Next chapter! Hooray. By the way, I'm going to change the way I post
these. Rather than two chapters once a week, you'll get one chapter twice
a week. Every Wednesday and then either Friday or Saturday, okay?
Oh, and thanks to the Price of Fate for reviewing. (Sorry if I called you Prince before, I must have read it wrong!) But are you aware I received your review six times? In alerts, anyway. Thanks.
And onto the next chapter!
Chapter 15 – Going home
The next morning Kathryn and Sirius woke up at the same time.
"What the – Oh." Sirius smiled at his girlfriend. "I guess they didn't want to wake us."
"I guess not." Kathryn yawned. "Ugh, I hate sleeping in the same clothes I wore over the day." Her wand was on a nearby table. "Refrigerare." She incanted. Instantly her clothes and body were refreshed, as though she'd been through a shower and put on clean clothes. She pointed her wand at Sirius. "Refrigerare."
Sirius smiled. "Much better. Where'd you learn that?"
"Refreshment charm. I use it when I don't have time for a shower. I don't remember exactly where I read it. It was in something I was researching for Charms last year."
"Ah. Well, I think I ought to change."
Kathryn grinned. Crimson light bathed them both and instantly they wore fresh clothes. "Anything else?"
"A kiss?" Sirius asked.
"That doesn't even need magic." Kathryn grinned. She kissed him softly.
"Shall we go down to breakfast?"
"May as well."
They went downstairs, Kathryn not speaking of her dream.
* * *
1st July 1981:
"Where's my diary?" Kathryn demanded.
"You were supposed to have packed last night, Kat. We've only got an hour till we leave." Lily pointed out.
"You think I didn't work that out?" Kathryn snarled.
Finally she found her diary tucked behind the headboard of her four-poster bed.
"How'd it get there?" She wondered.
"No idea. Kat, we need to go."
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. I can't believe you're in such a rush to see Petunia." Kathryn grinned, earning a glare.
"I'm not!"
"Oh, so you're eager to get away from here, and... certain people who you refuse to admit to having feelings about?" Kathryn suggested.
"NO!"
Across the hall, James and Sirius were having a similar conversation. It seemed that the summer heat had brought Lily and James' attraction, which had grown intensely since James' deflation of his head (he only boasted about Quidditch and only pranked Slytherins with funny pranks now, which Lily didn't even mind – he had a right to show off about Quidditch) to a head.
"How many times must I say it? I do not fancy Lily!" James yelled, frustrated.
"Sure you don't. You only adore her, idolise her, worship her!" Sirius teased as they walked out of the door.
"I do not!"
"Really? I adore, idolise and worship Kat." Sirius frowned.
"Ahh, that's so sweet!" His girlfriend smiled as she and Lily came into the corridor, dragging their trunks.
"Can we help you with those, ladies?" James asked.
"That'd be nice." Lily replied, trying not to blush.
"Locomotor mortis." James incanted.
Lily laughed. "I should've thought of that."
"First day of the summer hols. I only remembered because I can use magic outside school now." James grinned.
"Oh yes." Lily grinned. "You got those notes, Kat?"
"The ones for Mission Pranking?" Lily nodded. "Sure, they're in my diary."
"The one you almost lost?"
"The same. By the way, Sirius, why were you saying that you adore, idolise and worship me? Not that I don't appreciate it, of course." Kathryn was curious.
"I was trying to convince James to face up to his feelings. He's worse than ever." Sirius explained.
"Really? I was trying to do the same to Lily, but she's as stubborn as a donkey." Kathryn groaned.
"Well, we've got eight weeks, nearly nine, to convince them. I'm sure we can manage." Sirius grinned.
"Definitely. After all, Lily's got to put up with me for nearly all of that time, so... Let's just say I have a couple of really evil ideas."
"I'm going to miss you."
"It'll only be for a week!" Kathryn exclaimed, laughing.
"I'll still miss you. You're part of me." Sirius explained.
"I know. My parents and Avia though... You are aware they'll never let us alone together, aren't you?"
"Probably. Do you remember any of the secret passageways in your house?"
"No, we can look for them though!"
"Perfect."
They got down to the carriages quickly and before they knew it they were on the train, with the knowledge that they only had a year left at Hogwarts.
"I can't believe we've only got one year left." Radella murmured.
"I can't believe it'll only be my second year there! I feel like I've been at Hogwarts for years." Kathryn sighed.
"Soon we'll be home." Lily sighed.
"Soon we'll be abroad." Radella grinned, she and Alura, whose parents always holidayed together, were going to Egypt.
"And I spend the entire holiday with my grandparents in Australia." Peter looked glum.
"That's bad, why?" Radella wanted to know.
"They treat me like I'm five."
"Oh, I guess that'd be bad." Radella still frowned.
Kathryn, however, was pleased. She had been spared the embarrassment of inviting Peter, and the complaints from the Marauders for not inviting him. She had, however, invited Damion, since he was a good friend to them and, of course, Alura's boyfriend.
They were playing Exploding Snap, when James decided he was hungry.
"Where is the food trolley?" He wanted to know.
"Maybe it's just late." Kathryn suggested.
At that moment, a furious yell hit the air, along with several cracks. The Marauders burst out laughing.
"And that would be..." Radella began.
"Snape opening the 'present' we left him." James grinned.
"Oh, so he's going to burst into here in... three... two... one..." Kathryn stated.
At that moment, Snape burst in. "What the hell did you do to me?" He demanded.
Kathryn was curious. He seemed to be covered in some sort of black, but scaly, fur. It disfigured his face completely, while his eyes had gone a demonic red. The red of Voldemort's eyes.
But before Kathryn could say anything, she suddenly slumped on her seat, asleep.
"Kat?" Sirius asked.
"She's asleep." Lily frowned.
"Vision." She, Sirius and James stated together.
"Will you remove this?!" Snape snarled.
"Aw, quit your whining, Snivellus." Sirius snapped and muttered the counter-curse.
Snape left, fuming.
"Kat?" Sirius murmured. "Kat, are you alright?"
* * *
-----Kathryn's dream-----
Kathryn looked around, confused. Where was she?
It was like the vision at the Shrieking Shack. She was non-corporeal ghost, unheard, unseen, by others. But those watching heard her. She frowned. She couldn't say anything.
She walked through the wall. A load of people were celebrating, evidently. Who?
There was a boy stood by an old wizard, looking at something. She recognised the scene. It was just before they went back to school. Harry was looking at the photograph of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Can I have a look at that?" Someone asked.
Kathryn dodged round. It was Sirius. He was pouring over the photo, again with that look in his eyes, the one that hadn't ever been hinted to in the books.
Where is she? He cried out in his mind, as though begging someone to hear him.
'So,' Kathryn thought, 'I can hear thought-speech in this form as well as normal.'
Why did you take yourself off here, Kathryn? Where are you? Sirius wondered.
I don't know. Kathryn tried to think back, but clearly it had no effect.
Why did you leave? Sirius asked.
Before Kathryn could say or think anything else, she fell into the black oblivion that signified the end of the vision.
* * *
"Kat? You okay?" Sirius asked.
Her eyes fluttered open. She saw his face and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine."
What don't you know? James asked, mind to mind
What? Kathryn frowned.
In thought-speech, you cried out, I don't know. Lily explained.
I can't say. You know that. Kathryn replied.
Never mind. Sirius smiled, hugging her.
"You still hungry, James?" Kathryn grinned.
"Yeah, actually. I'm going to check. If I find her, I'll grab some food." James grinned.
James left the cabin. He frowned. What could Kathryn's thought mean? It had sounded desperate, unsure, like she was answering a question. He passed the compartment of angry Slytherins, these sporting a multitude of multi-coloured clothing and hair. He grinned. It would wear off in a day or two.
He soon found the trolley, and grabbed some food.
On his way back, however, came the surprise.
Thinking about the problem of his attraction to Lily, James bumped into someone leaving the toilet.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" James exclaimed.
"No, its – its okay." The other person replied, getting up.
James was picking up scattered packages of food. He didn't look up. "No, I just – I wasn't looking where I was going. I was thinking."
"That must be what distracted you so much then." The other person commented, amused.
He looked up.
"*Lily*?"
"The one and only." She grinned. "I must say, I loved your apology."
"Thanks." James rolled his eyes.
Lily bent down to help him pick up the rest of the food.
"So what had you thinking so hard?" Lily asked.
"Y– um, I er, just stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Y'know, things." James felt a blush rise in his cheeks unbidden.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, never better, thank you for asking." James told her in a rush.
"I'm glad someone is." Lily muttered. James heard her.
"Is there something wrong, Lily?" James asked.
"What? No, nothing!" Lily replied quickly, too quickly.
It was clear they were both lying, and Lily suddenly sensed a rush of emotions from James. Fear, embarrassment, nervousness, desire, care, frustration.
'What on Earth?' Lily thought.
"James, are *you* alright?"
"Yes, of course, didn't I just say that already?" He asked.
Another rush of emotions.
"Stop lying." Lily ordered.
"I'm not."
"You know I can sense it."
"Damn."
"So, what's wrong?" Lily demanded.
"This." James 'explained' and then explained further. For at that moment he kissed her.
Momentarily taken by surprise, Lily stood stock-still. But then she realised what was happening and kissed back. Both dropped what they had been holding as they embraced, Lily now leaning on the wall of the train, her arms about James' neck.
When they eventually broke apart, both were breathing heavily, surprised and shocked that their feelings were reciprocated, even though their friends had been saying so for months.
"I don't see anything wrong in that." Lily gasped.
"What?" James asked, but was stopped as she kissed him again.
Back in their cabin, the others were getting confused and restless. Damion suddenly appeared, grinning like the Cheshire cat on a sugar high. (A/N: I've wanted to say that for ages! I just thought it up in Textiles when I was bored! Don't know why, but I just thinks it sounds great!)
"What's got you so happy?" Alura asked, smiling, but frowning.
He did a little dance and plonked his belongings down. "One, I'm getting to stay in the same cabin as my girlfriend. Two, I'm getting to spend most of the summer holidays with my girlfriend thanks to the most wonderful Kat." He bowed to her. "And three, well, if you just look down the corridor you'll see two friends of ours finally facing our feelings. Facing them so well that they didn't notice when I passed, or picked up the food they had dropped."
"No!" Kathryn gasped.
"Yes."
Instantly, seven heads poked out of the end compartment's door (it was the biggest compartment).
Lily and James were still lip and arm-locked tightly.
"Hey, everyone, James and Lily are snogging." Sirius said loudly enough for the two friends to hear.
No response.
"Snape's running around naked and he's gonna kill James." Damion tried.
No response.
"Lily is Harry's mother!" Kathryn bellowed.
That got an immediate response. They jumped away from each other and stared at their friends peering at them intently. James and Lily were both red, and Lily was staring from James to Kathryn and back again.
"I knew that would get your attention." Kathryn smirked.
"You – You're not serious!" Lily gasped.
"No, he's Sirius." Kathryn grinned, pointing at her boyfriend, who waved.
James groaned. "That's such an old gag."
"But still strangely funny, if only to see your reaction." Kathryn stated.
"Please tell me you were joking!" Lily exclaimed.
"Surely it isn't *that* horrific." Sirius frowned.
"It is when you're only seventeen." James shot back.
"Well, Kat?" Lily asked.
"Um, can I go fifty-fifty?" Kathryn asked.
They looked at her blankly.
"Oh yeah, no Who wants to be millionaire? in this time." Kathryn sighed. "Um, how about I don't say either way? 'Cause if I say I'm joking, it means that you two break up and someone else is Harry's mum. But if I say that I'm serious, it means that you two will feel you have no choice, and it could cause problems. So I think I'll opt for not telling either way. Alternatively, I could remove the comment from your memories."
"Just leave it. Forget it." James looked around. "What happened to our food?"
Damion waved. "I picked it up when I passed you. You two didn't even notice. So, are you going out then?"
James blushed. "Uh, I don't think we'd got that far."
"Oh, so it was just a snogging session?" Sirius checked.
"NO!" James shouted. He turned to Lily. "Lily, will you go out with me?"
"Sure, James." Lily smiled.
"You know, I really thought a ring was going to appear there." Kathryn teased as James and Lily appeared.
"Oh, shut up!" James ordered as they others giggled or sniggered.
"Hey, Lils, you've got something else to rub in Petunia's face now!" Kathryn grinned. "Your boyfriend is good-looking and has a brain!"
"Am I good-looking?" Sirius asked her hopefully.
"No." Kathryn grinned, and then kissed him on the nose. "You are awesome- looking!"
"Oh good." Sirius smiled, and put his face up to catch her lips.
"You know, it's typical of you, Lily." Alura decided. "You finally decide to go out with someone and you won't see him for a week."
"Unless you invite him over." Radella teased.
"Hmm, interesting." Lily murmured. "Mind you, it would scare Petunia stiff. A boyfriend who's a wizard! It's bad enough me having friends who are witches!"
"Who else does she expect you to be friends with?" James asked. He had heard a lot about Petunia over the last year.
"No idea. By the way, Kat, Vernon *does* know that I'm a witch, in which case he'll automatically know you're a witch too."
"How does he know?"
"Petunia let it slip last summer." Lily explained.
"And he didn't break up with her?" Kathryn asked.
"No, but only because he was convinced Petunia was a normal person. God knows what she sees in him."
"Money?" Radella suggested.
"Dunno. Maybe. How long until we get back?"
"Not long, an hour maybe."
"Another hour free of Petunia. I will relish it." Lily sighed.
"Why don't you and James hide in the toilets then?" Sirius suggested.
And then whacked by both Lily and James.
"What?" He wanted to know.
They rolled their eyes. (A/N: Y'know, taken literally, that sounds really gross, doesn't it?)
The rest of the journey was a lot of fun. Peter probably felt a bit left out amongst the four couples, but they weren't coupley all the time. Just sometimes, and most of it was flirting. But many comments seemed very innuendo-laced. Kathryn rolled her eyes. It was only innuendo if you took it that way.
"We will be arriving at Platform Nine and Three-quarters in five minutes. Please ensure that those of you who will be entering the Muggle world are wearing appropriate attire. Have a good summer." The voice of a witch blared through the train.
All those in their compartment were wearing Muggle clothing.
Kathryn was wearing a white, strappy summer dress that Sirius definitely seemed to appreciate. She had stowed the blouse she had been wearing in her trunk after getting too hot. Lily meanwhile was wearing shorts and sleeveless t-shirt with sandals, clearly caring more about comfort than anything else. Both their boyfriends (heehee!) wore jeans and t-shirts in the summer weather.
"Kathryn, where are you going to put your wand in that dress?" Lily asked.
"Am I going to need it?"
"Probably not. But with Voldemort..."
"Anything's possible. Okay. Think." She glanced at her dress. Crimson light appeared and so did a long thin pocket down one side of the skirt. She stored her wand in there where it was barely noticeable because of the style of the dress.
"Impressive." Sirius murmured.
"Of course." She smiled.
The Hogwarts Express pulled up to the platform and students piled out.
"Mum, Dad!" Kathryn grinned, running to hug her parents.
"Kathryn! I heard you had a very good year at school." Her mother's eyes twinkled.
"Oh yes." She grinned. "I do believe you know my boyfriend." She grinned, pulling Sirius closer.
Sirius grinned. "Hi, Elise, Olden."
"If she was ever going to have a boyfriend it would be you!" Elise rolled her eyes.
Olden grinned. "I might've known."
"You mean you didn't tell them?" Sirius asked Kathryn.
"No, I've kept them in suspense since Christmas." She grinned. "Thanks for the presents again."
"Not at all. I see you're wearing them." Elise smiled.
Kathryn was wearing the ruby drop earrings as she frequently did.
"Yes. I always forget I have them in, but I wear them for ages." She grinned.
Her mother caught hold of the necklace. "And this?"
"My Christmas present." Sirius grinned. "We saw it in a shop and she hinted. But nowhere near as obviously as Lily did to James."
"You two were nearly as bad!" Kathryn shot back.
"It's very pretty." Her father smiled.
"I know."
"Kat! If you're staying at my house, come on!" Lily called.
"Yes, of course." Kathryn grinned. Her siblings had all appeared. "Let's get going then."
They went through the barrier some at a time, including James and his parents.
They were soon on the Muggle side.
Kathryn grabbed the bag she had put her clothes and some books and suchlike in for her week at Lily's. And her diary, which she had had to search through her trunk for when she remembered. Her parents were taking the rest home.
"I'll see you on Saturday." Kathryn grinned at her parents. "You never know, my friends might arrive before we do."
Sirius laughed. "Wait until they discover the truth." He sniggered.
"What?" Olden looked stern.
"We're planning to prank Avia. And annoy her by being *really* over the top whenever she's around." Kathryn explained.
"She'd encourage you. She'll start a prank war." Elise despaired.
"Yeah, but can she cope with *four* over the top teenage couples?" Kathryn asked. "*What*?" Olden gasped. "You're all going out with one of the others?"
"Yep." Kathryn grinned.
"Since when have Lily and James been going out?" Jonah wanted to know.
"Since about, oh an hour and a bit ago when we caught them snogging in the corridor. It took us three tries to stop them." Sirius explained.
"What stopped 'em?"
Kathryn grinned. "I said Lily's Harry's mum."
"As in James' son?" Elise verified.
"Yep."
"That was evil."
"I know."
"Is it true?"
"She won't tell anyone." Sirius explained. "But I'd remember it. It might be the only way to stop them."
"You know, if you're going to talk about my love life, at least don't do so in front of my parents." Lily snapped.
"Definitely." James agreed. His father had the same smirk James frequently wore.
"Why didn't you say you were going out?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Not had a chance." James replied.
"You make a good couple." His mother observed.
"Aargh!" Both James and Lily shrieked.
"Again with the talking in unison. You've been doing it all year, surely you must have realised it was a sign." Kathryn grinned.
Lily found her parents.
"Mum, Dad!" She yelled, running.
"I suppose I ought to say hello." Elise smiled.
"Yep."
The group went over to the Evans.
"Mum, Dad, this is Kathryn Orenda." Lily explained.
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Evans." Kathryn smiled.
"Hello. You're the one who was in a coma?" Mr Evans asked.
"Yes."
"For five years?"
"Yes."
"You must be remarkably intelligent."
"I, er, I guess." Kathryn felt a blush begin.
"You guess, Kat, why not say you're a genius and get it over with?" Sirius asked.
"This is my boyfriend, Sirius Black." Kathryn explained.
"You'll have to excuse him. To much exposure to Kathryn makes him delusional and mad." Lily explained.
"So him saying that you and James have been head over heels for the last two months was delusion, was it?" Kathryn asked. "And we all imagined you and James snog–"
Lily rushed at her, placed a hand over her mouth.
"But it's true. They were snog–" Sirius began, only to be silenced by James.
Mr Evans was grinning. Mrs Evans began laughing.
Mr Potter grinned as well.
Jonah dropped the bombshell. "Apparently they caught these two snogging on the train like tomorrow wasn't going to come. And they've only been going out for maybe an hour and a half, if that."
Lily and James removed their hands, resigned.
Mrs Potter and Mrs Evans lost gravity completely and burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" James and Lily demanded, again in unison.
"You two have had such a similar relationship to ours." Mrs Evans explained. "I hated Dave to begin with. And then we changed and by the end of Lower Sixth we were going out."
Mrs Potter grinned. "That happened to me too. Except we got caught kissing in the corridor and got put in detention for it."
Kathryn grinned. "Anyone betting on how long it'll take before that happens?"
Lily and James looked confused and amazed.
"Of all the ways I expected my parents to react, this wasn't it." Lily frowned.
"No." James concurred.
"Kathryn, we've got to go." Olden Orenda informed her.
"Oh, okay Dad. I'll see you in a week. We'll get there, no problem. We're of age now, remember?" Kathryn grinned, giving him a hug.
"Be careful and have fun." Her mother ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Kathryn gave a salute and then hugged her.
"It's no wonder you and Sirius are going out."
She hugged her two brothers and then her sister, ordering them to give her love to everyone else.
With that, they left, leaving Kathryn with a small bag and an owl in a cage.
The Potters and Evans regained their gravity.
"James, Sirius, we'd better go." Mr Potter ordered.
"Yes, Mr Potter." Sirius murmured.
"How many times do I have to say it's Harold?"
"Sorry."
"And it's Paige?" Mrs Potter asked.
"Sorry."
"Hey, Kat, I'll see you on Saturday." Sirius grinned.
"You will. You looking for your own place this week?"
"Probably."
"Good. We can then annoy you while you're trying to move in." She grinned.
"Of course." He rolled his eyes.
She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Sirius smiled.
James and Lily exchanged a brief kiss.
"Bye James."
"Goodbye, fair Flower." James declared dramatically.
Lily giggled.
As the Potters and Sirius left, Mrs Evans smiled.
"What nice boys."
Lily and Kathryn exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
"What's funny?" Mr Evans asked.
"There's a tonne of people in Slytherin house who would say they're absolutely awful boys and Gryffindors too!"
"What?"
"Slytherins hate Gryffindors, usually. And the boys prank them, a lot. It's okay, because most of them are evil anyway." Lily explained as they entered the car park.
"Right." The Evans only looked a little less confused.
"Kathryn, you'll be staying in Lily's room, is that all right?" Mrs Evans asked.
"That's fine, Mrs Evans." Kathryn replied.
"Oh, and none of this Mr and Mrs Evans nonsense. Dave and Rose, understand?" Mrs Evans ordered.
"Do I get a prize for guessing which one's which?" Kathryn asked as she helped Lily put her trunk in the boot.
"I can see why you and Lily are friends." Dave Evans smiled.
"People keep saying that." Kathryn grinned.
She liked Lily's parents. This week was going to be fun.
* * *
A/N: To be continued!
Anyway, now, I asked before, and I'll ask again. Help me think of something for the Aurors to do! Or when I have my GCSEs, you'll be lucky to have a chapter a month, let alone twice a week.
Oh, and the usual routine, review!
If you review, or even better, give me lots of good ideas, and tell me what stories you're writing at the moment, I'll read 'em and plug 'em in the next chappie (but only if I like them). And please, if you like mine, plug it! I write for reviews, primarily, and because I love it. I need people to read it!
So, review!
Lol, Tanydwr
Thriodien: A.k.a. Mad Woman Who Lives On The Computer!
Tanydwr: Get lost, this is my fic! Why don't you post your own fic and insult me in that!
Thriodien: Need more written.
Tanydwr: Then go write it! Jeez, you'd think you'da thought of that! Anyway, bye!
Oh, and thanks to the Price of Fate for reviewing. (Sorry if I called you Prince before, I must have read it wrong!) But are you aware I received your review six times? In alerts, anyway. Thanks.
And onto the next chapter!
Chapter 15 – Going home
The next morning Kathryn and Sirius woke up at the same time.
"What the – Oh." Sirius smiled at his girlfriend. "I guess they didn't want to wake us."
"I guess not." Kathryn yawned. "Ugh, I hate sleeping in the same clothes I wore over the day." Her wand was on a nearby table. "Refrigerare." She incanted. Instantly her clothes and body were refreshed, as though she'd been through a shower and put on clean clothes. She pointed her wand at Sirius. "Refrigerare."
Sirius smiled. "Much better. Where'd you learn that?"
"Refreshment charm. I use it when I don't have time for a shower. I don't remember exactly where I read it. It was in something I was researching for Charms last year."
"Ah. Well, I think I ought to change."
Kathryn grinned. Crimson light bathed them both and instantly they wore fresh clothes. "Anything else?"
"A kiss?" Sirius asked.
"That doesn't even need magic." Kathryn grinned. She kissed him softly.
"Shall we go down to breakfast?"
"May as well."
They went downstairs, Kathryn not speaking of her dream.
* * *
1st July 1981:
"Where's my diary?" Kathryn demanded.
"You were supposed to have packed last night, Kat. We've only got an hour till we leave." Lily pointed out.
"You think I didn't work that out?" Kathryn snarled.
Finally she found her diary tucked behind the headboard of her four-poster bed.
"How'd it get there?" She wondered.
"No idea. Kat, we need to go."
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. I can't believe you're in such a rush to see Petunia." Kathryn grinned, earning a glare.
"I'm not!"
"Oh, so you're eager to get away from here, and... certain people who you refuse to admit to having feelings about?" Kathryn suggested.
"NO!"
Across the hall, James and Sirius were having a similar conversation. It seemed that the summer heat had brought Lily and James' attraction, which had grown intensely since James' deflation of his head (he only boasted about Quidditch and only pranked Slytherins with funny pranks now, which Lily didn't even mind – he had a right to show off about Quidditch) to a head.
"How many times must I say it? I do not fancy Lily!" James yelled, frustrated.
"Sure you don't. You only adore her, idolise her, worship her!" Sirius teased as they walked out of the door.
"I do not!"
"Really? I adore, idolise and worship Kat." Sirius frowned.
"Ahh, that's so sweet!" His girlfriend smiled as she and Lily came into the corridor, dragging their trunks.
"Can we help you with those, ladies?" James asked.
"That'd be nice." Lily replied, trying not to blush.
"Locomotor mortis." James incanted.
Lily laughed. "I should've thought of that."
"First day of the summer hols. I only remembered because I can use magic outside school now." James grinned.
"Oh yes." Lily grinned. "You got those notes, Kat?"
"The ones for Mission Pranking?" Lily nodded. "Sure, they're in my diary."
"The one you almost lost?"
"The same. By the way, Sirius, why were you saying that you adore, idolise and worship me? Not that I don't appreciate it, of course." Kathryn was curious.
"I was trying to convince James to face up to his feelings. He's worse than ever." Sirius explained.
"Really? I was trying to do the same to Lily, but she's as stubborn as a donkey." Kathryn groaned.
"Well, we've got eight weeks, nearly nine, to convince them. I'm sure we can manage." Sirius grinned.
"Definitely. After all, Lily's got to put up with me for nearly all of that time, so... Let's just say I have a couple of really evil ideas."
"I'm going to miss you."
"It'll only be for a week!" Kathryn exclaimed, laughing.
"I'll still miss you. You're part of me." Sirius explained.
"I know. My parents and Avia though... You are aware they'll never let us alone together, aren't you?"
"Probably. Do you remember any of the secret passageways in your house?"
"No, we can look for them though!"
"Perfect."
They got down to the carriages quickly and before they knew it they were on the train, with the knowledge that they only had a year left at Hogwarts.
"I can't believe we've only got one year left." Radella murmured.
"I can't believe it'll only be my second year there! I feel like I've been at Hogwarts for years." Kathryn sighed.
"Soon we'll be home." Lily sighed.
"Soon we'll be abroad." Radella grinned, she and Alura, whose parents always holidayed together, were going to Egypt.
"And I spend the entire holiday with my grandparents in Australia." Peter looked glum.
"That's bad, why?" Radella wanted to know.
"They treat me like I'm five."
"Oh, I guess that'd be bad." Radella still frowned.
Kathryn, however, was pleased. She had been spared the embarrassment of inviting Peter, and the complaints from the Marauders for not inviting him. She had, however, invited Damion, since he was a good friend to them and, of course, Alura's boyfriend.
They were playing Exploding Snap, when James decided he was hungry.
"Where is the food trolley?" He wanted to know.
"Maybe it's just late." Kathryn suggested.
At that moment, a furious yell hit the air, along with several cracks. The Marauders burst out laughing.
"And that would be..." Radella began.
"Snape opening the 'present' we left him." James grinned.
"Oh, so he's going to burst into here in... three... two... one..." Kathryn stated.
At that moment, Snape burst in. "What the hell did you do to me?" He demanded.
Kathryn was curious. He seemed to be covered in some sort of black, but scaly, fur. It disfigured his face completely, while his eyes had gone a demonic red. The red of Voldemort's eyes.
But before Kathryn could say anything, she suddenly slumped on her seat, asleep.
"Kat?" Sirius asked.
"She's asleep." Lily frowned.
"Vision." She, Sirius and James stated together.
"Will you remove this?!" Snape snarled.
"Aw, quit your whining, Snivellus." Sirius snapped and muttered the counter-curse.
Snape left, fuming.
"Kat?" Sirius murmured. "Kat, are you alright?"
* * *
-----Kathryn's dream-----
Kathryn looked around, confused. Where was she?
It was like the vision at the Shrieking Shack. She was non-corporeal ghost, unheard, unseen, by others. But those watching heard her. She frowned. She couldn't say anything.
She walked through the wall. A load of people were celebrating, evidently. Who?
There was a boy stood by an old wizard, looking at something. She recognised the scene. It was just before they went back to school. Harry was looking at the photograph of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Can I have a look at that?" Someone asked.
Kathryn dodged round. It was Sirius. He was pouring over the photo, again with that look in his eyes, the one that hadn't ever been hinted to in the books.
Where is she? He cried out in his mind, as though begging someone to hear him.
'So,' Kathryn thought, 'I can hear thought-speech in this form as well as normal.'
Why did you take yourself off here, Kathryn? Where are you? Sirius wondered.
I don't know. Kathryn tried to think back, but clearly it had no effect.
Why did you leave? Sirius asked.
Before Kathryn could say or think anything else, she fell into the black oblivion that signified the end of the vision.
* * *
"Kat? You okay?" Sirius asked.
Her eyes fluttered open. She saw his face and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine."
What don't you know? James asked, mind to mind
What? Kathryn frowned.
In thought-speech, you cried out, I don't know. Lily explained.
I can't say. You know that. Kathryn replied.
Never mind. Sirius smiled, hugging her.
"You still hungry, James?" Kathryn grinned.
"Yeah, actually. I'm going to check. If I find her, I'll grab some food." James grinned.
James left the cabin. He frowned. What could Kathryn's thought mean? It had sounded desperate, unsure, like she was answering a question. He passed the compartment of angry Slytherins, these sporting a multitude of multi-coloured clothing and hair. He grinned. It would wear off in a day or two.
He soon found the trolley, and grabbed some food.
On his way back, however, came the surprise.
Thinking about the problem of his attraction to Lily, James bumped into someone leaving the toilet.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" James exclaimed.
"No, its – its okay." The other person replied, getting up.
James was picking up scattered packages of food. He didn't look up. "No, I just – I wasn't looking where I was going. I was thinking."
"That must be what distracted you so much then." The other person commented, amused.
He looked up.
"*Lily*?"
"The one and only." She grinned. "I must say, I loved your apology."
"Thanks." James rolled his eyes.
Lily bent down to help him pick up the rest of the food.
"So what had you thinking so hard?" Lily asked.
"Y– um, I er, just stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Y'know, things." James felt a blush rise in his cheeks unbidden.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, never better, thank you for asking." James told her in a rush.
"I'm glad someone is." Lily muttered. James heard her.
"Is there something wrong, Lily?" James asked.
"What? No, nothing!" Lily replied quickly, too quickly.
It was clear they were both lying, and Lily suddenly sensed a rush of emotions from James. Fear, embarrassment, nervousness, desire, care, frustration.
'What on Earth?' Lily thought.
"James, are *you* alright?"
"Yes, of course, didn't I just say that already?" He asked.
Another rush of emotions.
"Stop lying." Lily ordered.
"I'm not."
"You know I can sense it."
"Damn."
"So, what's wrong?" Lily demanded.
"This." James 'explained' and then explained further. For at that moment he kissed her.
Momentarily taken by surprise, Lily stood stock-still. But then she realised what was happening and kissed back. Both dropped what they had been holding as they embraced, Lily now leaning on the wall of the train, her arms about James' neck.
When they eventually broke apart, both were breathing heavily, surprised and shocked that their feelings were reciprocated, even though their friends had been saying so for months.
"I don't see anything wrong in that." Lily gasped.
"What?" James asked, but was stopped as she kissed him again.
Back in their cabin, the others were getting confused and restless. Damion suddenly appeared, grinning like the Cheshire cat on a sugar high. (A/N: I've wanted to say that for ages! I just thought it up in Textiles when I was bored! Don't know why, but I just thinks it sounds great!)
"What's got you so happy?" Alura asked, smiling, but frowning.
He did a little dance and plonked his belongings down. "One, I'm getting to stay in the same cabin as my girlfriend. Two, I'm getting to spend most of the summer holidays with my girlfriend thanks to the most wonderful Kat." He bowed to her. "And three, well, if you just look down the corridor you'll see two friends of ours finally facing our feelings. Facing them so well that they didn't notice when I passed, or picked up the food they had dropped."
"No!" Kathryn gasped.
"Yes."
Instantly, seven heads poked out of the end compartment's door (it was the biggest compartment).
Lily and James were still lip and arm-locked tightly.
"Hey, everyone, James and Lily are snogging." Sirius said loudly enough for the two friends to hear.
No response.
"Snape's running around naked and he's gonna kill James." Damion tried.
No response.
"Lily is Harry's mother!" Kathryn bellowed.
That got an immediate response. They jumped away from each other and stared at their friends peering at them intently. James and Lily were both red, and Lily was staring from James to Kathryn and back again.
"I knew that would get your attention." Kathryn smirked.
"You – You're not serious!" Lily gasped.
"No, he's Sirius." Kathryn grinned, pointing at her boyfriend, who waved.
James groaned. "That's such an old gag."
"But still strangely funny, if only to see your reaction." Kathryn stated.
"Please tell me you were joking!" Lily exclaimed.
"Surely it isn't *that* horrific." Sirius frowned.
"It is when you're only seventeen." James shot back.
"Well, Kat?" Lily asked.
"Um, can I go fifty-fifty?" Kathryn asked.
They looked at her blankly.
"Oh yeah, no Who wants to be millionaire? in this time." Kathryn sighed. "Um, how about I don't say either way? 'Cause if I say I'm joking, it means that you two break up and someone else is Harry's mum. But if I say that I'm serious, it means that you two will feel you have no choice, and it could cause problems. So I think I'll opt for not telling either way. Alternatively, I could remove the comment from your memories."
"Just leave it. Forget it." James looked around. "What happened to our food?"
Damion waved. "I picked it up when I passed you. You two didn't even notice. So, are you going out then?"
James blushed. "Uh, I don't think we'd got that far."
"Oh, so it was just a snogging session?" Sirius checked.
"NO!" James shouted. He turned to Lily. "Lily, will you go out with me?"
"Sure, James." Lily smiled.
"You know, I really thought a ring was going to appear there." Kathryn teased as James and Lily appeared.
"Oh, shut up!" James ordered as they others giggled or sniggered.
"Hey, Lils, you've got something else to rub in Petunia's face now!" Kathryn grinned. "Your boyfriend is good-looking and has a brain!"
"Am I good-looking?" Sirius asked her hopefully.
"No." Kathryn grinned, and then kissed him on the nose. "You are awesome- looking!"
"Oh good." Sirius smiled, and put his face up to catch her lips.
"You know, it's typical of you, Lily." Alura decided. "You finally decide to go out with someone and you won't see him for a week."
"Unless you invite him over." Radella teased.
"Hmm, interesting." Lily murmured. "Mind you, it would scare Petunia stiff. A boyfriend who's a wizard! It's bad enough me having friends who are witches!"
"Who else does she expect you to be friends with?" James asked. He had heard a lot about Petunia over the last year.
"No idea. By the way, Kat, Vernon *does* know that I'm a witch, in which case he'll automatically know you're a witch too."
"How does he know?"
"Petunia let it slip last summer." Lily explained.
"And he didn't break up with her?" Kathryn asked.
"No, but only because he was convinced Petunia was a normal person. God knows what she sees in him."
"Money?" Radella suggested.
"Dunno. Maybe. How long until we get back?"
"Not long, an hour maybe."
"Another hour free of Petunia. I will relish it." Lily sighed.
"Why don't you and James hide in the toilets then?" Sirius suggested.
And then whacked by both Lily and James.
"What?" He wanted to know.
They rolled their eyes. (A/N: Y'know, taken literally, that sounds really gross, doesn't it?)
The rest of the journey was a lot of fun. Peter probably felt a bit left out amongst the four couples, but they weren't coupley all the time. Just sometimes, and most of it was flirting. But many comments seemed very innuendo-laced. Kathryn rolled her eyes. It was only innuendo if you took it that way.
"We will be arriving at Platform Nine and Three-quarters in five minutes. Please ensure that those of you who will be entering the Muggle world are wearing appropriate attire. Have a good summer." The voice of a witch blared through the train.
All those in their compartment were wearing Muggle clothing.
Kathryn was wearing a white, strappy summer dress that Sirius definitely seemed to appreciate. She had stowed the blouse she had been wearing in her trunk after getting too hot. Lily meanwhile was wearing shorts and sleeveless t-shirt with sandals, clearly caring more about comfort than anything else. Both their boyfriends (heehee!) wore jeans and t-shirts in the summer weather.
"Kathryn, where are you going to put your wand in that dress?" Lily asked.
"Am I going to need it?"
"Probably not. But with Voldemort..."
"Anything's possible. Okay. Think." She glanced at her dress. Crimson light appeared and so did a long thin pocket down one side of the skirt. She stored her wand in there where it was barely noticeable because of the style of the dress.
"Impressive." Sirius murmured.
"Of course." She smiled.
The Hogwarts Express pulled up to the platform and students piled out.
"Mum, Dad!" Kathryn grinned, running to hug her parents.
"Kathryn! I heard you had a very good year at school." Her mother's eyes twinkled.
"Oh yes." She grinned. "I do believe you know my boyfriend." She grinned, pulling Sirius closer.
Sirius grinned. "Hi, Elise, Olden."
"If she was ever going to have a boyfriend it would be you!" Elise rolled her eyes.
Olden grinned. "I might've known."
"You mean you didn't tell them?" Sirius asked Kathryn.
"No, I've kept them in suspense since Christmas." She grinned. "Thanks for the presents again."
"Not at all. I see you're wearing them." Elise smiled.
Kathryn was wearing the ruby drop earrings as she frequently did.
"Yes. I always forget I have them in, but I wear them for ages." She grinned.
Her mother caught hold of the necklace. "And this?"
"My Christmas present." Sirius grinned. "We saw it in a shop and she hinted. But nowhere near as obviously as Lily did to James."
"You two were nearly as bad!" Kathryn shot back.
"It's very pretty." Her father smiled.
"I know."
"Kat! If you're staying at my house, come on!" Lily called.
"Yes, of course." Kathryn grinned. Her siblings had all appeared. "Let's get going then."
They went through the barrier some at a time, including James and his parents.
They were soon on the Muggle side.
Kathryn grabbed the bag she had put her clothes and some books and suchlike in for her week at Lily's. And her diary, which she had had to search through her trunk for when she remembered. Her parents were taking the rest home.
"I'll see you on Saturday." Kathryn grinned at her parents. "You never know, my friends might arrive before we do."
Sirius laughed. "Wait until they discover the truth." He sniggered.
"What?" Olden looked stern.
"We're planning to prank Avia. And annoy her by being *really* over the top whenever she's around." Kathryn explained.
"She'd encourage you. She'll start a prank war." Elise despaired.
"Yeah, but can she cope with *four* over the top teenage couples?" Kathryn asked. "*What*?" Olden gasped. "You're all going out with one of the others?"
"Yep." Kathryn grinned.
"Since when have Lily and James been going out?" Jonah wanted to know.
"Since about, oh an hour and a bit ago when we caught them snogging in the corridor. It took us three tries to stop them." Sirius explained.
"What stopped 'em?"
Kathryn grinned. "I said Lily's Harry's mum."
"As in James' son?" Elise verified.
"Yep."
"That was evil."
"I know."
"Is it true?"
"She won't tell anyone." Sirius explained. "But I'd remember it. It might be the only way to stop them."
"You know, if you're going to talk about my love life, at least don't do so in front of my parents." Lily snapped.
"Definitely." James agreed. His father had the same smirk James frequently wore.
"Why didn't you say you were going out?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Not had a chance." James replied.
"You make a good couple." His mother observed.
"Aargh!" Both James and Lily shrieked.
"Again with the talking in unison. You've been doing it all year, surely you must have realised it was a sign." Kathryn grinned.
Lily found her parents.
"Mum, Dad!" She yelled, running.
"I suppose I ought to say hello." Elise smiled.
"Yep."
The group went over to the Evans.
"Mum, Dad, this is Kathryn Orenda." Lily explained.
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Evans." Kathryn smiled.
"Hello. You're the one who was in a coma?" Mr Evans asked.
"Yes."
"For five years?"
"Yes."
"You must be remarkably intelligent."
"I, er, I guess." Kathryn felt a blush begin.
"You guess, Kat, why not say you're a genius and get it over with?" Sirius asked.
"This is my boyfriend, Sirius Black." Kathryn explained.
"You'll have to excuse him. To much exposure to Kathryn makes him delusional and mad." Lily explained.
"So him saying that you and James have been head over heels for the last two months was delusion, was it?" Kathryn asked. "And we all imagined you and James snog–"
Lily rushed at her, placed a hand over her mouth.
"But it's true. They were snog–" Sirius began, only to be silenced by James.
Mr Evans was grinning. Mrs Evans began laughing.
Mr Potter grinned as well.
Jonah dropped the bombshell. "Apparently they caught these two snogging on the train like tomorrow wasn't going to come. And they've only been going out for maybe an hour and a half, if that."
Lily and James removed their hands, resigned.
Mrs Potter and Mrs Evans lost gravity completely and burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" James and Lily demanded, again in unison.
"You two have had such a similar relationship to ours." Mrs Evans explained. "I hated Dave to begin with. And then we changed and by the end of Lower Sixth we were going out."
Mrs Potter grinned. "That happened to me too. Except we got caught kissing in the corridor and got put in detention for it."
Kathryn grinned. "Anyone betting on how long it'll take before that happens?"
Lily and James looked confused and amazed.
"Of all the ways I expected my parents to react, this wasn't it." Lily frowned.
"No." James concurred.
"Kathryn, we've got to go." Olden Orenda informed her.
"Oh, okay Dad. I'll see you in a week. We'll get there, no problem. We're of age now, remember?" Kathryn grinned, giving him a hug.
"Be careful and have fun." Her mother ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Kathryn gave a salute and then hugged her.
"It's no wonder you and Sirius are going out."
She hugged her two brothers and then her sister, ordering them to give her love to everyone else.
With that, they left, leaving Kathryn with a small bag and an owl in a cage.
The Potters and Evans regained their gravity.
"James, Sirius, we'd better go." Mr Potter ordered.
"Yes, Mr Potter." Sirius murmured.
"How many times do I have to say it's Harold?"
"Sorry."
"And it's Paige?" Mrs Potter asked.
"Sorry."
"Hey, Kat, I'll see you on Saturday." Sirius grinned.
"You will. You looking for your own place this week?"
"Probably."
"Good. We can then annoy you while you're trying to move in." She grinned.
"Of course." He rolled his eyes.
She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Sirius smiled.
James and Lily exchanged a brief kiss.
"Bye James."
"Goodbye, fair Flower." James declared dramatically.
Lily giggled.
As the Potters and Sirius left, Mrs Evans smiled.
"What nice boys."
Lily and Kathryn exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
"What's funny?" Mr Evans asked.
"There's a tonne of people in Slytherin house who would say they're absolutely awful boys and Gryffindors too!"
"What?"
"Slytherins hate Gryffindors, usually. And the boys prank them, a lot. It's okay, because most of them are evil anyway." Lily explained as they entered the car park.
"Right." The Evans only looked a little less confused.
"Kathryn, you'll be staying in Lily's room, is that all right?" Mrs Evans asked.
"That's fine, Mrs Evans." Kathryn replied.
"Oh, and none of this Mr and Mrs Evans nonsense. Dave and Rose, understand?" Mrs Evans ordered.
"Do I get a prize for guessing which one's which?" Kathryn asked as she helped Lily put her trunk in the boot.
"I can see why you and Lily are friends." Dave Evans smiled.
"People keep saying that." Kathryn grinned.
She liked Lily's parents. This week was going to be fun.
* * *
A/N: To be continued!
Anyway, now, I asked before, and I'll ask again. Help me think of something for the Aurors to do! Or when I have my GCSEs, you'll be lucky to have a chapter a month, let alone twice a week.
Oh, and the usual routine, review!
If you review, or even better, give me lots of good ideas, and tell me what stories you're writing at the moment, I'll read 'em and plug 'em in the next chappie (but only if I like them). And please, if you like mine, plug it! I write for reviews, primarily, and because I love it. I need people to read it!
So, review!
Lol, Tanydwr
Thriodien: A.k.a. Mad Woman Who Lives On The Computer!
Tanydwr: Get lost, this is my fic! Why don't you post your own fic and insult me in that!
Thriodien: Need more written.
Tanydwr: Then go write it! Jeez, you'd think you'da thought of that! Anyway, bye!