Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. I only own Sable, and other characters that have not yet made an appearance in the Harry Potter world.
Wolf's Bane
Chapter 14
Sunday
Heavy rains and cracking thunder was the only sound heard by the Hogwarts students and faculty Sunday morning. One particular Slytherin student made his way out in the House Common Room before any of his dorm mates woke up. He was sitting on one of the leather couches that were spread throughout the room and thinking about the orders his master had given him the night before.
' How can I allow her to get hurt?' He thought. 'She's never really done anything to me, or anyone else for that matter. I know that the life I have chosen as Voldemort's follower isn't what I want it to be. Could I live with what is left of my conscious if she were subjected to the same torture that I've been through.'
He thought.He opened up an old copy of the newspaper and glanced around. The headlines were focusing on an attack that had happened a few days before. A Muggle-born witch had been killed by the killing curse Avada Kedavra. There were no suspects to report as it seemed that the girl had no enemies. The death was still under investigation by the Ministry. The young Slytherin snorted in disapproval.
'That's the media for you.' he thought, 'They can't even get their facts straight. She wasn't killed by Avada Kedavra. She was under the Imperio curse. I should know, I was there. The others made her believe that there was a virus in her system that was going to kill her if she didn't get rid of it. I should know, I was standing there when they said it. She killed herself withself-inflicted charms thatwere supposed to get rid of the so-called virus the rest of them made up. It was just too much for her body to handle.'
he thought,"Who'd have ever thought that I would wind up becoming a Death Eater for the most evil person who ever walked the Earth?" he asked no one in particular.
"Perhaps someone who realized that they were in the same position as me." came another voice from the boys dormitories. The first boy looked up and shook his head as his partner in crime entered into the room. 'This has got to end at some point.' he thought as he watched his fellow Slytherin enter into the Common Room.
"It's time to get started." the second boy said with a grin.
"I know." he answered slowly. "Let's get started. The sooner we get this over with the better."
Meanwhile, in other parts of the castle...
Sable was writing in her journal for Potions class, updating her notes when a small owl entered into her room. She took the note from the sopping wet animal and put it on the table nearby. She turned her attention to the carrier owl.
"Well, you are just sopping wet, my friend." she chuckled, grabbing a small hand towel off of a nearby shelf. "Let's see if we can't get you dried out before I send you back." The little owl hooted in agreement and waited patiently as Sable tried out its feathers. She gave the little owl a few owl treats and some fresh water before it took off again out of the window. Taking the note in her hand, she slit the seal and took out a piece of paper. She recognized her mother's handwriting instantly.
Sable,
Dear, I hope you are alright. Your father and I are in an undisclosed location at the moment, so I can't say much. We are fine and safe. I can't say more because the owl might be intercepted. But we do love you, honey. If there is an emergency of some sort, use Aphrodite to send us a letter. She knows where we are. I have to go now, but we just wanted to say that we love you. Love, Mom and Dad
"Well, at least they are okay." she muttered, stuffing the paper back into it's covering.
She put the letter in her desk drawer and shut it. It was not quite six in the morning yet, and she highly doubted if any of her friends were up. She went back into her lab and looked over at the potion she had made for Remus. 'Merlin, I hope this works.' she thought. 'I don't want him to get hurt with this potion.' She used a ladle to stir the liquid again. It was as clear as glass. She took the Celtic book from its spot on the table next to the cauldron and flipped it open. She was almost done translating it all. About a hundred more pages and she would be done. 'Well, I might as well find something to do since I can't seem to sleep.' she thought wryly.
She grabbed the book and settled down into a comfortable chair, content to finish translating some of the book. She tried to concentrate, but it wasn't really working. She hadn't slept too well that night. She had apologized to Sirius and James as she had told Remus she would do. They accepted her apology and soon everything was back to normal. The rest of the evening was spent in the Gryffindor Common Room playing Wizard's Chess and working on some homework. She and Lily had began their project for Treble's class that would be taken up at the end of the year. Remus found that she was using the Wolfsbane potion as her project and asked her as to whether it was a good idea or not. Since no one but the teachers were supposed to know about the two Gryffindor's lycanthropy, she thought it would be fine. Sable reasoned that since Treble already knew what she was, it was harmless. No one else would consider it suspicious, at least she hoped they would not. She started working on the book and was soon engrossed in her work.
A Few Hours Later...
Sable was sitting on her bed, still working on translating the text in front of her when she heard a knock at the portrait across from her bed. She covered the book and went over to the portrait, pulling it open. Remus was standing there with a grin on his face.
"Morning, Remus." she said happily. "What do I to the pleasure of your visit this bright and sunny Sunday morning?" About that time, another loud crack of thunder split open the sky.
"Well, I wanted to know if you wanted to go into Hogsmeade with some of us today." he said. Sable nodded and stepped back as he stepped down from the portrait hole.
"But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend." she stated.
"So?" he said. Sable smirked and nodded her head.
"Sure, when are we leaving?" she asked. "It would be nice to have a warm butterbeer right now anyway."
"Be in the Gryffindor Common Room in an hour. The rest of us will be there too."
"Who else is going?" she asked. "Besides us, I mean."
"Sirius, James, and Lily." he answered.
"What about Peter?"
"He's got an all day detention with Professor Tuft today. Treble busted him when he tried to throw some extra ingredients into one of the Slytherin's cauldrons."
"Hasn't he learned the fine art of subtlety yet?" she asked, her eyes scrunched up at the thought of having a detention on a Sunday.
"Apparently not." Sable grinned and turned back to her book.
"I'll be down in a bit. I've just got to finish up some work." she said.
"What is that?" Remus asked, pointing to the book.
"This, my friend," she said dramatically, "Is the one thing that will help keep you from biting my head off during the next full moon."
"What?"
"The formula for the Wolfsbane Potion, ding bat."
"Oh, right." There was an uneasy silence that filled the air. Sable shut the book and looked over to Remus.
"Give me twenty minutes and I'll be there." she said. Remus nodded and turned to leave out of the portrait hole once again. He climbed in and pulled the door shut behind him. Sable threw her books back into her desk and rummaged through her closet looking for something to wear. After five minutes of searching, she found her favorite pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. She slipped her favorite black cloak over her clothes and left out of her room through the portrait hole.
Half an hour later, the small rag tag group of teenagers were slipping out of Hogwart's by way of the secret tunnel that led into Honeyduke's. They went through the tunnel quickly and found themselves in the cellar of Honeyduke's. James and Sirius pulled Lily and Sable up through the passageway and Remus was the last one, closing the door behind him. When they found their way out of the cellar, they immediately broke off into two groups. Sirius, James, and Remus went one way while Lily and Sable went the other. They decided to meet up in the Three Broomsticks in two hours to get lunch and something to eat. The weather had cleared a little, but it was stillovercast and cloudy.
"What was the need for an unscheduled Hogsmeade visit?" Sable asked as she and Lily went towards the opposite side of town. Lily shrugged and shook her head.
"To be honest with you, I have no idea." she said truthfully. "All I know is that James woke me up this morning and asked if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade for the day. Since the Prefects are handling all of the duties today, I agreed. It's not like I haven't got anything else to do." Sable shrugged and walked down the street with a bowed head.
"So, where do you want to go?" Sable asked. "Anyplace in particular?"
"I was going to pick up some stuff from Honeyduke's after awhile. Other than that, I'm fresh out of ideas. How about you?" Sable grinned and nodded her head.
"How about we go shopping for some clothes?" she suggested. "Mine are getting kind of worn and I need some new ones."
"Sounds like an idea to me. I really don't need anymore clothing; I don't wear what I have. Let's go." Lily said. The two girls made their way to the closest store and began to shop like there was no tomorrow.
"What exactly are we doing in Hogsmeade anyway, James?" Remus asked as they pushed through the crowds of people in Zonko's Joke Shop on the other side of town
"I need to stock up on a few things." James said, grinning evilly.
"That's it?" Sirius asked. "You woke me up at seven in the morning to bring me to Hogsmeade to by pranking supplies?" James only nodded and grinned even more.
"You didn't need anymore beauty sleep, Sirius." James teased. "It isn't doing you any good." Sirius snickered and shook his head.
"And I suppose you don't need any yourself, Prongs?" he said.
"Nope, I'm fine just like I am. Ask Lily if you don't believe me." he said smugly. Remus rolled his eyes and started searching the shelf in front of him for Bathilda's Color Changing Skin Creme. Once you put it on someone, their skin changed colors for about an hour before it wore off. After using it to pull a prank on Lily a few years back, it had become a favorite of his.
"You guys are impossible." he stated firmly. Sirius looked shocked and put his hand over his heart, feigning insultment.
"Why, Moony, you wound me to the heart." he said dramatically. "I never figured you as one to take Prongs' side. That's just not fair. I'm outnumbered."
"Sorry, mate." Remus answered. "The truth hurts."
"So, who are you taking to the Halloween Ball, Padfoot?" James asked, taking a box of Ever Popping Chewing Gum from the shelf. Sirius frowned and shrugged.
"Don't know yet, actually. I've had some offers from a few girls, but I don't want to go with any of them."
"Who do you want to go with?" Remus asked.
"Don't know." Sirius said.
"You mean two days have passed, and you haven't got a date lined up?" James teased, "Padfoot, you're slipping."
"Yeah, it's due to lack of sleep. No thanks to a certain friend of mine whose name I won't say at this moment." Sirius said sarcastically.
"Who's Pete going with?" James asked. The two other boys shrugged, not knowing who their friend was taking.
"I think he is talking to some Hufflepuff sixth year, Amanda Keiss." Remus said. "Maybe it's her."
"I hope so." Sirius said. "I hate it when Pete goes to the dances by himself. It's just depressing." He picked up a box of Filibuster's Wet Start Fireworks and threw them in the ever increasing pile. "Who you going with, Moony?" Remus turned pink and pretended he hadn't heard him.
"Yeah, Remus," James asked. "Who are you going with?"
"Sable." he said finally. Sirius looked like he was going to implode in shock. James just nodded and continued shopping around.
"You finally asked her!" Sirius shrieked. "When? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Remus shook his head as a few people nearby turned to look at the very loud outburst.
"Calm down, Pads," James said. "He just asked her to the ball. It's not like the world is going to collide with something and end all life on Earth." Sirius snickered and looked over at Remus.
"You probably asked her when you snuck into her room the other night. Right, Moony?" he asked. James turned his head and looked over at his friend.
"You did what?" James asked. "Sirius, did I just hear you right?" James laughed and shook his head.
"Yeah, Moony snuck down into Sable's room Friday night. I heard him come in about two or three yesterday morning. Said he was giving her back a book."
"I was." Remus said defensively. James just raised an eyebrow in speculation and continued to look around.
"Seems like Pads is the only one who doesn't have a date." he said. "What a shame." Sirius growled and turned around. Remus smiled and brought his stuff up to the counter to pay for.
"Why don't you ask Arabella, Sirius." James suggested. "I'm sure she'll go with you." Sirius seemed to blush slightly at the suggestion. "You guys are pretty good friends. And she'll be fun to be around, unlike some of those ditzy girls you usually keep around."
"Hey, they weren't all ditzs." Sirius said. "Danae was a good one." James seemed to agree, with that.
"Why did you let her go, Sirius? I liked her, even though she was in Slytherin." James asked. Sirius flushed and looked away, muttering something under his breath. "What was that, Padfoot?"
"I said, she caught me with Michelle Jones a few weeks after we got together." he muttered. James shook his head in defeat.
"Moron!" James said. "You lost Danae for that blonde-headed bimbo in Hufflepuff? What were you thinking?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." he said quietly. James rolled his eyes and took his stuff up to the counter.
"Don't all your ideas start out like that?" he muttered.
As Sable stepped out of Millenium, she noticed that there were a few more people around than there where when she and Lily entered. She shuffled the two bags of clothes around, trying to get a better grip when Lily walked out of the door.
"Did you get enough clothes?" Lily asked.
"I think so." she answered. "How about you?" Lily smiled and shifted three bags of her own as she came out.
"I got enough." she said. Sable smiled and glanced down.
"I thought you said you didn't need any more clothes?" she questioned. Lily grinned and blushed.
"Well, I can always use more." she said sheepishly. "A girl can never have to many clothes." Sable grinned and headed to another store. "We've still got forty-five minutes to kill, Lily. Maybe we can go find some spiky earrings to go with those thigh high black leather boots you bought. What are you going to wear those with anyways?" Lily grinned and walked down the lane.
"I'm just going to borrow that black leather mini skirt you bought and put it with my own leather jacket." she grinned.
"Uhhh, Lily, you do realize that I am about three inches shorter than you." Sable pointed out. Lily grinned and nodded.
"Well, that'll make the skirt a few inches shorter then, won't it?" Sable shook her head and followed Lily into an accessories store that looked promising. 'I think the red-head has a fetish for black leather.' she thought wryly.
James, Sirius, and Remus walked into the Three Broomsticks and grabbed a table closer to the back that would sit the three of them and the two girls. They sat down and ordered some drinks, waiting for the girls to show.
"Where did they say they were going, James?" Sirius asked. James shrugged and shook his head.
"I don't know, really." he answered. "They probably went to the costume shop to check on costumes for the Halloween Ball. That shouldn't take too long, or result in any major surprises." Remus shook his head, remembering something Sable had told him earlier about shopping for some new clothes.
"Sable told me that she might go shopping for some new clothes. I think a new store opened on the other end of town. That's probably where they're at." he said. James rolled his eyes in frustration.
"If a new store opened, they are going to be at least forty-five minutes late." he stated. Sirius looked amused and laughed.
"How do you know they'll be that late?" he asked.
"Because Lily will realize when they are ten minutes late. Then, assuming that Sable shops like Lily, it'll take another twenty minutes to get her out of the dressing room and to the counter to pay for the clothes. Then, depending on how much they bought, they have to lug all of the bags halfway across town which will take at least ten minutes, even with a town as small as this. Then they should be in the door and over here in five minutes or so after that."
"Sounds like you've been shopping with Ms. Evans before." Remus grinned. James only nodded and took another drink of his butterbeer.
"If you only knew." he stated simply, "Oh, and don't ask her to go Christmas shopping with you. She can clean out any bank account in Gringott's... even mine! And I didn't even think that was possible!" The boys looked at each other and nodded.
"Girls." they stated simply.
Lily and Sable exited the accessories store and a few older wizards nearly dropped dead in their tracks. Lily had decided to show off one of their many new, matching outfits they had bought at the new store. Leather was not going out of style anytime soon. Lily was in the black leather mini skirt and black boots, as she had promised. She had bought a black leather jacket to go with the outfit and it all worked rather well, even though the skirt was indeed about three inches too short. The jacket was a little low cut and revealed the beginning of her cleavage. Sable was wearing a black leather dress with small metal studs around the hem. The dress was spaghetti strap and, like Lily's jacket, a little low cut. Her shoes were a pair of black boots that went up to her calves. Both of the girl's hair was hanging around them, Lily's red and Sable's black. Their make-up had been touched up and they looked pretty good. As they exited the shop, Sable glanced down at the outfit and frowned.
"I can't believe you talked me into buying this, Lils." she stated. "I feel like a hooker." Lily laughed and shook her head.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. No one is going to see you, besides the boys." she said. "And I have a feeling they won't be saying much when we walk in." Sable looked doubtful and set her bags down to pull her cloak out of her bag. Lily looked put off and grimaced. "You are NOT wearing that!" she said heatedly, "You'll cover up the outfit. Where's the fun in that?"
"Lily, I am not walking into the Three Broomsticks looking like some floozy off of the street." she stated simply. "We're already getting stared at as it is."
"Let'em look." Lily said. Sable frowned and pulled her cloak on. "At least leave the front of the cloak open." she said. Sable rolled her eyes.
"If I have to." she said. 'I wonder how many cows died to get these outfits?' she thought.
"You have to." Lily said with a finality that was not to be reckoned with. Sable fastened the cloak on the straps of her dress behind her shoulders, leaving the hood pushed back and the front of the outfit plainly visible. Lily took a cursory glance and nodded. She bent down and pulled out her own cloak.
"What are you doing?" Sable asked, shrinking her bags and putting them in her cloak pocket.
"That actually looks good with the cloak on." she stated.
"You know what the boys are going to be thinking when they see us, don't you?" Sable asked. Lily smirked and nodded. Sable only shook her head in disbelief.
"Of course I do." she stated simply. "Why do you think we're doing it?"
"Okay," Sable said grimly. "Who are you and what have you done to Lily Evans?" Lily only laughed and started grinning like a maniac.
After fastening her own cloak onto her shoulders, and shrinking her other bags, the girls made their way down the lane and to the Three Broomsticks. 'We look like two bloody Dominatrixes in these outfits.' she thought. 'Now all we need are the whips and we'll be set to go. I can't believe I let her talk me into this!' Sable thought. Every person on the street looked up as the red and ebony haired girls walked down the street. Sable felt like an animal on display, not used to having much attention. However, what was about to happen when they entered the Three Broomsticks would topple everything.
Sirius finished off his third butterbeer and looked up at the clock again and grimaced. James had been right, the girls were ten minutes late so far. James and Remus had left five minutes ago to walk across the street to pick up something for the Quidditch team. They would be back in a few minutes. He was going up to the bar to get another butterbeer when the door to the pub opened and two people stepped in. Sirius didn't pay much attention to them, but when one of them set a hand on his shoulder, he spun around in a hurry. The two girls were dressed in black leather from head to toe. He was momentarily speechless as he sized them up, not bothering to look anywhere in the vicinity of their faces. A slap to his head brought him back to reality.
"Sirius...Sirius...Sirius wake up in there." Lily said patiently. His eyes were still glazed over, so Sable decided to give it a try. She stood in front of the tall, blacked headed boy and pinched his ear, hard.
"Sirius Black," she admonished, "I know your mother taught you to answer a lady when she's talking to you." Sable pulled his ear and Sirius finally looked at the faces of the two leather clad ladies.
"Lil...Lils...Lily? Sa...Sabl..Sable...Is that you two under there?" he stuttered. The girls were standing in front of him, Sable frowning and Lily grinning.
"Who else would it be, McGonagall?" Sable asked, putting her hands on her hips. Sirius opened his mouth to say something, anything, when Lily smacked him on his head.
"Earth to Sirius. Come in, Sirius." she mocked. She turned to Sable and grinned. "I think his communications system is temporarily impaired."
"I think you're right." Sable agreed. The waiter came to the bar and caught their attention.
"What can I get for you ladies?" he asked, eyeing the two girls. Sable smiled sweetly and turned to the young boy.
"How about a couple butterbeers for me and my friend here." she asked.
"That all I can get for you, ladies." he asked cheekily. Sable smiled again and nodded.
"For now." she said quietly. The young wizard turned and took three drinks from a cooler and set them on the counter. "Thanks." Sable said.
"Any time." he answered. Sable handed Lily one of the drinks and took the other two herself. "I think we need to get Sirius to a chair before he faints." she said. Lily nodded and helped to guide Sirius to another booth. They sat down and Sirius seemed to reclaim some of his speech abilities. Lily and Sable were sitting opposite of him, sipping their drinks.
"What happened to you two?" he finally asked. Lily looked innocently at Sable who just shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing, Sirius." Sable said. "We just went shopping. What's wrong with that?" The door to the restaurant opened and shut, but the girls were to engrossed in teasing their friend to notice who it was.
"Just shopping?" he asked. "What the Hell is that thing you've got on?" Sable looked down at her dress and shrugged. A speechless Sirius was a rare sight, and she was playing it for all it was worth.
"A dress?" she said innocently. "Honestly, Sirius. I'd have given you enough credit to know a dress when you see it. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Lily put her hand on his forehead and pretended to feel for a high temperature.
"He hasn't got a temperature." she stated. "Where are James and Remus. I think we need to get you back to school, Sirius. You look a little pale." Lily pulled her hand away and drank some of her butterbeer.
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you." Sirius stated. "It's you two I'm worried about. James and Remus are going to flip their tops when they see you two!" Lily glanced over the club, searching for her boyfriend. She spotted him and Remus standing by the bar, talking with the waiter. The waiter pointed to the table they were sitting at and James' and Remus' eyes went as wide as saucers. Lily smiled and waved at her boyfriend. She nudged Sable in the ribs and jerked her head towards the two. They were standing there, looking like fish out of water. Their mouths were moving, but no words were coming out. Remus finally composed himself and grabbed James by the wrist, pulling him towards the table.
"Well, then I think you better get something to keep them calm because here they come." Sable said. Sirius looked up to see his two friends storming over to the table. 'This is about to get really ugly.' he thought. James and Remus came up to the table and Lily and Sable stood up to face them.
"Hey boys," Lily said happily, "Where you been?"
James stared at his girlfriend and openly gaped at her outfit. Remus was not in much better shape. It seemed that the girl's outfits were beyond words. Lily gave him a smile and said something, but James didn't comprehend it. He was still staring at the clothes and wondering how many cows it took to make that outfit. 'Not many by the fit of those clothes.' he thought. Both of the girl's outfits were considerably tighter than the normal school uniform, and it showed. Lily waved a hand in front of James' face and it brought him back to reality.
"James...James.. Are you okay?" she asked. He shook his head and nodded.
"Yeah... I'm.. fine Lily." he said. "I'm fine." Remus was still gaping at the outfit Sable had on. For some strange reason, he felt like covering her up with the cloak she was wearing.
"Remus...Hey...Earth to Remus." Sable said. "You okay in there?" She waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped out of the trance. He looked closely at her and felt his face turn red as his eyes settled on the exposed part of her anatomy. Sable grinned and put a finger under his chin to lift his head up to face her. "Remus, dear," she said slowly, "My face is up here." Remus seemed completely horrified and sat down next to Sirius with a plop. 'When did she start looking like THAT?' he thought. Lily had already sat down and James had cornered her inside the booth. Sable frowned and sat on the other side of James, opposite of Remus and Sirius.
"Well, boys," Lily said. "What'd you buy?" No one seemed to want to answer her, so she tapped James on the shoulder. He jumped up and stared.
"What was that, Lily?" he asked.
"I asked what did you buy?" she repeated. James pulled a small packet out of his pocket and showed everyone.
"I bought a new snitch for the practice set." he said. "The other one is so old, it's starting to slow down. Even the reserve Seeker caught it in less than two minutes at the last practice."
"Who's Gryffindor's first game against this year?" Sable asked.
"Slytherin." Sirius said, "Two weeks from Saturday." Sable looked alarmed.
"James, is the team going to be ready by then?" she asked. "Not that I'm questioning you abilities as captain, but you have two new players in crucial positions. Are they going to be ready?" James shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not sure." he answered. "They should be fine if they don't get nervous." The waiter came over to the table and handed out some menus. He grinned at Sable and she blushed violently. Remus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as his anger soared.
"What can I get for you guys?" he asked, still eyeing Sable. Remus glared at the boy.
"Another round of butterbeers, please." Sable said sweetly. The waiter smiled and nodded.
"Sure thing, pretty lady." he said. With a flick of his wand, the empty bottles were replaced with full ones. "Anything else for you guys?" He winked at Sable and Remus had to restrain himself from flying out of his seat to punch the guy in his face. Sirius noted the rising anger and put a hand on his friends arm to keep him in place.
"That's it for now, I think." Lily said, sensing the tension. "Thank you." The waiter smiled and walked back to the bar, but not before giving Sable one radiant grin. Since James had put his arm around Lily, the guy had obviously given up on her, but not Sable. She blushed and looked down at her drink, hoping her face wasn't turning too red from embarrassment.
The conversation slowly turned to Quidditch, but Remus was unusually quiet. Sable glanced over and met his angry gaze.
"Remus. Hey, you okay over there? You're awful quiet." she said. Remus looked up and furrowed his brow in agitation.
"I'm fine." he said grumpily.
"You sure?" she asked, wondering what had him feeling so grumpy.
"Yes, I'm fine." he said. 'I can't believe she's asking me what's wrong. She has no right to be gallivanting around Hogsmeade in that outfit! She looks like something that...She looks like...She just doesn't look like herself, dammit!' He noticed her withdrawn expression and immediately regretted his gruff reply. 'And now she thinks I'm mad at her. Man, Remus, how many times can you screw up in one day?' Sable had finished off her drink and was getting up from the booth.
"Where you going, Sable?" James asked.
"To the bathroom." she said. "I'll be right back." She stood up and walked past the bar and into the bathroom. Once again, she caught the eye of the waiter, and he followed her retreating form until she went into the restroom. Remus saw this and his blood pressure shot through the roof. He slid out of his seat and stood up, intending on going outside to cool off.
"Where you going, Moony?" Sirius asked.
"I'm going outside for a minute to get some fresh air." he said gruffly. He walked out of the restaurant and into the hustle of the streets. As soon as the door shut, James and Sirius turned on Lily.
"What the bloody hell is going on, Lily?" James asked. "What do you think you're doing, walking around in that get-up?"
"I'm sorry James," she said with sacchirine sweetness. "I had the impression that you liked it."
"I do, but that's beside the point. How'd you get that dress on Sable. I didn't even think she owned something like that."
"Well, she owns it now." Lily stated simply. "We bought it at the new store, Millenium." Sirius shook his head and nearly growled.
" Do you realize that Moony is about to go crazy, seeing her in that?" He said fiercely.
"Then maybe he's just now realizing what we all figured out in fourth year." Lily said gruffly.
"He likes her, and if the only way to make him admit that is have her dress up every now and then, then so be it."
"If she comes back in here and Remus sees that waiter eye her up again, you're going to have to bury one of them." Sirius said. "Cause he's about at his nerves' end."
"This is torture for that boy, Lily." James said. "How could you do it?"
"He's got to do something about it, James." Lily said. "Sable likes him just as much as he does her, she admitted that to me already."
"So you're trying to make him jealous enough to ask her out?" James asked. "That's cruel Lily."
"Yeah, well, it worked on you, didn't it?" she retorted. "The minute you heard I was with that boy from Ravenclaw, you finally asked me out. This is just a little incentive for Remus to act faster." James stared at her in disbelief.
"I didn't believe you had it in you, Lils." Sirius laughed. "Using a dirty trick like that. I taught you well." He laughed and banged his fist on the table.
"You haven't taught me anything that the entire female population doesn't already know, Mr. Black." Lily stated.
Sable was in the restroom, changing out of the leather dress and back into her blue jeans and t-shirt. She was too embarrassed and upset to stay with her friends. The look of revulsion of Remus' face was almost enough to send her into tears. What she didn't realize was that it wasn't revulsion she had seen, it was attraction. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and pulled her sneakers on. Gathering up the clothes, she stuffed them into a bag and shrunk the bag back, putting it in the pocket of her cloak. She swung the cloak around her shoulders and fastened it at her throat. 'I've got to get out of here before I embarrass myself even more. At the rate I'm going, I'm not going to be able to face any of them for a few days.'
She went out of the bathroom and pulled out some money from her pocket. The waiter came back to her and grinned.
"Decided to change the outfit, huh?" he asked, obviously disappointed. Sable suddenly felt a wave of revulsion at the look he was giving her. She put the money on the bar and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm afraid leather isn't my thing." she said. "This is for the group over there." She pointed to the table and noticed that Remus was missing. The waiter nodded and took the money.
"Well, anytime you decide to dress back up. Come see me." he said smoothly. Sable forced a smile and pulled away.
"I'll think about that, and keep you in mind." she said. The waiter grinned at her and she turned around to leave. Lily saw her across the room and frowned. She did nothing but turn her back and push the door open. She walked out and started walking back towards Honeyduke's. 'The sooner I get back to the castle, the better.' she thought. She turned the corner and ran towards Honeyduke's at break neck speed. She could hear Lily's voice calling out to her, but she didn't stop. She kept on running until she got into the shop and down through the tunnel. Only when the damp darkness envelope her did she stop to take a breath.
Lily saw when Sable came out of the bathroom. She noticed that the black headed girl had put her hair up in a ponytail, but what really caught her off guard was the denim that poked out from underneath the cloak as she walked. When Sable looked over at her, she could barely make out the hurt expression on her face before she pushed James out of the way trying to get out of the booth. But by the time she got out of the restaurant, all she could see was Sable's retreating form back towards Honeyduke's. She called out to her friend, but Sable had not responded.
Remus had heard Lily call out to Sable as soon as she came out of The Three Broomsticks. Thinking something was wrong, he ran around the building and saw Lily trying to get to her. When she disappeared in the crowds, Remus went up to Lily and found out what had happened.
"She's going back to the castle, Remus." Lily said. "I think she got embarrassed and decided to leave. She looked really upset, but I don't know why. She changed out of her dress and left without telling anyone anything." Remus nodded and waited until James got out to her before he started along the path to Honeyduke's. When James couldn't see Remus form in the crowd anymore, he turned back to Lily and grimaced.
"I hate to say it, Lils," he said, "But you've done it this time." Sirius nodded in agreement, but Lily only shook her head.
"I've done it, alright." she conceded, "but not what you think."
Sable followed the winding path back towards Hogwarts as fast as she possible could. She didn't want to stop before she reached the entrance back into the castle, but she had to stop to catch her breath. She leaned up against the tunnel and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.'I can't believe I just done that!' she thought. 'I'll never let Lily pick out any of my clothes after this. I've learned my lesson. Merlin, I can't believe I done that. I just embarrassed myself beyond what is normally possible. And it looked like Remus was royally pissed with me. Great. Just what I needed!' She began walking back towards the castle when she heard someone's footsteps behind her. 'Oh, shit. I don't even want to know who that is.' she thought.
She gathered her cloak around her and ran as fast as she could. The end of the tunnel was about another seven hundred feet ahead of her, and she made it in record time. Before pushing the stature of the old witch aside, she listened for any noises in the corridor outside of the entrance. She couldn't hear anything, except for someone else's footsteps coming behind her. She quickly pushed the statue to one side and climbed out of the tunnel. The statue slid back into place and she began to walk quickly down the halls towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, towards the entrance to her room.
Remus could see the light at the other end of the tunnel when Sable exited out of the tunnel. He slowed his run down and began walking towards the exit. 'She's going to go to her room.' he thought. 'Anytime something goes wrong, she goes to her room.' He came to the end of the tunnel and listened for any noises. Nothing. He pushed the statue and came out of the tunnel. He quickly set off towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway, meanwhile questioning the sanity of the female half of the population, particularly a fiery tempered red headed one named Lily Evans.
Sable said the password to the coat of armor and waited for it to move. When the entrance to her room was shown, she pulled the key out of her pocket and opened the door. Once inside, she put a few locking charms on the door so that no one could get in. She went through her lab and into her room. She threw her cloak off and jumped on her bed, pounding the mattress with her fists. 'I told Lily that it was a bad idea to put me in that outfit!" she thought. 'When am I going to learn, that girl is out to get me.' She continued this until she finally ran out of energy and fell into a fitful sleep on top of her bed.
Remus walked down the corridor towards the suit of armor and stopped in front of the sixth one. He said the password and watched as the suit of armor slid past. He pushed the drapery aside and was face to face with a locked door. He pulled out his wand and tried to open it, but to no avail.
"What the Hell has she put on this door?" he thought. He went through a few more of the unlocking spells, but the door remained locked. 'Obviously something I don't know.' he thought. Getting disgusted, he let the drapery fall and watched the suit of armor slide back into place. 'Well, if you can't get in one way, get in another.' he thought. He ran up to Gryffindor Tower and got into the Common Room without a problem. He tried to inconspicuously make his way to the portrait behind the staircase, but a number of his house mates stopped him for various reasons. He finally got past all of them and went to the portrait. He pulled it open and nearly broke his neck trying to get to the end of it.
When Remus got to the end of the tunnel, he slipped his hand between the wall and the frame. 'Well, she didn't think to lock this one, did she.' he thought. He slowly pushed the portrait forward, expecting a few curses to be flung at him. When nothing exploded within the vicinity of any major, irreplaceable, body parts, he stepped out of the tunnel. He glanced around and saw Sable lying on her bed, asleep. He smiled and walked over to her. There were tear stains down her cheeks and her frowned at the way her face was contorted into a picture of anger. He stayed like that for a while, but eventually decided to go back up to Gryffindor Tower and wait for the others to come back. 'They're probably already on their way back by now.' he though as he climbed up to Gryffindor Tower. 'Lily is going to get a piece of my mind for doing this.'
A/N - Okay, how'd I do? Any good? I sure hope so. Remember to leave me a review. (Yeah, it's that little button down in the left hand side. See it? GOOD!) I'm kidding. Anyways, tell me what's going on with this fic. I want to know what you think, no matter what.
