Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la laaaa, la la la laa!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter, fa la la la laaa, la la la laa! ;)
Merry Christmas guys! And Happy Holidays as well! :) Hope it's a grand one, and I hope this chapter make all of your holidays even better!
And without much further adieu - Read, Review, and Enjoy!
EDIT 6/1/12: For a better reading experience, all review replies and old, unimportant ANs were removed. Any questions, just PM me
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, anything pertaining to Inuyasha nor Harry Potter. Just the ideas that pop into my mind ;)
—Getting Settled—
Cheers roared around her as she trotted to the table, but they went unheard.
Had she been a normal child – a normal eleven year old witch who was just Sorted into the House of her dreams for years – she would have been ecstatic, excited, and grinning like a fool.
But that was the thing. She wasn't any normal eleven year old – to be honest, normal hasn't been an available word to describe her since before her fifteenth birthday back in the 90s.
Certainly normal people weren't thrown five hundred years in the past to trigger a catalyst that ended her up with a ragtag group of treasure hunters and a egomaniac on their asses, dying, and then resurrected and thrown forward yet still back twenty years before she was even born with a seemingly impossible mission.
No, she really didn't think so...
And this, coming here to Hogwarts, just made it all real. Like the severity of her mission just suddenly and finally sunk in as she found herself surrounded by people, who more than half of which, will be dead by 1997. That in thirty years this wonderful castle wouldn't look as such.
Or at least, unless she, a twenty-three year old stuck in the body of an eleven year old, did something to stop that.
Blankly, she sat next to her brother and absently paid attention as the Sorting resumed.
The moment she sat, an arm was tossed along her shoulders.
"Can you believe it? We're both officially Gryffindors!" James cheered loudly, grinning hugely as he pumped a fist in the air.
Kagome allowed her lips to twitch slightly. When she thought back on it, it could have been worse. Having James as a brother, always there to cheer her up, certainly lightened her burden. "Was there really any doubt?" she murmured wryly, peering at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Pssshh," James scoffed, drawing the word out for a ridiculous length. "For you, maybe! I always knew I was a shoe in for Gryffindor! You though," he went on, poking at her side. "It took forever to Sort you !" James needled.
Kagome couldn't help but let out at a helpless giggle, and grumbled when she managed to smack the offending finger away.
James grinned, snickering. "What, did it want to put you in Slytherin?" he joked, nudging at her laughingly.
Instead of laughing it off with him like he expected, Kagome looked down, her hair falling to hide in her face. When she spoke, James' face faltered at the troubled, hesitant tone she took on, the arm around her shoulders stiffening.
"W-what if it did...?" she wondered softly.
James froze, any and all color draining from his face in a split second. "What?" he blurted out in an overly dramatic, scandalized whisper.
Across from them, Sirius was looking on in shock. "Did she just say-" he stopped short, baffled.
Her, in the running for Slytherin? A Potter, from a long line of Gryffindors?
Fortunately, Kagome's hair hid her face from them – it wouldn't do for them to see the grin threatening to break through. "The hat almost did Sort me into Slytherin... I – I had to beg it to Sort me into Gryffindor with you J-James..." she confessed, adding a tremor to her voice.
The added crack in her voice as she said his name was a nice touch, if she thought so herself.
James and Sirius were looking at her in blank astonishment, as if they didn't even recognize her. "R-really?" James stammered confusedly, not knowing what to think.
Slytherins were, without a doubt, pure evil!
But Kagome – his twin sister! She was the opposite of evil!
Okay, sure, maybe she wasn't innocent like an angel or whatever – but she wasn't nearly bad enough to be put in with the snakes.
Kagome glanced up at him, and let loose the grin that was fighting to show itself. "No, you prat!" she exclaimed dryly, shoving him. "And even if it was true, it shouldn't matter – there's nothing wrong with being in Slytherin!"
A scoff was heard a couple students down, and they heard someone – a girl - mutter, "Don't let the other Gryffindors hear that..."
James was staring at Kagome – at a cross between grinning and scowling at her tricks. "Then what took it so long?" he muttered, huffing impatiently.
Kagome rolled her eyes fondly. "Well, what can I say? It's not every day you meet a talking hat that can read your mind – decided we ought to have a nice chat while we had the chance," she drawled sarcastically.
A snort from across from her garnered the twins' attention. "No time better than the middle of a Sorting, I s'pose," Sirius murmured dryly.
The twins laughed.
"Shhh!" another person said from down the table.
The three friends turned at the sound, only to find a boy, older of course, mock-glaring at them. "Y'know, some people are trying to watch the Sorting," he remarked. He had short, light brown hair. His face was cherubic, but it was baby fat more than anything, and he stared at them with a teasing glint to his brown-eyed gaze.
While at first Sirius looked a little affronted, his face contorted into confusion when James and Kagome only grinned. "Hey Frank!" they chirped together, before their grins turned devilish. "It's going to be wonderful, being in the same House as you," James went onto saying, a particular tone to his voice. "Isn't it?"
Frank stilled, his face faltering. If one looked closely, the hairs on his arms rose.
Kagome nodded, eyes innocent. "Yes, just brilliant," she drawled out sweetly.
Frank's throat bobbled. "I was only teasing, you know that, right?" he asked, unsure.
James and Kagome shared a contemplative look, before turning back and smiling comfortingly at the boy. "Yeah, we know," Kagome admitted.
Frank relaxed; the tension melting from his face was obvious.
"But we didn't forget what happened last time you came over during the summer," James suddenly said, eyes glinting wickedly.
Now Kagome nodded solemnly this time. "We did promise you that we'll be getting you back," she said.
Frank's eyes widened. "You guys did get me back!" he hissed, body tensing. "Thanks to you I can never look at a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans without flinching!"
The ludicrousness of that statement alone had Sirius laughing under his breath.
Alas, the twins only snickered. "Silly, silly Frank," Kagome tutted admonishingly, and beside her, James' shoulders were shaking from silent laughter. "So naive, so innocent...it's adorable, really."
"I thought you knew us better than to believe that was getting you back," James said with false sadness. "No, that was just the pre-prank," he explained patiently, taking immense and obvious pleasure in the way Frank groaned.
"Pre-prank?" Sirius cut in, curious and very, very intrigued as he grinned at the show before him.
James grinned hugely and nodded before leaning forward and whispering. "Yeah, pre-prank – you know, the prank you pull to trick people into relaxing before you pull the actual prank?" he said softly so no one would overhear.
The red-head beside Sirius scoffed in disdain. "Oh really, pranks? Please don't say you're actually going to do something as childish as that?" she wondered.
James stared at Lily blankly. "But... we are children..." he said slowly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Kagome's lips twitched.
Lily blinked, her cheeks heating up, but didn't back down. "So? It doesn't mean you have to act so immature. We're witches and wizards, here to learn magic," she said, a hint of wonder creeping into her voice. And then she pinned them with a narrowed eyed stare. "Why would you want to distract from that?" she demanded, arms crossed.
Kagome grinned widely at Lily, elbowing her brother before he opened his mouth and sprouted out something rude and tactless, like always. "Who says we can't make learning magic a little more fun? Besides, we won't be learning it every minute we're here."
James was glaring at her, while Lily merely stared. "But, you'll get in trouble..." she drew out slowly.
Sirius snickered loudly. "Only if we get caught," he managed to say between laughs.
Lily frowned, unconvinced, before shaking her head and turning away to watch the Sorting again just in time to hear Severus get his name called.
An anxious look crossed her face as she watched him step up to the stool.
James and Sirius frowned in distaste at the sight of Severus.
"Snivellus," James muttered darkly. Sirius, who managed to overhear him, snorted in laughter.
Lily turned in a flash, glaring between the two. "Shut it, you two prats," she snapped in a threatening hiss, eyes flashing and all, before she pointedly turned away.
The two boys had frozen at her glare, and shared looks when she turned away.
"Merlin, she's scary," James mumbled in awe.
Sirius could only nod. "Understatement," he muttered back.
Kagome rolled her eyes, and reached over to flick James' nose, snatching her hand away before he had the chance to bat at it. "Maybe that'll teach you not to make fun of other people's friends," she reprimanded softly, frowning as she caught Lily's face falling just as the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
Lily's eyes trailed after her friend as he slowly tread to the Slytherin table, mouthing 'Sorry' once he finally glanced her way, solemn.
"Hey, he's just in another House – it's not like you won't see him or anything," Kagome told her softly.
A strangled sound escaped from James throat, said boy staring at the girl in astonishment, and Kagome flashed him a quick glare that said 'Say anything, and the consequences won't be pretty'.
Suffice to say, James kept his mouth shut, and huffed before turning away. Sirius, who was watching, wisely stayed silent as well.
Merlin, all girls really were crazy scary...
And he thought it was only the ones in his family...
Lily bit her lip, but managed to give Kagome a half-smile. "Yeah, you're right..." she murmured.
—o—o—o—o—
The end of the Sorting led to the beginning of the feast. Once that was over with, Dumbledore graced them with one last farewell speech before ushering them off to their dorms.
They ended up at the Gryffindor tower soon enough, where a prefect gave them a little background information on the House and told them the password.
"G'night James," Kagome mumbled, a little down as they stood between the staircases to the boys and girls dorms.
It was little sad to realize that for the next ten months, she wouldn't be able to open her door to the hallway and walk the exact fifteen and a half steps down to his room whenever she couldn't sleep. It was like a security blanket she never realized that was there, and took for granted, had vanished.
James seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he pulled his sister in a hug. "G'night Kagome," he whispered.
A soft snort, as if to cover for a snicker, gathered their attention. Sirius was watching with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Awh, so sweet," he cooed teasingly.
Kagome's eyes flashed wickedly, and she stepped back from James and approached Sirius. Seeing her expression, Sirius stiffened warily. "Oi! What are you doing...?" he said, trying to sound threatening and demanding.
Kagome just smiled innocently as she came closer. "Oh, nothing..." she said sweetly. It was just a second later before she was close enough and struck. "Good night Sirius!" she exclaimed rather loudly as she glomped him, causing anyone who was still in the common room to look over.
James chuckled wryly as he watched Sirius freeze, his cheeks practically glowing a bright red.
He stepped forward just as his sister let go, and clapped Sirius on the back. "There's something you need to know about Kagome, mate. Don't tease her unless you've prepared to either take the consequences or escape them."
He learned the hard way a long time ago...
"Duly noted," Sirius grumbled before turning on his heel to climb the stairs, a pout on his face.
James shook his head, watching his new friend. "I like him," he announced, grinning, before he climbed up the stairs after his friend.
Kagome's lips twitched. "Yeah, I knew you would," she murmured wryly to herself as she turned and climbed the opposite set of stairs.
Kagome pushed open the door leading to the girl's first year dorms to see three others filling it.
There were four four-poster beds, two facing two others. Two girls already occupied the pair of beds against the stone wall. The other two beds were situated by the windows, and Lily was at the one closest to the entrance.
Kagome found her trunk at the end of the last bed, on the other side of the room. Kirara was already curled up on top of the sheets.
"Hey," Kagome said as she walked in, introducing herself to her new roommates for the next seven years. "I'm Kagome Potter."
"Mary MacDonald," a small, slight girl from across the room said back. Her tone was nothing but soft and polite, and her face expressing genuine kindness. She had light brown hair cut to right below her chin and dark blue eyes.
"Alicia Vance," the other girl greeted. She had mousy brown hair, and hazel eyes. She was a tiny girl, but there was a fire in her gaze despite her size, and for some reason, in Kagome's mind, the name 'Emmeline Vance' arose. "Nice to meet you."
Tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, Lily's green gaze flickered between the two girls, before settling on Kagome. "Lily Evans," she murmured, lips quirked in a lop-sided, friendly smile at the female Potter.
Kagome smiled, dipping her head. "Pleasure to meet you all," she chirped happily, shuffling over to her bed and falling into it.
'This will be an interesting seven years...'
—o—o—o—o—
By the time Kagome was dressed and headed downstairs, she found James and Sirius waiting for her in the common room – both looking as tired as she felt.
"Geeze, what took you so long?" James groaned tiredly, rubbing at his eyes.
"Four girls and one bathroom do not mix well," she remarked dryly. 'I am so not looking forward to the next six years – especially when it gets to the point when they start dressing up to impress boys and start wearing makeup,' she groused silently.
The next morning found the two twins groggily making the way to the Gryffindor table.
Upon reaching the Great Hall, not without getting lost taking a wrong turn, the first thing they were met with was Frank's snickering face. "Awh, little Potters sleepy?" he teased mildly. "Best get used to it – you'll be waking this early for the next seven years," the second year chortled gleefully.
James sidled him with a glare and Kagome twitched in irritation. "Best get used to looking over your shoulder for the next six," she muttered darkly as they took up their seats.
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to find your hair a different color every day you wake up," James grumbled.
Rolling his eyes, Frank scoffed, used to their threats by now. "There aren't that many colors that it'll be a different one for the next six years," he retorted skeptically.
James and Kagome shared a thoughtful look. "I dunno," Kagome muttered. "I think I'd be up to making up new ones if you are," she told her brother seriously.
James shrugged. "Why not? I'll have at least one thing to keep me entertained while I'm here," he yawned out.
Sirius, who had sat in front of them, grinned. "And I s'pose you could always mix colors too, like a rainbow," he murmured thoughtfully.
Frank tensed, and he whirled on Sirius. "Don't give them any ideas," he hissed frantically. "They're bad enough already!"
James merely cackled – it was an evil sound that sunk deep in the skin of those close enough to hear, provoking shivers. "But Frank, isn't that what friends do?" he asked in a much too innocent voice, especially with the wicked grin he was sporting. "Help each other and be supportive?"
Kagome grinned deviously. "Yes, and you should know that Sirius is our new friend... and what's even better, we're very much alike," she said suggestively, grin shifting into a smirk.
As they laughed at Frank's horrified face, Kagome looked over and saw Lily coming up to the table. She waved her over, interested in getting to know her future sister-in-law.
It'll be nice to have someone on her side when it came to James – Merlin knows James could be a right force on his own, but paired with Sirius? She was going to need as much help as she could get.
That, and it was always nice to have leverage over her twin for a rainy day and whatnot...
Biting her lip, Lily shifted glances of distaste between James and Sirius, before pointedly sitting next to Kagome. "G'mornin'," she mumbled sluggishly as she grabbed for some toast.
"Hey," Kagome greeted back, reaching over to pour herself some orange juice.
Absentmindedly, Lily reached over to the jam, before pausing and blinking. "What kind of jam is this?" she asked, staring weirdly at the orange substance.
Lips twitching, Kagome glanced over. "Hm, marmalade," she murmured. "Not so bad – not my favorite maybe, but it's good..."
"I prefer strawberry..." Lily mumbled; she took some anyway and Kagome chuckled softly.
—o—o—o—o—
"Hello class," welcomed a slow, baritone voice.
The classroom was quiet – the children, attentive.
You would figure that a room full of naïve first years attending their first class would be a little less so – that excited chatter would fill the room with curious murmurs of how their first class might go. And with that, it would require a few moments before they settled down.
That wasn't the case here.
The man that stood before them emanated a formidable presence that demanded silence and respect.
Head held high and shoulders set straight, hazel eyes flickered analytically among the room - scanning over the various faces, taking them in and familiarizing himself. Scattered scars littered a worn face, faint white lines contrasting deeply to tan skin.
"Welcome to your first class of the Defense Against the Dark Arts," the man went on. "As you know, my name is Professor McGreggor. I am a former Auror, and have just retired last year." He paused there and looked at them squarely in the eyes, his gaze hard before he finished his speech with an ominous flare.
"My job here as your Professor is to prepare you to survive."
Everyone just stared at him – the silence was so thick and tense, you could hear a pin drop from outside the room.
The silence didn't seem to bother him as he went on to ask impassively, "Any questions?"
There was – one. A boy, from Slytherin, raised his hand.
Professor McGreggor's eyes narrowed at the young boy, before glancing down at his attendance sheet. "Mulciber, isn't it?" he questioned.
The boy, black haired, brown eyed, and pale skinned, nodded.
"Well, do go on," the Professor prompted, an eyebrow raised.
"We're first years," the boy began, a skeptical look about him. "I don't think we'll have dark wizards coming after us," he remarked.
James and Kagome shared a meaningful look.
The Professor stared at the child, before his gaze flickered between the Potter twins. "You would think that, wouldn't you?" he mused. "Sadly, that isn't how the world works. Last year, two dark wizards were sent to abduct a pair of ten-year olds from their village. A chase was initiated, and they certainly weren't pulling any punches with the spells they were sending."
At that, many faces paled and eyes widened in shock and fear.
From under the desk, Kagome grabbed James' hand, squeezing. The gesture had him relaxing his tense shoulders, and the anger in his eyes faded as he turned to look at him.
'We're safe – I'm safe,' her gaze told him silently. 'It's okay.'
James gave her an imperceptible nod, as well as a tiny, grateful smile.
A grim look overtook the Professor's expression. "I won't sugar coat it," he told his class frankly. "Age doesn't mean a thing when it comes to dark wizards. Who do you think a murderer is? A person with honor?" McGreggor said lowly. "You think someone who has killed countless others would feel guilty about killing a student and actually turn away at the face of one?"
His eyes passed each and every one of them, not expecting an answer as he continued. "If it helps you sleep at night, go ahead and think that," he told them bluntly. "But we're not here for you to think nothing in the world will hurt you because that is a lie and it will only serve to get yourself killed. You're here to be prepared when someone tries, and so you can sleep soundly at night knowing you can defend yourself."
Well, if it was ever a question that the class would be lax one or not, they certainly had their answer now...
—o—o—o—o—
"Well, that was interesting," Sirius drawled dryly as they left DADA and headed to their next class of the day – Potions.
James and Kagome let out a collective snort. "You're telling me," James muttered.
Kagome nodded. "Well, we always knew McGreggor wasn't one to kid around," she pointed out. "He always was serious – with, like, everything."
James scoffed incredulously. "I know! Remember when hexed me last year when I was trying to set the dungbombs?"
Kagome bit her lip, trying not to laugh as the memory resurfaced. "Well, I don't think anyone would appreciate dungbombs being set up in their office James..." she murmured wryly.
James immediately became indignant. "It wasn't funny!" he exclaimed in outrage. "It was an hour before I could sit down again without wincing!"
Sirius' lips were twitching though. "Stinging hex?" he asked knowingly.
Kagome's snickers were answer enough.
"How do you guys know him, anyways?" Sirius asked, curious.
"Oh, our dad's Head Auror," James explained, grinning proudly.
Sirius let out an acknowledging hum as he lazily stretched his hands behind his head. "Y'know, I wonder who those two kids that were attacked are," he mumbled. "Weird how someone would go after just a couple of kids, don't you think?"
James and Kagome shared significant looks. "Not so weird when you think about it. We've heard lots of rumors going around, lots of people disappearing. Important people," Kagome commented.
A serious look crossed the young Black's face. "I know," he murmured solemnly, eyes flickering about as his voice dropped to a whisper. "Heard my mum and dad talking about it before – the people disappearing. What it means..." he trailed off uncomfortably. "But those were adults – why were a couple of kids so important?"
James shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away, muttering darkly. "Not their kids – their parents."
Sirius blinked at him, before eyes widening, catching on quickly. "Kidnap the kids for what – blackmail?" he murmured in shock, and his eyes widened even more so. "That... actually makes a lot of sense..."
Kagome snorted. "You're telling me," she muttered, clenching her fists.
Sirius paused, and looked between the two siblings, taking in Kagome's clenched fists and James' dark look. The image of the Professor, glancing at the two twins, flashed in his mind. Two ten year olds... last year... "You said your dad's Head Auror?" he asked quietly.
Kagome and James gave him noncommittal nods.
"Position like that, has to mean he's skilled and has considerable political pull," he murmured, his lessons on wizarding politics coming to mind. "And he's a Potter, which gives him even more power in the Ministry. Pretty dangerous for dark wizards... makes sense people would try to kidnap his kids for blackmail," he remarked in a soft, casual voice.
The twins' heads snapped towards him in astonishment. "You figured that out pretty quickly," Kagome commented, impressed. She didn't bothering to deny it.
Sirius shrugged. "Your looks gave it away – it was just connecting the dots after that." He stared between the two, a mixed light of curiosity and worry evident in his gray eyes. "How'd you manage to get away?"
At this, the two twins shared a devious smile. "Let's just say they made the mistake of attacking us in our own territory," James said smugly.
Kagome's smile widened with an edge of deviousness. "The forest can be a very, very dangerous place. Who knows what kind of accidents one can have..." she trailed off with dramatic mysteriousness.
Sirius laughed. "I barely know you and I can already say with confidence - accident my bloody arse!"
The pair only snickered evilly.
—o—o—o—o—
"Welcome class," chirped the jovial Potions Professor once everyone was seated, and he graced them with a wide, friendly smile, "to your first year of Potions."
The Professor, an older gentleman with a bulging stomach and light brown hair that was noticeably graying, paced in front of them. "You will soon realize that Potions is much unlike your other classes. While it does not require much, if any, magic, it will require no less skill and focus. To be honest, it will require more."
Professor Slughorn, while amiable, was very serious when explaining this to them. "Potions making to me is a delicate art – a passion of mine, if I may say. Even a smidge of a difference in the amount of an ingredient, or a simple mistake of stirring clockwise instead of counterclockwise, could mean the difference between at best, a failed potion or the loss of your eyebrows," he said, pausing as some of the children snickered. "Or at worst, a serious injury or, even, death."
No one laughed then. A certain obsidian, long hair Slytherin stared interestedly at the teacher, leaning forward ever so slightly and listening intently. Dark eyes were bright with excitement.
"Yes," Slughorn murmured solemnly. "You see how disastrous even the slightest mistake can be, which is why I allow for no horseplay. But worry not, you are only in your first year – you will not be crafting any advance potions so you need not worry about causing yourself serious bodily harm. That's not until you reach your fifth year," he said nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.
From the look of the apprehensive faces of the children occupying his classroom, it didn't seem to comfort them much...
The whole class jumped as Slughorn let out a loud clap. "Now, as you can see you are sitting at a table of four. At times, I will allow for all four to work together. However, most of your potions will be done in pairs or individually," he informed them. "For when working in pairs, your partner will be the one sitting beside you. Take this time to introduce yourselves – you'll be working together for the next year."
Kagome turned, and smiled at the sandy-haired boy sitting beside her, and held out her hand. "Hi there, I never got to introduce myself earlier - I'm Kagome Potter."
The boy responded with a small smile and hesitantly grasped her hand, shaking it. "Remus Lupin," the boy murmured softly, almost as if he was apprehensive.
"Okay class, as usual, I ask my first years to individually brew a simple potion to evaluate your skill. Open your books to chapter one. I will write the instructions and ingredients for your potion on the board, and will explain the process once you are all finished reading. Begin."
—o—o—o—o—
Kagome was in the process of adding her porcupine quills to the potion when snickering sounding from across from her caught her attention. Eyebrows furrowing, she dropped the ingredient into her still simmering cauldron and looked up to see James and Sirius snickering together, heads crooked towards the other.
Kagome held back a groan as she realized what they were doing. It was an act James and her did constantly at home – especially when Frank was around and had irritated them.
Plotting.
'I'm going to regret asking...' she moaned silently as she stirred her potion. "What are you guys planning?" she hissed softly, looking surreptitiously over at the Professor.
Luckily for them, he was conveniently on the other side of the room.
James and Sirius froze, heads snapping up and eyes wide as if they were just caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
But as it was only Kagome, they relaxed and grinned. "Oh, nothing. We were just discussing the possible effects of a dungbomb mixing with one of these potions," Sirius said cheekily.
Kagome could see Remus cast an incredulous glance at the pair from the corner of her eyes.
Kagome frowned at them. "Guys, that's a little dangerous don't you think?" she said uneasily. "That could cause some serious reaction and hurt someone."
James waved her off. "The Professor said we won't have to worry about killing ourselves until fifth year," he argued. "Worst that'll happen is someone's hair is blown off."
Kagome crossed her arms, glaring. "Don't," she warned. "Anyways, there's no point starting something this early. Let them have at least one day of peace. Merlin knows they won't see another until we graduate..."
James sighed, sticking out his tongue. "Spoil sport," he muttered. "We weren't going to do anything today anyways – I still need to order some dungbombs."
"Besides," Sirius said, shrugging. "We'll save that for people we really don't like."
Kagome only groaned and returned to her potion, which was finished by now. "By the way," she muttered as she poured a sample of the finish product into a flask. "You ought to pay more attention to your potions – they're a smoking, nasty brown instead of pale blue and calm," she commented casually.
James and Sirius let out alarmed yelps, returning to their potions, and Remus half-smiled as he added steamed horned slugs into his potion.
"I have a feeling they'll only be getting worse from here," Kagome commented quietly, shaking her head.
There was a small, dry snort. "Be sure to sit a good ways back just in case then..." Remus muttered absently.
Kagome chuckled wryly, "Good advice," she mused and made a show of scooting back.
It was a good thing she did too, as James potion, which was right across from her, suddenly exploded in front of him.
—o—o—o—o—
"Ugh," James groaned, smacking his lips. "I think I still got some of this stuff in my mouth..." he mumbled, grimacing as they made their way to lunch.
Kagome looked over at her brother and had to bite down a snicker. His face was mottled with black spot stains that would be there for the next few days. "You're lucky whatever you did somehow made the potion freeze on your face instead of burning it," she muttered in exasperation. "You could have gotten some serious burns there," she chided.
Sirius snorted. "Too bad we couldn't keep some of that stuff though."
James nodded eagerly. "I know, right? I bet we could have found something useful to do with it – ice the floors, make it slippery. Be great in the entry way for the Great Hall, or some of the classrooms. Random spots in the hall..."
Kagome slapped her forehead as they completely glossed over how close James came to being hurt.
Boys...
She didn't even know why she bothered.
—o—o—o—o—
"Oh, no..." Sirius groaned suddenly in the middle of lunch, his fork still in mid-air, mere inches from its destination.
Kagome and James stopped eating at that, looking over at him.
Sirius wasn't staring at them, but across the Great Hall and up in the air.
They followed his gaze and stopped short, wincing and sucking in sympathetic hisses of air.
A large, dark brown horned owl soared through the air, heading for their table. In it's claws was a letter that no one could miss. It's bright red color caught the attention of almost everyone in the hall, and a hush fell upon them as eyes turned to stare the owl down.
A howler.
And from the looks of it – it was meant for Sirius.
"I'm surprised it took her so long, really," Sirius muttered as he waited for his impending doom.
It took less than ten seconds for the owl to make it over to him. The owl dropped the letter before him and turned sharply, flapping its wings almost frantically as if knowing what was to come.
There was a beat of silence, before the letter began shaking ominously.
People around them were scooting away, shooting the Black heir pitying looks. Others looked on in interest – a certain selection from the Slytherin table looked on with glee.
The letter finally shot up and ripped open, forming lips. And suddenly, everyone cringed in their seats as the most terrifying, ear-splitting, nails on a chalkboard voice cried out in a echoing splendor. "Sirius Orion Black!" the voice painfully screeched out.
"I cannot believe you! You! The heir to the most Noble and Ancient House of Black! How dare you smear the honor of our ancestors! How dare you disrespect the long held tradition! A Gryffindor of all things! Long enough have I put up with your acts of disrespect to the ways of the Blacks! No longer will you be shown the leniency we have been gracious enough to grant you by looking over your mistakes!"
Sirius was cringing slightly every time his mother's voice went so high it cracked. The faint blush on his cheeks deepened slightly with each passing second. But at that last part, Sirius couldn't help but stare at the letter incredulously.
'Leniency?' he mouthed in disbelief. "What a crazy old hag..."
Beside him, James snorted, rubbing at his ringing ears.
"No longer will-!"
Suddenly, a bright light flashed shot past and the howler suddenly burst into flames early. They turned to the culprit, and Kagome stared back innocently. "Oops. Wand slipped," she offered nonchalantly, inwardly thankful for the spell that suddenly slipped into her mind and her impulsiveness for casting it.
That voice was giving her a damned migraine...
The grin Sirius shot her was nothing short of grateful.
Words- 5,737
Well? Well? Lol, whatchya think? ;)
Happy Holidays everyone, and specifically, Merry Christmas to all those celebrate! :D
Till laters!
RainLily^^
A big huge honking thanks to all those who read, alerted, and fav'd this fic, and to these awesome reviewers!
MoonPrincess1989, ObsidianFrost, TigerBones, Taylor, Magykrider, greeen-eyed beauty, SasoLOVE111, Anber, Kayla44, Chibisemo, GintsukiKyu, Shadow Hidden By the Moon, ShadowCrawlerCiel, To A cErTaIn KiTsUnE, Maxeyn, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, darksilvercloud, Kakashixangela, Pinkbubblegum13, ArmyWife22079, Kenjo, Bunny.W.K, TsukiyoTenshi, HyperCricket, fan of fic, Janisu, InfiniteWhiplash, Mirabar, LoneWolfSage, NightSky, Valleygoat, TruthOfSelf, Avulocard21, Kitsune-miko-witch, KagHieiLuver, darkhanyouqueen, Venas, Tenshi 'Gome, InuTrickster, ShiTsukisama, Scrawny Scrivener, Allie