Chapter 13:
A Potter Breakfast
Jet woke to the scent of another of Gumi's breakfasts. Smelled like... omelets and bacon this morning. Eggs for the protein, and meat to solve the predatory feelings left over from the previous night. Smiling sleepily, she made her way to the kitchen to find, not surprisingly, that Remus and Kagumi were arguing again. James was leaning back in his chair, drinking more of the freshly squeezed orange juice (how on earth Kagumi got fresh oranges every morning was beyond her) that had become a breakfast staple in the Potter Household. Jet cringed as she heard Kagumi slap the spatula on the table and paused in the doorway, wondering whether breakfast was worth dealing with an irritable lycanthrope and an irritable witch at once.
"Dammit, Lupin, you said cheese omelet. That's what I made."
"See? This is why I never eat breakfast here," Remus snapped. "Especially after last night. I don't know why I'm even up!"
"Oh and why is that, Mr. I-am-so-paranoid-I-won't-eat-properly?" Jet stifled a laugh and sat next to James, grabbing the only empty mug at the table.
"You're insufferable! I mea--" Remus stopped short, because Kagumi's hand, holding the still steaming spatula, was less than an inch from his eyes. Without even looking, she dumped the cooling omelet on his plate, along with four pieces of toast and a generous helping of bacon. (It was widely known between the Marauders and their new friends that Remus was generally considered to be too skinny. Of course, turning into a ravenous, rampaging carnivore once a month didn't help one's metabolism...)
"Listen to me, Lupin. I fixed what you asked for, because I'm trying to be nice. James asked me, for the House-elves sanity, to cut down on my arguments with you. So I will only say this once: if I have to shove every last crumb of food down that skinny little neck, I will." Satisfied that her point had been made, Kagumi sat between him and Sirius.
"Sirius--" Remus began, when Kagumi cut her eyes at him with The Look. With a grumpy sigh, he picked up his fork and began eating. James looked at Gumi in amazement.
"I've never seen anyone able to out-stubborn Moony. I'm impressed."
"Well, I am not." Jet narrowed her eyes. "Gumi, dear, you seem to have a bad habit of threatening people with spatulas."
"And knives, or wooden spoons, or towels, or OW!" Grimacing at Kagumi's painful kick, Sirius shut up and stole two pieces of bacon from Peter's plate. Jet nodded as if the other girl had only managed to prove her point.
"We have to teach you to be nicer." With a sigh, she took another sip of her hot chocolate (the boys had quickly learned that she was not a huge fan of either tea or coffee, and that they were not to touch her cocoa if they wanted to retain all body parts). "I guess it's impossible for you not to threaten at least one person a day."
"It's a Potter breakfast, Jet. What do you expect? Someone has to teach them how to behave." Kagumi gave her friends a long-suffering look that only lasted until she and Sirius cracked up at the same time. "Yeah, right."
#
Nervously, Kagumi motioned for Bridget to ring the doorbell. It was a rather plain door, oaken, and well made, if not beautiful, and it belied the importance of the family who lived behind it. With a grimace, Jet pushed the tiny glowing button, and stepped back as the door swung open to reveal a skinny blonde girl. Thank Merlin she'd managed to keep James away from the doorbell this time.
"Who're you?" she sneered. "We don't give to charities anymore, so bugger--"
"Petunia!" Lily's shocked voice came from the foyer. "They are my guests."
"Oh. More of your kind? I thought they looked familiar."
There as no reply, only a disgusted glance from the elder Evans sister as Lily came into view. She was wearing a simple white blouse and dark shorts, and somehow, she seemed to outshine the sun; at least to James, that is. Kagumi smacked his arm lightly in hopes that he would, maybe, stop staring so obviously.
"Oh. Ev...I mean, Lily, you look nice," James said softly, his hazel eyes locked on hers. Kagumi smiled inwardly; Jet wasn't the only one who could scheme.
"Wow," Lily looked at Kagumi and Jet. "You actually taught him some manners." She smiled brightly at the boys, James included, and motioned for everyone to come inside. Kagumi's feet stayed firmly planted on the little doorstep.
"Actually, Lily, we were hoping that you'd come back to the manor with us," Kagumi shrugged. "I don't think your sister approves very much of magic, and we need all the tutoring we can get." Lily nodded slowly. "Besides, you're in Gryffindor and there's something I've been working on; I could really use a second opinion. I think I mentioned it at the party."
"That...is very true. All right, but no funny business, Potter." Jet and Kagumi shared a smile over Peter's head; this part of their plan was going perfectly. Kagumi grabbed on to Sirius, who Disapparated with a loud crack. Remus took Bridget's hand, reluctantly, and they Disapparated at the same time as Peter, which left James and Lily standing alone. He smiled half-heartedly, and opened his arms.
#
"That...is unexpected." Cordan smiled at Raminus; it was rare for something to surprise him. "Those girls are born schemers. They could give you a run for your money, Ram."
"Tell me about it," Raminus grumbled. "I never expected them to fit in quite so well in our worlds. If we're not careful, we might be out of a job soon."
"Yeah, but you have to remember, we picked them for a reason. Besides, they'd never take our jobs: the pay sucks."
"I know. So shut up and let's watch what happens." Raminus turned his eyes back towards the gilded mirror, not noticing (or perhaps ignoring) Cordan's smug grin.
#
"Potter, is this some kind of setup?" Lily narrowed her eyes.
"Not on my part," James said truthfully. "The other girls just caught onto whoever they were more comfortable with."
"Whomever," Lily corrected absently; her mind was busy running through her encounter with the girls.
She hadn't pegged them as schemers, and yet, something about this situation screamed 'setup.' Perhaps Potter had asked them for help; it would be just like him, that no good, slimy Quidditch-playing...Quaffle-catching...She shook her head and sighed deeply.
"I'm not going anywhere in your arms, Potter."
"Well, then you'll be stuck here, with your sister, all day, Evans," James said, mimicking the exact tone Lily used.
"Somehow, Potter, that doesn't bother me half as much as willingly stepping into your arms."
#
Raminus winced. "Ouch. That has to hurt."
"Yeah, she's rather feisty for such a nice girl." Cordan tsk-ed sadly. "And here I thought they were doing so well."
"Well, we know the spark is there. Maybe the fire'll light soon. In all the other worlds, she was still physically violent towards him at this age. Compared to most other realms, this is better progress than we could've hoped for."
#
"C'mon, Evans. I can't be that bad." James sounded whiny, even to his own ears. He immediately cleared his throat.
"You'd be surprised," Lily said dryly. Rolling her eyes, she took a reluctant step forward. "Let's get this over with, Flyboy."
Before she knew it, his arms had encircled her waist, and, even if they were much lower than was proper, she found herself feeling… at home. She tried to ignore the way he smelled; masculine, and strong, with a hint of the pines that lined his estate. And something else, underneath everything; some scent she couldn't identify. Pressing her ear against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat quicken and somewhere, some part of her mind admitted that maybe this wasn't as bad as she had feared.
With a loud pop, much softer than the crack Sirius's disappearance had made, she was standing on the marble doorstep of the Potter Mansion. It was a very beautiful house, a soft blue-white color. The grass seemed greener than any she had ever seen, and the forest to the east made the pine-scented breeze very pleasant. In fact, she took a deep breath, she smelled something sweet... grapes. Grapes, and other berries to the west; that was what she hadn't been able to identify in his scent. She sniffed appreciatively, getting a noseful of fruit and Potter. Which reminded her that she was still in his arms.
"Potter, you can let go now."
"Right."
He dropped his arms slowly, and she tried to convince herself that the sudden pounding of her heart was a delayed reaction to being squeezed through an extra-dimensional bendy-straw. The door swung open, to reveal a matronly looking woman, with kind hazel eyes and a gentle smile. Her silver hair was braided and coiled neatly in a bun, and Lily immediately thought that this was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen. The thought, nobility, sprang to mind and Lily smiled before she could help it.
"You must be Lily Evans. James mentions you all the time!" The woman, who could only be James's mother, clapped her hands together and motioned her inside.
"Really?" Lily looked slyly at James, who was resolutely staring at the sky, pretending that neither woman existed. "Yes, I'm Lily Evans. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Potter."
"Oh, please, dear, no need for such formality. We're not like most of the other purebloods. You can call me Mrs. P, or Vivian, whichever you're more comfortable with. The others are already out back." Mrs. Potter looked at James. "James, be careful, the last two corridors are acting funny again. I think one of your father's charms has gone awry. Perhaps you should take her through the second story instead." She winked conspiratorially, and walked serenely down the hall to the library.
#
Lily walked a careful distance away from James, her eyes straight ahead. "Potter, I hate to admit it, but you've got a nice home."
"I know. I'm very lucky. Since the girls showed up and decided to pitch in, house-elves are actually complaining because there's not enough work to do anymore. Can you believe that?" he laughed, and Lily nearly tripped; it was such a heartfelt sound, so enthusiastic for life. She tried to steer her thoughts in another direction.
"You really care about them, don't you?"
James frowned thoughtfully at this.
"Yeah. Even though Bridget can be... odd, and Kagumi gets downright creepy at times, it's never boring here anymore, and we both know that things tend to explode when Sirius or I get bored. Or, of course, when Gumi gets mad...or bored...or sad..." He stopped, grinning roguishly. "Are you seeing the same pattern here that I am? Anyway...There's a life to this place that there wasn't a few months ago. Even though we're in the middle of a war, you can't really feel it here anymore. They..." He gestured soundlessly. "There's no word for it. They fill empty spaces we didn't even know were there."
#
Kagumi smiled broadly when James and Lily walked out of the open-air corridor that led to the backyard. They were talking softly, and in the three minutes it took for them to walk over to the rest of the group, there hadn't been any violence or raised voices. Jet smiled at Gumi, and they nodded at the same time; that was a good sign. Sirius, however, seemed to be a bit more oblivious. They'd left it up to James to inform that Kagumi's secret project was putting together a show for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, since she hoped to try out for the sport once they arrived at Hogwarts.
"Come on, I wanna fly, I wanna fly, I wanna fly, I wanna fly, I wan--"
"Sirius Valentine Black, if you say that you want to fly one more time, I will smack you with a broomstick into next freakin' Thursday!" Kagumi gritted through clenched teeth. Sirius gave her a look.
"Oh, that's what you were talking about Gumi," Bridget said. "I was wondering why you were talking about a dead saint."
Bridget seemed to think that was explanation enough and continued flipping through the book, post-it notes handy to mark which spells she wanted to teach herself that evening. Sirius still had his mouth open, prepared to speak, but Kagumi on the other hand, looked very confused.
"What?"
"Hm?"
"What are you talking about? A "dead saint"?"
"Valentine's a Catholic saint," she responded without looking up from her book. "He was imprisoned for performing Christian marriages during the Roman persecution, and is reputed to have healed a blind jailer's daughter, then giving her a farewell letter before his execution and signing it 'from your Valentine.' Supposedly the combination of the two resulted in the creation of our modern Valentine's Day traditions. Well, that along with both pagan traditions, and capitalistic reasons."
"How do you know that?"
"Irish-Catholic, of the Bostonian stock, and twelves years in the Catholic school system. Also, I read a lot... and watch the History Channel."
"How'd you find out my middle name?" Sirius whispered, wide eyed and frightened as he stared at Gumi.
"I bribed Peter with white chocolate brownies." Kagumi smiled in a self-satisfied way. "He told me all about that incident in the broom closet."
Sirius looked horrified. "That was not my fault! There was scheming and an ungodly amount of Firewhisky involved!"
Bridget looked back and forth, clearly confused but willing to play along to get the full story.
"Well, that'll teach you not to step into a closet and snog whoever happens to be there at the time, you--" Kagumi broke off as James caught onto their conversation and laughed loudly.
"Oh, Gumi, that was all over the school for weeks. Poor Padfoot couldn't even step into a classroom without somebody reminding him of it. Even Minnie gave him a hard time."
"Minnie?" Jet asked. She groaned. "You didn't."
"Minerva McGonagall. Our Head of House." Peter chirped helpfully.
"Mind, she only gave him a hard time because she knew that it served him right for sneaking into Aberforth's storehouse and getting piss drunk on a dare." Remus said from the shade of a tree, where he sat reading a book. Kagumi smirked at her friend.
"So. It seems, friends and fellows, that we are at a bit of an impasse." Jet looked closely at Kagumi's eyes. Oh no… she thought, that's the same look her brothers get. Kagumi smiled widely now, knowing that Sirius was on the hook and thoroughly unable to get off. Of course, that was part of the act. "Siri, darling, I'll make you a deal: I'll not mention the broom closet to anyone." Sirius' look of relief was enough to make Lily laugh. "However, you have to beat yours truly in a test of skill."
Sirius resumed his previous swagger, confident that he could beat her at anything she chose…except maybe cooking. "Name the game, girlie."
"Girlie?" Jet's eyebrow quirked. "That better not include me."
Sirius' sly grin was enough to answer her, and she waved the idiocy onwards; she couldn't deprive them of their fun. Kagumi, on the other hand, was as cool as ever, unless you looked in her eyes: There, green fire blazed, from adrenalin and irritation; a deep desire to belong and show that she could hold her own.
"The game, Mr. Black, is flight. And should you beat me, I won't say anything about the closet. I beat you, however, and…" here the girl broke off, looking uncertain. "You shall owe me a favor." James's eyebrows went up; that didn't sound promising at all.
#
Kagumi hovered about two feet off the ground, roughly the same height as Sirius's broom. At James's signal (being that he was the most experienced flier on the sidelines) the two brooms rose. With a wild grin, Kagumi angled her broom towards the tree and began a fast dive, swooping less than a foot over Remus's head. He yelped, and dove to the ground as she cackled and regained her height; a few seconds later, Remus sat up and glared as the girl waved cheekily at him and serenely dodged a dive attack by Sirius. She may accept me for what I am, but aerial attacks are off limits! He thought, fully intending to talk to her later.
Sirius smirked, and leapt into a series of complicated maneuvers, positive that there was no way she could keep up with him. But when he looked back, she was on his tail, drafting his wake and keeping up turn for turn. He heard Lily's shocked whoop, as Kagumi smirked and did a double backwards loop for show.
Sighing, he decided to stop holding back and really put his friend through her paces. For nearly an hour, they did intricate moves, played Midair Keep Away, and eventually Sirius bowed his head.
"Do your best move, Pheonix, and we'll call it a game, and let Prongs decide who won."
He did a signature move that James had only ever seen on a Quidditch field. Kagumi, however, took a deep breath and reversed, spinning in a barrel-roll, which led into a steep climb, and then dove sharply. For the first time, Bridget was worried, she could already tell that was a difficult move and knew that neither boy would have let Gumi practice it, as inexperienced as she was. Kagumi swung her legs around the shaft of the broom, and Bridget tried not to shout out as Kagumi used the momentum of the broom to swing herself up to actually stand on the shaft like a surfboard; maybe the girl did know what she was doing, Jet admitted, as the broom shaft began to sink gracefully to the ground.
"Those lessons from 'Wika really paid off, Je - -" Kagumi's eyes went wide when she was about ten feet from the ground. It seemed to happen in slow motion.
The front of the broom tipped towards the ground, and a useless thought floated through her head. That wasn't standard stance. Jet instinctively turned away, knowing full well that she wasn't going to be able to do a damn thing, and, with Lily clutching his shirt, James suddenly found himself with his arms full of the two girls.
Kagumi stepped backwards, nearer the tail end, and upset the balance even more. Pitched forward, she hit the ground rolling, and everyone watched in horror as the broom handle hit the ground right behind her, tipping itself over and over, which repeatedly struck Kagumi's body. Finally the broom landed on the ground, quivering, and Kagumi lay face down, not moving. Bridget winced at the final thump and looked up, breathlessly afraid as she saw the girl's back arch, and then Kagumi went limp.
"GUMI!"
Jet's cry was only matched by Sirius's. Everyone else seemed to stand in stunned shock, as Sirius and Bridget raced to the unconscious girl. Jet found herself bent over her friend, searching for some sign of life. She had just found a rapid pulse and was trying to see if she was breathing when a shoulder pushed her out of the way and she looked up to tell James to back off, and stared in shock.
Remus Lupin shoved her out of the way, hitting his knees right by Kagumi's side, facing Sirius. The only thing James and Lily, approaching more cautiously, could tell was that the girl was breathing. Sirius carefully rolled Kagumi over onto her back, taking a harsh breath at the sight of her face.
Both lips were cut, and her face was mottled with the beginnings of bruises. When she hit the ground, she'd hit face first and as Kagumi flopped onto her back, her right shoulder had made a sick grinding sound; the boneless way her right arm lay made Bridget nervous. There was some bad swelling already beginning on her torso; that could a rib or two she'd broken.
Snippets of sound registered in her ears, as she dimly heard James telling a House-Elf to summon Vivian, and reassuring Lily in soft tones. But louder to her ears was Remus's half-whispered, "No no no…no."
He patted the girl's face softly, watching for some sign. Sirius smacked his hands out of the way, and levitated the limp girl with his wand up to the back door, Bridget hovering next to him. Vivian met them there, her face set with a frown. Soundlessly, she motioned them down the corridors to a guest room where they deposited the injured girl. I knew that letting them fly today was a bad idea... Vivian thought to herself.
Mrs. Potter threw some Floo powder into the fire and stuck her head in, yelling, "Veronica Lupin" Some muffled conversation, one sided of course, and Mrs. P jerked away from the fire, pulling all the teenagers towards one side of the room. Remus's mum came through the fire, looking frazzled in her lime green robes.
"What happened?" Mrs. Lupin asked unenthusiastically, looking tired.
Remus knew she'd just gotten off the late shift, she hadn't even had time to change out of her robes yet. Vivian gestured at James, her own eyes still locked on the battered girl.
"Sirius and Kagumi were flying, and they were…showing off, I suppose. You see, Kagumi wanted to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team," this was news to Jet, "and needed all the practice she could get. So Sirius set her a group of maneuvers to practice, and they went through the drills."
"Then what happened? This was no mere fall." The Mediwitch was already doing some basic examination charms.
"Truth told, she attempted a move that Sirius and I held in high regard, having only ever seen it done once. It was a reversed Slingshot, and a Wood Chimp, crossed with a," he glanced apologetically at Jet, "Surf Swing." The Mediwitch shot him a glance.
"She actually tried that?" Hm. The girl is braver than I gave her credit for...
"Yeah. Actually had a good hang on it, too, but on the last part of the Swing, she lost her balance. It tipped the broom into a Pole-vaulter at least three times, and each hit landed on her." James sighed, sharing a guilty look with Sirius.
"I need to see her. Entirely." Sirius, James, and Peter looked quizzically at each other; Remus was already headed towards the door. "In other words, get out!"
The witch shooed them out, and the door slammed behind them. Remus ran his hands through his hair, feeling very out of sorts. Yesterday, if someone had told him that he'd be anxiously waiting outside Kagumi Pheonix's sickroom, afraid for her, while his mother tried her best to patch the American up, he'd have laughed himself silly. But here he was, chewing his bottom lip, and trying not to imagine what that delicate body looked like after such a horrid accident.
Sirius felt numb. They'd choreographed a lot of that scene, but those last few moments had been completely new to him. He'd fallen asleep last night, trying to explain the maneuvers they were going to pull off, and she must've gotten into his tactics journal. He'd been working out, for the last few months, just how to attempt that move. He'd seen it used in a professional match once and had been desperate to invent his own moves. But for her to actually try them was sheer madness. He shook his head, and sighed. The four boys started walking, and Remus sighed. Why did his throat feel so tight?
It hurt to think of her name and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. The sight of that fragile, bruised face made it hard to breathe, but none of the others seemed to be showing that sort of symptom. Finally, James and Sirius sank into the first chairs they set eyes on, while Remus paced. Peter stood at the doorway for a minute before calling Remus's name.
"Yeah, Wormtail?" Remus's voice sounded brittle, even to his own ears.
"Why'd you lead us to the kitchen?" Peter asked, cocking his head as if trying to figure something out about Remus. Suddenly, Remus couldn't stand the thought of the kitchen, couldn't stand the memories that threatened to overwhelm him, memories he didn't want. He turned blindly and ran out the French doors that led to the patio.
The exercise felt good to his stressed body, and for the first time, Remus found himself wishing that he could lose himself in the mindlessness of the Wolf, if only so that he didn't have to feel the wrenching fear.
#
"What…was that all about?" Sirius asked, well and truly confused.
"I'm…not positive, but I think I know what's going on." Peter sniffed. "I think he's worried about her." There was no need between the Marauders to clarify who 'her' was. A small squeak on the steps took their mind off of the worrying as Lily, white faced and shaking, stepped into the room.
"She's bad. Some ribs were broken, mainly when she rolled. And something's wrong with her shoulder joint, and her arm seems to be either cracked or broken." She smiled tightly. "But it seems the broom is fine."
"That doesn't matter. We can get her another broom," James said sharply, still staring out after Remus and ran his fingers through untidy hair, suddenly slumped in weary relief. "How long until she's recovered?"
"No telling. Depends on how strong she is. A few days, at most. Mrs Lupin certainly seems to know how to patch people up. Kagumi's dressed now, and most of the bruises have been healed by some paste that Mrs. Lupin brought with her. You can go see her, so long as you're quiet. But, I think I'm going to go home."
#
Remus, having finally been chased down by Padfoot in dog form, sat by Kagumi's bedside. Sirius sat beside him, James and Peter on the other side. Jet was busy in the corner, prepping the bandages, just like Mrs. Lupin had taught her. The broken bones had been set (luckily sans a Lockheart type incident) and her ribs tightly bandaged. Kagumi was to stay off of a broom for at least two weeks, if not more, and the concussion would fade in a day or so. At least half of her face was covered in some sort of bruise-healing paste, and the splits in her lips were healed up.
The boys waited breathlessly for her to wake up. Remus leaned on the bedside, and Sirius had her fingers tightly wound around his. Kagumi shifted slowly, leaning onto her right side, which put her nose and lips right against Remus's arm. She took a deep breath and made the sound that Jet thought of as her, "I don't wanna get up," groan. Remus slowly flushed as the other three boys turned to look at him.
The pressure on Sirius's hand tightened as Kagumi's misty eyes opened wearily. "Okay, now I know I'm not dreaming," she whispered, the slightest movement of her lips sending goosebumps down Remus's arms. He shivered and discreetly moved his arm a few inches, uncomfortable with the sudden change in his blood pressure.
"Why's that, love?" Sirius asked quietly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"Because I didn't hurt until I woke up," she blinked lazily, and closed her eyes again. "It only hurts in the real world." James slammed his fist on his knee, the sound making the tired girl jump.
"Well, in our world, Marauders don't do something stupid!"
Bridget glared and smacked him upside the back of his head, opening her mouth to respond. Gumi beat her to the punch.
"Oh, really? James Nathaniel Potter, I could cite at least ten things that each of you have done stupid over the summer that I've been here; should I start with you?" her sharp voice lacked the cutting edge without her green glare to back it up. "Besides, I'm not a Marauder, I'm just dumb old Gumi. I'm only good for cooking and taking up space in a library. Nobody gives awards for reading books, and I've never done anything noteworthy in my life. But each of you is extraordinary and I think..." Kagumi yawned widely. "I think I'm just going to go back to sleep, now." She was quiet, and sounded tired, almost sad. It was the same voice, Sirius realized, that Remus often had after a full moon.
Peter tugged on James' arm, saying that Kagumi needed rest. Sirius kissed her forehead and left with the other two, leaving Jet and Remus alone with her. Slowly, Remus moved his arm out of the way, and she opened one tired eye at him.
"Truthfully, Lupin, I don't even know why you're here. I figured you'd be happy if I managed to get myself killed."
"Well, you were wrong," he said in a quiet voice, one that seemed much more in tune with the original Harry Potter character. Gone was the anger, the violent suspicion that had typified her month and a half here; in its place was a soft concern, and she found her heart warming towards him.
"Really?" her voice hadn't lost its cutting edge, but it was softening. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint, but I'm too tired to argue with you."
"I don't want to argue, Pheonix. I just want to make sure that you're all right."
Kagumi's last thought before sleep claimed her was wondering who'd replaced the Remus Lupin she'd come to know. And as he watched her drift off, he reflected on what Sirius had told him, and watched the girl sleep. There would be another time to confirm the information Sirius had given him.
#
Bridget fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence. Remus had gone up with the soup about twenty minutes earlier, and no one had spoken since. She knew that Gumi had been hurt, and seriously, at that, but (she wasn't sure if it was because of her own numerous injuries or not) she didn't really understand why everyone was still freaking out when she was already half-healed. It would only be a few days, right? It must be the inherent protectiveness of Gryffindor men.
"I can't believe she did that," Sirius said after another moment.
"What?" she responded. Bridget blinked with the same surprise that the three boys were looking at her with; she hadn't meant to say it aloud. Blushing slightly, she decided that she already started speaking, so it wouldn't do to stop now. "Gumi wanted to prove herself so she pushed herself as far as she could; it was just a little too far. Almost managed it, too; it's a shame she made such a silly mistake."
James was leaning forward now, hazel eyes intent as they studied her. "What mistake?"
She frowned. They couldn't possibly not know; they were the Quidditch stars. "Her footing on the last maneuver, of course."
"She's right," Sirius said, comprehension dawning. "The right foot should have been in the back."
James waved a hand at his friend, quieting him, and asked, "What was wrong with it?"
"Um, well, you called it the Surf Swing, and Gumi mentioned something about 'Wika's lessons, so I assume that it has something to do with surfing. I suppose it does make sense, the concepts are quite similar despite the different methods of moving through the chosen element." She cleared her throat, setting her mind back on track. "Anyways, Kagumi uses standard stance, but she was goofy-footed when she did the trick. It messed with her balance, hence the fall." Bridget frowned. "Really, she should have known better; that's one of the first things 'Wika goes over."
Now Sirius was looking intrigued as well. He exchanged a look with James.
"Goofy-footed?" he asked. "What does that mean?"
"Sorry, it's a slang term. It's the non-standard stance in sports like surfing or skateboarding. It's not the wrong stance, just not the normal one, like being left handed instead of right. The problem is that is messes with your balance when you use the wrong one."
Bridget realized that they were giving her slightly confused looks, and stood up purposefully. After all, they'd need something to occupy themselves while Remus was being insane. She frowned, looking between the two boys before deciding.
"Up, Sirius."
"What?"
"Get up," she clarified. "Come here. I need an example."
He paused for a moment, but stood and walked over to her. He stopped in front of her, looking at the girl as if judging her sanity.
"Feet together, love," Bridget instructed. "Arms at your side. Head up. Relax. Don't fall, now."
Sirius barely had time to register her last statement before she place her hands on his shoulders (they were warm against his skin) and… pushed. Hard. He stumbled, but didn't fall (just like she had told him not to).
"Oh, dear," she said, frowning softly at him, her brow furrowed over large eyes. "You're goofy-footed. That kinda ruins my example."
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Well, the foot one uses to steady oneself when suddenly put off-balance is the foot that should be in the back when surfing; it's the dominant foot. You, my dear, are weird. Most people use the right foot for balance, you, oddly enough, use your left."
"That would make sense; I'm left handed." Sirius shrugged. "Well, to be more correct, I can use either hand but left is dominant."
"Nothing to do with it." She waved a hand dismissively. "You could be right handed, left handed, ambidextrous... the foot you use for balance is unrelated."
"Brilliant," James said.
"Not really," Bridget said, shrugging. "Unless you consider lefties to be brilliant, as well. It's the same concept."
"No," he replied quickly, eyes bright behind his glasses. She briefly wondered about his sanity. "Padfoot, this explains why you couldn't do the move. You should be doing the, um, what was that, Jet?"
"Goofy-footed stance."
"Yes, that."
"It makes sense, mate."
Sirius nodded and sat back down. "Yeah, it does." He turned to Bridget. "Gumi told me you don't know how to surf."
She frowned, sitting between the two boys with her arms crossed over her chest petulantly. "She made an assumption. Usually she's right, but it doesn't make it any less annoying." She sighed. "I don't surf because I'm painfully afraid of sharks. I'm actually a good surfer-- used to compete when I was younger—and I still boogie board and body board because it's closer to shore and I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie." Bridget grinned. "A need for speed. I still help 'Wika with dissecting tricks for competitions."
"Dissect tricks?" Sirius prompted. That sounded promising. As good as both he and James were, they still had trouble trying to duplicate others' ideas without it being explained first.
Bridget shrugged. "My mum made me do dance and my dad had me in every possible sport at one time or another, including martial arts. Surprising as it may sound, I'm actually pretty good at most things and I've always been good at tricks or difficult moves, especially with boards or bikes. 'Wika says I can see where the balance is, how weight shifts and all that rot."
James and Sirius exchanged smiles over her head, although the girl didn't notice. Sirius pulled his tactics journal out of his back pocket while James summoned the Quidditch Board. This could come in handy.
#
The smell of chicken and a delicious-feeling heat near her face brought her to her senses. Kagumi slowly opened her eyes, and had to stifle a laugh. Remus Lupin was sitting by her bedside, with a bowl of cooling chicken soup on the bedside table, snoring softly. She wondered briefly if he knew that he snored. Blackmail...
"Lupin?" she said quietly. "Lupin?" She touched his hand gently and winced when he jumped.
"What?" he asked groggily.
"Lupin, I could use some help getting up."
He extended his arm and pulled her onto her elbows, after which she refused help. With a few grunts and one loud gasp of pain, she struggled into a sitting position with one arm wrapped around her ribs. Wincing, she looked at the bowl, which he handed to her. She took a cautious sip, relieved to find that the pain that was left hadn't done much to her appetite.
"Who made the soup?"
"Surprisingly, Bridget made it for you. Well," he amended. "She helped me make it; seems to find my lack of culinary experience appalling. She's with James and Sirius right now, I don't remember doing what, but she'll be back later tonight. So I offered to stay up here in case you woke up." She looked at him in amazement. "What?"
"You actually offered to stay with me?" she asked quietly, wondering if maybe he'd hit his head. At his embarrassed nod, she began eating again, glancing at him peripherally. Remus Lupin...Being nice? I must've hit my head harder than I thought, she thought dizzily. She winced, one hand to the side of her head, and sighed. That...was stupid.
Author's Notes: So yeah, this is part one of a two part chapter. Sorry. It got ridiculously long, and we couldn't cut it down without sacrificing plot.
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