Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! In a way, though, TG cuz I'd probably screw with and totally mess up the whole thing like you wouldn't believe, as only JK Rowling can do all that stuff justice (obviously, cuz she wrote it).
::AN:: Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you like this chappie, as it took a lot of thought to write (the plot's getting all complicated in my head now! Gah!). I'm really tired and could use some nice reviews, as I stayed up REALLY late last night discussing this fic (and 'Sorcha' and an – ahem – upcoming one) with my sister, who totally screwed with my head so that, when I'm done, I am SO going to have to rewrite IADOHYFB. But that's all right, since I was having horrible trouble anyway… lol.
And for ma lovely reviewers…
gloomy: Yay, welcome to the fic! Your review made me laugh, and there's nothing wrong with being a lazy bum, as long as you're doing something productive. (And that sentence kind of contradicted itself but whatever.) I'm glad you like the fic so far and I hope you stick around!
randomblinx: I already talked about THE WHOLE THING with you, so whatever. Your review was funny, though, all the "words" and stuff, lol. And I'm typing this as you sit lazily on the couch. I'm going to ask you for help, so HAH! And you better help me or I just might cry, lol.
madderthanyou: I tried not to make it a cliffie! How was it a cliffie? I'm sorry! I hope you like this chappie, though!
Tintalu: Very interesting review… I'm glad you liked Camden in the last chapter. And let me say – going by the description I gave him (or more, the description my sister said I HAD to give him or she would cut off all my hair) – I wouldn't mind "letting" him live in my closet, either. (teehee)
Mrs. Drew Malfoy: See review-response above (to Tintalu) and you'll see that I pretty much agree with you about Camden, lol. I will continue emailing you, it's no problem, and I hope you like this chappie! Valentine's Day! Yay, I know it! (lol)
ME: Oh, I know what you meant, lol. I don't know quite what you meant by "fun flirting" though… Care to give me an example maybe? I know it's silly, though, but you never know what will happen next (well, I do… er, sometimes). I hope you like this chappie, and if you're still disappointed by the time this fic is over (about the marauders being a bit on the sideline), then I promise you my next fic (Remus, woot! Remus! And, er, no, that's not what it's going to be called, lol.) will kind of "fix" all of that… (You'll see.)
Moviesavvy: I'm glad you liked the fairies, as those were really fun chapters to write (except for the rhyming, which gave me twitchy spasms)! I hope you like this chappie, and even though I already know what I want to happen, what do you REALLY mean by "happier"? I'm just curious… lol.
Jubily-Lollypops: Would you really? (lol) Well, I can't make any promises, but I'm not saying no, either! I suppose you'll just have to stay tuned, non?
????: Uh-huh… Nice nic… (lol) I'm glad you like the ficcie, and I'm updating so YAY! Hope you like!
harrylissa=luv: Thank you, I'll try (lol). Glad you like it, and I hope you like this chappie.
::SPECIAL HINT:: Abuh, you say? What in the name of frilly knickers is a special hint? Well, my dears, a special hint is a HINT that I'm giving you which concerns like, the whole rest of this fic! (Yes, that's right.) So, what's the special hint? Well, I don't know… maybe I should give it to you next chapter, since you don't seem very excited… hmm? Ah, well, I can see that I'm driving you crazy now, so the special hint is… drumroll please… WATCH REMUS. That's it, that's all I'm going to say. Oh, well, that and the fact that you should already have been watching him closely since chapter 14-ish. And that's all officer, honestly! (muahaha)
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"Up! Up!"
James opened one eye and shot up in bed. "There's a girl in here!" He hissed to Peter and Peter proceeded to fall off his bed and pull his blanket tightly around him.
Remus sat up slowly and shot his arm out quickly to his side. Sirius, whose face was almost completely covered by his sheet, blinked sleepily at his werewolf friend. "What are you doing?"
Remus shook his head and got out of bed quickly. He glanced at the time teller and pulled his robes on over his baggy gray pajama trousers, pulling them across his chest tightly since he wasn't wearing a shirt. "I'll be right back." He said to his friends before leaving the room quickly.
"What is he doing?" Sirius grumbled to James, who shrugged and flopped back onto his back.
"It's only six o'clock." James said to the ceiling.
Peter frowned. "Maybe it was a ghost…" He mumbled to himself.
James sat up quickly and turned to Sirius. "Guess what today is Padfoot?" He practically shouted.
"It's Friday!" James exclaimed, scrambling out of bed and pulling a shirt over his head.
"Oh, Friday the thirteenth." Peter murmured. "That can't be good."
"Don't be superstitious." Sirius grumbled, rolling over onto his other side and pulling the sheet over his head.
James grinned at Sirius's back after he was fully dressed. He threw a pillow in his friend's direction and laughed. "That means tomorrow's the fourteenth, Sirius! Valentine's Day!"
Sirius groaned loudly into his pillow, while Peter pushed his arm up into the air in triumph. "That's what it is!" He exclaimed.
James sat on the edge of Sirius's bed and hit him with the pillow a little more. "You listening, mate?" He asked after Sirius grabbed the pillow and threw it violently across the room. He shrugged. "Anyway, I've been thinking, Padfoot. And I think I was wrong about pushing you to break things off with Faylinn."
Sirius pulled the sheet down to just below his nose slowly. "Continue." He said calmly.
James rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is, if you want to be with Faylinn, don't listen to me if I ever tell you again not to. And forget everything I said before."
"Oh, alright then." Sirius said, lightening up a bit.
Peter peered at them from the other side of his bed, still lounging on the floor. "But didn't Faylinn say not to even go near her?"
"Wormtail, you aren't helping." James said in a warning tone.
Sirius groaned and flopped back down on his bed lazily. "He's right, Prongs. She hates me."
"She doesn't hate you!" James protested.
"How would you know?" Sirius countered. He glared at his black-haired friend then. "What did you two talk about on the way back last night, anyway?"
"We didn't talk about anything." James replied, standing up. "All I asked her was why she told you to fly off with the broom and she didn't answer me, so I didn't say anything else and neither did she."
"Sure." Sirius mumbled. "Where did Moony go, anyway? It's barely even light outside!"
"I don't know." James shrugged. "But you can't change the subject that easily." He grinned. "I'm going to make this Valentine's Day way cool, you just wait."
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"Faylinn, Faylinn!" Lily shouted, shaking her pink-haired friend.
Faylinn opened one eye slowly. "I'm sleeping." She mumbled.
"Not anymore, Faylinn, get up." Lily ordered, throwing Faylinn's school uniform on top of her legs.
Once both girls were dressed and ready, they made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Faylinn rested her head lazily on the table as she sat down. "Oh, I'm so tired." She muttered.
"Potions first." Lily said, glancing at her timetable as she pulled her goblet towards her, taking a small sip of apple juice.
"You alright, Faylinn?" Remus asked as he sat down next to her.
Faylinn shrugged her shoulders and glanced up briefly to sweep her eyes over the room. "Potions first." She relayed to Remus as he buttered a piece of toast.
Lily grabbed hold of Faylinn's fingers tightly. "Gah, Fay." She hissed.
"What?" Faylinn asked, looking around to see why Lily had suddenly become death-grip-woman when her eyes met with Sirius's as James, Peter, and he walked towards the Gryffindor table. "Oh, right." She mumbled under her breath, looking down at her bacon.
"'Morning, ladies, Remus." James said happily as he sat down across from them, picking up a piece of bread and nodding to Faylinn. "Everything good?"
"Yeh." Faylinn said quickly, wriggling her fingers out of Lily's grasp under the table. "I mean, it's all fine, thanks you guys." She smiled at Remus and Peter as well, but then began picking at her bacon.
Faylinn's desperate attempt at making it through breakfast safely almost completely collapsed when Helen sat down next to Lily. "Whoa, what are you guys sitting with us for?"
James shrugged. "We always sit near here, we just moved down a bit."
"Sure." Helen said giddily. "Anyway," she said, turning to Sirius, who sat directly across from Faylinn, "where's Gabrielle?"
Faylinn grabbed Lily's hand underneath the table and squeezed it tightly, causing Lily to go, "Eep!" before she heard Sirius say, "I don't know."
"Did you break up with her or something?" Helen laughed.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Um, yeah."
There was a long pause. "Potions first." Lily said to break the silence.
James sat up a little straighter. "Right you are, Evans." He said brightly. "Armaband's going to start us on that project today, right?"
"Right." Lily answered. "I don't know what it is, though."
James shrugged. "We probably just have to pick a few of the potions on the list to make, right?"
"Maybe." Lily said, leaning forward. "But how many? Some of them take awhile to prepare, don't they?"
The rest of breakfast was filled with Lily and James talking about their Potions class in an attempt to avoid any awkward silences. Once breakfast was over and it was time to head to Potions class, they all set off in a scattered group.
Lily hung back with Faylinn. "Are you okay, Faylinn?" She asked.
Faylinn shrugged. "I'm fine."
"You didn't eat anything."
"I wasn't hungry."
"There was a pile of bacon in front of you and you didn't even eat it."
"I wasn't hungry."
"It doesn't matter if you were hungry or not. Faylinn, that was bacon. You eat bacon even when you're not hungry."
"Lily?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up." Faylinn glared at Lily before walking up towards the rest of the group and leaving Lily a few feet behind.
"I'm fine." She heard Sirius say.
"You didn't eat anything." James replied.
Faylinn frowned, glad that they hadn't noticed her walking behind them.
"I wasn't hungry."
"There was a pile of bacon in front of you and you didn't even eat it."
Faylinn rolled her eyes and stopped walking for a moment so that they walked out of earshot and Lily caught up with her. "What's wrong?" Lily asked.
"Er, nothing." Faylinn muttered. "Let's just, er, keep walking."
"Sure." Lily said and they commenced walking towards the dungeons. "I'm nervous." Lily confessed to Faylinn.
Faylinn's brow furrowed. "It's just Potions. Geez, Lily, have a fit."
"No!" Lily said, rolling her eyes, exasperated. "I meant about James. Tomorrow's Valentine's day, you know."
Faylinn stopped in her tracks. "It's what? Oh hell, that sucks arse."
"For you, yes." Lily said and laughed when Faylinn glared at her. She looped her arm through Faylinn's and continued down the corridor. "I'm glad you told me about you and Sirius, though. It sure does fill in a few blank spots."
"Like what?" Faylinn asked, confused.
"Like why you're so irritable all the time now."
"I'm not irritable."
"You're irritable."
"No irritableness come from me, Lily."
"Yes it does."
"No it doesn't."
The girls paused outside the Potions classroom, where the others stood, waiting for Professor Armaband to arrive. "Yes it does." Lily said loudly, getting slightly annoyed.
"No it doesn't!" Faylinn screeched.
"What doesn't?" Peter asked as all the boys watched them argue.
"It does." Lily corrected him.
"No it does not Lily Evans so shut your mouth!" Faylinn hissed as Professor Armaband passed by.
"Irritable." Lily said dryly.
"Gah!" Faylinn exclaimed, walking into the Potions classroom quickly and stomping over to her desk, before she let out a low, "Oh, shit."
"Please be seated." The professor said as the students filed into the room.
Faylinn sat down abruptly, not looking up from her journal – which she had brought along in case she got bored – as Sirius sat down next to her.
Dear Diary,
How is this fair? Who in their right mind – right mind, I ask you – would do this to me?
Okay, so I'm in Potions. Armaband is going on and on and on and
How much root of mandrake do we need for that long-worded potion on page three-sixty-two?
What is the ratio of the success rate of Veritaserum?
Sorry, I had to write down those questions. For the project, you understand.
Anyway, Armaband is done explaining what we have to do now. James was right. We have to make potions. Blahhhhhhhh.
I'm looking around… There's something wrong with Remus.
He's smiling, kind of, and he's working with Peter – who isn't even paying attention, I'm guessing – and
What. The. Heck.
Remus's hair just did the weirdest thing!
Okay, it was just like, normal Remus-hair, right? And then it was… ruffled by the wind…
There's no wind in here… it's the dungeons…
Monkshood, Veela Hair, Crushed rats teeth.
Sorry, had to write down ingredients.
Powdered bat's tooth is lying in front of me. Sirius put it there, I guess it's an ingredient.
"I wonder about that bat." Sirius said suddenly. "It didn't really deserve to have its tooth ripped out like that, did it?"
Faylinn's brow furrowed. "It's for the potion." She said, confused.
"But maybe the bat wanted to keep that tooth. It was probably very hurt when it got ripped out and mashed to pieces."
Faylinn raised her eyebrows. "Maybe the bat volunteered, you don't know that."
"No, I don't." He replied.
Faylinn paused and pretended to be copying notes off of the board.
Is he getting all metaphorical on me or something?
"But even if it did," Sirius said quietly, "it might have given it away willingly… But maybe it didn't expect it to be torn apart like that. Now the bat won't have that tooth."
"Unless it grows back…" Faylinn said, her brows wrinkled in confusion.
"Sometimes your teeth don't grow back." He whispered.
Faylinn almost wanted to laugh. He seemed so serious about the bat's tooth. But she took a deep breath and said slowly, "Your teeth could always grow back, Sirius. It's a question of whether or not it's going to be ripped out again, is all."
Well, if he's not talking in metaphors, I am. Say hello to Faylinn, the bat. And my heart, the tooth. And Sirius, the tooth-ripper-outer.
"But what if the person who crushed the tooth promised not to take it out and crush it again?" Sirius whispered, leaning slightly towards Faylinn.
Faylinn shook her head slowly. "Promises can be broken." She sighed. "Maybe the bat just can't trust the tooth-ripper-outer anymore."
"The tooth-ripper-outer?"
"The tooth-ripper-outer."
He chuckled. "I don't think the tooth-ripper-outer would want to hurt the bat, though. Maybe the person who ripped out the tooth was hurt when the bat got its tooth taken out."
Faylinn shifted in her seat. "I think it must've hurt the bat even more, though, which isn't very fair."
"Well, I think the tooth-ripper-outer just wanted what was best for the bat. Maybe the tooth had to be crushed in order for the bat to be happy."
"Maybe the bat liked its tooth the way it was, though."
"But maybe the tooth-ripper-outer thought that something worse could have happened. Maybe if he had waited, the bat would have been in even more pain when the tooth was ripped out."
"The tooth-ripper-outer wouldn't know, unless he could tell the future, which is unlikely. He shouldn't have let his worries get in the way. For all we know, the bat could've been fine with that tooth just the way it was."
"Well, maybe the tooth-ripper-outer wasn't thinking properly at the time. Maybe he was sort of clouded in his own thought of the bat."
Faylinn rolled her eyes. "Then the tooth-ripper-outer shouldn't have listened to whoever told him to rip out that tooth, anyway, then! If he cared so much about the bat, it wouldn't have mattered!"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that the tooth-ripper-outer should have listened to his own, er, tooth. And not care what anyone told him to do."
"Maybe the tooth-ripper-outer was acting of his own accord."
Faylinn looked him straight in the eye. "Then that only gives the bat all the more reason to stay away, so the tooth doesn't get ripped out again."
He blinked at her. "I'm sorry, Faylinn."
"I don't think the bat would ever want to go near the tooth-ripper-outer again, probably. Maybe the bat just can't see why the tooth-ripper-outer had to rip out the tooth." She paused. "Maybe the bat gave the tooth-ripper-outer the tooth, did you ever think of that? Maybe the bat was perfectly fine with having it not belong to it anymore. It's just the part where it got smashed to bits that it isn't so fond of."
Sirius frowned and let out an uneasy breath of air. "Faylinn, I'm sorry, I –"
"Can we just not talk about the bat or the state of its tooth right now?" She interrupted him. "We're supposed to be making a potion."
"Sure." Sirius said, looking in her eyes for a moment before turning away and picking up his notes.
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Sirius paced the common room, clapping his hands together in fidgety excitement. "We have to go to Hogsmeade." He decided.
"I agree." James said, nodding.
Peter looked around. "Why?"
"Sure." Remus said suddenly. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. Right now."
"We have class right now, though." Peter said, frowning. "What's so important in Hogsmeade? We'll be late for Transfiguration."
"Doesn't matter." Sirius said, shaking his head as he commenced pacing. "This is an emergency."
"Exactly." Remus said.
"Why are you so anxious to go?" James asked Remus, his brow furrowed.
Remus flushed. "No reason, no reason."
"Alright, enough dawdling!" Sirius exclaimed, climbing through the portrait hole. "Remus, grab the map! James, grab the cloak! Peter, tie your shoes! Let's go!"
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"UP! UP! UP!"
"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Sirius shot up in bed and looked around. "Remus?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"It's that voice again…" Peter murmured, rubbing his eyes.
"What's with the scream?" James asked, yawning. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Remus was sitting up in bed, shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath. "Nothing, nothing." He said, rubbing his stomach and staring ahead of him with a shocked expression on his face. "I'm just, er, um, never mind. Don't move."
"We're not moving, Moony." James said slowly, staring at Remus as though he was crazy.
Remus opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it right away and shook his head. "You okay, mate?" Sirius asked him, frowning.
"Fine, fine." Remus said, pushing his blankets off of him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Come on, let's go eat breakfast."
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Faylinn rolled her eyes at Helen. "No, you're wrong."
Helen shook her head, her big bouncy blonde curls flying everywhere. "It's true! If you take a mandrake root and do this whole complicated potion, you can cure petrifaction."
"No, you can't!" Faylinn protested.
"Yes, you can, Faylinn." Lily said slowly, picking up a piece of pancake with her fork.
Faylinn rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "No, that's just stupid-talk, Lily. You've been hanging out with big-dumb-blonde-also-known-as-Helen for too long."
"And you wonder why I never tell you anything." Helen said, sticking out her tongue.
"Because it's always WRONG!" Faylinn exclaimed. "You always twist things around and make it all weird until it doesn't even make sense and –"
"I do not!" Helen protested her mouth gaping.
"Do too!" Faylinn shot back.
"Oh, stop acting so childish!" Lily said suddenly. "You're seventeen, not seven!"
"Yeah!" Helen said, sneering at Faylinn.
"She was talking to you, too!" Faylinn practically shouted.
"Morning, ladies." James said as he sat down across from them. "Sleep well?"
"Sort of." Helen shrugged. "There were a lot of people talking about the stupidest things."
"What kind of stupid things?" Faylinn asked in a mock-sweet voice as Sirius, Peter, and Remus sat down at the table.
"Stuff about people. You know, gossip." Helen responded, gnawing on a piece of toast.
"Did she just say gossip was stupid?" Faylinn asked Lily. "Oh my, maybe she's having a change of heart."
"Faylinn…" Lily said in a warning tone.
Faylinn ignored her. "Helen, oh Helen my dear, dear, er, enemy-thing!" She paused. "Are you finally turning over from the dark side?"
"The dark side?" Helen frowned.
"She watched way too much television at my house." Lily informed them. "I think it was Star Wars that did it for her. She's finally crazy."
Faylinn giggled and put her hands over her mouth so that her voice sounded slightly muffled when she spoke. "Luke, I am your father."
"Do what?" James asked.
"Don't ask." Lily laughed, hitting Faylinn on the arm. "Just muggle movie stuff."
"Muggle what?" Peter asked.
"Oh, this could go on forever." Lily mumbled as Faylinn leaned forward and began explaining the Star Wars saga to Peter, who nodded in fascination as she spoke.
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Faylinn walked down the hall in the dungeons, humming to herself. "Ah, boring…" She murmured.
It was almost time for dinner, and since Faylinn had skipped out on lunch, her stomach was growling loudly. "Ooer." She said to herself as she stopped in her tracks, hand over her stomach.
"Hungry?"
She turned around abruptly. "Who's there? I can't see you."
She gasped when Sirius stepped forward from the shadows. "Oh, you." She said, letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "I thought you were Armaband or someone."
"Nah." He said as he walked towards her. "Just me."
Faylinn nodded, and turned to walk away when he grabbed her arm. "Wait, I want to talk to you." He said.
She stopped and turned to face him. "What?"
He smiled and then suddenly his whole body twitched and he jumped up. "Gah!" He reached his hand in his pocket and then smiled at Faylinn again. "Sorry about that."
Faylinn's brow furrowed and she stepped forward. "Is there something wrong with you?"
He frowned, then looked shocked and shook his head. "No, no, no. You?"
Faylinn shook her head and placed her hand over her chest as though she was startled. "No, no, I'm fine."
There was a long pause, after which Sirius finally said. "So, this isn't going as I thought it would."
"How did you think it would?" She asked quickly.
"Not quite sure about that." He said awkwardly. "Okay, well, it's Valentine's Day."
Faylinn blinked. "Um, yeah." When he didn't answer her eyes widened and she gasped. "What – oh – um, er… Sirius, I'm really – I should be – I'm gonna –" She turned to walk away, but paused when he spoke next.
"I got you something." He said.
She turned back around. "Really? I mean, er, that's not necessary… You shouldn't –"
"I wanted to, though." He said, pulling his hand out of his pocket ever so slowly.
Despite wanting to remain 'indifferent,' Faylinn leaned forward in anticipation. "What is it?" She asked, then paused. "I mean, er, I don't need a –" She gasped when she saw what Sirius was holding in his hand.
"A… bat…" She said slowly.
"Yeah." He breathed, holding it up for her to see. "He's just a baby, see? That's how I could fit him in my pocket."
"I can see that." Faylinn said, looking at the small black bat as it squirmed in Sirius's hands.
After a few moments of silence, Sirius stepped forward. "Do you want to hold him?"
"Sure…" Faylinn nodded, taking the small creature from Sirius and pausing as her hand brushed his. "Oh, sorry." She said, pulling away with the bat in her hands.
The bat had a short, piglike snout and small ears that stood straight up. His fur was short but silky and smooth. "He really is just a baby…" Faylinn whispered as the tiny bat curled up and snuggled in her hand.
"Yeah." Sirius said quietly and she looked up, not realizing that he had actually heard her. "I think he likes you." He said.
"Oh…" She said softly, staring into his gray eyes. After a moment, she smiled and nodded her head slightly. "Thank you, Sirius… This is really – Ow!"
"Ow?" Sirius repeated, frowning. "What?"
"No," Faylinn said, looking down at her hand and back up at him. "I felt a… pinching…" She lifted the bat up slowly, examining it. "I think he bit me!" She cried.
"Oh," He said, shrugging. "He hasn't, erm, eaten in a few hours… Probably just hungry."
Faylinn continued to examine the small mammal in her hands. "He doesn't have any teeth." She said quietly.
Sirius chuckled, stepping towards her. "They'll grow." He whispered.
Faylinn looked up at him. "Will they fall out?" She asked.
Sirius shook his head. "I really, really hope not."
Faylinn grinned and opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. "Um," She said finally, stepping towards him, "do you think…" She trailed off.
"Think what?" He asked, his face just a few inches from hers.
Faylinn shrugged. "I don't know…"
"Could I kiss you?" Sirius whispered, leaning towards her.
She blinked at him, her eyelids feeling heavy. "Please." She nodded.
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::AN:: WHOOHOO! Nice, long, chappie! (dances happily) Anyways, I hope you guys like it… What should she name the lil' bat? (so cute) You'll find out next time about how James and Lily's Valentine's day went… (all ominous) Stay tuned… lol. Please review!