Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Chapter 4: Secrets

Dumbledore cleared his throat as the room erupted into whispers. His bird, which I guessed was a Phoenix (there's a reason I'm no longer in Care of Magical Creatures), cawed loudly and finally got everyone's attention.

"You have all been selected because you have shown that you care a great deal for this cause, but I still must encourage you to first and foremost, focus on your studies," Dumbledore said.

I couldn't see Sirius from where I was sitting, but I knew somehow that he was rolling his eyes.

"Sirius Black, it would do you well to pay attention!" McGonagall snapped.

I know these people too well.

"Professor, if we're going to be a part of of this, what do you suggest we do? We can't even leave the school," Emmeline Vance said from the back of the room.

"Yeah, some of us aren't even of age, what are we meant to do?" the 6th year Hufflepuff girl called.

Dumbledore peered over his glasses. "Ah, Miss Harper, all of that will be answered in due time. For now, I must encourage you to focus on your studies."

Harper! That was it.

Thank God, that was going to drive me batshit.

"Now, while you are here at school it is important that schoolwork remain your utmost priority, but we will be in contact. None of this will be for nothing."

Leave it to Dumbledore to call a meeting that left more questions than answers.

"You are all to return to your dormitories," McGonagall said, motioning for us to stand. "And may I remind you, this is a secret order and as such it will be expected you keep it to yourselves."

I was tempted to stay and ask just what the hell was going on, or what the purpose of a 10 minute gathering could possibly be, but instead I followed Sirius down the stairs, where we broke off from the main group that was funneling back towards the staircases.

"Well that was cryptic," I said, struggling to keep up with Sirius, who was quickly storming away from the office.

"I can't believe that now that we're finally deciding to do something it just gets blown up in our faces like that!"

He seemed to be getting faster with every word, I was nearly jogging.

"Slow down, you idiot, I wouldn't call that blown up in our faces, necessarily," I said.

Sirius finally relented and turned around. "The old man has no idea what Voldemort is having his followers our age do! We're already behind!"

I spotted Marlene coming around the corner. Clearly she'd heard shouting.

"Are you two thick? Obviously there was a hidden message there."

"Hidden message? It's already a bloody secret society!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down or it won't stay a secret, will it?" I scolded. "What are you talking about, Marlene?" We basically just got called up there to be dismissed and told to go back to class."

"Exactly," Marlene said. "How many times did Dumbledore tell us to focus on our studies? It's obviously meant to be a clue."

Now don't get me wrong, I hate Marlene with every fibre of my being. She's rude, she's arrogant, and when she's in a particular mood, she can be downright cruel. But for once in her awful existence, I felt that she might have been a bit smarter that I was.

"That would make sense," I said, practically through gritted teeth. Part of me wanted to throw the drama with the father of the baby in her face, but that seemed cruel and unusual, even for me. "So what now?"

Marlene tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and began to walk away. "We wait."

I looked at Sirius, who was already storming off after her.

Somehow I think that they might start speaking again. If anything, they did have matching tempers.

I decided to leave myself out of it for once, though I had been hoping to speak with Sirius to see what he made of us being pulled aside by Dumbledore specifically.

Instead I caught up with Lily and Alice in the nearly deserted corridor.

"Either of you fancy a midnight snack?" I called to them.

"Elsa, it's only 10 o'clock," Alice said, laughing.

I groaned, leaning on Alice's shoulder and putting a hand to my brow for dramatic effect. "Yes, but by the time we even reach the kitchens it'll be midnight! And I'm positively starving, c'mon!"

Alice turned to Lily. "Are you coming?"

Lily sighed. "I think not. I need to have a chat with Potter since he's continually disgracing the position of Head Boy."

"I bet that's not the only position he'd disgrace for you," Alice said suggestively, making obscene gestures with her hands.

Lily rolled her eyes as I doubled over laughing. "I'll see you two later, don't be out past curfew."

"Do you think they'll ever get together?" Alice asked, wiping tears away.

I thought back to the end of last year when I'd caught them talking. "Fancy a wager on it?"

The first Quidditch tryouts of the season were something that unlike classes, I did actually look forward to. Even more so since Remus was also a big Quidditch fan and we could gossip in the deserted stands together.

Before we'd both sort of sit a few benches apart being that our other friends were on the team and we didn't know each other that well. This was much nicer. Plus, being commentator and all, I never got to talk Quidditch with Remus, even if he was a bloody Chudley Cannons fan.

"You think they're going to be able to fill Johnson's spot?" Remus asked, offing me chocolate from the endless supply he seemed to keep stashed in his pocket.

I popped the chocolate into my mouth and surveyed the field, where there were several second years shielding themselves from the bombardment of quaffles being thrown as they tested for keeper.

"I dunno," I said through a mouthful of chocolate. "That girl, with the blonde hair, she's got her broom the wrong way round. But I see Gideon Prewett's trying out again."

"Must be hard watching your twin from the stands," Remus said, squinting to see all the way to the other end of the field. "But, it's not exactly the dream team out there."

I laughed. "Don't let James hear you say that. He'll have your head on a pike at the entrance to the pitch."

"Yeah, next to yours," Remus agreed.

"Please. Why didn't you ever try out? Sirius says you're a fair flyer in the summer."

Remus ran a hand through his hair. It was growing more gray by the minute. I suspected that with the way things were going, my hair wouldn't be far behind. "I dunno. It just didn't seem like the right fit with my condition and all."

"What, you don't think having a werewolf running around the pitch would be enough to give Gryffindor the upper hand?" I said, trying to imagine Remus terrorizing the Slytherin Quidditch team off their brooms.

"I don't doubt James hasn't already thought of that," Remus said, cracking a smile. "Why didn't you ever try out?"

I snorted. "I'm awful anywhere near a broom. You don't remember first year flying lessons? I got caught in a tree and wouldn't come down."

Remus laughed. "Must have been out on sick leave. Were you really?"

I nodded. "Oh yes. It took Madame Lefleur an hour to convince me I could just fly down. And even then I face planted."

I'll leave out the fact that I also cried like a little bitch because my hair had got caught in a branch on the way down.

Then, at our first mock match James nailed me in the face with the Quaffle and I fared the same.

Let's just say I wasn't destined for athletic greatness.

"EVERYBODY LISTEN UP, ANYONE HIT WITH A QUAFFLE IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES IS AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED! AND YOU BLOODY WELL BETTER HOPE AT LEAST ONE OF YOU IS LEFT STANDING!" James yelled from the pitch.

Peter came up the steps just then, hands over his ears.

"Well, at the rate things are going, any one of us would probably stand a chance," he said, sitting on the other side of Remus. "Did you see that girl riding backwards?"

"Yeah, well at least no one's plunged to their death," I said jokingly.

It'd long been circulated around the school that several years ago a first year Gryffindor fell off their broomstick to their death many metres below and that's why first years weren't allowed at tryouts.

Remus scoffed. "That was only a rumor James and Sirius made up first year."

"They were well pissed," Peter added. "That's what made them such good friends in the first place."

I laughed. "I know, but it still gets people. I tell first years all the time that up in the teacher's stand sometimes you can hear the disembodied voice of that unfortunate first year Quidditch fan."

Remus groaned. "I knew that had to have started re-circulating from somewhere. I keep having to correct the little monsters."

"Can't you just let James do all that now," I said, watching as said Head Boy nearly fell off his own broom as a bludger escaped the trunk and flew under him. "He is Head Boy, after all."

"When's the last time you've seen James do any of his Prefect duties?" Peter said, elbowing Remus.

Remus sighed wistfully. "Never, actually."

I gave him a peck on the cheek. "Don't worry, you know I think you'd have made the perfect Head Boy."

Peter faked gagging. "Disgusting mate, just disgusting."

"Shut up," I said to Peter, "don't be jealous because you can't get Dorcas Meadowes to go out with you."

"What? I-I don't even like her! She's just my Charms partner is all," he sputtered.

A year ago I would have called on James to offer his expert advice on how to win someone over, but we all know how that went over the first time.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Remus offered. "She'd probably say yes."

"Yeah," I agreed, holding Remus' hand. "The worst she'll do is tell you to bugger off."

"Like the two of you have any experience with this stuff! You're only together on accident!" Peter exclaimed.

I shrugged. It was sort of true.

"Well unless you want to spend a whole year pretending to date someone just for kicks, I suggest you do it the traditional way," I said.

Peter seemed to deflate. I almost felt bad for the poor bloke. "Yeah, we'll see."

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! MCKINNON, YOU'RE KEEPER, GET OVER HERE!"

I watched in confusion from the stands as Marlene flew towards James and several dejected Gryffindors began their march of shame off the pitch, leaving only the rightfully pissed reserve players who had yet again been looked over.

"NOT YOU, MARLENE!" James screeched. "MICHAEL! MICHAEL MCKINNON!"

If I'd have been Marlene I would have quit the team out of spite by this point, but all Marlene did was get off her broom and start heading for the stands. Michael, her younger brother, a 4th year, moved forward.

"Bloody hell, he's the best they've got?" Peter said, trying to get a better look at what was going on.

"How do they expect to win the Cup with him?" Remus said, "Did you see him get caught on one of the hoops earlier? At least Gideon Prewett can fly in a straight line! This is madness!

"All this coming from a Cannons fan?" I said, trying not to laugh too hard and how worked up Remus was getting. "Aren't you sort of used to losing?"

He began to turn red. "This is their year, I know it!" He exclaimed, nearly falling off his seat.

"Yeah I guess it'll be different from the other 80, won't it mate?" Peter said, laughing as hard as I was.

Remus clearly decided to let it go, as most long-suffering Chudley Cannons fans had and turned round just in time to dodge a rogue quaffle.

"NOT INTO THE STANDS YOU BLOODY IDIOT! HITTING A SPECTATOR IS A PENALTY!"

"Time to go?" I said, turning to Remus.

He nodded, tossing the Quaffle down to Emmeline Vance, who looked somewhere between tears and laughter as she flew by to catch it.

"I think so. I'd rather not bear witness to an actual murder at tryouts."

After Remus and I escaped James' wrath on the quidditch pitch, we parted ways. The full moon was tonight and he had already complained of being tired, so like a good girlfriend I sent him up to bed while I pouted in the common room over a History of Magic essay.

I'd thought about asking Nearly Headless Nick about the topic (14th century beheadings), being that he was literally stuck in the past, but decided it wasn't worth the trek down to the Great Hall where he seemed to spend most of his time. Instead I contemplated throwing my unwritten essay into the fire or just dropping out of school entirely.

I almost let those thoughts get the best of me when I heard yelling near the portrait hole.

"If you honestly think that after all of the things you've pulled I'd be your bloody Hogsmeade date, then you have lost it, Potter!"

Ah. Lily.

"I don't care! Maybe if you decided to actually complete your duties instead of dumping them all on me so you can run around the castle with your friends hexing first-years, I'd actually consider it!"

James and Lily finally came into view, and I tried my best not to stare as things got explosive.

"I didn't ask to be Head Boy, you know!" James yelled.

Lily was quickly turning the color of her hair. "Didn't ask? Didn't ask? I didn't ask to be stuck with a complete ninny as my counterpart, and yet here I am, perfectly fine! When you want to start taking things seriously, come find me. Until then, stay the hell away from me James Potter, or so help me!"

With that she stormed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, slamming the door on her way in. James tried to follow her, clearly not satisfied without the last word, but apparently failed to remember that the staircase wouldn't be cooperating.

I swear I tried not to laugh when he slid down and landed on his arse.

Alright, so I laughed a little.

Okay, a lot.

What an idiot.

"We really need to do something about all that," Sirius said, making his way across the common room from where he'd been talking to Marlene.

I told you they'd get back together.

They always do.

I snorted. "What, the screaming? I quite like being woken up at six in the morning when James fails to show up for his rounds, don't you?"

Sirius sat down on the couch next to me and propped his feet up on the adjacent armchair. "Could probably live without it to be honest, love. Seriously, it's gotten so much worse this year. I would have thought that they'd at least have cut the yelling."

"Well what's your proposal? I don't think getting either of them a fake girlfriend is going to work, and that's all I know how to do," I said.

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, cause that worked the first time."

"Shut it," I said, swatting his arm. "I can't help it if the stupid boy I had a crush on was too thick to notice."

"And how could you not have noticed that," Marlene said, joining us. "Just pathetic, really."

Oh good.

Marlene shoved Sirius' legs off the chair and sat down.

"For fuck's sake Marlene, could we just lay off it?" I said. I was going to be 18 soon, and to be honest, the little rivalry Marlene and I have had since first year was getting old.

Not that it wasn't fun while it lasted.

"Oh so now you want to be friends? That's cute Elsa, honestly."

I rolled my eyes and gathered my things from the couch.

"Unlike you, I actually have other friends. So no, Marlene, I don't want to be your bloody best friend, but haven't we grown out of this?"

She seemed to consider things for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

"Fine. We'll call a truce," she said, extending her hand.

I took it reluctantly and we shook. Sirius looked like he was going to explode at any minute with laughter and judging by the look on Marlene's face and the same look that was crossing mine, that would have disastrous consequences.

"If only because I can't take this nonsense anymore," she said, gesturing towards James, who was still leaning against the bottom of the girl's stairs, presumably trying to wait out Lily.

The poor bloke is going to die there if he thinks Lily Evans is seriously going to let him get the upper hand in this argument.

I nudged Sirius. "He's your best mate, any suggestions?"

Sirius made a move to speak but Marlene swatted him away.

"There's no need for any half-witted plots from you two. I've already got it covered."

Merlin I just want to sock her in the face.

Just once, that's it. It'd be worth it.

"And how's that?"

"Sabotage."

Oh Lord.

A/N:Thanks to anyone who's alerted/favorited, it means a lot! And once again, please review!

I'll also be out of the country all this week so the next update won't be until next Monday!

xx Val