!" I cried relieved.

"We wanted to go check on Remus. You coming?" Lily asked grinning.

"Sure," I said feeling my heart beat return to normal.

We all trooped to the hospital wing.

Remus was sitting up in bed eating some dinner that the house elves brought up to him.

He looked up and grinned when he saw us.

"Hey!" he beamed.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked giving him a hug.

Sirius slapped Remus a high five and so did James. Peter looked at Remus with a big relieved grin on his face.

"Better," Remus said grinning as he looked at us. His eyes landed on me.

"Are you okay too?" he asked.

I nodded.

"She really flipped out," Sirius said. "Madam Elkin had to give her a Dreamless Sleep potion. She thought you were dead."

"She's just a caring person," Remus said softly. "I'm sure she would've thought that with any of us. But I had just passed out."

"Apparently Emmeline isn't here at Hogwarts anymore," James said. "She left yesterday for putting a first year in the Forbidden Forest."

"That's odd because I saw her too and spoke to her," Remus said frowning.

"Really?" Lily asked surprised.

Remus nodded.

"That's odd," James mused. "Could she have snuck back in somehow?"

"I don't think so," I said slowly. "Once a student is suspended, he or she cannot come within 5 feet of the castle without triggering an alarm. It's a standard rule."

"That's so strange," Lily said shivering…and creepy."

Remus moved his eyes onto me but didn't say anything.

"We're hoping the whole school doesn't think I did it," I muttered. "You know how rumors spread."

"Right. And what would the reason be? You're in love with Remus and a jealous rage came over you and you stabbed your own best friend?" Sirius scoffed.

I cringed when he said 'You're in love with Remus'.

REMUS.

I saw Hillary cringe when Sirius said 'You're in love with Remus'.

Odd...why did she cringe? I thought tilting my head slightly.

The truth was the girl I was having mixed emotions about was Hillary. I think Sirius likes her so I had decided to back off.

I really loved her though. I hated the fact that I told her all those stupid lies about liking Jessica and Lily. I was just afraid to tell her the truth. I was even afraid to tell Lily the truth.

Hillary laughed.

That only confirmed that she didn't feel the same way I did. Sirius was a handsome guy. What girl wouldn't love him?

"You still know how rumors go around," Lily said frowning.

"We'll make sure nothing gets spread around," Sirius said firmly.

Sirius gave Hillary a squeeze before he turned to me.

"Take it easy man," he grinned. "No rough housing with the girls."

"Yeah," James said. "The last time I heard you had 30 women in here."

Peter giggled.

"You guys are so perverted," Lily moaned as she smacked James on the head and followed him out. Sirius followed next and then Peter.

Hillary sat on the edge of my bed.

"Oh man," Hillary sighed. "My whole body feels like it had been poked with a cattle prod."

She tilted her neck and rubbed a spot on her shoulder. "I think it's stress,"

"That would do it," I said nodding.

Secretly I wanted to massage her shoulders…just to touch her but I was afraid that it would seem a bit weird to her.

"Do me a favor? Can you massage this spot?" Hillary asked turning around so her back faced me.

She pointed over her shoulder to a spot on her blade.

I cleared my throat.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm not going to bite," she laughed.

I gently put a hand on her shoulder and began massaging it. Her body did feel tense and once I started, I felt it relax.

"Ooh, that feels so good," she sighed.

Her head lolled forward slightly and her curly hair brushed against my fingers. It felt so soft and silky.

Her body was limp now.

Just then, someone burst into the hospital wing. Hillary cried out from being startled and my hand quickly fell away from her shoulder blade.

It was Lily.

"There's been a murder…Jessica is dead,"