Disclaimer: Hogsmeade's the property of JK Rowling. Mine's just one of the streets in it, muahaha.
Author's Note: -deep breath- I'm solving the R/S confusion right away. Read carefully: both of them are still in the story, folks! They won't be getting less lines (or anything similar), even though James and Lily are the main ship. Don't you worry! But their relationship will stay on the humorous level, as I already stated. When I said this story wasn't going to be really slashy, some of you people thought I was throwing two of my favourite characters out (!) and, trust me, I'd rather be stuck with Peter Pettigrew in a suitcase for the rest of my life than throw 'em out, ok? Nothing's changing, except for the fact that Sirius and Remus won't be humping each other like bunnies, capisci? Good. Glad we understood each other now.
Okay, then... What can you expect from the chappie number 10? Some humor, of course and some drama, oh Lord. What can I expect from you guys? Loads of reviews. I really need them... or a writer's block will eat me alive. –eeeeek-
Many kisses and salutes to Snuffles Is Loony for Moony, blacksmoon, Demonsblade, YamikiofAnime, the-girl-named-kittie, HappySnakes Rule, Starlight Hannah, SABRINA, vampslayer, UnforseenShadow, Lady-Elizabeth4242, Shuffle Queen, Bhekie, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, siriusella, centaur219, Troy, Heather, EmpressM and a very special thank-you goes to HermioneLuna who decided to BETA this chappie (and did a great job, if I may add)... she'll hopefully beta the next ones too, hehe... Well, that's that. I love you all guys! Thanks so much! –gets emo-
Erm, yes. I'll shut up now and let the story continue. Yay!
Not So Holy Matrimony
written by Milka-Weasley
Chapter 10 – Holidays, Hogsmeade and Pain
The days after that particular night had been relatively monotonous and uneventful, but neither the Marauders nor Lily seemed to complain. The 7th years were busy doing huge amounts of homework that had piled up over the past few weeks. Even though they didn't actually yelp, nobody really enjoyed either.
Remus, however, was the only one grateful for their constant lack of free time. As long as his mind had been preoccupied with studying, he couldn't be caught up by depressing and perplexing thoughts regarding Sirius.
Remus had no idea what he was feeling. The loneliness would come over him quite suddenly, but he still couldn't resolve if he needed Sirius or... anyone at all.
It was weird, confusing, nerve-eating and Remus preferred not to think about it. He decided to stick to the good old "Que sera, sera," and be prepared for anything. On top of it all, the jading full-moon period had just ended and was still recovering. The last thing he needed was more torture; the negative thoughts were definitely it.
To everybody's great joy, Christmas was finally approaching.
As they entered the second half of December, the weather turned very cold. Before James was able to say "I don't like winter" the Hogwarts grounds had already been covered in several feet of a perfectly white and thick snowy blanket.
The holiday excitement was unavoidable and the usual amazing Christmas decorations had been put up all over the place. Hogwarts was entirely in 'Yule Atmosphere' as Sirius liked to call it.
"Hear, hear," said James cheerfully one morning as he joined Remus, Sirius and Peter in the Gryffindor Common Room. "Hogsmeade weekend, this weekend! Finally something to help me run away from this torment called studying..."
Remus looked at him disapprovingly. "But you haven't even bothered trying to do this essay!"
"Why would I?" snickered James. "You've already done it."
Remus shot him a rigid look. "Oh, Horn-Bug, how wrong you are if you think there's the slightest chance I'll let you copy the essay from me."
"Never mind. I know who will. Padfoot, my chum?"
Sirius crooked his head to one side. "Let's see. If I was able to sit and sweat here for hours whilst trying to think of 50 bloody boring ways to get rid of stupid Kappas, instead of doing something really important and fun like – say – throwing snowballs at Slytherins... Then... I don't see why you couldn't do it, Prongs."
"And your answer is...?"
"No."
Remus cheered triumphantly. James goggled at Sirius, looking hurt. "And thou too, my son?"
"Hey, it's not like I stabbed you in the back!"
"Yeah, right. I'll never forgive you this one. Wormtail?" said James hopefully.
Peter budged in his chair. "Ah, well, er, I - I s'pose you can copy it from me, yeah..."
Remus sighed as James grinned victoriously. "I knew you'd never abandon me, Pete! These two would get rid of me any time they'd have a chance, but you'd never!"
Pettigrew smiled perplexedly. "'course I wouldn't."
"Suck up," muttered Sirius, not trying to keep his voice down. "So, Hogsmeade weekend, eh? That's definitely a great news. 'specially because I've heard a new pub's been opened this week. Thought we might check it out; apparently they serve fire whiskeys, blinking rum and sparkle vodkas even for innocent underage wizards. Means, us. Minus the innocent part."
"Mmmm, sparkle vodka..." James licked his lips wishfully. "My favourite."
"Hey James," called Lily, as she and Clementine Spacey entered the room, "guess what?"
"We already know, Evans," Sirius said quickly, "there's a Hogsmeade trip this Saturday. We were discussing it just now... until you came."
Lily gave him a long look. "No need to be unfriendly, Black."
"You've been like that towards James all these years."
"Stop it, you two," said James calmingly, a flick of amusement glowing in his eyes, "I know you both immensely love me, but don't worry, there's some for everyone! All you need to do is ask."
Clementine rolled her eyes, laughing. "Lily, I still can't believe you're actually dating Potter! I mean, he hasn't changed, has he? And you used to despise-"
"That's enough, Clementine, thank you," Lily cut her off, afraid she might say something offensive about James. "Seems like things aren't the way they used to be, okay? And, Black, I wasn't even going to mention Hogsmeade, I presumed you'd heard that by now. There's something even newer. It's right there on the bulletin board. About the Matrimonium Alveum game," she added carelessly.
"What about it?" Remus raised his look, intrigued. He blushed slightly as he saw Lily looking at him steadily as a small smile appeared on her lips. It was kind of weird to know she was one of those few people who were informed about Sirius's and his little... secret.
"Yeah, what about it?" James and Sirius asked in unison, while Peter nodded.
Lily smiled. "You guys sound interested! That's encouraging. Well, we don't know anything for sure yet, but the board says we'll get that missing bit of information from our Heads of Houses the night before Christmas. So, I reckon, it's gotta be connected to Christmas somehow..."
"Whatever it is, I hope it'll be romantic," sighed Clementine dreamily.
"Er... Dunno 'bout that," said Sirius, scowling at the idea, "but I do hope it'll be fun. That's why I wanted to play it in the first place - sheer fun."
The rest of them nodded in agreement.
"We still have a week to find out what it's about, so we better concentrate on the homework. That one's for tomorrow," concluded Remus and went back to finish the last page of his Dark Arts essay.
The Hogsmeade weekend morning dawned cold, but bright and pleasant with icily white sky. The caretaker Argus Filch led a whole bunch of Hogwarts students covered in scarves, cloaks and warm robes, down the path to the only non-Muggle Britain village, whilst they chatted, gossiped, laughed and enjoyed the smell of holidays that had filled the air.
"James," said Sirius as his breath rose in front of him, "why are you acting so... hyper? I mean, we're all happy we're at Hogsmeade, but you... you're literally jumping up and down. Mind you, you don't even like snow and winter!"
"Besides," added Remus, shivering slightly, "we were here last week, weren't we? Full moon, Shrieking Shack... Ring a bell?"
"Yeah, but... you know... I'm meeting Lily later."
"Uh-huh..." Sirius said, ironically elevating an eyebrow, "Well, I must've misunderstood something 'cause I thought you two were already together..."
"Ha, ha, how witty. It's our first date. First official date."
"Ah, I see," nodded Sirius, "so you're afraid you might make a complete ass out of self? Understandable."
James felt a huge dumpling stop in his throat. "So you too think there's a chance I might act like a complete jerk? I knew I wasn't being paranoid!"
"Take it easy, Prongs," Remus smiled, putting a hand on James's shoulder calmingly, "You've already seduced the poor girl, so the hardest part's over. You don't have to necessarily knock her off her feet. Just be yourself, ay?"
"But not too much of yourself," joked Sirius, "there're some boundaries, ya know."
"Oh, shove off," laughed James and felt much easier and more relaxed after talking to his friends.
"Hey, Moony, ma man," Sirius suddenly remembered something, snickering, "we didn't have a date yet, either..."
"Do we need one?" Remus quickly asked.
"Nah." James shook his head.
"Nobody asked you anything, mister Hyperactive. Remus, you won't get outta this one. The boiling rum's on you this time!"
"Fine, but you're buying candies at Honeydukes then."
"I'll be bankrupt!"
"You asked for it."
"Sometimes I think you're pure evil in disguise, Moony," stated Sirius, "Sure you're not related to my family? If I ever go to the Noble House of Blacks again I'm gonna have to check the tapestry 'n see if you're on it... What? Anything's possible - you never know."
"Lily, remind me again, what are we looking for?" Clementine asked as the two girls made their way through a thick crowd down the street.
"I told you, I want to buy my nephew a Broom Speeder for Christmas..."
"Thought you said you were buying it for your cousin?" said Clementine suspiciously.
"Did I?" Lily stopped for a second, thinking. "Cousin, nephew... all the same to me."
"Lily... You are a terrible liar," her friend deduced, "Is it that hard to admit you actually wanna buy Potter a present?"
"Who said --? Oh, alright," Lily capitulated as she saw the look on her friend's face, which distinctly told her 'stop-lying-or-else'... "okay, Clem, I give up. It's not really that hard... I just don't wanna sound like we're, I don't know..."
"Married?" Clementine helped, smirking.
Lily grinned. "Yeah..."
"I'd never think that! Just be sure which type of broomstick he's got. You don't want your hubby's broom going all wonky, do ya?"
After a couple of hours of jolly wandering around Hogsmeade, Lily had to say goodbye to Clementine and head for the recently opened pub called "The Lucky Niffler" to meet James.
Lily happily clenched the bag in her hands having no doubts James would be thrilled with his Christmas present.
Too bad I can't give it to him today, she thought jauntily, I'd love to see the look on his face when he'd see what I bought him! Well, guess I'll need to wait a few more days... Shouldn't be too hard.
Lost in her thoughts, Lily turned left in an empty lateral street to cut the long way to the pub, enjoying the crispy sound of the snow crunching beneath her.
Suddenly, she became aware that the creaking had become louder, as though she wasn't the only one walking. Usually, Lily wouldn't be alarmed, but the ambienance of a lightless narrow street made her feel quite uncomfortable. Her instincts told her to draw her wand immediately, but a mild stab in her back prevented her from doing so. Lily nearly stopped breathing as her heart began to beat like a fast train. Merlin, tell me I'm exaggerating, tell me I'm only overreacting...
"Scary, ha?" said a molly-coddling, but unpleasant female voice who riveted her wand at Lily's back. Goose bumps erupted up Lily's spine, causing hairs on her neck to stand up and her whole body to shiver. "I know I wouldn't like to be cornered in a dark alley, all by myself, without any of my friends to help me... and with my hands tied up..."
"My hands are not..." began Lily quietly, but stopped in the middle of the sentence as she realized her wrists were being laced at the very moment. Lily's hands shriveled and the bag with James's present fell on the ground. The fear she had felt doubled, but powerful anger joined the dismay.
Lily could hear the girl laughing maliciously behind her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing! Let me go!" yelled Lily, furiously. She couldn't recognize the voice, but she was positive she had heard it before. "Why don't you come in front of me so I can see your ugly face..."
"Shut your mouth, Mudblood," the girl had stopped laughing, and was now whispering dangerously in Lily's ear. "You're lucky I didn't do anything viler. Trust me, I'm perfectly capable of it. One more word like that and I won't be this gentle. That's a promise, Evans."
"So, to sum it all up," Lily said loudly, trying not to pay attention to the harsh jumbling in her stomach, "you called me a Mudblood, you like to use the clichéd freaky whisper, you are violent and you attacked me from behind... You must be a Slytherin. Wait, not just a Slytherin... A Slytherin coward."
"Are you stupid or what?" hissed the girl, annoyed. "Rodolphus was right about everything he'd said about you, except for one thing – he told me you were a clever little witch. Provoking somebody who's got a wand pointed at your back while you're unable to defend yourself is extremely foolish."
Lily's mind instantly froze. "You said... R- Rodolphus? Rodolphus Lestrange?"
The girl was laughing wildly again. "I don't think there are many other Rodolphuses in our vicinity, do you? Yes, of course I'm talking about Lestrange Rodolphus. Your ex boyfriend... and my present husband. My future too, I daresay."
There were no longer doubts in Lily's mind who the girl was.
"Bellatrix Black," Lily said through clenched teeth, "I should've guessed."
The girl finally stopped pressing the wand in Lily's back. Bellatrix Black made a few steps around Lily, before stepping in front of her. She had an undervaluing expression fixed on her face. She was tall and waspish and her long hair heavily sloped on her chest. She would've probably been very pretty if she hadn't had a terrible smile glued to her face and the malignant glow in her cold blue eyes.
"Took you long enough, Evans," she said, grinning really evilly now, "I just hate slow people. Stupidity makes me so angry. Stupid people should be punished, don't you agree? Sometimes, I just wish to make them suffer for being so insufferably thick. Especially if they're Mudbloods, such as yourself."
Lily couldn't ignore the terrible meddling in her stomach any more. She was perfectly aware of the fact this hadn't been a naïve and harmless situation.
This isn't good, Lily, this is definitely not good... You're stuck with a bloody madwoman in a bloody passageway with no bloody way to fight back... You must quickly think of something... think quickly.. think of something...
"Panicky, are we?" Bellatrix enthusiastically said, studying Lily's physiognomy and gestures. "Perfect timing, Evans. Just the right time for a nice little hex that one nice man thought me how to use... Nothing too horrible. I've experienced it too. It only makes you wish you were dead, nothing more. But it'll pass..."
"You're insane!" yelled Lily, starting to pull back. "You're completely insane. What have I ever done to you!"
"You blotted my destined one with your filthy Mudblood kisses, that's what you did!"
"You are insane," repeated Lily, her voice trembling with dread. "Leave me alone. I'm not touching your precious Rodolphus any more. Just leave me alone, Black!"
"Why would I?" snarled Bellatrix, showing her ghostly white teeth, "This is such a perfect opportunity to practice my dark arts skills. Oh, and by the way, your dear friend Flora sends you regards... She says you two doesn't spend as much time as before... Pity, she says, you were much better while you were hanging out with some of the Slytherins. Ever since you've started spending more time with that laughable Potter and his friends, Lupin, Pettigrew and my unfortunate cousin Sirius, you two have grown apart."
"Flora and I haven't grown apart..." Lily muttered feverishly, still backing off slowly, "I just didn't have time..."
"Tell that to her. Without Ignis's help, I wouldn't know where you'd headed for. Obviously, that gullible Spacey told her. Which reminds me," she added, enjoying Lily's feebleness, "your husband's probably worried sick now. Well, guess what, Evans? He should be. Crucio!"
Lily immediately hit the snowy ground, shrieking in agony.
"Stop... stop... stop it... no... No!"
Every bone, every muscle in Lily's body was on fire as her eyes rolled madly and skin burned with the most horrible pain she had ever experienced.
She couldn't think, she couldn't move, she couldn't cry for help. She only wanted for the terror to end. She didn't care if she blacked out or even died, as long as it would stop already.
Lily had no idea how long the pain had been there. She didn't know when it had stopped precisely. Long after Bellatrix had disappeared and the hex ended, Lily was still lying on the frozen ground, eyes widened and lifeless.
"James!" exclaimed Sirius, surprised to see his friend approaching Remus's and his table in the "Lucky Niffler," "Thought you were with Lily in the back corner of the pub! What happened?" he added, noticing the poor look on James's face.
"You all right, mate?" asked Remus worriedly.
James stared somewhere between Lupin's eyes and hair.
"She... she stood me up," he whispered barely audible, "Lily didn't show up. Can you believe it? Can you actually believe it? And we were starting to have something real nice... I thought we were really doing really well! And she, my bleeding wife, stood me, her stupid husband, up. I don't understand this. I don't understand it. I can't believe it. I- "
"Hold on a second," Remus tried to calm him down, "maybe she couldn't come. Maybe she had a reason."
"She did have a reason," James said in a mortuary voice. "And that reason's obviously me. I'm an idiot for actually thinking we could be destined for each other... I'm a bloody idiot."
