Late November, 1974
Over the month of November, I got four letters from Mother. Three of them repeated her threat to me while the fourth merely said that she, Ghislaine, and Father would be going to Germany for Christmas to visit Father's parents. That meant I would be staying in Hogwarts for Christmas break and I couldn't be happier. Until I discovered Lily, Marlene, and Lydia would all be going home and I would be alone for Christmas. Still, it was better than being af home.
Not also that, but as November continued on I lost significantly more weight. All the girls were wondering my secret while some of the boys even tried to ask me out. Especially since I still wore makeup because my skin was too noticeably pale otherwise. I still got those sudden fevers and it got to the point where I barely ate, not wanting to go through it again. I only ate as much as needed for my friends not to notice.
Other than that, everything was fine. My grades were especially great. Ironically I was doing best at potions, despite it was me brewing a potion wrong that got me in my mess in the first place. Another new thing that was happening was the usage of coconut-scented shampoo. Lily had gotten it and because every girl loved it, now all Gryffindors girls had hair smelling of coconut, including me.
It was nearing the end of November when I was in Potions with Lily, Marlene, and Lydia. The Marauders were also there and we were going to brew the potion Amortentina. The Professor brewed it up first to show us how to do it and then he told us to brew it.
I was paired with Marlene while Lily was with Lydia. But the first to finish were Peter and Remus, both of whom had looks of pride when the Professor walked over and praised them for their good work.
"Now," the Professor said. "What do you smell?"
"Chocolate," Remus said shyly, causing some of the students to laugh.
"What about you, Mr. Pettigrew?"
Peter hesitated before saying, "Coconut."
At this, all Gryffindor girls gasped and looked to each other before laughing. It took a while for the Professor to quiet everyone down. Marlene and I shared a smile before looking behind is at Lydia, whose face had gone red with embarrassment.
"Hey so do I!" James said, leaning over to smell their potion. "Hey, Padfoot, what do you smell?"
All the girls looked at him expectedly before he offered a charming smile and said, "Coconut."
Marlene and I rolled our eyes as the other girls started to whisper amongst themselves. It took another while for the professor to quiet them down and force them to pay attention. Once that happened, the Professor went to Marlene and I, who were the next people to be done.
"Excellent work, Ms. Kaiser, Ms. Mckinnon," he told us. "Now, what do you smell?"
Marlene sniffed the potion and frowned. "Old books."
I raised an amused eyebrow at her. "What?"
Marlen shook her head. "I don't even know. I don't like books."
I chuckled and then sniffed the potion myself. I frowned and looked to the Professor. "I don't smell anything."
The Professor frowned. "Are you sure?" When I nodded, he raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
Afterwards, the class went by smoothly and everyone was given a chance to tell what they smelled. When the class was finished, Lydia and Lily said goodbye to us before going off, giggling. I had thought Marlene and I were going to go back to the dorms together, but then Marlene said she needed to see Tobster for DADA help. That left only me.
With nothing else to do, I grabbed my sketchbook and supplies from my dorm and then decided to go draw outside. As I walked, my stomach grumbled with hunger to the point when I was in pain. But when I thought about those fevers and the pain I had going through them, I decided I could wait until dinner to eat something, before throwing it up again.
As I walked the corridor, fumbling with the zipper of my art bag, I heard giggling. I looked up to see a Ravenclaw girl leaning against the wall, books in her arms. Talking beside her was Sirius, a charming smile on his face.
I rolled my eyes as I walked by, but Sirius noticed me and abandoned the girl before walking beside me. I looked back to see the girl glare at me before turning my attention to Sirius.
"Got bored?" I asked.
Sirius shrugged. "Wasn't my type."
I sighed before continuing to try and open the zipper of my bag. "If she's not your type, then don't talk with her in the first place. It's not that hard, Black."
Sirius grinned and placed his arm over my shoulders. "Jealous, Kaiser?"
I rolled my eyes. I wasn't jealous. I was annoyed that he was messing around with those girls.
"You have nothing to worry about, Kaiser," Sirius said, pulling back his arm. "You'll always be my girl."
I finally looked at him, a weird feeling appearing in my heart. "Can you say that again? But first let me get Lily's muggle recorder so I can record you. I mean, imagine the money I'll make by selling that recording! Every girl would want one!"
"Oh gosh no, that would be a disaster," Sirius said, his grey eyes full of horror.
I raised an eyebrow and gave him a lopsided grin. "Tired of the spotlight, Black?"
Sirius grinned. "Never. Anyway, see you around, Kaiser."
I nodded and watched as Sirius walked off, leaving me alone in the corridor. The feeling that had appeared in my chest disappeared.
"Until then," I whispered even though he was no longer in my line of sight.
Knocking myself from my revere, I continued my way to the grounds, grinning when I successfully opened my zipper.
