Chapter 10 - - - Thinking of You, My Friends
Black dreams of fire, fur, and sharp teeth like knives, sinking into her flesh , tearing away a part of her soul and refilling it with something inhuman.
But somehow, Noel wasn't so scared anymore. She hadn't even been scared when she recieved the bite. A part of her knew he wasn't himself, that Remus would never hurt her. He said so. So she wasn't frightened.
It was dark in the hospital wing when Noel woke up, dying of thirst. Reaching for the glass of water by her bed, she found it had long since gone hot. A simple freezing charm would've take care of it, but Noel didn't have her wand. She sighed and looked around the room.
Her friends were lying in beds too, all in a line. Noel was bored, so she decided to observe them, see how they slept after they had been tested like this. Because it was a test. A test of their friendships.
Noel was on a bed between Remus and Jenna, who was at the end, totally wiped out. But she was sick, had almost fainted when Noel was bit, poor girl.
Noel crept out of bed, to look upon the faces of her friends. A sound to her left caused her to turn her head - Remus was moaning, the names of his friends spilling from his lips every now and then. He felt awful for biting Noel, had cried himself to sleep, Maria and James by his side. Now he seemed to be having tortured dreams of the battle - he was twitching and muttering. Noel brushed his light brown bangs from his eyes and moved on.
Troy was next, and he had dried blood in his sandy blond hair from a cut on his forehead. He had been knocked out during the battle, and had only woken up once to check how everyone else was doing. Or rather, Noel thought, how Jenna was doing. She snickered lightly and turned.
Moonlight fell on Maria's bed, highlighting her black hair and pale face. She was lying on her stomach, and Noel could see three long, bloody gashes where Remus's claws had raked down her back. She patted her friend's shoulder gently. That must have been very painful.
Sirius's bed was next to Maria's, of course. He had one tan arm stretched across the gap and was clutching one of Maria's thin wrists. He was twitching and murmuring, like Remus, and had a claw mark across his cheek, and down his arms. They were deep, sure to scar.
Lily was after Sirius. She was sleeping peacefully, or so it seemed. Her face was contorted into a horrible grimace, and she was curled into a ball, no doubt plagued by terrible dreams. But then, Noel frowned sadly, aren't we all?
Last but not least, her brother, James. He was sleeping the opposite of Maria, laying on his back, claw marks on his chest. Also unlike Maria, his weren't deep enough to scar, whereas her's might. Noel stroked her brother's messy black hair, tears welling up in her brown eyes. This was the outcome for one night of fun? Four sick teenagers, and four more with horrible battle scars?
Boy, Noel thought, a wry smile touching her lips, if this is how we have fun, I'd hate to see what happens when we're bored! One of us would probably die!
But then she bit her lip, whispering aloud, "That's not funny...."
"What's not funny?" a voice asked groggily.
Noel looked down; James was awake. "Hey." she greeted him softly, "how are you?"
"Likewise, baby sister," he clasped her hand, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, James. I'll be okay. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure it will turn out okay."
"That's my sis. Now, go get some more sleep, Noel. I don't want you to get sick, alright?"
"Yes, James. Good night..."
"Good night, Noel."
She tiptoed back to her bed, kissing Remus on the forehead as she passed.
"I don't blame you, Remus...."
~ ~ ~
The next morning, the Mauraders were up bright and early, still sick and scarred but extremely hyper. Sirius and Troy were throwing around paper airplanes. One of them hit Lily in the head and she got mad and threw a pillow at Sirius, but it hit Maria. This started an all-out pillow fight, until Madame Pomfrey put a stop to it.
"Honestly!" she shrieked, "You are sick and scarred and need REST! Now, get in your OWN beds and be QUIET!!"
This didn't have quite the effect she had hoped for. They just laughed and asked her if they could have some more juice. When she got back, she found that, instead of getting in their own beds, they had pushed two of the beds together and were sprawled all over them. Hiding her smile, she gave them their drinks and left.
By this time, James, Lily, and Sirius had told the others the crucial information Maria had said last night. When they reached the part about the Heirs, Maria looked back and forth between James and Noel. She kept opening her mouth, but nothing came out, until Remus tapped her and hissed, "Remember!" She lowered her eyes, muttering, "Yes. It's not our place to say.."
"Say what?" Jenna asked.
"Please don't ask. It's not our place." Remus said softly.
Maria's eye twitched. "Remus," she whispered, staring at Jenna and Sirius, "I know...who..."
"It's not our place!" he returned harshly. Maria scowled at him and muttered, "Fine. Powerful wizarding families..it's no wonder we were all attracted to eachother."
They all glanced at eachother curiously, but had no time to talk. Dumbledore had just walked in.
"Ah, you're all awake. That's good." he gazed around at them all with his twinkling blue eyes. "Your parents have been notified," he said, then, to Maria, "and your guardians. Everyone should be here shortly."
There was a knock on the door.
"That was fast." Sirius said.
Dumbledore got the door. The room was suddenly crowded. There was Felicity and Adam Carlson, Alana and Lucas VanArc, Mark and Trista Lupin, Darien and Renee Potter, Alan and Nicole Evans, and Adrian and Calista Black. They rushed toward their children.
"I thought you said my guardians were coming," Maria said to Dumbledore, "Where are they?"
Mark and Trista paused by Maria and Remus.
"My children..." Mark whispered. Trista elbowed him. "Shhhh!"
Dumbledore looked at Maria. "Mark and Trista here are your guardians, Maria."
She grinned at him.
"We haven't seen you two forever!" Trista whispered, hugging them both.
"Mom...!" Remus cried, "it wasn't that long ago....!"
"But we've missed you both so much!" Mark said, also hugging them.
Remus grinned, when a scarlet glint caught his eye. Maria followed his gaze. "They're giving it to James and Noel..." she said quietly.
Mark and Trista were nodding.
"I'm not surprised you're both friends with these people. The Pendants are attracted to eachother." Mark said, "Although we didn't meet everyone until later."
Maria glanced at Sirius, who was hugging his father. Adrian Black's sleeve had been pushed up a bit, and Maria caught a snatch of the Dark Mark. So, she thought, it's his father's side....
Their parents spent the rest of the day with them. Everything was fine.
Before Mark and Trista left, however, they told Maria and Remus - "Remember, it's not our place to tell them all...."
~ ~ ~
a/n: Huh!? What did Mark mean, "My children!?" Jeez., what do you guys think is up!? And what about that scarlet snatch? What were Darien and Renee giving to their children? And what is it about Sirius's father's side that's so important to Maria? Hmm..so many unanswered questions..and some won't even be answered in this particular story. I'm going to write another one, about Maria and Remus's past. It's improtant to this story line, and we only hear a little of it here. There's more about them coming soon, here, too. Like what Mark meant. But it's complicated. So...stay tuned! Ty to Clare and AngelD for reviewing!
Black dreams of fire, fur, and sharp teeth like knives, sinking into her flesh , tearing away a part of her soul and refilling it with something inhuman.
But somehow, Noel wasn't so scared anymore. She hadn't even been scared when she recieved the bite. A part of her knew he wasn't himself, that Remus would never hurt her. He said so. So she wasn't frightened.
It was dark in the hospital wing when Noel woke up, dying of thirst. Reaching for the glass of water by her bed, she found it had long since gone hot. A simple freezing charm would've take care of it, but Noel didn't have her wand. She sighed and looked around the room.
Her friends were lying in beds too, all in a line. Noel was bored, so she decided to observe them, see how they slept after they had been tested like this. Because it was a test. A test of their friendships.
Noel was on a bed between Remus and Jenna, who was at the end, totally wiped out. But she was sick, had almost fainted when Noel was bit, poor girl.
Noel crept out of bed, to look upon the faces of her friends. A sound to her left caused her to turn her head - Remus was moaning, the names of his friends spilling from his lips every now and then. He felt awful for biting Noel, had cried himself to sleep, Maria and James by his side. Now he seemed to be having tortured dreams of the battle - he was twitching and muttering. Noel brushed his light brown bangs from his eyes and moved on.
Troy was next, and he had dried blood in his sandy blond hair from a cut on his forehead. He had been knocked out during the battle, and had only woken up once to check how everyone else was doing. Or rather, Noel thought, how Jenna was doing. She snickered lightly and turned.
Moonlight fell on Maria's bed, highlighting her black hair and pale face. She was lying on her stomach, and Noel could see three long, bloody gashes where Remus's claws had raked down her back. She patted her friend's shoulder gently. That must have been very painful.
Sirius's bed was next to Maria's, of course. He had one tan arm stretched across the gap and was clutching one of Maria's thin wrists. He was twitching and murmuring, like Remus, and had a claw mark across his cheek, and down his arms. They were deep, sure to scar.
Lily was after Sirius. She was sleeping peacefully, or so it seemed. Her face was contorted into a horrible grimace, and she was curled into a ball, no doubt plagued by terrible dreams. But then, Noel frowned sadly, aren't we all?
Last but not least, her brother, James. He was sleeping the opposite of Maria, laying on his back, claw marks on his chest. Also unlike Maria, his weren't deep enough to scar, whereas her's might. Noel stroked her brother's messy black hair, tears welling up in her brown eyes. This was the outcome for one night of fun? Four sick teenagers, and four more with horrible battle scars?
Boy, Noel thought, a wry smile touching her lips, if this is how we have fun, I'd hate to see what happens when we're bored! One of us would probably die!
But then she bit her lip, whispering aloud, "That's not funny...."
"What's not funny?" a voice asked groggily.
Noel looked down; James was awake. "Hey." she greeted him softly, "how are you?"
"Likewise, baby sister," he clasped her hand, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, James. I'll be okay. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure it will turn out okay."
"That's my sis. Now, go get some more sleep, Noel. I don't want you to get sick, alright?"
"Yes, James. Good night..."
"Good night, Noel."
She tiptoed back to her bed, kissing Remus on the forehead as she passed.
"I don't blame you, Remus...."
~ ~ ~
The next morning, the Mauraders were up bright and early, still sick and scarred but extremely hyper. Sirius and Troy were throwing around paper airplanes. One of them hit Lily in the head and she got mad and threw a pillow at Sirius, but it hit Maria. This started an all-out pillow fight, until Madame Pomfrey put a stop to it.
"Honestly!" she shrieked, "You are sick and scarred and need REST! Now, get in your OWN beds and be QUIET!!"
This didn't have quite the effect she had hoped for. They just laughed and asked her if they could have some more juice. When she got back, she found that, instead of getting in their own beds, they had pushed two of the beds together and were sprawled all over them. Hiding her smile, she gave them their drinks and left.
By this time, James, Lily, and Sirius had told the others the crucial information Maria had said last night. When they reached the part about the Heirs, Maria looked back and forth between James and Noel. She kept opening her mouth, but nothing came out, until Remus tapped her and hissed, "Remember!" She lowered her eyes, muttering, "Yes. It's not our place to say.."
"Say what?" Jenna asked.
"Please don't ask. It's not our place." Remus said softly.
Maria's eye twitched. "Remus," she whispered, staring at Jenna and Sirius, "I know...who..."
"It's not our place!" he returned harshly. Maria scowled at him and muttered, "Fine. Powerful wizarding families..it's no wonder we were all attracted to eachother."
They all glanced at eachother curiously, but had no time to talk. Dumbledore had just walked in.
"Ah, you're all awake. That's good." he gazed around at them all with his twinkling blue eyes. "Your parents have been notified," he said, then, to Maria, "and your guardians. Everyone should be here shortly."
There was a knock on the door.
"That was fast." Sirius said.
Dumbledore got the door. The room was suddenly crowded. There was Felicity and Adam Carlson, Alana and Lucas VanArc, Mark and Trista Lupin, Darien and Renee Potter, Alan and Nicole Evans, and Adrian and Calista Black. They rushed toward their children.
"I thought you said my guardians were coming," Maria said to Dumbledore, "Where are they?"
Mark and Trista paused by Maria and Remus.
"My children..." Mark whispered. Trista elbowed him. "Shhhh!"
Dumbledore looked at Maria. "Mark and Trista here are your guardians, Maria."
She grinned at him.
"We haven't seen you two forever!" Trista whispered, hugging them both.
"Mom...!" Remus cried, "it wasn't that long ago....!"
"But we've missed you both so much!" Mark said, also hugging them.
Remus grinned, when a scarlet glint caught his eye. Maria followed his gaze. "They're giving it to James and Noel..." she said quietly.
Mark and Trista were nodding.
"I'm not surprised you're both friends with these people. The Pendants are attracted to eachother." Mark said, "Although we didn't meet everyone until later."
Maria glanced at Sirius, who was hugging his father. Adrian Black's sleeve had been pushed up a bit, and Maria caught a snatch of the Dark Mark. So, she thought, it's his father's side....
Their parents spent the rest of the day with them. Everything was fine.
Before Mark and Trista left, however, they told Maria and Remus - "Remember, it's not our place to tell them all...."
~ ~ ~
a/n: Huh!? What did Mark mean, "My children!?" Jeez., what do you guys think is up!? And what about that scarlet snatch? What were Darien and Renee giving to their children? And what is it about Sirius's father's side that's so important to Maria? Hmm..so many unanswered questions..and some won't even be answered in this particular story. I'm going to write another one, about Maria and Remus's past. It's improtant to this story line, and we only hear a little of it here. There's more about them coming soon, here, too. Like what Mark meant. But it's complicated. So...stay tuned! Ty to Clare and AngelD for reviewing!