Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was.
Patching Things Up
The next few days were uneventful for Hogwart's students. No one blew anything up and there were no fights. Everything was peaceful in the castle. Yet, this peace was short lived when James and Lily found a very distraught Sable Robbins searching the corridors for something late one evening.
Sable had noticed that her journal was missing that evening when she was straightening out her book bag. She thought she might have left it somewhere in her room, but she had already tore the place apart looking for it. She remembered having it Sunday when she was at the lakeside, but she hadn't had it after that. As she came out of the History of Magic classroom, James and Lily caught up with her.
"Sable, what are you doing down here?" James asked, "Dinner started fifteen minutes ago." He looked at the girl carefully and noticed that her eyes were red and swollen.
"I'm looking for something." she answered. Lily shook her head and frowned, noticing the circles under her swollen, red eyes.
"Sable, what's wrong?" she asked. "You've been crying." The dark haired girl just shook her head.
"No, I haven't." she lied. "What are you two doing down here anyway, if dinner started fifteen minutes ago?"
"We've just finished patrols." James said gently. "Looking for run amuck students like you." Lily nodded and took another look at the girl before her.
"James," she said, "why don't you go on without me. I'll catch up in a few minutes."
"Why?' he asked. Lily gave him a look that screamed for him to get lost. "Okay, okay. I'm going. I'm going." He turned his back and walked back down the hallway, leaving the two girls to their own devices. Lily sighed and pulled Sable into an empty classroom. She shut the door and locked it with a few charms, then turned to Sable with a grimace.
"What's going on, Sable? You haven't been acting right for a week." Lily asked. Sable said nothing, but sat at a desk and looked out the window.
"I've lost my journal, Lily." she said simply. Lily was a little confused. 'She's worried about a journal?' Lily thought, 'She's been acting like a bitch to everyone because she lost a journal?'
"So? Get another one." Lily said. Sable's eyes flashed and she stood from the seat.
"Lily, you don't understand." she said. "That journal had everything in it. If anyone gets a hold of that book and shows anyone else, I'm up shit's creek without a paddle. Not only that, all the research I've done is in that book."
"It's your Potion's journal?" she asked.
"No. It's my personal journal. And everything that people aren't supposed to know is in those pages. I have to find it, Lily! If anyone else does, they're going to find out that not only am I full of lycanthropy, but so is my parents and Remus." She sat down in a huff and started to cry again. Lily understood the severity of the situation and quickly moved to comfort her.
"Sable, we'll find the journal. It can't have gone far."
"I've looked everywhere, Lily. I don't know where it's at!"
"Let's get the boys on it." Lily volunteered. "If it's in the castle, they'll find it." Sable quickly shook her head.
"I don't want to deal with them right now. Especially not Remus." she said quietly. Lily nodded and stood up from the girl.
"Look, Sable. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But I just thought you should know that the whole episode in the hallway last week with Remus and Sedera was a joke."
"What are you talking about?" she snorted. "Snape told me himself what he saw."
"But what Snape conveniently forgot was why she did it to begin with." Sable looked a little wary, but the red-head kept on. "Sable, Sedera had been dared to snog Remus the next time she saw him. Her and a few of her girlfriends have an ongoing game of 'truth or dare' going on. They dared her to snog Remus, and Snape caught them."
"That's not what I heard." she mumbled.
"Maybe you would have heard the truth long before now if you wouldn't have holed yourself up in your room, away from everyone else. Sedera even admitted to it." Lily said gently. "The boys have been trying to talk to you for a week, and you kept pushing them away, especially Remus." Sable broke down into sobs then. Lily said nothing, but held her for a few minutes.
"Why didn't you tell me anything, Lily?" she questioned.
"Remus wanted to tell you himself, and apologize for anything he might have done to upset you. He told me that he went to find you after the scrimmage against Slytherin last week, but you had locked your doors. I believe he thinks you've changed your mind about going to the ball with him."
"That's true, I had." she admitted. "Lily, what am I going to do? I've got to find that journal, but I don't want to have to face Remus. I think he is really peeved at me right now. But I do still want to go with him; I'm just upset right now."
"Actually, he's scared to come anywhere within hexing range of you. He's scared you will Avada him for what happened." Lily joked.
"Are the other guys mad at me, too?" she asked timidly. Lily shook her head and stood again.
"Actually, they find it quite funny that you two are having a 'lover's quarrel', as Sirius so eloquently put it." Sable grinned and shook her head.
"I have a feeling he would know more about that than I would." She said. Lily nodded and smiled.
"Well, let's go see if we can get some help to find that journal." she said. Sable stopped her and frowned.
"Look, Lily, I don't exactly want a confrontation in the middle of dinner." she said. Lily nodded in agreement. "Will you give something to Remus for me?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"A note. I think I need apologize to him before I try to take on all four of them at once." Lily nodded as Sable dug a piece of parchment out of her bag and scribbled a note on it. She folded it up and handed it to Lily with a grimace. "He's going to kill me, you know that right?" Lily laughed at her nervousness.
"He's going to be too happy that you're talking to him again to worry about killing anybody." she said with a grin.
"Thank you, Lily." she said quietly.
"It's not a problem, and you know it. Now go." Sable nodded and left the corridor, leaving Lily to find James again on her own.
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When Lily walked into the Great Hall a few minutes later, she quickly spotted her boyfriend at the head of the table with Sirius, Peter, and Remus. She smiled and walked over to the table, fingering the note Sable had given her. She sat down next to James and grinned to the others.
"Well, what happened?" James asked quietly, leaning towards her so the others couldn't hear him.
"I think we'll have her back with us before tonight is over with, James." Lily whispered. James nodded and smiled.
"Hey!!" Sirius yelled, "No whispering at the table. If you can't tell us, then wait till you're by yourselves." Lily and James snickered and went back to their meals.
"Maybe you don't need to know what we were talking about." Lily said.
"That's why you wait until you're by yourselves." Sirius said.
"Yeah, you know how much of a gossip Sirius can be." Peter said. They laughed continued on with their meal. After everyone was finished, Lily discreetly slipped the note into Remus' pocket while he was arguing with Sirius about which team was better, Puddlemere United or the Wimbourn Wasps. Apparently, he felt the piece of parchment because he turned and gave Lily a funny look. She only smiled and walked in front of him to go talk to James. Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of parchment. On it was scribbled one single sentence.
I know you want an apology, and deserve an explanation, so meet me in the lab after dinner and you'll get both.
Remus blinked and looked back up to Lily. She was chatting with James, acting as though nothing was wrong. 'She's finally ready to talk.' He thought. 'It's about bloody well time.'
"Moony.... Moony... you listening to me?" Sirius asked, waving his hand in front of Remus' face.
"Huh? Oh, Yeah... whatever you say, Pads." he said. He started to walk away, but Peter stopped him.
"Where you headed, Moony?"
"I've got something I need to take care of." he said vaguely. He rushed out of the corridor and was out of sight before anyone else could say anything different. Lily smiled and continued to pull her friends along the corridor.
"Come on, guys," she said. "Remus is a big boy. He can take care of himself."
"And get himself into big trouble." muttered Peter.
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Sable looked down into the cauldron to her right and sighed again. The potion just wasn't right. She added some more monkswood and stirred the cauldron again. 'This should do it.' she thought. She took the ladle out and put it on the side. Washing her hands in a nearby sink, she looked up to the food the elves had brought her. A plate of chicken sandwiches, pumpkin juice, and strawberries were sitting on a table nearby. She walked over to the food and grabbed half a sandwich.
"Might as well eat," she muttered. "I'm gonna have fight on my hands in about an hour anyways." She sat down at the table and finished off the two sandwiches and the pumpkin juice. Saving the strawberries for later, she put them in a napkin and placed them in her bedroom. "It's going to be a long night." she sighed.
Remus was halfway down the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor when he realized that he didn't know if she had changed the password to her room or not. 'Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?' he thought. When he made sure that there was no one else in the corridor, he gave the password to the suit of armor and it slid back. He used his wand to lift the locking spell from the door, and he slipped into the entrance to the hidden rooms. As he went down the hallway, he strained to hear some sort of sound coming from the other room. Nothing. He stopped at the tapestry and was about to pull it back when he heard Sable's voice.
"Come on in here, Remus." she said quietly. "I'm not going to hex you, I promise." He sighed and pushed the tapestry away, revealing Sable's laboratory. 'It's now or never.' he thought. He stepped down to the floor and waited, not sure what she wanted to say. Sable nodded and pushed a chair towards him, motioning for him to take a seat.
"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked. Sable nodded. He sat and she sat on the edge of the table, trying to gather her thoughts.
"Look, Remus, I know I've been a complete and total bitch to you guys the past few days. And I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about what I had heard." she chuckled and looked away. "I guess I forgot what the Hogwart's rumor mill can do to a story once they get it rolling." Remus stood up from the chair and walked towards her.
"Sable, look..."
"Remus, please, let me finish before you chew me out. Okay?" she said. He nodded and waited for her to finish. "I'm sorry about everything that I did and didn't do. Lily told me the truth this evening while you guys were at dinner. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to act like such a, well for lack of a better word, witch." She jumped down from the table and waited for his reaction.
"You done yet?" he asked gruffly. Sable nodded and stood shock still, her eyes closed and her head tilted down to the floor. Remus walked up to the girl and stared at her.
"You do realize that what happened was a joke? And one that I had nothing to do with at that." he asked. Sable nodded. "And you do realize that you over reacted to a rumor?" Once again, Sable nodded. "And you do realize that you are not getting off the hook due to your recent behavior any time soon." Sable looked up and frowned, not catching the slight grin he hid before she looked up.
"Okay, Remus," she said defiantly, "I know I screwed up royally, you don't have to rub it in. Just tell me off, and get it over with." She turned to walk away since he had started to aggravate her with his childish comments, even though they were true. Remus wasn't about to let her get away from him. He stopped her and made her face him once again, pretending as though the previous conversation had never ended.
"And you do realize that we have been trying to tell you the truth for the past week?" Sable glared up at him and frowned, but Remus continued.. "And you should have known that I wouldn't touch Sedera Walsh with a fifty foot pole."
"And do you realize how much I hate it when you you're right, and you rub it in my face?" she growled menacingly. Remus let go of her and grinned.
"Of course," he said, breaking the growing tension, "Why else would I do it?" Sable glowered at his response. 'The little prick was just trying to get a rise out of me!' she thought.
"You probably do it to just to see me get angry." she stated, folding her arms across her chest and frowning. Remus grinned and nodded.
"Guilty." he said, shrugging his shoulders. Sable rolled her eyes and punched him playfully in the arm. He retaliated by pinning her hands behind her so she couldn't move.
"Am I off the hook now?" she asked, knowing now that he really wasn't mad at her. Remus scoffed and looked down at her.
"Not with the others." he said.
"What about you?" she asked cautiously.
"You're alright." he said. Sable nodded and smiled, glad that they were back on speaking terms. " So what prompted the sudden need to apologize to me?" he asked. Sable shifted and he let her go.
"I need you guy's help....." she began. Remus frowned.
"So the only reason you apologized was because you needed our help?" he asked, feigning insultment. "How crude of you. You couldn't apologize because we are such wonderful friends and you were devastated to know we were angry with you?" Sable rolled her eyes and waited for him to shut up.
"If you would close that enormous trap of yours so I could finish," she said happily. "I will explain." Remus grinned and leaned up against a chair. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." she began. "Not only do I need your help, but if it makes you feel any better, and I'm sure it does, but I missed you guys. Besides, I felt horribly guilty."
"Good, you should be." he teased.
"You're not helping me any right now." she said. Remus nodded his head for her to continue. "Anyways, I need you guys to help me find a journal that I seemed to have misplaced."
"What's so important about it?" Remus asked.
"A lot of important information is in that book. To keep a story short, anything and everything that I know, have done, am doing, or will do is in that book."
"Everything?" Remus asked.
"Everything." she answered. Remus grimaced and shook his head.
"I think we need to get James and the others in on this too." he said. Sable nodded in agreement. "The more people we have looking for it, the better." He began to walk towards the entrance to the hallway.
"Where you going?" she asked.
"Well, unless you want me to go get the others and bring them down here," he said, "I suggest we go up to Gryffindor Tower to get them."
"Good point." she said, following him out.
They reached the tower ten minutes later. As they opened the portrait hole, they were surprised to see Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius sitting near the fireplace. Remus cleared his throat and they looked up in surprise. The boy's eyes got really wide when they saw them coming, and Lily started smirking when he saw Sable come in after Remus. They walked over to the others and Sirius smiled.
"Good to have you back, Sable." he said. "I knew you couldn't stay away from us good-looking guys much longer; no woman can." Sable rolled her eyes and Remus smiled.
"You know you're right, Sirius." she said breathlessly, "I just can't help myself." Sirius smirked and looked up at her with a triumphant grin. Sable frowned and put her hands on her hips. "You were talking about Pete and Remus, right?" she asked innocently. Sirius stiffened up and frowned.
"What was that supposed to mean?" he asked "What about me and James?"
"Oh, don't feel left out." she cooed. "But James is already taken, and I definitely don't want to get on the bad side of that red-head." she said, pointing to a grinning Lily.
"Well, what about me?" he asked.
"I didn't know you were putting yourself in that category, Sirius." she said, "I never did." Sirius glowered and shook his head while Sable looked on innocently. James nodded in appreciation and stood up.
"We've got our old Sable back." he said with a grin. Sable bowed low and nodded.
"Were you expecting someone else?" she asked rhetorically. The boys laughed and settled down onto the couch.
"So are you two over your little lover's quarrel?" Sirius asked. Remus shook his head, but Sable smiled sweetly and nodded.
"Of course, we are." she said sarcastically, "You know we can't stay at each other for long." Sirius nodded and settle down further into the couch. "We're too much alike."
"Good, now maybe Moony will quit moping around the castle day and night." he said.
"I wasn't moping!" Remus said defensively.
"Riiiiiiiiiight, Moony." Sirius said. "Whatever you say."
"Shut it, Padfoot." Remus growled.
"Touchy, aren't we?" Peter teased. He looked over to Sable and grinned.
"Now, boys," Sable said in a motherly fashion. "Quit teasing each other. You all know better than that." Lily laughed and shook her head.
"Well, now that Sable's back, we can get back to the business at hand. By the way boys, don't you owe me some money?" The boys groaned and began to dig money out of their pockets, handing it to Lily. After she pocketed the coins, she turned back to the boys. "Now, I think Sable needs our assistance in finding a lost journal."
"A what?" Peter asked.
"A journal." Sable said. "A very important journal that could get everyone one of us expelled if it fell into the wrong hands." James grimaced and nodded.
"What's in it?" Sirius asked stupidly. Sable frowned and shook her head.
"I'll give you three clues. Animagis. Werewolves. Illicit Potions. Do you know what it is now?" Sable asked sarcastically. Sirius nodded and leaned back into the overstuffed chair.
"How much information is in that book?" James asked.
"Everything." she said.
"Everything?" Sirius asked.
"Is there an echo in here?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Everything." They all looked grim and waited for her to continue.
"Do you know who took it?" Sirius asked.
"Would I be chatting with you right now if I did?" she said.
"Hey, no need to get testy." he said defensively, "Bad question."
"But no, I don't know who took it. The last person who saw me with it was Snape." Sable said.
"When was that?" Remus asked.
"Sunday, out by the lake."
"What was ol' tall, dark, and greasy doing outside on a Sunday? I thought he was allergic to sunlight?" Remus asked. Sable shrugged and continued to frown.
"I don't know, but he was actually being nice. Didn't even insult me once." Sable seemed surprised.
"That is not much to go on." Sirius said. Sable nodded in agreement. "When did you notice it was missing?"
"Yesterday." she answered. "But I figured I had just left it in my bedroom. When I finished classes, I went to go look for it. However, I didn't find it anywhere; I even tried a summoning charm. Nothing worked. And it's not in any of the classrooms because I've already looked there."
"Well, what does it look like?" James asked.
"It's a normal journal, the size of a notebook. The cover and back are bound in leather and there is gold writing on the front of it." she said.
"What's the writing spell out?" Peter asked. Sable blushed lightly and mumbled something incoherent.
"What was that?" Lily asked.
"Women's faults are many, but men have only two. Everything they say, and everything they do." she said quietly. Lily grinned and tried to hide a laugh. The boys were completely silent.
"You do realize that is about as chauvinistic as it gets?" Sirius asked. Sable nodded and tried to hid a smile.
"Yeah, but at the time, it was a good sentence to express my feelings." she said. "Besides, ninety percent of the time, it's true."
"You must have charmed it last week, after the whole Sedera and Remus thing." Lily said. Sable nodded and looked away, embarrassed.
"How'd you guess?" Sable muttered.
"I'm just good like that." she said.
"Well, guys," Sable asked, turning back to the boys, "where is the best place to start looking? You guys do know this castle inside and out." James looked at Peter, who looked at Sirius, who looked at Remus, who looked back at James.
"We don't know." they all said simultaneously. Sable rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You four are helpless." she stated.
"Yeah, it's one of their many faults." Lily snickered. James glared at her and started pouting like a baby. "Okay, I'm sorry James." she said, patting his unruly hair, "I didn't mean it. I promise." James smiled and grinned like a three year old.
"How about the Common Rooms for the Houses?" Remus suggested. "It makes the most sense since she couldn't find it anywhere in the classrooms."
"Remus is right." Sirius said. "But how are we going to get into the Common Rooms?"
"Now wait a minute." Lily admonished. "You four aren't allowed into the Common Rooms of the other Houses; you know that."
"How exactly do you propose we get the journal back if we can't get into the Common Rooms?" Remus asked.
"James and I can do it. We have clearance to be in the other Common Rooms." she stated. James winked at the other boys over the head of Lily and smiled. The other boys nodded and quickly nodded their heads, but Sable was confused. 'They never agree with Lily on stuff like this. They're up to something, I'll bet.' she said nothing, but nodded also, catching the playful light in the other boys eyes.
"I think that is a good idea." Sirius said. "I don't think I need to get caught out of the Tower after curfew again for a few days. McGonagall was awfully mad when she caught me the other night." Remus snorted and looked over to the boy with a grin.
"And you really care, Padfoot?" he asked. Sirius grinned and shook his head.
"Not really," he answered.
"Well, it's settled then." Lily said. "James and I will go to the Common Rooms and see if anyone has seen the book. If it is there, you'll have it back tonight, Sable. I promise." Sable nodded and the two Heads left the Common Room in Gryffindor Tower. James looked back and gave them a thumbs up before walking out of the portrait hole with Lily. When she was sure the portrait was shut, Sable turned to the others and frowned.
"I swear that girl has the worst mood swings than any other girl on this campus!" Sirius said. "One minute, she's helping us to plan our next prank, then the next, she's trying to keep us out of the other house Common Rooms." The rest of them nodded, but Sable was lost.
"Okay, what was all that about?" she asked. The other boys laughed and Sirius nodded over to Peter, who immediately ran towards the boy's Common Room.
"Well, Sable." Remus explained, "while you were holed up in that dark room of yours, the rest of the pranksters decided to come up with our next brilliant plan of attack."
"And how is this going to help in finding that journal?" she asked.
"Well, if I know Lils, and I do," Sirius grinned, "she will have brought James to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw dorms before going to the Slytherins. In fact, I'm sure James will make the dungeons the last of their stops."
"Yeah, and once Lily and Arabella get to talking, James will have to pull the two girls apart." Remus said.
"So, how is this helping me? I don't get it?" she said.
"Well, you see this is what is going to happen." Sirius said. "Our prank actually relies on something you may have."
"And that would be....what?" Sable asked.
"You remember that potion you helped me brew?" Remus asked.
"Be a little more specific, Remus. I've helped you with hundreds." she said.
"The voice alteration potion." he said. Sable nodded, waiting for the rest of the plan.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, you see, some of that potion will be ingested by a select few seventh years tonight." Sirius said. "And tomorrow, they will be sounding nothing like themselves." Peter came back down the stairs then with a vile of green goo in his hand. He handed it to Sirius and Sable rolled her eyes when she realized what it was.
"Permanent Sticky-Goo?" she asked. "Really, Sirius, can't you be a little more imaginative?"
"Hey, it was the spur of the moment." he said defensively. Sable conceded and nodded her head.
"So, how exactly is this going to help me get my journal back? I'm missing something is this wonderful plot, aren't I?" she asked. Remus nodded and Peter grinned.
"Well, when James and Lily are inspecting the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Common Rooms, Pete and I will be slipping into the dorms of the Houses under James' invisibility cloak." Sirius explained. "You know as well as I do that Lily won't force the other students to let her into their dorms to search for the book. It's too risky. Too many questions to answer later on. So, while they are threatening, coercing, and using other means to get the information out of the students, Wormtail and I will sneak into the dorms and plant the surprises. While we are there, we can search for the book in the dorms."
"Fine," Sable said, "but I get the Slytherin dorms and Common Room." Sirius shook his head and frowned.
"No way." he said. "That was the ones I wanted." Sable grinned and pulled out her trump card.
"It's either that, or you don't get the voice alteration potion. Or any other potion for pranks for that matter." she said simply. "I've got some unfinished business with a certain number of stubborn Slytherins I need to take care of." Sable grinned like a maniac as an idea came to her, and Sirius backed off.
"Fine," he conceded. "The Slytherin dorms are yours. But you had better make me proud." Sable grinned and got up from the couch.
"Don't worry, I will." She said. "Who you going with Remus?"
"With you, of course. Someone has to keep you out of trouble." he said with a grin. Sable nodded and stood from the couch. "Let's go then." Remus grinned and Sirius went back up to the dorms to dig out James' invisibility cloak and the Marauders' map. When he came back down, Sable and Remus were gone, and on the little table were about six bottles of an orange-red liquid.
"Sable said that this was extra-concentrated." Peter said. "And whoever the name on the vial is, that's what the voice will sound like." Sirius grinned and picked up one of the bottles that read 'PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL'. He smiled and stuffed the glass tubes into his pockets.
"This is going to be our best prank yet." Sirius said happily. Peter nodded and the two boys went through the portrait hole and pulled the cloak on over their heads..
Sable and Remus left Peter in the Gryffindor Common Room with the instructions on how to use the voice alteration potion. She also made Peter promise that they would at least look for the journal. He reassured her that they would. They climbed back through the hidden portrait hole behind the stairs and quickly made their way back down to her room. When they stepped out of the tunnel and into her room, Remus frowned as realization hit him.
"Um, Sable, how do you plan on getting into the Slytherin Common Room without being seen?" He asked. "You don't have an invisibility cloak." Sable smiled and began to walk across her room and into her lab. Remus followed and waited for her to answer him.
"We don't need one." she said. "There are other ways to go undetected. At least to the eyes." Remus looked skeptical, but said nothing. Sable quickly pulled out an old leather bag and began to put different vial of her potions in the bag. She then grabbed one and handed it to Remus. She grabbed an identical one and turned to the boy with a grin. "Drink up, Moony." Remus looked at the liquid a little skeptically.
"What's it do." he asked. Sable looked back, feigning insultment.
"You don't trust me, Remus. I feel so cheated." she said with a grin. Remus rolled his eyes and nodded.
"I know you." he said simply. "That's reason enough not to trust you sometimes." Sable nodded and smiled.
"It's an invisibility potion." she said, "It keeps the drinker from being detected by human eyesight."
"How long does it last?" he asked, fingering the tube.
"About two hours." she said, "After that, you slowly begin to fade back in. But I think we can do what we need to in two hours. If not, we'll just drink some more." She opened the vial and put it to her lips. With one gulp the vial was empty and she was placing it back on the shelf. Remus looked a little scared, but drank the liquid down quickly. There was no taste to it. In fact, it was like swallowing a tube of tap water.
"How do we know we're invisible?" he asked.
"Take a look in the mirror." she said. He moved to a nearby wall where a small mirror was hung, expecting to see his reflection. But there was nothing. All he saw was the wall of potions ingredients behind him and on the other side of the room. He turned back to Sable and grinned.
"Wicked."
"Isn't it, though? We can see each other, but no one else can see us. It comes in handy sometimes." she said sweetly. "Now let's go before it begins to wear off. I don't fancy being caught in the Slytherin's territory when we start to come back." Remus nodded and slowly walked back through the lab and back into her bedroom. They entered into the tunnel and followed it down until it forked out to the four different directions of the House Common Rooms. They took the third one from the right and followed it down. The pathway suddenly began to get a little slippery as they headed down into the depths of the dungeons.
They finally stopped at the entrance into the Common Room Remus slowly opened to portrait hole, finding that the portrait was hidden behind a set of stairs just like in Gryffindor Tower. He smiled and pulled Sable out of the tunnel. They quickly made their way through the maze of plush, leather couches and the Slytherin students lounging in them. Sable looked around frantically for any sign of her journal, but it was to no avail. The book was no where in sight. Remus tugged her shirt and pointed to the dormitories. She nodded and followed him down the staircase. They came to a split in the staircase, the boys dorms to the left and the girls to the right. Since there was no one in sight, Sable leaned in to whisper to Remus.
"I want the boy's dorms." she said. Remus shook his head.
"Only if I go with you." he said. " I don't want you to run into anyone." She nodded and they made their way to the seventh years boys dorms. There were a few run-ins with some of the younger students, but the two intruding Gryffindors got away without anyone the wiser. They stopped at the last two doors of the hallway. Remus slowly opened one and peaked inside. He grinned and gave Sable a thumbs up signal. She glanced behind them to make sure that no one else was coming. With the coast clear, she entered the room and quietly shut the door behind them. Remus was digging around the room, trying to find out who dormed in there when Sable saw a picture of Sedera Walsh near the bed closest to her. She walked over and grinned. Cunningham was in the picture with her.
"Remus!" she whispered loudly. "This is Cunningham's dorm room." A smile spread across Remus' face as he saw the picture. "Who does he room with?"
"Bellos, Marks, and Vedreene." Remus said, grinning happily. "Perfect." He quickly walked across the room as Sable began to dig out various potions from her bag. Remus grabbed a vial of the voice alteration potion and dumped it into a pitcher of water that was near the window sill. He then took out a few vials of the Permanent Sticky-Goo and poured it into various wardrobes and shoes. After a few minutes, he was done. And the four boys would be coming out of the dorms tomorrow with sticky robes and the Grey Lady's high, whispery voice.
Sable nodded and motioned towards the door. She had searched the desks while he was doing his dirty work, looking for her journal. She finally gave up and pulled out her wand, using a summoning charm. Nothing.
"It's not in here. Let's go." she said quietly. Remus nodded and made for the door, opening it slowly. Once again, there was no one in the doorway. The two culprits shut the door and went to the next one. Remus opened it and Sable watched to make sure no one was coming. They entered the dorm and Remus and Sable broke out into identical grins of ecstacy.
One side of the room was covered in books, notebooks and Quidditch gear, while the other one was neat and clean. The desks were placed near the green clad beds and showed the identities of the rooms occupants, Severus Snape and Cody Flint. Sable began to dig around in her bag again, thoughts of her journal temporarily forgotten.
"I've got Snape." Remus said.
"Fine." she said testily, "But Flint's mine." They pulled out various vials of potion and quickly began to dispense them around the room. Remus filled the wardrobes with the invisible form of the Permanent Sticky-Goo while Sable filled Flint's bed with an itching potion that dried quickly to leave no evidence of the liquid. She then pulled out a very special concentration of the voice alteration potion. She dumped it in the pitcher by his bed and grinned. 'That'll teach him to mess with me.' she thought. Remus glanced up and noticed that she seemed to be quite enthralled with her work. He took out his wand and did the summoning charm for her journal. The top drawer of Snape's desk flew open and the book landed safely in Remus' hands. 'I'm going to kill that bastard.' he thought. He took the book over to Sable and tapped her shoulder. As she turned, her eyes were fixed on Remus' hands.
"You found it." she said happily. Remus nodded and she gave him a hug. "Thank you, Remus."
"It's not a problem." he said.
"Where was it?"
"In Snape's desk." Sable blanched and looked away. She had a feeling that he might have been the culprit, but she had given him the benefit of the doubt. She tucked the book in her bag and smiled at Remus.
"You finish up in here, Remus." she said. "I've got one other dorm to visit tonight."
"Who?" he asked. "Do I need to come?"
"No, it's in the girl's wing." she said. "I'll meet you back inside the portrait when I'm done." Remus nodded and smiled.
"Be careful getting out of here." he said. "The snakes should be coming to their dorms about now."
"I'll be okay." she said with a smile. "But I can't say the same for the one I'm going after." He grinned and she left silently out of the room.
Half an hour later, Sable met Remus in the portrait hole. She was grinning like the Cheshire cat and he suddenly became worried. He had almost been caught by Flint when he came out of the room. The Slytherin Quidditch captain must have been returning from a late night snog, because his hair was a mess and he looked quite tired. Remus had frowned at the sight and shook his head. 'Poor girl.' he thought.
"Happy hunting?" he asked quietly.
"If you only knew." she said cheekily, "If you only knew."
"Who was it that you went after?" Remus asked as they began to ascend the tunnel back into her rooms. Sable just smiled and winked at him.
"You should find out in the morning." she answered him.
"You're not going to tell me?" he asked incredously. "You know you owe me for letting you off the hook today. I could use that against you. You owe me big time, missy." Sable smiled and shook her head.
"Now why would you want to do that when a little patience will give you the answer?" she asked. "It's already past midnight as it is. You'll find out in the morning at breakfast." Remus grabbed her by the waist and pinned her against the wall.
"That's all fine and dandy," he said, "but I'm not a patient person. Now who was it?" Sable laughed at him and threw a useless punch at him.
"You'll find out in the morning." she said again.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" he asked.
"I thought we already established that?" she asked innocently. Remus just shook his head and they walked up the tunnel and into the main branch that led to Sable's rooms.
"Do you think Sirius and Pete are finished yet?" she asked as they dropped down into her room.
"Nah, once they get started with something like this, they don't stop." he said. "They should be back in about an hour or so." Sable nodded and yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, at least we got the journal back." she said.
"Do you think Snape read it?" he asked.
"Well, I don't think he was just looking at it for his own health. And it's unlocked, so he figured out how to break the locking spell on it." she answered. "I just wish he was as dumb as he looks." She looked down at the book and sighed. "Remus, if he finds out about the Celtic potion book, I could be in serious trouble." Remus stood up and gave her a friendly hug.
"I think everything will be okay." he said. "I mean, he already knows about me being a wolf, and the others being Animgi. What else could there possibly be in there?" Sable just shook her head.
"Well, I talk about my parents a lot in there." she admitted. "And I wrote about a lot of things I've been thinking about since I came back to school."
"Like what?" Remus asked, curious as to what she had been thinking.
"Things I don't want anyone else to know about." she said quietly.
"Not even me?" he asked. "I wouldn't laugh, you know that."
"I know." she said. "But I still don't want anyone to know, even you."
"I see." he said playfully. "You're trying to be the mystery woman now!!!" Sable looked at him like he was crazy.
"Remus.. You're nuts!" she said.
"Probably, but it's never been clinically verified.....well, not yet that is." he said. Sable laughed and walked over to her wardrobe, pulling out a big shirt and some shorts to sleep in.
"Well, I think you've lost it wolf-boy." she said simply. She pulled her shoes off and sat on her bed.
"If it helps any, I think you are too." he said. "Bitch." Sable looked over to him and frowned.
"That was unnecessary, Remus." she said, seriously thinking she had said something wrong. "I know I can be a pain some times. But really, must you use that word to describe me?" Remus smiled at her hurt expression. He had only meant it playfully. He had been hoping she would catch the underlying meaning, obviously she hadn't.
"I meant that in a good way, Sable." he said. "You know what a bitch is anyway, don't you?"
"Yeah, someone who is a total and complete prat." she said. "Basically the female version of Cody Flint." Remus laughed and nodded his head. 'She really doesn't like him, does she?' he thought.
"That's close," he said, "but I was talking about the other definition." Sable looked at him curiously, then her eyes widened into big, violet pools of surprise.
"I am not a dog, Remus Jason Lupin!!" she said, throwing a pillow at him in retaliation. Remus smiled and ducked the pillow.
"You are just as much a dog as I am, missy!" he said. "You forget you are pure-blooded wolf; I'm only an infected one. I was born human. You weren't." He ducked as another pillow came flying his way.
"I am NOT a female dog in heat!!" she yelled.
"You sure about that?" he teased.
"Remus Lupin, get out of here before I do something drastic!" she said.
"Like what?" He prodded. Sable stopped for a minute when he started laughing at her. She picked up another pillow and threw it at him.
"You were doing that just to get a rise out of me, weren't you?" she asked. He nodded and Sable felt like kicking herself. "You.....you.....you....."
"At a loss for words, dear?" he teased. "That's a first."
"Shut up, Remus." she said.
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then I'll make you." she said, getting up from her bed and walking over to him.
"How?" he asked. "You can't make me do anything I don't want to." She sat down on his lap and laid her head on his shoulder.
"But, Remus, you'd like to do what I tell you to." she whispered. Remus tensed and wondered what she was getting at. She said nothing, but began to rub the back of his neck with slow, gently strokes. He was silent for a minute, enjoying the touch of another human. He put his hands on her back and began to rub in little circles. Just when he was starting to feel relaxed, she jumped up with a triumphant grin and looked at him.
"I told you I'd shut you up." she said smugly.
"You little bitch." he growled, the relaxing fog clearing from his mind.
Tisk, tisk, Remus." she said. "I already told you I'm not the one in heat. However, I'm not so sure about you."
"That was cruel, girl. You just don't do that to a guy, even if you are his best friend." Remus said.
"Sorry." she said sincerely. Laughing at the expression on his face. "And I didn't know I was you're best friend."
"You're not." he stated simply. 'You're a lot more than that, but I can't tell you that.' he thought. Sable seemed a little taken back. She looked down at the floor and blushed, not meeting his eyes directly.
"Well, whatever I am," she said. "I'm fine with it. As long as I'm not your enemy." Remus smiled and nodded. She had just saved him from possibly embarrassing himself even worse. He looked back up and grinned. "Now, get out of here. I've got to change clothes."
"Why can't I stay?" he pouted. "It's not like I haven't seen the difference between a guy and a girl before." Sable shook her head.
"Well, you see, Remus the thing is.... I am not used to stripping down in front of random guys sitting in my bedroom............. at least not on a Friday morning before classes. I usually wait for the weekend." she dead panned.
"Oh, great, so now I'm some random guy?" he asked jokingly.
"Well, what am I to you?" she asked. Remus stood still, not sure how to take the unexpected question.
"Well...uh...I'm....you see...." Sable nodded and grinned.
"That's what I thought." she said, rolling her eyes. Remus glared at her, but her smile was contagious. "When you tell me what I am, then you'll get an answer from me about the random guy question. Since I'm obviously not put in the 'friend' category anymore."
Remus frowned and stood from the chair.
"I didn't mean it like that, Sable." he said quietly. The ebony-haired girl nodded and gave a weak grin.
"I know." she said. "Now scram, mister. I'm going to bed." Remus shook his head and climbed into the portrait hole. He turned back to look at Sable and grinned.
"Hey, Sable, one last question."
"Hmmm?"
"Who was the girl you went after in the Slytherin dorms?" The next thing he knew, there was a pillow being aimed at is face.
"REMUS! GET OUT! YOU INFURIATING LITTLE PRAT! I AM NOT TELLING YOU!!!" She yelled.
"I take it you're still not telling me?" he asked innocently. Another pillow was thrown at him and he shook his head. "Guess not." He ducked into the tunnel and grinned at himself. "Everything is back to normal now." he said. ' Not quite the same as before, but close enough.' he thought. He climbed up to tunnel and came out into the Gryffindor Common Room. There was no one else in there and he sat down on the couch to ponder which category he had now put Sable in, since it obviously wasn't just 'friend' anymore.
***Meanwhile, in the Slytherin Dungeons***
Severus Snape peered into the cauldron and smirked. 'It has begun.' he thought. He shut the book on his left, Most Potente Potions, and stirred the potion one more time. 'With this potion, I will be able to destroy everything those two Gryffindors have worked so hard to accomplish. I will have Sabriel Robbins so far down into the black pits of depression that she won't know what happened to her. And Remus Lupin will be the one to help me, whether or not he realizes it at the moment.' Snape looked up to where Flint had just left only a half hour ago.
He shook his head in annoyance. Flint seemed to be against the plan he had come up with to lure the girl into their hands. The plan was simple enough. Use Lupin to depress Sable. It was a proven fact that he was the quickest way to bring her down, so he used it.
The liquid in the cauldron began to simmer, and he added the boomslang skin as required. 'Just a little while longer, and you will be a follower of Voldemort, my dear.' he thought. 'And he will reward me beyond my expectations when I hand you over to him.' Flint had left earlier that evening, and would probably be in bed by now. The black headed boy grinned and left the cauldron, deciding to actually get some sleep for the first time in a few days.
A/N - Okay. Now that we've got a prank in the making, things should get a little more interesting. Anyhow, remember to review. I love reviews. They're like chocolate for me. Later.
