Hmm...felt pretty bored, so I decided I'd go ahead a post this next chapter. I kind of like the way it turned out...but then again, I don't. I think I went a little over board on the descriptions, but I like to do that a lot anyways. Oh well, I hope you guys enjoy. Peace out!
XOXOXO
L.S.
5. Half a Decade Away from 20; Growing Up
Vulpe sat on a wooden bench, swinging her feet back and forth as she waited for her best mate. The Magnolia trees had blossomed beautifully that summer and loose petals were scattered amongst the leaves on the grey sidewalk that lined the park. Vulpe smiled at the simplicity of the image she was presented with.
She, too, had blossomed beautifully over the expanse of her childhood. Her chestnut colored hair was cut into long layers, her glossy tresses falling in a straight sheet down her back. She had grown taller over the years, by a few feet yet she would remain overshadowed by Sirius. She retained her skinny form, having more of a tomboyish yet feminine appeal than most of the girls at Hogwarts who resembled super models in comparison with their curves.
Her smile and her eyes were her best features, in Vulpe's opinion. The same crystal blue eyes that she had been blessed with from birth now attracted many male admirers and her smile was angelic to those she allowed to see it. Her plump and pale pink lips were the outline of her straight pearly white teeth, and together a warm smile that would brighten her pale face was formed.
Vulpe sighed softly and continued to observe her immensely familiar surroundings while awaiting Sirius's arrival. She continued to swing her feet back and forth as she turned just in time to see Sirius arrive.
"Sirius!" Vulpe cried in happiness upon seeing her childhood friend, her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Vulpe," Sirius teased, picking the small girl up in his arms and swinging her around in circles before gently setting her back onto the ground.
"Whoa..." Vulpe mumbled through her laughter, stumbling forward into Sirius's arms as her vision blurred and the park slowly stopped spinning.
Sirius had grown over their years of friendship as well. He was much taller than Vulpe remember him to be, at least six feet. He was still lean, but he had his fair share of muscles, just as Vulpe had predicted. His glossy ebony hair fell into his face with elegance and it was longer than most boys would allow their hair to become, falling straightly around his earlobes in a shaggy cut. His smile had always been something that had made the girls at Hogwarts swoon in appreciation and his chocolate colored eyes were deep as well as playful.
"Alright now, then?" Sirius inquired, setting Vulpe up straight once again as a cheeky grin formed upon his lips.
"Fine and since when has your voice changed?" Vulpe teased with a fond smile on her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"About the same time you got breasts, I suppose," Sirius retorted with a small smirk, chuckling in amusement at the expression on Vulpe's face.
"This is why I don't hang around with boys!" Vulpe huffed in annoyance, her hands dropping to her hips as she fought to hide a smile.
"Really? I thought it was because the Slytherin only has slimy scummed up boys," Sirius teased her with a bright smile.
"That was the other reason," Vulpe responded with a warm smile, hugging Sirius tightly, "I missed you!"
Sirius laughed and squeezed her gently, "I missed you, too. So, how was life in Slytherin?"
"Life in Slytherin...well, I can't say it was completely boring," Vulpe replied with a wistful sigh, "Although, it wasn't such a fun year either."
"What do you mean?" Sirius inquired with curiosity as the two took their seats on the wooden bench.
"Your cousins are out to kill me," Vulpe responded evenly with a giggle, "And I mean that in the most girly way possible."
"My cousins? Oh, you must be talking about Bellatrix and Narcissa," Sirius guessed knowingly, adding, "What exactly are they making you do?"
"What aren't they making me do?" Vulpe retorted jokingly before adding in explanation, "Let see, there's the etiquette lessons - to brush up and hone our skills for social gatherings. They're teaching me to flirt - Merlin only knows why, our parents probably have arranged marriages set up for us anyhow. The fans...I am so sick of trying to 'flutter' a fan in an attractive manner it's not even funny! Matching make up and jewelry, of course. Ugh, have I mentioned the corsets yet? Yeah well, you try learning how to breath in one of those things! Why pureblood women torture themselves is way beyond me. Oh yes, and the fine art of being an eye candy. Apparently, it takes skill and grace to stand with my hand on some ponce's arm."
Sirius starred at her with disbelief before laughing hysterically in amusement at Vulpe's misfortune. Vulpe rolled her eyes knowingly and swatted Sirius on the back of his head.
"If only I had one of those bloody fans, then I would use it as the stick that needs to be shoved up your arse for laughing at me, Black," Vulpe cursed with a pout firmly planted upon her lips.
"Sorry, Vulpe, you know I'm only laughing because I can't picture you doing that kind of stuff," Sirius responded, gaining a glare from Vulpe, he smile sweetly as he quickly added, "What I mean is, I can't imagine you needing all that extra jazz, you're already so beautiful."
A small smile formed on Vulpe's lips as she shook her head in amusement, "You're such a suck up, Sirius."
"It works, doesn't it?" Sirius retorted with a cheeky grin, adding, "Besides, that was a truthful comment."
"Thanks," Vulpe replied as she allowed her head to fall onto Sirius's shoulder, "How are your other mates?"
"Great, James is trying a whole new tactic with the Evans problem," Sirius informed Vulpe as he wrapped his arm around her, "He's going to pretend to be mature when he asks her out. He reckons she secretly fancies him and she's too embarrassed to admit it."
"That boy..." Vulpe rolled her eyes in amusement, adding, "You need to give that boy some proper advice, Sirius. Whatever happened to 'lying is a bad habit', huh?"
"Hey, I don't know any proper advice," Sirius retorted with a grin as he added, "I'm just the messenger, you're the one that gives the good advice. And then, I have to explain to my friends why I'm so good at giving advice at the beginning of each year and suck the rest of the time."
"Well, I could quit making suggestions and then you could look stupid year round?" Vulpe teased him with a warm smile.
"No thanks," Sirius responded instantly before joyfully inquiring, "So, all wise one, what should I tell my love stricken friend to do?"
"Well pretending isn't going to get him anywhere," Vulpe replied honestly, before pensively adding, "Asking this Lily Evans out a million times doesn't seem to be working too well either. Maybe he should just give her some space while he thinks about actually maturing a little. It wouldn't hurt if he acted a little more serious when he was around her either. I'm not saying to tell him to brood whenever she walks by either, I'm just saying it would help if he acted somber."
"I'll delay the message, you have James's gratitude in advance," Sirius informed her with a grin upon his lips.
"Speaking of," Vulpe began, changing the subject as she continued, "Do your mates know that we're mates and all?"
"Vaguely," Sirius answered truthfully, adding in explanation, "They know I'm mates with someone out of school, they just don't know any names."
"Mm...okay," Vulpe nodded pensively in understanding, "That's good, I suppose."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the summer breeze allowing the leaves and blossoms to shuffle noisily against the concrete sidewalk.
"Are you ever going to tell me where you're disappearing to?" Vulpe inquired with a curious expression upon her face, "It's not like I have anyone to tell. I don't really trust anyone, but you, Sirius."
"I know," Sirius said, his eyes shining brightly as he hugged his mate closer with a prideful expression upon his face, "But...it's not my secret to be telling."
"I thought so," Vulpe smiled victoriously, tilting her head to face Sirius, "It took me a while, but I think I've gotten this all figured out."
Sirius paled as he replied, "Do you? Have you been spying on me or something?"
"No, I couldn't spy on you even if I felt like it," Vulpe responded truthfully, adding in explanation, "Bella and Cissy keep close tabs on me - every move I make is monitored closely. Same with them - Slytherins are very observant bunch and one's mistake, is another's accomplishment."
"Sick, sad world you live in, Vulpe," Sirius commented honestly before inquiring, "What's your suspicion."
"Thanks for that assessment," Vulpe rolled her eyes in amusement before replying, "Who's the werewolf in your little group?"
Sirius stared at Vulpe before responding with a forced straight face, "Me."
"You know, I would have almost bought that...if we had met yesterday and if you hadn't repeatedly told me that it's not your secret to be telling," Vulpe retorted with a grin as she added inquisitively, "It's Remus, right?"
"Yeah," Sirius nodded truthfully in response before inquiring, "How on earth did you know?"
"Trust me, it was not easy," Vulpe replied with a triumphant smile, "I almost thought it was Potter, but Lupin fit the picture a little better. It's a good thing you four pull all those asinine pranks though, one of you is always in the infirmary for something or another. I like the irony his name represents, it's almost as funny as yours."
"What do you mean?" Sirius inquired with a confused expression upon his handsome face, "About the name comment, I mean."
"Well, when people call you 'Sirius', it's just sort of ironic, because at school - you are anything but serious. It's a play on words, a pun if you will," Vulpe informed him with a fond smile before adding, "Lupin means wolf or rather 'Lupus' does, but the similarity is remarkable."
"You're going to be an astronomer one day," Sirius teased her with a grin, "You are way too into constellations and planets."
"Ha, ha," Vulpe retorted with a sarcastic laugh before adding, "I thought about that. Have you? I mean, thought about what you want to be when we get out of Hogwarts? We have to take our O.W.L.'s this year and you'll want to impress the examiner with the subjects you'll need for your job."
"Of course, I don't think there's a kid in Hogwarts who hasn't thought of the future," Sirius responded with a soft smile, before adding, "An Auror - dark wizard catcher."
"Exciting," Vulpe commented with a fond smile, "The perfect job for you, Sirius. I just hope you can handle the paperwork and office life for the first couple of years you're going to be in training for."
"Course I can," Sirius grinned joyfully, adding with a wink, "I'm surviving Hogwarts, am I right?"
"We'll see how well you're surviving when we receive the scores from our O.W.L.'s," Vulpe teased him with a playful smile.
Another pause of silence passed between the two as they took a moment to visualize receiving their O.W.L.'s.
"So, what do you think you'll want to do? Once we get out of Hogwarts, I mean," Sirius inquired with curiosity, a teasing smile formed on his lips as he playfully suggested, "Stripper? Bar dancer? Oh, I know! You can be model! Or an actress, you'd be good at that."
"Thanks for the career advice, Sirius, but like the rest of your advice - it sucked," Vulpe responded with an amused smile.
"But seriously, what do you want to do?" Sirius questioned once again, raising an eyebrow at his long time friend.
"Okay, well...I was watching that man...Hagrid? Anyway, I was watching him tend to this hurt Unicorn and I thought about doing something like that," Vulpe shrugged casually before adding, "If it did happen, then I'd want to work with something really amazing...like Dragons. Then, there's always being a Curse Breaker or a Healer. I'm not really sure what I want to do exactly, but I know that I want to make a difference."
"I could see you working with Dragons," Sirius commented with a grin, "Sirius Black, famous Auror and Vulpecula Lestrange, Dragon Tamer."
Vulpe smiled warmly at her best mate, "Yeah, it has a pretty nice ring to it, doesn't it? As long as that sorry excuse for a wizard doesn't mess it all up."
"Voldemort?" Sirius inquired knowingly, shaking his head softly, "And Evans thinks James has an ego."
Vulpe giggled and rolled her eyes, "Only you could make such an analogy, Sirius."
"I like to think on the brighter side of the picture," Sirius informed her as a grin formed upon his lips, "Besides, we needn't concern ourselves with such lowlifes. We're going to be two of the most famous people on this earth once we leave Hogwarts!"
"I'm glad one of is so optimistic about this upcoming war," Vulpe sighed heavily before adding, "He's supposed to be quite the dark magician - the best since Grindelwald."
"Yes and Dumbledore took care of him, so naturally together, we'll take care of this egomaniac," Sirius responded with ease, his voice deep and soothing.
"Sirius Black and Vulpecula Lestrange - defeater of the Dark Lord Voldemort," Vulpe replied with a hint of teasing in her voice, "Pretty nice ring to it, I'll admit."
Sirius chuckled in amusement and pulled Vulpe closer to him as the two continued to talk. Sooner than they would have liked, the night began to give way to dawn and the two were forced to part from one another once more.
Cheesy ending...actually, it was an entirely fluffly chapter all together really. But hey! Now, Vulpe knows Remus is a werewolf. I like the fact a that it took her nearly three years to figure it all out. I especially like how she thought it was James at first and then made the comment about the pranks. Obviously something was happening in the hospital wing that made Remus's regular visit unsuspicious, therefore, I added the whole "one of the Marauders is always in there" comment. So, all in all, not my favorite chapter, but it brings around good points and information (such as Vulpe's "torture" in Slytherin!). Hope you guys enjoyed it and all,
XOXOXO
L.S.