Just as a note: Pay very close to Professor Sennacherib. I want to see if anyone can guess who she is. My friend Brady and I made her up, and we were quite pleased with our use of brain. I hope that's an actual phrase. But I'd like to pre-apologize (also hope that's a valid phrase) for my lack of creativity on this "story". I have it, but I don't want to ruin Harry Potter with all the crap in my screwed up (yet wonderfully sane) head. So, unless you WANT to hear my ideas, I'll use JK Rowling's genius theories and ideas to form my storyline, which I don't believe in.
I added some new characters, which will have minor roles. I just like making up people with clashing personalities. Makes it funny. I used lengthier sentences because I felt like it, for lack of better term. Please tell me if you like this or more dialogue. I like a mixture of both. Eagerly awaiting feedback. –Cox Poppy
Chapter Twelve
The (Un)expected Collision
Christmas was just over the horizon: a horizon that was very dark indeed for James and Harry. If anything slightly out of the ordinary Hogwarts school days happened, it certainly did not show itself to Harry and the Marauders. In fact, it was on these individuals' backs that this was so. James Potter was not happy. Nor had he been happy for the last week and a half. He flat-out refused to turn Snape a "better" color—including pink, purple, puke-yellow, or any concoction of the three—which was extremely 'Un-Prongs-like' as Sirius put it.
Since the last encounter with James, Lily had been avoiding him by all means. If she saw him coming down the hall, she would run up a moving staircase and into an empty classroom. It wasn't that she didn't like James. She didn't know what was wrong with him that she didn't like. At first she convinced herself it was the pranks, but with them out of the factor she knew she missed them, however ferociously she tried denying it. In her vain attempts, ultimately leading her to the conclusion that she found James Potter funny, she buried herself in her schoolwork, ignoring any friends that talked to her.
Lupin seemed to be the only Marauder that was happy. Peter, who, being ignored, kicked, hit, and hurt right and left refused to talk to Harry or James until they apologized. Neither had noticed this silent treatment (or failed to comment if they did), leaving Wormtail in a huff like no huffs prior. Harry concluded he liked his future enemy better on silent terms, and cheered him up a bit.
Harry was still working on a way to return back to his own time before Sirius did anything stupid—like get himself killed—in Harry's body, and was not having any luck. However, James was no longer tracking him down due to his own problems. It was two weeks before the full moon, and Lupin was getting ahead in his classes, James breathing profanities at him.
James's resentment to all but Harry didn't bother Lupin. Moony, who spend a myriad of his time skipping down the halls and humming Christmas Carols (that was two months away), had gotten a date with the blond Hufflepuff whom Harry was avoiding also.
Harry was trying very hard not to get distracted by any means, which included girls. This had been harder than he had expected. It seemed that the female population, excluding Lily, had a rather profound interest in him. Some girls were caught brewing a variety of Love Potions for him, all confiscated by Professor Sennacherib.
"Honestly, girls. This is sick and uncalled for. It doesn't give you a right to do this… even to a handsome lad… it's just not fair," her words were drown by the giggling of girls and a smart-ass comment from James that got many points from Gryffindor House taken away.
Even with an important need, Harry seemed to attract distractions. He was on his way to the lunch hall from Sennacherib's class, James had not been kind enough to wait from Peter like the rest of them, and took off. After five minutes of waiting for Peter to get himself organized, he strode off in a huff, mad at Wormtail for wasting his time. In his blind fury, he collided with a girl in the hall.
CRASH! Two sets of books, and two sets of bodies fell to the cold, dungeon steps. Harry fell over backwards, and the girl fell forwards on top of him. With the wind knocked out of him, Harry made a squelching sound of pain. The girl had been on her sixth sorry before Harry came around.
"I am so sorry!" she was on her feet, hands balled in fists. "I'm very clumsy, I didn't… are you alright?"
"Fine," Harry answered, stumbling stiffly to his feet. "Are you…" his eyes raised to her face. He gasped.
At first glance, she looked like Cho, but there were many differences to this girl. She had straight, black hair, curling cleanly past her shoulders, and had long bangs that fell elegantly in her eyes. Her eyes were of a dark, midnight blue.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" the girl stated, holding out her hand for him to shake. Harry got to his feet and gazed at her expectantly. "Lucie," she stated
"Er—excuse me?" Harry asked stupidly.
"My name."
"I'm Harr—Sirius. Sirius Black."
"Hair Sirius?"
"No… it's just… Sirius," but the damage was done.
"That's an odd name to have. And I thought mine was original," her bright blue eyes flashed in amusement.
"Just Sirius," Harry said, trying to drain the annoyance out of his voice.
"Black. So, you're one of them," she said calmly, blinking slowly with her long, black eyelashes.
"I don't like to think I'm one of 'them', if you mean my family," Harry snapped.
"I didn't mean to be rude, I've heard about you and your family, but mostly you."
"Me?" asked Harry, startled, for he did not expect this.
"Yeah, how you got sorted into Gryffindor and all the Slytherins were angry at you. I thought it was brave of you and James to stand up to all those fifth years, especially as only first years. But I suppose that's why you're in Gryffindor, eh? That Malfoy… Lucifer was his name?"
"Lucious," Harry corrected her automatically, knowing his name like the back, front, and both sides of his hand.
"Yeah. I got chills whenever I saw him, he always called me a… a… Well, he knew I was Muggleborn somehow," she screwed up her face in remembrance. "I don't recall telling anyone."
"It runs in powerful families, that can figure it out. My friend Her… mes, he was Muggleborn and somehow the Slytherins found out."
"It's really a waste of time, don't you think?"
By this time, Harry was sick of hearing about Muggleborns, and Mudbloods. He certainly did not want to talk about Deatheaters. Memories that ripped him back to the world he belonged in made him depressed and irritable; human natures that were not Sirius'.
"Yeah," he answered shortly. "So, what house are you in?"
"Ravenclaw," she smirked. "Which I can't understand, because I've never done magic before Hogwarts."
"Hermes was the same way, and he was the top student."
"Where?"
"Some foreign school," Harry answered quickly.
"Nice, how did you know him?"
"He was…erm… my neighbor," Harry could of slapped himself for saying that.
"He was your neighbor?" Lucie repeated; eyebrow cocked.
"No."
"He wasn't your neighbor."
"Yes," Harry felt a red heat rise around his neck. Lucie laughed.
"If you don't want to tell me it's fine," Harry was just about to take another route to explain how he knew Hermes when the bell rang. Harry had completely missed lunch.
"Oh, I'm sorry! You were going down to lunch weren't you?"
"It's okay, I'm not—" Harry's stomach gave a loud and low rumble that seemed to last hours. "hungry."
"You're not a very good liar, either."
"Whatever," Harry grumbled. He walked up the steps, praying that no other distractions would come his way.
xXXXXXx
To say the least, Harry's mood had not eased itself at Care to Magical Creatures. His stomach rumbled with every single painful step down Hogwarts' rolling hills. He met up with James and Lupin at the base.
"Where's Pet—Wormtail?" Harry asked loftily. Probably fraternizing with Voldemort by now.
"Who cares," snapped James, arms crossed in a huff. Remus looked sideways at him before addressing Harry.
"Erm, Padfoot, you've got ink on your robes," Lupin pointed out helpfully. James snickered.
"You're so helpful," mumbled Harry.
"Did you trip or something?" asked James.
"No, I met into this really weird girl… Lucie or something."
"And she dumped the ink on you? What did you say to her?" asked Remus curiously.
"Well, it's not as much 'met' as 'ran in to', really."
James snorted.
"Listen, James, just go talk to Lily if it means that much to you," said Harry, desperate not to discuss girls.
"What makes you think its Lily? She's not bothering me. I don't like her," James looked at the skeptical looks on his friends' faces. "What?" he snapped.
"You like Lily, admit it…"
James was just about to retort when I breathless Wormtail showed up. Harry and James turned away from his without a greeting, but Remus felt guilty about ignoring Peter much longer.
"Hello, Peter. Where were you?"
Peter gazed at James and Harry's cold shoulders before answering.
"Library, I had to finish some homework for Muggle Studies."
"You know that's a git class, don't you?" asked James scornfully, without glancing back at Peter, who looked extremely taken aback. Harry couldn't help but grinning. Anything that caused Peter pain was all right with him. Making Peter's childhood as horrible as he could gave him a grim satisfaction that only evil deeds could suffice.
X-X-X-x-X-X-X
Sorry for the delay, my wonderful, wonderful readers. This chapter is boring. Sorry about that. I wasn't feeling much inspired. I smell death and a bit of Bertha Jorkins (or whatever her name is) in the future. Any suggestions? Fine. But I won't promise I'll use them :P
