Disclaimer: We only own Bridget, Kagumi, and the original aspects of the plot. Everything else belongs to J.K.R. and her minions (yes, she has minions; she's awesome enough for them, at least).
Author's Notes: Sorry about the long hiatus, both Gumi and I were extremely busy (and Gumi had limited access to the Internet). Enjoy the chapter…
Chapter Nine: Twelve Dozen Brownies
Kagumi stared blankly at the piece of parchment held loosely in her hands. Somewhere, deep down, she was pleased that she had remembered to put a waterproofing charm on her letters before attempting to read them. And deep down, somewhere, she was sure that she secretly insane and that none of this was happening to her. But for now, she sniffled, pinching the bridge of her nose to stop the tears.
She's forgotten about the fight she and her father had had before they left, forgotten about tying her brothers to chairs so that they would have to listen to her for once. Forgotten about storming up to her and Jet's room, flinging herself on the bed and screaming herself hoarse into a pillow. Forgotten about, or perhaps ignored Jet walking into the room and sitting on the bed, silently offering comfort by stroking her hair. No words had come to either of them at that moment, and somehow, that was alright.
But this-- this letter, her father's worried words brought all of that rushing back. He had apologized profusely, still thinking too much. Thinking that she'd run away because of the fight, thinking the worst. Given the history between them, it wasn't unreasonable. But it still stung. Thinking it was his fault, that he'd lost another family member until he got the letter or whatever Raminus had sent to him to smooth it all over.
She hated him for that. For thinking some silly Founder magic could solve everything. She'd give anything to talk to her Papa, to hug him and ruffle his hair again, to have that sense of touch that her Pack needed in order to know that everything was alright. He didn't have that. And all she had was four striking teenage Wizards, a coauthor she'd never really spent more than twelve hours with, and a homesick bottomless pit where her heart should've been.
So dulled by grief was Kagumi that she didn't notice the boy standing behind her until he laid his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, tried to spin around, hide her tears and fling his hand off at the same time; needless to say, none of it happened that way. In trying to turn around, she got wrapped up in the chair, spun around it, fell in the floor and sat there with a tear-streaked face, a sore bottom and deeply bruised pride.
Glaring through thick lashes, she stared at Sirius, who was trying not to laugh.
"Don't look at me like that," she muttered.
Knocking aside his offered hand, she pulled herself to her feet and sat back down, hiding the letter and photograph that had come with it. He scraped a chair along the floor without so much as a look or gesture to see if it would be okay and sat next to her.
"Like what? Like you just overreacted and fell into the floor? Or like I'm concerned about why you're moping? Or like I'm wondering about the smell of..."
He paused, sniffing the air. With a slight frown, he pulled aside the pantry door and stared. Stacked neatly inside were no less than ten dozen brownies. As he stared, a small ding went off near the stove. Kagumi levitated yet another two dozen brownies out of the oven without getting up.
Sirius stared at her. "What?" she asked defensively.
"Why...in the name of Merlin's baggy robes...did you make one hundred and forty-four brownies?" he finally grated out. With a sigh, she sank back into the chair and put her head in her hands. "What was that?" he asked, referring to her muttered answer.
"I said, I got depressed. I got something I didn't expect in the post, so...I had to get my emotions out someway and I usually do that by cooking. I figured chocolate would be better for everyone involved," she sighed again, sitting up and blinking not four inches away from Sirius' face. With a startled cry, she pushed him away. "You do sneak about, don't you?" she asked shakily, one hand on her chest.
He just grinned.
James walked in, yawning. Then he stopped, and sniffed the air, eerily similar to Sirius. "What's that smell?" he asked.
"Brownies," Sirius said cheerfully. "One hundred and forty-four of them."
James seemed to process this, shook his head and walked back to the door. "Well, something came for Jet so I'm going to be in the Den waiting for her --" He turned back around sharply. "Did you say one hundred and forty-four brownies?"
Kagumi merely nodded meekly. James sighed and exited the room, muttering something about "women." Sirius snickered. Smiling ruefully, she relaxed against the chair and stretched her legs over his.
He gave her a shocked look and pointed down at the legs currently spread across his lap. "And what the bloody hell is this about?"
"Well, if you're going to pry into my emotions, you'll just have to put up with the consequences. My family is very affectionate. Therefore, when attempting to comfort me, affection works best. You stuck your nose in, and now you have to give me affection. Serves you right; all that nonsense about curiosity and the cat is very wise."
She smiled at his sputtering, a purely predatory smirk, and stretched again. Finally, he gave up and relaxed.
"So...you wanna tell me what's wrong and why I walked in on the birth of nearly 150 brownies? Or better yet, why you looked as though you'd just lost your best friend?"
With a swift move, he'd maneuvered himself behind her chair and began rubbing her shoulders. With a groan, she moved her long hair.
"A girl could get used to this. Well, truthfully, before my...trip out here, however unexpected it was, my father and I got into a big fight. Nothing physical, because both of us know that our words hurt more than the sharpest smack. But it was stupid, and I didn't have enough time to apologize, or make anything okay before I got stuck here. And with you being sweet, and James and Jet being buddy-buddy, Remus' suspicion...It all just got to me."
"Not to mention that poor Wormy's just terrified of you," Sirius deadpanned.
Kagumi smacked his hand, and he laughed, a rich, deep sound; Kagumi wondered suddenly if Jet had heard that joyful sound yet.
"Of course, that's only because he saw that violent side before anything else. Give him one of the brownies. He'll come 'round."
Soundlessly, she turned the picture over. It showed a beautiful young woman; her black hair was blowing in a slight breeze, and there was a sparkle in her eyes that just screamed "Mischief!" There was a smattering of freckles across her nose, a trait that Kagumi had inherited. Sirius chuckled, and was willing to bet that the woman's eyes were the same smoky green as Kagumi's. He leaned down closer.
"That your mum?" he asked softly.
"Yeah. That's her. I didn't have a picture of her, so my dad sent one." Kagumi sniffled. There was a scent of a long ago sadness about her, a sort of melancholy, but Sirius didn't push it.
"She's lovely. Where is she?" he asked.
"I...I don't know. I haven't seen her in a long time."
Sirius knew she was hedging, avoiding the question, but he let it go. A woman who made 144 brownies when she got sad didn't need to be upset. At least, not for another month or two. He grinned, and decided to keep that thought to himself. Kagumi's ears perked, and they heard the sound at the same time: the front door shutting.
"Jet's back," Kagumi said. "I should probably go talk to her. But for now, I think I'll stock up on courage. Read; chocolate."
And with that, she stood up and grabbed a brownie from the counter, where she had put the last two batches. She chewed slowly, savoring the white chocolate chips mixed in with the handmade batter. Sighing, she put the letters (One from her father, one from her best friends, and then the one from Hogwarts) into the biggest envelope, and sat back down.
Sirius sat down beside her. "What now?" he asked.
"Well, I just...I don't know. I feel as though I owe the four of you something, and I hate that feeling. I cook for Mrs. P, mainly because I bully her out of the kitchen. I talk pranks with Mr. P. I fly with you and James and argue with Remus. Me and Jet try to give each other space, and it still feels...odd.
"I mean, I'm still hard-pressed to think that you and James care, or that the Potters don't mind us staying here. The start of term is coming up soonish, and...I don't know. I feel like I know so much about you guys, but I don't think either of you understand me and Jet." She looked down and realized that she had been unconsciously signing with her hands.
"Well," Sirius drawled. "You could start by explaining that." He pointed to her hands.
"Oh. Well, my brothers and I developed our own signs based on a deaf friend of ours. Her name was Joyce, and she went to school with Alexis and Matt." Kagumi smiled at the memory. "She taught us sign language, and then my brothers and I modified it for pranks. It makes for a good way of communication so that you don't give away your position."
"Ooh," Sirius said, eyes twinkling. "Maybe you should teach us."
Kagumi smiled indulgently. "Alright. How bout this?" She tapped her nose twice. "That generally means trouble. Or, 'You're in trouble,'." Then she scratched lightly at the space between her eyebrows. "That means...'Oh God', or 'Oi Vey' or what have you." And on the lesson went, until Sirius' brain was buzzing with the possibilities. Then, both sets of ears twitched at the same time.
"KAGUMI!" Jet's voice sounded far away, but panicked.
"Oh Goddess..." Kagumi paled starkly, then rushed to find her friend, with Sirius right behind her. "Jet! Keep talking, sweetie! Where are you?" Kagumi yelled as she rushed up the stairs.
"- - room!"
Kagumi turned on a dime and stopped at Jet's room. Almost afraid of what they'd find, Kagumi and Sirius looked at each other and slowly pushed open the door. Jet's legs were sticking out from behind her bed, and her hand was tapping the wall impatiently.
"Jet?" Kagumi asked slowly.
"Gumi? Oh, good, I was afraid I'd have to get one of the boys. I need a little help."
"I think that's apparent," Sirius whispered theatrically, then "Oww!" Kagumi smacked him soundly on the shoulder.
Bridget sighed. "Oh, well, nevermind about getting the boys. How lucky am I?"
"Jet, what's wrong?" Kagumi walked around to the bed, and stopped, staring at the situation with wide eyes. "Oh."
"Um, you'll laugh at me." Sirius could almost hear the cringe in Bridget's voice.
"I'm already smirking at you, so go ahead and tell me." Kagumi choked out.
"I'm...um…. well, I'm stuck behind the bed." Bridget sighed loudly again. "Are you trying to tell me that you didn't notice?"
"You know, one of these days I'm going to stop being surprised by anything you get yourself into."
Kagumi grunted as she pulled the headboard out from the wall and with a barely audible pop Jet's head and right shoulder came free. Kagumi sat down on the floor, and watched as Jet pulled a battered beach towel from behind the headboard.
"This is why I don't like asking for help; people always find it so amusing. I mean, I've only done it once before."
Kagumi decided it was best to ignore the statement: there was just too much to work with for it to be fair teasing game. "So...how did you get stuck?" Kagumi smirked, watching Jet blush as she noticed Sirius's barely contained amusement.
"I was looking for my towel," she said in a matter-of-fact voice. "I wanted to take a shower."
"But there are towels in the bathroom, Jet." Kagumi helped her friend to her feet.
"But they're not my towel," Jet said, as if this made all the sense in the world.
In a way, it did, at least to Bridget, and not many people could argue logic with her. Kagumi watched as her friend spared Sirius, who had finally busted into tearful laughter, an amused glance before moving to the bathroom they shared. Suddenly, Kagumi couldn't bear to let another loved one slip away, and she was across the room before she was really conscious of moving.
"Jet!"
Kagumi waved her wand in Sirius's general direction and heard his startled shout as the door shut in his face.
"Yes?" Bridget asked. Her friend's voice was just as friendly as it normally was, anyone listening in would think that their relationship was in perfect shape, but her brown eyes, normally so warm and kind, were distant, cold even.
"Jet, I just..." Kagumi's well-intentioned speech fled from her. She faltered, looking away from the unfamiliar eyes. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know it won't fix what's going on, and I know that maybe I should've heard you out, but I was afraid that maybe you were listening to your heart a little too much and I tried to overcompensate by using my head too much and neither of us was blameless, but the gloating was completely petty and unnecessary and I..." Kagumi paused to take a breath. "I'm sorry. And if you have any ideas...I promise that I won't shoot them down without at least hearing them out first." Kagumi's cheeks burned, but she stood her ground, waiting for Jet to say something, or turn away.
It was silent for a few seconds, although it seemed much longer, and Bridget gave Kagumi a searching look. "Okay, fine. Forgiven."
Although, as far as Kagumi knew, Bridget avoided outright lying as much as she could, she had the feeling that, even if she was forgiven, this would not be forgotten. At least, not for a very long time. Before Kagumi could say anything more, Bridget turned around and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Sirius stood, stretching as he did so. "Okay, I'm off to bed. It's getting late even for me. G'night everyone."
Kagumi groaned. "I'm tired, too, but I should probably put the brownies away before I go up."
She cast a longing look up at the ceiling where her room was before glaring at the kitchen. Sirius tried not to laugh. "If you didn't make so many of them, you wouldn't have to put them away. Even we couldn't eat that many in one night, and Mr. P can polish off two dozen on his own."
Gumi turned her glare to Sirius. "If you're not going to help," she said primly, "don't say anything at all. I could always convince you to assist me, after all."
"Right." Sirius sidled away, towards the stairs. He knew when to quit. "I'm off, then."
She waved him off, and Sirius made his way up the stairs. James was involved in a book, so he didn't expect a response from his best friend. It was a rare occurrence for the other boy to be so focused on reading, but they all knew how to treat the situation. Shut up and let it happen unless Quidditch or life-or-death situations were involved.
He paused as he passed the door to Bridget's room. There were still small sounds coming from the room and he wondered if he should say good night, or at least check on her. She had seemed upset when she left that evening. He knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Sirius opened the door and walked in the room. He stopped short. Merlin's—
"Oh, Sirius." Bridget hurriedly shrugged on her robe, cinching it at the waist with a neat bow. "Sorry, I thought you were Gumi." She pushed her hair out of her eyes, avoiding his gaze and blushing pink. "Just let me find something to put my hair back and I'll—"
"No, leave it down. I - it looks nice."
Bridget turned sharply, eyes wide and her blush deepening. Sirius tried not to blush himself. He didn't know what had possessed him to say that. The girl was very pretty, but Sirius was sure that he had seen better. It might have been the innocence that pervaded everything she did; even half dressed she didn't seem to notice what she could do to a boy.
She was tall with killer legs that seemed to go on forever and what looked like a perfect hourglass figure. With a body like that, most girls would want to show it off or at least use it to get what she wanted, but Bridget didn't seem to even realize the power she had, spending most of her time in (thankfully) tight jeans and oversized t-shirts that he was pretty sure could fit him or James.
"Sirius?" She frowned at him, full lips drawn downwards, and concern in her big, brown eyes as she pushed the dark hair away from her face again. "Sirius, are you okay?"
He let himself examine her from her full, pink lips, practically begging to have the frown kissed off of, to the dark brown waves falling over her shoulders in a way that should be have him wanting to get her a brush instead of running his hands through it himself down to the too-big bathrobe clinging to her curves so perfectly it managed to be respectful even if he would do anything to see, feel what it was hiding. Sirius sighed.
Shit.
"Oh, um, yes. I'm fine." He grinned at her, back on familiar ground. "I was just wondering if you were feeling better."
Bridget smiled brightly. "Much better, thank you. I just had a bit of a shock, that's all."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes. It just occurred to me that I wasn't going to have my last school year with my friends. I spent most of twelve years with a lot of my classmates and it's going to be weird not graduating with them."
For a split second she looked heartbreakingly sad. It was soon covered by her blinding smile again, but Sirius was sure it had been there. He pulled her into a hug and tried to ignore the turn his brain was taking.
"Now you have new friends."
Sirius pulled back again, letting her go. She smiled briefly, avoiding his eyes. "I'm glad. Thank you."
"Well, I'm going to bed. I just wanted to check on you." He grinned at her. "Unless you want to come with me. I have no objections."
Bridget giggled prettily, eyes sparkling. "It's a wonder you don't have more girls falling at your feet, love," she managed to say between giggles. "I'll have to pass, though. Maybe another time."
She pushed him gently out of the room and he turned around, leaning lazily against the doorframe. Sirius bent down, so he was eye-level with her. "I'll have to hold you to that."
"You do and I'll tell Mrs. Potter, James, and Kagumi that you propositioned me and I feel uncomfortable. Good night, Sirius."
With one last smile, Bridget shut the door in his face. "Conniving!" he said loudly through the door. "I love that in a woman!"
Whistling, he turned to go to his bedroom, a huge grin on his face.
Bridget walked down from her, intent on curling up with one of her new books and a cup of hot chocolate while the adrenaline from her run made its way through her system. She passed through the living room (for the life of her she couldn't remember what Mrs. Potter had called it, it had been something fancy and… um… fancy) and into the kitchen before processing what she had seen on the couch and making a quick u-turn back into the other room.
He was lying on the couch, well, sprawled across it, in a manner that he managed to make look graceful and effortless. It seemed like James Potter only ever looked graceful when sleeping or flying; otherwise he was all arms and legs, like a newly recruited sailor getting his sea legs during stormy weather. There was a split second when Bridget almost walked right out of there and into the safety of her room—well, technically, she supposed it was his room, as he was the only heir to the Potter estate—but she had never been one to back off from something just because it frightened her, and, as much as she hated to admit it, James Potter scared her.
She knew who he grew up to be, who he really was under his egotistical, teenage-boy self. James was still completely full of himself and thought he had the right to do whatever he pleased, but he was essentially a brave, intelligent, caring, good person. He was destined to be a hero, he was a hero, and one wrong move, one wrong word from her could change his future. Even if she wasn't supposed to, Bridget knew that she could make everything right, or, at the very least, better, but she could also make it so much worse, and that power scared her.
James turned over, snuggling into—a package? That was… odd. It also looked rather uncomfortable, especially with his glasses pushed up like that and his legs hanging over the end of the couch. She couldn't leave him like that.
Bridget knelt down next to him. "James?" she whispered, not wanting to startle him too badly. "James." In response he hugged the package closer to him. She bit her lip and hesitated before gently shaking his shoulder. "James?"
"Huh?"
"James, wake up."
He slowly blinked his eyes open, focusing on her after a few moments. "Bridget?"
"Yeah. What are you doing down here?"
"I was waiting for you," he said. James sat up, stretching lazily.
"Well," Bridget said. "Good job, then. I'm here."
"It's all talent."
She took a sip out of the mug, trying not to smile. "Hm. Of that I'm sure. And what would you have done if I had taken my hot chocolate on up and passed you right on by?"
"You were unable to resist my manly—did you say hot chocolate?"
"Yup." He was wide-eyed with hope, so, with a sigh, she held the mug out to him. "Want some?"
He hesitated, but took it before handing the package to her. "Thanks. This came for you while you were out."
Bridget took it, frowning. She opened the brown paper slowly to reveal a large, brown leather book that she had never seen before.
"Was there a note with it?"
"No. This is really good hot chocolate."
"It's all talent," she murmured, opening the book cautiously. After all, this was the magic world, anything could be dangerous. "Oh my."
"What is it?"
"A photo album. My mum was making some for me and my friends. I guess she finished."
She opened it to the first page, looking at the pictures of her as a little kid with her oldest school friends. She hadn't really thought about it, but going to Hogwarts for her seventh year meant that she wouldn't be going to St. Michael's for her senior year, and after spending 12 years with her classmates, that was a bit much.
"Is that you?"
James was looking at a picture of her when she was about 5 or so (she could tell from her school jumper) and cover from head to toe in dirt and grass, looking deceptively innocent.
"Uh, yeah. It's a long story."
"Cute. Do you have any pictures of Gumi?"
Bridget frowned. She didn't—"Not when we were younger. Maybe…" She flipped to the back of the book, smiling triumphantly when she found the newest pages. "There!"
"Merlin's beard," James muttered, "that's you? And her?"
"Yes." She looked down at the picture, wondering what had him so worked up. It was just a picture of them at the beach. "What's wrong?"
"You're hot," he said, tone bordering on awe and staring at her with wide eyes. "And for once, she's not wearing shapeless clothing. Why don't you two wear that all the time?"
"Because. It's a bathing suit. You don't wear that all the time unless you're camping at the beach or something," replied Bridget. Her lips twitched, this was amusing. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Fine. I'm trying to burn the picture into memory."
"Why don't we look at some other photos?" She turned the page, ignoring James's disappointed groan. "I do wear a bathing suit quite often, you know. Most of my birthday parties were at the beach."
"Beach? We missed your birthday?"
James sounded upset and it took her a minute to understand what he was saying. Most places only had beaches that were comfortable to swim at (in a bathing suit) during the summer and they'd been there the entire summer.
"Oh, heavens no. My birthday's in December. I live in Hawaii, love, we have tropical weather year-round." She turned the page. "Gumi's birthday's coming up, though."
James smiled suddenly, eyes lighting up, and Bridget sighed; realizing what she'd gotten herself into.
Author's Notes: Well, there it is. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than this last one. Gumi's still having difficulties with computer access, but we're making do with her limited Internet time and my limited time in general.
Thanks to itra, ellesra, and baby blue eyes10 for reviewing, baby blue eyes10, Queen of Monkey Magic and ellesra for putting us on AuthorAlert, Queen of Monkey Magic, and ellesra for putting DIN on StoryAlert, and ellesra for fav'ing us (both the story and us as authors).
Shameless Plug: Just so you all know, part of the reason why we're so spotty about updates is because I have two fics of my own that I'm posting, so without Gumi to push me to write this one as well, I tend to give my attention to the others. If you enjoy the story and my writing style, then perhaps you'll enjoy my stories as well. There's even one with time travel and the Marauders, if that's your cup of tea, and a trio-centric one. It's all under my other penname, JetGriffins89, under our favorite authors. Just a thought.