Lives and Loves of Ravenclaw Girls
Chapter 23 – Sometimes Going Home Isn't Peachy
By: Samantha, Julie and Megan with help from Heidi and Soretta
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Julie threw Sam's letter aside she would reply later when she was back in her dorm room if she actually decided to go back to her dorm room she thought to herself.
"Who was that from?" Remus said into her neck while he continued to kiss here and there.
"Oh, no one," she sighed as he started to lift her shirt off her shoulders and carefully drop it to the floor.
Julie started to raise her hands under his shirt and lifted it up only breaking the kiss quickly to lift it over his head before she pushed him onto his back carefully making her way to sit on his legs.
"Julie stop sweetie please," He said trying to sit up
"What is it baby?" Julie questioned trying to get him to lie back down.
"Do you want this? I mean I do and I love you so much but are you sure?" His eyes flicked all over her face for any sign of uncertainty.
"Remus, please don't ask me that! I love you! You know that but I am not sure I am ready can't we just do things without having to have this question brought up every time?" She said sounding upset.
"I'm sorry sweetie I just don't want to push you that's all," He sounded guilty.
Before Remus could say anymore Julie had caught his lips in the sweetest kiss he had ever had as they both lay down together.
Remus rolled Julie over so she was on her back and he was positioned above her.
"I - love - you - sooooo- much," He said slowly between kisses which trailed from her lips and carried over to her ear where he nibbled before carrying on further down.
Julie arched into his caresses ever so carefully
which made Remus stop and come back up to kiss her mouth before
pulling back.
Julie sighing in frustration put her arms around his
neck and dragged him back down.
"Don't stop," She whispered in his ear before trailing the edge of her tongue over the rim making Remus shiver.
"Julie?" Remus started to pull back
"What" She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Maybe we should stop. I mean you said yourself your not ready, but if we don't stop I might not be able to keep control and you mean to much to me for that" He watched her eyes carefully for any sort of sign which meant bad things were about to happen.
But she just smiled.
"I love you so much Remus," She said as she squeezed out from underneath him. She then rolled over to cuddle into his chest where they feel asleep dreaming the happiest they had ever been.
"I love you too, Julie," he whispered before slowly drifting off too.
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Megan slammed another book shut, frustrated, "This is all shit. In all these books you need a talisman on the person to find them."
Braden closed his book as well. "Nothing," he said, sighing.
"I'm going to owl Julie and see if she can find anything at the school library," Megan said, standing and going out into the hall. She went to the window where there was a perch and the family owl's perch. Fiona was currently asleep, head under her wing. Megan poked her gently, "Hey, Fiona. Can you deliver this to Julie for me? She's at school." Fiona peered at Megan for a minute before holding out her leg for the letter. "Thanks, baby," Megan said attaching the letter and watching as the owl disappeared into the night.
"Children," came a falsely bright voice from down the stairs. "Dinner's ready." It was Patty, Megan's stepmother. Megan laughed as bodies came flying out of their rooms in search of the food. Mike, Megan's oldest brother, had his little boy on his shoulders as his wife, Charlotte, came out of the room, scolding him for running with little 4 year old Mark. She held in her arms their 2 year old son Daniel. Once Daniel saw Megan he reached out his arms for her, calling, "Mayen!" Charlotte handed the little boy to Megan.
"Hey there big boy!" Megan said swinging him around, "Can you tell me what a duck says?"
"Kak, kak!" Daniel yelled with enthusiasm, proud of himself.
Caleb, Megan's second oldest brother, on the other hand had almost tripped when he had raced with Jeremy, yet another of Megan's brothers, out of the room. The boys had laughed when Anthony beat them all down the stairs. Braden had snuck behind the two boys and got them both in head locks. Megan laughed as she went down the stairs allowing the boys to duel it out as they always did.
She put Daniel in his highchair and then sat herself between Charlotte and Mark. Her Father, Michael Docura sat at the head of the table while Patty sat at the opposite end, where Megan's mother used to always sit.
"Boys," Michael yelled up the stairs, "if you're not down here in ten seconds there will be no dinner left to eat and you'll be stuck doing the dishes." Within 2 seconds all 3 boys appeared at the bottom of the stairs, out of breath, and sat down at there spots.
Dinner was a noisy affair, what with 11 people talking all at once. Asking what Megan had been up to and why Mark had increased the size of the garden snail to the size of the house. Daniel wanted to be heard too and only occasionally did any real words come out of his mouth.
By the time dinner was ready and the table cleared everyone was full; Patty was quite a good cook, although Megan would never tell her that. The loud chatter had died down to the occasional burp and Michael's tells of work, "The Company Christmas Party is in two days and I want you all there in your nicest clothes. And Megan, that doesn't mean some leather skirt and boots. I want you in a nice dress. Patty will take you shopping tomorrow for one."
"Yes, sir," Megan said resignedly. She headed back up stairs to put Daniel to bed for Charlotte and sat in a rocking chair, softly singing to the little boy until he fell asleep in her arms. A tear fell down her cheek as she thought that she had lost a chance at having her own little baby. She put Daniel into his crib gently and went back into her room.
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Heidi stepped off the train holding Will's hand tightly. She did not want to go home. Her parents were nice enough; it just seemed that sometimes they smothered her. Will, noticing her sudden change of mood, tipped her chin up and kissed her.
"I'll see you soon," he said, smiling.
Heidi nodded and hugged him goodbye. Then, taking a deep breathe, she stepped into the Muggle World to find her parents.
"Heidi!"
Heidi plastered on a smile as she spotted her mother waving. Kim Singe was an emotional woman and didn't bother to wipe away the tears that had started falling once she spotted her daughter. "How was school?" Heidi's father, Jeff, asked.
"Grand," Heidi said simply. "Where's Valerie?" she asked, searching for her older sister.
"At home," Kim said. "She was still sleeping when we left. You know Valerie, staying up until three AM every night."
Jeff and Kim guided Heidi toward the car and while Jeff put Heidi's trunk in the car, Kim studied her youngest daughter. "You seem happy," she said.
Heidi smiled. "Yeah, maybe so."
"Heidi!"
Heidi and Kim turned to see Will running toward them. "I forgot," he said quickly, "here's your Christmas present, but you can't open it until Christmas."
"Okay," Heidi said, laughing. He grinned at her, pecked her on the cheek and disappeared back into the crowd. Heidi quickly ducked into the car to avoid her mother's questioning glance and her father's shocked look.
"Who was that?" Kim asked as Jeff started the car.
"Will."
"And who is Will?"
Heidi couldn't help but laugh at the look on her father's face. Jeff was very protective of his daughters. "Will is my boyfriend."
"And how long have you been a couple?" Kim asked.
Heidi rolled her eyes. Her mother loved to have all the details. "A while now. He's a Gryffindor, and he's on the Quidditch team."
Taking the bait, Jeff changed the topic and they spent the rest of the ride talking about the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
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Slightly Tags vision started to return from the usual black. He coughed and sputtered a bit before rolling off of his surely broken rib. He slowly let the light fill back into his eyes and he lay there staring at the ceiling.
'The hole,' he thought, crawling towards it. He slowly pulled himself up level with it. He put his eye up to the hole and peered through. It was dark and he could only make out one body on the floor. "Hey," he whispered. No response, "Hey, buddy, you awake?" The body moved and then sat up. Tag smiled, just his luck, "Kyle?" he whispered.
"Tag? Dude, am I seriously talking to you?" he said, voice hoarse.
Tag let out the strangled breath he held in his parched throat. He let his head hit the wall above the hole. This was real; he might a have a chance.
"It's me," he replied, whispering through the hole.
"How ... do I know?" said Kyle, looking around the empty room.
"Fir – first year," Tag choked out, "you wanted my last Chocolate Frog. I told you to bugger off and buy your own food. We started to fight and Megan and Julie walked in and Megan snatched up the Chocolate Frog and ate it."
"Tag? That's really you, isn't it?" Kyle said coughing a little. "We need to get out of here."
"My thoughts exactly, man. Any bright ideas?"
"Only dying and haunting this shit hole," replied Kyle dryly.
"Come on man, don't give up. You were always the strategist out of us. If I know you like, I know I do, you're keeping a track of how long we've been in here." Tag didn't need the hole to know that Kyle was turning red. "So, when's Christmas?" Tag asked.
"Five days," Kyle said, looking at the wall beside the hole. "Why? What are you thinking?"
"Well, on Christmas Eve there is always a big charity ball," Tag said leaning against the wall. "And I heard the Death Eaters talking. Turns out lots of them will be at that ball."
"And you were thinking that with fewer guards we would be able to escape?"
"Well, yeah. How likely is that scenario?" Tag asked, closing his eyes, waiting for the answer.
"Well with out any wands, and no way to tell the others. I'd say pretty low. But you kick ass, and so do a lot of other people here, so I say we do it," Kyle said looking back through the hole at Tag who was closing his eyes tightly. They opened and he looked directly at him. Kyle knew what he was thinking, "Some may not make it."
"But we should still do it?" Tag asked not sure of himself.
"Hell yeah. Tag, we've had the perfect opportunity for weeks, spying on these guys. Some one has to get back and tell Dumbledore."
"And that automatically means I have to survive, right?"
"You're the leader, man," Kyle said. "We'll protect you with our lives."
"What if I don't want you to? What if i don't want people to die to protect me? What then?"
"You want to play the 'What if' game? 'What if' Docura is still back there waiting for you? She needs you, Anderson, we both know that. You need her too."
Tag closed his eyes tightly against his burning eyes. "Merlin, I miss her. She's spending Christmas without me."
"She's going to spend the rest of her life without you if we don't get back. We have to try, we have nothing to lose."
"Is there a window in there?" asked Tag.
"No, it's just a bleeding walk-in closet."
"We need to know when it's night. Four days from now, we make our break. The less violence we have to use, the better."
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Braden walked into Megan's room to find her on her window seat her legs curled up, looking up at the stars. He walked over to his little sister but stuttered in his steps when he realised she was crying. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her into a hug.
"I know your upset Meggie, but there's nothing we can do," Megan hiccupped when her brother purposely called her by her hated nickname.
"It's not fair. We were supposed to be together this Christmas. I don't even know if he's still alive, Braden."
"You know what I've noticed?" Braden asked, Megan nodded. "You have yet to say his name since you got home. You need to talk about him, Meggie."
"Do not," grumbled Megan, swiping at her eyes.
"Do too," poking Megan in her ticklish spot.
"Do not!" laughed Megan.
"Do too!" said Braden, fully tickling her.
Megan laughed helplessly, trying to push away her brother. When he finally pulled away he looked up to him grinning. "I knew you were my favourite brother for a reason."
"Really? And why's that?" Braden asked, as he watched her close her eyes and snuggle into him.
"You can always make me laugh," she said before falling completely asleep.
Braden picked up his baby sister and put her into her bed. He shut off the lights and closed the door behind him as he left, taking one last look at his heart-broken Meggie, tossing and turning in her nightmares.
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The world spun and then threw Shannon onto her knees. She looked up and saw the living room of her house.
"Shannie!" a little girl leapt up from one of the couches and threw herself at Shannon.
"Hey, Bethany!" she hugged her youngest sister back. She felt another two other pairs of arms wrap themselves around her; she looked down and saw her seven-year-old sister, Hayley and her ten-year-old brother, Mitchell.
"Shan, we missed you!"
"I think that's enough, Shannon take your trunk to your room. Hayley Anne go back to the garden. Mitchell, be a dear and help your father. Soretta, take the child upstairs and out of my sight." Elizabeth Harvey had had it with her daughters. She had only ever wanted a son and when Mitchell was born she felt the family was complete but Jonathan had other ideas.
"Bug off, mum," Soretta said putting a hand up to stop her siblings from leaving the room, "Shannon's only just go home and you expect us to not welcome her? You may be a cruel heartless bitch, but we ain't."
"How dare you?!" Elizabeth yelled, "My own daughter!"
"Daughter? I'm your daughter?" Soretta sighed and looked over at Shannon, "Mitchell, take your sisters to another room this might get out of hand," Mitchell quickly took his sisters hands and hurriedly led them out of the room. Shannon stayed, although she was standing still with wide eyes watching the scene unfold before her.
"Mum, you only ever wanted a son, Shannon, Hayley, Bethany and I aren't ever going to good enough for you."
"Apologise for what you said, you foul child."
"Make me!" she screamed. Elizabeth pulled her wand out of her robes.
"Cru–" She started
"Expelliarmus!" cried a voice near the doorway. "Elizabeth!"
Jonathan Harvey strode into the room with a look of extreme hatred on his face. Shannon ran to stand next to him, she felt Soretta move beside her.
"You were about to use an unforgivable on our daughter! Explain yourself!" he roared.
"She was asking for it!" Elizabeth screamed, "The foul little bitch!"
Smack. Shannon looked from the red mark on her mothers face to her hand. She had slapped her mother. She felt Soretta pull her away from their parents and out of the room. Upon leaving they heard Jonathan tell Elizabeth to spend the next week with her sister thinking about what she had done.
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Shannon and Soretta found themselves in the drawing room of their house while their mother packed her bags.
"What have I done, Soretta?" Shannon sat in her mother's desk chair and stared at the picture on the wall. It was a family photo taken three years ago. That was before the rift grew between Elizabeth and her daughters, or at least her eldest daughters.
"You've done nothing, Shan; this has been building up for ages." Soretta started pacing in the drawing room. "Let's go for a drive. Clear our heads."
"What about Bethany, Hayley and Mitchell?"
"The house elves look after them anyway, I'm sure they won't miss us for a couple of hours," Soretta grabbed her keys of the key-hook by the door. Shannon followed slowly. In the distance she could hear Hayley and Bethany playing together and the sounds of Mitchell's wizarding wireless mixed together.
Being in Soretta's car was a welcome change from the house. Soretta, being head girl at Warramunga Institute of Magic, was of course obsessed with cars. The car they were driving in seemed to be a recent acquisition, though.
"How long have you had this?"
"A Month," Soretta said fondly of the red Holden Clubsport.
Such a muggle thing, yet both the wizarding schools in Australia and the one in New Zealand had, in Shannon's eyes, an unhealthy obsession with cars. They weren't just any old muggle cars; they could fly and many things that a muggle vehicle simply wouldn't be able to do. And it was all perfectly legal in Australia to do so, over here though it was against some muggle protection act.
"What was wrong with the old one?"
"Oh, I still have it," Soretta told her taking a corner a bit too sharp. "It's at school."
Shook her head and looked out the window at their surroundings. They were in urban London zipping around the streets.
"Oh!" Shannon cried, pointing at the side of the road, "There's an ice-cream shop!" Soretta grinned at her sister and pulled over to the side of the road. They had both always shared an extreme liking for muggle ice-creams. They both firmly believed that they just didn't make it the same way in the wizarding world.
--End Chapter 23
