Autumn Darkness: Erm… how about we skip the snowball and you can just sit in the dark corner?
DistinctVagueness: Hi! *waves cheerfully* I'm glad you like it so far!
Niniane, Lady of the Lake: Hee hee… I know who you are! Hm… never thought of Viggo. I always pictured Johnny Depp as Sirius and someone similar to Ewan McGregor as Remus… the guy they have playing Lupin (Thewlis) looks exactly like this guy in my math class. I'm kind of creeped out….
Arch of Wand: Hee hee… your reverse psychology shall not work on me and I'll never update and… oh crap.
blahblah(2): Lol. Lots o' caps there! Glad you love it so much (and thanks for adding me to your favorites list!) I'm sorry I took so long to update… life sucks sometimes. Oh, and I had to wait to get any Lord of the Rings DVDs until the extended editions were available. AND I agree about RotK!!! I just saw it for the 5th time… yesterday. *grins*
evilive: Lol… poor, innocent Australian who has never seen snow. What a sad world you live in. Wait… you live in Australia! THAT'S COOL! Lol. Welcome, welcome to the land of Traveling!
Crying Sorceress: Lol. Everyone seems to think that Casey's in love! And I don't plan on just pairing everybody off… there'll be another OC later on who becomes friends with Remus for purposes known as "another story"… but I despise the stories that just pair everybody off. If anything, maybe Peter'll get a girlfriend (ha!)!
Snow White: Glad you moved on from "iffy." And it turned out to be three days, actually… lots o' snow.
mioni-bear: Aw, it's adorable, yey! I haven't updated "Traveler" yet… so feel free to get on with that fan art if you haven't already! You have time!
Lily of the Shadow: Lol. It was interesting to write, too! You should have seen me acting it out to figure out how everything would work….
Empress Guinevere Sparrow: Yikes… the offspring of Gollum and Dobby! Oh, that reminds me… my friend commissioned me to write a story about Dobby being gay and taking a trip to… oh, wait… I shouldn't tell you. Meh heh J
HathorCol: Yey, you like it, and will beta! *claps* I'm so happy. *wipes a tear away* Oh, and Riley's gonna take a bit longer… I'm giving a couple more people time for fan art… and I have had way too much stress in my life lately…
A/N: Tahdah! I'm back! If you want a complete explanation, see my journal (at xanga.com under Invincible_Spork, or there's a link from my bio to my webpage which has a link to my journal!)… otherwise, just know that life has been suckie and that you should never give your child four exams, two papers, a presentation, university applications, and scholarship applications within two weeks. It's bad.
Other than all that… welcome back to "The Traveler – The Marauders," say hello to my beta, Hathor (especially since she helps me with my 'English' and catches stupid mistakes that I make late at night), and enjoy this next chapter!
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… December 25, 1976 continued…
Sirius pulled up on the nose of the broom, slowing it to a stop in the Entrance Hall. Casey let out a breath that she was very well aware she'd been holding and carefully peeled her hands off the broom handle. She'd been dreaming of flying her entire life, and when it actually came down to it (and putting it in the words of a very famous android), she was moving at unsafe velocities and it scared the crap out of her.
"Hospital Wing, then," Sirius said from behind her.
"Huh?" Casey managed to get out. Just before the Entrance Hall disappeared from view, she saw giant, sparkling purple words suspended in front of the doors of the Great Hall. They simply said, "Hospital Wing." So, Sirius wasn't psychic after all.
Casey squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to ignore the wind rushing past her face unconsciously shrinking back against Sirius. She didn't see him glance at her and grin. Her hands glued themselves to the broomstick in front of her once again and she pinched her lips together to keep from shrieking at each turn. It seemed to her that Sirius was cutting it awfully close. By the time they reached the Hospital Wing, Casey was queasy and her world had gone off-kilter.
Sirius seemed to pop off the broom, while Casey slid sideways until her foot hit the floor. Getting her other leg off the broom was another matter. She was still leaning sideways and standing on one foot, so her balance was a bit off and she suddenly found herself lying on the floor after a painful fall.
She would've expected anyone to chuckle, but it grated on her already raw nerves that Sirius laughed outright. The hand that he offered to help her up seemed to be forced by a lifetime of enforced chivalry, and she thought it particularly annoying that he continued to laugh as he ushered her in through the doors of the Hospital Wing.
Inside, they found most all that had been present at the feat standing around a bed where James Potter seemed to be giving a narrative about the giant of a girl who attacked him on the stairs. A tall, very thin woman was watching him closely, lips pressed together tightly, and next to her was a redheaded girl with a disturbingly identical look on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was frowning angrily.
Finally, the girl could seem to stand it no longer, and she snapped, "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Potter, we all saw her and she was no more dangerous than Remus!"
Potter shot an oddly amused glance at the sandy-haired boy who was standing beside his bed, then turned back to the girl, running a hand nervously through his hair. "'Course, Evans, you all saw her, but you didn't see her fighting, did you? She was like a bloody Graphorn with those arms swinging everywhere!"
Casey jumped as Sirius laughed loudly from behind her; she'd forgotten he was there. "James, you knocked her down the stairs at least twice; look at these bruises you git." Sirius gripped her chin and turned her head to show off the purplish areas that had developed since her fall down the stairs, and Casey scowled. Those words had been said to James, of course… but why did Casey feel as if she'd just been insulted? She trusted the look she shot at him to communicate such feelings.
When she looked back towards the bed, everyone was staring at her. Needless to say, this made her uncomfortable, and she sought refuge in Dumbledore, whose twinkling blue eyes assured her of a warm safety.
"Come here, then," the headmaster said, holding out a hand.
Glancing warily at the others, Casey skirted carefully around them and slipped one of her hands into Dumbledore's. He encased it in his larger one, and then looked at it almost as if startled. "My, your hands are freezing, my dear! Poppy, let's get her something to warm her fingers."
"Firewhiskey!" Sirius and James whooped together.
Casey joined the severe woman she'd seen earlier (who she assumed was Professor McGonagall) in glaring at the boys and their stupidity. Without meaning to, she told them outright, "Shut up, you idiots." But the boys only looked further amused, and Dumbledore chuckled.
The redhead appreciated her efforts, at least. "If I were you, Potter, I'd feel stupid making fun of someone with your nose being that size and all," she said sharply.
Potter's face colored and his hands immediately flew to his swollen, purple nose. Casey had to wonder if he was very sensitive, because she was a wimp and didn't hit hard.
"Now, Lily Lady, it's not nice to talk about poor Snape that way," Sirius spoke up cheerfully, patting James on the back and leaning leisurely against the head bars of the bed.
Lily's pale cheeks flushed. "This has nothing to do with Severus," she looked pointedly at Potter, who she must've known would become defensive at this, "and don't call me 'Lily Lady,' Black."
Sirius smirked. "And why not, Lilykins?"
Lily visibly stiffened, and Casey glanced between the two, measuring the differences. Lily was standing straight and proud. Her clothes were pressed, and her entire physique seemed tall and confident. Black, on the other hand, was relaxed and good-humored, with the image of a successful slacker. He radiated confidence like Lily, though.
Seeing a famous bout of the Evans Temper coming on, Casey finally gave way to a nervous shiver. It effectively distracted the room's occupants from their differences, and once again, Casey found herself the center of attention. Casey averted her eyes from everyone else's; she hadn't meant to receive all of the attention.
The uncomfortable pause was broken as Madame Pompfrey exited her office and walked briskly to Casey, handed her a goblet, and told her to drink up. Casey looked at the steaming contents doubtfully. "W-what is it?" she asked quietly.
"Drink up," Madame Pompfrey reiterated, and Casey immediately put the goblet to her lips and took a large gulp. "It's just a bit of pepper-up potion. Good for the flu and the common – " But Casey had already spit the potion back into the goblet and was coughing violently.
"Why did you give me this?" she asked, horrified.
Madame Pompfrey snatched the goblet. "As I was saying, it cures the common cold, and I'll wager that's what you've got," she snapped.
Casey wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "If it cures the common cold, why didn't you give it to Filch when… w-when…" Casey suddenly realized that she honestly had no idea whether Filch was there or not.
"What about Mr. Filch, my dear?" Dumbledore prompted calmly, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Casey blinked. "W-when he had a cold… a while ago."
Madame Pompfrey looked put out. "Well, if he'd had a cold, he should have told someone instead of holing up in that drafty office of his. Merlin knows what else he'll catch in there." And with that, the nurse swept back her office.
Dumbledore chuckled softly as he turned back to Casey, whose nose had wrinkled. "What is it now, child?"
Casey wrinkled her nose even further and rubbed it self-consciously. "The potion didn't taste very good…."
Sirius and James both snorted, and a higher-pitched laugh followed their example, almost nervously. Casey leaned a bit to the side and spotted a small, chubby boy with blonde hair. He was stealing glances at Sirius and James, as if waiting to see what else they did.
Casey pinched her lips shut again to keep from vomiting. She had never felt true hate for anyone in her life, but that boy… that thing was the only Marauder to ever go bad, and seeing him in person, so close that she could strangle him and no one could stop her, that made her hate him more than she had ever thought possible. It was, perhaps, something fortunate that she had thought long and hard about a way to save everyone in the end… and the thing was, she knew that it had to happen. With every fiber of her being, she believed that James and Lily Potter dying was for the best, no matter who it hurt and no matter the grief it caused.
"Perhaps, Miss…" Dumbledore trailed off expectantly.
"McCarthy," Sirius supplied, still leaning casually against the back of his friend's sickbed.
"Miss McCarthy," Dumbledore said, smiling, "you would accompany me to my office. It seems that you have a story to tell, and I am one person you'll meet that does love a good story."
Casey smiled weakly and Dumbledore led her out the door. Just before turning the corner, the small voice that belonged to the Traitor called out, "And don't forget the lemon drops, Headmaster! She'll like the lemon drops!" Casey found herself wishing that the little twerp didn't seem so nice… it would be much easier for her to go on hating him if he just kept his mouth shut.
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That's not as long as I'd hoped, but I want to get this chapter out as soon as possible. Next chapter, we get discussion time! Oh, how I love writing those… *snorts*
I'm stretching out the deadline for the Traveler fan art contest, in case any of you are interested. The prize is a scene from "The Traveler – The Lord of the Rings" that no one but me and Risa has seen yet.
Review, please!