The group of seventh years sat at their usual spot at the end of Gryffindor's table for breakfast, the day after Sirius had dumped Tara. Said girl sported red, puffy eyes and was carrying a pack of tissues. Sarah, Annabel, Felicity and Kate were patting her on the back and whispering their sympathetic nothings in her ears.
"I mean seriously," Kate was saying, passing Tara another tissue, "Who would want to go out with that womanizer? And his hair! It's so- euwww!"
Tara sniffled and nodded, but she didn't seem to even register what her friend was saying, "He dumped me. I bet he's off making out with Melissa right now," she predicted dolefully, pushing a strand of her styled blonde hair behind her ear.
Just then, Sirius and Melissa walked into the Great Hall together, holding hands. As they watched, he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
Tara gave a loud sob and ran from the Great Hall, her friends running behind her, trying to catch up to her, the boys just sitting there looking stunned.
"Oops," Sirius said, making Mel giggle happily. She was still in shock that she was finally with the man of her dreams. Then the two noticed that the rest of their group - James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Kendra - were staring at them in shock. Then they erupted into cheers and joyous shouts of "welcome back, Sirius!" and "'bout time guys!"
Sirius looked at James, begging him to take his best friends back, "Took you long enough," said James, grinning. Sirius felt a huge smile creep onto his face. It had been so long…
He was distracted by Dumbledore standing up, and announcing, "Silence please!"
The Great Hall was immediately so silent that everyone could hear Tara's sobs coming from the girl's bathroom on the third floor.
"Now, as some of you may have heard," Dumbledore continued, his blue eyes twinkling merrily, "Hogwarts' Christmas Dance is coming up in 2 weeks, on the 23rd of December. This is for fifth and sixth years only and there will be a DJ playing and you will be able to request songs on the night. It will be a partnered evening, and there will be voting beforehand to decide on the sixth year Princess, Prince, Queen and King.
On a more sombre note, you will see in the Daily Prophet today what the Ministry has kept quiet for quite some time. The man we all know as Lord Voldemort is gathering strength. In the Daily Prophet there is an article about a mass murder of muggles in Surrey that happened last night. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of you to take care and to make sure that you are never outside of Hogwarts alone without any magical protection. Could you all please remind your families of the danger both the wizarding world and theirs is currently in? Thank you all, dig in!" And with that, he strode back to the staff table and all the breakfast appeared.
Lily's face was white, "I don't understand it!" she said, looking at the others apprehensively, "How can the Daily Prophet have kept this from us? I mean, we have a right to know what's going on in the wizarding world!"
Remus nodded, "And you're muggleborn, so you're under more threat than all the rest of us."
Sirius had wrapped his arms around Melissa protectively, "They worship him," he said bitterly, making as if to spit contemptuously on the ground, "My- old family. Thank god they've disowned me!"
"Oh, baby," Melissa sighed sadly, looking up at him, her chocolate brown eyes wet with unshed tears.
"It doesn't matter," Sirius said, brushing off her sympathy roughly, "Life's a bitch. I hate them. I always have and I always will."
"Well, this might be a bad time, but will you go to the dance with me?" Mel asked Sirius hopefully, crossing her fingers behind her back.
Sirius nodded, "Sure babe," he said, smiling at her with the famous I'm-Looking-At-You smile that all his groupies would die for.
The happy mood that had been created by the news of the Christmas Dance had been ruined by the sobering news that Voldemort was becoming stronger. Many younger students were seen crying or looking teary at the news of their relations or friends relations being killed in the Surrey mass murder.
xXoXx
…And the goblin rebellion began in 1365, at the time of Ganderfound the Great's downfall. These two events are thought to be related, as the goblin community was said to be in chaos when Ganderfound the Great retired the throne. This means that the later rebellion in 1610 was correlated with the death of the goblin ruler Gooligan the Giant and…
Kendra was having trouble remembering all the notes Professor Binns had given them that day, and so she winced as she re-read her sentences. Ganderfound the Great? Gooligan the Giant? Wasn't it Gooligan the Great and Ganderfound the Giant? And if so, which one died first? She sighed. There was absolutely no point in learning all these pathetic dates! Why, out of school, would they ever need to know such pointless details? She stopped her rambling thoughts as she saw a familiar boy walking in the library doors.
Remus…
Oh, how she hoped he would ask her to the dance! And then she could tell him her secret… The one she had never told anyone but Lily, Kendra and Chloe - her abnormality. She wouldn't normally tell her boyfriends her secret, but Remus was an exception. She had been dating him for slightly over half a year and she felt ready to tell him. She felt like they should be together for the rest of their lives, but that, she told herself, was probably just a childish tendency.
He had obviously spotted her, as he smiled and began walking in her direction. She smiled back at him and waved.
He came over to her and whispered his hello in case Madam Pince, the strict librarian should throw them out. It made her happy when he did thoughtful things like this for her.
"Having trouble?" he asked cheerfully, leaning over her crumpled page.
"You could say that," she replied jokingly, looking up at him with her mood considerably lightened.
"Need some help?" he offered easily.
She nodded with relief, "Aw Remus. Love you!"
He looked at her warmly, "Do you really mean that? I mean, are you sure?"
She nodded again, feeling like Noddy from a children's book her muggle father had read to her when she was little, "Remus, when I'm with you I am happy, when I am apart from you I miss you. I've been wanting you to ask me out for so long and now that you have, I am happy. Whatever I feel for you feels an awful lot like love to me."
"Then you won't mind if I told you-" He broke off, suddenly realizing what he had almost said.
"Told me what?"
"That I'm a- a-" he sighed, "It's no use! I can't tell you! I'm going out with the girl I love, and I don't want you to reject me when I tell you what I turn into once a month!"
She gasped with a dawning understanding. So this was why he disappeared near the full moon and was always missing for a couple of days afterwards! She couldn't believe she had missed it!
"Oh Remus!" she breathed heavily, running her hand through his sandy hair reassuringly.
"I'm a werewolf, KJ."
And with that, she hugged him firmly, "Remus - know this. I won't judge you on something that you can't control and I won't break up with you because of it. When were you bitten?" she asked nervously, not wanting to upset him.
He stared out of the window, remembering what was probably the most painful and most horrible time of his life.
He was four and had gone out into his huge back garden to catch snails. His parents were inside, working. His mother, Jane Lupin, worked at the Ministry and his father, Nick Lupin, was a teacher at a high school in London and was often away. Because both his parents were here, they were spending their time together and allowing their son to roam free, a mistake they would be sure not to repeat after the incident that evening.
It was a full moon, four-year-old Remus noticed, toddling down across the grass to their pond, where he knew several snails would be hiding. He heard noises in the distance - a haunting howling noise that made his spine tingle uncomfortably, but still he pressed on. Suddenly, out of the semi-darkness came a dark shape, moving quickly towards him. He made a small noise in the back of his throat, but was speechless and found he was frozen to the spot from sheer terror. The shape came closer and closer, and he could tell what it was by that point. His mother had made sure to drill into him the dangers of a werewolf, and to never stray into woods where their howls could be heard. He hadn't realized, at the age of four, how fatal such a mistake could be.
He never had a chance. The werewolf came out of the dusk and leapt at him, tackling him to the ground within a heartbeat. A second later, it was tearing at his clothes and skin. Its raspy breath and yellow teeth repulsed Remus, and he cowered on the grass in terror. Finally, the werewolf's teeth sunk into his shoulder, and Remus knew his life would be forever changed.
He screamed loudly, and a few moments later his parents came running out from the house. But they were too late. He had already been bitten. The werewolf had already gone, without leaving any identification, so Remus had so far not been able to discover the identity of the werewolf that had bitten him.
He told this to Kendra, and she held him tight in a loving embrace.
"I'm a metamorphagus," she said gently, still holding him tenderly, "You told me your secret and now I've told you mine."
"Wow," he breathed, shocked, "Can you show me?"
She screwed up her face in concentration and a couple of seconds later she had short, red hair and blue eyes.
He gazed at her admiringly, wishing his 'gift' was as profound as hers.
"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked slowly and meaningfully.
Kendra squealed with delight, "Yes! Yes Remus!" she said happily, jumping up and down on the spot.
He laughed, giddy with joyfulness. Lord Voldemort may be out there somewhere causing havoc, but Hogwarts is safe, he thought, feelings of safety and security becoming immediate in his mind, Hogwarts is safe.
Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know?
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There's no other way
To better say
I love you, I love you...
Read some Byron, Shelly and Keats
Recited it over a Hip-Hop beat
I'm having trouble saying what I mean
With dead poets and drum machines
I know I had some studio time booked
But I couldn't find a killer hook
Now you've gone & raised the bar right up
Nothing I write is ever good enough
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There's no other way
To better say
I love you, I love you...
I'm getting off my stage
The curtains pull away
No hyperbole to hide behind
My naked soul exposes
Whoah.. oh.. oh.. oh.. Whoah.. oh..
Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
Hey guys!!! I just realized I haven't done any Author's Notes at the end of my chapters. Song credit in this chapter goes to Natasha Bedingfield with These Words.
Please review!!! It doesn't take long and it makes my day so hit the purple/blue button and review away!!! Haha that rhymed...
xx
Baby seal