*cough* I would flower this more, but hey, I'm not feeling well enough!
CherryBlossomz008: infamous? Gee, I made up my mind to look up that word for THREE YEARS and I still hadn't gotten around looking it up yet! And I kept using it ever so often, too! Sometimes, I wonder if it's wise to keep up this sort of habit :P I love the part where Voldemort got blown up, y'know! ^_^ A whole lot!
frances: um, this is the seventh year [I think you can tell ^^]! I don't know if Voldemort is gonna be defeated or not. Still between the hovering line of kill-the-Dark-Lord-for-good-and-save-Harry or let-him-live-and-kill-Harry-and-maybe-come-up-with-a-different-future. I don't know. Why don't you suggest?
Lily's FriendJess: I wanted to put the asterisk there, but I'm the sort that gets REALLY peeved if someone messes with even the capital letters of my name ^^; and YES!!! Of course I remembered you!!! I miss you so, so much! At a point, I began wondering if I really did scare so many people with my writing! How's life been, besides you being healthy to keep alive? ^_^ I hope it's spiffing!
Fantasia: it's not the best story ever, because there's obviously a whole lot more fictions and fanfictions out there! Still, I'm flattered, really :) I would read your story if I have the time, but I have a bad sense that screams me to CRITICIZE and not REVIEW. If I ever got around to reading it, and accidentally offended you, please forgive me!
Lady Louisa: eternally grateful? Lol, you can do me a nice favour to being 'eternally grateful'! How does doing all my school detention sound? ^_-
Hermione2: your watch has some sorta alarm? That's neat! My watch has one, too, but somehow, it seemed to ring up at the wrong time. Especially when I want to wake at 6am, it'll ring at 4am! Madness, I think. As for the so-called cliffhanger… well, no! I didn't mean it to be one, since I'm BAD – really really bad – at pulling people to the cliffs at a right angle. As for the nicknames…*cough* the Marauders had strangled me for them. Especially Sirius. He was deeply offended, being called Star-named Creature!
Glacial Phoenix Mystiara: hey, I typed your name again! Wonder how long is THIS gonna last… I'm actually beginning to miss the times when you write me flowing long reviews!
Greengoldfish: haha! Well I couldn't enjoy my break cause I had to type this up for everyone, so it's good if you get nightmares about Snape kissing a girl! *pauses* I have a nausea coming up, I think… anyway, my break's only for a week [pity, really, I could've typed more if I were given a month]!!! And NO, you can't be Voldie's treasurer! The job's going to my muse!!!
Star: really? It is? I have in mind that kleptomaniac is a person that claps their hands non-stop and say rubbish things! I'm sorry, but I have a bad habit to not consult a dictionary when it demands -.-;; forgive me, please! But it DID sound rather catchy, didn't it? Kleptomaniac, kleptomaniac, kleptomaniac!!! *grins* I'm surprised the word even existed when I first typed it on Word!
Crystal Lily: bunny chan is ALWAYS right when she said that things get beyond her control! For example, this chapter just did.
Lexxy: what is tomodachi? And siyonara? I don't think it sounds like the Osaka-ben I just learnt, the latter one.
the Angelic Andria: right, there you are, I read your fic! It's the only one I'd managed to read before I started on this chapter! And maybe you'd like to know, last years aren't meant for pranking :P why? Cause it gets you into a serious trouble, say, oh, the attitude column in the cert. Trust me, I would be on my very best during my last year! My first few years however, are a total disaster and joy! :)
CalbeeQueen: lol!!! You get the nickname because you ate a lot of Calbee chips?? Mine came by me because I love bunnies [bunny plushies overflowing my cabinet!] and I'm too… er, jumpy and happy for my schoolmates :P lol! I'm sorry, but my Cantonese is really really bad! I know only Hokkien and Mandarin, them being more of my mother tongue. In a way.
Pschan_88: n-cha!! Watashi genki desu, 'rigato! I didn't really buy much manga, aside from Meitantei Conan a week ago, but I did buy a lot of books! Discworld series [three of those], Memoirs of a Geisha and Tale of Murasaki. I just finished them, in fact :) yes, I will remember to message you!
Kitty Luver: lol, I wasn't quite aware that people are complaining how often I update! I think I'm working at quite a considerable speed. I'm supposed to be sleeping in my holidays, and here I am, staring before my computer screen, draining all my brainpower! I think I deserve some recognition, but oh well! You tend to leave those alone ^_^ ne, I wish I have a friend to talk to like you and CherryBlossomz008!
Elena: o.O I thought I explained why Minnie doesn't know about the letters in the previous chapter…? Maybe it could be that I left it in between the lines [another bad habit!]… well, not many knows about those letters [refer: Melissa Black in this chapter]. I think you can find all those answers in the future chapters ^_^
Tap-Chan: yep, update really is a lovely thing, isn't it? ^^ I like it too, when I have stories to look forward to that will be updated! Gives a nice sense of enthusiasm to me. Much as I'd love to update often, I still have to balance my other chores! I hadn't been balancing them well, and am planning to try again in this new term of school! Wish me luck!! *crosses her fingers*
Noelle: NOELLE!!!!!! You didn't reply my mail!!! I was wondering WHAT ON ATLANTIS had happened to you!!!! Yes, I am very proud of you for remembering to sign in! it's been Heaven for you, but not for me. I got sick in my one week holiday and I STILL have to type this all up! Lily's little puppet speech… no, she's not being controlled by Voldemort. I gave a hint at the last chapter of TMF{Y6} and I'm just going to drop hints along the way! And trust me. You probably wouldn't like the fact so much that Voldie's back.
Disclaimer: To whomever in question, the Marauders, Hogwarts, all don't belong to bunny chan. In fact, the only thing she owns is just the Marauders [uhm, their personality, at least], Loopy Village [which she doubts exist], minor characters and Adele Varens ^_^ those mage stuff are my conjurations, so don't you DARE mess with them!
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The Marauding Five : Year Seven
Chapter 3: Phase 1
'What do you mean by puppets? Huh? We're not Punch and Judy ornaments now, are we?' Adele demanded as Lily calmly poured a cup of tea for herself.
'I didn't say anything about Punch and Judy,' Lily replied.
'You DID indicate puppets, and the only puppets I know are just Punch and Judy!!! C'mon, what's the secret?' Adele said hot-temperedly. 'What puppeteers? What credits?? What in Merlin are you even TALKING about???'
'Poor Adele's going to get all swirly-eyed,' Sirius giggled, 'like those cartoons, when they spin and spin and spin all around and wink stars when they get bashed on the head!'
'Yeah!!' Remus added enthusiastically. 'And maybe angels and doves and everything else!!!'
'WHAT ARE YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT?!?!?!' Adele demanded in confusion, banging the table.
'Hey, hey, watch my tea!' Lily warned as her teacup shook with the heavy bumps of Adele's fists.
'Wonder why is Tally so upset about,' James pondered thoughtfully.
'TELL ME!!!!' Adele screeched.
'Tell you what?' her friends asked cluelessly. Adele would spout fire off her mouth if she were capable of doing so. Still, Black Mages don't exactly have that ability, so she couldn't.
'YOU- YOU- You… er…' She was lost for words to describe her friends. They just laughed loudly at her without much courtesy for her angered features.
'Well, hello, did I interrupt your gathering? Or maybe, are you all alright?' Dumbledore asked gently with a small smile. Remus and Lily narrowed their eyes warily.
'Alright, what brought you to the hideout through the bathroom again?' Lily asked suspiciously, peering into their tiny bathroom, which Professor Dumbledore just stepped out of. There was nothing. 'How did you come???'
'Time,' the headmaster replied bashfully. Lily frowned further. 'Ignore it, Lily.'
By which Lily resolved to NOT to ignore it. Of course, she lost track of it in less than ten seconds because of her seemingly busy mind. She did ignore it. Rather, forgot.
'Lovely place,' Dumbledore commented brightly, looking around. 'A tad bit …er, messy, though. Too bad I didn't notice it before. Now! The topic!'
'Yeah, I bet this is about us again… Great,' Sirius grumbled, flopping onto his bed.
'What, Sirius Black, did I tell you about minding your manners??' Melissa Black snapped blackly.
'AAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
'Oh, may I introduce—' Dumbledore started.
'MUM!!!! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE?????' Sirius yelled, fear and shock etched clearly on his face. He turned to Dumbledore franticly. 'What is she doing here??? She's supposed to be in Loopy Village! With THEIR mums!!! And our dads!!!!'
Lily and James had a sinking feeling that Rose Evans placed Melissa here. To monitor them. They'd been suspicious of the all-too-cheerful look from their mothers, anyway.
'Mum. Go home. We don't need your supervision on HOW to wash our socks,' Sirius droned monotonously.
'It's Professor to you, Sirius,' Melissa replied curtly.
'Professor??' James echoed, eyes widening to the size of waffles. 'What professor???'
'Naturally, that subject. I got bored of sitting at home.'
'Defense Against the Dark Arts. Figures,' Sirius muttered. 'Mum, please go!!!'
'Watch your mouth young man!' she snapped without a single punctuation. Okay, she did have the stop of an exclamation mark, but that isn't exactly in the sentence. It's at the end of the sentence. Remus, Lily and James were already bemoaning their fate of their last term at Hogwarts. Literally.
'I am so dead,' Sirius whined. He then wailed, 'Dead, dead, dead!'
'It's not that… bad,' Adele said diplomatically. 'I mean, she's a little better. Right?' The four rolled their eyes in disbelief at her. She hadn't really known Melissa Black behind her calm façade, obviously.
'Don't you wish it,' Remus muttered. 'She's worst after Lily's mother.'
'So, would you like to speak to me regarding your letter? Or maybe you SHOULD have spoken to me about it,' Dumbledore said loudly, trying to pry their attention from wailing about their fate with his new DADA Professor. 'When did Voldemort start sending you letters?'
'Uhm… a long long time ago, I think,' James said, thinking hard for the earliest memories that he could muster about receiving owl post (plus eagle and hawk posts) from Lord Voldemort. 'Or it seemed a long time,' he clarified. 'Just now, few days ago (we sent him a reply!!), the holidays…'
'Quite a long time,' Lily added.
'I – am – personally – murdering – all – of – you – !!!' Melissa gritted, clenching her fists threateningly at the Marauders. 'Why didn't I know???'
'You didn't ask,' Lily stated.
'I didn't know!'
'But my mum would. She's a powerful Seer, remember? Unless, of course, something happened to her Inner Eye.'
'Oh. Yeah. Right, Lily.'
'So,' Dumbledore started again, finding it hard to keep the conversation on one track, 'what does it contain? The contents, I mean.'
'Trying to get us to go to his side,' the Marauders chorused promptly in unison.
There was a thoughtful pause.
'Why?' the headmaster asked finally.
'He'd know,' Adele shrugged. 'I've been getting tough luck since I know Castria's name.' She pulled her Yumi from her robes pocket. 'I was supposed to get good luck, not sour ones!!!!' She shook Castria mercilessly. 'Gimme good luck!! Gimme good luck!!!! Not BAD ones!' The occupants of the room decided to ignore her.
'What else did Lord Voldemort want?' Dumbledore asked, trying not to laugh at Adele and her familiar.
'Er,' James hesitated. 'Our knowledge.'
Melissa snorted. 'Hah! As if!'
'It may sound funny, but it's truth!'
'Ugh, how come MUM had a degree? I don't even know she had a degree for ANYTHING but child abuse!' Sirius groaned. 'Should've been behind the bars somewhere in Azkaban for child abuse, come to it.'
'Sirius,' Remus sighed. 'Those two don't connect.'
'So what's the verdict so far?' Lily asked Professor Dumbledore.
'You'll have to stay at Hogwarts first,' was the thoughtful reply. And the Headmaster went through the bathroom wall, followed by Melissa, who gave them each a hug (and for Sirius, a pinch at his cheeks). The wall shimmered.
Wall…?
'Oh, so that's the secret!' James exclaimed, popping his fist on his other palm in the so-that's-the-answer-to-the-mystery way. 'Looks like we'd have to either seal it for good or bomb it, then. Interesting… another way to come here besides the mirror and password.'
'What?' Adele asked dumbly, looking up. She was too involved in placing curses on Castria and Kiara for not bringing much good luck. The Yumis were looking rather… um, strange.
'Bathroom wall!!! Argh…! At THREE in the afternoon! Gotta find a barrier to stop that… library… grr…!!!' James stated. It was pure nonsense, but it's not as if any of his friends cared.
'He's going to start thinking,' Lily noted. 'Let's go.'
**
'It's hard to get it past your thick skull, isn't it? They're engaged, idiot, so GIVE IT UP. Not that you don't know anyway!' Tally retorted sharply. 'You were there and you saw it with your own eyes!' The small fist banged on the table again.
'I don't care! I demand to see him NOW!'
Sita and Pertsy glared at the girl. She was getting really irritating. Are redheads always so dim in brain??? Oh, no, that wouldn't explain the fact that Lily Evans being so tremendously bright, self-claimed genius and Miss Sharp Wit with a Huge Ego to compliment to everything. Crap.
'I'm surprised that Sirius's potion for near-death didn't have any death,' Pertsy muttered. 'With his ability to slip all sorts of things into his ingredients, you would've expected it to have a slight mistake and blow her to death. But noo! He just have to be PERFECT this time!'
'He could've done James and huge – and I do mean HUGE – favour,' Sita added with a glare. 'And to all of us here, too.'
'Where are they anyway?' Dan wondered. 'Marauders, disappearing like dust for about 5 hours… very unlikely of them.'
'Maybe- maybe You-Know-Who…' the sixth year gulped noticeably. Everyone in the common room hearing him shuddered.
'It could be,' Pastilla trembled.
'Don't even think of it,' Jeremiah Jones snapped. 'Half the Quidditch team are of them! And so's the captain! Don't even THINK about it!!!'
'All YOU can think of is just Quidditch, isn't it?' his girlfriend remarked, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to Tessie. 'Anyway, honey, you're better off elsewhere. We don't want you here.'
'Aw. To think you all hate me that much,' Lily mused with a fake sob as she hopped into the common room. Then she grinned and bowed to everyone. 'Hello, folks!!! Missed me?'
'Where'd you go??' Pastilla cried, rushing to hug the elder girl. 'We were so so worried that- that—' She couldn't bring herself to say it. Lily grinned.
'That I got eaten by the new DADA teacher, huh?' the HeadGirl laughed. 'Hey, trust me, Melissa can't hate me that much! If she does, she would have had me eaten ages ago. Besides, she's not a cannibal—she's a torturer!'
'LILY!!!! GIVE ME BACK MY JAMES!' Tessie shrieked, grabbing Lily's long hair. Lily turned and noticed her, as if for the first time.
'What's she doing here?' she cried in mock horror. The Gryffindors just sighed. Tessie pulled on Lily's hair harder. Lily decided to ignore her. For now.
'Anyway, I'm here to tell you, in James's place, that the Quidditch team will be getting new players,' Lily noted to herself, ticking that matter off mentally.
'WANT MY JAMES!'
'Speaking of James… What happened to the rest of you? Rarely go around individually,' Nina said curiously, peering over Lily's shoulders for signs of other Marauders.
'Hm… let's see… Adele's with Hagrid (I think it's got something to do with the new Puffskins Prof. Kettleburn got), Sirius is having a – er – nice chat with his mum, Remus is having tummy ache (you'll have to blame those weird Beatle Bugs candies), and James is… thinking. I think he still is.'
'JAAAAAAAMES!!!!!' Yank! Yank! Yank!
'Thinking?! Wow, this must be first!' Thomas exclaimed in amusement. 'By the way, didn't you notice that something is…er.'
'Hanging on your hair,' Dan pointed out bluntly.
'Really?'
'Well, Tessie DID look like she's hanging…'
'She looked more like she's pulling Lily's hair from the scalps.'
'Okay, well, that, then.'
Lily waved her hand casually. 'Yep, I noticed. Thanks for reminding me.' She flicked her wrist a little and Tessie was suddenly grabbed from Lily, as if by invisible force, and was flung right at the sofa where a group of third years were sitting on.
There was a loud banshee wail and several oofs.
The occupants of the common room (which is nearly half of Gryffindor tower) stared, rather speechless.
'Right, interruption out of the way!' Lily said cheerfully, as if nothing out of ordinary had happened. 'As I was saying: Quidditch. Yes. Now. Em. New season starts this fall, I think. And—hang on a minute, attack of memory rearrangement—I'm Chaser, James's Chaser, Sirius's Beater, Remus's Keeper…'
'And I'm the Seeker,' Jeremiah called. 'That leaves one Beater and one Chaser!'
'Righto! Something must have gone wrong with me these days… can't seem to pay attention,' Lily murmured absent-mindedly.
Tally stared unusually at her friend. Something was amiss. Wrong. There was something that's completely not complimenting the image she had of Lily.
Tessie regained her senses and was furious, to say the least.
'Look here Lily, hand James over to me!' Tessie snapped, shaking her fists at Lily. A few Gryffindors rolled their eyes, wondering when will Tessie actually learn her lesson to not do anything of that sort to Lily. 'You certainly don't want to test my patience!!!'
'I'm VERY certain that you don't want to test mine then,' Lily said, stressing her words with sugar-coated sarcasm, something hard to achieve, especially the tone held. Still, it's Lily, and she managed it. With that, the HeadGirl idly skipped off towards her dorm. Tessie ran after her stubbornly.
'Give me James.'
'I'm not in power to.'
'NOW, Lily.' In a flash, Tessie flew to the other side of the hallway, blocking Lily's path to her dorm. The Thore twins, trailing Lily out of amusement, stared in astonishment.
'Wow. What made her fly like that?' Pastilla whispered to her brother.
'And without her wand too!' Pattempt added in eager, awe tones.
'Get lost,' Lily muttered curtly.
'I'm not giving up this time!' Tessie declared fiercely.
'Well, I'm not in a mood to do anything!' Lily snapped. She was having the splitting headache again. 'Get lost, or you'll suffer. GO!'
The other girl stubbornly held her ground, her lifeless green eyes mirroring Lily's fiery jade ones. Then Lily realized something. Her gaze solid as stone as she seem to read every single cell in the smaller girl with a new realization.
'I am taking James Potter with me this time!'
'Well I'm not playing any childish games, unlike you,' Lily hissed. 'And you should know well enough, Lord Voldemort. I'm not going to fall for your next trick!'
'Hand. Me. James,' Tessie shrieked in impatience, despite the punctuation.
'Um. Tilla? Did she just said You-Know-Who's name?' Pattempt whispered. Pastilla didn't reply. She was trembling.
Lily let out a snort.
'Can't believe I just realized this! You had your spirit evened out – as it won't damage your magic or current state, yet able to control from afar – into a physical form. Apparently, it looked like me in my childhood days. You even had my temper and persistency in things, at some point!' Lily said smoothly, her lips in a confident smile. 'Probably drawing James to your side.' The confidence was still there. Her words however, trembled faintly as a familiar pain rang in her again. Lily snapped at herself fiercely. Her aura flared and the pain subsided. A little.
Tessie's childish young face was curving into a glare that no ordinary five-year-old could achieve.
'Target: James Potter. Mission: Get him over or murder him. Obstacle: Lily Evans,' Lily said, smiling despite the situation she was in. Somehow, she was amazed that her brain could come up with such brilliant conclusion.
'Not quite, Lily,' the smaller figure replied in a raspy note. 'I plan to eliminate the both you of first; you, Evans, and Potter. And then the meddlesome Adele Varens would be next. The werewolf, soon after, and lastly is the Yellow One. A perfect thing that I had planned. Do you realise it only now, Evans? Hahaha!' The laughter was cold and… quite noteless, in fact. It seemed impossible to have such a tone.
Lily shivered involuntarily at the words. It gave her the creeps. 'There were too little clues,' Lily shrugged casually.
'There were actually plenty, m'dear,' Tessie sniggered.
'I'm not your deer,' Lily snapped. 'I'm not even a DEER, to begin with. Human, actually. The rare group known as Marauders, spelt M-a-r-a-u-d-e-r-s.'
She was ignored, of course. Only the spying Thore twins actually had stars in their eyes at her bravery, since they literally worship the Marauders.
'Hadn't it occurred to you how I obtain the Gryffindor passwords? Or how your friend Sirius's potion hasn't much effect to Tessie, when it should send anyone to the asylum? Or how a little girl – a sweet little orphan girl – who's half banshee—'
'Sweet little orphan,' Lily mimicked. 'Oh sure you are. Sweet little girls don't particularly mess with witches and wizards that are actually known as one of the most dangerous ones, ESPECIALLY after her darling king-papa-Neptune had remarked it himself. Really, Voldemort, you think too highly of yourself.'
'Shut up, Evans! Let me finish! A sweet little orphan girl – who's half banshee, can bear so much similarity to your younger self?'
Lily rolled her eyes. 'That wasn't enough to deduce, anyway. Besides, I told you – for the sake of your bursting ego – that I just realised,' Lily pointed out darkly, penetrating another sharp glare at the small child. At Voldemort, bearing her tender childhood's physical appearance.
Voldemort (or at least, his spirit, which possessed the same twisted personality as him) smirked, pulling out a wand. How the wand came by, there was no answer, for Neptune CERTAINLY doesn't own one. Why a wand when you have a trident?
Suddenly the small body flew and wrung the short fingers at Lily's neck before she could even defend for herself.
'Time to eliminate YOU, Lily Evans, Little Miss Brains!' the raspy voice cackled in glee.
Pattempt and Pastilla, still hiding behind the wide pillar, gasped inaudibly.
'AVADA KE—'
Lily grabbed at the unnaturally strong hands, trying to free herself. Funny how something that looked so frail and small could hold such strength. Then again, it is Lord Voldemort that is inhabiting the creation. Almost nothing is impossible.
'F- fire,' she choked. Fire surged all over the small figure, torching it alight. Lily screamed as the fiery white flames licked at Tessie's hands, still attached firmly to Lily's neck.
Pastilla couldn't take it much longer. 'Aquas!' she cried, brandishing her yew wand the white flames that licked at Tessie's frame. Lily's eyes widened at her and Pattempt.
Black Magic…Lily choked and cried out in fright. Never had she endured such pain before as the flames burst out with even more passion than before.
Black Magic should never be stopped with normal spells!
'Get Adele! Library!' Lily managed to call out as the still famished white fire scorched her throat furiously with no mercy.
Panic, fright and wonder loomed in the twins as they feebly dashed off to search for Adele Varens.
The girl struggled with her magical flames, burning at her neck, feeding off her power. Tessie's body shattered like ashes as a gale blew in through the nearby window, sweeping the last bits into the air and scattering them on the yellow earth.
**
BANG!!!! Madam Pince and nearly the whole library jumped up in fright at the outburst of the heavy oak door.
'Adele! ADELE!'
'ADELE, WHERE ARE YOU?????'
'SILENCE!' Madam Pince barked sharply.
'IT'S AN EMERGENCY! ADELE!!!!!!' Pastilla cried tearfully.
There was a distant patter of footsteps, a thud and a clutter of books falling off the shelf and a few cries of 'Ouch!' 'Oops…' 'I could've broke my bone, stupid Gryffindor!' 'Well, Slimy Slytherin Snape, it's better if you did!', and a loud yell from Snape. Conclusion could be drawn that Adele had punched him, from the next yell, 'There! I hope you have a broken nose!!!'
The Thore twins ran in direction of the noise.
'Well! What's it?' Adele's calm chirpy voice asked.
'It's- it's Lily!!' Pattempt cried, waving his arms franticly.
'Fire,' Pastilla added, sobbing. Madam Pince raised her eyebrows in confusion.
'Huh?' Adele offered in puzzlement. She couldn't make any sense of their words at all.
'Lily is burning! We- we don't know how! She just said something, and- and—! WAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!' Pastilla wailed. Adele's face turned a few shades paler.
'What happened?' Then she reconsidered. 'Where's she now??'
'Dormitory corridor!'
**
Lily woke to a blur of colours, her head seemed to be ringing and bumping jackhammers all around. It was frustrating. And her throat hurts so much! What had she gotten into to fall in such state anyway??? Then the past day's events flooded numbly into her mind. She breathed.
Someone was holding her hand. Lily frowned, feeling awkward and angry at the same time.
Let go of my hand! she tried to ay. Tried. Okay, fine, her mouth – lips and teeth and jaw – did feel that it was moving, only… she couldn't hear her voice. Or feel the familiar vibrating hum of her rattling voicebox. By Merlin, she doubted her voicebox is even rattling!
Is she deaf? Maybe that's why she can't hear herself. Or it could be that the flames had scorched her skin so badly she couldn't feel it around her throat.
'Ssh! She's trying to say something!'
'She hasn't even stirred, stupid!'
'Watch who you're calling stupid! I'm smarter than YOU!'
'Shut up, you two!'
Okay, confirmation from the brain: eardrums are a-okay! Sirius, Adele and Remus. Check. Where's James?
But… what about her voice? Lily lifted her eyelids to the full extent. Sirius and Adele were talking to Professor Dumbledore and Melissa. Remus was munching on Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Bean, turning over a copy of the Daily Prophet. James was holding her hand. lily shot him an intense glare, which he failed to acknowledge because he was fast asleep.
'Hey, she IS awake! Now what did I say!' Sirius exclaimed happily with faint traces of relief.
Yeah, of COURSE I'm awake! Do I look dead??? Lily snapped. No words. She stared at herself in horror. What on Atlantis is happening?!
'Stop miming, Lily!' Remus chided, putting the paper down. 'C'mon, tell us what happened.'
I… can't talk, Lily realized, gazing blankly ahead.
'Lily, come on, tell us! I came to find you lying stiff on the ground yesterday!' Adele remarked. 'And, by any chance, were you using your Magic?' She whispered the last part in secrecy. Lily nodded in daze. 'I had to put it off, you know. What were you doing? Wondering how it feels like to get burn???'
'If you insisted on it so much, you should've used just your wand, you know,' Remus added.
Lily's lips began to form words in a quick, sharp retort. Something witty, the Marauders thought in wry amusement. Then Lily's face changed expressions and now she seemed like she's yelling.
'Her throat has been damaged,' Madam Pomfrey said briskly, entering with a tray of medicine. 'Has to eat some medicine or she can't talk.'
'How long, then, until she CAN talk?' Adele asked.
'IF she eats the medicine'—Madam Pomfrey eyed Lily critically, doubting that the girl will—'she can after month or so.'
Lily's eyes bulged. A MONTH OR SO?! NO TALKING??? MEDICINE?!?!
"WHAT!!!!!! Isn't there an EASIER way to all of this??? Like instant packet or the likes??? I WANT TO TALK!!!!" Lily yelled mentally at the nurse. Then she remembered after that, that she's a Psychic. Pomfrey jumped up in fright ('Whoa,' Sirius marvelled, 'not bad, considering her weight!') and looked around her in fright. Then she stared at Lily. The redhead just offered her a sweet innocent look. What? I didn't say anything. Remember, my voice's gone.
Everyone stared at her in confusion, not able to make out what her lips are trying to say. Of course, that's just what Lily intended. Remus pulled out some parchments and quills from his bag and handed them to Lily. Lily stared.
'Write what you want to say on it!' Melissa said impatiently. Lily scrawled untidily.
Er.
'Oh all you wanted to say is just that?' Professor Dumbledore said in amusement. Lily nodded uncertainly. 'Well, I expect a full account later, Lily. I have to attend the Ministry of Magic meeting in an hour.'
Bye bye.
'Very nice of you. Bye bye, too,' the old wizard commented, leaving.
Adele turned to Lily worriedly.
'So what EXACTLY happened, Tinkerbell?' she asked.
'You should as her to begin from the start,' Melissa said, turning to Lily.
"Which start do you want?" Lily replied mentally. Pomfrey gone, Dumbledore gone; it's quite safe already.
'How many starts are there?' James asked. He just woke up and caught quickly the flow of conversation.
"I don't know."
'Okay fine, just start wherever you want to start! Whichever start you think appropriate!' Remus said practically, waving his hand.
"Well, I don't think ANY of my starts are VERY appropriate," Lily mused thoughtfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
'You'd better speak, before I wring you,' Melissa said curtly with a careless sniff. Lily gulped.
"Okay okay! Fine. I'll start really easily. The shortest. In fact, all I'm going to give you is just ONE SENTENCE. One simple, very factual, very very to-the-point answer. Seriously—"
'Get to it, Lily!' Sirius snapped. 'It's past one sentence.'
"RIGHT; Tessie is some sort of Voldemort's spirit or something, and she's here to kill us, but I finished her up instead!" Lily said in one breath. Thought, sent mentally, whatever.
Blink. Blink.
'What.'
"I TOLD you that you won't get it." Lily nodded self-consciously.
'You didn't,' James pointed out, 'you were rambling about how very short and factual your sentence is.'
"Well, yeah! But I didn't say that you'll understand it, right?"
'Point taken.'
"Look at it this way, pretend I'm Voldemort," Lily said. "You know that our spirit can somehow be split by some VERY dark magic, right?"
'You're not Voldemort!' Sirius protested. 'You're our baby Lily!'
Lily bared her teeth at him. "I'm NOT your stupid baby Lily! So quit that title already. Besides, Adele's MUCH younger, get it? She's born in October!" She coughed in effect. "So. As I was saying."
'You weren't saying. You were sending your thoughts to us with your supreme Psychic powers.'
"SIRIUS!!!!!!!!"
'Oops.'
"Riiiight. Spirit splitting. Now." Lily Evans was on verge of impatience with Sirius's short interruptions. "He made a physical body that resembles my little self. Sent his spirit in there. Attack me. Happy? End of story."
'No wonder Tessie looks like you,' James decided dryly. Lily frowned partly at Voldemort's original plan (which was to draw James over with the hopefully smaller and cuter version of Lily) and then, out of nowhere, blushed.
'Right, that sure is short,' Remus commented. 'But it's not in one sentence, so you didn't prove true to your word.'
"Fine, fine, think of those full-stops as comas, okay?" Lily sighed. "I think Voldemort wants to attack us further."
'Intelligent,' James remarked.
"No, seriously!!!" Lily insisted. "It's true! There's something that he said that creeps me!"
'Wow, that's something,' Sirius said in amusement. Then he held an imaginary copy of Daily Prophet in his hands, pretending to read the headlines: 'Lily Evans Freaked Out By A Message Consisting of English Words.' He paused. 'It IS in English, isn't it?'
'What do you expect? Her language is really bad,' James smirked.
"VOLDEMORT ALMOST KILLED ME!!!" Lily shrieked in some unbelievable volume in their heads.
'It's a good thing he didn't,' Melissa replied, smiling in a daze.
"He's going to get us, and I know he is," Lily pressed. "So trust me, we need—"
'A more mature strategy?' James suggested.
"Yes, exactly."
'Oh, like what?' Adele asked sarcastically. 'Playing chess with Voldemort? Very funny, James.' Little she knew how close her joke struck to reality.
'Not really. Strategy has many faces,' Sirius offered, not knowing quite what he himself meant.
'You mean Voldemort has many faces,' Remus corrected, technically correct.
Whatever, Lily's lips formed.
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AN: it's the stupidest way I can end a chapter, but hey, I am ignorantly stubborn enough to do it—'cause I'm sick. Truthfully. If I weren't to listening to some midi [nice and comforting, too! ^^], I would've ended up unconscious on the keyboard, and mum will ban me from the computer!!! Ulp!
And I'm really sorry the puppet thing turned out to be such an…uh, impact? I don't know. I DID mean for people to take notice of it, but not THAT much of notice! ^_^;; guess I did too much in it, huh? It was suppose to be a passing-but-noticeable-comment! Really!
I'm going to slack off a little, since I have no idea how long this year would be. Okay, I'm actually praying in hopes that it'll be shorter than 10 chapters, but if the L/J romance got in my head too much… well, I don't want to know!!! Pssst! Misty, I'm giving you a really huge clue in this chapter, if you STILL want to decode it. It's really easy, y'know :P
Ja~! — bunny chan