Bye Bye Umbridge!

"Where are the rest?" April asked as Sirius greeted her at his doorway.

He held the door open and stepped aside to let her through.  "Remus is going through some notes with Moody.  The kids are having their lessons now and can't be here either."

"Remus is preparing for his lessons already?" April lifted a brow. "I suppose you have not worked out the syllables for your students yet?"

"I'll only be taking over next week. There's still time," Sirius was feeling a little grouchy. Despite Remus' assurance, he did not feel comfortable when April made comparisons between the two of them.

She must have noticed the darkening of his mood as she deftly changed the subject. "There's something I've always wanted to ask," she said.

"What is it?"

"It may sound silly. Promise you'll not laugh?"

Sirius nodded.

"Why do Remus and yourself address one another as Moony and Padfoot?"

"These are our nicknames.  The four of us.  Remus and I used to hang out with James Potter..."

"Harry's father," April interrupted and Sirius nodded.

"As I was saying, we used to hang out together with James…and Pettigrew." A trace of bitterness was evident in his voice before he continued, "We called ourselves the Marauders and we had the time of lives creating chaos at Hogwarts and a few years after our graduation until…." Sirius' voice drifted off as he recalled how he had found James' lifeless body at Godric's Hollow.

"And those names?" April urged him on.

"We thought it'll be cool to have some nicknames.  You know, like some secret codes.  Remus was called Moony for obvious reasons…he's a werewolf.  The rest of us are named after the animals we transform into.  We are all Animagi.  James transforms into a stag.  You know what animals Pete…that scum and I can transform into." 

April was looking at Sirius with envy in her eyes.  "Now that you've explained the names, they seem so obvious! So James Potter transforms into a stag.  That explains Harry's patronus.  But shouldn't Remus be called Wolfie, Wolverine or something close to that? The rest of you are named after the animals you can transform into afterall. I would have thought Remus won't want to be reminded of the moon," she ranted.

She's going on about Remus again, Sirius noted.  He drew a deep breath and decided not to let that get to him this time.

April smiled wistfully and continued, "If only I've attended Hogwarts during your time! It'll be so fun and cool! Then maybe I can join the Marauders and wreck havoc with the four of you."

Sirius flashed her a crooked smile, amused. "No way! We do not admit female members! Not even Lily gets to be one of the Marauders."

"That's not fair…" April started to protest when an idea came to her. "I want a nickname too!"

"You're not an Animagus," Sirius stated matter-of-factly.

"But neither is Remus! Oh please…it's not as though I am asking to join the exclusive Marauders club or something.  It's just a nickname." She tugged at his robes and threw him the sweetest smile, "Quick! Help me think of a cool suitable name!"

He tried hard to keep a straight face.  "How about Crazy?"

She dropped her hand from his robes immediately and threw him a nasty look.

"Or Loony?" Sirius tried again, and promptly received a glare from April.

"I know!  Stony! That's perfect!" Sirius said, unable to hide his wide grin.

"Why Stony?" April fumed.

"Because you have a fetish for stones."

"I WILL NOT BE STONY!!!"

"Rocky?"

"SIRIUS BLACK!!! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DOG'S NAME! KEEP THAT FOR YOURSELF!"

"Pebbles?"

"NO!"

"Gem?"

"I HAVE A HOUSE-ELF BY THAT NAME!"

"Ruby?"

"NO!"

"Sapphire?"

"NO!"

"Emerald?"

"NO!"

"Beautiful?"

"NO!" April replied immediately, without thinking.  Then she registered what Sirius had just said and blushed.  Sirius must have surprised himself as well since his face was too, turning red.

"That's a fact, not a nickname," she told Sirius playfully, her foul mood was completely gone.  "Anyway, I've changed my mind.  I don't want a nickname anymore."

Sirius shook his head in a slow and deliberate manner, before rolling his eyes. "Women! Always so fickle-minded!"

"So you would rather address me as Beautiful?" A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"No nickname for you then," he replied quickly.

April reached out to ruffle his hair, and said in a pseudo commanding tone, "Good boy. Sit! Stay! Good doggie!"

"Get lost! You ugly duckling!" Sirius growled, throwing a pillow at her.

*

Sirius and April were still in his quarters an hour later.

April frowned. "Where is Dawn Umbridge?"

"I'm surprised she has the decency to honor her part of the deal," Sirius remarked.

April wrinkled her nose. "She doesn't look like the sort to give up so easily.  She must be up to something."

"You women are over-suspicious."

April ignored his jibe. She got to her feet and said decisively, "Let's go look for Dawn Umbridge."

"No," Sirius replied immediately, taken aback by her decision. "We should be glad that she's not bothering us now. Why look for her?" He folded his arms across his chest and resolved to stay put.

"If you're not coming with me, that's fine. I'm going on my own."

"Don't."

"So are you coming with me or are you not?"

"All right," he surrendered. "Where do you reckon she is?"

April did not reply.  She pulled Sirius by his arm out of his quarters and along the corridor to embark on their hunt for Dawn Umbridge.

*

They had searched a number of places in the school – the staffroom, the Great Hall, the Main Entrance, the Owlery and the courtyard.  But there wasn't a trace of Dawn Umbridge.

"Perhaps she has left Hogwarts," Sirius chirped cheerfully.  He was enjoying this aimless hunt, especially when he could see April's fierce determination in locating Umbridge and her growing frustration at each failed attempt.

April suddenly slapped her palm to her forehead. "Why didn't I think of it? I know where she is!"

Sirius rolled his eyes when she started pulling him behind her again.

*

Sirius' laughing eyes grew murderous the moment he caught sight of Dawn Umbridge.  She was down the corridor, standing outside April's quarters, obviously chanting spells and trying to get into the room.

"I knew it.  She'll come after me," said April quietly as she looked on. "It's a good thing I got Moody to put up those wards just a few hours ago."

"What was she trying to do?" Sirius hissed angrily.  He already knew the answer.

"She's trying to make me regret that I ever made the deal with her," April replied.

Sirius growled, pulled out his wand, and began to make his way towards Umbridge.

"No," April got hold of his arm again and said firmly. "That's letting her off too lightly." She broke into a smile and looked at Sirius squarely in his face. "Let's gather the rest before starting the show.  This is too good to be missed."

*

The group gathered in a deserted classroom a couple of hours later.  Remus and the three teenagers were horrified when they heard what Dawn Umbridge had been up to.

"It's fortunate that she did not find you," Remus told April with concern. "She must have intended something nasty."

Sirius looked at April darkly. "That's what I've been telling her. She should have let me finish off Umbridge there and then."

"Patience, Black," April said good-naturedly. "Neville should be getting her any moment now."

"Neville? You're getting Neville to lure Umbridge here?" Hermione asked, horrified.

"You should have more faith in your classmates, Hermione. Neville just have to tell Umbridge that I'm here. There's no way he could go wrong with such a simple task."

Hermione looked away, unconvinced.

The four men were perplexed.

"Why are we luring Dawn Umbridge here?" Harry asked.

"So that we can hex her together?" Ron queried hopefully.

Sirius grew impatient "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Patience is definitely not one of your virtues," April brushed him off.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Actually, the parchment…"

"Hush, Hermione!" April cut in, "we mustn't spoil their fun."

Hermione bit her lip and obeyed.

Just then, they heard footsteps. Someone was storming towards them.

"It's showtime!" April exclaimed happily.

True enough, Dawn, Dawn Umbridge was soon standing before them, wand in hand, and looking at April with immense hatred.

Both Sirius and Remus instinctively stepped between the two women.

"Leave her alone," Sirius barked at Umbridge.

Just then, a peculiar thing happened.

Dawn Umbridge suddenly shrieked in pain.  Dropping her wand, she covered her face with her hands and gave a shrill cry.

Then they saw the boils.  Red, angry, painful-looking boils had surfaced on every inch of the uncovered skin on Dawn Umbridge's plump body.

Dawn Umbridge continued to scream in horror and pain, staying rooted to the spot. "What's happening?" she managed to yelp, in between her high-pitched shrieks.

Hermione could no longer remain silent in her mounting excitement. "It's the parchment you had signed on. The names were written in the agreement.  The loser will be unable to go near the other two, or else…"

"Or else she'll look like you now," April continued. "I would advise you to stay at least fifty feet away from both Sirius and myself from now onwards, Umbridge."

Umbridge shrieked again, this time in anger.

"You will feel better once you stay further away," Hermione added in mock helpfulness.

"I'll get you!" Umbridge snarled at April and Hermione, before she hastily grabbed her wand from the ground and made her retreat.

"We did it!" April merrily grabbed Hermione and gave the girl a big hug.

"What did you do to the parchment?" Remus asked.

"It was Hermione's idea to cast the spell on the parchment to ensure that the deal is not revoked." April replied, still in high spirits.

Sirius frowned. "What if I did not do as you intended? You were prepared to stay away?"

April's smile was temporarily wiped off. She looked at Sirius with surprise and a little guilt.  "I know you'll help me win the bet," she said softly.

Before Sirius could respond, Harry cut in, "Why wasn't Dawn Umbridge affected this morning? Does the spell only work when the three of you gather together?"

"Good guess, Harry. But that's not the case this time. Hermione, would you care to explain?"

"The spell works only eight hours after Sirius is first seen by either April or Dawn Umbridge," Hermione explained eagerly. "That's why April asked us to meet at four this afternoon."

"That's a clever spell, Hermione," Remus complimented and the girl blushed.

Harry noticed that Sirius did not seem as happy and relieved as he should be. "I think this calls for some celebration," Harry said, looking pointedly at his godfather.

"We'll celebrate in your common room," Sirius said. "April and I will join you later."

April arched an eyebrow quizzically, but did not protest.

"I'll get the house-elves to prepare some food then," Remus said, ushering the three teenagers out of the classroom.

April watched them disappear from sight before turning back to Sirius. "What's the matter? You don't look too pleased," she commented uncertainly.

"No, I'm not," Sirius snapped. "I'm not pleased at all." He walked over and gripped her shoulders with both hands, forcing her to give him her full attention. "You should have told me about the spell you and Hermione cooked up. I almost thought it's a deal that Dawn Umbridge will not keep anyway and was tempted to…" he struggled to find the words.

A few seconds slipped by.

"To let her win?" April guessed, turning pale. "You thought of letting her win?"  Her voice was barely a whisper now.

"I did," Sirius admitted. "You were too confident and I thought it'll be amusing…"

"It'll be amusing to choose Umbridge over me?" she asked him coldly.

"You know I'll never choose her over you.  But have you not considered the consequences of making such a deal? What if I deliberately let her win just to…annoy you?" There was desperation in his voice now. "What if she found you before the spell worked? You could have been hurt."

"I'll fight her then," April said stubbornly.

Sirius shook her. "Don't you remember what Remus said? Umbridge was good in Defence Against Dark Arts. She's quick with her wand and it's safer for you to stay away from her."

April's anger began to evaporate when she heard the concern in Sirius' voice. "But I'm all right now. And she lost the bet," she pointed out obstinately.

"Thank Merlin it turned out this way," Sirius let go of her and paced around the classroom.

After several minutes, he announced, "Let's go join the rest."

Without waiting for him, April quickly made her exit, but not before telling Sirius in an accusing voice, "I still can't believe you almost chose Dawn Umbridge over me."

* * *

FF_freak : Thanks for your encouragement, my fellow countryman! :)

Star06 : You're a light sleeper? I love to sleep but can only get enough of it during weekends!

Ms. Padfoot : Glad you like my last chapter! A goatie for Sirius? Hmm…I'll consider it…

Senshichan14 : I think Dawn Umbridge is not even good enough for Mundungus Fletcher! I need him for the future battle against evil.  But Umbridge? Nah…she'll not even be considered for my little army! Oh, and "Master" would like you to REVIEW! LOL

LILRKCHK : There are more sweet chapters coming up! Get your spoon ready! :)

Diosa Alexia : I know what you mean…if I was in her place, I would have jumped out of my bed and hugged him again and again!

Summerkins : YAY for your review!

Fire'N'Ice : Don't use the Unforgivable! It's not worth going to Azkaban for someone like Umbridge!  But don't worry – Hermione has already hexed her with a "Forgivable"! LOL

Katie : April Flamel is not a Mary-Sue. She has character flaws too! She's stubborn, hot-tempered and reckless! And her past is not smooth-sailing either. You've caught a glimpse of it in the chapter "Old Wounds Still Hurt", and you'll find out more in later chapters.  BTW, she only gives two of her many house-elves special treatment ; )

Ainsley Sloan : I'm so proud of you! *gives Ains a hug*

Lily Skylo : Sirius is so sweet, isn't he? Aw…

black-cat-on-the-wall : Is this soon enough for you? :)

nunnya buiznes : Are you looking up Spanish terms yet? Cuz I updated on a weekday this time!

Lil Lupin : Thanks!

OutofAzkaban : Alright, now that you've read this chapter, please review…and then, GO UPDATE YOUR STORY! I can't wait! LOL

sJaBroX : Yay! The nameless soul has a name now! What does your nickname mean? Thanks for adding me as your fave author!

peachgirl1608 : Are you the one who convinced nameless soul to read my fic? Oh…you're such a dear! :)

princess_ariadne : Thanks for adding me to your favourite authors' list! A sequel on Sirius and April? I promise I'll think about it! However, to borrow JKR's words, (she said "what makes you so sure he, i.e. Harry, won't die?")…what makes you so sure Sirius and April will end up together?! *evil grin*

anarane gilraen : *shakes anarane gilraen* Don't pass out! Wake up! You have to wake up and read & review my fic!

Angel357 : Yay! You like his new image!

Titanic-HarryPotter-lvr-2 : I'm not sure if I'll be creating another female OC to pair up with Lupin. We'll see…maybe in my second fic!