Disclaimer- Deck the halls with boughs of holly... falalalalalalalala... 'tis the season for me to receive all rights to Harry Potter and also the ability to write like J.K. Rowling... falalalalalalalala...I don't think thatgiftcan begiven...falalalalalalalala... so I will keep on singing... falalalalalalalala!
Authoress's Note- I am just the most lovely singer in all of Fanfictiondom, aren't I? -blushes- I know I told all you Summer with the Arrogant Prat readers I probably wouldn't update before anything before Christmas, but I finished this chapter with all lovely relaxing vacation time AND I have access to a computer in this lovely warm weather! (No I won't tell you where I'm vacationing, but I will say it is NOT Alaska OR the Artic or Canada for that matter.) Anyone consider this my early Christmas present to all of you! Like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! July 16, 2005! -screams- E.D.J.
Thanks for the merry merry reviews!
ThelovelyladyLily- Thanks for the help with errors last chapter. I still have to go back and edit it! Yes shame shame. Glad you liked the slapstick humor!
Tri- Thank you, I'm glad you forgive me! Glad you liked the chapter!
Constructive Criticism- Yes, yes predictable, but oh well ;-).
Romulan Empress- Oh it's alright about not reviewing the last chapter. I don't always review all updates of stories I read either. Yes I was a bit iffy about the flashiness of the beginning of the "Reign of Terror" as you so eloquently put it, but in my first idea for it there was about sixteen people who died, so I drastically cut that in half, but I'm still iffy. I can see both sides of Voldemort's probable perspective. I can see him wanting to start off with a bang to you know show them who's boss AND I can see him wanting to lay low and keep the attacks small. I just don't know! I consider the last chapter a midpoint between those two extremes I guess.
I luv this!- Ah yes, I was wondering if anyone would catch Sirius's too early running away bit. In my opinion, he left, but didn't technically 'run away' because even Voldemort hadn't attacked,he would have gone home eventually. He was justangry and upset and needed to get away for a bit. SinceVoldie did attack, Sirius was probably only away from home for a week or two at most.
DarkKestralSilkeQueen- VERY original name if I do say myself. Does it mean anything or have to do with something specific? Ah yes, I know what exactly what your talkingabout Holly and Artemis Fowl. I've read all three books, very good. But no, I don't really remember if Holly James's house-elf came fromHollyShortor not. -shrugs- My guess would be no. I'm glad you think the story rocks! Remus is my favorite Marauder and I promise you he will get a girlfriend since I can't bear to see him lonely! -sighs- I only wish it could be me. By the way, in my other Marauders fic, Summer with the Arrogant Prat, Remus is right on the brink of getting to that girlfriend/boyfriend point , so if you can't wait I'd recommended that! Pushing my other fic? NEVER! -grins- Oh and when do they find out if he's a werewolf? I still have to do some Prisoner of Azkaban referencing, but most likely near the very end of second year. From what I recall, it took them three years to perfect the Animagus spell/potion whatever it is that makes you an Animagus and they finished it fifth year, so third, fourth, and fifth year to getthe Animagus stuff right and they need some time to think of an idea to help Remus, so yes end of second year if possible.
Ch. 24- Disillusionment Charms Aren't Always Effective
Emmeline Vance and Bella Meadows were sitting in their train compartment discussing their summer holidays and, of course, You-Know-Who when they heard the splash of water and then, a distinct shriek.
"Lily?" asked Emmeline.
"Mostly likely," said Bella nonchalantly. "Merlin, I can't believe she actually fell for one of their pranks. That's a first."
"I suppose there's a first for everything," said a grim voice and the two girls spun around to see Lily standing in the doorway.
"Lovely trunk," observed Bella, noting the green fungus that covered nearly ever inch of Lily's trunk. "It really matches your eyes."
"Oh shove it, Bella," muttered Lily, looking around for something to throw at her. Sadly, she found nothing worthwhile. Slumping into a seat, Lily noticed what looked like a large wooden club leaning against a trunk. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the thing. "Are we expected to fight trolls or something this year?" (A/N- Yes, ha ha. Lovely Sorcerer's Stone-esque humor.)
"Ha, ha," said Bella, tight-lipped. "It's a Beater's bat. Dorcas reckons I have a chance at making the House team. She was a Chaser back in her day, really talented. She was debating between her job working for the Wizengamot or a position on the Pride of Portree Quidditch team."
"You play Quidditch?" asked Emmeline incredulously. "I mean, we only went to one of the inter-House matches last year. I thought you weren't taken with it much."
"Well watching a school match is alright," Bella said with a shrug. "And watching a professional match is always brilliant, especially games between old rivals like the Appleby Arrows and Wimbourne Wasps." Bella let out a low whistle. "That's some Quidditch that is, but actually playing the game is… indescribable."
"Am I supposed to know what you two are on about?" asked Lily irritably.
"Quidditch!" said Emmeline, throwing up her hands as if she'd never heard a more stupid question in her life.
"Oh that's that sport on broomsticks, innit?" said Lily with a yawn. "Wait, we have House teams for that sort of thing? And there were matches? Why didn't we go?"
"Well, I didn't really care for the first school match one way or another and Em spent the entire game complaining about the cold," said Bella. "We asked you if you wanted to come to that game, but you only said, 'Quidditch? Are you trying to be funny, Bella? Bugger off, so I can finish this History of Magic essay. I still have another foot and a half to go.'"
"Very nice impression of Lily's 'homework' voice there," said Emmeline with a grin.
"Let's go to a game this year!" said Lily excitedly. "Er… what do the players do in Quidditch?"
"One moment, Lils," said Bella, rummaging in her trunk. "Ah, here we are." She handed Lily a slightly worn copy of Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp.
Lily quickly became engrossed in the book and Emmeline and Bella quietly did the counterjinx to fix her trunk, so as no to disturb Lily who tended to get in a very foul mood when her reading was interrupted.
Suddenly, Lily looked up from the book and shrieked at Bella: "You mean to tell me, you're going to be hitting heavy metal balls at other people?!"
"Well erm… heavy iron balls to be exact, Lils," said Bella innocently. "They're called Bludgers."
"Blimey, always knew this world was crazy," muttered Lily, returning to Quidditch Through the Ages.
"Thanks for the sweets!" said the Marauders cheerfully, handing the woman with the trolley a handful of gold each.
"Anything for such handsome boys!" said the witch cheekily before pushing the trolley down to the next compartment, whistling the Singing Sorceress's, Celestina Warbeck, new song "Bewitched Heart". It was all the rage on the WWN or the Wizarding Wireless Network to be exact.
"Got your broomstick, Jamesie?" asked Sirius, popping a whole Pumpkin Pasty into his mouth at once. "Mum anf Daf wouwdn'n buy me anoof wo' becwuze I swuk oft affer wat wo' dinfer wis summa."
His three friends stared at him blankly.
"Repeat please?" said Remus tiredly.
Sirius swallowed. "Mum and Dad wouldn't buy me a new one because I snuck off after that one dinner this summer. 'Said it was punishment for worrying them." He snorted. "They just didn't want to spend money on the 'disappointment' when Dad could be using it to add some more obscene security devices to the house." Sirius sighed and pretended to look teary-eyed. "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, home sweet home, full of the Dark Arts and severed house elf heads."
"Severd house elf heads?" said Peter, ashen faced, grimacing slightly, and setting down the Chocolate Frog he had been about to eat.
"Dear Aunt Elladora to thank," said Sirius grimly. "Reckoned they'd feel it was an 'honor' to be displayed on a wall after they died. Our elf, Kreacher, certainly dreams of such greatness." (A/N- He says 'Dear Aunt Elladora' in Order of the Phoenix, I swear! I'm not just trying to insert myself in the story at all! And NO… my name is not from her, I say it's from Elladora Ketteridge, the discoverer of gillyweed. Just had to clear that up. I would never start the practice of displaying poor dead elves' heads on walls. Well, maybe. –grins-)
"Now that we're all sickened out of eating any more sweets," said James loudly and Sirius promptly grinned and stopped his whispering to Peter about the enchanted severed hand that lived in his mum's closet. Peter's face had been getting steadily paler as Sirius had continued talking.
"Hey, how's your mum, Remmy?" asked Sirius suddenly. "You certainly went to see her a lot last term."
"Oh erm… she's a bit better," said Remus, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean, the Healers still aren't letting her leave St. Mungo's, but…"
"But didn't she and your dad come get you from the train in June?" asked James, thinking had. "She had short brown hair and was about medium height…"
"Oh no, that was mum's sister, Aunt…" Remus glanced around the room, helplessly, fixing on a package of Cauldron Cakes. "Cauldra, Aunt Cauldra."
"Cauldra?" repeated Sirius.
"Hey that's a real name!" said Remus defensively. "It's Scottish!"
James, Sirius, and Peter blinked at him.
"No need to get all squeaky, Rem," said Sirius. "I was only wondering if I heard it right."
"Er… right… sorry," said Remus, his ears red.
By the time they reached Hogwarts, the Marauders' appetites were roaring despite all the sweets and Sirius' tales of severed house elf heads.
They clamored off the train and into one of the horseless carriages lined up next to the platform.
"Were these here last year?" asked James, squinting out the dirty window as the carriage began moving forward.
"I don't know, but I think I preferred the boats and I was nearly sick on those," said Remus, coughing and streams of dust stirred in the air. "This is extremely musty."
They were incredibly thankful when the carriage stopped and they stumbled out, breathing in deep gulps of clean air. Sirius even took the liberty of kissing the stone steps of the school repeatedly though no one really knew why and it earned him a great many odd looks from the other students exiting the carriages.
"Is that the only thing you can get to kiss you, Black?" asked Bella Meadows loudly as she, Lily Evans, and Emmeline Vance hurried up the steps of the castle.
"I'll have you know I know of a number of girls who would be more than willing to kiss me!" Sirius yelled indignantly after her and a large amount of the second year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls' eyes brightened and they started toward him.
"I'm not asking at the moment!" said Sirius loudly and titters of disappointment filled the air. "Bloody girls."
Sirius glanced around and saw a large crowd of his girl classmates behind him, looking rather offended. "Er I…" Sirius stood up and ran furiously inside the castle and into the Great Hall. "Hide me!" he whispered as he sat down next to Remus. "Disillusionment Charm! Now!"
Remus sighed and muttered the charm. Moments later, a large crowd of young girls entered the Hall and began searching in corners, under tables, and behind the suits of armor before sitting down in defeat.
"Close one there, Sirius," muttered James out of the corner of his mouth. "What did you do?"
"Insulted them," Sirius whispered back.
"Well that's blatantly obvious," said Remus, exasperated. "But what did you say?"
"'Bloody girls.'"
"Who?" asked Peter, craning his head around.
"No, that's what I said. 'Bloody girls.'"
"Oh. No wonder they're upset."
"Excuse me, can I sit here?" asked a fifth year girl, pointing to the seat where Sirius was sitting. Obviously, the Disillusionment Charm had worked.
"No!" said Remus, James, Peter, and even Sirius accidentally who was supposed to be pretending not to exist.
"Why not?" asked the girl suspiciously. "I want to sit by my boyfriend, Howard."
She pointed at the gangly boy with the biggest conk the Marauders had ever seen who was sitting next to Sirius. He smiled and waved at the girl.
"Nice catch," Sirius muttered. "Giant conk though."
"What?" asked the girl.
"Oh nothing," said James nervously, kicking Sirius beneath the table. "Erm… you can't sit there because… it's where Remus's invisible friend… Roger is sitting!" James sighed dramatically and patted Remus's shoulder. "Remus here is very attached, can't seem to realize Roger's just a bit of air!"
Remus gaped at James. "That's not true!" James shot a look at him. "I mean, Roger is there! He's blue and purple and kind of looks like a giant erm… billywig. Why can't you and Peter see him?! I'm telling you, he's there!"
The girl muttered something about "delusional, second years" and went to find another seat.
"My invisible friend Roger?!" hissed Remus.
"A giant blue and purple billywig?!" James hissed back.
"Hey! Chicken!" said Sirius gleefully, noticing the House tables had filled themselves with food.
Apparently, they'd missed the Sorting entirely.
Remus, James, and Peter watched as a drumstick was taken off of one of the platters, floated over to where Sirius was sitting, and gradually began to disappear into thin air. Everyone around them watched, horrified as the drumstick was gnawed down to a mere bone and a loud belch echoed throughout the Hall.
Remus muttered the incantation to undo the Disillusionment Charm and Sirius appeared in the chair next to him. He reached for a roll, clearly not noticing his fellow students' astonished faces.
"Lovely start of term prank, eh?" said James anxiously, nodding at Sirius who was now gulping down large quantities of pumpkin juice, unaware that he was no longer under the charm.
Echoes of "Oh…" and chuckles filled the air, along with vast sighs of relief that some invisible monster that liked to eat chicken wasn't prowling the castle. Well, you know, besides Sirius Black that is.
"No more Disillusionment Charms for you, mister," said Remus sternly. "They don't help anyhow and it makes the rest of us look like idiots."
Sirius merely shrugged and dug into his heap of mashed potatoes, not taking a word of it in and not noticing the glares he was getting from girls everywhere around the Great Hall.
Gotta love Sirius, don't ya? -huggles Sirius- Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! -kisses- E.D.J.