A/N: Hey hello! Anyone who wondered, New York was incredibly cool, and I'm sorry I haven't updated more recently. But, any-hoo! Here's an action packed chapter to make up for it!
Oh! The Muses have now become the Furies, for future reference, because it makes more mythological sense with the story. (the Furies punished those who made the innocent suffer. See? Makes more sense)
Hogsmeade Under Fire
The days passed rapidly into December. Lilly had fallen into a habit of losing her train of thought, and daydreaming. This puzzled the Marauders, and amused the girls. Before long, it was time for the annual pre-Christmas Hogsmeade visit.
The weather was perfect. A heavy snow had fallen the night before, covering the Scottish landscape with a thick powdered-sugar coating. Icicles kissed the edges of roofs, and the lake had become a dark mirror of ice.
The sky was a crisp, bright blue that only winter can create. A chilly wind blew through the fir trees, blots of green against an ever-extending white canvas. The village of Hogsmeade smelt of evergreen trees, cinnamon, and citrus.
Students ran through the streets, laughing merrily as their companions were pelted in the face with snow balls. Sirius and Gretchen were two such students.
"You'll pay for that, Black!" screeched Gretchen as she shook snow from her brown waves.
"Never!" yelled Sirius, running from her. The banter between Gretchen and Sirius had become friendly of late. There was something about Gretchen that made Sirius forget to be aristocratically aloof. And he found he rather liked it.
Remus and Tabitha walked along behind them, watching Hogsmeade in their own special way.
The entire group, minus Peter, who was off shopping for his mum, and Alice who was talking with Frank, turned into the Three Broomsticks.
"A Happy Christmas to you, Rosie!" shouted Sirius, as he shook the snow out of his hair like a dog.
"Thank you Sirius. And what will you lads and lasses be having?"
"A gallon of firewhiskey!"
"Six butterbeers it is, then"
Sirius and Gretchen turned to badger Lilly and James, and smirked in devilish delight as they saw James standing under mistletoe.
"Hey, Lillers! Give James a kiss, he's under the mistletoe!" teased Gretchen.
James braced himself for the scathingly sarcastic remark that had always come before, and closed his eyes.
At a soft, butterfly touch to his cheek, they popped open again. They opened just in time to see a faintly blushing Lilly brush past an open-mouthed Sirius.
Gretchen reached over and shut his mouth for him.
"You know, you shouldn't leave your mouth open like that. Someone might realize your lack of intelligence."
"Hey! Shut up, Mundie!"
She tossed a dazzling smile over her shoulder at Sirius, who looked slightly dazed before sitting at the table.
Five minutes later, a flushed Alice ran into the pub.
"Sorry! Sorry, I lost track of time. I was talking to Frank about Herbology."
"Not to self: have conversation with Longbottom about what to talk about with girls." Muttered Sirius.
The girls and boys split up after a butter, to shop for each other.
Lilly, Gretchen, Tabitha, and Alice entered Odds and Bobs, spreading out to look around. Odds and Bobs was a fairly self-explanatory store. They sold anything and everything you could imagine.
Lilly combed the shelves, looking for the perfect gift for James. Her eyes settled upon a dusty box in the back corner of the last shelf.
Picking it up, she gently blew the dust from the cover. A mahogany box gleamed in her hands. The hinged lid was carved with a magnificent stag overlooking the forest. It lifted to reveal an emerald green velvet interior.
'Perfect!' she thought.
She had just handed her money to the sales clerk when an explosion rocked Hogsmeade.
James' head snapped up as smoke rose from a building down the street. The Marauders ran outside, as James bellowed.
"All Hogwarts students return to school, NOW!"
All the Marauders shuttled students to school as explosions continued to ravage through the village.
"Where's Peter?" Sirius yelled.
"I don't know! Probably back at school!" replied James.
"Come on, that's the last of them, let's go!" yelled Remus.
"Wait, the girls!" James cried.
"Lilly probably got people out and left too, come on!"
James turned to see people in white masks coming rapidly toward them.
Motioning to Sirius and Remus, they turned, drawing their wands.
The ground suddenly began to shake as four figures appeared in a bloom of fire.
As a strong wind began to push the boys away, James saw a figure dressed in black throwing fire from their fingertips. Another was freezing their opponents.
Back at the castle, they reported to Dumbledore before returning to the tower.
Alice, Lilly, Gretchen and Tabitha sat before the fire.
"I sent everyone upstairs" Lilly said.
"Are you girls alright?" James asked worriedly.
Remus watched the girls nod their heads in affirmation, then turn the conversation to more trivial matters. As the others joked and laughed, he filed away the quick change of topic and their lightly winded appearance for future reference. He missed the violet eyes watching him.
It seemed to him, that there was more to these girls than what met the eye.
