Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from any Harry Potter book. If you don't recognize it: Hey it's mine!
Wow – this chapter took a lot for me to write. It was weird, just didn't want to come out. But I have a little message for someone here. *clears throat and gets ready*
oudsnhso;eiht: Hm… what to say, what to say? First we'll start off with the beginning of your 'review'. "You suck" How sweet. And why do I suck? Oh right… because I didn't update last weekend. I'd like to know if it's ever registered in your head that I have a life. I have family, friends, problems, friend's problems, family problems, house keeping, work and many other things that I have to keep up with. Yes, I had planned to update every week, but as you probably don't know, that takes a lot of time to do, and lots of reading back on past chapters to see what I've mentioned and have to keep up. I won't just write anything to appease you – I'm trying to write something worthy of reading here. Will I 'be a lazy ass like most of the other writers'? No I will not, as I don't see the other writers on ff.net as lazy. I really don't. We all have lives that don't revolve around Harry Potter fan fiction and tend to see to those more often than our writing. If this doesn't change your mind about me/us, I suggest you go buy a book that's fully written so you don't have to wait for an update because, frankly, I don't write for you, I write for me. I will update when I want/can and none of your slander can change that.
And I'm spent.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
* * *
"Hello James, need some more orange juice? Here let me pour some for you, James." A third year said self assertively
."No, I'm ok -"
"How about I slab some more butter on that piece of toast for you, James?" He said, wrenching the said food from James' hand (who fought to keep it, now holding half his toast) and put more butter on. He handed it back, getting butter on James' fingers. "Anything else I can do for you James?"
"No… um… no thank you…" James waited for the boy to fill him in.
"Puofleur, Cecil Puofleur." The A.D.D. child said excitedly, stretching his hand out to be shaken.
Sirius was beside himself with laughter. Jen and Mel had ducked under the table to laugh. And James… well, the poor boy stared at the small boys hand (speckled in butter) and swallowed.
"Nice to meet you Cecil." James said politely, shocked by his energy and not shaking his hand. 'Sorry dad – not this time.'
"Puofleur. Cecil Puofleur-"
"Yes – yes…" James interrupted, "I know. How about you go have some breakf-"
"I'm going to try out for the team." Cecil said, nearly out of breath from the speed at which he spoke.
"Oh really?" James asked, looking to his friends for help. He found none. No help or friends. They were all under the table now, sitting on the floor, unable to keep themselves upright. "I hadn't have guessed. Go have some breakfast and I'll see you on the field, Cecil."
"Puofleur-"
"Yes! Yes I know!" James cut him off, hand up, trying to calm the hyper third year. Cecil (Puofleur…) nearly pranced back to his seat. "You guys can get up now," James said flatly, "Cecil's gone."
Jen and Mel crawled out from under the table, across from their perturbed Captain, and James had to haul Sirius up by the collar of his Quidditch robes.
"Puofleur, James. His name is Cecil Puofleur." Jen corrected him, supporting herself on the tabletop and using the sleeves of her red and gold robes to wipe her eyes and face. Mel snorted, then lost it again, resting her head in her arms.
"Imagine yelling that during a game? I think Remus'd die of laughter." Sirius joked. He put on his commentator-Remus voice. "Now witches, wizards and Slytherins --- our star Keeper… Poo-flur!" He then proceeded to laugh as Jen and Mel clapped and cheered.
James glared at them, but couldn't hold it and cracked a smile. "Let's hope Remus'll never have to."
"Hope Remus will never have to what?" Rick Malter, Chaser, asked, sitting beside his Captain.
"Shout out "Puofleur" while commentating." Jen told the black boy who was chugging back some orange juice.
He shuddered. "That spaz kid?" They nodded. "He's not getting on the team James. Boy is… mental."
"Talking about me?" JJ Schmitt, final Chaser probed, reaching for some bacon.
"Why would we be talking about you JJ?" James asked.
"Yea Schmitt – think it's all about you?" Rick joked.
"Of course it's all about Jingleheimer." Sirius threw in, smiling as JJ sighed in frustration.
"I really wish you wouldn't call me that."
"Why not?" Sirius asked, "I mean, JJ stands for John-Jacob -"
"Yes I know." JJ interrupted. "My parents have a horrible sense of humour."
"I think it's great." Sirius laughed.
"You would." Jen put in from across the table.
"Ok guys, we need to use as much pitch time as we can." James said, ordering them out of the Hall and stopping any further arguments from his team. The team left, still mocking JJ, and started through the halls. They ran into some of their opponents on their way: Janna, Piotrek and Hunter, all on the Ravenclaw team.
"Did you just finish try outs?" Janna looked over their sweat free bodies and clean robes. "Not working them very hard this year, are you James?" She asked with a smile and quirked eyebrow.
"No we're on our way for a quick practice before tryouts," James answered her.
Janna looked shocked, green eyes wide and checked her watch. "But it's 8 am." She said, scandalized. It was worse than she thought. Piotrek and Hunter were giving James thumbs up from behind her, earning smiles from the team. "You're just starting?"
James looked back at this team who were all glancing at each other. "Uh… yea." The team nodded along with him.
Janna gave the Gryffindors a sympathetic but slightly triumphant look. "I'll make sure to thank you when we win the cup." She said with a small wink.
Behind her, Hunter and Piotrek were doing a silent re-enactment of their Quidditch practices. Hunter was fending off Piotrek who was "Janna" and was yelling, ordering and occasionally hitting Hunter.
The Gryffindors were full to the brim with held in laughter.
"That's what you think Janna, but I know that sleep is very good for the body." James continued. "It's better to sleep in and practice later than to be up at the crack of dawn."
Piotrek was still ordering Hunter around, who was kneeling and begging at his feet. Piotrek fake bitch-slapped Hunter and silently ordered him to the ground.
Hunter began doing push-ups.
"Well we just go about our business differently." Janna concluded. She turned around to address her friends and her eyes went wide. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?"
Hunter immediately stopped his push-ups and stood, wiping his hands on his robes. Piotrek frantically stopped admiring himself in an imaginary handheld mirror (fixing his 'long hair' and giving it kisses) and put his hands in his pockets.
"Nothing." They both replied.
"Well, all around it's been an interesting morning." Mel commented down on the pitch as the team did some stretches. "I don't know whether my favourite part was Cecil Puofleur or the silent movie we got to watch."
"Alright – here come the contestants…" Rick said, seeing the first few Gryffindors approach, brooms in hands (Cecil in the lead). "I see the albino girl is trying out."
Sirius' head whipped up. "Pasty?" He smiled. "Oh I hope she gets it…"
"She'll burn easily though." Rick continued, finishing his stretches and grabbing his broom. "Albinos always do in the sun."
"Alright Mr. All-year-tan." JJ smirked, already rising in the air.
"Hey, can I help it if I'm naturally brown and gorgeous?" Rick countered. "It's not my fault you look like Shaggy." And then started the aerial chase.
The team flew around, tossing the Quaffle and beating the bludgers for half an hour before everyone who signed up for the tryouts showed up. From the ground the anxious Gryffindors watched the team fly around, occasionally hearing a "where's Scooby-doo, Shaggy?" or Sirius singing, "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmitt – his name is my name too…" Some of them were now beginning to wonder whether they actually wanted to be on the team. That thought soon passed when JJ emitted an outraged cry and the thought was replaced by 'maybe there'll be an opening for Chaser…'
James signalled for their descent and his team obeyed. "Alright - we have an opening for Keeper, reserve Chaser and reserve Seeker." James told the group of nervous Gryffindors. "But of course you're all here for Keeper." James smiled at all the relaxing faces. "But," he paused for dramatic effect, "some of you may be cut out for other positions. Don't take any offence if I make you a reserve Chaser – that simply means you're cut out for the team but the spots are filled by three blunder heads already." Ignoring the protests from behind him, James called up the first attempter.
The tryouts went well. Everyone saved the Quaffle at least once. The first drill they were tested on was how well they could guard the goal posts with the Chasers trying to score.
The second drill involved stopping the Chasers from scoring and dodging the Bludgers and Beaters as they flew around. Many of the students had faltered when a Bludger zoomed past them.
For the third drill, Remus (in a better mood than earlier that morning), Peter, Gus, Lily and Ara had graciously come down to the pitch as requested by James a few days prior.
Lily, Gus, Peter and Ara would scream, clap, cheer, boo and produce sparks in the teacher's stand as a distraction. Remus would commentate (occasionally letting Peter have a say) and make outrageous comments. Ara imitated Professor McGonagall, screeching "Lupin!" whenever he got off topic… that was often.
"She's getting quite good at screaming out Lupin's name, isn't she?" JJ pointed out to Rick who laughed.
Jen, being the third Chaser and doing one of the plays heard him. "Hey!" She yelled. "That's my boyfriend you dolt!" She threw the Quaffle earlier than the play called for and hit JJ square on the shoulder with the heavy ball.
"Oh – and it looks like Black takes out her frustration on a fellow player." Remus commentated from their box.
Rick had dived and caught the Quaffle. "We'll have to start the play over Captain." He called to James who signalled for them to do so.
Taylor, a second year, sighed, as she had to await their attack once more and once again anticipate their technique. James had been quite impressed by her skills and ability to ignore Remus. Although she was a tad scared of the Bludgers, she was very good.
Pasty had gone up next and James had made a note that she was better at catching and throwing the Quaffle than goal tending that involved spontaneous diving and darting. Chasers generally pre-plan their moves and attacks.
Cecil Puofleur had gone up soon after. He was so nervous that he usually dropped the Quaffle after making a save out of pure joy and surprise of it being in his arms. James gave the boy an A for effort and enthusiasm… too bad it didn't count toward the final scores.
A couple of fifth years had gone, then a sixth and finally two third years. James signalled everyone to the ground and they all obliged, gathering in a group upon the pitch.
"You all did well this morning. The results will be put up either tomorrow or the day after." James told the happy and worn out faces. "Don't be upset if you don't make it, be happy that our team will have the best players and will win the Cup again this year!!" Everyone cheered, including the five people coming from the stands. "Try outs dismissed, go take a shower." They all gave him hopeful looks. "In your dormitories. I'm not opening the change room now."
With a collective groan, the attempters left for the castle.
"Alright Prongs. Good tryouts." Sirius commented as the team and five friends trekked back to the school. "What'd you think of Pasty?"
"She's not for Keeper." Jen answered him. "She looked better for a Chaser position."
"I agree." JJ threw in, rubbing a smudge from his broom handle. "She's built for a Chaser as well."
"Are you trying to tell me she should replace one of you?" James asked. Sirius looked excited at the idea.
The three Chasers frantically began throwing in objections.
"She'll need lots of practice."
"And we want to win…"
"Might not even have a broom yet…"
"The sun thing!"
"We work well together-"
"Maybe we're jumping the wand a tad-"
"Remember the sun thing!"
"And I'll kick your ass if you get rid of one of us." Jen finished.
Sirius sighed in defeat. "I guess we'll keep these guys, eh James?"
"Looks like we'll have to." James agreed, wrapping an arm around Lily. "We can have a meeting tonight to add up their scores and see who we think will get the role."
"Glascock was good." Mel commented. "The second year, short… brown hair, pale…" They all nodded.
"Yes she's definitely a possibility." James nodded. 'Even if she's a bit young… a young girl… the Bludgers could hurt her…' Lily, sensing where his thoughts were going, nudged him in the ribs and gave a 'stop those thoughts right now' look. James smiled a lopsided grin and kissed her head. "Gone." Lily smiled proudly.
"Unless Cecil did better than her." JJ joked.
Rick rolled his eyes and reminded them, "Puofleur. His name is Cecil Puofleur."
~ * ~
Cecil Puofleur ended up not making the team or even a reserve. The votes were unanimous. Pasty had made a reserve Chaser, and was proud of that.
The new Keeper was the quiet and studious Taylor Glascock who had shyly glanced at the list when it was posted.
James and Sirius were standing nearby making light conversation so they could see her reaction. It was different than what they had expected from the bashful brunette.
"Yes!! I made it!" Then some jumping and squealing. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She then sought her new teammates. "Thank you!" She hugged James then Sirius – both still amusedly shocked. Her eyes scanned the Common Room and lit up as she spotted Rick studying in a corner with some friends. She ran to him, jumped a table and crashed into him with a hug, thanked him and jumped off once again. Her eyes searched fro the last three…
JJ entered through the Portrait Hole. With a smile to beat all smiles, Taylor ran across the Common Room and engulfed JJ in a hug and thanks. Wanting to find, hug and thank Mel and Jen while still adrenalinized – Taylor darted up the stairs, heading to the seventh year's dorm.
Sirius and James saw her scurry back down, still on the lookout. Evidently Mel and Jen were not in their dorm. After registering that they, indeed, were not anywhere in the Gryffindor Tower, Taylor run out the Portrait Hole.
Later that evening James and Sirius learned from the two teammates that she sought them out in the library while they researched for their Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts essays. Apparently Taylor had made quite the scene. Neither of the girls would elaborate.
But that was nearly a month ago. October had come in torrents of wind and rain; no sun and crisp air. Leaves had begun to change and were torn from their host prematurely by the razor winds that showed no mercy. Animals in the forest had calmed down, taking shelter wherever the wind and rain would not reach. More birds than normal were risking their necks by taking refuge in the Owlery. The owls had taken to the higher rafters, refusing to bear the weather. Students had resigned, figuring the poor night creatures would get lost or lose the letter – if it was not ruined by the weather.
The boys were not looking forward to Remus' transformation this month if Mother Nature kept up her temper tantrum. The wolf's true inner beast would be awoken – even with three animagi by his side. Being cramped in the Shack, waiting out the weather and transformation would be very taxing on their patience and would no doubt leave them scraped and bruised before the nights end.
Bouts of the cold and flu (and little mixtures of both) were making their way around Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry mid-October. Students were seen leaving the Hospital Wing, steam emitting from their ears, and walking around the halls with disgusted looks on their faces and tissues in their hands.
The giant squid that inhabited the lake was quite enjoying itself. The rain would nicely beat upon its raised tentacles and waves formed from the constant winds allowed the squid be rocked with them. The Grindylows weren't all impressed as their clusters of seaweed were strewn about and sparse, leaving them more vulnerable to the squid's taunting and playing. Yes, the squid was quite enjoying itself.
Today's Defence Against the Dark Arts class was very… disgruntled. Aubury, one of the few teachers to go onto a second year of schooling in her position, was trying to keep a chipper mood before the faces of her disgruntled class.
"Today, class, we will be discussing Voldemort." Aubury rolled her eyes as a good portion of the students flinched. "Yes Halle." She called upon the Hufflepuff who raised her hand.
Blushing, Halle spoke. "You wouldn't mind calling him… You-Know-Who… would you?" She asked, almost dreading the response she might get.
Many students nodded their agreement, from every house. Sirius hit Peter upside the head to stop him from nodding. Peter gave Sirius as scowl and rubbed the back of his head.
With a raised eyebrow, Aubury answered the question. "Yes Halle, I would mind. For fear of a name only instils and heightens fear in the thing itself." All who had agreed with Halle let out inaudible sighs of defeat, knowing that they'll most likely hear that forsaken name every class.
"I'm sure that by now the whole school has heard of this morning's attacks?" Aubury said, pacing slowly in the front of the class. "The Brown's have suffered horribly, only a handful of the wealthy purebloods remain." She stopped pacing and looked at the seventh years. "No one knows what Voldemort is after from this last attack, we only have guesswork.
"Is he looking for dominance over the Wizarding world or complete ownership of the planets inhabitants?" Everyone glanced uneasily about each other. "Is he looking for something specific or just madly going at his goals?" She stared at the students, her gaze lingering on Lily a moment longer. "What is he looking for?"
~ * ~
Classes were steadily growing harder as the NEWTS steadily came closer. Essays needed to be twice as long, tests required more informative and lengthy answers and Muggle Studies… well it never lost its fun.
"Everyone will go in groups of two, with the exception of two groups that will have three, when I say so. I will assign you your pairs," the class groaned, "which shouldn't be a problem because we all like and know a little bit about one another." The class couldn't say anything on that… Adams was right after all.
"Each group will consist of a pureblood and halfblood. Our two muggleborns will have two purebloods with them. You'll write an essay together discussing the muggle world, as simple as they can be, a pureblood may not simply know or be ignorant to." Surprisingly (or not, seeing as you look at it) about half the students were either muggleborn or halfbloods. This varied amongst the Houses. There were no Slytherins and Ravenclaw housed a couple muggleborns that took the class. Professor Adams called out names and the students went in their groups.
"I can't believe Adams paired Sirius with two girls…" James said as he took a seat beside Halle, his partner for the essay. "You're a halfblood, right?" He asked the Hufflepuff.
"Yes I am. Isn't Lily a muggleborn?" Halle asked James. "So you'd already know a lot about this kind of thing-"
"Don't be too sure of that." James laughed. "I'm still fascinated by a light switch."
Halle's face was blank. "Oh dear…"
"Looks like I get to work aside two lovely ladies this time." Sirius said suavely with a roguish wink.
Tegan giggled (partially against her better judgement) as she got herself ready and Janna rolled her eyes. Janna was the muggleborn out of the three and conceded that she would probably end up lecturing the other two about something… possibly everything.
"Alright, what are you two ignorant of about muggles?" She asked.
Tegan shrugged her shoulders. "I like muggles and help them out and stuff…"
"That's right, you did the soup kitchen thing, right?" Janna asked. Tegan nodded. "What about you Sirius?" She turned to the black haired boy.
Sirius opened his mouth but Adams decided to give the class a tip at that point. "It might be wise to stick with one topic. If you're trying to understand electricity – choose one element, example, the telephone, TV, etc."
Sirius turned back to the girls. "Sports." He said. "We'll choose a muggle sport. Janna – you're into them, right?"
"Yes, we can do sports. Any in particular?" Janna asked, redoing her dark brown hair into a ponytail. "I've nearly done them all."
"Can you tell us some of them?" Tegan asked, her quill poised over some parchment. "Well, all of them… we'll choose one or a few we want."
Janna leaned back and looked to the ceiling as she listed them, seeming to be ticking them off in her head. "Well… ok. Lacrosse, Football, Baseball, Softball, Hockey, Swimming, Diving, Ice Skating, Water Polo, Gymnastics, Ballet, Modern and Tap dancing, Basketball, Surfing, Horseback riding/breaking, Crew, Sailing, Track, Tennis, Volleyball, Karate (ju-jitsu and kung-fu), and Rock climbing." She looked back down at Sirius staring at her, neither moving. "What? Did I go too fast?"
Sirius opened his mouth, than closed it. Tegan finally tore eyes from Janna and looked at her list.
"I… I um, stopped at… 'Jim Nasty'… whatever he is…" Tegan said unsurely, still surprised to know that there was that many muggle sports (and probably more) and that Janna had done them all.
"Gymnastics," Janna repeated slowly, "aren't the best of things to get yourself involved with."
"So maybe we can do our essay on that." Sirius said, happy that they can do their essay on something though and manly. Whoever this 'Jim' guy was… he had to be tough. "I'm sure wizards don't do that sport, so any stupid guesses and theories that Tegan and I come up with… we'll throw them in."
Janna looked hesitant to have this part of her life probed and explained, but she went along with it for the sake of the essay.
They began asking her questions about 'Jim-nastic' (Tegan apologized for the 'nasty' bit), any uniform one might wear and what it entails. Sirius soon tried to change sports.
"What about this… 'Hawk-eye'?" He asked, reading from Tegan's list. "Is that…" he thought to say 'manly', but didn't want to insult Janna by making her think he thought the Jim thing was stupid… "Interesting?"
Tegan smiled. "Jim-nastic too girly for you Sirius?" She taunted.
"It's Hockey, Sirius. Here, give me that." She took the parchment of ill spelt words and re-wrote them.
Tegan and Sirius looked over them. "You spelt nearly all of them wrong Tegan…" Sirius commented.
"Oh shut up."
"Any more questions?" Janna asked her partners.
Tegan looked at her watch. Still about half an hour left. "Why don't you seem to like it? It sounds like fun to me." She asked.
Janna's green eyes darkened. "I had a bad experience with it." She said, looking down at the quill twirling in her fingers. "It was all about winning, training, being the perfect weight…"
"You look to be in fine weight to me." Sirius said, looking at her thin body. He then noted, for the first time, that she was a lot skinnier than someone her height probably should be… "Did you have to work to get to the weight you're at now?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Janna snapped suddenly.
"Well that's why we're doing the essay-"
"Not to lean about my personal life, we're not." Janna interrupted Tegan.
"Not to impose on your personal life, Janna," Sirius said hesitantly, "but if we were to discuss what really goes on that maybe even muggles wouldn't know about-"
"Then what?" Janna spat, her voice rising. "We'll get a better grade?" She scoffed when Sirius avoided her eyes. "You want a good mark? Fine. I did whatever it took to lose 15lbs in one week, so there you go – add that in your stupid essays." Janna grabbed her bag and stormed out of the classroom, with tears already shining in her eyes.
The whole class sat stunned, having heard her final exclamations. No one said anything for a couple minutes…"I think we can leave a bit early today class." Adams said, still watching the two partners abandoned by their third. "We'll continue this next class… and try to work on it before then." He paused. The students were all looking at him, not moving. "Class dismissed." That got them going.
"What the bloody hell did you say to her?" James asked Sirius as they walked down the hall, heading to Charms.
"I… we were talking about a sport and it got a tad personal…"
"No really?" Jen said sarcastically. "I don't know how you got to it… but you should have kept your mouth shut when you got to the weight topic. How often does a girl freely discuss her weight to a guy without repercussions?" Ara nodded beside her.
"Ok, but in my defence – she brought it up." Sirius said, hands up defensively. They entered the Charms class and made their way over to Lily and Mel. "I didn't know Jim-nastic was a touchy subject with her…"
"What happened?" Mel asked, seeing their morose faces.
"Sirius made someone cry." Peter spoke up matter-of-factly.
Lily and Mel's mouths dropped. "What the devil did you do?"
"To who?" Lily added after Mel.
"He said something about weight and Janna left the class after a few harsh words." Remus filled them in.
"Janna Rosado?" Mel asked in surprise. "You made Janna cry?"
"You better apologize to her fast." Lily scolded him right before Flitwick addressed the class. Sirius sighed and tried to think of a way to approach Janna without getting his ass beaten.
"Today we will be leaning Banishing Charms – stronger than the ones you learned in fourth year." Flitwick said, taking out his wand. "These charms banish a said person or object to a desired place. The further you banish, the less likely it is the person or object you are banishing will make it to the area you chose.
"Now, our charms won't be as strong but we'll practice on quills – not each other." He gazed sternly at his class. "Even if you did attempt human banishing, the person will not make it to the desired location, for that is a difficult charm to master." Some student's faces became saddened (ie. Sirius and James who took their gaze from Snape's direction) "Everyone attach a nametag to your quill. Your destination will be the Great Hall on your House table – so after class, during lunch, you can see if it made it there. If all goes well with your incantation, a sort of wind tunnel will suck it up."
Everyone was looking forward to this charm. "I do not expect you all to master it on the first or even eighth try." Flitwick told them, gesturing everyone to take out their wands. They did. "We will practice the incantation first."
"I can't believe Lily banished Flitwick to the Great Hall…" Remus laughed later that evening. "I mean… really. I could barely get a breeze around my quill in the beginning."
"I know," Jen said, laughing, "and he was so proud by the time he made it back. Had her quill and everything." Jen and Remus laughed, snuggling together on the couch. "What did James say to make her laugh?"
They were resigned to their secret room after dinner to study ("Likely story…" Ara). And they actually were studying… breaks every now and again – but at least their books were open. The storm was still in a fury outside, although the winds had dropped from 50 km/h to 35 km/h. The couple sat on their couch before the fireplace, not even hearing the raging storm.
"Oh is that why she messed up?" Remus asked, amused. "Well, not really messed up… I don't know what he said…" Jen smiled at him and looked back at her work. Remus watched her for a minute… her short black hair tucked behind her ear, how the fire before them glowed off the red highlights. She bit her tongue as she worked on a hard question for Ancient Runes. Remus smiled to himself as he thought about her. He loved her, he was sure of that. She loved him, and he was grateful to everything that made that happen. He had never thought about getting married, having a family, or raising children before they started dating… but now, with a small blush, he realized that if he wanted any of that, he'd want it to be with Jen. Jennifer Black. Jennifer Lupin?
Jen turned and caught him looking at her. "What?" She asked quietly with a smile.
Remus looked back at his own work. "Nothing." He replied casually. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jen shake her head and go back to her work. He looked back at her, but quickly looked back at his work as she caught him looking at her again. Jen gave a shy laugh and looked back down. Biting his lip, Remus chanced a quick look and Jen looked at him at the same time.
"You're watching me!" She laughed, nudging him.
"No I'm not." Remus replied with a huge smile. He looked back at his essay, quill in hand.
"Uh huh… what were you thinking about?" Jen queried.
Remus looked back at her. Well, he wasn't about to tell her what he was really thinking… with a glint in his eye, Remus leant over and began whispering in her ear.
Jens eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted. She could feel Remus' lips touch her ear every few whispered words and felt goose bumps rise up her back. Remus' hand rested on her knee and his thumb gently caressed her leg as she spoke to her. When Remus pulled away she slowly turned her head to face him, eyes slowly opening. He kissed her on lips, leisurely laying her down on the couch. Jen kissed Remus back happily, keeping her hands occupied in his hair. She felt Remus start to lift her shirt when a pecking came at the window.
"Ignore it…" Jen groaned as Remus grudgingly got up to get the poor avian that had to bear the ongoing storm.
"If it's Romulus…" Remus said warningly, "he'll get a right kick up the-"
"It's him, isn't it?" Jen asked. The owl rested before the fireplace, getting warm and dry.
Remus' eyes narrowed with a sigh. "Yes." His eyes skimmed over the letter. "Says he'll be seeing me soon… and apologizes if he 'interrupted anything' like during the summer."
Jen laughed. "Yea I bet he's sorry…" she said sarcastically, then sobered. "What's he coming here for?"
"No idea." Remus replied, folding the letter on the table. "What say we actually do some work now, hm?" He kissed the top of her head and sat back down.
"Yes Professor Lupin." Jen mocked before getting to work. "That has a certain ring to it you know…"
"Professor Lupin?" Remus repeated. "Imagine the guys' reaction if I became a teacher…" Remus and Jen simultaneously laughed. "That'd be the day…"
* * *
Oh sweet God – I'm finally done! Hahahah! It took me about… 2 weeks, but I'm done! I'm not too sure about ending it there… but I'm not putting anymore right now. Be happy I didn't feel like giving you a cliffhanger. *sticks out tongue* ;) Ok… onto my thank you's for Chapter 7 – I got nearly 50 – you guys truly are amazing. I'm being completely honest here, thanks for sticking with me the whole time. *sniffs* You're all so sweet…
penpunk: You seem to have a fascination with being the first reviewer;) *lol* You're a closet Elton John fan like Piotrek? Thank you so much for the lists! They made me smile and laugh – I think I saved them on 'Notepad' or something. Let's me know some of the reasons I put up with some annoying people (can you take a wild stab in the dark as to what review I'm talking about?). You know… I just have this thing with songs in a fic being from the correct era. I mean, sure, an Nsync song might be sweet and go well with the fic, but I'd rather you have one from the Mama's and Papa's or something, you know? I don't know, maybe it's just me. Unless it's those one page fics that have a story centred around one song, that's fine. But at a ball – they better not be dancing to Shakira. Anywho – I assure you my ego didn't swell too much. I can still fit threw the doorframe – so my head isn't that big. ;) Thanks so much, I really appreciated it.
blinky86: thank you for telling me who Roger Davies is. I remember him now. He was quite hilarious when listening to Fleur talk. Made me laugh. Happy you liked Cecil (Sirius' non-name) and hope you liked this Cecil. ;) Thanks for the review!
AngelGurl: Oh my God… it has been too long. I was actually going to have the Quidditch try outs in the last chapter, but kind of went off on a tangent with the finale of the 'no' curse. I hope you liked your little introduction, and I hope to see you reviewing again! Thanks for the review!
Beaver Buddy: I liked the name Waffle for a cat. I nearly died from its cuteness – I don't care if the inside joke is some grotesque thing – Waffle would be an adorable name. :P Yea, Snape was mean to Waffle, too bad, eh? *lol* Thanks for the review! And for the one you gave about the 'you suck' guy. (I've given him a name, but it's not appropriate for a PG-13 story.)
running-out-of-ink: Don't worry, you didn't sound bossy. Aww… I surprise you a lot? That's really nice to hear. And I don't know what you mean by 'what's up with Remus lately'… Um, nothing? Well… no, there's nothing up with him. He has his usual full moon thing on the brain, and he was woken up at 7am on a Sunday with the only reason being "my name is not Cecil." I'd have gone mad if my friends did that… but if that's not what you're talking about, let me know, ok? Thanks, and thanks for the review!
Lily Smith: Thank you, thank you. I, too, enjoyed Sirius' discovery of being able to say no. Thanks for the review!
Snuffles 55: Thanks for the review, happy you find it funny. :)
Kool Aid: *raises eyebrow and squints eye* Wow… that's quite a graphic way to kill and castrate Malfoy there… And my ideas just come to me as I write. That's it really… *shrugs and laughs* You loved a lot of parts didn't you? Thanks for the review!
Princess Pixie ice: *laughing* There was not one period in your review! Oh sure you had the '…' a lot, but no '.'. Sorry, it just amuses me when I read those. I don't think cats are evil… I think they're quite cute. Sure, some have really nasty attitudes, but it's the owners fault for spoiling and never reprimanding the cats if they bite/scratch. :) Yes, I worked at a vet clinic for a while. Anywho - thanks for the review!
ferahgo: It is grand that your name isn't Cecil. Like how we actually meet a Cecil? (God I hate that name…) Right – I'd like to know how you're getting OotP on June 18th, my friend. That's… not cool! I have to wait 3 days longer… *glares* Maybe I'll just… steal yours? Thanks for the review!
Melu: So many people liked the no thing… Happy it was well received. *lol* I liked the comparison of Voldemort + gloominess = Harry Potter story! Thanks for the review!
kerry: Oh I enjoy you… but you already knew that. :P I loved the '*sips Vanilla Coke*' line… nice little plug there. ;) LMAO – maybe it's the coke? Oh God I died laughing… Don't worry, I still love you – and should be getting back to your e-mail today… and if not today, then tomorrow. And yes – you said 'eh'. You're the second person (and American at that;)) I'm getting to write 'eh' in conversations. Just wait till you start saying it with your friends! Another girl already does and all her friends look at her and say, "Eh? Where the hell did that come from?" And I'm at home grinning maniacally saying, "Me…" Anywho! Thanks for the review!
everblue3: lmao – getting your 'learn on'? That's great… and I'm honoured that you'd spend so much time to see if I've updated. Sorry I didn't say anything, though. *ahem* I thought of it… but then decided not to for some odd reasons. You know, with the X-men thing… I'm a Cyclops person – he's pretty damn cute, but character wise? I like Wolverine. I really do. He's… I don't know. Sometimes that angsty attitude can be very becoming… and he's nicely built, not shy of showing it off… Canadian, animalistic, and… just a great character. Sarcastic, too. But yes… as different as Logan and Remus are… they are still my little fur ball animals at heart. I need a 'I (heart) Moony and Wolverine' flag. Hehe… I was just reading your Jen and Remus mushiness part… a little bit more of that this time, eh? I asked someone: "I haven't had any good snogging sessions for a while, have I?" Then it occurred to me that Jen and Remus are always good candidates. And yes, interwoven was the big word I used. *smiles sheepishly* But really, how often do you use that word? I've noticed that I've made Sirius a joking-womanizer, but it never truly works out for him… have you noticed that? I don't know… but how he is with girls… Ara, Janna, etc, they just tend to brush him off or give him sarcastic replies… I guess they know he's just playing. I was just thinking that. *bursts out laughing* I, too, look to the older characters when fantasizing, as you put it. *wiping eyes* That nice and blunt. I like that. Anywho. *gasps* I didn't get e-mailed a teaser! You promised me a teaser for chapter 10!!! Oh… that's not cool. *clears throat* Cleobulle? I do not have a Cleobulle in my story, my friend. You are thinking of 'Outward Appearances' or some other L&J story. My cats (named) are Bastet, and… Iphigenia. Those are my main… *sighs* You're mixing up stories again… But yes… I enjoyed your review – quite a laugh. ;) Thanks for the review.
Amanda: I still find it hilarious that you don't want your family knowing that you read these. *lol* I've been counting down since… whenever we found out Book 5 was coming out too! I think it was 156 days or something like that… I tell my mum sometimes, but not always. I'll be like, "Hey mum – 34 days left until OotP, did you know that?" And she gives the sarcastic smile and replies that she does now. Mums can be fun. Anywho - thanks for the review!
Kim: Thanks for the review! Happy you enjoy my little Sirius and Arabella hints. But don't go holding your breath for them, trust me. I see you enjoy the Sirius parts. ;) I think he's on everyone's favourites list.
Issy: Thanks for the review and for my chapter title naming thingie-ma-jiggy… It's always a lark to try and find a good name that fits the story, doesn't give anything away, and it just fun to read on its own. :)
Star: *sighs* I love making people laugh, you know that? I really do. Happy I made your day and weekend a couple weeks ago – how about this weekend? This one wasn't as funny as usual… but still. Thanks for the review!
LadySiri: Oh I love the Scrambler! I always tell my friends what side is the 'safe' side, and then they're screaming at me the whole time as they're getting squished! Muahahaha! I'm evil, I know. Thanks for the review!
Rei: NGE is an anime series. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Good one, too… it's really the only one I watch (with a bit of Tenchi Muyo) so I thought that that you got the name from one of the characters. Right then. Thanks for the review!
Liv: Ewww… and you didn't even find the film? Bad luck, eh? Price sounds amusing. Tell him I say Hi. *waves* You could always just bother him as much as he does you… that could work. And yes, I'll be dancing in heels for 4 hours when prom comes:) (Oh my God… in like, 13 days!! *squeals* It's going to be so much fun…) Thanks for the review!
sayuri: It's fine that you didn't review the last chapter. Happy you liked Sirius happy, spinning friends around thing… anywho! Thanks for the review!
LovinLupin: Good that you got my other reply. ;) I think everyone loves Remus. Did you like my little part at the end? I did… oh did I ever. I squealed while I wrote him sneaking glances – that was just too cute for me. I'll admit it. I was drowned in cuteness. If a guy did that… I'd take him right there. (j/k!! Well… unless it was Remus… hmmm…) I'm so happy someone from hp.com actually read this! Hey JT :):) I'm never on when you are, but I see your replies. Here you go, an update! Thanks for the review!
smalls: What do you mean what the heck is Cecil? Well, it's the most effeminate name for a guy there is. I actually hate it. Baby owls? What makes you think that? *winks* Thanks for the review!
Agent AAA: Oh yes – jibes is spelt with a 'j' or 'g' – I looked it up in the dictionary. ;) I was wondering the same thing myself. *waves* :) Thanks for the fun review!
Alej: lol – yes it's a real word – and you taught it to me! Aren't you just a bucket of special? Thanks for the review!
Lizmarauder4eva: *lol* You changed your name! That's too fun. Thanks for the review!
She shoots, she scores: Thanks Janna – you're the bomb!
starborn: *lol* I enjoyed your review… and you read it at the library? I'm surprised they let you… well, unless they don't know;) Tell your friend (who might be reading the story too) that I say Hi. *waves* Ok, so that you don't have to check everyday for an update – I only update on weekends! Remember that. Only weekends. Thanks for the review!
kitty228806: *ahem* Yes, thank you for the periods… but um… one thing. You didn't put any spaces so it kinda stretched the page… *raises eyebrow* And has made the thank you's a very annoying job this time around – but don't worry – you didn't know that would happen (I didn't know it would happen!)… but thanks for putting periods! That really made me laugh. That was a good point that you brought up, though. Harry nearly being put in Slytherin, so they can't all be bad. Very good observation! I never thought about that. Thanks for the review! (periods and spaces this time :P)
~sundust~: You're giving me two gifts this week!! Actually… I didn't update last weekend either, what does that mean? Anywho, thanks!
FrogOnFire: Oh, I hate it when the site says: "The server is too busy…" I'm like: "I DON'T CARE. I want my Harry Potter fan fiction and I want it now!!" But then I remember that this is an unhealthy obsession and digress. *lmao* Kurt Vakda? *clears throat* His name is Kurt Wagner – but it's his accent. I just had to laugh at that! Thanks for the review!
Amethyst: *lol* Congrats for winning the book for that odd book contest! Thanks for the review!
chanzo654: Thanks for the review! Happy I make you laugh. ;)
nerdypurdy: Do you want to be added on my e-mail notification list thingie for when I update? Will do. Thanks for the review!
oobergoober: Wow. That was a lot of reviews from you, eh? Thanks!! Yes, a singed cat stinks. Any type of burning flesh/fur/hair smells really bad. *cringes* :) I can always decipher psychobabbles. Some reviews are just so… babbling that it takes some practice, but I think I'm an expert at it now. ;) Thanks for the review!
mystikalolo: :)Thanks! I'm still on the 'should I or shouldn't I get Ara and Sirius together' border… I'm still swaying both ways. You'll see soon enough… well, not really. But… oh who cares. Just read and find out, eh?
TheSilverLady: Oh come on! Remus as a drug dealer would be great! You don't want that? *pouts* Fine. No I was joking the whole time. ;) Thanks for the review!
Mr., or rather Ms. Bubbles: *lol* At first I had no idea what you were talking about with the butter thing… but I get it now! I remember!! Thanks for the review!
Vega Black: lol – I like how you called me a rebel. That I am!! *insert grin here* But yea… we'll jut have to wait to see when/if Sirius and Ara get together, eh? Thanks for the review!
mugglewolf: Thanks for coming back and finding my story! Thanks for the review!
Clearbrook: I'm glad you still think I'm funny. :):):) Thanks for the review!
Lyra Granger: You had to nitpick didn't you? :P:P Hehe… I'm not surprised that I had errors in French- honestly, even though I've been forced to learn it since I was 3 – I can never retain any of it… You saw Carl coming? Well good – that means you're perceptive. I thought I was being obvious the whole time… but no one ever said anything about him, so I thought he was just brushed aside as an OC… good on you for catching it though! And wow – you really read into this didn't you? *lol* Yea I know with the Sirius and Ara thing… I just don't want to say "You want S/A? Ok here it is" I'm just having fun:) Ok – ok, ok, ok… I know with the Gus thing and how he's not in the Marauders dorm… but that was a bit of a slip of the quill with me. I meant for him to be a Ravenclaw or something… but I accidentally had Mel say "same year and House" and then for some reason, my mind kept making a Gryffindor. I was just hoping no one'd pick up on that. ;);) But you did… damn. I'm not changing anything now – especially since it's just a ff. Let's just say that… they can only fit 5 beds in a room… and don't bring up the 'magical expansion' or anything. I'm lazy. ;) Happy you liked mstt! Thanks for the review!
GreenEyedPickle: *snorts* No, I don't think I'll become a Mormon quite yet. ;) And yes – I've finally read Plugs and Outlets! Absolutely hilarious! And I read Quills and Inkbottles (I think that's its name) and the final one. The Quidditch one – it was my favourite cause of Sirius' impression of James – really well done in my opinion. Oh my God – I died laughing at the S.P.E.R.M. thing. I'll take 10 badges!! But I didn't get the lakeside property on denial thing… what's he in denial about? *confused look* Really… you lost me there. Oh, you've read I'll Find Myself Today? Nice. I really have to get back at that one… the tone I'm writing in right now isn't similar to that one and I can't seem to get back at it. Damn. I have to wait for another bout of angst. Anywho - thanks for the review like always, and I look forward to another one! By the by – I have a friend who want my to tell you to read Albus Dumbledore's Inbox and Dear Voldie. *rolls eyes* She's been pestering me – and she'll probably read this to make sure I told you. :P:P Take that! Sorry – thanks again!
Gryfyndor Girl: :) I don't like the name Cecil either. It's very pansy-ish to me. I feel for anyone who's named it. Thanks for the review!
KumQuat: I quite enjoy your name. Really. You say I have remained undiscovered? o_Ô Ok then… Thanks for the review! :)
Nessie: It's so good to see you reviewing once again. *waves* I've missed out LOTR chats. ;) You know… I'm not a huge H/G fan myself. I prefer H/Hr, or H/OC. Maybe it's cause we know little to nothing about Ginny. Who knows! Thanks for the review!
SJAngel: Well, the 'no' curse had to end sometime, eh? *lol* About time someone appreciated my Cookie Monster references! I was thinking he was going unnoticed… Anywho!! Thanks for the review!
*takes a breather* Oh mother of pearl that was a lot… ok! Now onto other chapters and TGTYEL! (shoot me now… *winks*)
oobergoober (for all of them, really. TGTYEL to IJTL – Thanks!), Anonymous (You can be patient. Honestly, I don't appreciate that.), Beaver Buddy (Thanks. :)), saj aneri (thanks!), Madame Moony (I agree with you on the 'I love you' that's one of the things I wish I could change… but I won't now. Thanks!), Audreetee (Heylo for whenever you reach this far. :P), Arabella Figg (Sorry about you not liking Romulus, but I'm a mythology/Roman/Greek fan, so I had to.), magicrulz (Thanks!), gochi-chan (Thanks:)), starborn (:P).
Oh thank God I'm done! Woo! Ok… there was something I was going to say- OH YES. If ever you're wondering if I'll be updating on the weekend, check my bio. Honestly. In bold there will be a little message from me telling you my status. It will always involve a stage (you'll know when you get there) and will say whether or not I'll be updating! Ok, so you don't have to check my story all the time, just glance at the top are of my bio!
Adios and I'll see you later! Review if you feel like it, but it'd be much appreciated! Toodles!