Disclaimer- It's not mine, never was.
A/N- Okay, just to let you guys know, I'm going to speed things up a bit. I'm ready to get this story over with, and as such, things are going to be moving a little fast in this chapter and the next. Sorry if anyone doesn't like this, but well, I'm ready to finish this story.
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Note: It's been a few weeks since the last chapter, and the students are going home for Easter break.
The week off from school for Easter break could not have come at a better time for Hogwarts seventh year students. The past few weeks had been crammed full of schoolwork, preparations for the N.E.W.T.S. was the excuse their teachers had given them. So, when the first Friday in April rolled around, it was with a happy heart that Sable, Remus and the other Marauders grabbed their clothes and headed out the dorms, along with Lily and Arabella. The troublemakers had decided to go home for their Easter holidays, and Remus had managed to procure permission from all parental units concerned in order to spend the break with Sable and her family. His mom had not cared, seeing as how the full moon would all ready be over with by the time the break came, and Sable's parents had welcomed the idea with open arms.
"Come on, Remus!" Sable yelled from the bottom of the steps leading to the boys dormitory. "You guys are going to be late if you don't hurry up. We can't afford to miss the train!" Sable and Lily were waiting in the Common Room for the boys to do their last minute packing.
"Will you two chill out already!" came Sirius gruff voice. "We can always Apparate if we miss the train! We're only going to be gone a week anyway!"
"Yeah! We've all got our Apparating license." James hollered. "Calm down!" Lily shook her head in annoyance as she turned to Sable.
"They should have listened to me and packed last night." she said. "I knew this was going to happen. Those two are never on time."
"Don't worry about it, Lily." Sable said. "They'll be down in a few minutes. They're probably packing up prank supplies if I know them."
"You wound me to the heart, love." Remus said from the stairs. "I was packing clothes, not pranks."
"You're the exception, Remus." Sable pointed out. "You're going with me, so you need clothes. Sirius already practically lives at James' house, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had clothes stashed their." Sirius was going to spend the week with James, seeing as how he and his family were not exactly on good terms at the moment. It seemed as though ever since Christmas, Sirius had been getting all kinds of howlers and mean letters from his mother. No one knew why, although many had suggested it had something to do with his younger brother Regelus.
"Hey, I have more than clothes stashed at that house, I'll have you know." Sirius said with a grin as he, James, and Peter came down the stairs.
"I'm sure you do." Lily muttered. "It's about time you guys finished. Let's go or we're going to be late." the students grabbed their belongings and made their way to the Entrance Hall and then out to where there were some carriages waiting to take them to the train station. After finding an empty carriage, they climbed in and settled down for the short ride to the station.
As soon as the horseless carriage stopped in the village, they climbed out and boarded the Hogwarts Express. The trip back to Platform 9 ¾ would take a few hours, and each of the trouble makers found a way to pass the time. Since it had only bee two days since the full moon for the month of April, Remus and Sable were still a little tired.
"Wake me up when we get to the station." Sable muttered as she threw her bag in the compartment across from where James and the others were going to sit. Remus nodded and tossed his in their as well.
"Me, too." he said, stifling a yawn.
"You guys going to take a nap?" Lily asked. "Looks like you could both use one."
"Yeah." Sable said pulling out her wand and conjuring up some pillows for the two of them. "Just wake us up before we get to the station, please guys."
"We will." James answered, pulling out a deck of Exploding Snap cards and waving them in front of Sirius' face.
"Thanks everyone." Remus said as he shut the compartment door. Sure enough, the rest of the trip was spent without hearing a word from either Sable or Remus. Lily worked on some homework, while the other three Marauders played Exploding Snap and ate sweets from the trolley.
A few hours passed and Lily went to wake the sleeping couple after the conductor's voice announced that they would arrive at King's Cross shortly. When the Head Girl opened the door, she held back a grin at the sight before her. Obviously, neither Remus or Sable wanted to be separated from each other. As such, one of them had conjured up some thick downy quilts and laid them on the floor to make a pallet, instead of sleeping on the cushioned benches.
As it was, Remus was lying on his back, and Sable was cuddled up beside him, mush the way her and James often were. It was almost too cute of an innocent picture for the two werewolves. Both Remus and Sable were good people, who never wanted to hurt anyone, despite their bloodline, but they were feared because of the tainted blood that ran through their veins. Shaking her head, she yanked the light blanket off of them and kicked Sable's foot.
"Time to get up, you tow. We'll be at the station in twenty minutes." Sable's eyes slowly came open as she was roused form her nap.
"Lily?" she asked, yawning.
"We'll be there in twenty minutes." Lily repeated. "Might want to wake Remus up."
"Thanks, Lily." Sable said, sitting up. "Give us a few minutes and we'll be over there."
"No problem." Lily said, closing the door and leaving them to get their stuff together. Sable looked over to her sleeping boyfriend and grinned. He was dead asleep. She grinned and shook him lightly.
"Remus, come on, it's time to get up." she said. "We're almost to the train station."
"Mmmm….go 'way Prongs….class…." he muttered, turning over and searching around for the discarded blanket with his hand. Sable smiled and shook her head, leaning down to whisper in Remus' ear.
"I'm not James." she said. "But I can go get him if you want to see him that much. I'm sure he'll be happy to know you're dreaming about him. Although I don't think Lily will be too happy about it." Before Sable could move, Remus had rolled back over and sat up, knocking her down into his lap.
"Sable?" he asked sleepily. "What are you talking about? And what are you doing down there?" Sable pushed herself up and shook her head.
"I was trying to get you up, and you were calling me James." she said, mocking insultment. "How could you?"
"I thought you were James coming to wake me up for class." he said, stifling a huge yawn. "Sorry about that."
"Not a problem. Lily said that we're about twenty minutes from the station."
"We better pick this stuff up then." he said, pulling himself off of the floor. Sable grabbed her wand and vanished the quilts and pillows while Remus grabbed the two bags. They crossed the hallway to the compartment were James and the others were just as the conductor's voice came across the speaker announcing that they were running ahead of schedule and would be in King's cross in five minutes.
"Sleep well?" Lily asked the two as they sat down on the seats left vacant.
"Yeah." Remus said. "I needed that." Sable nodded in agreement and they watched as Sirius' eyebrows were singed and he and James finished up a game of Exploding Snap.
Once the group got to the station and off the train, James and Sirius dis-Apparated to the Potter mansion, while Peter left with his mother, as well as Lily and her father, and Sable and Remus spotted Carol Robbins in the throng of people. The woman spotted them about the same time and came walking over to them, a smile on her face as she hugged each one in turn.
"We're here." Sable said, hugging her mother.
"Welcome home, baby." Carol said to her daughter. "It's good to see you as well, Remus. How was the trip?"
"Wouldn't know." Remus answered. "We were still recuperating from the other night." Carol nodded in understanding, she herself was still feeling the after effects of the full moon.
"Mom, where's daddy at?" Sable asked, trying to locate her father.
"Work." she answered, leading them to the car. "Some type of emergency case. I am to meet him after I drop you two off at home."
"Anything the matter?" Remus asked.
"Not at the moment, dear." Carol answered as she opened the trunk and put their bags in their. "But with the way these blasted Death Eaters have been acting up, it wouldn't surprise me much if something major does come up."
"Both of you have to work all week?" Sable questioned. "That sucks, Mom!"
"I can't help it, baby." Carol said, slipping into the driver seat of the car and unlocking it for the teenagers. "Things are heating up, and they need every able hand they can get." Sable frowned and climbed into the car, along with Remus.
"Is that one of the reasons you let Remus come this week?" Sable asked, eyeing her mother for a reaction.
"Partly." her mother said. " I'm pretty sure your dad and I will be busy for most of the week, so we figured Remus could come keep you company if he wanted to. Sirius and James are staying at the Potters' , correct?"
"Yes. They are." Remus answered. The conversation was light in the car all the way to Godric's Hollow, mostly Carol asking about school and the Quidditch games, and Sable trying to pry information out of her mother about what was going on at the Ministry.
When they finally did get to the small house in Godric's Hollow, Mrs. Robbins put the car in park and got out, rushing to the door. It was obvious to Sable and Remus that the woman was in a hurry to get to the Ministry. When they finally got into the house, Mrs. Robbins was pulling on her Ministry robes.
"I've got to go, baby." she told Sable.
"Should you guys be back for dinner?" Sable asked pleadingly.
"You're not going to try and cook, are you?" Carol asked suspiciously, remembering the last time her daughter had tried to cook.
"And burn the house down? Mom, are you crazy?" Sable questioned. "I'll order something and go get it, but I'm not gonna try to cook again! I like this house and don't want to see it reduced to cinders and ashes." Carol smiled as Remus tried to hide a grin.
"Well, there's some sandwiches in the fridge if you two get hungry, and money on the table for dinner. Your father and I probably won't be back before early morning." Sable frowned and crossed her arms like a spoiled child. "But don't worry, we're all going to be home to eat tomorrow evening." Sable brightened up at the thought of getting to spend time with her parents.
"Okay. Bye mom." she said.
"Be careful, Mrs. Carol." Remus added.
"I'm always careful, dear." she said with a grin. "It's my daughter you have to worry about."
"Bye, mom." Sable growled, cutting her eyes at her mother playfully. "See you later."
"Bye, kids. I'll tell Robert you said hello." With that last thought, she dis-Apparated with an audible 'pop'. Sable stood there, shaking her head at her mother's attempts at picking on her. Beside her, Remus was still smiling.
"What?" she asked.
"You can't cook?" he asked. Sable's face colored and she started twiddling her thumbs, a bad habit she had picked up from some of the younger kids she tutored.
"Uhh….as a matter of fact….I can't." she mumbled. "The last time I tried to, I almost burnt down our house, and I was only making toast!"
"So you can brew a potion to keep werewolves sane, but you can't make toast?" he asked skeptically.
"Rub it in, why don't ya?" Sable muttered as they walked into the kitchen. "Besides, your mom's a great cook, so I'm sure you know something about cooking, am I right?" Sable turned to her boyfriend, who had a skeptical look on his face.
"Right…" he trailed off, remembering his own failed cooking attempts which usually led to his mother booting him out of the kitchen. "Didn't your mom say she left money for dinner?"
"Well, yeah. But what's the point in ordering if we can cook dinner?" she asked.
"Love, my culinary talents are just about as impressive as yours, even when I do use magic." Sable blanched and spotted the money on the counter, next to her mother's car keys. Ordering take out was starting to sound REAL good.
"So," she said, stuffing the bills in her jean pockets along with the car keys. "Where we going for dinner?"
"No clue." he answered. "You live around here. Not me. But come to think of it, I have heard Padfoot and Prongs talk about some place in town named Chez's. How's that sound?"
"Chez's? Not a bad idea, actually." she said. "It's Muggle, but they've got good food. Chez's it is then. Let's go." They grabbed their coats and walked out the door, Sable dangling the keys in her hand.
"You know how to drive?" He asked, eyeing the automobile skeptically.
"Sure do." she said. "What are we gonna do after we eat?"
"Don't know. How about we go drop in at James'. I'm wondering what he and Lily are up to." Remus said, buckling the seatbelt.
"I thought Lily was spending her vacation at home, not with James." Sable said as she started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
"She's supposed to, but James told me that Lily has been having problems with her sister Petunia, especially now that she's about to leave."
"And?"
"And I have a feeling that James is going to be using any and all means to get Lily at his house for the break." Remus finished.
"What's his plan? Lily's parents aren't going to just let her stay with James all break?" Sable pointed out.
"She's not going to stay there all of break." Remus said. "James told me that he was going to use some kind of excuse about the Head Boy and Girl having to plan some stuff for graduation. He just wants to get her out of Petunia's way until break is over with."
"Think it'll work?"
"Oh, yeah. Lily's parents absolutely adore James." Remus said. "They trust him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lily was with them right now."
"You sound awful sure of yourself. You know something I don't?" Sable asked.
"James was bringing Sirius with him when he went to go get Lily." Remus chuckled.
"Oh, no!" Sable groaned. "Mrs. Daisy won't know what hit her!" Sirius had a habit of trying to charm the ladies, no matter what their age was. And Sable knew that Lily favored her mother almost exactly. Sirius had already admitted that if James hadn't had made a move for Lily when he did, that he would have done it. And Sable figured that Sirius would try his charm on Lily's mom, just to see what would happen. "Knowing Sirius, he'll be his most charming self, and have Mrs. Daisy eating out of the palm of his hand."
"I don't doubt it." Remus muttered. "But Lily didn't seem to mind the idea, as long as she got away from Petunia. She said something about Sirius charming his way into heaven, but she didn't care as long as she got to show them off in front of Petunia and that dolt Dursley."
"Showing them off?" Sable asked. "What?"
"Yeah," Remus grinned. "She said when two of Hogwart's best looking guys come to HER, it'll make Petunia green with jealousy."
"Humph. We should go by there and get you to go as well." Sable grinned. "That would really get old Petunia going."
"Do I detect a hint of distaste about Petunia and Dursley?" Remus teased.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you do." Sable grimaced. "Lily's told me about her, and her skewed views on human normality. I have to say, the girl is quite dense. In fact…..I wonder if lily left yet for James' house?"
"What are you thinking?" Remus asked, eyeing the evil smile on Sable's face. He'd seen that smirk before, and he knew what was going to happen…..Hell was about to open up and swallow someone. And he had a vague feeling it was going to be Petunia Evans and Vernon Dursley. "Sable?"
"Hold on, love." she smiled, pulling the car over near a telephone booth. "We might be going to James' before we eat." Sable grabbed some change from her pocket and went to the booth, leaving Remus in the car to try and figure out what was going through her head.
"What is she up to?" Remus asked himself as he watched her deposit the money and punch in the numbers to someone's house. The phone must have rang a few times until someone picked it up. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but when a huge smiled came across her face, Remus knew something was up. After about five minutes, he shook his head as she hung up the phone and came back into the car.
"Well?" he asked. "What's going on?"
"Lily is still at her house." Sable said, cranking up the car. "Along with Petunia, Vernon Dursley, and his sister Marge.
"And?'
"And we just had a change of plans, my love." Sable smiled. "You feel like playing some pranks this evening?"
"On who?"
"Petunia and Dursley." she said. "With James' and Sirius' help of course."
"Sure." Remus said. "What do I need to do?"
"Just leave it to me, Lily, and Bella." she said, pulling back onto the street and heading back towards Godric's Hollow. "But first we've got to go James' house."
"Do James and Sirius know about this yet?"
"Not yet. That's why we're on our way over there now."
"What are you up to, Sable?" Remus asked, trying to figure out how her mind was working.
"You'll see." she said. "Petunia Evans is going to get her just desserts tonight."
"What's the plan?"
"Well, this is how it's gonna go…."
By the time Sable and Remus had gotten to the Potters' house, Remus was reminding himself never to get Sable pissed at him. They parked the car and walked up the steps to James house, then knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a the door swung open to reveal a small house elf standing in the doorway.
"Ohhh!" it cried, recognizing Remus' familiar friendly face. "Master Remus, sir! Please come in! How can Dammie help you and the young misses, sir?" Remus and Sable walked in and the elf shut the door.
"We need to speak with James." Remus said kindly. "Can you tell him we're here, please?" The elf nodded and quickly ran out of the room. A few minutes later, James and Sirius clamored into the room, a huge grin on Sirius' face and a frown on James'"
"Something wrong, Prongs?" Remus asked.
"Yeah. I just got an owl from Lily telling me to wait a while to come and get her because Petunia's got that dolt of a Dursley with her!" James fumed. "She said not to come get her yet! Why?"
"I believe I have something to do with that, James." Sable said.
"What?"
"Listen to me, James." Sable said. "You know as well as the rest of us that Petunia has been giving Lily all kinds of Hell, especially as of lately."
"Yeah.."
"Well, how would you feel if we could get back at Petunia and Dursley for some of those horrid things they say and do to Lily?"
"I'd say why didn't you tell me earlier." James said immediately. "What's going on?"
"You in on this, Sirius?" Sable asked, looking at the taller boy.
"Of course." he said, smiling and rubbing his hands together.
"What's got you in such a vindictive mood?" James asked suddenly.
"Lily told me about a letter that Petunia had sent her a couple of days ago." Sable said, reigning her temper in at the memory of Lily's tear stained face when she finished the letter from her sister. "There was some particularly nasty stuff in there, and Petunia and Dursley need to be reprimanded."
"What was in the letter?"
"Petunia basically told her off for being different." Sable said. "Called her an ugly freak who could never amount to anything. Said the only reason she had kept you as a boyfriend is because you are using her of her brains, cause you're not keeping her around for looks. Called her a whore for hanging around the Marauders. Things like that."
"Yeah, that coming from someone who's face resembles the rump of a horse!" Sirius exclaimed. "And marrying a guy who is bigger around than he is tall!" James was just fuming.
"That's what had her so grumpy and upset the other day?" Remus asked. "She never said anything to us about it."
"Yeah. Petunia hurt her when she called her an ugly freak." Sable said. "That's not exactly something a girl wants to hear from her sister."
"What do we need to do?" James asked.
"I called Lily before we got here." Sable said. "Petunia and Dursley are gonna be there all evening, and we're going to make an appearance, because we're all going out tonight."
"We are?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, we are." Sable said. "In fact, Sirius, go see if you can get Arabella and bring her here. I'm going to need her expertise on this."
"Okay. What do I tell her?"
"That Petunia Evans is about to get it back in her face, full force. That's all you need to say." Sirius nodded and disappeared through the fireplace.
"What do we do, love?" Remus asked.
"For now, you wait."
"What?" James asked. "My Lily is being subjected to constant and utter degradation, and you tell me to wait!?"
"We're back." Sirius shouted, stumbling out of the fireplace, a glowering Bella by his side. "What'd we miss?"
"Where is that horse faced tart?!" Bella growled. "I'll show her ugly and worthless!"
"Bella, calm down." Sable said. "You'll get your claws in her soon enough. As for you three, I want you to come up with some subtle, yet good pranks to pull on the horse and the screwball she's marrying. Can you do that?"
"Of course." James said. "But how's that helping."
"You're going to plant them in Lily's house this evening before we leave. But I also need all three of you to get your best set of Muggle clothes out and ready. You are all about to be exploited horribly." she grinned. "Make sure you look like the handsome little devils that you are?"
"Is there a reason for that?" Sirius asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"Are you going to tell us why?" James asked.
"You'll find out when we get to Lily's." she said mysteriously. "Just do it."
"Time limit?" Remus asked. Sable thought for a minute and then looked at the clock.
"Come to Lily's house in two hours." Sable said. "And make sure you have your wands and the pranks. That enough time for you all to get something together?"
"Plenty of time." Sirius said, grabbing James and Remus by the collar and dragging them upstairs. "We've got work to do gentlemen. Let's get started!" When they were out of sight, Bella turned to Sable.
"What are we supposed to do?" Bella asked.
"We are going to take a trip to Lily's." she said, pulling a couple of pictures out of her pocket. "And show her some photos I've just received of the lot of us during the Halloween Ball and some other times." Bella took the pictures and flipped through them. They were all of Lily and the Marauders.
"You obviously know something I don't." Bella said. "Spill!"
"Well, it seems as though our dear Petunia caught a glimpse of some pictures of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter that Lily had kept in her room. Apparently, she gawked at them for an hour, then asked Lily 'who the cute guys were'. When Lily told her, Petunia scoffed and rolled her eyes, telling Lily that 'the boys are cute, but can't be friends with an ugly witch like you, let alone a boyfriend'." Bella's face suddenly lit up in understanding.
"I see where this is going." the Ravenclaw Prefect said happily.
"I figured you would."
"So we are basically going to get to parade Hogwarts three best looking guys around in front of Petunia, thus making her jealous and mad? Right?" she asked.
"Yup. And seeing as how Lily's father is at work today, and her mother will be leaving after we pick her up, I'm getting the boys to leave a few….surprises for the horse and the screwball."
"You're sadistic, you know that." Bella said. "Sometimes I really do think you should have been put into Slytherin."
"I'm not sadistic, just loyal." Sable said. "As for Slytherin House, I wouldn't have been put in there, I'm not a pureblood. Now, let's go to Lily's." The two girls grinned and immediately dis-Apparated to a small park right next to Lily's house.
~~~Meanwhile in James' room…~~~
"….stupid Muggle girl!" James muttered angrily. "Talking about Lily like that! She should hex the stupid gits into oblivion! That would teach them a lesson they'd never…."
"James!" Remus barked. "if you don't focus on what you're doing, you're not going to be able to help pull this off." James quit muttering as they went through is pranking supplies.
"You do realize we're being used and exploited, right?" Sirius asked, looking at a pack of Dungbombs.
"Who cares, as long as whatever Sable has planned works." James said. "I don't care at the moment!"
"What is she planning anyway?" Sirius asked, turning to Remus.
"I don't know, and I'm not particularly keen o finding out till it's over with…"
~~~Lily's house…~~~
Sable straightened her shirt as she knocked on the door, waiting to be let in. Beside her, Bella was grinning happily. The door opened to an ecstatic looking Lily.
"Got'em?' she asked. "Petunia is driving me batty, along with Vernon and his sister Marge." Bella handed her the pictures and smiled.
"One stack of pictures featuring Lily Evans and the Marauders, at your service." she said. Lily quickly flipped through the stack, a smile on her face.
"Good, come on in." Lily said. "My mom is in the sitting room, and dad's at work. Petunia, Dursley, and Marge are in there with her having tea. Time to get this started."
Sable and Bella followed Lily into the house, but ran into Petunia and Vernon as they came into the kitchen.
"Who are you?" Petunia asked Sable and Bella, a sneer on her face.
"Petunia, this is Arabella Figg and Sable Robbins." Lily said through clenched teeth. "Friends of mine from school."
"You're those freaks that think you're witches and can do magic, aren't you?" Vernon Dursley guffawed. "Nutters, the whole lot of you." Sable felt her blood boil at the insult and had to stop herself from hexing the annoying man into his next lifetime.
"What are you doing here, freaks?" Petunia sneered, looking down her nose at the three girls in front of her. "You've no business here."
"They are here on my invitation, Petunia." Lily said stonily. "Leave them alone."
"We came to get ready." Arabella said. "The three of us are going out tonight, and Lily's boyfriend is coming with us."
"You're going to have more of these damned freaks in this home?" Vernon screeched. "How dare you invite these abnormal beings into Petunia's home? They are trouble I tell you, nothing but trouble!"
"Wouldn't it be nice if you would remember that this is also Lily's home, you fat git!" Arabella snapped. "And as a guest, it is rude to be yelling and demeaning other guests in a home that is not even yours." Vernon looked abashed and Petunia hissed again.
"Get out of here, you freaks." she said, going back into the sitting room with Vernon in tow. Lily only shrugged and followed behind her, much to Petunia's displeasure.
"Mum?" Lily said. "I'd like you to meet the friends I'm going with tonight." Daisy Evans turned around and smiled at the two girls next to her youngest daughter. "This is Sable Robbins and Arabella Figg. Guys, this is my mum, Daisy Evans."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Evans." Arabella said kindly, shaking her hand.
"How do you do?" Sable asked, smiling at her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." she said, smiling at the girls. She gestured to the other occupants of the room. "Girls, this is Petunia, my eldest daughter, and her fiancée Vernon Dursley. And this is Marge, Vernon's sister."
"Yes, I see the resemblance." Sable smiled kindly, looking at the sour expression on Marge's face. "Pleasure is all mine." Arabella only nodded and said nothing.
"Mum, I have some pictures from school if you want to see them." Lily said, handing her mother the photos. "The girls and I are going to get ready for tonight. James should be over here in a few hours to get us."
"That's find, dear." Mrs. Evans said, taking the photos and glancing over them.
"When you finished with them, just leave them on the table. I'll get them later." Lily said. "We'll be in my room if you need me, mum." Mrs. Evans smiled as she set the photos on the table and the girls left to go up the stairs to Lily's room. When they were out of earshot, Sable laughed.
"You know that your mum's gonna show Petunia and the rest of the room those pictures." Sable pointed out, being glad she had charmed them to look like still Muggle pictures.
"Of course. Why do you think I left them there?" Lily said. "Ever since Petunia say the pictures of the boys, she's been enamored with them."
"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" Sable snickered.
"So where we going tonight?" Bella asked, turning to Sable as they entered Lily's room.
"Just to eat." Sable said. "We might go to the park afterwards."
"All Muggle?" Bella asked.
"Yeah."
"Well then ladies," Lily smiled, throwing open her closet. "Let's get started.!" Sable groaned, knowing Bella was itching to get her hands on Lily's extensive clothes collection and force her into trying on fifty different outfits before she was satisfied. 'The things I do to keep my friends happy.' she thought as Bella jumped into the closet and started throwing clothes out.
~~Two hours later…~~
By the time the girls finished, the doorbell was ringing.
"Petunia!" Lily yelled. "Can you get that?" A grumbled was heard from the stairs and the girls grinned as they heard the doorbell ring again. "Thank you, Petunia!" she called, stifling her laughter when she heard James' voice float up the stairs. Sable was grinning and Bella was beside herself in glee. Vernon and Marge had left an hour ago, and Lily's mom was finished getting ready to go to a friend's home to help with some babysitting, leaving Petunia and Lily alone.
"Wonder if she's drooling yet?" Arabella snickered.
"Let's take a peek and find out." Lily said, sticking her head around the corner and looking down the staircase. Below them, James was getting a hug from Mrs. Evans while the other two boys looked on, with grins on their faces. Apparently, they had caught onto why they were being brought into the whole charade by the look on Petunia's face.
"Are all of you here to get Lily?" Petunia managed to choke out, looking from one guy to the next, with a dreamy expression on her face.
"Well, James was the one that was supposed to come get her and the girls," Remus said, smiling kindly at Petunia, "But Sirius and I figured we'd come along as well, Lily never minds. And the girls are good friends of ours anyways."
"Yeah, they might pull you two away and let me spend some time with Lily on my own." James mumbled. Upstairs the girls were hardly containing their mirth. The boys were acting just as charming as ever, and Lily thought Petunia was about to collapse when the fact hit her that they were here to get her and the other 'freaks'.
The boys had taken Sable's advice and dressed casually, but still dressy enough to impress. James in khaki's and a dark green shirt. Sirius, who was liking up to his last name, was dressed in black baggy jeans and a deep blue button up shirt. Remus was sin a pair of dark jeans and white shirt with a black jacket over it. 'Definitely a trio of handsome little devils, aren't they?' Sable thought with a smile. 'And the cutest ones all mine.'
"Petunia, will you show the boys to the sitting room, while I go get Lily and the girls?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"Of course, mother." Petunia said, staring at the boys, still trying to comprehend the fact that these three gorgeous males were friends with her freak of a sister. Petunia tried to calm herself, but it didn't work. "If you'll come this way, please." She motioned for the boys to follow her, and they did. Meanwhile, Lily and the other two slipped back into her room to wait for her mother. A knock on the door a few moments later told them that Daisy Evans was there.
"You're friends are here, Lily darling." her mother called. "I'm leaving out now. They are in the sitting room with Petunia."
"Not a problem, mum." Lily said opening the door and smiling at her mom. "We're on our way down there now."
"Very well." Daisy said. "Although is seems as though James brought back up this time. Two other boys are with him. I believe their names are Sirius and Remus."
"Oh, yeah, mum. They're friends from school."
"They're such polite young men, and quite handsome looking as well." her mother said, grinning at her daughter.
"Mum! That's my friends down there!" Lily said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm teasing, Lily." she said. "Just be careful when you go out tonight."
"Curfew?" Lily asked, frowning.
"Well, considering you are with a group of people, and James is with you, don't worry about it. Just be home before I get up in the morning." Daisy smiled and Lily hugged her.
"Thanks, mum." she said. "You're the best."
"I know." Daisy said with a sigh. "Now don't keep James waiting, and get down there before your sister has a heart attack."
"What's wrong with Petunia?" Sable asked innocently. "Is she okay?" Mrs. Evans grinned and turned her back.
"Oh, she's fine." Lily's mother laughed, going down the stairs. "I just think she's in temporary shock. Have a good evening girls." Lily looked at her two friends and grinned.
"I hope it's permanent shock." she said, following her mother down the steps with Sable and Bella behind her. "Let's go rescue the boys, I'm sure Petunia's saccharine sweetness is giving them cavities by now."
When they got to the sitting room, Petunia was talking to Sirius and batting her eyes at him often. Arabella could see the disgusted look on Sirius' face, and quickly broke the silence. Sable had sent them an owl an hour ago, telling them to act like James had picked up Sirius and Remus on his way over. She also told them to just play along with whatever she said. It looked like they were doing just that.
"Hey fellas." Arabella said, smiling at the relieved look on their faces. "Decided to crash James' and Lily's date again, I see."
"Yeah, hope you don't mind, Lily." James said sheepishly. "I just kinda ran into them on my way here."
"Of course I don't mind!" Lily exclaimed, going over to give James and hug and a kiss, much to Petunia's surprise. "They'll give something for Sable and Bella to do."
"Oh, you two pretty girls are coming as well?" Sirius asked sidling up to Bella and putting his arm around her waist. "We don't mind the extra company, do we, Remus?"
"Not a bit." Remus said, a grin on his face. "I'd rather look at them than James' ugly mug any time of the day or night."
"What say you, girls?" Lily asked, turning to Sable and Bella. "Wanna come see if you can keep these two rogues in line for tonight?"
"Well…."
"I don't know…."
"Come on, Bella." Sirius pleaded, trying the puppy dog look. "How can you say no to this face?"
"Like this." Arabella teased. "N…"
"We'll go." Sable said, stopping an argument before it started. "No need to start the arguing."
"But I like it when she's mad." Sirius pouted. "She's more fun when she's riled up and mad at me."
"Am I now?" Arabella glowered, looking at the boy who stood a head taller than her. Sirius leaned down and kissed her softly, making Petunia stare even harder. The girl was practically green with jealousy, seeing that Sirius was obviously taken. So, she turned to Remus and smiled, which made Sable walk over to him and peck him on the cheek.
"Yeah, you are." Sirius said smugly.
"Well, we better get going." Remus said, slipping an arm around Sable. "Or we're going to be late." Lily nodded in agreement and grabbed a light jacket as they herded towards the front door. Petunia followed behind them slowly, letting the scene of three of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen walkout of her house with her little sister and two of her sisters friends.
"I'll be back sometime tonight, Petunia." Lily said absently, loving the jealousy showing in her older sister's face.
"You've got a curfew." Petunia pointed out coldly, coming to her senses when she heard Lily's voice.
"Uh, actually, her mom said that as long as she's with James and the rest of us, she can stay out as long as she wants to." Arabella added sweetly. "The advantages of being with a group of legal aged wizards and witches help out greatly."
"But…" Petunia started.
"Yeah, James is Head Boy and Lily's Head Girl." Sable said innocently.
"Not to mention the Arabella being a Prefect." James added.
"And me and Sirius being the two best duelers of the school." Remus said smugly. "We know enough hexes and curses to send anyone into the hospital for a few weeks, so there is nothing to worry about."
"I don't think anything is going to happen to Lily." Sirius said, looking at Petunia, a cold glint in his eyes. "Anyone who even looks at her the wrong way, much less say anything demeaning about her will have to deal with the three of us." He pointed to himself, Remus and James.
"That is if there is anything left after Lily, Bella, and Sable finish with them." James said easily. "Those three can be mean when they want to be, especially Sable."
"Yeah, I'll eat you alive if you're not careful." Sable snickered, grinning at Petunia enough to show the pearly white, still slightly elongated canines in her mouth from the transformation a few days ago.
"You'd think the girl was a ravaging wolf or something when she gets angry enough." James said. "She's just scary." By now, Petunia was literally quaking in her shoes. She was as pale as the Hogwarts ghosts and trembling in fear as she looked at the six teenagers in front of her.
"Well, have a good evening." Petunia said, giving them a weak smile and then bolting up the stair like a hippograff was after her. When they heard the door to Petunia's room slam shut, they busted out in laughter.
"That was priceless!" Lily said between laughing at her sister. "She was terrified. I've never seen her that white before!"
"She is gullible, isn't she?" Remus chuckled.
"You alright, Lily?" James asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling.
"Perfectly fine, James." Lily smiled. "Couldn't be better."
"Do you think she's wet herself yet?" Arabella snickered. "She sure looked like she was going to there for a minute."
"Can we go plant the pranks now?" Sirius asked. Lily nodded and showed them back to the sitting room while she stood by the banister to make sure Petunia wasn't coming down.
"Do your worst, boys." she grinned. "Just make sure you don't destroy anything. My parents will be home later, and I want it to look like Petunia's responsible."
"Not a problem, love." James said, pulling out a pack of Dungbombs. "Let us get to work. You just make sure your horse of a sister isn't coming back down here."
"We can do that." Sable said, eyeing Lily happily. "Not a problem at all." The boys grinned and slipped back into Lily's sitting room. After about ten minutes, they came back out, looking as smug as ever. They left the house, making sure to slam the door for Petunia to know that they had left. When they got outside, Lily turned to the Marauders with a grin.
"What did you put in there?" she asked.
"Oh, just a few Dungbombs here and there…" Remus chirped.
"And some fireworks for color…." Sirius added.
"And a few packets of Zonko's Ultra Permanent Totally Invisible Stick'em Glue." James said happily.
"Where did you put them?" Sable asked, but the boys were saved an answer when they heard Petunia's scream from inside the house. The six teens turned around and watched from behind a tree as Petunia ran out of the house screaming, a sparkling orange-red firework on her heals. They stayed there until the firework burnt out, then walked along the sidewalk until they found a good place to Apparate. It was going to be a very good Easter Break.
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And indeed it was a good break for all of the students. James got Lily away from her sister as much as he possibly could, and the entire group had gotten together a few times. Sable's mom and dad had managed to get the Wednesday of the Easter break off, and spent it with Sable and Remus all day in Diagon Alley and Muggle London. They were home for dinner most nights of the week, and Sable was happy that her family liked Remus so much. Now, it was the Friday before they were to return to school, and Sable and Remus were lounging around her house, resting up for the trip back to Hogwarts the day after tomorrow.
"Remus?" Sable asked, closing the book she was reading and glancing over at her boyfriend, who was watching television.
"Yeah?"
"I'm bored." she said. "Want to go for a walk?" Remus turned around and nodded.
"Sure. There's nothing on television anyway." he said, getting up and stretching. Both of Sable's parents were at work, and would be until later on that evening. Bella was with Sirius, James, and Lily, all at James' house, but neither Remus or Sable wanted to go over there. They had declined the offer, not really wanting to get into the middle of some scheme they were probably cooking up. Sable grabbed her house keys and they left, walking down the lane and to the bank of a small river that flowed on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow. As they walked down the bank, Remus slipped his arm around Sable's waist.
"Are you ready for school to start up again?" he asked.
"Sort of." she answered, leaning in on him. "I'm ready for it to be over with, to be honest. But I'm not looking forward to leaving Hogwarts. Does that make sense?"
"Yes." he said. "I know what you mean. Hogwart's is like my true home now. I don't want to leave it."
"What about your mom?" she asked. "Won't she be happy to see you again?"
"Oh, she'll be happy." he said. "I don't doubt that. But things are changing so fast. It's like just yesterday that I started Hogwarts, and now I'm leaving."
"I know." Sable said. "I can remember the day I got porridge poured on my head, compliments of the Marauders. Lily was furious that you'd done that to me. I'll never forget it."
"I remember that." Remus chuckled. "We were all in the Great Hall, and she lit into James and Sirius like there was no tomorrow. I never knew an eleven year old girl could get so frightening."
"She was something now." Sable mumbled. "Some things never change."
"I do believe that was the day poor ole James fell in love with her." Remus smiled, remembering the dazed look on his friend's face after that. "He'd finally found someone who would stand up to him. He liked the fight in her, still does."
"I really don't think that's ever going to change." Sable commented. They were quiet for a few moments before Remus broke the silence again.
"Remember when you finally figured out what I was?" he asked. "That day that James and I came dragging into the Great Hall at breakfast?" Sable smiled and shook her head.
"How can I forget?" she asked. "I felt so stupid for not noticing it earlier."
~~Flashback~~
Peter and Sirius were standing at the entrance to the Great Hall when Sable and Lily approached them. They were grinning broadly, as they waited for the girls to catch up. "Where's Remus and James?" Lily asked. Peter only shrugged and told her they would be to breakfast later. Lily hadn't found out about the lycanthropy yet. The four teens entered the hall and sat down at the table for breakfast. Ten minutes later, Remus and James came tumbling into the Hall. They made it to the table, but Remus still had not figured out how, even after all this time. He sat beside of Sable, giving her a weak grin. She looked at him with a critical eye, noticing the hollow eyes, pale skin, and weakness for the first time since she had ever met him. Sable was startled at his appearance, but had a feeling she knew what had caused it. Remus reached for a pitcher of pumpkin juice, revealing a nasty gash in his arm. Sable had dropped her fork and stared at him with wide eyes. He could remember seeing questions in her dark eyes, but nothing prepared him for what was next.
Sable grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the table and out of the Hall, over the protests of James. Remus remembered thinking that she seemed awful strong for such a small girl. He was too weak to put up a fight, so he allowed her to pull him into an empty classroom. Sable had pushed him in, locking the door behind them. He looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"You're a werewolf?" she more or less stated it as a fact rather than a question. Remus tried to look shocked, but she had not bought it.
"Don't lie to me either Remus. I can tell when someone is lying to me, so don't even try it." she said.
Remus looked at her carefully. She had not seemed scared, which really surprised him. He looked at her carefully, he was still weak, but he was mad now.
"So what if I am! What's it to you?" he asked with venom in his voice. He tried to stand, but he was too weak from the previous night's blood loss.
"I'll take that as a yes." she said. Remus nodded in defeat, hanging his head.
"How did you know?" he asked her, "Did the others tell you?" Sable shook her head and smiled a little. She fished out her wand and pointed it to her eyes. She muttered a spell and looked back at Remus. He gasped as a realization dawned on him. Usually a deep purple color, Sable's eyes were now the color of his own, deep amber.
"I know the signs. Both of my parents are full blooded wolves, so I know the symptoms when I see them." she said quickly. "Obviously, you've been smart enough to avoid my attention because I haven't noticed the disappearances. But you slipped this morning. I knew something was different when you walked into the Hall, late for breakfast." Remus' head began to whirl uncontrollably as he digested the information in a rush. He was too amazed to see that she also shared the same color eyes as him, so he had not caught half of what she had just said in such a rush.
"Then that would make you a full blooded she-wolf, by birth!" he said in astonishment.
~~End Flashback~~
"I didn't know whether to try to make a run for it, or just sit there." Remus admitted. "I though you would turn on me."
"Well, that just goes to show what you know, now doesn't it?" she asked, punching him lightly. Sable stopped walking and sat down on the bank, staring into the running water. "What's our futures going to be like, Remus?" she asked suddenly.
"I don't know, love." he said. "I really don't know. People like me aren't exactly welcomed with open arms around here, you know that. At least you have some control of your transformation, I don't."
"You could always move to the States." she said nonchalantly. "They are more tolerant of werewolves that the British Ministry is. Look at my parents. They're wolves, and they are two of the Department of Magic's best Aurors."
"Would you ever go back to the States?" he asked, sitting next to her. Sable shrugged and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know." she answered truthfully. "If anything ever happened to my parents, I might. But it would depend on the circumstances."
"Like what?"
"Whether I was married, or had children." she said. "Whether I had a stable job, stuff like that."
"But you're happy here, with us." Remus asked.
"Of course." she said. "I'd only go back to the States as a last resort. Hopefully things will never get that bad, though." Remus only smiled and kissed her, hoping and praying that the time would never come when he would see her leave him.
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Meanwhile, in an empty mansion not far from Godric's Hollow….
"We move in tonight." Voldemort hissed, looking at his surrounding comrades. "I want them all here tonight. Anymore screw ups, and you will pay with your lives. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord." Lucius Malfoy said. "They will all be here, at your feet, tonight. The parents of the girl will be taken after the arrive home. By then, the girl will already be in our custody."
"What about the werewolf?" Snape asked, lowering the hood on his cloak.
"Bring him as well." Voldemort said. "The more insurance we have, the better she will cooperate." The Death Eaters nodded in assent and dis-Apparated to begin the capture of their prey. Tonight, the hunter, would be the hunted. "Severus, a moment."
"My lord?" Snape asked, kneeling in front of the evil wizard, "is something the matter?"
"No, my son." he said. "Is the Vertiserum complete and ready to administer?"
"Yes, my lord." the young man said. "It is at your disposal."
"Well done, Severus." Voldemort said. "You have earned my trust a thousand times over. The girl is yours if you so wish to have her. I know she strikes your fancy so to speak."
"My lord, I …." Snape didn't know what to say. He respected Sable Robbins as a student, even feared her to a point after seeing her transformation with his own eyes, but what his master was suggesting was….indecent. "I know not what to say."
"She is yours to do whatever you please." Voldemort said. "Your allegiance to me is unwavering, do not disappoint me, Severus. I want her to be broken, completely at my whim. I am sure that I can trust you to do this when she arrives."
"Of course, my lord." Severus said, his heart actually starting to feel guilty. "If it is your wish, then I will do it."
"It is what I wish." he said coldly. "I'm sure you will take great pleasure out of breaking her will in front of the eyes of that werewolf. Enjoy yourself, Severus." And with that, Voldemort stood from the raised dais he had been sitting on and slipped into the darkness of the shadows.
"Of course, my lord." Snape said, leaving the room, his mind in a whirl. "As you wish."
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A/N - Okay, here's the next chapter for your reading enjoyment. I hope you guys are ready for the proverbial sh** to hit the fan, because it's about to happen. Until next time,
Later,
A.A.
Oh, and if anyone is actually reading this, I'd like to know. The last two chapters I've posted got no reviews. I just want to know if anyone is still reading this story -or if the chapters were that bad!-. I'm going to finish it either way, but still………
Thanks guys
