A/N: I swear to you, I really did mean to have this up a lot sooner. Honestly and truly, I did. But when I was this close to finishing the chapter )holds thumb and index finger a centimeter away from each other( someone deleted my file. I think it was one of my siblings because my parents wouldn't delete something of mine unless I gave them permission. But my sister and brother swear that they didn't delete it so I guess it might have been an accident.
IMPORTANT:
I know I said I don't like writing long Author Notes, and I don't, but this one will be slightly long. It's about the number of reviews I've gotten. Twenty. Eight chapters, twenty reviews. That's an average of 2.5 per chapter (okay, I know it's impossible to get .5 reviews but you get the picture). While I love the fact I'm getting any reviews, more would be great. There are some reviewers who have given me feedback on every chapter, like allie and Dans-girl-4ever, but then there's some who haven't reviewed for a while. I love you guys, really I do! But constructive criticism, ideas/suggestions, etc. would be so awesome. I really want to improve my writing and make sure you guys are getting the best story you can get. And to everyone who is reading but hasn't reviewed, please review!
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. :-(
Remus glared at him and continued. "And then we agreed it wasn't supposed to happen –"
Sirius interrupted him again. "How did you two end up in bed anyway?"
…………………
"We just did, okay?" Remus snapped irritably. "I'm going to Potions." He picked up his bag and left the Great Hall.
"Touchy," Sirius muttered. He turned to watch Lily and James argue about something that had happened in fifth year.
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Friday after Transfiguration found Hogwarts favorite students, the Marauders, at Care of Magical Creatures. Sirius and James, of course, were goofing off by dancing around while the girls in the class giggled and blushed whenever one of them would wink.
Two girls weren't laughing, and guess who they are? Amber and Lily. Unfortunately, Sam didn't like animals and Patty didn't want to be separated from her best friend, so they both signed up for Divination and not Care of Magical Creatures. They were actually quite good at tea leaves and such.
"Come, Lily! Dance with us!" James called, hooking arms with Sirius and skipping in a circle. He held out his hand to her but she didn't take it.
"Dear Amber, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" Sirius asked, spinning away from James, bowing in front of her, and pulling her in the circle of students watching without waiting for an answer.
Amber laughed as Sirius spun her. "Remind you to whack you later for this!" she said.
He twirled her again and then hugged her to his chest, now slowly revolving on the spot. "You have to kiss me first," he whispered in her ear.
Amber's breath caught in her throat and she had to control the urge to look at him to decide if he was being honest or not. She kept her head on his chest and allowed him to spin them around slowly. Was it just her, or did his heartbeat quicken for a few moments?
"Okay, class, break up the act," wheezed Professor Kettleburn, pausing to take a breath. He had just ran from the school out to the paddocks. "Time for class."
Amber quickly left Sirius and joined Lily, while Sirius sidled over to James, who was looking disappointed, and Remus, who had a half amused look on his face.
"What'd she say this time?" Sirius muttered to Remus.
"That she wouldn't dance with him because"–Remus cleared his throat and tried to imitate Lily–"I hate you, James Ian Potter, and I value my toes!"
Sirius sniggered. "I wouldn't dance with him either, if I were her. He does seem to step on people's toes too much."
"Would you two shut up?" James muttered, his ears bright red. "You're not helping. Besides, the longer she keeps this up, the longer Sirius has to be interested in Amber."
"Potter, Black, Lupin! Is there something you would like to share?" Kettleburn barked. The middle-aged man took a step closer to them, trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. The balding man just didn't look scary.
"Well, sir, we were discussing how bad James's dancing is and how much he likes Lily and I like Amber," Sirius said, grinning. He winked at Amber, who seemed to shrink under everyone's stares.
Kettleburn said, "Ten points from Gryffindor for talking out of turn. Please pay attention, boys, because I have something very important to tell you." He faced the rest of the class. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to set up a little project for each of you to do. You may refuse to do it if you wish, but if you do, you must write a paper on a certain topic which is to be chosen." He cleared his throat. "The project is: go into the Forbidden Forest for one weekend with three of your classmates, who will be chosen by me." A lot of students exchanged nervous looks and their faces clearly expressed their wish to write a paper. "This is to learn how to deal with various situations, learn spells, and learn about different creatures habitats.
"I have chosen the first group to go in tonight. I feel that they will not let me down." A few students started to raise their hands so Kettleburn said quickly, "If it's about safety, do not worry. Our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, has gone into the forest and asked a few magical creatures to keep an eye on you. Hagrid himself will be keeping an eye on the forest. If anyone is in danger, just send up red sparks and keep sending them until he finds you. He is in there right now putting up signs that you must not stray past. Even with creatures and Hagrid watching, we cannot entirely garantee that you won't get hurt if you're not in a section where we can easily find you.
"Now it's time for groups. There will be two girls and two boys." Kettleburn looked over his glasses at them. "I expect you all to be on your best behavior and not do anything we'd be ashamed of." He looked at a piece of parchment he had gotten out of his robes."Tonight's group will be...Black and Potter." The two boys grinned at each other. "And...Evans and Young." He put away the parchment and looked at the four. "You're to report back here after dinner. I really didn't have a chance to plan a lesson for today, and I doubt anyone would pay attention anyway, so just talk."
Instantly the class broke up into little groups of students talking about the project. Sirius and James strolled over to Lily and Amber while Remus joined a group of Ravenclaw boys.
"An entire weekend to ourselves. This ought to be fantastic," James said, putting his hand on Lily's shoulder and squeezing it gently. "Just you, me, and the stars, Lils."
"Let me check hell's weather report first. If it's frozen over I'll consider being with just you and the stars," she snapped, pulling out of his grip. "Don't touch me. At all. All weekend. The only reason I'm going is because I have enough work to do without writing a paper."
"Now really, Lils, you shouldn't be so sour. It'll be fun. I promise." He crossed his heart with his finger.
"Now I feel better," Lily said sarcastically, leaving James and going to go save Amber from Sirius's pleas to go out with him.
"It's creepy out here," Amber repeated for the fifth time since they left the castle. James, Sirius, Lily, and Amber were waiting at the edge of the forest for Hagrid. "I don't like this."
"Don't worry, babe. You'll be fine with us." Sirius grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Merlin help us," she pleaded, looking up at the star-filled sky. "Please don't leave Lily and me with these idiots."
"Don't worry 'bout them, Amber," said Hagrid, emerging from the forest and brushing dirt off himself. "They've been in here 'fore. Though they're not 'posed to." He gave the boys a look and they grinned.
"We'll keep the girls safe from any danger, Hagrid." James attempted to hold Lily's hand again. "They'll come out of here pretty as the roses they are."
"Even roses 'ave thorns," Hagrid reminded him, his great beard twitching as he watched the dirty look Lily was giving James. "I'm actually a little more concerned about yer health if ya try anythin' with these two." He looked at the two girls. "Jus' whack 'em over the head with a rock if hormones get to 'em." His eyes twinkled and he said gruffly, "Well, let's go. Sooner yer in, sooner yer out."
Hagrid led them into the Forbidden Forest, keeping up a steady stream of chatter with James and Sirius about Quidditch tactics while Lily and Amber kept as close to them as possible so they wouldn't get too messy. Although neither cared terribly about how they looked, there was a fine line between being in the castle and not having their hair tied in a perfect ponytail and being in the forest without the comforts of home.
"This is where I leave ya," Hagrid said, stopping in a small clearing. "'Member, jus' keep sending up red sparks an' I'll come an' find ya. Don't go past the signs 'til I come ta get ya. You 'ave 'bout 500 yards in every direction from this spot. Here's all the stuff you need." Hagrid pulled out four miniature backpacks. "Jus' enlarge 'em and you'll find yer stuff. See ya Sunday night." He turned around and ambled out of the Forbidden Forest.
"Well, I guess we find somewhere to sleep," said James,digging through his enlarged backpack. "I don't see a tent in here. Let's go cave-hunting."
"A cave?" Lily blinked. "A cave?! Two nights with you in a cave?! No way!"
"I agree with her!" Amber said quickly when Sirius opened his mouth to say something. "I don't think I could spend two nights with Sirius in a cave without fearing my virtue."
"What virtue?" muttered James, earning a smack across the face from Amber.
Sirius sighed and stepped in betwen the three."How about this. If James or I try to shag either of you, you two can castrate us slowly and kill us afterward."
"Hmmm...Okay," said Lily.
"Okay," Amber said a little more reluctantly.
"Good. Let's go," he said, picking up all four backpacks after James had made them all small again.
"At least Hagrid was nice enough to make our backpacks pink and the boys' blue," Amber murmured to Lily, trailing behind the boys.
"I just can't believe we're stuck in the same outfit all weekend," Lily grumbled. "I hope there's a stream around here or we'll stink really bad."
"Hey, girls! There's a hill of rocks up ahead, and we see a cave at the top. You wanna go up there?" James called over his shoulder.
"Does it look empty, James?" Amber inquired.
"Yeah. And it's within the signs, Lily Flower," he added.
"How does he know when I'm about to ask something?" Lily muttered. Neither girl could help from giggling. She calmed down a little and said, "Let's go there."
When they reached the rocks James asked, "Don't take this the wrong way, Lily, but do you think you can climb that? I mean, we can because we've been playing Quidditch for years but you..."
"I can do it," Lily said defensively. "Just...make sure I don't look down."
"Right-o then. Let's start climbing. Amber, you and I can go up first since we probably have more muscle than them. If they slip, we grab an arm," said Sirius, tossing two of the backpacks to Amber.
"Hi ho, hi ho, off to climb rocks we go," Amber sang. She and Sirius started to climb.
"You know how to climb, right?" James asked Lily.
"Um...No."
"Okay then. Here's what you do. First, you check your handhold. After you grab it, wiggle your hand a little to make sure the rock won't fall on your head after you pull. Then carefully put your foot on a rock. Just ask if you need help."
"Yippee," Lily muttered under her breath as they started climbing.
"How are you two doing?" Sirius called down.
"We're okay!" James called back.
"My arms are killing me," Lily grumbled after about an hour or so. "Any place we can stop?"
"Yeah. At the top," James gasped. Although he would, of course, never admit it, he was starting to get tired as well. "Need any help?"
She paused and bit her lip as she tested her handhold. It didn't wiggle so she pulled herself up. "No, I'm fine," she lied. She put her foot on a rock and leaned against the rocks to catch her breath. "Just tired."
He climbed down a few rocks so he could look her in the eye. "Lily, climb onto my back and I'll carry us both up."
"No, really.I'm fine," she insisted.
"Lily, just climb onto my back. I swear you'll be okay." He grinned. "I've had all my shots."
She allowed herself to smile a little bit. "Fine. But don't make anything of it." She forced herself to let go of the rocks and wrapped her arms around James's neck. She gulped and wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Hold on tight and don't look down. I really don't need to be suffocated if you start to freak out. And don't fall asleep either because then you might slip." He looked at her over his shoulder. "You ready?"
Lily managed to nod and burrowed her face into James's neck.
A/N: Okay! End of this chapter. I really wanteed it to be longer but I haven't updated in such a long time I decided I'd just send this bit in. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I really hope you'll send me a review with all thoughts. Thank you!
