ENJOY!
Until The Clock Strikes Twelve – Chapter Three
It was 5.30pm when Kat and Lily finally made their way back down to the Gryffindor common room. They talked and laughed as they went and sat in their favourite seats by the fire, soft blankets wrapped around their shoulders as they curled up.
"So why do you think James is so interested in Animagi?" Lily asked Kat with curiosity as she tucked her toes under her blanket.
"Not sure. But then, having Minnie-"
"McGonagall."
"Fine, McGonagall as a teacher who wouldn't?" Kat said thoughtfully, this was a big thing for Kat as she rarely thought. "I mean, wouldn't you just love to know what animal you'd turn into if you were an animagus?"
Lily nodded in agreement. "Maybe we'd be the animal that our Patronus' are!" Kat thought excitedly at the thought of being able to turn into a snow leopard.
"Afraid it doesn't work like that." Sirius said entering the common room followed closely by James, Remus and Peter.
"And you'd know that how?" Kat inquired.
"Remus." Sirius said, a little too quickly. "He'd been reading up on them earlier hadn't he? He told us."
"Oh. Okay." Kathy said, though she wasn't convinced.
"So what do you think you're Animagi forms would be?" Lily asked, directing her question mainly at James.
"I don't know." James said thoughtfully. "What about you Pads?"
"I think I'd make a great… erm…"
"Fish?" Kat suggested.
"What so you could eat him all up?" James asked wriggling his eyebrows.
"GROSS!" Sirius and Kat yelled together, lashing out at the boy.
"What?" he requested innocently.
"We're, like related!" Kat said, looking like she was about to puke.
"Exactly!" Sirius said, agreeing with Kat for probably the first time in his life.
"Never stopped anyone else in your families." Peter piped up.
"WE ARE NOT LIKE OUR FAMILIES!" they yelled in unison both standing up, fists clenched.
Everyone just laughed.
"You're so easy to wind up you know that?" Lily told them, grabbing Kat's top and pulling her back down onto her seat.
Kat crossed her arms and sulked while Sirius let lose a famous Black glare.
"So? What animals would you be if you were Animagi?" Lily insisted.
"Well," Remus began. "To be honest, what we thought our Animagi forms would be is what we shaped our nicknames around."
Sirius, James and Peter looked at Remus. He gave a small nod, saying it was okay and that he had a plan for his nickname."
"Prongs equals a stag." James told them. "Like me; beautiful, elegant and noble."
"Keep dreaming Potter!" Kat laughed chucking a cushion at him.
"Padfoot equals a dog." Sirius said.
"An under-dog, yeah!" Kat added in an undertone.
"Wormtail equals a rat!" Peter told them.
"Figure's" Kat whispered to Lily. She had never really like Peter that much, for some reason he creeped her out slightly. Maybe it was his eyes; she'd never liked people with little eyes.
"And what about Moony?" Lily asked looking to Remus
"Moony equals well… it actually has nothing to do with Animagi." Remus admitted, flushing slightly.
"What's it about then?" Kat asked as James and Sirius shared a nervous glance.
"Well, during our second year we all got rather drunk on some Firewhiskey James's dad had sent us. And well, the dared me to moony the Head Boy. So I did." He told them blushing and even deeper shade of red.
"You didn't!" Lily gasped, shocked at the very idea.
"You dirty little beggar!" Kathy laughed, however she wasn't convinced and she could tell Lily wasn't either. Seeing as they were both bright students, and Kat had heard Sniv- I mean Severus metioning it a few times to Lily, she was sure that there was more to Remus. She was sure that his name related not to him moonying the old Head Boy but becuase he was a werewolf. After all his visit's to his 'ill grandmother' did occur duing the full moon. However there was no way with of the two girls were going to push him to tell the truth, after all would they want tpeople to know a secret as dark and as painful as that?
James meanwhile muttered something very quietly to Sirius. "How does he manage to blush like that when he's lying?"
"No idea." Sirius shrugged though very impressed at Remus's lying skills, unless that incident had actually happened, and he and James had been too drunk to even remember.
Sirius laughed softly to himself. Yes, that was probably it and knowing Remus he had been too embarrassed to tell anyone this before, including his fellow Marauder's.
"So what about you then?" Remus asked Lily and Kat.
"I really have no idea." Lily began. "A fox maybe. You know, because of the red fur and stuff." She said, running her fingers through her own red main.
"Or a lion. Grrrr!" Kat growled at Lily.
"So what about you Steele?" Sirius asked sitting down. "A pig maybe?"
"Bastard!" Kat said, eyeing Sirius evilly. "You know what. I really don't know. Something intelligent."
"Like a pig?"
"Shut it Black!" Kathy said, kicking out at Sirius and hitting him right in the crotch.
"OWWW!" Sirius yelled doubling over, his eyes watering with pain.
Lily laughed as gave Kat a high-five while the other three boys all winced in pain.
"Nice aim Kat."
"Why thank you Lily." Kat said standing up and taking very melodramatic bow. "Anyway," she continued sitting back down, "I think maybe a monkey of some form."
"What you mean like those gorgeous Golden Lion Tamarin monkeys?"
"Yeah!" Kat said nodding at Lily's suggestion. "Beautiful, yet evil!" Kat laughed flipping long golden hair over her shoulder and batting her eyelids.
"Beautiful my arse." Sirius muttered, having finally recovered from his earlier trauma.
"Would that be the arse you'll no longer have in a minute?" Kat asked, standing up clenching her fists.
"No, my beautiful arse that only hot girls get to touch. This is why you've never had the privilege."
"Here we go again." Remus, James, Lily and Peter said in union, rolling their eyes at each other and getting comfy for yet another show down.
"You little!" Kat said going to kick Sirius again but Sirius was ready this time. He took a step back and caught Kat's foot with his hands. He looked at Kat and grinned evilly as her eyes widened and she let out a yell. Sirius yanked her leg making Kat fall to the ground with a loud 'thump'. Kat let out a loud squeal of pain as her bum hit the hard, cold stone floor. "Bastard. You little swine!" Kat gasped, standing up and rubbing her backside.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sirius said falling into a mock bow. "I didn't see you there sir."
"Sir? SIR!?" Kat yelled taking a sudden dive at Sirius, rugby tackling him to the ground. Now it was Sirius's turn to fall onto the stone fall with the added bonus of Kat falling on top of him too.
"Ouch! You really need to lay off the chocolate and cake Steele."
SMACK! Kat's hand fell hard and fast across the side of Sirius's face, leaving a bright white mark as she removed her hand and stood up, her eyes welling with tears. It was one thing to call a girl a bitch, or even a whore. But to pass comment on a girl's weight is probably one of the worst things a guy could ever do, especially if it was Kathy. True, Kathy was a slender girl, but she hadn't always been. She had never been over weight for her age or height, but she had always been on the chubby side when she was younger, something that Sirius knew all too well about. Now she ate really carefully, and that is very hard, especially when you attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and have over 100 house-elves cooking you delicious meals each and everyday.
Kathy turned on her heel and ran up the girls dormitory stairs Lily close on her tail.
"Well done Padfoot. Simply brilliant." Remus said as Sirius sat up, the white mark now a lovely intense red.
"She slapped me." A stunned look on his face
"Really?" James asked no sympathy on his voice. "What do you expect when you practically call a girl fat?"
"Did I?"
"'You really need to lay off the chocolate and cake Steele'" Peter quoted, deepening his voice to sound more like Sirius.
"But I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then how did you mean it?" James enquired raising his eyebrows.
"Well that she weighed more than I expected."
"And that is different to calling her over weight how?" Remus pointed out.
"Oh…"
"Yes, 'Oh…'"
"Bugger!"
"'Bugger' indeed."
"Kat please talk to me. You're not fat." Lily insisted sitting on the edge of Kathy's bed her hand placed sympathetically on her friends shoulder.
Kat was lying on her bed crying into her pillow.
"Yes I am. I'm hideous."
"Don't be stupid." Lily sighed. "You are not fat, ugly, stupid or anything. You're perfect."
"Not according to Black."
"And since when have you ever listened to Black?"
Kat rolled over, her mascara streaking slightly from her tears. Patting the bed next to her she instructed Lily to lie down, which she did.
"I grew up with Black. His family and my family were connected, both being very important Pureblood families. My mother's family that is; not my dad's. Ever since I can remember I'd been told to respect Sirius because he was my elder and the heir to the House of Black. He was important, and his family had high hopes for him. Being young, and not really understanding how our families worked within the wizarding community I did as I was told. All Sirius did was boss me about and call me names if I did something wrong. It really got to me, but I'd never say anything because of what my mother expected from me." Kat wiped her eyes before she continued. "I suppose, deep down that loyalty to him is still there, and deep down I want him to approve of me and what I do.
"You fancy Black?" Lily asked.
"NO!" Kat shouted, but then she sighed. "I know it's hard for you to understand our ways Lily, being Muggle-born and all. But I, well we were brought up to respect my elders and the men of the big Pureblood families. Families my family approved of. So that counts out Potter's, Longbottom's, Weasley's and Lovegood's. I was brought up with the children of the Malfoy's, Black's, Avery's and of course my cousins; the Lestrange's."
Lily finally nodded. "I think I understand, it's just all very confusing."
"Don't I know it?" Kat said, letting out a small laugh.
"That's more like it!" Lily said hugging Kat. "That's the Kat I know and love. The bright bubbly girl who loves to out do Black at everything!"
"Something I excel at very well! In looks, brains…"
"Out shut it you vain little whore!" Lily laughed getting up and walking over to her own bed. "Kath, don't you like you cousins? Even the tiniest bit?"
"Course I do Lily." Kat replied, as if it was a stupid thing to ask. "Sure I don't like everything they do or their beliefs in 'Purity should reign victorious!' But Rod and Rab have always been there for me; they always stuck up for me when Sirius was horrid, and I suppose deep down they do still love me, and I them even if we are so very different. Even if I have disappointed them." Kat said thoughtfully, beginning to get lost in her memories of a child.
"Come on. Let's get some sleep, we've got a late night tomorrow."
Kat nodded and she snuggled down under her covers, as did Lily.
"Lily?"
"Mmmm."
"Do you really like Potter? I mean, really, really like him?"
"Yeah…" she replied softly, a soft smile appearing on her lips as she thought of him. She didn't know what had brought around her liking of this once annoying boy. But there was something different about this once arrogant boy he seemed more mature, more reliable and less childish. Maybe it had something to with him being appointed Head Boy, maybe he finally faced the music and realised that his childish behaviour wasn't going to get him anywhere. The other thing, that she supposed had attracted her to James Potter, was not because of his looks, which she admitted where rather handsome. Or his body, which she also had to admit, was rather well toned from playing Quidditch. But the fact that he seemed to be leaving her alone this year. Ok, so he occasionally let slip some comments about how beautiful she was, but he had stopped asking her out every time he saw her. Not once since the start of that school year had he asked the question that for so many years she dreaded to hear. Yet now, now that she wanted him to he wouldn't. Every time she thought he was going to let slip the question he ended up muffing his lines or asking for something else. She'd never seen his so nervous, maybe this was more than a teenage crush she had on her. Maybe he was for real? However tomorrow night before the clock struck the last twelfth stroke she would have him, she would have her James.
"Soppy cow" Kat laughed as she blew out her candle and drew the curtains around her four poster bed. But this just made Lily smile even more.
Hello! I hope you like it, because thus concludes the end of New Year's Eve. Told you I wasn't planning on it to be very long!
Now then; review! Review! Review! Or I'll be setting my Bella on you! –huggles Heir to the Blacks-