Chapter 18:

Halloween Eve:

"It's such a great idea!" said Lily as she fluffed her tail. Yes, HER TAIL! Lily was standing in a fluffy white bunny suit with a tail that James would have found extremely cute. Her hair was tied up and couldn't be seen. Her nose was transfigured to form a cutesie lil nose complete with whiskers.

"Yeah, I mean, I never thought that McGonagall, of all people would suggest the idea!" remarked Kat. She was dressed as a gypsy, large golden hoops in her ears, her hair wild, her makeup bolder than usual, a bright yellow peasant blouse and a huge colorful skirt as her attire.

(A/N: Wondering why I described that so vividly? Cause I would absolutely love to dress like that for Halloween. Unfortunately, no All Hallow's Eve in my dear Motherland. Sigh )

"So what exactly is the plan?" asked Lara croakily. She was dressed as one of the stereotypical muggle witches Lily had told her about. Lara had found the idea of witches with green skin, boils and hooked noses ridiculous but hey, it did make a pretty funny costume. After charming her skin green (she made sure Lily knew the reverse spell by heart) she had applied dark red lipstick, weird shades of eye shadow and a humongous messy wig. Of course, she hadn't forgotten the infamously long and sharp red nails. Overall, she looked little like the Lara that the male population of Hogwarts raved about. And that, in her opinion, was exactly what she needed. Especially after Ralph… especially after Sirius.

No more boys.

Lily tilted her head, "Well…. we go off to the great hall for the feast, then we have the usual bob for the apple type games. Then we go trick or treating around the castle…and…ah…"

Lily picked up the leaflet and began reading, "At precisely a quarter past eight, all lights in the castle will go out. Each student will be whisked away to a different part of the castle and they will have to find their way back to either their dorms or the Great Hall. No spells that help the students accomplish will work for the duration. If you need help, raise sparks of your house color and a teacher will come to you. Remember, the castle will be decorated as if to resemble the traditional muggle haunted mansion."

She dropped the parchment. "And then at twelve midnight, the lights come pop back on!"

Kat and Lara laughed. For some reason, Lara's voice was extra croaky.

"And what time is it now?" asked Kat.

"Why, it's precisely…time to meet the guys!" Replied Lily cheerily.

"That means it's six thirty." Murmured Lara knowingly as Lily hopped down the stairs to the common room, the two other girls walking behind.

Neechay (Downstairs):

The Marauders were lounging on a large sofa in the suddenly very crowded common room. It was apparent that the entire house was present and suddenly, the large room didn't seem so big anymore.

James was wondering how in the world they were going to recognize the girls in the array of feathers, fluff and masks. Ouch. That'd be embarrassing… not recognizing his own girlfriend in public…

The three girls on the other side of the room, across the sea of people were thinking the same thing.

"Hey," Kat commented. "You know, with all these girls with make up on, I bet the boys won't even recognize us."

"Yeah…" Lara nodded, a wicked smile forming on her face.

Lily and Katrina also grinned.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Lara.

They nodded.

Lily said, "Let's find out what Potter is does when he thinks his girlfriend isn't around, shall we?"

"They're late." Remus said.

"Unusual." Sirius remarked.

Peter nodded.

James yawned.

"Good thing it's not full moon." Said Remus.

"And why would that be a good thing?" a feminine voice came from behind them.

All the Marauders whirled around.

"Katrina?" questioned Sirius, squinting.

"No silly!" The girl giggled. "My name is…uh, Ambrose…" said the girl dressed as a gypsy.

"Hi…my name is…" began Remus.

"Oh, I know who you are…you're Remus Lupin-DADA master, and you're Sirius Black-pranker extraordinaire, you're James Potter- Quidditch black belter, and Peter Pettigrew-"

Kat struggled to remember what Peter was good at. Peter waited patiently.
"Peter Pettigrew- herbo…logizeger…and, uh, two of my friends want to meet you guys…er, guys meet… Nancy Drew…" she pointed at Lily dressed as bunny, grimacing at the thought at what her friends were going to do to her for using those stupid names.

"And this is Bess…uh, Bess…" What was her last name again?

"Bess…Marvel?" she finished weakly. She pointed to the girl dressed as a witchy witch.

"Hey, Bess, Nancy…", the guys helloed them politely.

"Great costumes…" Lily gestured slightly towards their amazingly realistic pirate costumes.

"Yeah, you know they go with our nickname…you know…" said Sirius. The girls played their part of being clueless to perfection.

"You know, marauders…pirates…marauders? Get it?" explained James exasperatedly.

Kat nodded blankly and the trio jerked towards the guys as if they were puppets on a string.

Lily plonked down in the space between Remus and James; Katrina sat between Remus and the arm of the sofa. Lara walked naturally to Sirius almost reaching him before turning to sit between James and Peter…leaving poor Sirius bewildered…was there something so oppressive about him that the girl would rather sit next to Peter than him?

The sitting got rather tight and uncomfortable and rather than to have to yell at those girls, Sirius just hoisted himself off the sofa and made for the empty armchair a few feet away.

The girls winced. They hadn't meant to isolate Sirius like that.

But it was the time for the best part of the trick…

(A/N: To clear up how they were sitting:

============================================

Kat / Ambrose Remus Lily / Nancy James Lara / Bess Peter

============================================

Yes, it was an unusually big sofa! :D)

But it was the time for the best part of the trick…

Lily leaned over to James' ear…whispering what she called sweet nothings. James squirmed uncomfortably.

Kat placed a well-manicured hand on Remus' knee. Remus froze.

Lara ran a long finger down the side of Peter's face, inwardly blushing with two thoughts…

Firstly, OMG! It was PETER!

Secondly, she could vividly remember the last time she had done this particular motion…the night of the dance.

She shivered as Peter leant forward, in clear ecstasy, he was a herbologizeger …whatever that was…but hey, this girl Bess seemed to like it!

Sirius frowned uncharacteristically. He was still bitter about this girl who seemed to like Peter over him… I mean, Peter was a good mate and everything…but, a girl choosing him over the Sirius Black? Was there something wrong with him? He made a mental checklist…

His…Hair?

Check.

His…Skin?

Check.

His…Odor?

He bent down to check.

Check.

His…Breath?

Check.

Well, then had to be a problem with the girl…

Hmm, now that he thought about it, the only two girls who currently avoided him were…

Number One. His idiotic cousin sister Bellatrix Black…but it was extremely unlikely that that was her in the Gryffindor Common Room with green skin, flirting with Peter Pettigrew.

Oh and wait, thinking of Bella he remembered one more girl… that made the total three.

Number Two. His other idiotic cousin sister Narcissa Black, she was even dumber than Bella…and for the same reasons it was extremely unlikely that that was her.

And Grand Number Three.

Lara. Larika Julianne Anderson.

And of course, it couldn't be her…

He stopped himself suddenly. Why? Why couldn't it be her?

He peered at the girl carefully, extremely interested all of a sudden.

She was in Gryffindor.

She was the same height.

And, yes, was that a strand of blonde hair coming from the black depths of her wig?

YES!

"LARA!" He screamed.

The common room stared at him, Bess, Nancy and Ambrose glaring at him the most.

Sirius' brain caught up with him… Lara, Lils and Kat…of course… A strand of blonde
hair, strands of red hair peeping through bunny's ears, brunette hair wildly blown around the gypsy's ears.

"LILS!"

"KAT!" He yelled.

"Where?" both Remus and James jumped up, looking around anxiously.

Lara winked at Sirius, simultaneously frightening and stimulating him. He got the message. If he kept quiet, he could have part of the fun… and if he didn't…well, the girls were going to have A LOT more fun… with him.

"Where, Padfoot?" asked James.

"Uh, nowhere…" Sirius replied mysteriously.

"Uh, yeah right." James said, one eyebrow raised. (A/N: an expression my friend Neha does very well!)

"So, you just decided to scream out your ex-girlfriend's name followed by the names of our girlfriends." Asked Remus incredulously.

"Yep." Nodded Sirius happily. "I was daydreaming."

Now, even Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh? About Lara?"

Sirius nodded.

Lara glanced at him and then stared at the floor.

"And then, whyever did you scream Lily's and Kat's name as well?" The pair walked menacingly toward him.

"Um…." Sirius was wondering what to say. On one hand, he couldn't admit to daydreaming about their girlfriends…and on the other…the girls…

Sirius firmly believed in safety first…his own safety first, that is. And right now, the guys looked infinitely more threatening than the gals in their sweet costumes. And of course, the girls would take pity on him…right? He took his chances.

"Yes, whysoever?" James repeated.

"Er, cause they're standing behind you."

James and Remus whirled around to see Ambrose, Nancy and Bess waving cheerily at them.

They pivoted back around to stare at Sirius. "THEM?" asked James incredulously.

"Yes, US!" spoke Lara coming up from behind, her voice cracking.

"Yep, Masters Paddyfeet, Prongsies, Wormytaily and…" Lily said.

" And… Master Loony Moony! It's US! WONDERFUL, TERRIFIC, MAGNIFICENT,
OMNIPOWERFUL US!" screamed Katrina happily.

The other students stared at her, they had never seen this usually quiet girl so…sugar high…

Some minutes later:

Kat was still a bit too loud.

"Kat, calm down." Lara said, her voice strange and croaky.

Lily looked at her, "What's wrong with your voice?"

"Not-thing." Her voice cracked. "Well, I might have a sore throat."

"Go to Madam--" suggested Kat.

"NO!" Lara said harshly, remembering that the last time she had gone there for a band-aid, she had had been admitted for three days. "No." She repeated softly. "I took some of my mom's secret formula but it seems to be wearing out."

Later:

"Peter! You're not supposed to jump into the barrel!" Remus yelled exasperatedly as Peter bobbing for apples fell in.

Lily looked around happily as she sipped her pumpkin juice. The bright candle lit hall looked wonderful, with so many different colors!

"LILY!" Sirius jumped towards her.

"What the-?"

"Lily don't drink the--" He paused as Lily turned into a huge oversized orange pumpkin.

"The pumpkin juice…" He continued softly as Lara, Kat, Remus burst out laughing.

James tried hard to stifle his chuckling.

Later:

Everyone was, as told, whisked away to different parts of the castle.

Lara walked down a corridor, wondering who was screaming in that unearthly tone.

She stopped to glare at the skeleton brigade next to her. Magically charmed, they were calling to her, reaching towards her with bony arms.

She walked on. She had seen worse.

Further on, the dim candles had been extinguished.

"Lumos." She tried. "Lumos!" she remembered the 'no-helpful magic' rule.

She walked on, ignoring the noise of footsteps…someone else's footsteps.

She crashed into someone blindly. "Ow." Her voice came throaty and unfamiliar.

"OW!" A very familiar voice cried. "Why does everyone hurt me?!!"

She didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" The voice asked again.

It was Sirius. Damn him.

"Well, Sirius Black do you see any sparks flying calling for the professors?" She snapped, lying on the floor uncomfortably.

"Here, let me help you." Sirius said, gallantly. He clearly was happy with some company. He reached down to where he estimated the person to be.

"I can get up by my self!" Lara snapped angrily as he helped her up. Her…it was a girl…who apparently knew him.

"Irritated! And Annoyed!" Sirius smirked. He liked this girl. "I like girls like that."

"Uh…Sirius? Do you know who I am?" Lara asked cautiously.

"No… am I supposed to know you?"

"No." said Lara quietly. She put her hand in his and slowly leaned over.

She had wanted to do this for a long, long time. She slowly put her lips on his.

He reacted just as she wanted, intensifying the anonymous kiss in the darkness.

Sirius was surprised. This girl's kisses reminded him of Lara's sweet ones.

Lara pulled back. "I've gotta go." She pushed him aside.

He stood there silently.

Remus was walking somewhere else… at the other side of the castle.

He had noticed a black cat yowling a while back. It was a pity he wasn't superstitious. Then, a few minutes ago, he had also encountered a boggart… the full moon. He was surprised. Dumbledore wouldn't do anything that dangerous, would he?

But, he was proficient in DADA and a Riddikulus charm wasn't against 'no-helpful magic' rule. Hmm… thinking about the full moon. Just a few days from now…

Further on, he noticed a body on the floor. Pretend corpses he thought. As he neared it, however, he stared at it warily. Could it perhaps be real? He sat down and put a hand to the body's wrist.

Dhak- Dhak.

Dhak- Dhak

Faint as it was, there was a heartbeat. He raised some red and gold colored sparks.

Remus was standing in the harsh white light of the hospital wing. How different from the dim light and darkness in the rest of the castle. He looked at his watch. A few minutes till midnight. His friends would surely wonder where he was. They could find him. They would find him. He involuntarily leaned against the wall as Professor Dumbledore rushed outside.

After he had sent the sparks, Professor McGonagall had somehow apparated. Not apparated… you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts. He reminded himself uselessly. Well, anyway, Professor McGonagall had somehow or the other appeared. He remembered her look of faint surprise.

"Lupin… I didn't think you would need help…"

Remus wordlessly pointed to the body.

The Professor had an expression of faint scorn. "That is probably one of Dumbledore's decorative ideas…"

Remus spoke. "A corpse with a pulse?"

And now he was here….

A quarter past midnight:

Everyone except Remus was settled comfortably in the Common Room.

"Hey Sirius!" James called.

Sirius looked up questioningly.

"What's that on your hands?"

"Huh?" He looked at his hands. They were green… how odd. Something suddenly occurred to him and he looked at Lara interestedly.

She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"So…where's Remus?" asked Katrina breaking the silence and voicing a concern.

Everyone shrugged.

She groaned unhappily.

"I want to find him." She suddenly had a flash of what the Non-Controllers called intuition. "I need to find him."

She stood up. In a few moments, everyone collected their candies.

"Let's split up."

In a few moments, it seemed evident there would be no need to split up.

Somehow, Katrina knew exactly where he was.

She walked down the stairs, through the corridor of Gonok the grim, and past the library towards the…

"Hospital Wing." Peter, James and Sirius said knowingly.

Remus turned towards the source of the noise. He sighed as they all trooped in. His friends…

"Guys…and KLL…" He explained to them what had happened.

In reply, everyone sat down on the cold metallic chairs.

Everyone except Katrina. She went to the closed curtains and stood before them for a few seconds silently.

Then slowly, she pulled them open just enough for her to see. After gazing at the body, she turned and sat down, her friends around her and Remus kneeling in front of her, gazing into her clear but troubled eyes.

"Nik."

(A/N: Wow, what a wonderful two chapters!! the Quidditch thing and now this unexpected occurrence. You know, even I didn't know that Nik was here until five minutes ago. I was planning to invite him around Christmas or New Year's…

now, I have a problem… I just wrote the new Quidditch chapter… which is actually supposed to happen AFTER the dance… Hmmmm, well, I'll let everyone read it and then I'll put it in as the eight chapter!

Okay, thanks for my ONLY three reviewers for the 17th chapter:

Purplepuss

Windowseat Wonderer

Lady Of Masbolle