Soooo… I was bored walking around Costco and decided to write this. I know, it seems like I've abandoned this fic but I haven't! I promise! It's just not top of the priority list. Meh :/ So hope you like! It's long… we were in Costco for-ev-er! Agh!
"Jesus, could this get any more boring?" I muttered, partly to myself, partly to Sirius who had his cheek resting on the table, 'sleeping.'
He snorted.
Even THATsounded heavenly.
"You'd make a good pig," I jabbed at him quietly.
He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his shiny silver eyes. "Nah. I like bacon too much," he whispered, (aware of McGonagal's death glare in our direction) gesturing to the steaming thick cut slices of bacon.
It was my turn to snort, and I had the feeling it didn't sound nearly as attractive as Sirius's did.
The Great Hall was dutifully silent and Professor McGonagal droned on and on about the school's rules and regulations, off limit areas, class schedules... you know. All the terribly exciting stuff.
Although her speech was just so captivating, I still couldn't help but eye all the piping hot food. Oh... How it must feel to have the succulent corned beef in your mouth and have it slide into your stomach after a long day of traveling. Or the mashed potatoes, doused in brown gravy. And the puddings! Incredible.
I saw James making all sorts of strange faces from across the table. Looking to my left, I found Lily resisting the urge to burst out laughing. Her hand covered her mouth and she was turning quite a bright shade of red.
Ooooh, the icon couple of Hogwarts.
Then James stopped and gave Lily a confident smirk and a bawdy wink. She laughed but I couldn't help thinking, "Lucky Lily."
Sirius leaned in close to me, practically laying his head on my shoulder, and whispered in a deep voice, "Remind me next year to MAKE SUREDumbledore doesn't get slipped the spiked drink next year, Del," his lips brushed my ear as he let out a hot gust of air in laughter. I shivered involuntarily. "We can't sit through this awful speech again."
"Definitely," I managed to spurt out between racing heartbeats.
Darn those bloody teenage hormones.
He shifted back into his normal sitting position and smiled at me, all seductively, and wiggled his eye brows.
I stifled a laugh...
And I thought maybe my heart should just put itself out of its misery and explode already.
Eww, I thought. That'd be gross. Cuz then my heart guts would be everywhere.
But then,
my mind explored. Sirius would have to give me CPR. Or maybe even mouth-to-mouth. But, no, I'd surely be dead if my heart exploded. Ooo, ooo. Then Sirius would recognize his undying lovefor me in the last moments of my fragile life. And he'd kiss me right here in front of the school. And by the end of the kiss, I'd be dead. And he'd never be able to love again because he knew I was the only one for him. And he'd weep for me for days, vowing never to love another soul. Oh! It'd be so tragically romantic—
God! Snap out of it, Delia!
So I set my jaw and shook my head.
Sirius sent me a strange look and a smile, which sent me into another bloody fantasy about him.
Stop. Thinking. About. Sirius. Gorgeous. Black.
My gosh. That
SHOULD be his middle name. Then when he—
"Stop it!" I actually said out loud. I literally slapped a hand over my mouth, almost like I could snatch the words out of the air and place them back into my mouth. But, alas, my not-so-little outburst sent the people in my general area staring at me like I was some sort of freak of nature. I gave them all a little smile and shallow laugh.
Then I realized McGonagal had stopped talking. I raised my eyes up to the raised platform in front of the teachers table to see her staring me down.
"Now," she continued. "As Miss Delia Mews has so kindly demonstrated, you children obviously cannot contain yourselves any longer—"
I began to sink lower and lower in my seat, mortified, turning bright red in the process.
"—so you may go ahead and eat."
A collective "Finally!" was muttered and a wave of grateful noise swept through the Great Hall.
"Miss Delia Mews," I heard James say in this stuffy, proper voice. "I am forever indebted for your gallant act of shutting up the ferocious Dragon who inflicted upon us the—"
But then he caught scent of the piping hot shepherd's pie and decided he was more interested in that than his joke.
Huh, I thought. From zero to hero . . . Then back to zero.
Then I took to James's ways and decided the food was much more interesting after all.
"As a gift to our Seventh year students, they will be rooming in the new dormitories. Each with a larger bed, canopy style curtains, more bathrooms for the girls, bigger closet space and a balcony for every four students. They are located on a new floor, the highest floor, of the Gryffindor tower."
A collective shout rang out from all the seventh years and the younger students groaned their disappointment. I whooped and did a little jig; consisting of the sprinkler, the lipstick and an excited variation of the chicken dance.
Lily began mimicking me and then James who thereby made it 'cool' and soon, almost the whole seventh year class was doing my weird chicken-dance-crump and Cupid shuffle mash up.
McGonagal muttered something suspiciously like, "The youth these days. All punks." and left the room with a huff.
The excitement died shortly, and soon we were all hopping up the staircase, two at a time.
"Jeez, this is a journey," Marlene said. She grabbed my arm in order for me to pull her limp mass up the staircase.
"Aaaagh!" I shouted. My momentum slowed, I slipped off the carpeted stair step and face-planted. Marlene followed and landed on top of me.
"Oooog," I moaned. I heard several other people stop short, one fell as well. Most just kept on running up the stairs, I even felt someone step on me.
"Ooooh. Marlene get off!" I said into the carpet, getting a mouth full of cardboard flavored fibers.
"I'm sorry," she moaned.
Marlene shifted off of me just as I heard Lily's voice coming up behind me. I strained to look up but all I saw were shoes, hopping up the staircase.
Then I heard a shrill laugh and felt a foot come rocketing to the butt.
"Look at Delia! Finally where she belongs!" that phrase was followed by a shrill laugh I easily placed. Caroline Hood kicked me! Marlene finally off of me, I vaulted onto my feet. I was just in time to see a fist contact with Caroline's jaw. Hard.
Then, horrors of horrors, she burst into tears.
"Lily punched me!" she wailed.
By this time, I was standing, staring at her with eyes like a deer. Lily was gazing at her clenched fists like they weren't her own, not believing she actually punched someone. Marlene was doubled over, laughing her bloody gorgeous head off, clutching the staircase railing. Caroline kept bawling. And the people continued up the stairs and met our little scene. Sirius asked what happened and I ignored him. Caroline rushed to him faking a little breakdown. Seeing her tears, he back up in fear. I don't blame him.
"Go back to kindergarten, Caroline," I said and turned to hop back up the stairs, pleased with my witty little insult.
Then I blacked out.
And the last thing I thought was how stupid I must look. Tripping. And falling. Again.
But the smoke, and the figures, and their gruff voices distracted me. Today they were angry.
"I've waited five whole years!" one said, the leader. I recognized his voice from early visions. He was sitting elegantly in a high-backed chair. Someone actually kneeling at his feet.
"Yes, master. Just a few more months. She'll be of age and—"
"She's ready now!" the leader roared and the servant uttered a squeak.
"But you said yourself," a new voice drawled, coming up from behind. "She must be of age."
The master uttered a frustrated noise, one that sounded like it belonged to a three-year old.
"We strike on her birthday," the master said, strangely calmed. "Three months from now. Now bring me my snake."
And my vision dissipated.
Opening my eyes, I prepared myself for the headache. It came. As pounding as ever.
Then I heard Caroline's laugh and the shrillness of it made my headache flare. It drove me to tears.
The last of the students had gone up the stairs. I was lying in Sirius's lap and he knew what to do, he'd witnessed my visions many times. He began to massage my temples and the headache receded.
"What color?" I asked Lily who hovered above me.
"Why did four patronuses come out of your butt?" Caroline jabbed.
"Not my butt, idiot," I spat through the headache. "My wand."
"You don't have a wand. You're a girl," Caroline retorted.
"You're a perv," I said and she turned. She gave Sirius a wink and bounded up the stairs.
"Don't listen to her, Delia. She's a jerk," Lily said to me.
"What color?" was my answer.
Lily sighed. "Bright blue. It's really one of the prettier ones."
"What did you see?" Sirius asked, my headache more tolerable because of him. These two, Lily and Sirius, have helped me through so many of these episodes, we have an unofficial little schedule. Sirius comforts. Lily asks the questions.
"They need me but I have to be of age. They're going to 'strike' on my birthday. Whatever that means," I said.
"Oh, Delia," Lily whispered.
I felt Sirius shift under me. Now I HAD to look him in the eyes.
"We won't let that happen. I promise," he said that with such sincerity that I almost believed he could stop him. Almost.
I closed my eyes and he kept rubbing my temples.
"Do you have any idea who it is?" I heard Lily ask.
"I have my suspicions," I said.
No, not suspicions, I reminded myself. It's the Dark Lord. I've seen him.
I furrowed my brow.
There was a minute or two of grateful silence. I battled with whether or not to tell them I knew it was Voldemort.
I felt Sirius's chest expand. He took a deep breath and said, "I know who it is, Delia. I'm so sorry but my parents... they work for them. That doesn't mean I agree with them... I'm not my parents, Delia. I promise."
That settled it. If he was willing to tell me this, I was willing to tell them... all that other stuff.
"I know, Sirius. I've known for a long time. They were in a vision, years ago. I know it's voldemort and I don't care."
I felt pretty stupid saying that at the time. I'm almost positive Sirius and Lily thought I was being stupid too. Like I was trying to play hero. Maybe I was. I didn't know. But I did know I didn't want them to be all bothered and worried. Id taken care of myself for five years. I'd seen visions about them 'striking' and nothing happened. I hid in my closet for a full 24-hours the first time I heard about one of the many strikes and nothing happened. But I was so afraid I made _ sit with me and she told me stories about her travels in Europe. I watched TV all day in the Wine Cellar the second time. This was the third. I'm almost positive I'm in no sort of danger. Even though daily we hear about muggles murdered by death eaters.
"Delia—he's a real threat. Don't you know about the—"
"I know!" I shouted, covering my face in my hands. "I know. Ive seen him kill, Lily. I know. But I'm not scared."
"I was just trying to help," she said in a whisper and I knew I hurt her badly. I still covered my face but I heard her muffled footsteps up the stairs. Sirius began stroking my hair. I savored the feeling.
"You shouldn't have said that, Del," he whispered soothingly.
"I know," I said and instantly wished I didn't.
"Stop saying that," he took my wrists and pulled my hands off my face. I was forced to look him straight in the eyes. "I want to help you."
I blinked, long and slow.
But still, when I opened my eyes his silver eyes were still mesmerizing and intense as ever.
"Let me help you."
He still held my wrists and I didn't ask him to let go.
Then, I said the only thing I could possibly think of. Maybe it was a lie. I don't know.
"Okay."
He smiled and began to stroke my hair again. Something in his mood changed and I realized he was relieved.
Jeez. About what?
"I love this color. It's my favorite so far. How's your headache?" he asked me, his voice kind and energetic again. Not as intense and serious.
"Gone. Thanks to you."
He smiled sadly. And I realized there might be an iota of a chance that he didn't want me out of his lap. That maybe he liked me here. Comforting me. All those hopeful, happy thoughts disappeared as he said, "Well then up you go."
I stood tenderly, aware of the vertigo that always follows. I swayed and he hopped up to steady me by the shoulders. I laughed bitterly.
"It's the same every time, isn't it? And the timing is always awful," I said.
He laughed. "Isn't that the truth."
"I hate these visions."
He answered by wrapping an arm around my waist. I put a hand on his far shoulder. We started to trudge up the stairs. But it was awkward and lurchy.
"Wouldn't it be easier for me to carry you?" he said and I nearly fainted. I had a feeling it had nothing to do with vertigo.
I simply nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
So he slipped and arm under my knees and another by my shoulder blades. My head lolled but found a place to rest on his chest. I nearly sighed with contentment but stopped short.
I think he knew what was going on because he said, "You like Mademoiselle, yes?"
I laughed at his bad French accent.
"Yes. But not the accent. I'd prefer Italian."
"Oh! Mama Mia! A-pizza-pie-a!" he said. Then he leaned in close to me and feigned embarrassment.
"Do you know any more cliché Italian phrases? I'm running low."
I laughed. "I liked the French better."
"Oh! Mademoiselle! You flatter me t—"
"On second thought, why don't you stick with British?"
He laughed again. Heartily. Deeply. I nearly sighed again.
We had reached the door to the girl's dormitory and he kicked it open, I don't know how.
He brought me to a bed next to Lily's and laid me down. I didn't have time to admire the renovated dormitories. I made a mental note to do that later. Then I felt the heated glare of many angry seventh year girls, angry I was being held so tenderly by Sirius.
He took my hand for a moment and said, "Now, rest easy, Little D. We'll take later."
He squeezed it once then let it fall.
And with that promise, I fell asleep.
WEEEEE-VOOOO
THAT'S TODLER LISP FOR "REVIEW"
SO DO IT, YA'LL!
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V