Chapter 6

After the Halloween Attacks, as they fast became known, and the week that followed there was little mention of any more such attacks, or at least, not on such a large scale. A few incidents were reported but they were minor things that seemingly had no relation to the happenings of October 31st. In fact, no one really thought anything of them except a select few and these were in no hurry to voice their concerns. And so life returned pretty much back to normal. Those who had been attacked slowly rejoined their lessons, their physical ailments treated. Emotional support remained a constant presence for anyone who had been involved in the attacks. But for those who hadn't been witness to the scenes, life went on as normal. Lessons were held, homework was completed, Quidditch was played and weekend visits were held. And for the students of Hogwarts particularly, it was never mentioned, unless in quiet whispers, for fear it happened again and this time to them. Things went on like this until the beginning of December for it was at this time that another attack occurred.

"What are you drawing today?" Sirius asked as he sat on the couch beside Tae. Annoying the girl had become a rather amusing pastime for him as of late, especially when she was drawing.

Tae didn't even blink at his presence; she had almost been expecting the interruption. "I'm not sure, it's just a little picture I've had in my head. If you wait a couple of minutes, I'm nearly done."

She could see him nodding out of the corner of her eye as he settled himself comfortably onto the couch while he waited. Her hand worked furiously across the parchment and he watched her with interest until she was finished.

"You've got a real skill there," he complimented easily. "The way your hand moves, it's like it's weightless."

A slight blush started at her neck. "Thanks, but there's nothing to it once you get started, it just kind of takes over."

"I'll have to take your word for it since I can't draw."

"Sure you can, everyone can draw."

Sirius shook his head, "I can't."

"Give it a try, draw something you like…a broomstick or a Quidditch ball, something simple."

She handed him the pad and charcoal and he thought before turning to a blank page and sketching. Once he had finished he handed them back.

"Well, that's certainly an interesting picture Sirius," Tae held back a little laughter at seeing the hurt look on his face. "Hey, no, I can see the problem."

"What is it?" Sirius was all ears for her observation.

"You're holding the charcoal too tight, you're not letting yourself feel the drawing. You've just got to let yourself go sometimes."

Sirius looked at her as though she were crazy. "Again, I'll have to take your word for it."

"Suit yourself," Tae shrugged indifferently. She began to find the next blank page when Sirius spoke up again."

"Could I have a look at your drawings?"

"Uh," a little surprised, Tae paused before answering. "Yeah, I don't see why not."

Sirius smiled as he took the pad once more and began flicking through. "You got serious talent there, Ruris. I don't think I've ever seen anything this good since…where have you seen that?"

"What?" Tae asked, pulling herself over to look at the picture. Even from upside down she could make out the shape of a skull with a snake looping through it. She frowned, she didn't even remember drawing it. "I don't know it's probably just something from my imagination. You know how sometimes you can get a song stuck in there and it won't leave you alone until you get it out of your system?" Sirius nodded. "Yeah, well that's what happens to me with an image until I can draw it out. Sometimes I don't even realise what I've done."

"Hmm," Sirius sounded thoughtfully. "I've seen it somewhere before, it's not good, whatever it is. Don't let people see you with it."

"I won't," she promised. "In fact, here," she tore the page from her pad. "You take it. I don't want it and I'm sure you and the boys have ways of getting rid of stuff, use one of them."

Sirius nodded, "Sure, I can do that." Tae gave him a bright smile in return.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Is there a Hogsmeade weekend coming up?" Peter squeaked a couple of days later.

"No," James sighed at the thought. It had been over a month since the last one and there wasn't another one planned until after Christmas.

To four boys who thrived on adventure, doing the same thing and seeing the same walls all the time wasn't good for them. They needed change, something different. Or maybe the real problem was that they wanted some more joke products and they had to wait to get them.

"We could still go though," Sirius supplied happily.

"Sirius!" Remus said scandalised by the thought. "We're not allowed, we'd be caught. There's a reason we're only allowed there on special days."

James, who was all for Sirius' idea, looked at Remus pityingly. "Remmy, Remmy, Remus. You're a Marauder; rules shouldn't bother you. Nothing's going to happen."

Remus still looked doubtful. "Fine, but I'm not going, you can get yourselves out of trouble."

"Spoilsport," Sirius said. "You better not change your mind, I'm going to fill up your space." He got up and began to walk away.

James called after him, "Sir, none of your 'friends', please!" Sirius just turned and flashed an impish grin in the direction of his best friend.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What do you want now?" Tae sighed in exasperation as Sirius plonked down opposite her.

"To invite you out."

She looked at him with mild interest, "Out where?"

"Hogsmeade, this weekend. James, Peter and I are taking a trip and there's a spare place if you want it."

"I don't think so, Black."

"Why not? It'll be fun."

"I doubt it, stuck with you three isn't exactly my idea of fun."

Sirius stared at her a minute before smiling, "You know, Tegwen, you're not totally unlike us. Sure, you use your pranking abilities for payback rather than actual fun but it's all there."

She shot him a dark look. "I have fun getting you lot back."

"I'm sure you do, which reminds me, that pack of llama you set on me in Care of Magical Creatures the other day? Harsh."

Tae laughed as she remembered the scene. "It's a herd, not a pack, and you deserved it; I know it was you who sent the flying wildebeest after me."

Now it was time fir Sirius to laugh, "Fair enough, I may have deserved it then. Anyway, we're getting off topic…Come to Hogsmeade with us."

"I don't think so; it's not even a Hogsmeade weekend."

"And? Come on, it'll be fun."

"Why are you so desperate for me to come?"

"Honestly?" Sirius asked, leaning closer to her until she could feel his warm breath on her ear when he spoke again. "Peter gets whiny when me and James talk and he gets left out, if you come we can palm him off on you and have some real fun."

Tae mock-glared at him. "Well, when you put it like that…no!"

"Please, Ruris? I'll do anything you want."

"Anything?" Tae's eyebrow rose with interest.

"Anything," he affirmed with a nod.

"Okay then, Black, you got yourself a deal," she put out her hand. He shook it as way of sealing the deal, it was only when their hands broke apart that he realised the look of pure evil in her eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

And so, that weekend, Peter, James, Sirius and Tae made their way down the passage from Hogwarts to Honeydukes cellar.

"I bet this doesn't even lead to Honeydukes, does it?" Tae asked suspiciously after they'd been walking for ten minutes. "Why did I agree to this? Me, you three, a dark passageway leading to Merlin only knows where and I was stupid enough to come along. Will you do me one favour? Tell my sister I only stole the nail polish because it looked better on me and I didn't mean to ruin her skirt it just –"

"Will you shut up!" James cried, the noise of Tae's constant drabble threatening to make his head explode. He turned to Sirius and muttered, "And I thought Tacea was bad, you can't half pick them."

"She's never been like this before but I'm about ready to kill her myself," Sirius agreed.

"Yeah, me too," Peter supplied. "Can't we just send her back or something?"

Tae burst into a not-so-subtle bout of coughs before settling down again. Sirius shot her a sharp look that barely concealed the eye rolling he was holding back.

"What are you talking about, Petey?" Sirius asked. "She's great, why would you want to send her away?" He moved away from the boys and fell into step behind Tae. Arms on her shoulders he began steering her down the passage. "Come on you paranoid little freak, we're wasting a perfect day stuck in this little hole." The two went on ahead of James and Peter, minutes later their laughter floated back to them.

"Huh?" Peter blinked after them. "What just happened there?"

"I have no idea," James answered just as bewildered.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Sirius, stop it!" Tae giggled, wriggling out of Sirius' grasp. "I think you're embarrassing your little friends."

"Oh, don't stop on our account," James glared at Tae.

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "We're quite enjoying the show."

"By which he means it's making us sick to the stomach but if you two are having fun you just carry on," James added sarcastically.

"Okay," Tae chirped brightly grabbing Sirius' hand. "Come on, let's go to Madam Puddifoots."

Sirius turned around to grin at his friends and gave them a helpless shrug at their indignant expressions.

James shook his head, "There is something very wrong with that scene," he commented in despair.

"Uh-huh," Peter agreed with wide eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sat in the café/romantic teashop, Sirius and Tae laughed over two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Did you see their faces?" Sirius roared. "You were right, this is shaping up to be a fun day."

Tae beamed, "I told you, it's just fun to mess with their heads. You know what's next, don't you?"

"Of course, next comes the big freeze."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

James stood by the counter of Gregin's Jewels waiting for the shop attendant to realise he was there. After a few moments of boredom he coughed loudly, the old lady jumped and turned around, clutching her heart.

"You trying to give me a heart attack boy?" She peered at him over small glasses.

"No, just get your attention," he returned in a no-nonsense voice. "I'm here to pick up a package for Potter."

"Strange," the woman commented, "You don't strike me as someone who'd go for feminine gold bracelets."

James ignored her, "Do you have it ready or not?"

"Of course, Mr Potter, one gold wrist chain with gold feather charm. That'll be five galleons and three sickles, please."

James slapped down the amount.

"Temper, Mr Potter."

James glared at the woman before whirling around to come face to face with Tae.

"Ooh, you buying things? Let me see."

"I don't think so, why aren't you with Sirius anyway."

"Urgh, that over-bearing, mangy dog, I don't think so."

"Aww, you had a falling out?" James asked in fake sympathy.

"No," Tae said in a tone that implied she was lying. "I just got fed up of him bossing me around all the time."

"He was bossing you around?" James asked incredulously. "Okay then."

"Mm-hmm," she sounded non-committally. "Anyway, package, let me see."

James scowled at her, "I thought French girls were meant to be polite and shy and not annoying."

"James, James, James, you forget, I'm not French and besides," she leant in to whisper in his ear, "That's all a myth. Now show me the jewels."

"No!" He cried in exasperation. "Why can't you go annoy someone else?"

"Because its so much fun annoying you Jimmy-Poo," she pinched his cheek. James brought his hand to swat hers off his cheek; unfortunately it was the same hand containing the jewellery shop bag, which meant that Tae was able to swipe it from him.

"Ooh, is this for me?" She squealed as she opened the bag and took out the box. Opening it she gasped, "Oh, James, its so…plain. Who's this for?"

"My mum, it's not just the chain though."

"Oh? Oh! So, it's not, this is pretty, a cute little feather. Why didn't you get it connected?"

James snapped the box shut and snatched it from her. "The feather doesn't go with that chain."

"Who's the feather for then?"

"My cousin," he answered quickly then let out a frustrated groan. "Why am I even talking to you? Go and find somebody else to annoy."

"I already told you, Potter, I prefer annoy –" The rest of her sentence was cut off by screams of panic coming from around the corner.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Peter!" Sirius cried. "Where's James got to?"

"I don't know, he said he'd meet me back here in half an hour, he should come along any time now." Peter gave a nervous twitch and looked around Sirius. "Where's Tae gone?"

"Oh, she was getting on my nerves so I knocked her out and buried her alive near the shack," Sirius answered nonchalantly.

Peter chuckled, "Yeah, right, where is she really?"

Sirius looked at him blankly, "I just told you, Peter."

Peter's face turned from amusement to shock to panic in seemingly the same moment. "Oh Merlin."

Sirius didn't get chance to laugh, screams of terror came from outside the shop they were stood in, the boys ran to investigate.

A/N: I actually thought this was longer than it was but then I liked the little cliffie to end it on so tough. There's probably little details I got wrong, I will check them later but I'm in a rush here and you should be glad you got the chapter at all. I've been having computer problems again and then I was tempted to make you wait as payback to Tae who thinks her mum's birthday is more important than coming to the cinema with me. I don't know where she gets that idea from...