ElvenWulf--My good people, I have return...ed. I shall soon write more on "Jamieboy's Freaky Box," but "Memoirs" is currently my No. 1 priority. Thanx again to all of my loyal reviewerz, but if ya'll don't start reviewing, another chapter will not be put up. I own Artemis and all the other OCs. Nothin' else. On w/the story!
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I found Artemis in her usual spot on Fridays--in the tree by the lake. Now that I look back on it, it seems funny how I subconsciously learned all of Artemis's ups and downs. She had a different after-school spot for every day of the week, and two all-day spots for the weekends. On Mondays, she would sit on the fountain in the courtyard; on Tuesdays, in the face of the clock in the tower of the school; Wednesdays, on the steps of Hagrid's hut (with whom she had developed a friendship--as had I); Thursdays, she sat on the moving stairs as hordes of people passed her by--myself included; and Fridays, in the tree by the lake. On Saturday, she sat at the Quidditch pitch, whether people were there or not; and on Sundays, she would take one of her horses for a ride around the grounds. And so, I headed for that tree--and found her.
She sat in the tree on one of the larger branches; her back was against the trunk, and her long, blue-jean covered legs were in front of her, crossed at the ankles. Again with the "time makes you remeber small details," huh? I squared my shoulders and approached the tree, hoping I would get through this in one piece. As I neared the tree, I could feel strong anxiety, mixed with fear and sadness. I finally stood under the branch upon which she was seated. She had her guitar across her lap, distantly strumming out and singing:
Delta Dawn,
What's that flower you have on?
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
I recognised the song immediately. "Delta Dawn", by Tanya Tucker; my mother loved the song, so I knew all the words. Artemis's voice sounded better than the Muggle lady's any day, I thought. But, even against my better judgement, I began to sing with her.
And did I hear you say
He was a-meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky?
Artemis stopped singing as soon as the word "and" came out of my mouth. She glared down at me, but there wasn't even any anger behind it. It was more of a sadness.
"What do you want?" she spat.
I thought I heard a note of hurt in her voice, but I pushed it aside.
"To talk," I said gently.
"Fine," she hissed. "If you can get up here, we'll talk." Oh, this is a nice kettle of fish, I thought. I can't even climb over the back of the couch, much less up a tree! But I was determined to try. I grabbed the branch lowest to the ground (which was high above my head and was reached with large amounts of exuberant, antelope-like leaps), and hoisted myself up. With much deliberation, determination, and more cuts and bruises than any full moon ever gave me, I reached Artemis's branch.
She looked at me as though I had suddenly grown an exotic and irregular fungus in my ears.
"Wha-um-how...?"
"I wanted to talk," I panted. "So, here I am."
"Fine," she said, crossing her arms and hanging her guitar by the strap on a nearby branch. "What is it that you want to talk about?"
"Why are you ignoring me?"
"What!" She almost fell out of the tree. "I'm ignoring you! You're the one who won't so much as look at me!"
"I won't look at you! I smile at you! And all you do is stare! What's your beef?"
"My beef is sitting in front of me! Because my beef is IGNORING ITS FRIEND!"
"I AM NOT BLOODY IGNORING YOU! You were the one who was all, 'Oh, Remus is my friend, dah-la-la!'!"
"AND YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SAID WE WEREN'T FRIENDS!"
"BEACAUSE WE'D KNOWN EACH OTHER ALL OF TEN GLORIOUS MINUTES!"
"STILL, I THOUGHT WE WERE SOMETHING IF NOT FRIENDS!"
"YOU THOUGHT WE WERE SOMETHING! WE WERE TWO PEOPLE WHO HAD JUST MET!"
"SO, THAT GIVES YOU LICENSCE TO IGNORE ME! YOU THINK I WANT TO BE IGNORED!"
"WELL, YOU'RE IGNORING ME, ARTEMIS, AND IT HURTS!" We were down to glares when we were done yelling. We were both out of breath, but there was one difference in the two of us--I was tearing up again. Don't cry, I thought. Don't! She'll attack your weakness. But the tears didn't listen, and they fell regardless. As I sobbed quietly, I braced myself for the brutal tauntings that were sure to come from a Slytherin, especially one as fiery as Artemis. Suddenly and slowly, all at the same time, I felt a warmth ebrace me. I looked up from my tears to see Artemis.
Holding me.
Crying.
I didn't kno where it came from, but there was a deep pain and hurt in her eyes. I had only seen this in my mother's eyes in the days following my father's...departure. No kid should have to deal with pain like that, I thought. I embraced her back, and we sobbed on each other for only a few moments.
"Wh-why are you cr-crying?" My voice was shaky as I asked.
"B-because I wanted us to be friends. And n-now, we can't b-be."
"Why?"
"Because Gryffindors and S-slytherins don't mix."
"Is th-that all? Is that the only reason you i-ignored me?"
"Well..."she started. "N-no."
"Why else then?" I asked, scooting closer to her, sniffling all the while.
"B-because Malfoy said that it w-was tradition i-in H-hogwarts to stay with your-your own house, and-and, if you had friends in a-another house, it would l-lose your house points." And then she added in a whisper, "And Malfoy said I shouldn't hang 'round with Half-bloods. Which one of you's a Half-blood?"
"I am," I said, in a tone even quieter than her own.
And then she did something I shall never forget.
She threw her arms around me and said, "Oh, Remus, it doesn't matter to me. I don't care if I lose Slytherin all their house points and they never win the house cup! I want to be friends with you." I looked in her eyes, but the trace of fear still blocked out 100 joy. "You do still wanna be my friend, don't you?"
I had to smile. "Yes. I do."
"No matter what they say?"
"No matter what," I repeated. And now that I look back, I realise that that was the day I became the troublemaker I was born to be. "After all, Artemis," I said. "Aren't rules made to be broken?"
Little did we know, our friendship had a lot more in store than either of us ever expected.
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I AM SERIOUS IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD!
