Disclaimer:Owning nought. Not the Harry Potter stuff (that's JK Rowling's). Not the Buffy stuff (that's Joss Whedon's). And not 'Farther Down' (that's Matthew Sweet's, found on the 'Can't Hardly Wait' soundtrack, FYI!).
Reviewers:
Sonofgloin:Sometimes I think you're trying to provoke me! XX
PomegranateQueen: You rock with the full-on devotion in many ways. Please feel free to let that shit keep right on coming, I love verbal runs in review form!!
Saxifrage:Your short review was still mad-long anyway, so no need to apologise! Yay for you picking up on the Bellatrix subtext, I didn't think it was going to come out enough. And you wanted it longer- dude it was like 30 pages written! Sorry- this one was only 26, but hopefully worth it. Hope the homework mountain is dwindling! XX
Eyexcandy: I love making you hate me- it's so much fun. And did I not promise that I'd update soon?
Luckyshamrock:I heart Remus too. Can you teach me the dance of it? I do have things planned, I promise you that!
Elle Blessingway:I updated cruel & unusual, did ya see? I'm glad you appreciate the lack of daisies & roses at the present, I love flowery stories too but life is full of its downs as well as ups. Thanks for the encouragement for the James/Lily exclusive idea, too. I'd like to try it one day, even if it was just a one-shot or something. And don't worry- you can never leave a too-long review in my book.
The Lady Morgaine: You made it & are still reading! Cool! I've had a lot of requests for the Scoobies to pop up, and I'm still not 100 sure on if it will even happen, but it is a definite possibility so if you keep your fingers crossed you just might see it. As for the Lily/James action, bear in mind that in the HP series it's noted they don't get together until 7th year & I plan to stick by that. That isn't to say there won't be plenty of other situations for them to work through in the meantime! Was a cool idea of yours about Lily, though. Thanks for sticking with it.
T.S.: Thank you, I'm flattered you love my story. Here's what happens next, so you don't have to wait anymore…
Damia: I hope you're still reading by this stage. Wrote more as soon as I could!
Hikari Kage Shi:Thank you! And that's a really good idea you had about Dawn dealing with her grief! I would never have thought of that one myself!
Sammi89: That was lucky – got your review just as I was coming online to update! Thank you, and I can only say wait and see what the future brings with Sirius and Dawn. Glad you're enjoying- and hey you definitely didn't have to wait too long for an update!!
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Farther Down
Dawn began disappearing a lot after Sirius started to date different girls with reckless abandon. There were times when she'd return to the Common Room with eyes rimmed red from crying, and there were times she returned looking relaxed and almost at peace. Remus frowned over at her as she arrived back from yet another disappearing act.
"Where have you been going, Dawn?" he asked, regarding her with concerned curiosity.
Dawn just shrugged. "Nowhere important, Rem."
But Remus wasn't satisfied. "Well, are you ok, Dawn? You're not doing anything dangerous, are you? I don't want to see you get yourself hurt."
"I'm ok. I'm just… trying to get on top of things," she said, slightly evasive but laying a grateful hand on Remus' arm. "You don't need to worry about me."
"You're kidding, right?" Remus snorted. "I could write an encyclopaedia of all the times you've been in some sort of trouble."
Dawn rolled her eyes. Not long after that, though, she was slinking away from her friends again. if he didn't know Dawn too well to even consider it, Remus would think that she was dating someone new in secret. Isabel was watching her boyfriend's face quietly.
"Go after her if you're worried," she said, after several minutes had ticked by with Remus still preoccupied.
He looked back at her. "You sure you don't mind?"
"You're worried. You should go," Isabel reiterated.
Remus thought a moment. He'd need the Marauder's Map if he had any chance of finding Dawn now. "Thanks, love. I've just got to grab something from my dorm."
He kissed Isabel warmly, cupped her cheek and then ran to get the Map. He located Dawn's little Kitten marker in the second floor bathroom and set off at once. He didn't hesitate when he reached the girls' bathroom; it was widely known that girls avoided Moaning Myrtle's haunt like the plague.
He stepped in and took in the display. Dawn was curled on the little tile step, chatting away to the ghost as if they were old friends. He leaned against the wall and listened as Dawn explained to Myrtle the dynamics of her relationship with the Marauders, and how precarious it had become since she'd upset the balance.
"It'll settle down in time," he said quietly.
Dawn and Myrtle started at the addition to their conversation and whipped around to glance at Remus. He waved sheepishly.
"Hi. Just thought I'd drop by."
Dawn grinned, but a silvery blush had crept over Myrtle's translucent cheeks. She recognised Remus from her forays into the pipes of the Prefects' Bathroom. Dawn noticed Myrtle's strangeness and her grin deepened a notch in understanding.
"Hey Remus, have you met Myrtle?" she asked brightly. "Well, this is Myrtle and she hangs out here a lot. Myrtle, this is Remus Lupin if you didn't know."
The ghost and the werewolf exchanged pleasantries, then he took a seat on the step across from Dawn and looked at the girl.
"This is where you've been spending all your time?" he asked, eyebrows arched.
Dawn confirmed it with a crisp nod. "I like it here."
"Do you mind if I stay, too?" he asked gently, not sure if he was encroaching on her personal space but all the same not wanting to leave her with only a dead whinger as a companion.
Dawn smiled a rare genuine smile. "Of course not. It'll be fun if you hang with us."
It took a little while for Myrtle to become accustomed to the added presence of a boy who actually knew and acknowledged that she was there. But by the time curfew was approaching, she and Remus had warmed to each other a great deal. The living students waved goodbye to the deceased one and started for Gryffindor tower before Filch could get a hold of them. Dawn shuddered at the mere thought of the three hours she'd spent sorting various corporal punishment forms in his mouldy little office.
"That was surprisingly enjoyable," Remus admitted.
"I know. I couldn't wait to get out of there the first time I wandered in, but then I went in by accident last week and it was all good," Dawn explained. "Lion's Den."
Remus grinned over at Dawn and stepped back to let her through the opening. Isabel and Lily looked up when they joined them.
"Well? Where have you been, then?"
The two friends just smiled and shook their heads. "You'll have to tag along sometime to find out," Dawn said mysteriously.
The Common Room admitted two more at that moment, Candice and Michelle gossiping happily. They sat down a little ways from the other fifth years, wrapped up in their own discussion and not noticing that the whole Common Room was listening in.
"Well he took Lacey Barrett out last week," Michelle said. "And there was that couple of days he was hanging around with Annabel Diggory… not that Amos was too impressed with him for going after his little sister."
Remus, Isabel and Lily all blanched and did not dare to look at Dawn's face. It was painfully clear, but the three still hoped that by some miracle Dawn hadn't worked out exactly whose newly rediscovered promiscuity her dorm-mates were discussing. Even though the rest of the Common Room had figured it out and were all counting the seconds until Dawn reacted.
"Uh-huh," Candice agreed. "Anyway, I was talking to Bertha Jorkins the other day, and she said she saw Sirius making friends with practically all the seventh-year Ravenclaw girls," she announced to more people than she realised.
"Poor Dawn," Michelle sighed.
Dawn angled her face so only her friends could see her anguish, yawned with boredom loud enough to be sure her audience got it, and pulled open a book to distract herself with. She pulled it up to cover her face, and the little tear trickling down her cheek.
Michelle and Candice turned at the sound of Dawn's yawn, clapped their hands over their faces once they realised how big their mouths had got, and turned away in embarrassment.
In no time at all, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was the new hangout of choice for a handful of fifth year Gryffindors. When they'd hit that corridor for the first time, Lily and Isabel had been shocked and even a little horrified at the prospect of willingly approaching that bathroom. In their first year they'd both sworn an oath that is the situation was so dire that they'd either use Myrtle's bathroom or wet themselves trying to reach the next, they'd risk the humiliation. But just like Remus, they soon learned to accept Myrtle as she was and the five of them always enjoyed the time they spent together.
They'd even taken to spreading their homework over the tiles, rationalising that it was a much more productive work area than a stuffy Library or an overcrowded Common Room. Having had nothing better to do for at least two decades but to whine and learn, the ghost always had a helpful fact or two to add to their essays.
"Remus, doesn't it bother you?" she asked in a voice that would never really lose its whining tendency.
Fiddling absently with his quill while he proof-read Isabel's Arithmancy work, Remus glanced up questioningly. "Hmm? Doesn't what bother me?"
"This," Myrtle waved her hand around. "Hanging about in a girls' bathroom with a group of girls."
Remus shrugged. "No, I'm ok. The company is good, so why worry about the setting? I like the quiet anyway."
Isabel smiled, pleased he was managing to spend time with his girlfriend, her friends, and a good friend of his in pain and he was enjoying it. and he still made time for just her. She curled her hand around his arm and leaned against his shoulder.
Dawn and Lily shared a look and a smile over the cosiness of the couple. At first, Dawn had felt a twinge in her stomach every time she saw her friends, or any couple really, sharing a moment of tenderness, but she'd come through that stage by now.
"So this is where all the good girls have gone. Moony, you old dog!" a voice said, and a burst of laughter echoed through the bathroom.
Myrtle squealed in alarm and shot into the nearest cubicle. James and Peter stood framed in the doorway, Peter hastily slipping a square of folded parchment into his pocket. Lily rolled her eyes as the boys invited themselves in and sat down with the group.
"It's ok, Myrtle," Dawn called out. "You can come out."
Myrtle was a little bit apprehensive as she floated through the cubicle door and regarded James and Peter.
"Guys, this is Myrtle. Myrtle, that's just James and Peter, our friends," Dawn introduced, pointing at each boy as she named him.
"Hello," Myrtle said shyly, drifting back towards the group.
"So what brings you two down here?" Remus asked, grinning and nodding at Isabel as he handed her work back.
"Boredom," James shrugged. ""It's been dead dull in the Common Room lately. Why have you lot decided to hang out here all of a sudden?"
Dawn grinned at Myrtle. "We just like it here, James. It's a cool hangout."
He looked around, sizing it up. "Yeah, I s'pose it is."
Lily had immersed herself in the nearest book the moment James had sat across from her. She could feel his gaze skimming the crowd, often pausing on her, but she refused to meet his stare. He hadn't spoken to her since their argument in the Common Room and she had decided to just enjoy the peace while it lasted.
The others began to talk; there had been another wave of attacks from Voldemort's Death Eaters, and a couple of Hogwarts' Governors had been targeted. Apparently Voldemort wanted them tortured for information.
"All I know is Mum's last letter said Dad's working overtime again," James said unhappily. "Poor bloke is doing surveillance for the Ministry's top officials, hasn't had a home cooked meal in about a week."
Dawn patted his hand sympathetically. A sombre mood had settled over the haunted bathroom, even Lily had stopped paying so much attention to her book.
"I just don't get it," Dawn sighed. "How can someone be so evil, and still technically be human?"
"I'd say he's pushing the boundaries of humanity," Remus said, a foul look in his face. "I mean, the Daily Prophet says he's looking for new ways to cheat mortality."
"Let's just hope he doesn't get his hands on that Elixir of Life I read about in one of the extra Potions textbooks," Lily murmured, rejoining the conversation at last.
"I'd say the greater danger is him actually finding that 'key to great power' the Prophet was on about," Isabel said. "There's a rumour that he thinks it's at Hogwarts, which is why those poor Governors have been targeted."
Peter turned to look at Dawn, his mouth already opening to ask if she was worried about being discovered as the Key.
"So Voldemort's definitely human then?" Dawn said loudly to pave right over anything Peter was about to let slip. "It just doesn't seem possible to me."
All it took to get Peter to squeak once, then shut up, was mentioning Voldemort by name. Remus and James were used to hearing it by now, and were working on saying it themselves without the stutter, but Lily and Isabel had both gasped loudly. Dawn just shrugged at them, not about to get into another great name debate.
"Oh, he was definitely human," Myrtle piped up suddenly. "I went to school with Tom Riddle."
"Tom Riddle?" Dawn frowned.
"His name before becoming Vol-Voldemort," James said, proud to have at least gone past the 'V' without stuttering this time.
"Oh. Ok then," Dawn said, smiling at him with pride. Then she turned back to Myrtle. "Did you know him well?"
Myrtle shook her head. "Not really. He made fun of a spot on my nose once, he was always being horrible when no Professors were looking. Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to like him much though, and Dumbledore likes everybody!"
"Not everybody," Dawn muttered darkly, thinking of Malfoy. A moment later she was back to interrogating Myrtle. Demons were same old, same old to her, but the thought of someone willingly becoming a monster intrigued her as much as it frightened her. "So was Voldemort evil when he left Hogwarts?"
"No," Myrtle said slowly. "Not really. But he was on the way. it was only a few years after Tom Riddle graduated that Lord Voldemort rose."
"Hey, how come she's not afraid to say that?" Peter whined. "It's not fair."
James, Lily and Isabel rolled their eyes while Remus patiently explained it to Peter. "Wormtail, Myrtle is a ghost. She's already… passed on," he said, glancing gingerly at the dead girl in question.
"Yeah? And…?"
"Well then what reason has she got to fear death at V-Voldemort's hands for saying his name?"
"Oh. Now I get it," Peter said happily.
"Can we move on then?" Dawn asked impatiently. "What else can you tell us about him, Myrtle?"
"I don't know," the ghost said absently, thinking. "He was very bright- topped most of his classes. He was a Slytherin, too, and in his sixth year when I died," she recalled.
"How did you d-oof," James' voice was suddenly cut off as Dawn drove her elbow into his side.
"You can't ask something like that," Dawn hissed.
James shrugged. He couldn't see why not, but he let it drop anyway. Dawn had bony elbows.
"It's late," Lily said decisively, looking at her watch. "We should get back to the tower before curfew. Filch has been waiting for us the last couple of nights, it's like we're ruining his whole day when we leave before he can give us detention."
Dawn snickered. "He's such a jerk. He catches me out once on a lucky break and he thinks he's proven my delinquency once and for all."
"Kitten, honey," James grinned. "You can't be my sister and not be kind of a delinquent."
"Good point," Dawn sighed, beginning to pack her books up. "Maybe it's a good thing Filch caught me before I started the crime ring then."
"Because then there wouldn't have been room in this castle for the both of us," James said seriously.
Pausing a moment, Dawn smiled slightly up at James. She didn't know what she would've done over the past couple of weeks if he'd completely turned his back on her. She knew that James' loyalties edged slightly towards Sirius, especially considering it had been her doing that they'd split up, but she loved him for the way he occasionally chose to put her first.
"So do you guys approve of our new hangout?" Remus asked drolly as they hefted their bags up.
James nodded thoughtfully. "I foresee many a good prank being plotted here. Provided Myrtle knows how to hold her tongue," he added.
He glanced at Myrtle to gauge her levels of compliance with the Marauder brand of mayhem, and she nodded seriously.
"I could flood this hallway for you, if you like,' she offered shyly.
"Wicked," James said, grinning.
"You know," Peter piped up. "I think I like it down here, too. The Common Room is so boring when Padfoot's out on dates."
James flinched slightly and refused to look at Dawn. Lily's hand flew up, but Isabel intercepted it before she could slap Peter for his tactless statement. Both of the girls were glaring at him rather meanly, though. Remus cleared his throat nervously.
"Right then, we all ready? See you later, Myrtle," he said, pulling the door open.
"Bye," the others all chorused as they headed out the door.
Dawn found herself walking next to James. She pushed away Peter's words that were ringing through her ears painfully, and glanced over at the messy-haired boy.
"I'm kinda curious to know how she died, too," she mumbled.
"Hey Hagrid. It's been a while," Dawn said, smiling timidly as she stood on his doorstep.
"Dawn!" Hagrid boomed. "Lovely ter see yer, come on in. Walnut scone? Something ter drink then?"
"Just something cold please," Dawn said, stepping into the cabin. "I'm really not hungry."
The moment she was over the threshold, she was set upon by something massive and slobbering. She patted it enthusiastically.
"Hey Fang. Howya doing, boy?"
He barked in greeting. Dawn pushed him aside after a few minutes of indulging him and took her seat at the table. Hagrid handed her a tall glass of some sort of juice and took his seat across from her. Fang laid his head in her lap and she scratched him behind the ears on reflex.
"I heard abou' what happened," Hagrid said, his voice far too gentle for his stature. "Are yer really ok, Dawn?"
Dawn nodded. She'd been through this conversation so many times by now that she could follow the script without actually thinking about it. Which was helpful, considering the numbness that had a tendency to overtake her whenever she was pushed into talking about Sirius.
"I'm really ok, Hagrid," she said automatically. "I've been through worse, I'm sure I'll live."
Hagrid smiled. "I'm glad tha' yer came ter talk to me."
"So am I."
The Key and the half-giant shared a relaxed grin, letting the moment pass in peace. Dawn took another sip of her drink. They made small talk for a little while, Hagrid telling Dawn all about the swarm of Hinkypunks he'd found breeding in a secluded cove of the lake.
"Were they hard to move?" Dawn asked.
"Nah," Hagrid waved a dustbin-lid-sized hand. "I jus' put a bit o' mud in a crate, the little blighters crawled righ' on in. sent the crate on to Loch Ness, Hinkypunks like it up there."
Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Doesn't the Loch Ness Monster eat them?"
Hagrid gave her a funny look. "Dawn, yer know that's jus' a legend, right?"
"Oh. Of course," Dawn said, looking disappointed. "It was just a joke."
Hagrid started to laugh. "I'm only joking, Dawn. Loch Ness Monster don't like Hinkypunks, finds 'em too stringy."
"Oh," Dawn said, wondering if he was still making fun of her.
He winked.
"I really should get going," Dawn sighed a little while later, when her glass was empty and Fang's dog slobber had soaked right through her skirt to her leg. A part of her didn't want to leave, but to hide out here in the friendly simplicity forever. She couldn't even recall a time when her life had been simple, and she was starting to long for it deep in her soul.
"Well, thanks for stopping by," Hagrid said as they both stood.
On impulse, Dawn threw her arms around as much of his middle as she could reach and hugged for all she was worth. Hagrid stopped in surprise for a moment, then patted her back with enough force to knock the wind out of her.
"Come back soon, now," Hagrid said in a rumbly soft voice.
They broke apart and ambled over to the door. Hagrid reached across and pulled it open for Dawn. Someone standing on the doorstep, fist poised for knocking, jumped back in alarm. Dawn, already moving to step through the opening, pulled up short.
"Hi," she said automatically.
The figure on the doorstep arched an eyebrow. "Hi."
Hagrid smiled as best he could manage. "Hello, Sirius," he boomed, his voice becoming louder in an attempt to control the awkward situation.
Sirius and Dawn stared at each other, trapped. They still shared classes, and a Common Room, and a table in the Great Hall, but they'd done a good job so far of avoiding each other at all costs. Hagrid fell into silence as the two teens stayed frozen in time.
Dawn looked away from the blue eyes that had shuttered themselves to her and lowered her gaze to Sirius' neck. She hastily masked a flinch. There was an oily smudge on his collar; pink lip gloss.
"I was just leaving," she rushed out, horrified at everything all of a sudden.
Sirius stepped aside to let her pass, but Dawn had stepped in the same direction at exactly the same moment. Then they both stepped back the other way at the same time. It was so perfectly synchronised that it was almost a dance. They stepped from side to side together a couple more times, until finally Dawn spied an opening wide enough for her to bolt through.
Fang's forlorn farewell barks chased after Dawn, but she did not dare look back. She ran up the stones that served as a patchwork pavement to the castle, knowing that the strange fluttering in her heart had nothing to do with the exercise.
Sirius forced himself not to turn around and watch Dawn flee. He was through showing his weaknesses for her. She'd coaxed him into that, said he could trust her with anything. And then she'd taken the heart that he'd never shown anyone before and stomped it into nothing. He wasn't about to let that happen again. He looked up at Hagrid, trademark devilish grin present but completely empty. Hagrid engulfed his shoulder with his hand and pulled him inside.
"Come on, Sirius. Let's have a cuppa, eh?"
"Yeah," Sirius muttered, wishing for something stronger than tea. Like maybe a permanent 'Obliviate' charm for his whole fifth year. "Great, Hagrid. I could use a cuppa."
"Dawn," Lily said urgently, shaking Dawn's shoulder. "Dawn, wake up. Please, I need your help."
Dawn blearily opened her eyes to see a panic-stricken Lily leaning over her. She groggily pushed herself up, fearing the worst.
"I can't decide what to wear," Lily whispered frantically.
"I thought we decided on the black pants and the emerald top," Dawn yawned, trying to roll over already.
"But now I'm not sure," Lily replied. "Please, Dawn," she begged.
Grumbling, Dawn glanced at the clock. "Lily, it's five-thirty!"
"Oh no! Already?" the Prefect gasped. "I'm supposed to be meeting Chase at nine!"
Realising that her chances of getting Lily to go back to bed for another couple of hours were slim to none, Dawn pushed herself up fully and rolled out of bed. Lily gave her a strained, but grateful smile. Isabel was already sitting amidst a mountain of Lily's clothing in her nightie, looking just a little put out.
"I still say the green top, Lils," she said, fighting to keep her eyelids from drooping. "It's the prettiest one you have, and it brings out your eyes."
Dawn nodded enthusiastically. "I agree. Problem solved, let's go back to bed now."
Lily frowned. "I don't have time for sleep, I've got to get ready. Are you sure this maroon top wouldn't look nicer?"
They went to breakfast at eight o'clock, Dawn was certain it had only taken so long because every time they made a decision about something, Lily would change her mind about five minutes later and they'd have to start again. First she'd wanted her hair up, then she wanted it down. Then the pink eye shadow was the wrong shade and the lipstick was entirely too dark for her face.
Dawn and Isabel were exhausted, and just a little on the crabby side when they finally stepped into the Great Hall, but they had to admit Lily looked great. Lily herself was almost too afraid to move in case she knocked a hair out of place. She wasn't game enough to have anything more than pumpkin juice for breakfast, in case she smudged the lipstick she wasn't quite used to wearing.
The Marauders walked in, three of them tossing a swift wave in Dawn and Isabel's direction, and sat down not too far away. While the rest were busy with their breakfast, James rested his head on his hand and stared at Lily, his eyes drinking her in. Dawn noticed the attention Lily was getting and smiled sadly. Seeing Lily with Chase was cutting James as deeply as she was cut whenever she spotted Sirius with some other girl.
For the first time since anyone could remember, James didn't take a single bite of breakfast. He just kept staring at Lily, his eyes clouding over hazily as he daydreamed about what it would be like to have her go to so much effort to look so beautiful for him. He scowled to himself. He knew this Chase git didn't deserve her, and if he upset her even once, James was going to hex the wanker stupid.
Breakfast ended soon, and with a quick touch-up Lily was skipping nervously off to meet Chase. A dark look settled over James' face as he watched Lily disappear. Dawn stood, but did not move off in any direction. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew Isabel planned on spending the day with Remus, but if all four Marauders were sticking together then she couldn't really join them.
"Maybe I should just go to the Library and borrow a good book," she mumbled to herself.
But while she was distracted with her own self-pity, Sirius had split with his friends and disappeared with one of the sixth year Gryffindors. James wandered over and tapped her shoulder.
"You ready to go, Kitten?"
He watched with sympathy as Dawn looked up, glanced around, and realised what Sirius' absence meant. She forced a smile as she nodded at him.
"Yeah, let's get going," she said to the group at large.
She walked in between James and Peter, with Remus and Isabel hand-in-hand behind them. They joined the lines of students waiting for Filch to mark their names off and soon enough they were wandering towards Hogsmeade with the crowd.
Dawn and Isabel spent the morning with the three Marauders, strolling along the main street and window-shopping while the boys discussed the odds of Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup with only one game remaining: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
"Ooh, that's pretty," Isabel said, pointing out a shimmery golden-bronze material in the display window of the Dress Robes store.
Dawn leaned forwards to examine the display more closely. Remus leaned in close to whisper in Isabel's ear while no-one else was listening.
"You'd look great in that," he breathed.
Isabel flushed prettily. "You think?" she asked demurely, then she sighed. "My Mum will kill me if I spend another knut on dress robes I don't really need."
Remus smiled and pulled away. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up with you."
He disappeared into the store and emerged a few minutes later with a bag which he handed to Isabel without a word. She smiled and kissed him briefly to show her appreciation. Shortly before lunch, something red and over-energetic bounded up. Lily stopped in front of Dawn and Isabel and did a little twirl.
"Who wants to hear everything?"
"Who wants to go to Zonko's?" James countered immediately, shooting a pleading glance at his friends.
Dawn smiled at Lily, then glanced at James. She gave the redhead a quick hug. "I'm glad you had fun. Details and girly bonding later?"
Lily nodded. "Sure."
"I hope you took notes," Dawn whispered with a sly wink and Lily giggled.
By the time she had stepped back, Isabel had said her farewells and moved to head off with Lily. Dawn headed towards the joke shop with the boys, wondering if she should bother to try and comfort James. He was several paces ahead, stomping so hard his feet were leaving deep little imprints in the ground.
After almost an hour of retail therapy in the joke shop for James, they headed off for lunch in the Three Broomsticks. The afternoon was spent as lazily as the morning, Dawn and the boys wandering from shop to shop as they felt like it.
Slowly, as the sun started to sink lower in the sky, the streets of Hogsmeade began to empty. It was nearing the sunset curfew for the return to Hogwarts and the other students were beginning to drift back towards the castle. But the Marauders showed no signs of budging. Dawn shot them a look.
"So what's going on now?" she asked.
The boys all shifted uncomfortably, none quite able to meet her gaze. "We, er, sort of told Padfoot we'd have a butterbeer with him right about now," James said apologetically.
"Oh." Dawn's face fell. "Oh… well that's cool. I'll just head back to the castle, then."
Remus hesitated. "You sure, Kitten? One of us should walk you back- the sun's already set."
But Dawn was already backing away, her movements just a touch too jerky to be composed. "No, don't worry about me. I'll be fine- we're not exactly on a Hellmouth, here. I'll just see you later, ok?"
The boys could do nothing but shrug and head on to the Three Broomsticks while Dawn turned and began her solitary walk back to Hogwarts. Her slim form became barely visible, blending into the dusk.
She didn't even hear it coming. There was no-one left on the street to catch the strangled cry, no-one to see the lightning fast movements of a sack being tossed over a head, a lone figure smuggled almost effortlessly down a dark ally.
Dawn tried to scream, tried to struggle, but it was no use. Who, or whatever had a hold of her was far too strong. The arms were wrapped around her so tight she could feel the air being squeezed out of her. Every shallow breath she barely managed to draw was polluted by the unmistakeable stench of sweat and body odour.
Fear threatened to overcome her, but Dawn pushed it down with great effort. It wouldn't do her any good to start panicking now. She could only pray that someone –anyone- had seen her abduction, and was raising the alarm right at that very moment. But as the seconds dragged on, Dawn felt the dread gnawing more and more insistently at her insides.
Her friends had gone, she couldn't remember seeing anyone else on the street, and all around her was an eerie sense of quiet. She didn't want to listen to it, but that quiet was telling her nobody was scrambling in their wake as she was forced further and further away from safety.
She couldn't tell how many seconds, minutes or hours had ticked by, or how far she'd been taken, but Dawn's heart lurched with a sudden hope when she heard movement close by. A door clicked open, and Dawn prayed it was some Wizard opening his front door to see what was going on. Preferably a big, strong Wizard, one with a good aim. Then the voice came.
"What took you so long? Get it in here."
Dawn's last shred of hope died. She felt herself being shoved, then practically flung forwards until her body collided painfully with a hard stone floor. The door was slammed and bolted behind her and the sack yanked roughly from her head. She began coughing violently, and barely registered the metallic clang of a cage door being locked behind her.
When she caught her breath, it took a few moments of blinking furiously to get her eyes adjusted to the bright lighting in the room. Then Dawn lifted her head to stare fearfully up at her captors.
She gasped.
The Marauders sat in their usual booth at the back of the Three Broomsticks, each clasping a bottle of warm butterbeer in one hand. They talked and laughed, and generally kept the entire pub amused by their antics.
The hours rolled on, dusk giving way to fully-fledged evening. Still the boys, enjoying a rare moment of their friendship as effortlessly as it used to come, showed no sign of heeding the curfew they'd already missed and returning to Hogwarts.
"It's getting late, you know," remarked Rosmerta, placing their fifth round of bottles on the table. "Not that we don't love having you boys here, of course," she winked.
Remus checked his watch. "Damn. There goes dinner. I think we'll have to get this round to go, Rosmerta," he told her.
They settled their accounts and left the Three Broomsticks, opting to take the Honeydukes passage in the hopes of avoiding Filch and detention. Considering dinner had long since stopped being served in the Great Hall, they headed straight down to the Kitchens for their meal.
"Sirs is come back!" the House-Elves squealed, clambering to get at their visitors.
One of them stepped into the forefront. "Sirs is being out past curfew again, isn't they? Locky hopes Sirs is being careful, and Locky is happy to bring them a late dinner!"
Sirius gave a sheepish grin. "You got us again, Locky. Dinner would be great, thanks."
The boys moved further into the Kitchens, Locky ushering them into their usual table. "Dinner is being just a moment, Sirs. But Sir Padfoot? Locky must- may Locky be asking Sir Padfoot a question?" the House-Elf asked, suddenly a little bashful.
"'Course you can. Fire away," Sirius shrugged.
"Where is Sir Padfoot's pretty girlfriend? We House-Elves is missing Mistress Dawn terribly, every day we is hoping Sir Padfoot will be bringing her down to the Kitchens on another date," Locky gushed.
James winced as Sirius' face became suddenly stony. Remus looked away, almost embarrassed, and Peter gave a little shiver.
"Is it cold in here?" he asked innocently.
The blue of Sirius' eyes had gone decidedly stormy. "Dawn's around somewhere I guess," he said shortly.
At being spoken to so coldly, Locky realised she'd said something to upset Sirius. She was on the verge of bursting into tears until Remus quickly averted the disaster.
"Is dinner ready yet, please Locky?" he asked mildly. When she scurried off, the werewolf gave Sirius a pointed look, clearly telling him to mind himself and not cause any trouble. Sirius looked away moodily.
A handful of the House-Elves reappeared and laid out a large spread for them, which kept the boys busy for quite some time. It was getting late in the evening when finally they slipped back into their Common Room. The few groups of people scattered about looked up at the belated entrance, but once they realised who it was they simply shrugged and returned to their various activities.
Two faces, however, continued to frown at the boys as they threw themselves in front of the fire. After a few minutes of feeling the stares on him, James craned his neck and raised his eyebrows in silent question to Lily and Isabel. For once Lily's frown was not annoyed, but concerned, and when she didn't scowl as their eyes met, James knew he'd be insane not to take the chance this time. He sauntered over to the girls.
"Whitman. Evans," he drawled.
"Where's Dawn?" Lily asked briskly, ignoring his casual manner.
At the question, James stood up a little straighter. "What d'you mean, 'where's Dawn'? I thought she'd be with you!" he said, not at all liking what his gut was already starting to tell him.
Isabel shook her head. "No. she left us in Hogsmeade to go with you lot, remember? None of you showed up for dinner, so we thought she'd stayed with you," she explained.
It was James' turn to shake his head. "We met Sirius at the Three Broomsticks just after sunset. Obviously she didn't join us… she came back here alone."
"You let her walk back alone in the dark!?" Lily shrieked. "You morons!"
Every head in the Common Room snapped up at the familiar sound of their shrieking Prefect. James shifted uncomfortably.
"She told us not to worry," he mumbled defensively.
Lily huffed.
"Are you sure she didn't just go straight up to your dorm?" he asked, his face lighting up with hope at the thought.
Isabel took off for the girls' staircase without a word. James held his breath, and Lily fidgeted nervously the entire time Isabel was gone. After one minute that felt like ten ticked slowly by, she came jogging back into the Common Room. The deep lines of worry crossing the blonde's face answered all questions before they were asked. James and Lily shot to their feet as Remus, Peter and Sirius came over to see what the fuss was.
"What-?" Remus began.
"Dawn," James cut him off. "She didn't show for dinner and she's not in the girls' dorm."
His hazel eyes bored into the sky blue of his best friend's, and James was sure he was the only one to see the slight flicker of fear that rippled through the otherwise impassive face of Sirius.
Remus' logical thinking kicked in after a beat. "Where else would she have gone, then? The Library?"
"We'll check," Lily immediately offered.
"Take Peter with you," Remus returned.
Lily, Isabel and Peter scrambled for the portrait hole. Filch and curfews be damned.
"The map," Sirius blurted.
James and Remus took off for their dorm, already several paces behind Sirius. By the time they reached their destination, Sirius had the Marauders' Map spread out over the floor and was staring at it intently. They dropped to their knees and began poring over the parchment, inch by inch.
Lily and Isabel were sprinting for the Library, Peter lagging some ways behind. Filch was prowling around the fifth floor. Professor Damus was floating around the Divination tower like a helium balloon. Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, it seemed, were getting very close in the seventh year Slytherin boys' dorm. But Dawn was nowhere to be seen on the Map. The three boys shared a horrified look.
"Dawn never made it back to Hogwarts," James realised.
A.N.Did I not promise you action would be coming soon? XX
