A.N.: Howdie all. I decided to rewrite some of this chapter in case anyone is interested. I promise there will be new chapter soon. Sorry about the wait.
It's almost exaclty the same until you get to the end where Riley and Sirius leave the dance. Alrighty enjoy and peace out!!
Disclaimer: Man do these things have to go on every chapter?? Anyway I own nothing because I am an untalented messy disorganized person who is trying to pass myself off as an aspiring young writer, okay? So I suck alright, do you really have to rub it in? (bursts into tears) God the world is cruel! Okay, I'm alright now.
A.N.: Hello to all my wonderful readers. Thank you for the reviews! So here is my new chapter as promised. I like it a lot. It may be my favorite one so far. It has laughter and drama and sappiness. But anywho just read and you'll find out.
Just a quick note, you need some imagination to read this. Pretend it happens in modern time instead of in like the 70s or 80s when the Marauders were probably at school. There are some pretty wacky Halloween costumes going on in this chapter too and I am proud to say I thought of them all. Hey don't laugh, it takes effort. Anyway I will now shut up and let you get on with your reading. I'm going to eat supper now any way. It smells good!! Anyway toodles and don't forget to review!
Chapter 5
The days to Halloween were being counted down not only by the Marauders, but by every student at Hogwarts. The rumors of the dance started immediately after James had informed the rest of the band of the newly adopted event. They guessed that some nosey little first years had overheard their conversation and just happened to leak the information into the rest of the school. But however the rumors had started, by the Wednesday prior to Halloween excited conversations of the party to be held were heard in every corner of the school and the teachers could no longer restrain secret that was supposed to be a surprise. Dumbledore made the announcement, much to the pleasure of the eager students. Indeed as soon as it was a certainty that there would in fact be an Extravagant Ball and Halloween Gala, as Dumbledore had dubbed it, every girl's attention was focused solely on that who was Sirius Black and waiting ever so impatiently to find out who would accompany him to the ball. They didn't know that he had already chosen.
"Come on Siri. Tell us what you're wearing," Riley whined to her friend as they sat in the heads common room. "You know what we are all going as."
"You're so cute when you do that face," he joked, "but I still can't tell you."
Remus, James, Lily and Summer were all present too. They sat in the small circle of chairs around the fireplace and were talking yet again of the ball the next day.
"Why are you guys being so secretive?" Lily questioned James, in whose lap she sat. "You can tell us."
The three Marauder boys had let no word slip of their planned costumes for the ball. And Riley, Lily, and Summer had not managed to break them despite a weeks worth of prying and guessing. They had been trying tirelessly to inch the secret out but the boys just wouldn't tell.
"Sorry Lily. Just can't tell," James smiled sweetly back at her. She gave him a fake pout and he kissed her.
"Well how about you Remus?" Summer questioned him. "I don't suppose you're going to be nice and tell us."
"Sorry but my lips are sealed," he smiled.
Sirius and Riley smiled at each other. They could both see through the friendly act Summer and Remus were putting on. Every time they were together they seemed not to be able to keep their eyes off each other and they were constantly flirting, very politely though, whether or not they were aware of it. Also, they seemed to be doing a lot of homework together and Sirius and Riley often wondered why it was never done in the common room or in the presence of the rest of their friends.
"Pleeease?" Summer prodded sweetly.
"Can't," Remus said simply with a slight shrug.
"You guys suck!" Riley exclaimed and Sirius only just managed to duck before a pillow was thrown at him.
"Now, Riley do we really have to go through this whole pillow fight thing again?" he laughed throwing the same pillow back at her.
"Maybe," she replied snatching it cleanly out of the air, "if you don't tell us what you're going to dress up as."
"Well then, everybody, PILLOW FIGHT!" he shouted.
James and Remus instantly joined in and slowly and reluctantly but ultimately happily, Summer and Lily too joined the battle a few moments later. Pillows and feathers and people were flying all over the place as the friends savagely thrust the pillows at each other. And the calls of "watch out" and "I'm going to get you" rang out through the room. Chairs were thrown aside and many instruments were nearly ruined as they friends chased each other around the confined space.
Sirius and James managed to pick up Riley and carry her up to the Lily's dorm, but a few seconds after they had locked her in she came running down and tackled Sirius to the feather strewn floor. She grabbed a stray pillow from beside her and took her revenge.
"Alright, alright," he said through the playful blows to the head. "You win."
"So you're going to tell us you're secret?" she questioned with the smile that drove Sirius crazy.
"No!" he exclaimed pushing her from her seat on his stomach and stealing the pillow from her surprised hands. He managed to hit her two times before she found another pillow and began to fight back.
James, Lily, Remus and Summer were also beating the stuffing out of their pillows in hand. While James and Sirius had been capturing Riley, Lily and Summer had managed to corner Remus and were nearly beating him into telling. But thankfully James came to his rescue then and the pair fought off the girls and chased them playfully around the room. Through all the commotion they didn't notice another enter the fray.
"Potter! Evans! What is going on here?" the uptight and demanding call of Professor McGonagall sounded through the room.
"Wow, you're getting really good at that Lily," Sirius said not seeing who had just spoken. "Do you practice at night or someth-" He stopped abruptly as he came face to face with the real Professor McGonagall. "Ahh! Sorry Professor…just thought…you know…um sorry."
Riley beside him, had also stopped and was laughing slightly at the look on his face. The rest had dropped their fight and were staring at McGonagall standing angrily in the doorway.
"What is the meaning of this, Black? Evans? Potter?" She scanned each of their faces, which were evidentially trying to hide amusement and smiles. "Use of this room is a privilege and can be taken away."
"Um, sorry Professor," James spoke for everyone. "It was just a bit of fun."
"You think it is fun to destroy school property?" she questioned sharply.
"Yeah, kinda," replied Riley. Professor McGonagall gave her a very scary look and opened her mouth to continue but it was Lily who cut her off.
"We can fix it though," she spoke up. She never gotten into trouble before and now that she had she wondered why James and Sirius loved getting into so much of it with their silly pranks.
"You certainly will," McGonagall pronounced.
"Alright, then let's just clean this up quickly and get to practicing then, shall we?" Sirius said with a grin.
"Without magic," she finished with an edge of sharp authority.
"Aww, come on Professor," James pleaded. "We time to practice for the show tomorrow."
"That was why I came up here," she informed. "To see how your rehearsal was coming and it doesn't appear as if you need anymore time since you are using this valuable time to ruin the furniture."
"But-" began Sirius.
"No buts, Black," McGonagall cut him off. "I want this room clean." She left and as the door closed behind her the boys and Riley all broke out laughing.
"That wasn't funny," Lily said though she too was trying to hide a smile.
"Yeah it was," laughed Riley. "Did you see her face? God she's hilarious when she's mad."
"I thought she was going to murder you when you said that it was fun," Sirius laughed.
"Well I suppose we really should get to work cleaning this up," said Remus. "We really do need some time to practice before tomorrow."
"No problem," replied Sirius. "Scourgify." He flicked his wand and all the feathers and ruined pillowsdisappeared and with another flick all knocked over chairs and furniture was returned to their prior state of neatness. "And we're done. Let's practice."
The next day the Gryffindor common room was in utter chaos. It was worse than a wedding when someone forgets the ring and a fanatic bride would have been calmer than all the girls running around. Everyone was calling for make-up or their dress or shoes or some other object important for their costume. It was like witnessing a parade with everyone dressed in brightly colored costumes running back and forth across the room. Riley was glad she was ready.
She was relaxed on one of the couches in the common room watching the hysterical Gryffindors scurry about. She herself was wearing a retro 80s costume complete with neon jelly bracelets, many beaded necklaces, leg warmers, gaudy shoes, and a ripped short blue jean skirt over a pair of hot pink spandex pants. Her baggy blue t-shirt had been ripped and safety pinned back together and held the slogan punk is not a crime. It was slung off one of her shoulders and she wore a white tank top beneath. Her hair felt horribly crunchy as she had used a massive amount of hairspray to give it the classic 80s look of being ten times its original volume and she had pulled it naturally into a side pony tail. Huge plastic electric blue hoop earrings dangled from her ears and placed atop her head was a matching thick headband. As she had surveyed herself in the mirror before going down to the common room she thought that she had indeed captured the essence of the 80s very well.
She had seen no sign of Remus, James, or Sirius since she had arrived in the common room and no one else had seen them either. So she waited for the rest of her friends to get ready. For once she was the first one ready and that didn't happen a lot.
She carelessly watched a pair of fifth year girls talking animatedly in the corner. One was dressed up as what Riley supposed was a fairy and the other was unmistakably a princess or damsel in distress. The sole element to each of their costumes seemed to be the large amount of make-up applied on both their faces. As they talked they kept throwing eager glances toward the boys' staircase as if waiting for someone.
"Do you know if Sirius Black asked anyone to the ball yet?" the fairy asked her friend enthusiastically.
"No," the princess replied. "Some people are saying new seventh year girl. The one he's always hanging out with. The pretty one with the cool clothes."
"Oh." the first girl looked disappointed at this news but Riley smiled. She and Sirius were indeed going together but most definitely as nothing more than friends. There had been many rumors about them dating and she noticed that since they had started she had gotten many angry and jealous looks from girls she had never spoken to before. But she didn't care. Sirius was her friend and that was that.
Lily and Summer came down from the girls' dormitories. Lily was dressed for the 50s in a long pleated pink poodle skirt and a white chemise top with a matching pink scarf tied neatly around her neck. Her hair was tied neatly with another band of pink fabric and she wore old fashioned black high heal shoes. Summer on the other hand appeared to have changed her costume at the last minute. Her dark curly hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she wore a pointed witch's hat and a stern look on her face. Her usual Hogwarts robes were replaced with plain black ones which were very neat and orderly. Also she bore a pair of fake glasses that match professor McGonagall's exactly.
"You look great Lily," Riley greeted her cousin. "Wow, Summer. I totally thought you were going Hawaiian, but this is so rockin. You look more McGonagallish than McGonagall does."
Summer smiled. "Thanks. Have you seen Remus or the others yet?"
"Nope," she replied. "Still no sign of them. They're probably planning some big entrance or prank or something. Don't worry about it they'll be downstairs soon anyway. If you guys want you can come down with me now. I have to go set up our stuff and make sure everything is ready for the show."
"Yeah, we'll come," replied Lily.
"Okay. Let's go," Riley said and led the way out of the common room.
In the great hall they found that the long house tables had disappeared and instead there were many small round ones around one large table creaking under the weight of a massive amount of food. Teachers were rushing about putting up last minute decorations and making sure all the food and drinks were ready. The hall had been decorated in orange and black and the usual decorations of enormous jack-o-lanterns and hundreds of bats flying overhead. Along the right wall, where the Gryffindor table would usually sit, there was a large stage jutting out of the wall. All of the Marauders instruments and equipment was heaped messily upon the stage and had not the slightest sign that anyone had tried to set it up yet.
"Damn," Riley said when she saw this, "James said he was going to start setting up this afternoon but the idiot just left everything here for me to do."
Lily went slightly red. "Sorry about that. It wasn't entirely his fault I suppose."
"What were you two up to?" Riley questioned exasperatedly. "Never mind I don't really want to know. But now you guys can help me set up then."
She began to delegate tasks among them and took the instruments out of their cases. She set everything in its proper stand and then began running cords from each instrument to a vast assortment of amps, distortion petals, and jacks. By the time she was done Lily and Summer were utterly confused by the criss crossing checker board of wires and had absolutely no idea which cord went where or how Riley knew where everything was supposed to go. She then set up James' drum kit and then her own and Sirius' microphones, running even more wires from each mic to an amp. Last she had Lily and Summer, who had other wise been quite useless and confused, go around and tape down all the cords so no one would trip on them while she made sure all the guitars were tuned properly and plugged in to the right amps.
As they finished the first people began to arrive. There was an immense array of different and creative costumes. Most people were dressed up as usual things such as pirates or ghosts or cheerleaders but some had taken a much more creative road. One boy wore a large clear bag full of different colored balloons with a sign that read "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans" and a girl was wearing a black suit with many items pinned to her such as drama masks, a directors hat, a couple of pages torn form scripts or plays and atop her head she wore a corn that said "Drama Queen". One boy was even dressed unmistakably as Dumbledore.
"Wow some people are really creative," admired Riley as they sat on the edge of the stage waiting for the rest of the Marauders to arrive.
"Yeah," agreed Lily I wish I had though of something more interesting."
"You look great Lils," said Riley.
"Yeah, but there are ten other people here who look just as great as me," she pointed out.
"There are not," Riley retorted.
"I guess we could have put more thought into our own costumes than into what Remus, James, and Sirius were wearing," smiled Summer.
"Yeah," agreed Riley, "but our costumes are still great. I don't see any other McGonagalls or people who look like they are from the 80s and seriously Lils there's only one other person dressed like you. So let's go get something to eat while we wait for the boys."
Lily and Summer nodded and they jumped down from the stage and walked toward the food table. Almost every one was assembled in the hall by then. The room was lit only by a dull orange glow from the immense jack-o-lanterns and candles floating overhead. Creepy Halloween music was playing magically through the hall and most people were standing in small groups waiting for the ball to really begin when the Marauder started to play.
The three girls filled themselves cups of dark red punch and grabbed a chocolate frog apiece before heading back to their seats on the edge of the stage. But just as they sat down there was a sudden call to silence by Jeffery Laine the Gryffindor chaser.
"Can I have you attention everyone! Can I please have your attention!" he called to the room. When everyone's gaze fell on him and the room quieted he continued in a very cheesy and game show host sort of voice, "Thank you and now I am here to introduce to you the finalists in the first ever Miss Hogwarts Beauty Competition!"
"Oh no," said Lily knowing what was about to happen.
"Would you please put your hands together for this year's contestants…The Marauderettes!"
The door to the great hall burst open and James, Sirius and Remus stalked proudly into the room to the great cheers, shouts, laughs, and thundering applause of every student at Hogwarts. All were wearing short tight dresses and were walking quite well considering the huge stiletto shoes they were attempting to wear. Each had magiced their hair into fancy up doos and their faces were applied with a considerable amount of make-up. They were waving and smiling and acting very much like beauty contestants do and gaining an even louder applause from the whole school.
As they walked passed Professor McGonagall, whose jaw had dropped almost to her shoulders, James attempted to curtsey but ended up falling flat on his face. He jumped up again, brushed his hair out of his face, and giggled cutely much to the pleasure of all the students and teachers.
"Oh my god," muttered Lily. "That's my dress."
She and Summer were both staring at the ground wishing the whole scene would evaporate into thin air. But Riley on the other hand was standing up on the stage cheering and shouting along with the rest.
"Yeah, Sirius!" she called. "You rock those heels!"
He looked over at her and winked. "Vote for me!" he called back as he followed James and Remus as they toured around the hall.
They eventually reached where the girls sat waiting. Riley jumped down from the stage and exclaimed, "That was great! You guys rock! That was the funniest thing I've ever seen!"
Remus' cheeks, though manicured with a large amount of blush, still glowed a genuine red and he looked slightly embarrassed. Riley was sure he had only agreed to pull this stunt because of the influence of Sirius and James. They on the other hand look very pleased with the results of their antics. Sirius was scanning the room joyfully and James was laughing at the look on Lily's face. He walked over to her and said, "Sorry I didn't ask about the dress Lils." She gave him a pathetic look. He laughed.
"You look great, Sirius," Riley said to him. "You really should try out for a beauty pageant. You could win. That dress is too hot."
"I know," he replied. "It's Lily's as well."
"Wow you got everything set up," observed Remus kicking the uncomfortable shoes from his feet.
"Yeah," said James. "Sorry about not helping but it takes a lot of time to get ready for a beauty pageant." He fluttered his eyelashes now much fuller due to a surprisingly good mascara job.
"I'll forgive you this time," she replied, "but only because you're so hot in that dress."
He smiled and did his girly giggle again. Lily gave him another pathetic look. He kissed her.
"So when are we supposed to play?" asked Sirius.
"Whenever you are ready," answered Dumbledore right behind him. Sirius jumped slightly as he was not expecting the headmaster to answer right into his ear. "And I applaud your hilarious prank. It was quite entertaining." He himself had swapped his wizards robes for an old bathrobe, slippers, shower cap, and hair curlers.
"Alright," said Sirius rubbing his hands together. "Let's get started."
The four Marauders waited at the side of the stage while Dumbledore introduced them to the crowd of students. All the candles had now been extinguished and the room was drenched in darkness but for the stage that was illuminated by magic spotlights. Dumbledore now stood behind Sirius' mic and spoke loudly into it. "They have already provided us with a wonderful prank but now it's time to hear some of their music. So here they are the Marauders. Or is it the Marauderettes?"
The band ran on stage and picked up their instruments. James drummed out a short beat and Sirius shouted, "What's up!" Cheers met their ears and a few confused voices also as no one but Lily and Summer knew that Riley had replaced Peter.
"Alright guys our first song tonight is new. It's called Alive," Sirius said as he picked up his acoustic guitar.
The confused faces that stared up at the band instantly disappeared as the song began. It was played, just as it had been the very first time, with perfection. Riley and Sirius' voices sounded melodically together yet still with the same rock edge that the softer song possessed. Some of the boys in the crowd were attempting to create a mosh pit to the great displeasure of the teachers and their idea was quickly stamped out. Many girls, very unlike the boys, were waving their hands back and forth slowly above their heads and mouthing the quickly picked up words to themselves. Sirius always loved the watch the audience when he was on stage. He always thought it must be more interesting to watch the people in the crown than to watch the actual band on stage.
When the song ended there was a long applause and James quieted it with a long drawn out drum roll at the end of which Remus played a short guitar solo. Another round of thunderous clapping rang out for him.
"Alright this one is a classic," said Riley into her mic. "If you don't know it where have you been for the last thirty years? This one is by the first punk band in America. The amazing and one and only…Ramones!"
She began to play the first bass run in the song driven totally by bass guitar.
"They're forming in a straight line" Sirius sang. "They're going through a tight wind…"
This song was one of the best ever written according to him. The Ramones were an amazing band and the Blitzkrieg Bop was one of their best songs. It was totally played on bass guitar and that suited him just fine as Riley was playing it amazingly well. They had adapted it so Remus played an accompanying part on guitar but this song was all Riley.
Most of the students had heard the song at one time or another but anyone from a pure blood family had no idea who the Ramones were. But by the end of the song everyone, even as Sirius was shocked to see it, Professor McGonagall, was singing along to the "Hey ho, let's go" part of the song.
They ended the song with another complicated bass run from Riley and a clash on the cymbal from James. Their fellow students cheered again and they started a new song. They played a few more covers but mostly their own songs that Sirius had written. They played for about another hour before ending the show with a song by the widely known wizarding band, the Weird Sisters.
"Thanks everybody!" Sirius shouted as the rest of the band set down their instruments and gave a last wave to the crowd. "You guys rock!" James, very conceitedly threw a drum stick into the audience, though most seemed not to mind his hotheadedness as two girls fought over the treasured item and had to be broken up by Professor McGonagall.
"That was great," said Sirius as they hopped off the stage. "Great job on Blitzkrieg Bop, Riley. I think everyone really enjoyed that song."
"Yeah we should do it more often," agreed James. "And the guitar addition sounds good too Remus."
"Yeah the show was great," Remus approved, "but I really have to get out of this dress. Now!"
James and Sirius nodded and the three boys ran from the room as well as they might in the high heels shoes. Riley laughed and Lily and Summer soon joined her.
"Great job, Riley," beamed Lily. "I'm starting to wish that I had got Uncle Jerry to teach me how to play guitar now too."
"Yes," put in Summer, "and you and Sirius sound amazing together."
"Thanks," Riley replied.
"The boys go to change?" Lily questioned.
"How did you guess?" Riley replied sarcastically.
"Well the whole time James was on stage he looked like he had a horrible wedgy and every time Remus tried to walk in those heels he looked like he was going to fall over," she chuckled slightly.
"Yeah," agreed Riley, "but the scary thing is Sirius seemed to be doing just fine. I don't even think the lips stick and panty hose bothered him."
Lily and Summer laughed slightly. The room was once again illuminated by the flickering orange light and music sounded. Now that the concert was over people were beginning to dance and eat. The table, full of every type of junk food known to wizard or muggle, was beginning to dwindle but was replenished in a flash as every plate was refilled magically with treats prepared by the servant house elves. The music that filled the air was no longer creepy and Halloweenish but fast paced dance music. The bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans was a attempting to dance but he kept running into people and popping his beans.
The boys returned soon void of make-up and stilettos and instead attired in their usual clothes of t-shirts and ripped jeans.
"That was really a horrifying experience," Remus said looking much more comfortable now that he wore a pair of bleached blue jeans. "I don't think I will ever be wearing a dress again."
"Never say never," said Sirius. "You never know when you will be required to wear a formal dress. You know in the future men may be the ones wearing the dressing. I mean look at the Scottish. They already wear those kilts, but everyone knows that that is just a fancy name for a skirt. "
"Speaking of that, you seemed to enjoy the experience, Sirius," said James. "Thinking of becoming a cross dresser?"
"No thanks. I think I'll leave that pleasure to you," he replied.
"Alright," said Riley smiling at the interesting conversation. "I think that's enough of that. Does any one want to dance?"
"Sorry," replied Sirius. "I don't dance. That last time I tried I knocked a poor old lady over and she nearly broke a leg."
"Good," Riley proclaimed looking slightly relieved. "Me either. I'm terrible."
"Well you two can suit yourselves," said James. "Care to dance, Lily?" He extended his hand to her and she took it. They walked slowly into the crowd of people already dancing and began to sway to the fast paces song.
"How about you Summer?" asked Remus politely. "Want to dance?"
"Sure," she replied and they began to walk off toward James and Lily. "You guys don't know what you're missing. It's is easy to dance."
"Yeah, if you have been taking lessons since you were four," Riley muttered bitterly.
"Since she was four? Really?" asked Sirius. "I guess she would be good then. Want to get a drink?"
"Yeah," replied Riley. "Let's go."
The couple poured themselves a glass of punch each and grabbed a stack of goodies from the table hardly noticing what it was they took. The found an empty table, which wasn't really hard to come by as most people were dancing, and seated themselves. They talked cheerily for the next hour eating the candies they had obtained from the large table and often went to find more. They were joined every once and a while by their friends, red faced and taking a breather between songs but then hurrying off again as they next one began. The dancers did indeed look as if they were having fun but Riley and Sirius were quite content to sit instead of shame the room with their poor dancing abilities.
"More punch?" Sirius questioned as yet another song ended.
"Sure," Riley agreed.
They walked over to the table and poured yet another glass of the fruity red liquid. Sirius guessed they had already consumes more of the stuff than any other people in the room and was beginning to dislike the tangy taste of it.
The next song began as he took a first drink from the new glass. He watched Lily, arms wrapped tightly around James, as the slow ballad played. He wished that Riley would hold onto him like that, like he was the person she loved most in the world. Silently he made a decision then. "Riley do you just want to dance one song and get it over with? I'm sure we will never hear the end of it from them if we don't dance at least one song."
She smiled. "Yeah, I think you're right. Sure let's dance. It's a slow one anyway. Not much movement involved. You just sort of have to sway back and forth."
They both set down their glasses still full, and Sirius took Riley's hand gently and led her out in to the middle of the floor. James and Lily smiled at them, and Remus and Summer also, but everyone else in the room, especially the many girls present, seemed to be scowling and wishing it was they with the handsome Marauder. Riley slowly moved in toward Sirius and he lovingly wrapped his arms around her slender waist. She placed her own arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
It was pure bliss just as he imagined it. They swayed softly back and forth moving their feet a little. The sweet smell of Riley's hair filled his nose and he smiled. Her warm arms around his neck filled him with a deeply satisfying warmth and a loving security. He felt like he never wanted to let her go or indeed wanted her to let him go. He could feel her heart beating slowly in her chest and his own, he was sure, didn't match its calm beat as he could feel its heavy drumming as the pleasure of the moment washed over him. God he loved her. He wished he could tell her. He wished he would summon the confidence to say those three short words that meant so much.
He got another brief wave of the scent of her hair. He decided then. He was going to do it. No more procrastinating. He was going to tell her. Riley, I love you. It was easy enough. In fact it was too easy. Why had he ever been worried about it?
"Riley," he said and her head moved from its resting place on his shoulder and her deep eyes bored into his own. "I…I…I think you smell really good."
Damn! He chocked. And he had said the stupidest thing imaginable as well.
"Well," she said slightly confused but also amused, "I think you smell good too Sirius."
She replaced her head and he felt as if she held him tighter. The song continued as his face glowed a genuine red. James and Lily who were dancing near had caught his pitiful attempt to express his feelings for her and were laughing slightly to themselves. He scowled at them but felt his embarrassment growing.
As the last notes of the song faded Sirius asked, "Do you want to get out of here?".
"Yeah," she replied instantly. "It's kind of boring. "
He smiled and said, "Not to mention the dancing. Who really in their right mind wants to spend Halloween dancing?"
She smiled and nodded in agreement.
They walked out of the hall and into the entrance hall, the smirks of their friends following them. From the entrance hall the walked through the great oak front doors and out into the chilly October night. They saw a few other people walking across the vast grounds but the nearest were far beyond shouting distance.
They walked in a straight course talking lightly of Quidditch and homework and other things. The wintry air bit at Sirius slightly as their path took them toward the lake, but he didn't really notice petty things like the cold when he was with Riley. She, he noticed, shivered slightly, having only a skirt and t-shirt for protection against the chill. He took off his hoodie and handed it to her.
"Does this bring back any recent memories?" she questioned with a smile as she thought about their prank on Lily and James.
"Just one," he smiled. "Kind of like déjà vu, isn't it?"
She smiled and pulled the sweater tight about her. "Thanks."
He nodded.
They soon found themselves on a familiar scene. The moon, a nearly full silvery orb of light, shone across the lake and a sharp rock jutted up form the ground. There was no trace of the attack that had taken place there not quite a month ago. Sirius assumed that Riley remembered nothing of the night because she had not spoken of it to anyone. Not even Madame Pomfrey knew how she had come to be left outside the hospital ward door unconscious. Sirius guessed the shock of seeing what happened had wiped the memory from her mind.
Riley climbed up on the rock and seated herself motioning for Sirius to do the same. When he joined her she spoke. "It sure is beautiful."
Sirius glanced up at the moon. It gave off a majestic glow to the land as it had the night nearly four weeks before, but Sirius saw only a shadow of its glory because its beauty was masked by his knowledge of its great and horrible power. He knew too well the hideous power that moon had to inflict pain upon his friend.
He made no sign of agreement to her statement and she did not prod him for one.
"This is where I come to think," she continued. "To play and write."
He nodded then knowing how the darkness and splendor of the empty and soundless grounds at night, long passed the last person had fallen victim to sleep, could inspire a song.
"This was where I lost my guitar," she said and Sirius felt a sharp knot enter his stomach. Was she going somewhere with this he wondered. "But then you rescued it and gave it back. I never really did thank you. That was the first guitar I ever owned. My dad bought it for me when I was seven years old and just learning to play."
Sirius looked at her. She wore an odd look on her face, one which he could not read. She looked as if she wanted to keep speaking, as if she was letting him in on a childhood secret, a precious memory, but it looked as if she couldn't find the right words. He knew her thoughts had strayed back, back to her memories and what they held, back to what had hurt her so. She stared out over the lake, her eyes straying every once and a while to where Sirius had found her guitar broken.
She looked up at him again but when she caught his eyes she looked away. "Sirius I…" she said hardly above a whisper, but then trailed off as if she had decided to keep what she had been about to say to herself.
"What?" Sirius questioned gently.
"Nothing," she replied as the memory of the summer flooded back to her. She had been about to tell him, but something held her back. The pain perhaps, the fear? Was it just too soon to recount the things she had seen, the things she had done? She let silence fill the air and surround them as the horrible scene played over and over again in her mind.
Sirius contained his curiosity. Since he had seen that tiny crack of emotion in her eye the first day they met he had been fighting it. He had questions. Why, what, when? What had happened to Riley to infuse that bitter emotion, that fear, that pain, that sadness that he had seen that very first day? What did her past hide? But he suppressed these questions knowing that he could not force a story out of her. She would be ready to tell it someday, just like he with his own bitter story.
She did not speak for awhile. The waves lapped at the shores carrying sand away with them each time they retreated and still she did not speak. When Sirius looked up at her again he could see she was lost somewhere deep inside her own mind. Her lovely face was contorted into a bitterly fierce look as if what she saw, what she remembered, disgusted and angered her.
"The world in cruel, isn't it Sirius?" she asked suddenly.
Their eyes met, Riley's an intense hazel and Sirius' a strong yet hurting gray. Her eyes bored into his own as if scanning him. He felt the ache in her words but more so, the truth in them. The world had rarely been anything but cruel to him, unforgiving and ruthless. Riley had fared the same. There eyes held the same story, one of harshness and cold, but more so they held the same answer. The world was and would always be cruel.
He drew his eyes away now reflecting upon his own hidden tale. The silence surrounded again and was broken by another unexpected question.
"It was Remus, wasn't it?" she questioned quietly, her eyes focused not on him but the moon, a dazzling white against the dark clouds behind.
"What?" asked Sirius, his voice notably shaken.
"The werewolf?" she elaborated as if they were talking of nothing more than the weather.
"Wha-what are you talking about?" he asked uselessly knowing her memory had told her more than he guessed.
"I know Sirius," she answered her hazel eyes boring into the deep gray of his own once more. "I know what you are."
He looked at her. His voice seemed to have left him. He was exposed and there was nothing he could do.
"Padfoot," she continued, "Prongs, Wormtail, and…Moony." She slid down from the rock and walked to the edge of the water. Sirius could do nothing but watch her. "A dog, a stag, a rat, and a…werewolf."
"I saw you…you and James and Peter. I didn't know why you were sneaking out, but I guess I found out soon enough, didn't I?" As she spoke he watched her stoop to pick up a rock. She threw it far out over the dark lake and continued after a satisfying plop was heard as it dived into the water. "I never even saw him coming. I heard the howls from across the lake but I thought it was just you, scaring Peter or something. Before I knew it I was cornered. It was horrible. He had fangs and claws, and hideous eyes. His eyes were worst. Vicious and wild, animal like…but as he trapped me, I knew them. They weren't inhuman; I could see Remus behind them. I could see him fighting still even as he was snarling and gashing his teeth like some kind of beast. I could see his struggle, his pain as he fought the monster that controlled him."
She fell silent them for a long time and turned her back to Sirius. He watched her and she quivered slightly as if she had begun to cry soundless tears, but when she spoke again, there was no quaver in her voice, and when she looked again on him, there was no tear in her eye. "Why? Why did you do it Sirius? I saw what he did…he nearly killed you. But you still came to me, you still saved me…why?"
He looked at her. She looked fierce and cold, distant yet so near and strong. She looked independent and intense as if all the years of her life had trained her and molded her into a warrior, avid and harsh. She looked passionate and intimate and ardent all in one look. But in a blink all of that was gone and she looked frail and delicate and scared, not strong at all. And Sirius looked at her, he fell in love with her all over again.
He too slid down from the rock and walked to her side at the water's edge. Taking both of her hands tightly in his own he looked deeply into her eyes and saw both fear and boldness. "I did it, Riley, because I love you."
She looked back at him, taking in the words he spoke as if one at a time. She let herself be pulled into his warm embrace at first at unawares and then with desire. He held her closely, closer than he had held any other. Her head rested on his shoulder. Though the cold night still stirred around them they alone stood unaware, unaware of the howling wind or the biting cold or the lapping water freezing their feet and legs where they stood. Warmth spread through them, the warmth of love, for she too loved him. All was made clear in that moment. They felt connected, fused as one, bonded, united, but still they wanted to be closer.
Their heads moved, as if in unison, inching toward their craved goal. It felt a year and longer before their lips finally met and as they converged a wave of burning passion was released like a bomb. Sirius was hardly aware of anything but the warm moist lips that touched his and the quick slip of a tongue every few seconds. His hands he thought were in her hair but he was never sure. Perhaps they were on her waist, slender and desirable or some other desired part of her body that he did not remember. His head was clouded with so many things. Joy, relief, longing, and love. Mostly love for he knew then that she loved him too.
Quite suddenly though, he was aware of something else. Her hands were placed firmly upon his chest pressing slightly against him. He had felt them make their way intimately up his body, caressing as they went, but now there was a force behind them as if she was trying to suppress him. Unexpectedly she shoved him away with a force that broke their bond. Sirius backed away, breathing slightly heavily, confusion and hurtful rejection taking over his previously blissful mind.
He looked at her. It almost hurt to do so. She had rejected him, she of all girls, the one he loved, the only one he had ever loved. But as he scanned her face and saw the early traces of tears his heart softened. He saw the love in her eyes and also a deep hurt. He went to her and wrapped her once more in his arms and held her once more with the love that he was sure was present in both. He didn't know why she had pushed him away, just like he didn't know many things she kept secret and deep, but he knew love and he could feel it pulsing in her as they stood in tender embrace.
"It's okay,' he whispered softly in her ear feeling her warm breath on his face.
"No," she replied, "it's not." She paused before continuing. "I love you Sirius. I love you so much. But I can't…I-I just can't."
"Can't what?" he asked gently.
"I can't, hurt you," she replied her tears running onto his soothing shoulder.
He puller her head up again so he could look into her eyes. "You could never hurt me," he said. "I love you, Riley." Passion and desire overcame them once more and their lips met again, gently caressing, each letting their deep love serge through the other. But once again a familiar force separated the tender union of lips and Sirius felt himself being pushed away.
He saw a slight severity now etched on her face but an even more fierce hurt. Tears still stained her cheeks and ran from her eyes that were aching with the refusal of his love and longing for his kiss. "I said no," she said harshly. "You don't understand. I will hurt you. I can't help it. And I love you too much to see you hurt or killed. I can't love you. I can't love anybody."
Then she did perhaps one of the hardest things of her life. She turned away from him, away from his love, the same love that she felt consuming her heart and gripping her mind, and she walked away, across the grounds and back toward the castle. She uttered no word after that and didn't look back, even when Sirius called, "Wait! What are you talking about? Why?" He fell to the ground confused and pained, wishing only for an explanation. But none came.