Chapter Nine: The Full Body Bind

Luhrmalleen, in her spare moments after five hours of extra lessons each day, as well as at least three hours of extra homework in addition to the ordinary homework she had to complete, was able to discover the library. Although many of the books had interesting names, some of them were not interesting at all. She finally settled down on her bed with Hexing Your Friends for Fun, and was reading when Harold came by.

Harold scowled at Lummy in a very Hermione-Granger-esque way, especially considering Hermione had not even been born, and asked pointedly –

"Why are you reading that horrid thing for?"

Lummy was startled out of her book, and muttered Petrificus Totalus suddenly, and Harold fell over in shock. Actually, she fell over as a result of the full body bind, but she was shocked.

Absolutely stunned, Lummy ran down the girls' dormitory stairs, finds Lily, and asks in what she hopes is an offhand manner –

"Well, Lily, I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Do you know the counter jinx to the full body bind, you know, for uh, research purposes. Because I was doing, uh, research."

Lily looked at her sharply, and replied,

"I'm sorry; I don't really know it offhand."

"But I thought you were Head Girl! I didn't realize you were an idiot!"

Lily flinched when she said this, but continued,

"I am, but that doesn't mean I know everything. Why don't you ask your new friends about it? I'm sure they would know."

Lummy looks rather confused, she wasn't aware that she had any friends at Hogwarts –

"Whom are you referring to?"

Now there was a superstition at Hogwarts that if you mentioned one of the Marauders' names individually, they would be compelled to prank you. After all, that was why the name "Marauders" was created, so that one could simply refer to their general group. Lily was not a particularly superstitious person, especially where the Marauder's were concerned, since her boyfriend was one. However, she thought that the next sentence was just courting danger –

"Well, you know – Sirius and Remus."

Lily said the last part very fast and it was a wonder that Lummy caught it at all, and then she crossed her fingers behind her back in a Muggle way. Lummy didn't notice anything particularly wrong, and asked instead –

"Why should I ask them?"

"Because they are your friends."

"Siri and Remmy? Now that's idiotic!"

Lily was miffed at being called an idiot again, especially after such a short period of time that she just turned around and kept studying. Lummy brushed this off, and rushed off to find Sirius.

Sirius was lounging in the boys' dormitory. He heard a knock on the door, and yelled, "Come in!" without asking who it was. He was very surprised when Lummy strode in.

"Sirius?"

"That is generally accepted as my name."

"I was wondering if you knew the counterjinx to the full body bind."

"Oh that – it's Inmediata Mobile, (stress on the second "I"). Why?"

"Research purposes. I find certain jinxes fascinating and…"

"Have you been reading Hexing your Friends for Fun?"

This caught Lummy off-guard – why would he ask that…unless he knew, and she muttered,

"Yes."

Sirius beamed, now here was a proper girl. He stood up a bit straighter, even though he was sitting down, and announced,

"James and I donated that book to the library. It is simply gorgeous, isn't it…?" (and then continued without waiting for Lummy to answer), "I remember the first time that I read it. I was just sitting there, and Remmy pops out of the sand, and I pointed my wand straight at him and shrieked Desaugeo! And his teeth kept growing and growing. And then there was the time that Ashley Turpin ran into me when I was reading it – poor girl – I got her with a Jelly Legs Jinx."

Sirius leaned back on the back two legs of his chair without showing any remorse at all. He noticed Lummy's excited face, and continued smoothly,

"Well, the book is rather marvelous, and it doesn't include any countercharms for its hexes, adds a bit of color. Now, Lummy, whom did you hex?"

Lummy looked somewhat grief-stricken at this query, but she remembered that this wasn't Lily, and Sirius probably wouldn't care.

"Harold."

"Ah, the sister hex."

"Would you come and help me fix her please?"

"I can't go up the girls' dormitory stairs, but if you wait a second, I'll get up there."

He gave her a little wink and disappeared into his trunk as though searching for something.

Lummy couldn't imagine what he was doing, but she ran down through the common room and up into the room where Harold was still lying, shocked, on the floor. Lummy hates waiting, but can't remember the counter jinx, and shouts, "Wingardium Leviosa!" instead.

Now her sister was levitating. And if she moved her wand in just the right way, she would levitate right out the room.

Soon Harold was lying flat on her back in the air outside the 7th story girls' dorm room.

Sirius was flying up to the girls' window on his broomstick when he realized that Harold was already outside. He whips his wand out of his robes and cries,

"Inmediata Mobile."

Harold is able to move again, but Lummy sees Sirius flying outside her window and drops her wand in shock. Harold begins to fall from the height of the 7th floor tower. Sirius stares stupidly for a moment, and then dives as he has never dived before.

"Harold! I'm coming!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

She is millimeters from the ground when Sirius finally reaches her, and she lands safely.

"Are you all right mate?"

"I'm going to kill my sister."

Sirius doesn't say anything, the girl had been under the full body bind, and then dropped from a height of one hundred feet. He simply carries her up to the top of Gryffindor tower and drops her off in the dorm room. Sirius braces himself for Harold's attack on Lummy. Instead, Harold just runs away from her sister.

"Er, Lummy?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come ride my broom with me?"

Lummy looks somewhat horrified at the prospect at first, and grips onto her bedpost tightly.

"C'mon, it's not that bad. Actually, it's quite good," cajoles Sirius rather stupidly.

"Is it safe?"

"Safe as peaches," suggests Sirius, with Lummy remaining unconvinced, since peaches are not renowned for their safety.

"Alright, but only for a bit."

Lummy steps out over the Gryffindor girls' dormitory window rails and onto Sirius' broomstick. She grips tightly to the wooden handle, and nods.

"Not so tight, you'll get splinters," joked Sirius rather halfheartedly, because Lummy looks very white.

They took off like a gunshot, and flew around the castle, the light breeze flapping their robes as the broomstick soared. It was not for naught that Sirius was one of the best beaters, because he was a superb flyer. The two circled about a tower, then dove to the ground –

"We're going to crash!"

"Of course not!"

The broomstick landed safely on the soft grass, and Sirius smiled cheekily at Lummy as if to ask how it was.

"Amelia was fantastic."

"Who, pray tell, is Amelia?"

"Your broom, of course."

"You liked it then?"

"Very much so."

Sirius then started to ask something, but didn't seem to be able to start properly, and finally spoke –

"I was wondering, you know, if perhaps you and I…"

"If I would ride Amelia alone?"

"Yes… I mean no, I meant if we could sometime…"

"Could I take her?"

And Lummy seized the broom "Amelia," and flew off into the sky, leaving the confused Sirius on the ground wondering how he could have phrased his question better.

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Will Sirius get the girl? Does the girl wish to be gotten? Review….