Thanks again for the reviews. Sorry that we haven't updated in a while but things have been hectic. Emily left for Argentina on Saturday for a foreign exchange program. She'll be gone for a year, however, we'll still keep up with our story.
So, the deal with this chapter…we haven't quite come up with a title for it yet…so it will remain untitled until we name it. We split it up into two parts…tell us if you'd rather read long chapters or shorter ones.
Thanks!
Chapter 6: Part 1-
A week after school had started, the whole school was in the Great Hall eating breakfast before heading off to their varying classes. The Gryffindors were just finishing eating when Becca dropped her half-eaten, marmalade-covered piece of toast back onto her plate.
"Shoot! Guys, I'll meet you in Charms. I left my essay in the library," said Becca as she stood up and left the table.
"You should take better care of your homework, Becca," warned Lily. Becca just waved her hand while she walked away.
As she exited the Great Hall she tripped over a second year's foot that was entering the room. Luckily, someone wrapped their arms around her and caught her before she hit the ground. Becca looked up and came face to face with Ryan Diggory. She began blushing profusely.
"Um…thanks, Ryan. I'm really clumsy," she said as he placed her back on her feet.
"No, problem. I'm glad I caught you—no pun intended—actually for two reasons; number one, you would have busted your head open. Number two, I've been meaning to ask you something," Ryan explained as the two walked towards the library.
Becca turned and walked backwards so she was facing Ryan. "Go ahead…"
Ryan started fidgeting with his robes. "I like you, Becca. You're funny, pretty, outgoing…anyways what I'm trying to say is…will you go out with me?" he asked in a rush.
Becca flashed him a huge smile. She opened and closed her mouth a few times obviously trying to get her words out. Ryan stood there nervously looking at her. "I'd love to go out with you, Ryan," she finally answered, still walking backwards. A giant grin spread across his face. Becca suddenly ran into something hard.
"Sorry, I didn't mean—" she stopped short as she saw who had blocked her path.
"Daniels, watch where you're going. You messed up my hair," screeched Narcissa. She pulled out her wand and jabbed it towards Becca. Ryan grabbed Becca just in time as Narcissa's spell came zooming towards her. Becca hurriedly blocked it, but Ryan took hold of his new girlfriend, who was trying desperately to get back at Narcissa, and steered her to the library.
"Ryan, I could have taken her! That little revolting, pestering, good for nothing…" Becca was saying before Ryan cut her off.
"I wouldn't want you in detention or in the Hospital Wing the first day of us being together," he stated covering Becca's mouth with his hand. Becca just nodded, motioning that she would stop. The two made their way into the library with clasped hands. Becca grabbed the two rolls of parchment that was her essay, hugged Ryan, and ran off to Charms.
She was very nearly late for class. Professor Flitwick was shutting the door of the classroom as Becca came running down the hall. Flitwick gave her a pointed look and pulled the door open for her, admitting her into the room. Becca's friends grinned at her—she was always, always late for Charms. This time, a large smile appeared on her out-of-breath face.
Becca took her seat in the back next to Lily. "Lily! The best thing in the world just happened!" she whispered, leaning toward Lily. "I was on my way to the library when—" Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and glared meaningfully at Becca, causing the talking to desist immediately. As the professor instructed them to open their textbooks, Becca scribbled a brief message onto a spare bit of parchment: "I'll tell you later—don't let me forget!"
The seventh year Charms class continued with a mountain of notes on the proper wand motion for basic spells they had learned in first year. Becca sat staring out the window at the Ravenclaws in their Care of Magical Creatures class happening out by the lake; apparently the Giant Squid was the object of interest for the class, but Becca was more interested in watching a tall fellow mess around with his friends by the shore.
Emily, Sirius, and Remus were sitting near the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room later that evening. Lily and James had left to patrol, Alice was doing homework up in the boys' dorm with Frank, Peter was nowhere to be found, and Becca was serving detention with Professor Herchko, the Astronomy teacher.
Emily and Remus were matching wits in a brutal game of Wizard's chess. They were both excellent chess players, but Remus was commonly considered the best in Gryffindor House. Sirius was sitting in the middle, watching the game dully. He hadn't been feeling well over the last week or so, which wasn't surprising—a round of the sniffles was circulating the school and filling up the Hospital Wing. Sirius yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Em, Moony, I think I'm going to go to bed. Could you tell James, Frank, and Peter to be quiet when they come in?" he asked Remus nodded without taking his eyes from the chessboard. Sirius sighed again and made his way toward the stairs.
A loud sound seemed to explode from the other side of the room, causing Sirius to turn around quickly. He saw Becca lying awkwardly on the floor in front of the portrait hole. Apparently, she had tripped on her way in. Seeing Sirius standing there, Becca jumped to her feet and assured him she was all right.
"Guys! Guess what!" she said, running over to the chess match and dragging Sirius with her.
"Aren't you supposed to be in detention with Froddic?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She grinned. "He didn't show…must have forgotten about it. But anyway…guess what happened today!"
"Beck, I'm really tired and in no mood for guessing games. So unless Moony and Em want to venture an answer—which I doubt—you're going to have to flat out tell us," said Sirius tiredly.
Becca rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, you spoil sport." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, what I was going to say was…Ryan Diggory asked me out today!" she finished, grinning wildly.
Remus looked up from the game immediately. "He what?" he asked.
"Asked me out!" repeated Becca, oblivious to her friend's feelings. "And I said 'yes!'" Sirius looked at Remus quickly.
"Wow, Beck, that's great news!" said Emily, grinning. "I'm really glad for you, but Remus, your momentary lapse in concentration just cost you the match. I've destroyed your king." She looked at his pale face. "Remus? What's wrong?" Becca was still rambling about how her going-out had occurred and didn't seem to notice the side conversation.
"Nothing," Remus said hurriedly, still looking glumly at Becca. He blinked a couple times and turned back to Emily. "Nothing's wrong. I mean…good game, Em." Sirius was still staring at him. "Um, Sirius? I think I'm going to head to bed, too. Goodnight, ladies," he said, making a hasty retreat to his dormitory.
Becca smiled cluelessly and ran up the stairs to her dormitory, looking for more friends with whom to share the good news. She left Emily and Sirius standing at the fire, exchanging puzzled glances.
"What was that about?" Emily asked. "I mean, it's not like Remus likes…oh dear. Oh dear. That's it, isn't it? Remus likes Becca." Sirius nodded slowly. Emily sighed. "I had no idea—and neither does she, I'm sure."
Sirius frowned. "No, she doesn't. But I'm sure Moony will take it like a man. He has to, doesn't he?" Emily nodded.
"He won't risk her finding out, either." They walked hand in hand toward the girls' staircase. Emily turned and wished her boyfriend a goodnight, kissing him briefly on the cheek before climbing up the stairs alone.
The next morning proved slightly awkward. The seventh year Gryffindors were eating as usual. Becca spilled the usual goblet of pumpkin juice all over Lily's robes, so the latter had already left to change and returned.
A shadow crossed over the table, causing the group to look up. Ryan Diggory stood behind Becca, tapping her shoulder. She turned and grinned widely. "Hey, Ryan!" she said. Emily and Sirius greeted him as well.
"What are you doing here, Diggory?" Remus asked coldly. Becca shot him a puzzled look.
"I'm…um…just saying 'hi,'" Ryan responded nervously. He met Remus' stare. His expression said that clearly something was wrong—he was in many of Remus' classes, and he had never encountered this kind of bad humor from Remus. With another confused glance, he gave Becca a hug and retreated back to the Ravenclaw table across the Great Hall. She immediately turned toward her friend.
"What was that about, Remus?" she demanded angrily. "You know he's my boyfriend—how can you treat him like that?" Becca asked.
In the second that she turned around to look at Ryan, Sirius and Emily saw a look of pain cross Remus' face. "I'm sorry, Beck. I'm just not feeling myself this morning. I'll go apologize later, if you like," he offered diligently.
She nodded gratefully, the issue resolved in her mind. She began chattering about Ryan's many attributes and talents while Remus stirred his oatmeal sullenly.
"Becca! When did that happen? You never told me that he asked you out," exclaimed Lily. The rest of the group stared at her.
"How could you not have heard? She was telling everybody last night! Even after we got back from our patrol she caught me and told me the whole story," said James, grinning slightly.
"Don't talk to me, Potter," Lily spat.
Becca grinned. "Sorry, Lily. I guess I didn't have time, but at least you know now!"
"Good for you! Alice so told you that he liked you the first day back! He's really cute and nice. I approve," Lily agreed; Becca thanked her.
After the daily mail had arrived by way of the large windows decorating the Great Hall, the students slowly meandered out the door. It was Saturday morning, and nobody felt like doing anything in a rush. When Becca picked up her bag and excused herself to go find Ryan, Remus and James told the group they were going to go finish their Charms homework, much to the surprise of the others.
Emily and Sirius walked slowly out of the Great Hall into the glittering sunshine of the school grounds. They strolled aimlessly toward the lake, where several younger students were already teasing the Giant Squid. The two watched and chuckled as one of the first years slipped and fell into the shallows; his friends dragged him out and up to the castle to get dried off.
"That happened to me in my second year," commented Sirius, smiling ruefully. "Only James and Remus didn't help me out of the water—they were collapsed on the ground, laughing at me."
Emily grinned and slipped her hand into his. "I would have laughed, too," she said. They ambled up to their favorite tree and sat down at the roots; Emily spread her pleated Hogwarts skirt around her.
"I feel awful about this whole Remus-Becca-Ryan thing," said Emily quietly. "He's so put out about it…but I can't really blame him, though."
"And it's not fair to blame Ryan, either," continued Sirius.
"Seriously. It's a pity that Becca is so clueless about this. She's going to start a civil war between the Ravenclaws—who will stand up for Ryan—and the Gryffindors—who will back Remus. And the Slytherins will support the Ravenclaws because they hate Remus because he's a Gryffindor, and the Hufflepuffs will be caught in the middle. They'll probably stand up for Remus because they're hoping our Quidditch team will take pity on them and not squash them into the ground like we did last year," she said. Sirius looked at her with an amused expression on his face.
They laughed again and chatted for a while before he pulled her up to her feet, kissed her, and they headed back to the castle.
