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Rating: PG-13 for now, although that may change later. Will be slash later in the story. HP/?, JP/LP
Spoilers: All books
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. All Harry Potter™ characters and settings are the sole intellectual property of JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and various others who all aren't connected to me in any way. No money is being made with this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 8: The Calm Before The Storm
Harry ran his hands through his black hair, shaking the excess water off. He grabbed the towel that he had draped over the door, wrapped it around his hips, and walked out of the bathroom. The last few weeks with the Marauders and Lily had ensured that he was attending meals and eating more than he had the entire summer. The result being that he had gained some of his lost weight. Quidditch practices, on the other hand, had started to hone his muscles and it was beginning to show. Harry made his way through the Sixth Year boys' dorms, nodding at Sirius as he passed him until he reached his four poster bed. Harry closed the curtains and reached for his school uniform.
As he dressed, Harry thought about the evening ahead. It was Monday, 08 October 1976 and that Monday night was the full moon. Over the last few days, Harry had noticed that Remus had been becoming more and more pale and ill looking. Realising that the other Marauders would want to accompany Remus that night, Harry decided that he would avoid them that evening so they could leave the dorms unhindered.
A small part of him, however, wanted to tell the Marauders that he knew what they were upto and he was slightly hurt that they did not trust him enough to tell him about Remus' condition and their ability to become Animagi. At the same time, Harry realised why he was being deceived and understood where they were coming from. Harry decided to go to the Library later that day or tomorrow and start search for textbooks that would explain how he could also become an Animagus.
Half an hour later, Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, filling his plate with toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. The morning post arrived as he filled his goblet with pumpkin juice and Hedwig flew down and rested on his shoulder. Harry murmured a greeting and complimented his faithful owl as he stroked her feathers. Hedwig took a sip of his juice and nipped his ear affectionately before grabbing a piece of bacon and flying out of the high windows back to the Owlery.
Harry turned his attention to Sirius and James, who had just put a letter away from James' parents . Harry's grandparents: George and Mary Potter. Harry motioned to gain the attention of Sirius and James. "Don't worry if I'm not at dinner or in the Tower later. I'm going to go and talk to the Headmaster for a little while tonight. He and McGonagall have asked me often enough so I thought I'd better take him up on one of those offers," Harry said, weaving the lies and truth together surprisingly easily. "I might get back to the Tower quite late, depending on what Dumbledore wants to talk to me about. I'll try not to wake you up when I get back though" Harry continued, noticing the relieved looks on their faces out of the corner of his eye.
James smiled at him in reply. "I'm sure you won't make any noise that'll wake us up. It'll be like you're not there at all"
Harry ducked his head to hide his own smile. 'That's true enough' he thought. 'You'll be spending the night in the Shack and the Forbidden Forest'
Sirius suddenly spoke up, leaning into James' side. "Jamie-boy!" he said in a high pitched voice. "Evans is coming this way. Going to ask her out again?"
James glared at his best friend and Harry, both of whom were trying to hide their amusement with little success. "Shut it Siri, or I'll give you a dose of that Bat Bogey Hex!"
Sirius snorted. "I think I would have ducked the hex rather than have loads of flapping wings like you did!"
"She was wearing that little black dress! You know . that one that looks perfect on her. I was momentarily stunned by her beautiful red hair and perfect body!" James exclaimed. "Not that I only fancy her because of her looks. I appreciate her mind as well" James rushed to explain.
Harry laughed as he remembered how wide James' eyes had become upon seeing Lily in that dress. James had been convinced that Lily was going on a date with someone and had looked ready to curse that particular someone, but it had turned out that she was only going to a Prefects' meeting. Instead, James had managed to persuade Remus to keep his eyes on the redhead in case she flirted with anyone at the meeting.
Remus had looked from James to Harry, who had nodded discretely, and back towards James before finally agreeing. It had been over a hour later when the Gryffindor Prefects finally returned to the Tower. James, having heard that Lily had been the perfect model student, then attempted to talk to her and persuade her to go on a date with him.
Lily, it seemed, had not quite forgotten about the incident involving Snape on Friday the thirteenth, and the part James had played in that confrontation. Much to the amusement of the other Gryffindor students, after insulting James on a number of things, she then hexed the popular pranker with the Bat Bogey Hex before stalking up the staircase that led to the girls' dorms.
"James, James, James" Sirius said while shaking his head in mock sorrow. "See a pretty girl and you lose all capacity of common sense. Whatever shall I do with you?"
"Like you're any different" James countered.
"Me? I am the perfect gentleman!"
"As if" a new voice interjected, causing Sirius and James to jump slightly in their seats while Harry laughed at their shocked expressions.
"Black, the day you become a gentleman is the day Snape stops calling me a Mudblood!" Lily dryly stated. Harry had been informed about her threat to Sirius after that unfortunate Quidditch practice by a fearful sounding Sirius. Sirius had been profusely grateful when Harry had told Lily that he was perfectly fine and asked her not to blame or take revenge on Sirius. Harry had explained to Lily that he should have been more aware of the bludger, but he blamed his injury on his lack of practice on the Quidditch field. Harry had assured the red-haired witch that he would not be quite so careless in the future, but if he was, she would be well within her right to hex him, which seemed to calm her nerves.
Harry was under no illusions. Lily had not believed a word that he said but she respected him enough to do as he asked. Something that Sirius had also quickly realised. Since then, the blue eyed wizard had been paying a significant amount of attention towards Harry. Not that Harry had minded in the slightest. Deep within him, Harry knew that he missed Sirius and he tried not to think that when he eventually returned to his own time, he would have to accept that Sirius was dead. Though Harry would obviously miss James and Lily, he never really knew them as parents. Sirius on the other hand, had been very close to him and a part of him grieved for what was in this young, handsome, vibrant wizard's future.
"Hey" Sirius protested weakly, not wanting to annoy the fiery witch this early in the day.
"Besides, I'm not here to talk to you" she said, preventing any of Sirius' attempts to defend himself. "Harry? Ready for Transfiguration?" she asked, before turning and walking towards the doors.
Harry glanced at his empty plate, privately satisfied at finishing the meal, and grabbed his bag. He threw an apologetic smile at James. "I'll put in a good word for you. See if she might accept a date" he said at the morose-looking James who had been largely ignored by Lily.
"Make that a lot of words!" Sirius shouted after him as he poked his best friend in his side.
**********
After Transfiguration, the four Marauders and Harry were making their way to the DADA classroom. Transfiguration had been getting slightly easier as the weeks passed and McGonagall seemed pleased with his progress. Most lessons, he and Lily worked side by side, helping each other through any rough spots. More often than not, Sirius and James would keep an eye on their progress and they often offered help, adding to Lily's confusion and Harry's amusement. Harry could tell from her narrowed green eyes that Lily was suspicious of the help that was offered, often trying to discover the reason for their generosity.
Harry noted that Peter had stopped to retie his shoelace but did not take any further notice of the rat. He continued to talk to James who was telling him about the letter he had received at breakfast from his parents. Apparently one of the House Elves had become pregnant and they had decided to redecorate a room for Sirius to stay in over the holidays. Sirius, who was walking slightly ahead of James, was gesturing wildly as he talked to Remus.
One moment Harry was walking next to James, the next he found himself looking at the surprised faces of James, and Sirius and Remus who stood a few metres away. Harry extended his arms against the floor to lever himself up to his feet but brought it back up when it came into contact with a cold wet sensation. Harry frowned as he realised that his right hand was stained with the scarlet coloured ink that surrounded him and Harry realised that he had slipped on the wet floor.
Suddenly Filch appeared around the corridor, as if drawn by some mysterious force towards a student breaking the rules. At his side was the constant presence of Mrs Norris, Filchs' mangy cat. The squibs' eyes popped as he saw Harry and the mess of ink that he had slipped upon.
"Filth" he shouted, pointed a yellowing finger at Harry. "I've had enough of it! Students walking about the castle thinking they own it! Especially you troublemakers, Potter! Black! I'll see you expelled yet! Merlin forbid you two ever have any brats! You . Granger! Causing trouble already I see"
"But . but I didn't do anything" Harry started to say, coming out of his shock.
"Ha!" Flich exclaimed with glee. "Don't you try that with me Granger. I caught you red-handed! You can't get out of that!" he said triumphantly, pointing at Harry's hands. "Detention with me tonight. My office!" he wheezed before shuffling off, muttering about dirty teenagers and scrubbing, Mrs Norris following close behind.
Harry did not even have the opportunity to protest further before Filch vanished behind a tapestry. Harry knew perfectly well that the ink had not been there a minute ago. Therefore, Harry concluded, he had possibly been pranked; an unlikely event since Sirius and James looked just as confused and outraged as he was. The other explanation was that someone had deliberately tried to get him into trouble and hence a detention. Harry nodded absently while Remus informed him that he would tell Steelfield what had happened. Finally Harry managed to stand up and looked down at his stained clothes before making his way to the nearest bathroom, trying to ensure he did not leave an ink trail that would cause further trouble with Filch.
James and Sirius were talking in whispers as they watched Harry walk away. Peter approached the pair with a small skip in his steps and a smile on his face. "I had this fantastic idea James, just as we were walking towards Defence" Peter started to say, looking at James with a bright light in his watery eyes. "You know we needed to get Harry out of the way for tonight, well I got us one!" he announced happily. "I thought that if Harry had detention with Filch tonight then he wouldn't notice we weren't in our beds tonight so I sent a spell at him and it worked!" he finished, looking up at James expectantly.
If Peter had expected congratulations, he had sorely misjudged his actions. Remus, who had also heard Peter's confession, frowned at the smaller boy while James and Sirius narrowed their eyes in anger. Peter started to look nervous, his gaze flitting from one to the other. He wrung his hands and ducked his head. "Did I do something wrong?" he whispered.
Sirius exploded. "Something wrong!" he almost shouted.
James' voice remained low, but there was no mistaking the anger lacing its tone. "Harry was going to visit the Headmaster this evening so he wasn't even going to be around. Now he can't even do that because of you!"
"Can you get any more stupid" Sirius seethed, his attraction fuelling his anger.
"Besides" James continued, stopping Sirius from further insulting the shorter boy. "Even if he weren't visiting Dumbledore, we would have found a way of distracting him without getting him into detention. Detention with Filch is just." James trailed off, shaking his head.
"He didn't deserve that" Remus finished, his sad disappointed tone causing Peter to flinch.
"I thought you would have been pleased I managed to get him out of the way" Peter said, distress evident on his plump face.
"Well you obviously thought wrong" Sirius growled, his lips curled back so that he bared his teeth like a dog.
"No. Friends wouldn't do that to other friends" Remus replied. "Getting Harry deliberately into trouble wasn't right. You wouldn't betray our trust like that so why should it be any different with Harry?"
"Remus is right," James said. "You'll have to apologise to Harry and tell him what you did"
Sirius glowered at Peter, causing him to cower from the angry teenager. Remus also did not seem to have much sympathy for the shorter boy, but lacked the energy to properly chastise him. "Look, Harry's gone to try to remove the red ink he's covered with. It's almost time for Defence to start and we don't need Steelfield to take any more points from us and I bet you anything, if Filch catches us here, he'll give us detention to boot"
They hurried towards the Defence classroom and entered the room, closely followed by a red-faced Harry, but before they could talk to him, the students were all told to sit down to take a surprise test. Once the lesson had ended, Harry hurried out of the classroom before the Marauders could catch up and grabbed a sandwich from the Great Hall. As the Marauders approached him, Harry apologised and explained that he had to finish his Potions homework, especially since he would be in detention that evening instead. Harry was rushing up the stairs before Peter could say a single word of apology, not that Harry had noticed since Peter had been using James as a body shield.
Peter still believed that he had not done anything warranting this level of anger, but he was afraid that if he did not apologise to Harry, the others possibly would not forgive him. Peter knew that he depended upon James and Sirius to protect him from the other students, especially the Slytherins. His own magical ability paled significantly in comparison and he would not have been able to become an animagus without the help of the other Sixth year boys. As it was, his OWL results had been mediocre at best, but he knew that they would have been worse had it not been for Remus' patient tutoring and James' brilliant aptitude for magic.
Recently, Peter was slowly beginning to feel as though the other three Marauders forgot that he was even there at times. He only shared half of his classes with his friends, while Harry was in almost all of his classes with James. Sure Peter was used to being overlooked, but not by Remus or James, they were the ones who protected him.
Aside from this, Peter could tell that Harry was bad news. It wasn't because the strange green-eyed wizard barely ever talked to him or the uncomfortable feeling he had when he was near Harry. There was something about Harry Granger that unnerved him, but perhaps the most influential factor was how everyone seemed to like Harry even though no-one knew the first thing about him. Peter was of the opinion that since Harry was the new kid, he should rate lower than those who had been there for over five years, such as Peter himself.
No, to Peter, Harry was bad news and he intended to find out what it was the new kid was hiding. After all, one never knew when such information would come in useful, especially in these dark times. If Harry Granger turned out to be bad news and a spy for You-Know-Who, Peter would be the first to tell the Ministry and maybe then he could become an Auror or an Unspeakable like James would once he left school.
There had been no opportunities that day for Peter to apologise to Harry, something he had been secretly grateful for since he still resented his friends demanding he did so. Harry had already left for his detention when the other three Marauders sneaked out of the Tower later that evening. Though he had spent the night holding onto Prongs' antlers as they explored the forest, it had been a rougher ride than normal and Peter was glad when he finally returned to the Tower and fell asleep instantly.
The opportunity to apologise did not come the next morning either. Peter left the Gryffindor Tower to attend his Herbology lesson while James, Sirius, and Harry slept in. Remus, Peter presumed, was either still in the Shrieking Shack or Pomfrey had collected him and taken Remus to the Hospital Wing to attend to any wounds. While Peter had Divination in the North Tower later that morning, Harry along with the others, had NEWT level Potions in the dungeons with several Slytherins, including Snape. That was as good a reason as any to avoid Harry. Nor did the opportunity present itself to talk to the green-eyed wizard in their Care of Magical Creatures lesson that afternoon.
It had been a thoroughly miserable two days for Peter, which served only to increase the resentment he felt towards Harry Granger. Once Professor Kettleburn had dismissed the NEWT level students, James had sent Peter a pointed look but to his luckily for him, Harry had already disappeared into the castle. Peter looked towards James, hoping that he might be able to postpone his apology once more but unfortunately, his luck seemed to have finally run out.
"Peter. Harry said he's going to the Library to do some research" James started, after glancing at Remus who nodded in confirmation.
"So it's the perfect time for you to go and apologise, isn't it Wormtail?" Sirius asked pointedly.
"We'll see you in the Tower after you apologise to Harry I guess" Remus finished.
Peter looked at the stern faces before ducking his head. "Okay, I'm off then" he muttered before slowly making his way to the Library.
**********
James and Sirius burst into the their dorm room with Remus trailing a small way behind, smiling wryly at his friends' behaviour.
"Guys" Remus started. "I'm going to have a short nap since I'm still a bit tired from the night before"
James smiled sympathetically at his amber-eyed friend whose face reflected the exhaustion he was feeling. "Go ahead," James replied warmly, "I'll wake you up for dinner if you're not up by then anyway"
"Thanks" Remus said before disappearing into his four poster bed.
Sirius fell onto James' bed and stretched his long legs.
"Padfoot! Get your dirty feet of my bloody bed!"
"What are going to do about it?" Sirius drawled. "Besides, you didn't give a damn at your parent's place"
James cocked his head and glared at the smirking wizard. Suddenly his expression brightened up. "Yeah. I suppose so. Budge over!" he shouted.
Sirius barely had time to shift along the bed before James jumped onto the bed. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Give a guy some warning, will you Prongs!"
"Sorry Padfoot"
"S'ok"
"Nice of Kettleburn to let us off earlier. So what shall we do with all this free time until dinner?" Sirius teased, waggling his eyebrows at James.
"I'm not going to snog you if that's what you're asking" James retorted with a huge grin.
"Oh but Jamsie!" Sirius pleaded. "How could you think so badly of me!"
"I know you, remember"
"Snogging isn't always on my mind!"
"No, I'll give you that"
Sirius looked smug but it was soon wiped off his face as James continued. "You also think about sex, pretty girls and boys, pranks . need I go on?"
"Oh yes, please do" Sirius replied in a droll voice.
James' eyes widened in surprise before he gamely took on the challenge. "There's Quidditch and the Wasps. You think about Padfoot and when you can next take the opportunity to transform. You think about Remus, Peter and me" James continued, his voice becoming more and more serious as he carried on. "I know you think about your so-called family. You worry about Regulus, you're proud of Andromoda and what she has acomplished, and you'd love to meet little Nymphadora again. Yet at the same time, you're worried about what this war will do to those you consider family and what those that are considered your family will do in this war. You project an image of being irresponsible and sometimes stupid, but you hide the fact that you're extremely intelligent and gifted in magic. You're stubborn and opinionated and hate to admit that you can be wrong, but you always try to do what is right and follow your heart"
"Wow" Sirius breathed in awe.
"I know" James replied, a twinkle in his hazel eyes.
"Damn. I knew there was a reason why you're my best mate!"
"Who else is more stubborn that you? Who else could put up with you for so long!" James laughed. "And who else will know you better than yourself?"
Sirius pretended to think. "Obviously you. Remus too, but Peter's too scared of me"
"Still, he's a good friend. Usually in the background, but always there" James replied. "What about Harry?"
Blue eyes widened at the question. "Yeah, Harry's a good sort" Sirius said carefully. "I can't help but think I know him better than I actually do. There's just something about him that seems familiar, as if I've known him for years"
"Apart from the fact that he looks kind of like me?"
"Apart from that. He's brave and loyal"
"Like me"
Sirius snorted more in amusement than disbelief. "He's intelligent and curious"
"Like Moony"
"He's impulsive yet loyal"
"Like you"
"He's got a damn scary temper but it's tempered with a moral conscience"
"Big words!" James laughed, lifting the sombre mood for a moment. "Reminds me of Lily Evans" James continued, his eyes becoming glassy as his mind wandered to the slim, red-haired, green-eyed beauty.
"He's got more secrets than Dumbledore himself I bet!" Sirius said after nudging James to gain his attention. "He's obviously powerful"
"But doesn't seem to want to use it"
"Or he might not realise it" Sirius countered. "He seems really sad at times, yet he also gets this look, like he's been given all the gold in Gringotts. He's an enigma"
James smirked. "That's something you like"
"Huh?"
"You like Harry" It was a statement, not a question.
"He likes all of us, me, you, and especially Remus"
"Why do you say that?"
Sirius shrugged. He had noticed that Remus and Harry often spent evenings working on homework or just chatting. Sure Harry talked Quidditch with James and sometimes Sirius, but Harry always seemed to be more comfortable talking to the amber-eyed wizard. "He spends a fair amount of time with Evans too"
"You think he fancies her?" James questioned with an edge to his voice.
Sirius knew not to tease his best friend, nor to mislead him. "No . no I don't. Besides Evans has pretty much adopted him"
James frowned for a minute before finally relaxing. "I think I know what you mean. Perhaps that particular incident after that Quidditch practice. She railed into me after that one for letting you lose your concentration mate. You owe me one since she didn't go after you and hex you stupid!"
Sirius winced. "He doesn't need babying" Sirius protested. "At least not like Peter does"
"No he doesn't, but maybe it's because he looks a bit like me or just . there's just something about him" James countered. "I can't help but worry about Harry. Remember how thin he was at the start of term"
A grimace formed on Sirius' face. "Yeah. Thank Merlin we managed to get him to eat more. He's filled out and toned up some, all the girls will be after him if he's not careful"
"Jealous that Harry will be competition or that the girls will be after him?" James asked.
James did not garner a reply apart from the finger from his best friend. He stared at Sirius for a minute or two, causing the younger wizard to shift uncomfortably on the bed. Sirius was about to hex James' hair a Slytherin green when the bespectacled wizard broke his stare. Instead, a smile formed on his face, one that said he knew something but was not telling. Sirius rolled his sapphire eyes and stuck out his tongue causing James to chuckle at his friends' childish behaviour.
"Come on" James said. "We've got to practice the Charms homework. Can't have any slimy Slytherin showing us up, can we?"
"Right. It's Aparecium to uncover the real whats-ee-doo-da"
"Nice explanation" James snickered, earning him a punch on the arm. "But before you cast it, remember to cast the spell that will illuminate any masking charms and glamours, otherwise you dopey dog, you won't know where to direct the revealing charm!"
Sirius did not reply since he had already begun to cast several concealing charms and James followed, directing the spell in random directions. Once they had done this, James cast a spell to illuminate all the charms they had just cast. The two dark-haired teenagers started to use the revealing charm to uncover the original items. Sirius having just revealed Peter's secret hiding place for his copies of Witches Monthly, shook his head at his innocent roommate while James was working on a spell that had hit Remus' bed curtains.
Sirius moved to approach James when he noticed that a glamour had hit Harry's trunk. Crouching in front of the dark blue trunk, Sirius cast the charm that would remove the masking charm. His first attempt did not succeed so Sirius put more power into the spell before directing it at the trunk. A moment later, the glamour dissolved in front of his eyes, revealing the information it had been concealing. Sirius read the name on the trunk in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. The shock caused him to lose his balance and Sirius fell on his arse with a loud thump.
James looked over at his best friend, whose attention was caught by something on Harry's trunk. James felt a strange prickling sensation at the back of his neck, he had never seen his best friend so shocked. "Padfoot!" he said. Gaining no reply, he moved closer. "Sirius?" he asked again in a sharper tone.
Sirius did not reply but instead pointed at the trunk. James moved closer to the blue trunk and looked at the area where Sirius' finger was pointing. His eyes grew round and the blood drained from his face. It took a couple of minutes before any sound came out of his mouth and even then it sounded like meaningless babble. James' mouth opened and closed a few more times before he finally managed to articulate a name.
"REMUS!" he bellowed, hoping to wake the sleeping werewolf. His shout also served to bring Sirius out of his shock.
The blue eyed wizard rubbed his eyes before looking at the trunk again to see whether he was imagining things or not. "Bloody hell" he swore.
A third, somewhat muffled, voice reached their ears. "Yes Prongs?" they heard. A tousled head popped out between the drawn bed curtains, revealing the tired looking Remus. "What's got you all hot and bothered?" he asked more clearly.
"Look at this and tell us that we're not imagining things" James demanded.
"What? You're delusional?" Remus grumbled good-naturedly. "I already knew that" he continued. His sharp eyes quickly found the source of the other's agitation. He raised an eyebrow. "My, my. That is interesting, don't you think?" he said out loud.
"How the hell can you be so bloody calm about this. This is huge! This is impossible, right James?"
"Well I don't know what the hell is going on!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. The confusion and frustration was evident in his voice. "Is this someone's idea of a joke? Or is it a Death Eater's plot?"
"What about the Map" Remus suggested. "You can check if it's really him since the map won't lie. Glamours, polyjuice potion, metamorphagus and such like don't affect the Map's ability to recognise and identify a person in the castle"
"How can you be so bloody calm about this?" Sirius demanded, having got to his feet.
"I already knew he was hiding something. He never really hid the fact, did he?" Remus replied reasonably.
Sirius frowned. "But he lied" he said, hurt leeching into his voice.
"So did I when you first knew me"
"This isn't hiding the fact that you were a werewolf once a month!"
"Maybe it's something equally important, or more important"
"We need to ask him," Sirius stated.
"We need to find him first" Remus reminded him.
"I thought I knew all of James' relatives"
"Maybe they forgot about him"
"Then what's with all the lies about his family? Being adopted and that crap"
"No idea. He'll have t explain"
"James is looking for the Map" Sirius said.
The two wizards looked at James, who was staring at the piece of parchment in his hand. They approached the silent wizard and looked at the parchment. They scanned the map, looking for one wizard in particular. Finally, they found him . in the Hospital Wing with Peter and Pomfrey. There on the map was the name that confused all three boys in that room in Gryffindor Tower . Harry Potter.
One thought ran through their minds as they ran down the staircase, towards the Hospital Wing. 'Who is Harry Potter and what relation was he to James?'
**********
Notes:
Aren't I good? A chapter out less than a week after the last one? This is the precursor to the big event that some of you have been asking about. I could have added the next bit on, but then it would take longer to write and therefore post, but also there wasn't a suitable cut-off point. I hope you don't mind, but this should whet your appetite somewhat.
Some good and bad news. Am getting broadband installed later this week (finally!) but also have several application forms, interviews and other job-hunting things to do as well. I have no idea regarding the free time in my near future, but I shall keep on writing. I would love to have hit 225 reviews or even more by the time I next update - do you think you can oblige? I love reading your reviews (hint hint?) LOL
Warning: The following review responses contain hints and spoilers for future plot points and chapters! HUGE thanks to everyone who took time out to read and review the last chapter of this story, you have my gratitude! These include Calen, ElvenWitch2, CrimsonTearsOfPain, Imaginable, MaidenLady, Larissa, Jaded Angel8, liveandletlive, whoo, Necromant, shamanogler, SPASH Panther, zorro x, Hero Girl Of Brian, Serpent of Light, Shaye, Witchy-Althea, Romm, Prongsblacks, Hushykid3, Lady Pyra, gaul1, and pameruh qui aime malfoy.
pameruh qui aime malfoy - Bill is sweet. I'm not sure where I'm going with him quite yet, but he and much later on, Charlie, will have their part in this story. There are other characters from the HPverse that'll make significant contributions to the plot as well.
Lady Pyra - Sometimes I wish that I could read this as though it was completely new so I had a better perspective of it, but I can't complain too much. I'm glad you're more open to the ship. One of my aims is to show that this ship can be written and portrayed in such a way that it's not icky but tasteful. I hope I accomplish that and you enjoy what I have planned for the future (controversial stuff!)
Hushykid3 - It's definitely a guy/guy thing but it will explore the James/Lily aspect but it's more of a background relationship that affects those around them.
Romm - Good question. One that I had considered but not as much as I ought to have. You'll find out what Snape been upto in the next chapter. I'll say this . he's not best pleased with Harry.
Witchy-Althea - Thanks! Will keep an eye out for it.
Shaye - I'll try not to make you wait too long, but unfortunately not all chapters will be this quick. You never know though!
Serpent of Light - It's not so much chaos to do with Voldemort. Remember, it says in the books that in his first rise to power, he did not attempt to attack Hogwarts since he was too afraid of Dumbledore. There will be Voldemort/ Death Eater interaction later on in the story but the chaos is something that happens to one of the main characters and how everyone else grows as a person die to this thing. Vague I know. I don't know if people will like what I've planned, but it's important to the characters. Wild magic . it started as a way for Harry to 'see' magic. Now, it's taking a life of it's own. Let's see where it goes.
zorro x - Yay! Another conversion! *SStar dances widly!* Seriously, there is some decent stories out there with this ship and some bad ones, I hope I'm in the former. The next question, well I think I've just answered it. Perhaps you should wonder if Peter or Lily will ever find out about Harry? Besides, what will Harry do for Christmas if they don't know? Especially since he has an extra special surprise lined up from moi! Glad you're still enjoying it.
SPASH Panther - First one after Book Five? Really? Wow! As from the above, James, Sirius, and Remus already have. Will Peter or Lily . wait and see.
shamanogler - I've not forgotten about the Egg! It's still incubating in the charmed box. It will appear soon, maybe in the second or third chapter? Time is moving a bit faster now but there's plenty more to happen before Christmas.
Necromant - Thank you. I wonder about the characterisations at times, but as long as those reading the story like them, I'm happy. This chapter delves a bit more into a couple of characters' thoughts. I hope you like it. Christmas surprise? If you manage to be the 200th reviewer, I'll tell you my Christmas surprise! That a good enough incentive? Snape/Lily? Sorry not here. I'm still undecided about whether to reform Snape before the end of this story or not. Glad you're enjoying it too!
whoo - Have you tried Happily Ever After? It's on my homepage.
Jaded Angel8 - Two updates within days of each other! Hope you won't wait too long for the next one. Glad you enjoyed it all. What was your favourite part of the story so far?
I apologise in advance for any mistakes, spelling, grammatical or otherwise. It is all my fault since this is unbeta'd. Please review and send any helpful comments, all will be appreciated. Any flames, however, will be, in all honesty, disregarded. Thank you for reading!
SStar