A/N: Yay! New chapter!

Thanks to naveo, JamsiePooILoveYou and Genairco Girl for reviewing. You guys are the coolest. I'm serious.

Sirius: No! I'm Sirius!

Weirdo.

A special mention to JamsiePooILoveYou for having the closest guess to what the bang was.

Moving on...

Bang!

My arms came in contact with his shoulders. He let out a yell of surprise before grabbing my wrist and pulling me down to the ground heavily. He lost his balance and we went tumbling down the hill. Once we hit the bottom – which hurt mind you – Remus jumped up first. He still had a look of fear in his eyes, but he smiled when he realised it was me.

"Tory! What did you do that for?" he asked, still smiling.

I just pointed and laughed. He was so on edge. He chuckled and pulled me up off the floor.

"Oh hardy-ha, Tory. Very funny," he said with an unimaginable amount of sarcasm.

I still laughed as loudly as humanly possible. We walked back down to my house to find my parents talking to Mr. Merry.

"I haven't seen her since this mornin', ma'am. Maybe she... O, there she is."

They all turned toward me. Dad smiled but Mum looked disappointed.

"Honey, I told you to tell me when you go out."

Didn't she read the note on the fridge? I shrugged and just stood there. Mum smiled at Remus and swamped him in a hug. He looked very awkward and I giggled again. Today was probably the most I've giggled in a long time.

After Mum and Dad had finished talking to Remus, he left to go meet Sirius and James. For some reason I felt the urge to go too but I ran into the lounge room to open my birthday presents.

"This one is from Grandma Jules," Mum said, handing me a small package.

It reminded me of the one Remus, Sirius and James gave me. I pulled the case out of my pocket before taking the new one from my mum. They gave me a quizzical glance but didn't say anything. I opened Grandma Jules' present and let out a groan. Socks and undies wrapped up and shoved in a box. Is that all she gives me?

"Be grateful, Tory. Children in third world countries would love some new socks. And I know you need new undies." My mum is very creepy at times, I'll give her that.

I got a scooter from Uncle John; a Frisbee from Aunty Hattie; a twister game from Lily, Nikki, Kayla and Sara – which is the biggest craze -; a whole new set of robes and a broom from Mum and Dad. They said it was because I was the seeker on the Gryffindor team; I needed something to practice on.

Once all the present opening was over and done with, we all sat down to have a late lunch. I am always hungry. I need to have a good five meals a day to keep up with all the things I do and I had already missed breakfast. I thank the game of tip for that.

After lunch, I climbed up to my tree house. It is a big old room at the top of my favourite willow tree. There are a lot of willows in my suburb – Morley Lake. It has a small bed, a table, two chairs and an old broken television set. I love just sitting up there, for hours at a time, thinking. It has a big window – glass and all – so I can look out over the whole town. It comes in handy all the time.

I sat on one of the chairs and stared out over the lake. It was a bright blue and the sun was shinning down on it. I looked over to the shops and saw all the owners meeting, as usual, for lunch. I stared around for a while until I saw two figures and a big black blob running down the hill. I couldn't make out who it was so I climbed back down to take a closer look. I was very nosey.

Mum and dad always told me I am too curious for my own good. They always say "Curiosity killed the cat!" but I'm telling you "Satisfaction brought it back!"

I hid behind a few bushes and peered through the branches. Remus and James were running around. I didn't see what they were running from until they headed my way. It was a huge, black, shaggy dog. It looked rather vicious with its teeth bearing. I ducked behind the thicker bit of the bush as they ran past. Thankfully they didn't see me. I climbed the nearest tree and stayed hidden while they ran around for a while. I didn't notice the time slip away. I looked up from where I was studying my ring, again, and I couldn't see them. I jumped down and straightened myself from my heavy landing.

I started walking back toward my house. I was almost out of the park area when I heard the sound of a branch snap behind me. I turned my head too quickly I heard it crack. Standing behind me was Remus, James and Sirius. I guess he turned up once the black dog left. Maybe he was afraid of dogs...

"Hey, Tory?"

I raised one eyebrow.

"What were you doing up the tree?" James asked.

I frowned and walked away. Didn't he know I took a vow of silence?

"Oh, right. Sorry, Tory, I forgot!"

Well, you're the lucky one. I kept walking but I felt an arm pull me back and I came face to face with James. How can Lily say no to him so many times? He is persuasive without even trying. How she doesn't go weak when even looking at him, I will never know. I shrugged and kept walking. It was almost sunset. They silently followed me home. And into my house. And into my room. What the hell?

"We had to make sure you got home okay," Sirius said when I gave them one of my questioning looks.

They made themselves at home on my floor while I sat on my bed. They talked for about half an hour. I just sat there listening. I liked the fact that they included me – even though I don't talk. Not even Nikki, my best friend, includes me all the time. That's one of the things I love about the three boys. They are too cool.

"TORY ELINOR CHERRI!" Oh no. It's Mum. "WHAT ARE THESE THREE BOYS DOING IN YOUR ROOM?"

Crap!

"Calm down, Rosemary." Yes. Dad to the rescue. "She is a responsible girl. She won't get up to anything... naughty."

I couldn't help it. I burst into a fit of silent giggles. Thankfully my parents didn't notice. Dad wrapped his arms around Mum and led her away. By then, I was on the floor having a seizure of giggles. The boys joined me in a laughing fit for the next ten minutes before they had to leave.

"Thanks, Tory. We had nowhere else to go."

I nodded at them, wiping a tear away from my eye. Yes, I had been laughing that hard. I watched them walk off down the road before running up to my room and changing into my swimsuit. It was about six o' clock and I had an hour till dinner. I walked down to the wharf in my red one piece with a towel over my shoulder. I didn't need shoes - nobody wears them around this sleepy little town.

First, I had to get to the water.

I hung my towel over the handrail on the wharf and walked to the end. The timber was just as rough as I remember it. But, this time, there was no wind. The sun was hidden behind the mountains, but light still streaked through.

Second, I had to dive.

I dived into the water smoothly. No giggling girls this time. It was cold but refreshing at the same time. It was... nice.

Third, I had to stay afloat.

I pushed off the bottom of the lake and rose up to take a breath. So far, so good. I felt something brush against my leg. I went very stiff and didn't move. I slowly looked down through the clear water to my toes. It was just an old plastic bag. I dove under the water and picked it up. I hate pollution.

I swam slowly to the wharf again and dumped the bag near the end. I dove down again to get my hair out of my face. When I came up, I was face to face with the big black dog. I shrieked from shock and thrashed around a bit. I could have been mistaken, but I swear I saw some fear in the dog's eyes. I calmed down quickly and grabbed hold of the edge and kicked slowly.

"Hello," I said to the dog.

My voice was croaky and it hurt to talk. I knew I had paid my respect to Angie McKee. Three years of silence to pay for three years of mocking. The three years of mocking I gave her. She always seemed to shrug it off so I continued. If I knew it would hurt her, I would have stopped quicker than I can count to ten. But did I? Nope.

"What's your name?" I asked quietly. Boy did my voice sound crackly.

The dog cocked its head to the side.

"Can't talk? Neither could I for three years. Wanna know something?"

The dog nodded. Somehow it understood English. I've heard about dogs who know basic English.

"You are the first person to hear me talk for a whole year. I talked to my Dad about two years back. But that wasn't much. Are you out here by yourself?"

The dog kinda nodded. So I continued. My voice was starting to warm up do I did it some good by continuing, anyway.

"Do you have an owner?"

It shook its head in a kind of noble manner, like nobody could possibly own them.

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

The dog growled. I'll take that as a boy.

"You are a very handsome boy."

He liked that. I reached up and ruffled his fur. He was waging his tail and looked very content. I let go of the side and trod water about a meter away. He was watching me with an amused expression so I poked my tongue out.

"Coward!" I yelled and splashed a handful of water into his face.

The dog didn't take that very well so he jumped in too. We splashed around for a while until I heard my mother calling me in for dinner.

"Oh, I have to go now," I said to the dog. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

The dog nodded and doggy-paddled to the shoreline with me. He ran ahead and dragged my towel over to me. What a lovely dog. We went our separate ways. The dog toward the shops, and me up the hill to my house. I walked along, sopping wet until I reached the park. Sitting on the park bench was Broadie.

"Hey," he said miserably. I stood there, dripping.

One is always at a disadvantage whilst wearing a swimsuit no matter how modest it is. I sat down next to him and he looked away. Maybe he didn't want me to see him upset.

"I suppose you are going to tell everyone aren't you?"

"Tell everyone what?" He didn't seem to notice I was talking.

"That I'm not hanging around with Bobby and Linkin anymore."

"Why would I tell anybody that? And why aren't you?"

This time he turned to me. "You would tell everyone because now you are talking. And I'm not, because I hate teasing people. It makes me feel low."

So he did realise I was talking. I kinda felt sorry for him. "I'm not going to tell anybody. I'm not that kind of person. And I'm glad you are going to stop teasing people. I teased Angie McKee for three years and now I can't say sorry."

"Angie went missing, didn't she?"

I nodded sadly. It hurt to talk about her. Luckily, he didn't press the matter.

"Well, I'm off." He stood up and looked me in the eye. "Thanks, Tory."

Once I was home, I ate dinner with my parents. They didn't address me so I didn't talk – they could find out when they paid attention to me. I went to bed early because I planned to go back to the lake tomorrow and swim again.

After not swimming for three years, you really miss it.

A/N: Phew. That was a long chapter. It took me AGES to write. I really would adore a review. I want to know what you thought and how I can improve. Three reviews for an update. Remember that!

RG