bethany wood: Thank you!
Templa Otmena: *claps* YEY! Hi! *waves*
Templa Otmena (2): I loved RotK!!! I saw it two times within the first 4 days! And yes, I do have the TTT extended edition. Great, isn't it?
Crying Sorceress: *snicker* You're good at guessing. *grins mischievously*
Autumn Darkness: Evil monkey brain eater? What have you been downing?! Lol. You spelled caffeine wrong, but I think I've told you that before. And I wanted to know that SAME THING about that car!
The Little Prophet: Which movie? RotK? I didn't really give anything away.
Niniane, Lady of the Lake: Lol! I never thought of it that way… my mum gets mad if I don't come right away to set the table. I know you personally, yes?
the counter: Fifteen of the twenty-five stories on that page were romances. You reviewed the same thing for every one. It is unlikely you have anything new to say.
Little Winky: Why thank you!
Kay: Hi, Kay! Thanks for the review!
Arch of Wand: Guess who BroadwayGoddess is supposed to be. *gives Arch of Wand a pointed look* PtC, YEY! Brilliant people, they are. *nods wisely* Guess what… I'm watching Aristocats! *snicker* It's so cute and corny and old and those British geese are FUNNY! "We're twin sisters… you might say we're related!" HA! *gasp!* My favorite character is the little Snoopy/weiner dog!! "Where's my beddy-bye basket?!"
Lily of the Shadow: *looks surprised* Me too! Lol.
Roma J. Lupin: Rabid hamsters and fluffy bunnies! LOL! Here's that chapter.
galadrielhermione10067: Aw, thank you! I'm planning on including a sort of third-person account of the James/Lily deal… and don't worry, I wouldn't dare give up 'Traveler' (my official nickname for Riley's story). Too many people would attempt cyber murder!!
HathorCol: Hi, Hathor! *waves excitedly* Thanks for the review, and constructive criticism. And don't worry… Peter's not going anywhere. He may seem a bit pathetic, but he'll be there and an all-together-good-friend all the same. Let me know after this chapter if you'd still like to beta!
esteledhel: You know, I'm getting really good at spelling that penname of yours! *grins* I love it, btw! Your review made me laugh… your inner Filibuster Firework and the counting how long it took you to read the second chapter. Hee hee.
Arion Naomi: Here's more. I hope you enjoy it.
Seductive Gypsy: Another chapter here for ya!
SiriusSweetie: Yey, you like my story! *does the happy dance* And are you kidding? I cried my heart out when he died. He's my favorite!
Cassandra Thacker (2): Lol. I really wanted to write a Marauders story, but never thought I had the wit to handle them. Then I discovered a little corner of my head where wit lives! I was so excited! Hope you like the rest… and don't worry about Riley (other story, but that's besides the point). She just needs to grow.
I'm terribly sorry if I skipped you, but I appreciate your review all the same!
I wanted to update on Christmas, but unfortunately, I was, well… opening presents and getting spoiled. Sorry about that.
I also wanted to update on New Years, but I was eating sushi and watching 'Return of the King' for the third time and getting spoiled. Sorry about that too. *smirks*
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December 25, 1976
The only thing that Casey could think of for several seconds was, "Oh, God, what do I do? I can't, I can't, I can't… God, what do I do?" She was completely frozen, her hands stiff by her sides and her shoulders tensed. Her mouth had fallen open, and her breath was coming in swift, sharp gasps, if it came at all.
It was all there….
A single large, wood table stood in the middle of a gigantic stone room, easily recognizable to Casey. It was the Great Hall from Harry Potter, and it was decorated for Christmas. At the table sat a small number of adults wearing flowing robes, and near ten children wearing, well, normal clothes. They were all staring at her in shock, as she was them.
Dumbledore, oh… McGonagall, Harry… oh no.
It was then she realized that she wasn't seeing Harry Potter. This was something completely different… because that boy was not surrounded by red-haired people and a bushy-haired girl. He was entirely surrounded by boys.
But it couldn't be. She recognized the faces easily, of course, but how was she supposed to believe this? Was she supposed to just accept that she had traveled back in time, across a country and ocean, and into a story? Was it supposed to seem natural that she was suddenly staring at James Potter (father to a fictional character, and fictional character himself), Remus Lupin (lycanthrope), Peter Pettigrew (who Harry Potter fans immediately learned to hate), and Sirius Black… oh, Sirius!
As if her breathing was not irregular enough beforehand, her breath hitched in her chest. Did fan fiction writers know how very right they'd gotten it? She was staring at Sirius, with his black hair and deep blue eyes… and that ever-present smirk that you always got the feeling he'd had. Sirius, who had no idea of the hard life he was in for. Sirius… who would die.
All she seemed capable of was emitting a small, choking sound, but that seemed enough to pull everyone out of their stunned silence. Dumbledore stood from his seat and held out a hand, eyes twinkling curiously. Casey got the strange feeling that he was offering safety. Hesitantly, keeping a wary eye on the others, she took as step towards him. That step turned into another, and that one into another, and that one into another, until she was standing before the wizard, taking shaky breaths and trembling.
"Hello, Child," Dumbledore said quietly, smiling gently at her.
Casey opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again, but only a whisper of "Hello" came out.
"And who might you be?" asked the headmaster, gazing at her reassuringly.
Again, Casey opened and closed her mouth without much result. She did manage to get out another whisper, this time with her first name, but finally became so frightened that she bolted. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and threw herself at the doors of the Great Hall, pushing them open and dashing out into the Entrance Hall.
Behind her, Dumbledore ordered, "Catch her swiftly, but do not use magic, it will frighten her."
Two black-haired boys who looked more like brothers than friends shared a look and grins of excitement. "Does that include flying, Albus, old chap?" one boy asked.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Oh, I suppose that catching her is the most important thing."
Both boys immediately reached under the table and slid out broomsticks that they had undoubtedly been saving for after the feast. Before you could say winkin', blinkin', and nod, the boys had zoomed off after the mysterious girl who had suddenly appeared at the front of the Great Hall moments before.
Outside the Great Hall, Casey sprinted to the right down a stone passageway. Almost immediately, the corridor spilled out into the tall, brightly-lit room with stairs lining the walls… and some stairs that were moving. Instinct carried her away from the staircase that took her down. She leapt upwards two stairs at a time, speeding up when she heard a faint, "Prongs, right!" She nearly made it to the third floor landing before something whooshed past her and stopped in front of her.
It was a bespectacled boy hovering over the ground on something that looked like an old-fashioned broomstick. The boy gave her a lop-sided grin and reached out, taking hold of Casey's wrist. "Come on, it's back to Dumbledore you go."
Casey gasped and jerked away from the boy. Unfortunately, the sudden movement threw her out of balance and she latched onto the boy's hand to keep from falling. The boy's reflexes were excellent, but not enough to stop Casey from sliding backwards down the stairs, and thus dragging him through the air after her.
When she hit the landing between the second and third floors, Casey stumbled and fell to the ground. The boy's momentum threw him off his broom and he landed on top of her. Casey squirmed our from underneath him while he was groaning in fake agony. She made a dash for the steps, but the boy grabbed her by the ankle.
"Oi!" he shouted. "You're not getting away!"
Casey whimpered, but stomped on the boy's hand.
The boy yelled. Casey spun around, wanting to make sure that he wouldn't get her again. He did, indeed, make another quick grab for her, but with a swift punch in the nose, Casey had loosened herself from her captor and was scrambling up the steps again.
Behind her, she heard a loud groan and a pitiful, nasally call for "Padfoot!"
Her heart beat ever more fiercely in her chest at that. It couldn't be; that wasn't possible, and she knew it, no matter how much she'd tried to have faith in the impossible. In the end, she was very much aware that, much as it pained her, it was just a story. None of it was real.
She had reached the fourth floor before she heard a loud guffaw from where she had left the boy. "She's a girl, Prongs!" the voice laughed.
Casey dove into the fourth floor corridor and took an immediate left. Without looking, she knew the voice was headed in her direction. She ducked around a corner and pressed herself against the wall next to a large, gold-rimmed mirror, and peeked out, trying to quiet her breathing, which seemed to thunder in her ears.
A moment later, another boy on a flying broomstick zoomed onto the fourth floor and paused at the same fork where Casey had turned left. Casey hid behind the corner again.
This had to be a dream, because all circumstances were far too fortuitous for her. The second boy turned right and sped down the corridor.
Casey suddenly realized that she had to get out, and she was doing exactly what stupid people in movies did when trying to escape from evil people: she was going up! Of course, the good guys usually ended up either tossing the bad guys off the roof (she wasn't planning on murdering anyone) or falling off the roof themselves (she didn't want to die!). Thus, she easily deduced that it was time to head down. The question was how. That was solved easily as well. She would just go the way she'd come.
Casey ran as quickly as her legs would carry her out from behind the corner, up one corridor, down another, and down the stairs she had just come up. She passed the first boy, who was still sprawled on the landing where she'd left him, on the way. He lunged for her again, and managed to snag the bottom of one of her pant legs. Casey went tumbling face-first down the stairs with a shriek.
The boy winced and called, "Terribly sorry!" as he watched her roll down the stairs, hitting each step and a loud thud. It had obviously happened to him at some time in the past, because he was not particularly concerned about whether she'd be all right or not. Either that, or he was already holding a grudge against her for damaging his nose.
Casey hit the landing of the second floor and cried out, briefly curling into a ball. But she was on her feet again in an instant.
Just as she ran into the corridor outside the stair-room, the boy called, "Entrance Hall, Padfoot!"
Casey sped up. Entrance Hall? Then just down these stairs… Casey burst out the doors into a freezing cold, intensely white world. Without pausing in the slightest, she ran as fast as she could through the knee-deep snow towards a distant forest. Her bare feet were aching with cold, and the wind easily tore through her wool sweater. Shivering violently, she slowed from her snail's pace to a stop. She could hear someone calling for her, asking her to stop for a moment so that they could talk to her; they wouldn't harm her. And, in truth, Casey didn't know why she was still running. She had long since run past her limit – mostly because she didn't run at all – and her legs her threatening to give out. That voice had been awfully tempting….
Within seconds, The Voice had reached her and revealed itself to be the second boy. The wind whipped his black hair back and forth, and his face was already pink with cold, but he was grinning widely. "Decide to beat the record for longest period of time spent barefoot in the snow?" he asked, glancing down at her feet. Casey just squinted at him with her arms wrapped around herself and shaking. The boy blinked at her, waiting only a few seconds for an answer that obviously was not going to come. He finally stuck out a hand. "Sirius Black."
Casey eyed the hand warily before slipping one of her own into it. His hand was large and warm and squeezed hers reassuringly. "Casey McCarthy," she supplied quietly.
Sirius grinned again, pulling her towards him gently. "Well, Casey McCarthy, you must be freezing, judging by your hand. What say we get you inside?" He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the broom.
Her stomach tightened into a knot. Dare she do it? This was a new experience, and they didn't know her… what would it matter if she spoke up now? For the first time in her life, Casey spoke presumptuously to a stranger. "Ladies' man, are you?" She quirked an eyebrow at him to seal her look of confidence, though her insides were squirming with nervousness.
Sirius gave her a self-satisfied smirk. "More or less."
Casey slipped away from his hands and gave him the best flirtatious look she could come up with. "Well then I have something to tell you."
Sirius raised his eyebrows, deep blue eyes twinkling and a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Oh? And pray tell, what's that, my dear?"
I'm not gonna let myself fall for you, that's what. Casey's eyes hardened in sincerity. "You'll never have me," she declared saucily. The only sign of her squeamishness was her balled fists.
Unfortunately, Sirius seemed more pleased at her response than anything. "All right," he said. "But you still have to come inside." He took Casey by the hand again and pulled her onto the broom.
As his arms wrapped around her and the broom rose into the air, Casey squashed the excited leap in her heart. I just met Sirius Black. And she had a feeling that she knew exactly what he was like.
How's that? Good? Yes, no, maybe so…. Let me know in any case. Review please! I've been snowed into my house for two days… you have to give me something, peoples!