Standing There By You
Ch. 24- Swift Saves and Mademoiselles
Disclaimer: Let it be known... I hereby declare that by legal binding matters, any recognizable material belongs to the infamous J.K.Rowling.
a.k.a- it's not mine.
A/N: Wow.. you guys are wonderful and beyond. I honestly don't know if you realize how much you made my day, but you really, really did. I love your opinions and suggestions, and appreciate them so very much ; )
The Sirius Black Fan Club is still in full swing, and we have some very interesting things planned ; ) For those of you that 'signed up' after the first one was sent, I'll just send you the original one when the latest one is completed. This weekend has been incredibly busy, but I'll try and hurry to send the next e-mail.
Also, a lot of you asked me to check out your stories, which I will be more than happy to do. Lately I've been extremely busy, however, but I promise as soon as I have some free time I'll read and review : )
One more thing... I would just like to make sure you all know Grace made the team, (as it will soon become apparent) and that she was trying for Chaser. Sorry for any confusion!
She swooped through the air, aimlessly placed hair falling out of its bun as she accelerated towards the red ball. She stretched out her arm, and just as she was about to catch it-
"Sirius!" Grace yelled, wobbling unsteadily as she swerved around the soaring bludger. "Watch where you hit those things!"
"Sorry 'bout that," said Sirius. Although his words seemed sincere, his expression begged to differ.
It wasn't a match, luckily, just training. It was the fourth night that week that Gryffindor had stayed for an 'extended practice to fix your ignorant mistakes', as Richen so kindly put it, and the next game was quickly approaching.
Grace shook her head and flew around the post, waiting for Madison to toss her the quaffle once more. Just as she set her stance and prepared to catch the ball, however, something else distracted her.
Well it wasn't something else, per say, as it was still the bludger that lead her concentration astray, but this time there was something remarkably different about the weighted black sphere.
Watching with astonishment, the Gryffindor team and several spectators witnessed the chaotic acts of the bludger. Sirius had just been about to swing at it, and therefore remained in the position with his bat stretched far behind him, a puzzled look upon his face, when a sudden loss of gravity seemed to come over the bludger. It hovered for a moment, and then proceeded to bounce along haphazardly.
All eyes followed the ball as it lazily arched into the air, and then dropped toward the stands. This seemed like an unharmful action, because the way the bludger was moving, it appeared to weigh less than a balloon. They realized this wasn't true, however, as it cracked and destroyed half a dozen benches upon making harsh contact.
After wrecking that particular section of the stadium, it hobbled back into the air in the same fashion it had in the first place. This time it left an orange trail.
Grace's eyes widened as she took in the site before her. "A challenge," she muttered, soaring towards the bludger. Mid-flight, she paused, looking around at her teammates. This wasn't going to work; James was on the red team, and Sirius on the blue. Professor Fides specifically stated it was a group effort, and points would be deducted if the challenge was performed by only one member.
Grace hastily looked around, and felt relief wash over her as she spotted Remus, a fellow group member, sitting in the stands, apparently observing the practice with Peter. "Remus," she shouted, moving a little ways toward him. She was a bit hesitant to leave the bludger scene entirely, so ended up lingering between the rising and falling bludger, and where Remus sat.
The sandy-haired boy looked up, his eyes widening as the bouncing bludger came into view. "It's a challenge!" Grace yelled. "Please tell me you've got your Defense book!"
Remus nodded and ducked for a moment out of sight, only to pop up five seconds later with a large book in tow. Looking back up at Grace, he shouted back, "What could it be?"
Grace shrugged, watching wearily as the bludger created another collision. "Hurry!"
"Um.." Remus ripped frantically through the book. "Well, it could be a Gravine, but.."
"No, I don't think so," said Grace. "That can't conflict with solid objects."
"That's what I thought," Remus mumbled, still searching. "Do you think it's a fundere?" he asked, not looking up from the book.
Grace shook her head, becoming a bit worried as the bludger neared where Remus and Peter sat. "Wrong category."
"I know but," Remus skimmed through the passages hastily, "I can't find anything else!" He remained engrossed in the book, desperate to find anything to defeat the bludger.
"Remus," Grace said hesitantly. "You'd better-"
"Maybe it's the Lilings Morfis. But no, that would mean it'd have to be part of the Stelas , which it's not."
"Remus!"
The boy's eyes remained glued to the book, and her calls went unnoticed.
Too immersed in the book to look up and respond to Grace's calls, Remus didn't notice the bludger that was coming closer and closer until...
In a split second Grace decided to disregard the challenge or the points that were sure to be deducted, as she pointed her broomstick in the direction of Remus and the approaching bludger, and soared to the site.
Grabbing Sirius's bat as she zoomed past him, she drew it back and willed her broomstick forward, praying she'd get to Remus before the bludger did.
"Well, I just don't know what it could..." Remus trailed off as he looked up and saw the very near bludger. Eyes widening to the size of saucers, his mouth dropped open stupidly as the bludger bounced ten feet away from him, arching once more, as it always did before the inevitable drop.
To his left he heard Peter scurrying away hurriedly, cowering under a bench. Remus however, stayed stock-still, staring in shock as the bludger inched closer and closer, acting almost as if it were aimed particularly for him.
Just as the heavy black ball came within inches of Remus, Grace ripped by, hitting the fast approaching bludger with all of her might.
The ball, still acting in its buoyant fashion, seemed to bounce off of the bat, this time rising higher than it had before, its orange trail sparkling like fireworks.
Grace tore after the bludger, rising above it, and then pounding it mercilessly with her bat. Almost as if helium had consumed it, the ball persistantly arched up, but sank lower and lower to the ground as Grace smacked the ball repeatedly with as much force as she could muster. Finally, she and the bludger came within two feet of the ground where she smacked it still, her face going red from exertion. With one forceful wallop it lodged into the field, forming a hole in the crisp green grass.
The ball was so fixed into the ground it was apparent in had no means of escaping, but Grace pulverized the bugger nonetheless, pummeling it with one strike after the other.
"I think that's enough, Grace," she heard a voice say above her. Stopping mid-swing, she looked up to see Professor Fides smiling and Remus rushing onto the field.
"Oh, sorry professor," Grace said, brushing an unruly lock of violet hair behind her ear. "But we couldn't find anything else to do and-"
"It's my fault," Remus said, slightly out of breath from running onto the field. "I couldn't find anything in time and she just did what-"
"It's doesn't matter whose fault it is," Professor Fides interrupted, "considering you got full marks."
"What?" Grace and Remus asked together.
"You see, the important thing to realize about battling the dark arts," he explained, "is that there isn't a spell, hex, or potion that can fix everything. And even though your entire group isn't present, certain circumstances permit that. Sometimes you just need to use your resources." Looking down at the huge hole Grace had created from pounding the bludger repeatedly, he added, "And you did so. Even if you got a bit carried away..."
Grace smiled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."
"Quite alright," said Professor Fides. "Although, it doesn't look as if Mister Richen's too happy."
The three looked over to see a very distressed Quidditch Captain, who appeared on the verge of tears as he gaped at the slight crater that lay in the middle of the field.
"While I figure out a way to retrieve this," Professor Fides said, looking down at the bludger, "you'd better get back to practice."
The two children watched as their professor knelt on the ground, examining the deep hole.
"Well Remus," Grace said, placing one leg over her broomstick as she prepared to fly off to practice. "It's been fun. Oh, and I do believe you owe me your life."
She smiled at this last comment, and after a few moments Remus did so as well, beginning to laugh. His chortles continued and after a while Grace looked at him curiously. "Was it really that funny?" she asked the laughing boy.
Remus only laughed harder, causing Grace to look a bit worried. "Well, I'm off then," she said slowly, giving a small wave to Peter as he walked onto the field. "See you around, Remus."
Peter caught up with Remus just as Grace flew off. He turned to look at Remus. "Why are you laughing?"
Remus's laughter immediately cut off, and he turned to look at Peter. "I don't know."
"This is highly unfair," James complained, as he and Sirius walked down the corridor. "I mean, every other group has gotten a challenge."
"You're time will come, mate," Sirius said, patting his arm consolingly.
James rolled his eyes. "I haven't even seen a trace of one, maybe there was a mistake, or maybe-" James cut off as he spotted Julie coming out of the Library. "Julie!" he said, jogging up to her.
The girl paused and whirled around. Seeing it was James and Sirius, she crossed her arms hesitantly. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Have you seen anything interesting lately?" James said, hurrying to walk beside her. "I haven't noticed anything, and I was wondering if you guys found something without me."
Julie shook her head. "Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing red."
James made a face. "Well I just don't get it. All of the other teams-"
"Like I said before," Sirius cut in. "In due time, mate."
"Yes but," James protested, "I'm beginning to think..." the boy trailed off as Julie turned towards him and gave a maddened glare. "Er... what's the matter with you?"
Julie didn't respond, but instead decided upon sitting down in the middle of the hallway. James and Sirius stopped walking, and turned to look at one another with confused expressions. "Um... Julie," Sirius said, "what exactly are you doing?"
The girl ignored him and instead directed her gaze at James. "Team meeting," she said firmly. "Now."
"What? You want me to sit on the grou-"
"Now!"
Throwing Sirius one more bewildered look, James hesitantly lowered himself next to her. "Okay," he said slowly. "What are you on about?"
"We've got to make our own challenge," she said, almost hungrily. "There's plenty out there for us to corrupt, and then all we've got to do is fix it."
"Well," James began, looking a bit worried. "I don't think that's exactly what Professor Fides would want-"
"Enough of your rubbish," she said harshly, pressing her hands against the floor as leverage and pushing herself up. "Come on, we've got work to do."
James stood up too, and watched as the girl began stalking down the corridor. Ignoring Sirius, who was currently humming the theme of The Twilight Zone, he followed her uncertainly.
"Julie, what are you going to do, exactly?" James asked, once he had caught up with her.
"Not sure," she said briskly, her eyes searching the hallways. They reached the door, and she pushed it open, walking onto the grounds. Looking around, she spotted Hagrid's hut. "There," she pointed. "That cabin. More than likely there'll be a couple of axes laying around, so we can chop up some of his house and then charm it red. To everyone else it'll just seem as part of a challenge, you see, and then we can fix it and receive top marks."
James turned to look at Sirius incredulously. "What do we do?" he muttered under his breath, as Julie set off towards the cabin.
Sirius shrugged, and looked after the retreating figure of Julie. "I don't know... but she-she's scaring me."
James heaved a sigh and went after her once more. "I'll just stay here," said Sirius. Then he added under his breath, "She's not my psychotic teammate."
"Julie!" James yelled, as the girl began to search through Hagrid's small garden for an axe. He increased his speed as he saw she found what she was looking for.
James didn't know Hagrid very well, only bumping into him in the halls every so often, but he knew he was a kind enough man that didn't deserve having his home smashed into pieces.
"Julie, stop!" James tried again, finally approaching Hagrid's hut. He eyed the axe cautiously. "Put that down."
"We'll be able to fix it," she said, irritated. "Hurry up and grab one too. This is supposed to be a team effort, after all."
James lingered in front of her for a moment, unsure of what to do. "Why are you acting so strange?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
"Why am I acting so strange?!" she shouted. "You're the one that won't pick up a damn axe and smash it into the house!" She glared at him piercingly, her eyes practically flashing red with anger.
Wait... not practically. They were flashing red. James did a double-take and looked back into her eyes, but as soon as she blinked the color was gone.
"Fine," she said, turning around to walk towards the cabin. "I'll do it myself."
James stared after her still, as his mind processed the situation. He was sure he'd seen the color, but... how could this possibly be a challenge? It didn't matter. All he knew was, he had to stop her.
"Accio Axe," James shouted, just as Julie drew back the tool to swing it down upon the cabin. He darted out of the way as the axe came flying towards him. Forgetting, of course, that by using that spell, the object would come to him no matter what. Luckily it was only the handle that hit him, but nonetheless the loud thump clearly signified a large bruise in the making.
Julie slowly turned toward him. "Give me the axe," she demanded.
"No," James said, bending down to grab the fallen object. "Julie, listen to me, I think you might be-"
"GIVE IT TO ME!" she roared, lunging at him.
"Look at that!" he cried suddenly, pointing to a spot above Julie. The girl turned around quickly, giving James enough time to step up behind her and clasp her arms together.
"Argh!" she yelled, struggling to be released from James's grasp. "Get off me you-"
"Listen," he said. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're not acting... normal, I think it's a challenge, or-"
"You're crazy," she said. "Absolutely mad."
James opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped as Julie stepped hard on his toe and wriggled out of his hold. "Stop!" he yelled, as she bent to pick up the axe. "Wait, just..." a sudden idea came to his mind and he raised his wand. "Mobilicorpus!" he yelled.
Julie fell to the ground as her ankles were bound together, as well as her wrists, but froze and levitated about three inches above the grassy terrace. The spelled didn't seem to work as well as it was supposed to, but it was good enough. After making sure Julie couldn't escape from the invisible bindings, James rushed away from the hut, looking for the rest of his teammates.
After about five minutes, he found Emily Tanner and Curtis Boot clustered in a large group of Ravenclaws, sitting under the towering trees. "Tanner! Boot!" he shouted, signaling to them. "Hurry, I think we've got a challenge!"
The two were immediately by his side and he didn't stop to explain, only hurrying back over to where he'd left Julie. The girl was thankfully still there, although now she looked incredibly hostile.
"I don't know what happened," he said, as his teammates looked at the scene curiously. "She was acting all mad and psychotic and I'm positive I saw her eyes flash red and..."
"Well what should we do?" Curtis asked, already dragging out his Defense book.
"I don't know," said James. "Maybe it's a curse, or hex, or something."
Emily nodded. "Might be. Here, I'll read off a couple and you tell me if it fits the criteria."
James nodded and she continued, "Crucio: a curse used to cause one extreme pain; Cunjunctivitus: a curse affecting one's eyes; Densaugeo: a spell to cause a high rate enlarging of the teeth-"
James shook his head. "She doesn't look in pain, her eyesight appears normal, and her teeth seem okay to me."
"Furnunculus: causes boils to form; Impedimenta; slows down attackers; Imperius: a curse to gain control of living things; Locomotor Mortis: locks the victim's-"
"Wait, the Imperius Curse," said James. "That sounds like a possibility."
Emily nodded. "Well there's nothing else that seems similar, so let's just assume that's it."
"So now that we've figured out what it is," said James, "how do we fix it?"
"Finite Incantatem," Curtis read, "is used to cease any spell." He looked up at James and Emily. "Should we try it?"
They nodded and James took a step forward. "Finite Incantatem!"
Julie's angry glare wavered for a moment, but then the next second the same scowling face reappeared.
"It didn't work!" he said anxiously. "Now what?"
"Well maybe if we say it together?" Emily suggested. The group silently agreed and took a step towards Julie.
"I'm not the challenge!" she yelled angrily. "Come on, now with all of us here we can each grab an axe and do some real damage!"
Now believing it wasn't the real Julie more so then ever, Emily, Curtis, and James lifted their wands and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!"
Julie's scowl immediately disappeared and she looked up at her teammates dubiously, her face paling. Before she could speak up, however, Professor Fides appeared out of the forest, two people by his side.
"Very well done," Dumbledore applauded, smiling at the exhausted group.
"Yer righ', Albus," Hagrid agreed. To his left Professor Fides nodded, before kneeling down besides Julie and taking off the Mobilicorpus spell, setting her wrists and ankles free.
"Excellent teamwork," said Professor Fides. "Superb."
"But, how could you have her under the Imperius Curse, if it's illegal?" asked Curtis.
"That would be why I'm here," Dumbledore explained. "To oversee the challenge, and to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Oh," Curtis nodded.
"So you knew about it, Hagrid?" James asked. "You weren't going to let the cabin be smashed to smithereens?"
"Tha's righ'" Hagrid said, surveying James with a smile, "but thanks fer tryin' ter help."
"Sure," said James. He smiled back at the large man.
"You lot feel free to stop by for a spot of tea," said Hagrid, directing his gaze to the entire team. The four members nodded, and just as he was about to continue on, Julie let out a gasp.
"Did I do that to your head?" she asked, looking at the large bump that had formed right under James's hairline.
"No," said James. "But you did smash my toe."
"Oh no, I suppose I'm at fault for that," Professor Fides said guiltily. "Sorry, it wasn't supposed to actually harm you... why don't you stop by Madame Pomfrey's and let her fix you up?"
"Nah," James said as he waved his hand, dismissing the suggestion. "I can handle it."
The elders smiled at his brave facade, but said nothing. Professor Fides pulled out his large scroll and began marking points, and the challenge being completed, the students headed back to Hogwarts.
"And she was thrashing about, but she was no match for me..."
James was recapping the recent event to his friends, elaborating in certain details and failing to mention others.
"Sounds wicked mate," Sirius said, sitting on the floor and dragging a chess board from underneath James's bed. "Wanna play?"
"Sure," James said, sitting beside Sirius. "Black or white?"
"White," said Sirius, as he set up his pieces. "Leave off where we ended yesterday?"
"Okay," James said, positioning his own marks. "My turn then?"
Sirius nodded, and James ordered his bishop to move. Grinning, he said happily, "Check!"
Sirius winced at this and looked at the board, contemplating his next move. His concentration broke, however, as an owl swooped into the room.
"Hercules," James said happily, holding out an arm for his owl to perch upon. "He must have the response from my parents. I asked them about that new broomstick, Supernova 500, you know. I heard it went on the markets yesterday and I've just got to have it. It's a bit expensive, but it comes with the most brilliant servicing kit and has excellent features."
"Oh," Sirius said, nudging one of his pieces.
"Well this is bloody ridiculous," James stormed, crumpling up the paper after a quick read through. "They said it costs too much," he mimicked angrily, "and I don't need it. Of course I need it! Don't they understand, a prime Quidditch player needs equally good equipment," he ranted. "You know, sometimes I hate my parents, I mean, I swear I've got the worst in the world." James directed his piece before muttering, "Checkmate."
James looked up, ready to see Sirius support him, but instead saw his friend looking at him furiously. "You're such a prat!" he said, his voice rising with anger. "You're such an incredibly awful person, and I can't stand-"
"What?" James asked, looking confused. "What are you talking about Sirius?"
"You, you," Sirius looked around wildly and his eyes stopped on the chess board. "You're a bloody cheater, that's what."
"What?" said James. "I'm not-"
"Sure you are," Sirius spat. He picked up a handful of angrily protesting pieces and threw them in James's direction.
James started, looking back at Sirius with a tinge of frustration. "I am not. You don't have to be such a sore lo-"
"I'm going," Sirius said, standing up abruptly. James watched in immense puzzlement as Sirius stomped out of the room and stalked down the staircase.
"What's with him?!"
A/N: Uh oh.. Well, as much as I would absolutely love to respond to all of you individually, there's just not enough time and I don't want to take up too much space. Some of you wrote really awesome reviews, but I only commented on ones that asked questions. Thanks much!
Aerandir, Misty Cherry, MilesFromNormal, Water-sprite87, Siriuslyfun19212, Hermionette, Bracken-Fae, Loony, May, SweetMimi1, Writergirl709, EW4eva, Kari, Dreamless Stars, Silverpheonix2, Oliverwoodschic, FairyPrincess13, MaraudersMap, PatchLover08, Dreamlessnights, Luna Gypsy, Mrs. Radcliffe, Molly, Dulcis Caelum, Graceful Lily, Holly Nirvana, Jennifer, Gaby-Malfoy, Moonylover2000, MidnightPrincess, Ninde Annare
Hermione Granger- Hello! Thanks for the review but just to let you know, in PoA, chapter eighteen, Remus says the Whomping Willow was planted the year he came to Hogwarts. It's in book three, so maybe that's why you thought it was planted in his third year.
LeFae- I agree with you about Remus not being so quiet, but I really think he starts to speak up more and add in his opinions as he gets older- right now he's still a bit self-consious about his 'monthly ailment' but now that his friends know and are still sticking by him, he'll become more vocal. Thanks for your opinion!
SiRiuSbLacKsChiC4EvA- Padded walls...
Lily Skylo- You know, you really have to be careful when you leave reviews like that; it tends to inflate one's ego extensively ; ) But honestly, thank you so much for taking the time to write all that, it really innovates me to write more, and I appreciate it sooo much.
Windowseat Wonderer- Oh good, I'm glad you liked the 'quick' first year, I was a bit worried about that. Also, I was afraid of the whole Hermione thing, I'll try my best to steer clear of that. Thanks for the reviews!
Sasha- Hey, sorry if you were confused, I put your response at the top just in case anyone else was too. Thanks for the review ; )
lizzie15- Well I don't know about Sirius being a dumb jock, I think he is just the goofy adorable kind of funny, and can really act stupid sometimes, but in short he's actually quite brilliant. Also, when Remus is talking to James through the fireplace, it's still day time. Remus just couldn't come over because in a few hours it would be night and he would transform, and he couldn't take that risk. He'd also be really tired and sick. Hope I cleared up any confusion!
Vanima Failiss- Sorry, I'm not aware of any HP fan clubs (although I'm postitive they're out there) so this one will have to suffice ; ) I'll check you your story as soon as I can, promise. Yeesh! You are an impatient one, aren't you, lol. It's nice you like the story that much, though : ) Here you go, I updated!
Romulan Empress- Lol, glad you found it so funny! Yeah, you can use it in one of your stories, but remember, due credit... : )
Lyssa- Thanks for the offer! I might just take you up on it one day. When you post your stories, let me know : )
Shani- You don't know how tempted I am to just all of the sudden post a chapter with them in sixth year ; ) I'm trying not to drag out these years, and hopefully we'll get to the good stuff soon!(I'm just as eager as you are... if you can't tell)
Midnightawoke2- Your reviews are so confusing! Lol.. but I do like the idea of them doing the Hokey Pokey...
Christine- Hey, thanks for the long review! I hope you enjoyed the rest.. thanks for the puppet pals thing, lol : )
Lanette- Hehe, don't worry about it! Btw., those statements were so contradictory, if you were on a mission trip you're obviously not a bad person ; ) I'm glad you liked the tators.. and of course you can still be in the fan club!
If you have a chance, check out my livejournal (It's under Homepage on my bio) because I'm going to start putting stuff about the SBFC and the story. If you visit, make sure you leave a comment to let me know : )