Ahoy there all! Holidays are nearly over (sob) so i might find it a bit hard to update regularly from february onwards. Tradgic, yes. But i am starting senior and i really do not want to end up a bum. i shall be knuckling down with my studies! Ewww...(dramactic sigh) Anyhooo...hope everyone enjoys this chappie and i love everyone who is reading my story and reviewing! Lots of bright shiny glorious love being sent your way!
DISCLAIMER: On the news today, they had this whole segment on the Luna Lovegood audtions, and most of the girls trying out who were interviewed had better luck finding a leprechan on their shoulder than winning the part. See, if i owned HP tm, i would give the part to some really awesome chick who deserves it, not those starry-eyed girls who were being interviewed. I mean, one girl had jet balck hair! Come on! But, alas i dont own Hptm, as you all know. Another tragedy. God, my life is a Shakespear play.
Have a sackful of fun! Here we go...
After Harry and Ginny had rushed from the room and left the other three in rather miserable, hungry and (in James' case) vengeful states, they all slid beneath the fluffy doonas and decided the best way to make this awful day end quickly was to put it from their minds and try to sleep.
Indeed, this proved to be a harder thing to accomplish then they first thought, as when they had extinguished all the oil-lanterns, darkness had enveloped them so snugly one could not see their own hand before their eyes, and the atmosphere was calm, drowsy and perfect to induce sleep, James' voice kept piping up in unexpected eruptions of aloud-wonderings:
"Do you think they're getting us dinner? I jolly well hope so, as I think I speak for us all when I say I'm so ravenous, I'd take on a chimera if the reward was food."
"Why is this house so quiet? Were'nt they having some sort of party before? Odd time to have a party, in the afternoon. But it's nearly nightfall now. It must be over."
"Who here thinks that Harry kid is a berk?"
"Well, please Sirius, if I were to achieve sleep, it would rather impossible with your elbow in my mouth."
"Oh! James do shut up! Or I'll shove my elbow so far down your thoart you'll digest it!"
After the threat, James fell mercifully silent, and, one by one, they all slid off into a heavy sleep.
Meanwhile, Harry had been in his Plotting Room with Ginny, Hermione and Ron, going over the whole fiasco. Ron deemed the story as the funniest he'd heard in a long time and made Harry retell the part of James assuming his place at the dinner-party so many times Harry had to growl a fierce "no!" at him the 6th time he asked.
Hermione said nothing but pinched up her face into a worried expression and started an odd mechanical pacing about the empty room with heavy, pensive footfalls. She almost seemed upon the point of telling him off a few times, and at one place, got so uncomfortably near to it that he suggested loudly (and without reason, as they had barely discussed, let alone plotted, anything) that they should all be it bed by now. Of course, Harry had another reason….but he had no yet told any one apart from Ginny as he was sure that other two would not approve. Then, helpfully, Mrs. Weasley's voice thundered down from the above floor and reminded them all of their need for sleep.
"But it's only a quarter to nine!" protested Ron to Harry, as though he were the mother he had to appeal the bed time curfew to.
"Early to bed, early to rise! That's the way to go!" said Ginny cheerfully, tipping Harry an obvious wink, and steering her grumpy brother out of the room. (-"So Harry put you up to this!"-) "Coming Hermione?" she called from the hall.
Hermione gave Harry a cold, knowing look, and swept out silently to join the others with her head held at a rather snobbish angle . When Harry was sure he had heard two pairs of doors slam above, he exhaled and proceeded to the shadowy kitchen which, by then, was thankfully devoid of all party goers.
The reason the Order had held a dinner-party in the early afternoon, as Harry knew, was because they had many things to prepare for the next day, and wanted a last chance of merry frivolous splendour with their friends as they were all not certain of what the next day would bring: grave ruefulness or the happy invitations of another party. The slumbering James, Lily and Sirius upstairs did not know this though, and simply thought the Order strange, absurdly passionate people with odd celebrational tactics.
He stole some cold corned beef, a few thick slices of doughy bread, and a flask of water, stowed them stealthily beneath his robes, and set off with a brisk, guilty pace for his 'parents' bedroom. As he was tiptoe-ing down the silent black halls, a door creaked suddenly open and a figure unfolded themselves from within; a figure displaying all similar traits of intentionally appiled stealth; a figure which blindly collided with an unaware Harry, and sent him sprawling noisily into a costly poircelain vase and its flattering pedistol. The tell-tale crash would have been enough to wake the entire house.
"Run!" Harry wisely advised the other culprit, and the two blundered forwards down the hall, ignoring inquiring calls and irritated shouts for sleepable silence.
Harry and the other did not stop until they were right outside the 'others' room, heaving and panting.
"Lucky we weren't caught, eh?" gasped Harry.
"Lucky? What I call lucky, Harry, is the fact you have managed to keep disappearing off to this room without anyone inquiring as to why all of you suddenly have chosen this room as your new home!" and Harry realised, with a thrill of recognistion, the hoarse voice and tall black form blotted out by darkness before him.
Lupin.
He had lead Lupin directly to them!
"Lupin! I ..er...I," stammered Harry, inwardly blessing the darkness for shrouding Lupin's expression as he was sure it would be not be agreeable. "You really mustn't go in! I mean, well…" ( what was he to tell him? Very well not the truth, as he was sure some sort of cardic arrest would ensue. So, he took a leaf from Ginny's book.) "Ginny and are experimenting with noxious gases, and we've left the room to …well, ferment overnight, you see. And if you were to open this door, you would most certainly be treated to several hours of toxically induced sleep!"
This ridiculous lie was treated with a few awful seconds of unimpressed silence from Lupin, who then reached a sarcastic hand towards the doorknob, and wordlessly pushed it open.
When they entered, the sounds woke Lily up from her deep pleasant sleep and she grinned bemusedly at them for a moment or two. She had been having a wonderful dream that she was back at school, cackling madly with her friends about this other funny dream she had had …then her groggy mind registered Lupin's face (as he was one of those people who retain the same shaped, featured and charactered face all through out their lives, and although he had some wrinkles, they did not affect his overall countenance. Others aren't as lucky.) and she was suddenly as alert as if she'd been awake for hours.
She shed the feathery doona, and walked, ever so slowly, up to Lupin. Then there was a rather emotional moment as they both hugged and there were a few tears shed (chiefly Lily's) and Harry stood awkwardly close-by, concertrating on his shoes. No-one, not even Lupin, had told Harry he, Lupin, and his mother were great friends.
After these greeted had died down, Harry proudly produced the dinner the had stolen from the kitchen and was rather happy when Lily hugged him lavishly and ripped into the corned beef. After this meal (she had left hardly any for Sirius and James, but no-one seemed to pay this fact very much attention.) she turned to Harry and grasped his hands in her own. Everyone had gone sombre and quiet and Harry had the feeling she was about to put foreward something that had been dragging on her mind.
"Harry," she said in a small, pale voice, "please help me find my family. That was the reason we used that horrible portrait in the first place and now this is all unravelling around us! But, you are my son! My family is your family right?"- (Here, Harry made an indistinct noise at the back of his throat)- " So, you would know where they are! Please, take me to my mother. She'll help." Although Lily was not entirely sure that last statement was perfectly true, it sounded impressive and dignified, and, to her, that's what a mother should sound like.
Harry wore a glum expression and avoided Lily's eyes. Lupin was quite silent.
Finally, Harry unstuck his throat. Still not looking her directly in the eyes he muttered: "Sure. But I have other business to take care of tonight." Here he shot Lupin a swift glance, which was reciprocated with a nod. "You wouldn't mind having to sit through that, would you?"
He was half-hoping she'd find the very mention of 'business' boring and tedious, and therefore speedily withdraw her demand and scuttle off to bed again.
But, this thought was spiralling in the head of a boy who had only known the girl who the assumption was made about a year, and that year he had spent swaddled in swaddling and being talked to in unintelligible baby-talk, not asking hardy character-assessing questions of his mother. That being said, Lilly Evans was not the girl Harry had her picked out as.
"Of course! That won't be problem at all!" She got to her feet from the floor and swirled her cloak around her shoulders. "That is if Lupin will be so kind as to look after the reluctant-father and disobliging-godfather here." Lupin smiled and glanced at the bundled mass of sprawling blankets that were the boys. "Why, of course!" he replied.
"Well, then that's settled!" she clapped her hands together in delight (here, Harry also smiled) then proffered an arm to Harry, and when he had hesitantly accepted it, said: "So, onwards to my mother! Lead the way!"
Here, I could describe Harry and Lilly's tip-toed venture through the house and out into the garden to Dissapperate (the reason being the Anti-Dissapperation charm, which had been purposely crashed by Hermione a few days before as a means to go, hinder-free, to confront unspeakables (but that is another story) and now it was once again up and powerful, so the front lawn was their Dissapperation point) but nothing very eventful happened, so I would rather go back to what happened after Lily and Harry left the room.
Lupin, who was feeling spirited and 16-ish, sat down beside his two sleeping charges and wistfully took in what ever parts of their faces were not burrowed deeply into feathery doonas.
He had not seen Sirius's face for over 2 years now, and James…he had not seen James' in 16.
But at that inopportune moment, James elected to wake up.
All he saw was a forlorn-looking figure, swallowed up by menacing darkness, hunched over both he and Sirius. And, naturally, James did the thing that our primal instincts tell us to do in such a sticky situation.
He screamed bloody murder!
Grabbing Sirius roughly by the collar of his crushed robes, he hauled him to the opposite side of the room, just as a frightened voice called through the door: "HARRY! Oh! Harry, I heard you scream! What ever is the matter? Death Eaters! Oh! Arther, dear! Death Eaters! Upstairs! Hurry!."
But as they heard many footsteps thunder up the stairs, Lupin stuck his head out of the door and said calmly: "Molly, there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Harry and I were just discussing a few things for the rendezvous tonight, and he was taken by surprise by a rodent. Nothing to worry about at all!"
"Moony!" whispered James joyfully to Sirius. "It's Moony!"
Sirius peered at the shadowy figure critically. "It's too tall to be Moony."
James ignored him.
"Remus! Oh! Do let me see him, poor thing! They're everywhere in this house." came the motherly voice from outside the door. Lupin looked over his shoulder at James, and, by the wand-light cast by all the curious people huddled outside, James saw him beckon him over.
He slapped on an unconvincing grin of feigned normality, and walked across the room to join Lupin. "Haha! I'm such a fool, Molly!" he laughed jovially, taking in faces as he did so. The motherly -sounding voice transpired to belong to a very motherly-looking kindly witch, who was wearing a frightened expression and a thick woollen dressing gown.
Next to her stood the man who James gathered to be Arthur, a tall balding wizard who was still looking jerkily over his shoulder for approaching Death-Eaters.
"Yes, no trouble here! Back to bed, everyone, back to bed!" he called to the small throng of the house's inhabitants which had congregated outside the room. "Yes, you're all very alert and quick on the uptake! If this were the real thing, those pesky Death-Eaters wouldn't stand a chance!" he called again, simply to boost everyone's moral, and he thought it would have been the sort of corny thing Harry would have come out with.
"Very well," said Molly, who was looking far more relieved now. "Off to bed then soon boys!"
"Goodnight, Molly!" said James. Molly arched an eyebrow at him, before turning away and shuffling downstairs with the rest.
They slammed the door shut, and all let out a collective breath. Then James straightened himself and turned towards Lupin. "Well done Moony! I see you've been taking lessons from the red-haired midget, no doubt!" then his smile faltered as Lupin's grew. "You're grown up," he said mournfully. "You're not a kid anymore…"
"I know, and neither were you when I said goodbye to you."
"When I went on that mission thingo?" asked James, observing Lupin as closely as he could through the darkness.
Lupin hesitated a second, then picked himself up as though nothing was the matter. "Yes, that was it." Fortunately, the darkness was so swallowing, James did not make out the tears in Lupins eyes as he said it.
"Whoa, that was close!" said James. "We want out of this place! You've got the fully-grown brain here, Moony, so deal us a stroke of adult brilliance. What can we do?"
Sirius had picked himself up off the floor, and joined them. He was covertly sneaking glances at Lupin's considerable height. Seeing as Sirius had always secretly prided himself on being the tallest member of the group, he was not liking this newly-tall Lupin at all. But James had already accepted Lupin as the Moony he knew: his advisor, and he grinned up at Lupin, his eyes bright with pleasure at having his friend by his side, regardless of height and wrinkles.
"You could always go back to the Time-keeper and plead for you riddle." Lupin suggested. "We have been trying to negotate with him for an extremely long amount of time, but he will not budge in his decision not to help us. He says we're too rude to him. So, why not go grovel to him? Flatter him, you know? You're well accustomed to that sort of thing James"- (Here, James smiled gloatingly)- " I'm sure you'd be able to wheedle it out of him."
"Jolly good idea, ol' pal! We shall embark on that right his minuet!" and with out another word, James slid out of the door and into the pitch-black corridor, leaving Sirius and Lupin to follow. It was tense trip downstairs to the Time-keepers room, as now the alarm had been raised , the inhabitants of the house had their vigilant ears pricked and tuned to the corridors, listening for any intruders of such.
A horrible minuet occurred when a someone poked their head around their door, as the three must have been making an excess of noise, but they blended in perfectly with the shadows, and the head was withdrawn a moment later.
Down in the Time-keepers room, Sirius performed his spell to awaken him, but then he proceeded to make very loud yawns which in turn made everyone very nervous. James then grovelled accordingly, hitting the Time-keeper with compliment after compliment in a very awe-inspiring manner, untill the old portrait finally cracked with a chuckle of delight.
"Ok, ok! I'll tell you! How did I ever think you rude? Let me see, let me see…," and from the bottom of his picture he plucked out a little red-leather bound book. "The Riddle For Mr. James Potter is:…(he cleared his throat in a pompous, dignified manner):
"His taste, a dob, eat slide, at heart."
"Hah ah!" laughed James, and he looked over his shoulder as to encourage the other two to also laugh. "That was funny! Now, please tell me the riddle."
"Why, boy that was it!" said the Time-keeper. "That's what you have to solve to get back to your own time!"
James opened and closed his mouth several times. "You're joking." he croaked. "But…but it makes absolutely no sense!"
"That's why it's a riddle, boy!" said the Time-keeper smugly.
"Git." grumbled James. "That's what flattery and adualtion gets you nowadays!"
------------------------o0o----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At this point, I must put an unfortunate stop in James' story, and revert back to Lily (who was not at all sitting and twiddling her thumbs.)
Harry had told her that he had to make the important meeting foremost, then, after the tiresome dull business was out of the way (he was saying this as a last ditch attempt to dissuade her from joining him.) they would then proceed to her mother.
At this, Lily took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly at Harry. He looked so much like James to her, she kept forgetting she was in another's company. "Certainly!" she said, though couldn't help noticing Harry was looking still more grave and sober with every passing second. "But… what ever is the matter?" she asked sharply.
He raised his eyes level to hers. "Nothing." he murmured, and he stepped into the middle of the dirty road. "Coming?"
She walked erectly to join him. "So, where are we off to first?"
This, time, Harry definitely did not meet her eyes.
"Number 34, Spinner's End."
Dum dum duuummmmm (again)! yes! aha! SUSPENSE! anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed my sis' story! Strawberry kisses to Uma for your LOVELY review! She was in tears of gratitude over it and spent the rest of the day saying things like: "When i grow up and am a famous author, I'll let you all swim in my mansion's pool." Caboodles of hugs to everyone for reviewing this story (again)! hehe! until next time! xoxoxo