A/N: Hey guys! I'm so proud of myself. I've updated quickly again (or at least quicker than usual). So here is the last chapter before our young Siri and Hermy hook up. Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Dreams
Hermione was curled up on the couch in the common room in front of the crackling fire. Darkness was pushing against her body, trying to smother her. She sat there whispering a name, a name she knew well. She was so wrapped up in whispering his name that she did not notice someone creeping up behind. The figure jumped over the back of the couch and very lightly landed in a crouching position next to Hermione.
Grey.
That's what color she was lost in when she looked into his eyes. She tore her eyes away to soak in every detail of his loving face: his black, velvety hair, the soft, longing look in his eyes, his eyebrows arched in anxiousness, his lips had the slightest smile playing about them, though not a smirk, but a warm, welcoming smile.
Sirius slowly lifted his arm and draped it gently on her shoulders. She snuggled closer to him, feeling the heat he radiated and his quickening heartbeat that matched her own. Her head was buried on top his unbuttoned shirt when she heard his voice vibrating through his body.
"I'm here for you, Hermione." Even his voice sounded warm and caring.
She looked into those grey orbs. "Promise?"
"I will always be here to protect you," Sirius said with such sincerity, Hermione had no choice but to trust his words.
As a thank you, Hermione slowly extended her neck so their faces were closer. He finished the movement by leaning down, gently meeting her lips. The kiss was needing, but at the same time completely chaste. Hermione pulled back as Sirius did. She turned her face bashfully away towards the fire. They stayed there in the faint glow emitting from the slowly dying fire fully appreciating the other's presence.
"No!"
Hermione bolted up straight in her bed, ripping the curtains open unintentionally. She growled to herself in fury. If you can't stop staring at him, at least stop dreaming about him!
It had been a month since Dumbledore called Harry and Hermione up to his office to recite his warning. This also meant that it was two more days until Halloween. On Friday (Halloween), instead of just going to Hogsmeade, fifth years and above could attend an old tradition of Hogwarts: the Halloween Masquerade Ball. Of course, one didn't bring a date (much to Hermione's relief) but danced with whomever one wished to dance with, and that's how Hogwarts students liked it.
"No? No what?" Lily asked sleepily from her bed across the room. She stepped out of bed and into her warm slippers.
"Bad dream, 'Mione?" Saumya yawned.
"I guess you could say that…"
"Was it about a boy?" Freya pried as she brushed her blonde locks.
"Do we know him?" Dana added excitedly.
"Oh you two leave her alone," Lily ordered through giggles. "Not all girls every night think and dream about boys." She glared pointedly at Freya and Dana.
"Oh, but it's so much fun to tease them about it," Saumya said slyly. "Wasn't it just last night, Lily," (Lily's face paled) "that you were muttering something about a certain Gryffindor Quidditch star?"
"Ah ha!" Dana said triumphantly. "How do you plan to weasel your way out of that one?"
"I—I was, er…" Lily stuttered, "dreaming about that Spinnet boy?"
"Yeah, and I just had tea with a grindylow yesterday," Saumya replied sarcastically. "Look, let's just get down to breakfast. I'm starving!"
The girls giggled, but sped up the morning routine by a few minutes.
Down the stairs, across the platform, and up another set of stairs lay five soundly-sleeping boys. Not even one of them twitched the slightest until a boy in the corner by the window started to violently squirm, wrapping his sheets around himself. Sirius jumped out of bed suddenly, wiping away the beads of sweat that stung his eyes. He had had that awful dream again.
He was sitting in front of the crackling fire, staring at Hermione across the room, her nose in yet another book. Suddenly, a headache came on, and flashes of memories that were not his zoomed in front of him. A house blown to pieces—James and Lily sprawled on the ruins—a baby crying—a blown up street and a rat crawling away—a black dog fighting alone against a werewolf he knew only too well—Harry fighting with a man in a hooded cloak with long, eerie fingers, piercing red eyes, and a high pitch laughter ringing horribly through his ears—Sirius felt himself falling backwards—And then Hermione appeared in front of him, more real than any of those other flashes. He stopped falling. Her face was saddened, tears rolling down her face. She laid a cold hand on his cheek.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She adjusted her gaze to something behind him. He followed her gaze. What he saw next was the last thing he expected. He fell to his knees as he caught sight of three grave stones. The two stones on the left read James Potter, a great man, 1960-1981 and the other Lily Potter, a great woman, 1960-1981. Shaking from fear and despair from the other two, Sirius read the last one: Sirius Black, the most loyal friend and truest godfather, 1960-1995.
Sirius, shaking his head from the disturbing dream, stood up to get a glass of water. As he sipped the cool ice water, he tried to remember what all the flashes were distinctly, but couldn't. The last scene was replaying right in front of his eyes just as it was in his dream. Why was he having these upsetting dreams over and over again? Did they mean something? Was his mind trying to tell him Hermione wasn't being all too truthful? He didn't have any exception not to believe her, except that odd conversation she was having with Harry, and all the times she knew things about Hogwarts no new student would learn even in their first few months, let alone weeks… Something was mysterious about her all right, and that's what made Sirius more enthralled.
Remus was grunting something incoherently. "I'm drowning in chocolate!" And Remus too, jumped out of bed but crashed to the floor seconds later thanks to his bed sheets and the curtains. He would have laid there for a few moments but the snickering coming from across the room was starting to irk him.
"Oh shut up, Padfoot," he snarled as he hopped out of the pell-mell pile of sheets.
"I didn't say a thing, Moony," Sirius said in what would have sounded innocent except for the sniggers.
Remus straightened and looked as if he just realized Sirius was there.
"What are you doing, being awake before me?" he asked.
Sirius didn't answer at first, but looked out the window. "Bad dream," he muttered.
Remus would have responded if a pillow hadn't launched itself at him, knocking him back onto his bed.
"What the—Peter!" he growled, rounding on the blonde-haired boy.
Peter was still laying down flat on his mattress with his curtains open.
"I told you guys if you ever woke me up again, I'd have to hurt you," Peter explained calmly with his eyes closed. He yawned and sat up. "Just be thankful that I don't have my wand." He shuffled out of the room to the bathroom. Remus shrugged and followed.
Now Sirius was left to wake the "twins". He decided to wake James first. Sirius bent down to whisper something in James's ear, but fell to the floor in surprise when James said, still looking peacefully asleep, "Sirius Black, do not wake me ever again or I will hex you into a million pieces."
Sirius scrambled up off the floor, giving a chuckle. "I do hope you are awake Prongs, and not dreaming about yours truly."
James grumbled something and lazily stepped out of bed. "What—what—what are you doing out of bed so early?" he tried to ask though his yawn.
"I just—I had a bad dream," Sirius muttered again.
"What were you dreaming about?" James asked curiously.
Sirius's eyes darted to the bed that held Harry. Sirius heard Harry's steady breath and decided it was safe. "It's just that these past few weeks, I've been have this disturbing dream… and Hermione's in it." James gave him a warning glare, so Sirius explained a bit further rather quickly. "It's not what you think. First, there are these… images that flash across my mind." He gave an involuntary shiver. James noted this.
"What kind of images?" he asked tentatively.
Harry's steady, peaceful breathing had stopped moments before, but James and Sirius failed to notice.
"Well, they're all a blur right now, but I have never seen anything like them until this year. But I remember the flashes weren't pleasant."
"So what does Hermione have to do with this?" James asked.
"I'm getting there, Prongs," Sirius said impatiently. "So, I see these memories (that aren't really mine to begin with) and they end with me falling backwards, right? But I stop falling and Hermione appears in front of me in tears. She says 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you' and then looks over my shoulder…" Sirius stopped suddenly.
"What?" James asked quickly. "What was it?"
Sirius looked at his friend with a grim expression, which one did not see everyday on Sirius Black's usually cheerful face. "Our graves." James leaned back so his back was straight. "Yours, Lily's, and mine… James, I didn't even live to be forty! You and Lily were dead before your twenty-second birthday!"
"Sirius, mate, calm down." James gripped Sirius's arm and pulled Sirius down, who did not remembering standing up at any point. "It was just a dream, all right? We all have nightmares."
"But James, you don't understand," Sirius pleaded, knowing full well that he sounded insane. "That dream felt as real as you do right now. I can't forget something like that…"
Harry chose this time to be perfect. "Good morning, mates," he said sleepily as he stepped out of his bed.
Sirius and James gave each other a look before returning the "good morning" to Harry. They left the conversation at that.
The day proved to be quite dull and dreary as any other day. It had been raining almost everyday for the past month and didn't look as if it would let up any time soon. Sure, the Marauders set Snape's greasy hair on fire, but all in all, it was a normal day.
James and Harry had just arrived from Quidditch practice when everyone else was cuddled around the fireplace late that night, both the Marauders and the girls (Hermione, Lily, Saumya, Freya, and Dana). The Potter boys were dripping their muddy water onto the rich red carpet. The rest of the Quidditch team trekked into the common room moments later. Regardless of the sweat and rain and mud they were drenched in, all of them looked ecstatic.
James strode over to his friends and shook his hair violently, acting uncannily like a wet dog. His mixture of foul-smelling perspiration and mud-rain sprayed everyone within a three meter radius.
"Potter!" Lily growled heatedly as she vigorously wiped her Charms homework clean.
"That's disgusting!" Saumya laughed, clearly finding it the very opposite.
"I take it practice was good, mon capitaine?" Sirius asked, laughing with Saumya and Peter as he absentmindedly brushed his wet face clear with his sleeve.
"Oui oui," James answered, unable to get that contagious smile off his face. Harry walked up behind them.
"Listen mate," Harry said, laying a hand on James's shoulder. "Why don't we clean ourselves off before we hang with our friends?"
"Yes, please," Remus joked.
James faced his friend with an evil smile on. "Oh Remus, you know I always liked you the best…." In one fluid motion he was beside Remus.
"Oh no…" Remus mumbled.
Before anyone knew what was going to happen, James started to… act like a cat. He butted his wet head against Remus's shoulder, therefore contaminating Remus's sweater, and started to purr. The girls shrieked with giggles. Sirius and Peter were losing it. Harry, Hermione, and Lily were shaking their heads but couldn't suppress a smile. When Remus's shoulder was fully damp from James's wild hair, the werewolf shoved him away playfully.
"For Merlin's sake, take a shower!" he laughed. "You reek beyond reason!"
James shrugged. "All right, if you say so… but I'll be back," he said in a slick, suave tone that made everyone peel into more laughter. James, satisfied that he brightened up everyone, turned around and marched up the back stairs singing at the top of his lungs his victory song for Quidditch that he made up himself. Harry rolled his eyes and made to follow his father.
"Well that was… interesting," Peter said uncertainly.
"Aw great, now I'm going to smell like a dog for the rest of the night," Remus commented to himself, but loudly for everyone else to hear. Sirius raised his eyebrows while everyone else chuckled.
Gradually, everyone went back to what they were doing before the Quidditch invasion. The girls went back to homework, as did Peter. Remus stuck his nose back in Spellman's Syllabary. Sirius, apparently struck by a new thought, stared deeply into the fire. He didn't even look up when James slammed down on the couch next to him.
When Sirius wouldn't yell at him for rubbing his clean, but still wet hair against Sirius's new white t-shirt, James asked, "What're you thinking about, Padfoot?"
Hermione's eyes popped up from her book.
"I just came up with a brilliant idea," Sirius said slowly.
"What is it?" James asked wearily.
Sirius acted as if he hadn't heard James. James opened his mouth to ask again, but Sirius cut him off.
"Wouldn't it be cool if we, the Marauders, started a band?"
Crickets chirped. Everyone looked up from their homework or books except Remus, who was so engrossed in Ancient Runes it scared the Marauders.
"Padfoot… have you been into Moony's chocolate stash again?"
"You touched my chocolate?!" yelled Remus angrily, slamming his book shut.
"No, no I didn't, I swear," Sirius begged in a tiny voice. The last time Sirius had taken some of Remus's chocolate without asking, he ended up in the hospital with hex marks covering him everywhere. "But we could be a band," Sirius stated simply. "You know, music and such…"
Deciding Sirius was telling the truth about his chocolate, and being highly amused, Remus decided to play along. "All right Padfoot, what instruments would we all play?"
"You'd play the bass guitar."
"Bass, huh?" Remus asked, more pleased with his friend's answer than he expected to be.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, feeling more relaxed knowing Remus believed him. He turned to Peter, who was watching anxiously. "Peter could play the drums."
Peter suddenly got glassy eyes as he imagined sitting behind a huge drum set rocking out like Ringo Starr. "I like that idea…"
"What would I play?" James asked excitedly.
Sirius laughed. "Well, Prongs, you could give a go at the tambourine."
James looked mortified at the thought. "No!" he yelled. "I have to play something cooler than that!"
Sirius sighed dramatically. "Fine, I guess you could try the keyboard… Seriously, you take all the fun out of things…"
"Hey, I could play the keyboard," James mused aloud.
"Yeah, simple enough for even you to play," Saumya mocked.
"Oh yeah?" James challenged. "Well see who has the millions of galleons and who is the poor one, wishing she had tickets to see our concert!"
"And what would you play, Sirius?" Peter asked in a kind voice, more pleasant than James's yelling voice.
"I…" Sirius drew himself, puffing out his chest, "would be lead guitar."
A giant silence sounded before the eruption of laughter sounded out through the 6th years.
"Air guitar is more like it," James suggested with a huge smirk.
"Aw, come on," Sirius begged, "it's not that funny." He sounded hurt.
The laughter died down eventually.
"We're not laughing at your choice of instrument," Saumya finally said. "We're laughing at how idiotic this whole idea is!"
Sirius guffawed but did not argue. Once he thought about it, it really wasn't all too bright of a plan. Still, it was fun to think up!
Dana, Freya, and Saumya packed up their things and bid everyone good night, but not before mocking Sirius's idea one last time.
Hermione said nothing from the moment she sat down with her book but watched Sirius now and then avidly. How did he do this to her? How did he manage to redirect her focus onto him? Hermione slammed her book shut louder than she planned. Muttering a quick apology, she stuffed it into her bag and crossed the common room after, too, saying good night to the Marauders. Lily was right behind her.
"She's an odd little girl," commented Peter, as if talking about the weather.
"You have no idea," Harry muttered. He pulled out his Transfiguration book and started to read. Remus went back to Ancient Runes homework and Peter to his Charms. Sirius and James held a mini-duel. Minutes later, the twosome decided a break was in order: James had transfigured Sirius's hair into black spaghetti and Sirius had used a Color-Change Charm to dye James's skin blue.
"You know, most people don't wear spaghetti, but you Black can pull it off with style."
James and Sirius whipped around to find two of the Quidditch players joining them.
"I can give you matching hair if you like, Spinnet," James laughed. Spencer Spinnet grinned and sat down on the other side of James while Bridget Bell curled up next to Sirius. She bit off the tip of one of his strands of "hair".
"Mmm, tasty," she giggled. James, Sirius, and Spencer laughed. Remus and Peter were determined to actually finish at least one piece of homework that night, so they ignored the jokers. Harry never gave up the opportunity to watch or talk with his father or godfather, so he laid down his book and joined the conversation.
"Here, I'll fix it," James said, brandishing his wand again.
"Oh no, that's all I need, you to set my bloody hair on fire," Sirius laughed.
James stuck his tongue. "I don't appreciate the insinuation, Black."
They all laughed some more. Bridget tapped Sirius on the head with her wand and poof, it was back to its original form.
"Thanks, love," Sirius said.
She kissed him on the cheek. "No problem."
Twenty minutes until midnight, Remus, Harry, and Peter yawned some form of good night and trudged up the stairs. It wasn't long at all before a clock chimed midnight.
"Ack!" James coughed, glancing at his watch. "I can't let you all stay up this late!"
"Let us stay up?" Spencer echoed. "We're bloody older than you!"
"Ah, but I'm the Quidditch captain," James said knowingly, puffing out his chest. "Team, go to bed!" he shouted. He looked around to find they were the only ones still awake.
"Heh," Spencer chuckled. "Looks like 'the captain' fell behind."
"Can it, Spinnet," James ordered.
Spencer glared at the Potter boy before clapping his hands and saying, "See you all tomorrow, bright and early." He exited the common room while muttering something about classes being too early and homework being too much.
Bridget turned to Sirius. "'Night, Siri," she said sweetly.
"Well that's a different way of saying good night," James commented. "I think I like this way better than you snogging."
"We're getting there," Sirius said without thinking. Before Sirius could add a "just joking!", Bridget leaned in and their lips smashed. If Sirius didn't always just go with the flow, he would have done many things differently: he would have made it a short kiss, he wouldn't have kissed her back with a passion, and most importantly he wouldn't have leaned in for more when she pulled away. But Sirius did the exact opposite.
Bridget smiled, but disappointment was shining in her eyes. She left without another word.
James rounded on his friend as Bridget's strawberry-blonde hair disappeared around the staircase. "What in the name of Quidditch do you think you're doing?" he hissed.
"I don't know," groaned Sirius. He plopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands.
"If you like Bell so much, then why go after Hermione?" James asked a little more softly as he sat beside Sirius.
"Because I like Bridget, but then I'm also drawn to Hermione," he answered in a pitiful voice.
James thought in silence for a moment, and then—"Okay, here's what we're going to do." Sirius looked up with his wide, puppy-dog eyes. "We are going to make a list… to find out which girl you like better."
"M'kay."
James pulled out a piece of scrap paper and a quill. He made a chart, one side labeled BB, the other HS. "All right. Which girl is more funnier?"
"I'm going to ignore your grammar mistake for the time being," Sirius muttered. "Bell."
James scratched one tally mark under BB. "Which girl is wittier?"
"Hermione."
"One for Hermione… Which girl is a better kisser?" James asked slyly.
"Hmmm, Bell is pretty experienced…" James put one tally for Bridget. "But Hermione kisses like a sweet, innocent girl, which is a nice change." James growled slightly as he added one for Hermione.
"Which girl are you more excited to see?"
"It's always fun to meet Bell inside an empty classroom." One more for Bridget. "But Hermione doesn't want to be a mindless snogger. She wants to talk and actually be around the person." Another for Hermione.
"Sirius, just make up your mind," James sighed. "This list'll go on forever." Sirius glared. "Fine… who do you think about during classes?"
Sirius stared off into space. "You know James, I think I've finally got an answer. I dream about Hermione. I think about her all the time. She's the only one to turn me down. There's something inside her I just can't explain, but I want to. I want to know her more than any other girl. I've made up my mind, Prongs."
"So it's Snicket then?" James almost groaned. Sirius nodded. "Why couldn't you take the girl that Moony didn't fancy?"
"I didn't plan to fall for the booky girl!" Sirius half-yelled.
"Fine, whatever. But what are you going to do about Bell?"
"I'll… break it up tomorrow," Sirius said slowly.
"Okay, but you better not emotionally damage my Quidditch player. We need her for next week's game," James said seriously.
"Promise," Sirius laughed. They strolled up the stairs and into their dormitories, only to fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.
Sirius dreamed of Hermione again, but this time it wasn't the regular disturbing dream. She was sitting on the couch in front of a crackling fire. He jumped over the back of the couch and into a crouching position. He put his arm around her and muttered something sweet to her. She returned it with a passionate, yet innocent kiss. He pulled back the same moment she did. She turned towards the fire while he just stared at her.
"Sirius," said a faraway voice. "Hermione has brought you a new, juicy bone to gnaw on…"
Sirius bolted straight up. He looked wildly around.
"Aw quit it guys," he growled. He pushed aside James to stand out form his bed. He found James, Remus, and even Peter awake (Sirius heard the water running and guessed that Harry was in the bathroom), all surrounding his bed. "Glad that no one let's go of anything these days," he muttered under his breath. "I was having an excellent dream, mind you. Couldn't let me have a few more minutes, could you?"
"Padfoot."
"Eh, go away Remus," Sirius yawned as he rubbed his eyes. He rummaged through his open trunk. He pulled out a clean white shirt and buttoned it up slowly, still half-awake.
"Sirius! You have thirty minutes before class starts," Remus yelled.
"What?!" Sirius pounced on Remus and grabbed his friend's wrist. He read the watch. "Bloody hell! I've got to see Bridget too!" He ran out of the room.
"I didn't know he needed a snog this early in the morning," Peter commented lightly.
"How long do you think it'll be before he realizes he is still wearing his red boxers?" James asked Remus.
"Five, four, three, two," Remus counted slowly. He pointed towards the door. "One."
"Why didn't you tell me I didn't have any pants on?!" Sirius growled as he burst through the door again. He grabbed a pair of pants and jumped into them. He ran out of the room again.
"How did you know that?" Peter asked awestruck.
"All dogs are so predictable," Remus answered nonchalantly.
Running a hand through his hair to straighten it, Sirius sprinted out of the common room. As he was running through the halls, he passed by Hermione.
"Good morning, Hermione!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Without falling out of step, he raced to one of the Charms rooms. He skidded to a halt when he spotted the strawberry-blonde curls. She was a few meters away from the Charms room, giggling with a bunch of seventh years.
"Oy, Bell!" He waved at Bridget, signaling urgency. She punched Spinnet lightly for saying something, but made her way over to Sirius quickly. He pulled her into an empty classroom, panting for air.
"I was expecting you," Bridget said.
"I didn't—come here—to snog," Sirius wheezed.
"I didn't expect that either." Sirius looked questioningly at her. "You see, I was expecting this way before, actually, but you do seem to put things off until the last moment."
"What are you talking about?"
Bridget placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you like her. It's all right." Her voice didn't sound hurt at all; on the contrary, it sounded pleased.
"How did you know about Snicket?" Sirius asked, finally able to breathe again.
"One, I'm not blind," Bridget said, chuckling. "And two, I hear things. You are one of the most-talked-about guys, aren't you?"
"And you're not mad?" Sirius asked, hardly believing the tone of voice he was hearing.
"Well, I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me sooner."
"So you know I came here to break up with you, right?" Sirius asked, just to make sure they were all on the same foot.
"Yes." Bridget sighed. "These past ten months have been a blast, Sirius, so don't think that I'm glad this is over. Sure it's been fun, but I think it's time we moved on."
Sirius looked relieved. "I agree… Wait, does this mean you have someone else in mind?" he asked mysteriously.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Bridget said with a grin.
"So you won't be flying poorly for the next Quidditch game because of me?" Sirius asked.
"No…" Bridget answered, raising her eyebrows at what she thought was a random question.
"Great… Oh, James just warned me to not emotionally damage his Quidditch player," he laughed.
"That's James, always worrying about his sport…"
They looked at each other solemnly for a moment.
"So I guess this is it," Sirius said awkwardly.
"Yeah…" Bridget kissed him on the cheek. "Hermione seems like a really nice girl. I'm glad you didn't leave me for a slut." Sirius chuckled. "But seriously, Hermione is a lucky girl to have a friend like you." She smiled her sweet smile before exiting the classroom.
"All right, dump old girlfriend, check." Sirius sighed. "Get new girlfriend, damn near impossible."
A/N: Did ya like it? Did ya like it enough to review?
Thanks: dawn1, Mai Gamit, puss in boots 119, sapphire66, and addygan! You all rock!
As for the 713 bonus points (FYI, 713 is my favorite number, not just because it is the vault number for the philosopher's stone):
Firemoonstar: (Nice name) On the nosy! Take your points! Thanks! … AH HA!! Knew I was missing something, the full moons! Don't worry, I'll mention them soon. That is when Hermione will finally tell the Marauders she know about the lycanthropy and the Animagus transformations. Thanks for reminding me!
Scarlet moon: Ack! You got the person right, but it was in Goblet of Fire! So you can take 356.5 points… just kidding! You reviewed and that's all that really matters. Thanks!
Artemisgirl: At least you remember the joke. It is in book 4, chapter 12, page 186 said by Headmaster Dumbledore at the bottom part of the page, just incase you wanted to know the exact info wink. Ah, the real question is who will Hermione dance with, hm? Let's think about this… And I just always pictured Snape fancying someone who he could never hook up with. Thanks!
DoodlerGirl: You have been the closest to the joke. You can 713 and ¾ of points! Eh heh, and yes, I DO have very strange dreams. I have my cat scan scheduled for any day now!
Nicc: yep, Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore. Thanks for reviewing!
Blondekat3: Yep, and I just love that scene in the book! Thanks!
Christine: Er, sorry. It's Dumbledore in the fourth book. But Mundungus would have been my second guess… Now that I think about it, he would tell a joke like that…
Soyamonkey: And 713 points you will get! Dumbledore in the fourth book!
As for the rest of you awesome reviewers:
Dancerchick314: Er… how many chapters… I have no idea! Heh heh, I can't plan that far ahead… it's just not possible! Yeah, wouldn't all love a money-making charm? That would be bloody useful! And I don't you'll be disappointed with the next chapter, the end of the build-up. I hope you'll enjoy it and continue to read it!
Gwuinivyre: You read all of my story in one go? Wicked! I'm so glad you think the characters are true to their original selves. That makes me so happy! And it is too true when you said that most stories just make Harry a happy little popinjay but in reality, he would be all avoidy and moody. The drinking scene was a big hit, and I loved writing it! Thanks!
Pieceocake: What do you mean "it's easy to see where this is going"? It's not supposed to, other than the fact that Sirius and Hermione hook up. But that's a give-in, since it says in the summary it's a HGSB romance!! Er—thanks.
Eman: Thanks again for reviewing! You rock for thinking my stories rock! Thanks so much for reading my story!!!
Just so you know, I might just add a few more Beatles "things" in this story. I just love 'em! And also, the lines from Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone are dedicated to my sister. She just finds the insinuation scene to be so funny! She's crazy, just like me!
I also must give some credit away for the Marauder's band idea. My friends and I were at a sleep-away camp, and just to pass the time, we all thought up of different names for our band (we really don't have one, but if we did…). So one of my friends suggested the name Marauders. Then the other just bursts out laughing. She had pictured the Marauders on stage playing songs. So they all helped with coming up with which Marauder would play which instruments. We were just crazy at the time! (Can't we all be sometimes?)