Chapter Twenty-Six

Killjoys of All Sorts

The grounds were warm that morning. Warm, as in cheeks flushed and reflective sheens on the skin of our arms. Needless to say, the walk outside had not been relaxing in any sort, and with the looming thought of the Charms NEWT awaiting us later that afternoon, tensions were running pretty high.

So, naturally, Sirius and I were fighting.

"Why are you always running your mouth?" I demanded, cutting my stride short and glaring up at him. "Don't you know how to close that thing, or do I need to introduce your mouth to a Permanent Sticking Charm?"

The argument was ridiculous, but that was irrelevant.

His expression remained indifferent, as we'd been fighting for months and this fight had been ongoing for five minutes already; I supposed these types of situations no longer fazed him. "Why must you criticize everything I do?"

He'd made a snarky comment about Ravenclaw, like always, just to antagonize me. He'd wanted me to get angry, and as much as I'd wanted to keep my tongue, I had to retaliate, because—well, it was a long story of details that have not currently been disclosed.

As they say, he that has patience can have what he will...

"Well, it's hard not to when you're screaming everything in my ear!" I replied haughtily. More like with force. Again, irrelevant.

There was a general sigh that fell around us. As I said before, tensions were already high, and our routinely altercation was not aiding anyone's nerves in the slightest. James was the one to voice what seemed to be the group's thoughts. "Could you two stop going at it for one morning?"

"Please!" insisted Lily, desperately, catching on quickly. "We've got our Charms NEWT and I'm already stressed enough. I can't handle your bickering on top of this!"

I snapped on my heel to Sirius, attempting to hold myself with strict poise. "Did you hear that? Maybe you should take it to heart. Just because you have ambitions equivalent to that of failing doesn't mean everyone else has!"

"You don't quite seem to get it. Maybe it's not me with the issue."

"How could it not be? How could you even know? You don't consider anyone but yourself!"

Remus growled loudly. "Gracie, Sirius, for the love of Merlin, calm down..."

"You know what, Gracie?" Sirius said louder, overpowering Remus's voice. Peter was saying something about going insane, but I'd only heard half of it. "I suggest you go get whatever's stuck up your arse checked out, because it's obviously creating huge problems for you—"

"You git!"

Vaguely, I heard James saying, "Look, we are all sick of the two of you acting like this, and if you don't cut it out, I'm pretty sure Lily knows a good hex or two—"

I was aware of very few things at that point. I only really knew that the others were trying to pull us into the castle, with little success, and the six of us were completely blocking the pathway. But I hardly had time to breathe, let alone think courteous thoughts.

So, I went on.

"You prat! Worthless, selfish, awful prat!"

"Witch!"

"Yeah, I am a witch, genius!" Sirius and I were staring each other hard in the face now, gazes and jaws tense. "Damn well good luck to you on your NEWTs!"

Hello, ridiculous, haven't we met before?

It just so happened to be the breaking point, too.

"Will the two of you just shut..."

The rest of James's words were lost, however, because one moment Sirius and I were glaring bloody daggers at each other and the next we were laughing hysterically.

Everyone stopped abruptly.

"What?" came James's blank voice.

"What just happened?" asked Remus, evidently taken aback.

I turned to the four, smiling innocently. "What? I thought you wanted us to stop?"

"But you..."

"Come on, we should get inside. It's a bit warm out, isn't it?" Sirius said to me, pulling me to his side smoothly and wrapping an arm around my waist.

"You're right. I wonder what time it is? Maybe it's lunchtime already," I quipped hopefully.

Sirius's arm was the subtlest way he could think of to throw the announcement in their faces, and though they did not seem to immediately catch on, it did instantly spark suspicions.

We began to walk in the direction of the castle, and James, Remus, Lily and Peter trailed after us, hopelessly confused.

"Sirius, Gracie, get back here! WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"So you lied."

In my defense, it'd all been Sirius's idea. I'd ask him the night before how we'd tell the others that we were, well, together, and at first he'd shrugged and just suggested we just get it over with, but then his face had twisted into a mischievous smirk and I knew that for the sake of graduation and the closure to our long winded time at Hogwarts, we really were in dire need of a good, final prank to blow some steam.

"We didn't lie," Sirius corrected gracefully. "We were just having a bit of fun is all."

Remus did not look amused. "So, you lied."

James, on the contrary, clapped Sirius rather openly on the back. "Good job, mate! I thought you were going to end up as an old wrinkly bachelor, the rate you were going at!"

"Hey!"

"Well, honest. You were talking about asking a trillion girls to the Leaving Ball for weeks but you never once did anything about it. I was beginning to wonder if it was all talk or if you just had terribly cold feet."

We'd managed to explain it to them later, and though somewhat miffed at first, they were laughing about it only minutes later, saying things like they couldn't believe we'd come up with something so evil.

Lily was frowning deeply. "You never told me, Gracie."

"It only happened last night!"

James gasped. "So that's why Sirius wasn't in bed last night!"

I raised a brow at him. "I'm a little afraid of what you're attempting to imply."

"The two of you were out shaggi—"

"Woah, mate! Stop right there!" Sirius said loudly, cutting across James. Then, after a moment, he added in a lower, sly tone, "Gracie doesn't want everyone knowing about all that."

"Sirius! We were not!"

He, however, was laughing too loudly with James to hear.

"So you two are together?" Lily asked cautiously. "Seriously?"

We'd been over it maybe a thousand times already, but it hadn't seemed to sink in for everyone yet. Hell, it hadn't for me, really, either. "I'm afraid so," I replied, shooting Sirius a mocking glare and stuck out my tongue.

"I can't believe you were only messing with us," said Peter, looking bewildered.

"Yeah," Remus agreed, "Lily looked ready for murder."

"I wasn't thinking far that much, but I was thinking I could use some practice with a Tickling Charm, and I wasn't afraid to try it on either of you!" she cried in one frantic breath, then slowly recollected her wits. "Oh, Merlin. I can't believe it, either."

"Evans, Black, Hachette—" Flitwick started crossly, then seemed to lose his patience and didn't seem to want to name every single one of us, "Oh, all of you, you are not permitted to sit so closely together! Realign your desks properly, please!"

"Oh, all right," Lily breathed without patience, and the rest of us groaned as we picked up our desks and dragged them back to their original spots.

Professor Flitwick shot a pointed look, more-so in the general direction of James and Sirius because they were notorious for doing terrible things in Charms class, before launching into his monologue. "Today we will be beginning the very first of your NEWTs. I would like to say that I am honored to have taught all of you these past seven years and I have complete faith in each and every one of you. You have all displayed great amounts of talent in what is considered a much higher level course, and you will all do well, I have no doubt. I would like to remind you that assisting each other on this exam is in no way, shape or form, acceptable, and if you proceed to do so, you will receive severe consequences accordingly..."

And he went on for what might have been an eternity for all I knew.

The rest of the day slid by surprisingly... well. Granted, I'd sat through four hours of the written Charms exam and gallivanted my way for another three hours through the practical portion—honestly, they weren't called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests for nothing—but it was still, in essence, a good day.

Things were normal, though nothing else around was. The fact that graduation was only two weeks away was alarming. I'd never be back here again, a place that had been as good as home for seven years...I promised myself ahead of time that I wasn't going to cry when we left. For some reason, though, it didn't feel to be too credible of a promise.

But things were going to be okay. Better than okay. Maybe we wouldn't be at school, but we'd all still be together. And Sirius and me...it just felt nice to be able to say that, Sirius and me, together. And I'd go visit my parents' new house in the States after graduation, and then I'd come back and be a part of the Order, and it would be scary and crazy and maybe even a little overwhelming, but it would all be okay.

I was happy, even, thinking of everything that was going to change in the next few months. So happy, actually, that I had difficulty keeping still.

"Gracie," Sirius said, a pile of parchment and library books in front of him, "what's the fifth theorem of inanimate transfiguration?"

"If the stars line up with the Jupiter, then a goblet will appear in place of the person, animal, or object you are focusing on," I replied airily, more concerned in the comic of Mary and Remus that I had enchanted to act out of the two falling into the Black Lake, and then afterwards, of course, falling in looove.

I didn't know if anything actually was going on between them, but I'd caught wind that he'd asked her to the Leaving Ball—I hadn't seen her or him, in fact, to confirm it, however—and it'd been on my mind ever since.

"Er, no," said Sirius, shooting me a peculiar look. Well, honestly, I hadn't been sure where my answer had come from, either. "It says that living beings that are transfigured into inanimate objects will retain their living qualities and functions until the transfiguration is reversed or eventually wears off."

I nodded my head generously, sketching out the final squares of my cartoon. "That's good."

"Good?"

"Well, at least it doesn't kill you. It's reassuring. You see, if I decided to transfigure you into a teacup right now, you wouldn't die, because you would, as you said, retain all of your living qualities and functions." I glanced up at him. "Yes?"

"I could have sworn you weren't even listening," he muttered, returning to his book.

The common room was swamped, even more so than usual. OWLs, NEWTs, and finals in general overlapped the last two weeks of school, and it was general chaos for everyone. I, however, chewed on a sugar quill and stroked Leo between the ears, who was curled up neatly on my lap. And so far, I hadn't studied a word.

"Would it be animal cruelty if I practiced transfiguration on Leo?" I asked suddenly.

Sirius looked concerned. "Very likely."

"Would it be rude if I practiced it on you, then?"

"Maybe not rude," he replied. "Maybe uncomfortable."

"For you or me?"

"Me, dolt."

"All right, then." I went back to the animated Mary and Remus.

"So, what are you actually studying there?" He pushed his book back and leaned forward to get a look.

"Erm, nothing of interest—hey!"

He'd snatched the parchment from me and held it up before his face, inspecting it. After a long moment, he burst out laughing. "Is this supposed to be Remus? He looks like a girl."

"He's a stick figure, how could he possibly look like a girl?" I said irritably, wrestling it back from him.

Sirius made an amused sound. "You really ought to study, Gracie. We've got Transfiguration tomorrow and Merlin knows that's never been your strong subject."

"Is that a challenge?"

"No. Don't even think about making my hair worms or whatever it is you did last time."

I sighed. "That was weeks ago, and I was mad at you. And you asked for it."

"I don't recall asking for that at all. That was horrifying."

It was, honestly. But it'd only lasted a matter of seconds before McGonagall had gone and reversed the spell and given me detention for the night. I'd had to scrub the trophy case, so it wasn't as if he could really complain.

"Fine," I groaned. "Can I borrow a book?"

"You don't have your own?"

"I've read A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration backwards and forwards already. Lily practically reads it to me as a bedtime story."

"Well, I suppose. I've got to go get other ones, though, because these are awful. The back nearly fell off of this one." He gestured to one of the books in his stack. "You've got to promise to study, though, too. No more of your nutty doodles."

I smirked. "You're just afraid I'll draw you next."

"I am not," he said, but after a moment he looked at me and narrowed his eyes. "Don't."

"I won't. We should take a trip to the library!" I shot up from my seat abruptly and pulled him along after me. Leo shrieked as he landed swiftly on the ground, and I apologized quickly and planted a kiss on top of his little kitty head. I spun back to Sirius. "Come on, pleaseee! We've been sitting here for hours! Sitting stationary gives you a flat bum!"

"Who've you got to impress with a round bum?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Come on, you're slow!"

He mumbled something about 'ignoring his question,' but I dragged him along out of the common room and down the twists and turns of the corridors so I didn't have to give a proper response. We'd managed to get half of the length of the castle before Sirius started to lag again, and I stopped pulling him when he got to be equivalent to the weight of the castle.

I pouted at him.

"I think that you just walk too fast," Sirius grumbled. "Wait, stop, I need a breather."

"A breather? Honestly, how old are you, ninety?"

And then all of a sudden, Sirius had spun me around and caught me in his arms, meeting his mouth with mine. I let out a girly giggle without really meaning to, but found that didn't really matter because I was suddenly too preoccupied to think. It started slow, but fervor had a way of spreading like an infectious wildfire, and every inch of my skin and every thought in my head was soon ablaze.

Oh, God, did I love Sirius.

He arched his chin back momentarily, parting our lips in that tempting way he liked to tease me with. My fingers paused on his jaw, and I opened my eyes to see what it was that'd caused him to pause. But he was just smiling at me, like maybe he'd forgotten what I looked like, and kissed me again. I didn't hesitate. I don't think I could have if I tried. The caress of his lips against mine was maddening, but strangely gentle. He moaned ever so slightly, partly from craze and also partly from annoyance, because we were really supposed to be studying, as easy as it was to forget about...

And as much as I would have loved to forget about Transfiguration for the entire day, or maybe my entire life (yes, that sounded lovely, didn't it?), I let the flames simmer and we slowly pulled apart.

My heart really wanted to remind me it was still there, I noticed. Shut up, stupid heart. I blinked. Wait, don't. Bad idea.

"You're so easily distracted," Sirius teased, pecking me on the cheek and then grabbing my hand. "We are going to study, whether you attack me like that again or not."

"Hey!" I gasped, jabbing him in the side. "You're the one that started that!"

"Did I?"

"Yes."

"I don't remember that."

"How about I make you remember?"

He paused shortly. "How will you do that?"

I scoffed, as if the answer was obvious. He didn't seem to catch on. "Well, what?" He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, it was just meant to sound threatening. Leave me alone."

"No, thank you."

So we continued our walk to the library, me groaning and complaining the entire way, while he hummed and sang (he'd stolen my hyperactivity, it seemed) and recited more Transfiguration theorems to me.

My head started to hurt as he explained animaguses to me idly—for some reason, this was a particular interest of his—and I found myself wondering instead how the castle could be so bloody large.

I thought wizards rode, like, flying carpets and stuff? Merlin.

A/N: Do you guys like shorter or longer chapters? I'm starting to think I cram too much into one chapter. (Not particularly this one - this one has like one small plot point in it. Blrrrrggh. That's why it's so short - well, short for me. o.O The next one will have more, anyway.) GAH I HATE SCHOOL! I have no time for anything!

Also, sorry for not replying to anyone's reviews last chapter - I usually like to PM thank yous, but I completely forgot and it was like, a week later when I remembered, and I thought that'd be weird... also, I don't like PMing you for every review, because frankly, I think that would annoy you. SO YES, I'm done, I need to stop using my author's notes as public rambling spots...

And ThisLooksLikeAJobForMe - I love you too! ;D I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks for reading, lovelies. xx

(also: anon lily hate? woah man. she's a fictional character, chill your licorice sticks!)