TOY SOLDIERS

CHAPTER SIX-THE SECOND 'GIFT'

HILLARY.

I decided to back off with Remus. Obviously, he found someone that might actually like him back.

I was also beginning to think Sirius liked me and decided to follow that.

"Jessica's…dead?" I asked stunned.

Lily nodded.

"What happened?" Remus asked behind me.

I was sitting on the edge of his bed. His touch remained on my shoulder. It was so gentle.

"Someone threw her off the Ravenclaw tower. Her body hit the ground and there's not much to her now," Lily said going pale.

"Oh my God," I breathed.

Lily nodded and then left the hospital wing.

I turned around to face Remus now.

"What on earth is going on here? First Chloe is killed and now Jessica? Who could be doing this?"

Remus' blue eyes never left mine.

"Someone that hates you so much," he said quietly. "Why I can't imagine. I'm still concerned though. If Jessica was killed the person might do it to you next. What's stopping him?"

I shivered and threw my arms around his neck catching him off guard. I rested my chin on top of his shoulder. My arms were wrapped around his neck.

I felt him slowly wrap his arms around me pulling me against him.

"At least I'll have you to protect me," I whispered closing my eyes.

"With my life," I heard him whisper back.

I released him and then gave him a big smile.

"I'll let you get some rest. You'll probably be out of here tomorrow,"

He smiled and nodded. I got up off the bed and left the hospital wing.

REMUS.

I watched Hillary leave. She smelled like raspberries. Each person had their own scent. Lily smelled like lilacs; James had an earthy smell and Sirius' scent was that of rain. Oddly, I couldn't pick up Peter's scent. Normally, it was a rodent scent but this time there was something odd about it.

I fell asleep soon and dreamed.

I dreamed that I had changed into a wolf and was running around on the grounds. Sirius, James and Peter were also in their animal forms. Someone walked out onto the grounds. It was Hillary. Sirius barked and ran over to her knocking her over onto her back. He changed back into his human self and they began rolling around laughing on the grass. I watched in wolf form, feeling the jealousy rise. Suddenly, it became so overwhelming, that I charged at Sirius while he was on top of Hillary laughing. I knocked him off of her and stood over him. I snarled and opened my jaws. I clamped them around his throat and dug my teeth deep into his skin. I felt the warm rush of blood. Sirius let out a gurgle before he stopped moving. I turned to Hillary. Blood stained my muzzle.

She screamed.

I woke up abruptly with sweat clinging to my neck, face and chest. I began breathing heavily.

After that, I couldn't go back to sleep.

In the morning, Madam Elkin said I was fit to go. I eagerly left the hospital wing and headed down to the Great Hall.

I found Hillary and Sirius talking amongst themselves. James, Lily and Peter were all talking.

A flash from my dream entered my mind. I shook it away and sat down beside Sirius.

"Hey! Welcome back!" James cried eagerly.

"How do you feel?" Peter asked.

"Better," I replied.

"You look exhausted," Lily said scrutinizing me. "Did you sleep?"

"Not well," I admitted. "I had a pretty terrible dream."

"Want to tell us about it?" Hillary asked smiling.

She looked so pretty today. Her hair was fluffed around her face framing her honey brown eyes.

"Not really," I said slowly. "It was just a dream."

"Okay," she said nodding and went back to talking with Sirius.

"Oh," she said to Sirius. "Remus is going to the dance after all!"

"Really? That's great!" Lily said happily.

I just shrugged and helped myself to some crumpets.

"Hey!" Sirius said breaking out into a huge grin. "You can take Peter as a date!"

"Hey," Peter said annoyed. "Stop insinuating that Remus and I are gay."

James and Sirius laughed heartily.

"Guys stop it," Hillary said also annoyed. "Leave Peter and Remus alone. If Remus wants to go alone or with a girl that's his choice. Don't tease him about being gay. You two, if anything, are probably the most gayest people I know."

I felt a rush of pure gratitude toward Hillary. Peter looked like he could kiss her too.

James and Sirius were silent, looked at each other, and then threw their arms around one another.

"Boo Boo my man! I missed you!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I missed you too, Snuffy!" James exclaimed back.

They were in an exaggerated emotional hug.

Lily frowned but I could see her fighting down a good laugh. My lip twitched as well. Peter was laughing. Hillary seemed annoyed though.

"I heard Hillary singing this morning," Lily said obviously wanting to change the subject.

James and Sirius stopped hugging and turned to her with rapt attention.

"Rrrealy?" Sirius purred turning to Hillary.

"I've never heard you," James said smiling.

Hillary just blushed.

"It's nothing," Hillary said. "When I was little my parents gave me vocal lessons but I'm not very good."

"Don't be stupid," Lily said. "You sounded wonderful!"

"Sing!" Sirius said.

"No," Hillary said.

"Sing!"

"Sing!"

"Sing!"

James, Sirius and Peter were chanting. The rest of the Gryffindors watched curiously.

Hillary laughed.

"Okay! Okay!"

James, Sirius and Peter cheered.

She cleared her throat and began singing. Her voice sounded so clear, sharp and high.

"High above the mountains, far across the sea

I can hear your voice calling out to me

Brighter than the sun and darker than the night

I can see your love shining like a light

And on and on this earth spins like a carousel

If I could travel across the world the secrets I would tell…

"You and IIII were meant to fly

Higher than the clouds we'll sail across the sky

So come with me and you will feel the suns rays that we're floating up so high because you and I were meant to fly.

Sitting like a bird high on the wings of love

Take me higher than all the stars above

I'm burning yearning gently turning around and around

I'm always rising up I never want to come back down!

You and IIII were meant to fly

Higher than the clouds we'll sail across the sky

So come with me….and you will feel that the sun rays that we're floating up so high.

Cause you and I were meant to flyyyyyy

Flyyyyyyyyyyy

Oh yeeaaaaahhhh!

Her voice held steady on the words 'fly' and 'yeah'. She sounded beautiful.

The Hall erupted in cheers. Hillary blushed as Sirius gave her a hug and playfully poked her.

"You sounded wonderful!" I said.

"Thanks," she said beaming. "That song I always loved."

She and Sirius began talking.

I came to a decision. I would tell Sirius that he was a lucky guy to have a girl like Hillary at the Christmas dance.

HILLARY.

I noticed Remus was quiet again. Sirius was telling me that he hated to see me without a date for the dance and that's why he asked me.

So he doesn't have a crush on me? I wondered.

"Naturally I can't stand to see any one of my best friends dateless…including Remus," Sirius continued. "I might come off as a little too friendly, but its just me."

I nodded.

Nope. I don't think he did.

For some reason, that seemed to cheer me up immensely.

Jessica's body was taken to the hospital wing. They still don't know who pushed her off the Ravenclaw tower. No one thought I stabbed Remus. They all thought that the person who pushed Jessica was the person who stabbed him.

That was a huge relief on my half. Remus' too.

We went to classes. During the break, Remus pulled me aside.

Students jostled us in the corridor as they hurried to get to their common rooms, or just go outside and enjoy the cold December air.

A heavy snow began falling and blankets already covered the ground.

I stood in front of Remus.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I say go look at the body," he replied.

"Why?" I asked looking at him like he was crazy.

"There might be a clue or something," he said.

Our breaths were coming out in small puffs of steam and rising to the sky. The corridors were cold as they were open connecting one part of the castle to the next.

"Okay," I agreed.

Remus nodded and we hurried to the hospital wing.

Madam Elkin was not in the hospital wing which gave us some time to examine the body.

We carefully searched the wing until we came across a cot with the curtain drawn around it.

"This must be it," I said.

I pulled back the curtain. A white sheet with a large spot of blood on it covered the body.

Remus stood next to me and pulled up the sheet.

I had felt a scream coming on and clamped a hand over my mouth to stop it.

Jessica's body was practically jellied. Her bones were flat and broken and there was a large opened wound on her side where bits of internal organs were flowing out. Her skull was flat. There was nothing left to her.

I felt a wave of nausea roll over me. Remus suddenly became alert.

"Someone's coming," he said.

He quickly covered the body and grabbed me. We dove down beside the cot. We were so close together that I could feel the heat coming from Remus' body.

"That's odd," Madam Elkin's voice mused. "I swore I closed that curtain."

We heard the swoosh of the curtain being closed. Remus and I stayed quiet.

Once we were sure she was gone, we got up and quickly hurried out of the hospital wing.

"That doesn't look like right," Remus said as we walked down the corridor to the common room.

"How is a person supposed to feel after being pushed from a what? 100 ft tower? Or more?" I asked.

"What I mean is that wound," he replied. "Didn't you notice that it was in the same spot as where I got stabbed?"

I frowned.

"Yeah. You're right,"

"Something is definitely wrong here," Remus said. "I think we'd better pay more attention to everything."

"Good idea,"

We reached the common room.

We told Sirius, James, Lily and Peter what we saw. They agreed too that we should keep our eyes peeled more.

After the break, we headed to Charms class with Professor Xander.

We would be learning the Shenmot Charm. It was used to freeze time for a moment.

Lily leaned into me.

"Listen, are you going to tell Remus how you feel?" she whispered.

"Why? He likes a new girl now," I said. "What's the use?"

Lily seemed shocked.

"That's odd," she said slowly. "But I would tell him. You never know."

"Fine," I muttered. "At the dance. But if I get humiliated I'm coming after you."

Lily grinned and playfully poked me in the ribs before returning to the charm.

About an hour and a half into the lesson, a boy came in to the classroom carrying a boy tied with a string.

I looked up and felt the panic return.

It might not even be for you, I thought trying to keep myself calm.

The boy was a fifth year and in Gryffindor.

"Professor Xander? A package for Hillary Willis," he said.

Crap. I thought.

I could literally sense Remus, Sirius and James' tensions.

"How nice," Professor Xander beamed. "She's right there."

She pointed to me.

The boy came over and placed it on my desk.

I heard someone behind me get up quickly and come around to the front of my desk. It was Remus and Sirius. James got up also.

"Can someone open it for me? I don't think I can handle whatever is in there," I said swallowing.

"I'll do it," Sirius said.

He carefully cut the string with his wand and began undoing the wrapping paper. There was a white box underneath the wrapping with a note.

OMELETTES TASTE GOOD.

Sirius slowly opened the box. Inside was part of Jessica's liver, spleen and stomach.