Disclaimer: Neither Kagumi nor Bridget own anything related to the Harry Potter series, other than the stuff they've bought and the ideas they come up with. Original characters and most of the situations presented, however, they do own.
Author's Notes: Finally. Sorry for the long wait. For enduring our absolutely horrid updating schedule (or lack thereof, I suppose), you get a longer than usual chapter and we do have several one-shots that we've [mostly poor Jet] have been slaving away over. Enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-One
All You Need is Love
"I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you."
-Roy Croft
Carefully, Sirius ran his wand along the edges of the sketches of the magical tables in the Kitchen that mirrored the ones in the Great Hall above them. They still hadn't quite figured out how they were going to convince the Elves to follow their plans, but having a map more detailed than the Marauders' Map was good reconnaissance for when their plans eventually worked out. Besides, James had always been good at getting others to follow his plans.
"What are you doing?"
It was only the perilous years of living with James, Remus, and Peter (who could be a sneaky bastard when he wanted to be) as well as the high-stress responsibility of being one of a group of notoriously difficult-to-catch school pranksters that prevented Sirius from jumping out of his skin. At any rate, he'd had experience with McGonagall and Dumbledore sneaking up on him often enough at the absolute worst times that it wasn't even really startling anymore.
Besides, he rationalized to himself, it wasn't like he was avoiding her. With a smooth, swift motion he stowed away the detailed map he'd just made of the Kitchens and Elves' quarters and turned around to bestow upon her his most potent grin, the one that had made other girls weak in the knees.
"Hello, love," he said to her with a wide grin. Looking very much like she was trying not to smile, Bridget gave him an arch look. Sirius realized that she wasn't going to let him ignore her question. He hadn't really expected it to work on her anyways as none of his normal tricks did; it was part of what made her intriguing. "Nothing much. What can I do for you?"
At once, Bridget's amusement melted away and she folded in on herself. Her eyes lowered until she was looking somewhere to his right instead of straight into his eyes and her hands starting fidgeting in front of her until Sirius was tempted to take them in his, if only to stop their nervous dance.
"Um… well, James and Lily decided to help with the letters I've gotten for the articles, but they've been… they've been acting all cutesy and awkward with each other and they're so uncomfortable that it makes me uncomfortable and I talk when I'm uncomfortable so I'm just bound to say something incredibly stupid. I can't back out — it is to help me —do you think can you come with me?" Bridget looked up at him hopefully, biting at her bottom lip. "Please?"
Sirius crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, a smug smile pulling at his lips. He liked feeling needed. "Do you need me to protect you from the lovebirds?"
"Uh… yeah?"
It said a lot that she hadn't instantly replied with something witty and exasperated. Frowning, Sirius looked her up and down. Her shoulders were slumped and she seemed… tired, worn out. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
"'Course I'll go with you," he said softly, brushing her cheek with the back of one hand.
Bridget smiled brightly and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered, and when she pulled back she was still smiling. She laced her fingers with his and started pulling him down the hallway, chattering happily about something or another and seeming completely normal once again.
Oh, he thought to himself, a warm feeling spreading from somewhere in his chest, that could be why.
"They are mind-numbingly cute, aren't they?" Sirius muttered to her, sliding an arm casually across the back of Bridget's chair. She looked up to the table where James and Lily were sorting through their stacks of letters.
James pulled a quill out of his knapsack and, while Lily was preoccupied, Transfigured it into a blooming rose. His face softened as he watched Lily brush the hair out of her face, but it regained its normal cocky grin a moment later.
"Hey, Evans," he called lazily.
Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. "What, Potter?"
"What's your favorite sweet? It's still that Muggle Hershey's bar, isn't it? And Sugar Quills?"
Sirius chuckled under his breath, leaning close enough to Bridget that she felt her cheeks flush slightly. "Jamesy's a bit of a stalker, I'm afraid," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear without it carrying on to the others (not that either would notice). "We've tried to break him of it."
Bridget patted his hand to hush him, but she sounded amused. "Shh. I'm being nosy."
With a satisfied smile, Sirius quieted. After all, she was leaning against him and the inevitable 'discussion' that was about to take place between his best friend and Evans was bound to be entertaining, especially with the look of absolute shock on Evans' face. He wondered what exactly James was up to.
"Have you been stalking me again?" she snapped at him. Carefully, James levitated the flower near the floor, and up behind her.
"No, that's from the first time," he replied blithely, still watching the flower's movement. "It hasn't changed, has it?"
He smiled earnestly and both Bridget and Sirius could see when her resolve broke. "No, Potter, it hasn't. Do I want to know why you're asking?"
The flower slowly dropped onto the parchment Lily had been reading and James's shoulders relaxed just a bit. "No, you probably don't," he said before giving her another smile and turning back to his own stack of letters.
Lily gave him a suspicious look before she turned around. She froze, her hand hovering over the flower as a soft, fond smile crossed her face. After shooting a quick glance at James to make sure he wasn't watching her, she carefully stowed it away in her bag.
"No," Bridget said softly. "It's just sweet. Boys don't do that very often."
She immediately turned a soft shade of pink and went back to her letters. Sirius sighed and picked up one of the envelopes in his own pile. Great; she'd managed to embarrass herself and now he was going to have to actually do something other than flirt. Resigned to his fate, he slit the letter open.
The parchment was rough in his fingers and the elegantly looped words felt like they were burning themselves into his mind. James stared steadily at him from his seat, looking rather more serious and adult-like than he normally did. Peter was still reading over his shoulder, so Sirius took the opportunity to read it again.
Dear Mr. Gryphons,
I want to thank you for the recent articles you've written for the Prophet. I was turned on to your piece by a friend of mine in London and have quickly become a staunch supporter of both you and The Daily Prophet. Since my son was turned and shortly thereafter took his own life, I have attempted to avoid anything related to lycanthropy— whether it is positive or negative. Nevertheless, I am glad I read this.
Your writing captures the pain and the possibility that every person has, werewolf or not. You've shown the humanity that resides within each werewolf, the humanity than many, including werewolves themselves, often refuse to see; I truly hope that this will open the eyes of those who have been blinded by centuries-old prejudice and fear.
My only wish is that my David had been able to see what this will start.
Sincerely,
Abigail Jeffreys
Salem, Massachusetts
"Wow," Sirius said, running a hand through his hair as he tried to keep his tone light. "That brings back memories."
"Indeed it does, Padfoot," James said wearily.
They'd been answering letters for over two hours and his fingers were bone-weary from scratching out response after response. Peter, who had happily dropped in on them sometime after the first hour, looked up with dark memories swimming in his eyes. He was just glad the two girls had abandoned the letter answering, having finished their own piles, and begun doing some homework before he'd reached that letter; they would've been able to see that something was wrong with him instantly.
"I really try not to remember that," Peter said softly. "Moony was crazy back then."
"Oh, he's still crazy," Sirius volunteered, stretching back with a sigh. "Just in more of a good way these days. Then he was more… lost."
"I remember," James said softly, shooting a glance at Lily and Bridget, who were speaking in hushed whispers and looking at the same book over at the other table, "I remember the day he actually tried."
"Merlin, that was terrifying," Sirius shivered. The deep gashes on Remus's arms had barely been healed in time, and he wouldn't have even been found if Peter hadn't had to nip back to the dormitories for the Cloak.
"He's told us to go on without him," Peter said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I should have known. He wasn't right."
"Wormtail, it's all right," James said, running his hand across Peter's shoulders. "Even you couldn't have seen what he was planning."
"Wormy, it's fine," Sirius said.
"Uh-oh."
There was an explosion from the other table (apparently, Lily and Bridget had both tried to practice the same spell at the same time, and wound up exploding two of the four legs of the table, causing all of their books and papers to fall to the floor while the girls looked on, identically wide-eyed) and suddenly the tense mood of days gone by was broken. None of the three boys said it out loud, but they were all rather relieved. The fact that Remus had tried to take his own life was depressing in and of itself, and the letter from Mistress Abigail Jefferys had brought those memories to the surface. Without a word, the three boys each penned a response and sealed the envelope.
"But, Bridget, I don't want to go."
Bridget blithely ignored her friend in favor of skipping down the hallway, dragging the awkwardly hopping Ravenclaw girl behind her. Finally catching her footing, Holly Harper dug in her heels, reeling Bridget backwards.
"What?" she asked, blinking in a decidedly confused manner. "Why not?"
"Because," the blonde girl said firmly, "they are your friends, not mine. The Marauders don't just allow everyone to hang out with them and I doubt they'd want someone like me around."
Bridget seemed to consider this for a moment before a broad grin spread across her face. "Bollocks."
"What?"
"The boys will be perfectly happy to have you there — you don't even have to worry about James and Sirius, or Gumi right now — and Lily will be there." She gave Holly an earnest look. "You like Lily, don't you?"
"Yes," Holly replied slowly as Bridget started to drag her towards the pitch again. "Lily's fine, but I don't think— I don't know— Bridget Ashlyne!"
She didn't as much as pause, although she did slow down to a soft, but nonetheless brisk pace.
"Yes?"
"You are such a — such a hardheaded Gryffindor!"
"I know. Isn't it brilliant?"
"Not really," Holly mumbled, letting herself be tugged along behind Bridget, as they made their way through the winding evening crowd to the Quidditch Pitch.
"Hey, Griffins!" Regulus called from behind them.
"Sorry, Reg. Gotta get to the Pitch," she called, slowing down enough that, much to his amusement, he could easily catch up.
"Oh, is the Gryffindor team practicing?" he drawled, looking vaguely interested; for all his bluff, the Quidditch player in him knew that the Gryffindors were good. "Mustn't miss my dear brother. Might I tag along? I don't think Potter would mind all that much."
Bridget gave him the same, bemused smile he enjoyed pulling from her. "Of course he would," she said with a slight shake of her head at his ridiculous behavior. "You know that James gets just a tad bit paranoid over practices. Can we talk later?" A little bemused despite himself and more thrown off, Regulus nodded his consent. "See you!"
She threw another bright smile at him and resumed dragging the poor Ravenclaw girl with her. Belatedly, Regulus remembered that Harper's cousin was the Ravenclaw captain and had declared an everlasting quest to dethrone James Potter and his Gryffindors.
"That looks dangerous," Holly muttered, eyes fixed on James as he shot through the air like she was watching a deer stray too close to the sleeping alligator. Currently, he was flying upside down with the Quaffle clutched to his chest, aimed straight for the goal posts.
"Hols, that's the tamest thing he's done all practice." Bridget patted her hand, eyes tracking the various movements of the players. It reminded the other girl of the one Defense professor they'd had who had been obsessed with strategy and was frighteningly brilliant. Holly vaguely wondered if it was at all wise to be her friend. "It'll be okay."
"Careful, Sirius," Kagumi called, swinging her bat at the incoming Bludger. "That one almost hit you."
"Pshaw, yeah right," he replied easily enough, darting in front of her to hit the returning Bludger away.
"Hey, that was mine!" she grumbled, raising her bat threateningly.
It was a scene that had become so common on the team that everyone else (including their often-frantic captain) tended to ignore them. She'd never actually hit him with it. Well, not without proper cause. And a lot of temper. Nevertheless, Sirius poked her with his own bat before swerving out of the way of her retaliatory swing and darting out of her grasp. Guadalupe Hamilton, the veteran Seeker, glared at the two of them as Sirius nearly flew straight into her, preoccupied with staying out of Kagumi's reach.
"Those two're close, huh?" Holly asked, watching the pair.
"James and I have decided it's the matching brain damage. There's no other logical explanation," Bridget said absent-mindedly. Her concentration was on Hamilton; the girl looked like she could happily wring Gumi's neck and that was on top of her already deep-seated hatred of Bridget.
"We're gonna try out a new play," James yelled over the groans of the team. He sounded so irate that even the two Beaters stopped their horseplay to pay attention, Gumi hovering entirely too close to their Seeker.
Kagumi growled irritably, trying her best to tamp down the urge to kill James. It had been a bad day already, beginning with him waking the entire team up at four in the morning, a panicked gleam in his eyes, only to pace maniacally and rant in the Common Room for an hour while his teammates dozed. Somehow (Gumi blamed Bridget's matter-of-fact, mostly positive analysis of the Slytherin team the night before) he had convinced himself that the team hadn't practiced nearly enough and the first game of the season was that weekend.
James's madness had led to extra-early morning flying drills in the cold October rain. And since the obsessed idiot had let practice run much too long, all of the seventh years had missed breakfast and been late for Defense. And now they'd finished a second, evening round of practice.
Kagumi was going to make James Potter pay.
She wasn't sure how yet, but a vague idea was forming in her mind of Brussels sprouts (he did hate those with a passion), leek stew and the color pink. A fluorescent pink skin-tone might set off his hair nicely, and if she could rope Lily Evans into it, and maybe Severus too, then they could concoct a potion that might last for quite a time and—
"Pheonix!" Hamilton snapped; the sound yanked Kagumi out of the pleasantness of her vengeful plotting with a nearly audible snap. Sirius, who was walking next to his partner, caught the sharp spike of anger now flooding Kagumi's scent. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm talking to you."
Sirius was alarmed by the stiffness of his friend's body, by the chill the air had taken around her and by the fact that when she craned her neck to look at the fuming Gryffindor Seeker, it cracked. Bridget, with Remus, Peter and Holly ran over and skidded to a halt in the grass.
"Hamilton, you're not talking to me. You're berating me. You are trying to make me feel worse in order to make yourself feel better," Kagumi's voice was cold as ice, and cut through the air like steel. "I suggest that you turn your short self around and go back to doing whatever it is that you do when you're not mucking up plays."
"You dare talk to me like that?" Hamilton stomped her foot like a bloody toddler and leveled a dangerous glare at Kagumi, who'd turned away to start walking again. "You're nothing but a pathetic social climber who can't seem to decide who she's sleeping with!"
"Say… what?" Kagumi turned to face her again. Bridget drew her wand as a precaution. She wouldn't have to use it; it wouldn't go that far. Well, probably. "Want to run that by me again, Guadalupe?"
"Oh, this is not going to be good," Bridget muttered to Holly, who was hovering on the edge of the group, as though still uncertain of her place.
"You are nothing but a Yankee washout that happened to snare Black, although I can't imagine what sort of spell is possibly that strong. You can't Beat, you can't play and you seem woefully understudied in all areas of magic." There was a distinctly malicious glimmer in Hamilton's dark eyes. "Hell, even shabby old Lupin won't want you after Black tires of you."
There was a single beat of silence before chaos erupted.
James shouted from across the field where he had been stowing away the equipment as Sirius lunged for Kagumi, a moment too late. Now that they were wrestling on the ground and he could accidentally hurt her, he seemed to be at a loss, wand hanging loosely in his hand. Bridget was the only one who remained calm, if a bit irritated with the change in pace and held her wand at the ready in case she had to intervene… again.
Suddenly, they froze. Hamilton was on her back, hair a tangled mess of grass and a wicked smirk on her lips as Kagumi sat neatly on her chest, fist drawn back with what looked to be a nose-breaking punch primed. For someone pinned beneath an angry, trembling teammate, Hamilton seemed remarkably unworried; it was Kagumi whose chest was heaving, fury and hurt warring for space on her face.
"Do it," the Seeker sneered. "Do it and you're off the team and back where you belong."
The phrase seemed to strike Kagumi, and quite bluntly. Not bothering to hide her contempt for Hamilton, she slowly clenched and unclenched her fist, dropping her arm. "I am where I belong," she growled, upper lip curling as she glared and pushed to her feet, walking away with a very stiff back and noticeable limp. As she passed, Sirius held out an arm to her but she ignored it, continuing savagely towards the castle alone.
As one, the remaining Gryffindors turned to glare at Hamilton, still lying on her back with a smug smirk on her face. Then Sirius gave her a disgusted look and turned his back to her to make his way back to the castle; the lack of a temper was even more frightening than any of his hexes would have been. Peter and Remus glanced at the others before hurrying off after Sirius, leaving her with her Captain and Griffins giving her identical frowns and the rest of her team hovering uncomfortably on the pitch.
Bridget's wand was no longer in her hand, but Hamilton somehow felt more threatened by the girl's cold glare. A hex was something she could get Griffins in detention for, but a lack of reaction… Hamilton had no doubt the other girl was nearly as creative with the rules as the boys. After all, she'd seen Griffins' Quidditch tactics.
"James," Bridget said in a level voice before her lips twisted up into a small, harsh smile, a wicked gleam in her eyes, "if you need me, I'm yours."
He got the implication instantly, as did his current Seeker, and nodded shortly. With a mocking nod to Hamilton, Bridget turned and hurried off after Sirius. After a moment, James pointed at Hamilton.
"You. Locker room. Now," he said quietly; the look in his eyes sent chills down everyone's spine. And as the rest of her team walked away, none even bothering to look at her, Guadalupe Hamilton knew she'd messed up.
Badly.
The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Bridget was almost (but not quite) astounded to see that Remus had somehow beaten the rest of them up there. Or, at least he'd beaten her and James (the dressing down that James had given Hamilton had been long enough that Bridget had almost regretted agreeing to wait for him… until the other girl had walked out with red-rimmed eyes), the other boys were hiding in the corner, courageous Gryffindors that they were. To be fair, Gumi did have a terrible temper and Sirius was probably too exhausted to be of any use.
The bravest of them was standing, rather calmly, in front of a spitting-mad Kagumi, still dressed in her practice robes. She seemed to be pacing; not that that was an unusual sight in the least. It was something the girl had a bad habit of doing when stressed and/or restless. Luckily for everyone, least of all the other innocent, clueless Gryffindors, it was a Friday night and most of the other students had somewhere else to be.
They'd just gotten the blood out of the carpet from the last time someone had upset Gumi. (It had been an accident and, well, Sirius, so no one was really worried over it, but it was a good way to keep the annoying ones out of the way, even if the story seemed to change as it percolated through the student body.)
"Kagumi, will you just look at me?" Remus sighed, rubbing his temples and trying to ignore the fact that he was on his last nerve too. What the Seeker had said bothered him on more than one level, and one could tell by her restless striding that there also was more on the witch's mind than Hamilton. "I know that you're upset with Guadalupe—"
"Do not speak that little twit's name to me right now," she snarled, pivoting again.
James slowly nudged Bridget through the entrance, and proceeded to quietly (he refused to call it sneaking; cowards snuck around and hid behind girls) proceed up to the corner of the room where the others were sitting. Bridget rolled her eyes, hiked the bag higher on her shoulder and followed. There was no change in either of the two Gryffindors.
"You know what she said was out of line and you know that James and Sirius will take care of it. Now will you stop pacing and let someone look at your knee?"
"I don't need Potter to fight my battle for me! Gods know that if I let James bloody Potter or Sirius flippin' Black defend me all the time those damned rumors will never die down." She whirled around, pain and fury blazing on her heart-shaped face. "And my knee is fine."
"Sure it is," Remus said shortly. "Which explains why you're still limping and it's not getting any better, but has, in fact, gotten much worse."
"What happened to her knee?" James asked Bridget softly as they set their bags down.
"She twisted it somehow when she, er, tackled Hamilton," Peter said, still slightly impressed with the speed and ferocity of the short grappling match.
"What is Hamilton's deal with me and Gumi?" Bridget wondered. "I mean, I know you wanted me on the reserves but I thought she and Gumi got along fine."
"When Hamilton first tried out for the team," Sirius said, settling his arm around Jet's shoulder; it seemed that lately, Kagumi wasn't the only one who wanted physical comfort when an upset happened, Bridget thought as she leaned closer, "she initially tried for Beater. But I couldn't work with her, and she was too dramatic. So James tested her for Seeking and she came up pretty good. Therefore, she's now Seeker and I think she's jealous of Kagumi's success."
"Don't forget the giant crush she had on you until last year," James muttered ominously. That had just been bad all around; Sirius still couldn't stand the sight of Fizzing Whizbees and Hamilton always blushed when asked about the Honeydukes Incident.
"But Prongs," he sighed with fervor, "I wanted to forget it."
"Now Padfoot, you really can't expect me to let you live that—"
A loud snarling sound interrupted the attempt at joking and the four Gryffindors' attention snapped back to the couple on the other side of the Common Room just as Remus interjected himself into Kagumi's pacing. He grabbed her arm when she tried to continue to pace around him again.
"Let. Go," she growled.
"No. We need to talk."
"Lupin, you've no right to interfere." Hissing, she tried to jerk her arm away, not meeting his amber-colored eyes.
"Have any of you ever noticed that she only calls him by his last name when she's mad at him?" Peter asked with the tone of one observing an interesting experiment.
"Yes, she does, doesn't she?" Bridget mused. She gave them another almost disinterested look before pulling out a book and going back to her reading, nestled snuggly against Sirius's side.
"You gave me the right to interfere when you kissed me," Remus hissed right back, loud enough to be heard across the room and make her snap her head up to look at him. There was fire in her eyes, and it shot a thrill right down to his toes. "Which I still want to talk to you about."
"Remus, just cut it out!" Kagumi scowled, her hair coming loose from the long braid as she twisted it around her other hand, something the Gryffindors had noticed her doing when she was angry or in deep thought. "I said I don't want to talk about it, and I don't."
"And I say we need to talk about it," he persisted, not letting go of her hand.
With the viciousness of a trapped cat, she swore in what sounded like seven different languages as she twisted her arm this way and that to loosen his grip. Nothing seemed effective, even the painful threat of kicking him in the shins. James and Sirius both fought down their protective instincts (although neither boy knew who precisely needed the protecting). Whatever happened, there was no doubt that there would be bruises come morning, even if she was causing them herself.
"Lupin!" Every movement of her body sent a new jolt down him as he pulled her closer. Finally, as he wrapped his other arm around her, she stopped fighting. And a new sort of trembling took place of the fury she'd held onto for Hamilton.
"Tell me the truth, Gumi."
"It was a bet, all right? Travis wouldn't leave me and Sirius alone, kept making all sort of snide remarks and nearly ruined my Runes homework. So I made him a bet that if I could prove Sirius and I weren't dating, he had to leave us alone."
"What an idiot," he murmured, catching the scent of her hair and resisting the urge to lift the fraying braid to his nose.
"I am not an idiot!" she protested, shoving weakly at his chest. It was annoying; although getting him to gain weight had seemed like a good idea at the time, it was coming back to bite her in the arse now. It was harder to fight her way free and she couldn't flee from the close embrace; she wasn't even sure if she wanted to anymore. "Anyway, so his condition was for me to snog the next person through the entrance, so I did. Blind luck it turned out to be you." Kagumi refused to meet his eyes. "That's all it meant, Remus. Just a bet."
"Liar," he said softly, making her look at him. "I can tell when you lie, you know."
"Remus…"
"How odd…" he said, not looking away from her. "Miracles do happen; Sirius was right. Redirecting emotion seems to work." His arms were still locked around her, and she reluctantly let herself rest her head on his shoulder. She wanted to hate him for the fact that he made her want to curl into him, wanted to hate him for the fact that at his touch the rage and anger and hurt fled, and all that was left was weariness. "Now will you let me look at your knee? Or at least let someone bandage it?"
"She deserved it," Kagumi said simply, not making any effort to resist as he picked her up and carried her to the table where James and everyone else sat. "For what she said. But I didn't do it."
"No, you didn't," Sirius said, readjusting so that Peter (who'd found himself to be particularly good at Healing charms) could get to Kagumi's painfully swollen knee. "And I'm very proud of you for it, love." He kissed her forehead as Peter finished bandaging her knee and Remus subtly adjusted her on his lap.
"Gumi, we have a study session tonight with Lily and Holly," Bridget reminded her from behind her book. "Will you make it to the Head's commons, or should we just have it here?"
Kagumi snarled under her breath and stood with a quick hiss of pain; the fire flashing in her eyes, though, brooked no argument. "I'm perfectly capable of walking, you know." Her voice was coolly civil, and her expression dismissive despite the small flashes on pain. "I did walk all the way up here unaided."
"Don't get like that with me. The only reason you made it here is because you're a—"
"Aye," Peter quickly interrupted, "and you just about had to go to the Hospital Wing too!" He stood against her, facing her down. One eyebrow quirked in either annoyance or amusement on Kagumi's face, but she didn't call him on it. Instead, she laid one hand on his shoulder, her knee naturally held off the ground from the tension of the bandage.
"Peter, really. I'm fine, see?" She tried to put her leg down and support her weight on it.
Managed quite well, too, until it gave out beneath her and she stumbled backwards into Remus, who'd been hovering behind her. His arms went around her, keeping her from hitting the ground, and she growled low in her throat. He grinned as the sharp smell of frustration, and a little fear flooded her scent; she was flustered, and he was finding that enjoyed it immensely.
"I guess you're not so fine, hm?" he asked smugly, setting her back on her feet. He didn't even mind as she leaned away from his steadying hand.
"I don't know about that," she said sarcastically, leaning against Jet's chair (which effectively put both Jet and Peter between her and Remus, something not lost on any of the viewing party). "You can't seem to keep your paws off me."
"Correct me I'm wrong but these rather look like hands to me," Remus grinned.
"Whatever you say, you bloody little—" Gumi was interrupted mid-insult.
"Gumi, please don't start another fight. It's getting late and I am much too tired to help you clean up a crime scene," Bridget sighed, finally shutting her book and giving the conversation the entirety of her attention. "And if you're going to the Head's room early, I might as well go with you so I can maximize my time snickering at your hobbling."
"Some friend you are," Gumi muttered, even though she'd admit even to herself that her walking more resembled hobbling about; Peter really knew how to conjure bandages. "I'm only good for entertainment value, apparently."
"Oh, I don't know, I'm sure we could find another use or two for you. Remus is clever; I think we should ask him," she grinned at the hobbling girl who, taking a leaf from James and Sirius flipped her off rather cheerfully. With a muttered goodbye to Remus and a hug for the other boys (all at once, Bridget was amused to see, right before she was dragged into it, too) the two girls left the Gryffindor Common Room, setting off to the right.
"You're really worked up over this, aren't you?" Bridget asked after a few minutes of walking.
"Over what?" Kagumi sighed, still limping. Now that the boys were out of sight, and no one was really paying attention to them in the hallways, her face showed a bit more pain and a light sweat had broken out across her brow.
"How bad is your leg, really?' Bridget demanded, crossing her arms. When Kagumi shot her a stubborn look and tried to keep going, Jet set her foot on the hem of Kagumi's robe, causing the other girl to stumble and lean against the wall, lips screwed up against the whimper in her throat. "You've done something more serious to yourself than you're letting on."
"I think it's one of my tendons. Or something. No idea. I don't even remember the physics of the fight, Bids. Just… jumping at her. Attacking any square inch of her I could find."
"That did seem to be her intention, you know. To make you lose control of that temper of yours. C'mon," Bridget muttered, offering her shoulder; the other girl shot her what could be considered a naked look, one of gratitude and understanding, before they set off again. "Maybe Lily can get you to take some potions or something."
"Doubtful, but she can try." By the time that they'd reached the obscure hallway, still on the seventh floor, that led to the tapestry of two deer in a meadow Kagumi's breathing had sped up, and she was trembling and white-lipped as Lily ran to meet them.
"Kagumi, what happened?" Lily asked, helping the girl through the entrance and getting her to sit on the loveseat. Bridget took a moment, while Gumi was bringing out her textbooks, to grab Lily's arm and drag her closer to her bedroom door.
"Gumi's gone and injured her knee but won't admit it. And she won't take anything or let anyone help her. Do you have any basic Healing potions? Otherwise we may have to knock her out and hope for the best." Lily mutely nodded, jerking her thumb towards the bathroom located off of her bedroom. Jet sighed with relief and left to rummage while Lily sat down beside Kagumi.
"How'd you hurt your knee, Gumi?"
"Scrapping with Hamilton," the girl mumbled, eyes scanning her half-completed essay. "Cheeky little bint insulted the osik out of me. When is Holly supposed to get here?"
"Soon," Bridget said, holding a hastily-conjured goblet. She held it out to Kagumi. "I brought you something to drink."
"What did you do to it?" Kagumi asked, not making any move to take it. "I know you, Bids, and you're sneakier than the boys when it suits you to be. That stuff sounds too thick to be just water, and smells a little funny to boot."
"If you don't take it, I will not hesitate to restrain you and pour it down your throat. I've seen James and Sirius do it to Remus when he gets in a snit, so I will do it to you."
"And I'll help," Lily added with a grin.
"…Fine," Gumi grumbled, taking the goblet and chugging it. "There, I took it. Now are we going to study or would you like to threaten me a bit more?"
"While threatening you is always fun—"
"Bridget."
"Fine, fine, we'll study. Do calm down."
The tapestry entrance opened again, and Holly came tumbling in, relieved that they were all in one place. "Kagumi! I saw the fight, but I didn't know you were injured; some poor Hufflepuff first year is going on about how you're dying!" ("Oh, for heaven's sake, I swear the rumor mill in this school gets wilder every year," Lily muttered, one hand to her forehead.) "Are you alright? Do you need anything? Ice, bandages, a potion? Should we call St. Mungo's?"
"What I need," Kagumi said irritably; it was clear that the girl was clenching her teeth in frustration, "is for everyone to quit coddling me. I'm fine, Holly. I just want to study. Occupy my mind and all."
"All… alright then," Holly said uncertainly, plopping down in the chair by the fireplace. Bridget sat next to her while Lily just took the other end of the sofa Kagumi was occupying. It wasn't until Kagumi sighed and stretched out her leg that Holly dug in her bag. "What shall we start with?"
There had been a few strange and insane moments after Bridget had muttered the wrong incantation for a foul weather charm and set Lily clucking like a chicken, but everything was fine now. It hadn't harmed the other girl, even if it had taken a good ten minutes to reverse since the rest of the group was laughing themselves into tears. Nevertheless, they had managed a good, roughly solid two hours of studying before Holly stopped focusing and started fiddling with her quill.
"Bridget?" Holly asked (a very brave moment for Ravenclaw — not many would risk startling the girl when she was trying a new spell, especially considering what had happened with the foul/fowl mix-up earlier). "Can I ask you something?"
Bridget tilted her head, frowning at the Runes she'd drawn in the air. "You just did," she replied distractedly, watching how the smoky shapes interacted with one another.
"Something else," she murmured. Holly looked back down at her homework, frowning at it quite spectacularly.
Taking stock of the other girl's body language wasn't hard, and Bridget frowned in a much more focused and concerned way, lowering her wand. As shy as the other girl normally was, she had never been this nervously quiet. "Holly, is something wrong?"
"I," she sighed and when she continued speaking, it sounded forced, like she had worked herself up to that point. "I, erm, I think I fancy someone."
This caught everyone's attention and Holly instantly flushed red under the gazes of her three friends. She fidgeted uncomfortably with her quill, hoping someone would speak.
"Oh. Who?" Bridget finally asked.
"One of the… Marauders, as it is." Holly toyed with her parchment, rolling and unrolling an edge.
"Please tell me it's not Jame — Potter or Black," Lily rolled her eyes. "Either of them will end up breaking your pretty little heart."
"No," she started hesitantly, "neither of them. James is too prank-happy for me, and swings often between serious and blissfully innocent too easily. And Sirius thinks he's Merlin's gift to women. Or at least, he used to," Holly shot a sly look at Bridget, who said nothing. She didn't have to; the pink tinge on her cheeks said everything for her. "Remus is rather handsome, though, don't you think?"
Kagumi's hand tightened momentarily on her quill, listening to the sudden tense silence in the room. Lily raised her eyebrows as the shorter girl seemed to shrink in on herself and shut her book rather forcefully.
"Yeah, I guess he's all right."
She seemed to be scanning her essay, but her eyes weren't moving, and her mind wasn't anywhere in the Heads' Common Room. Of course, had she been in her right mind, she'd have noticed that Holly seemed uninterested in whether they replied to her, as long as the scrutiny was focused elsewhere; it was a stalling tactic Kagumi was most familiar with, as Jet used it quite often. As it was, she focused instead on a spot on her essay with such force that Lily was quite surprised it hadn't begun to smoke yet. (Of course, given what she'd heard from Remus and Sirius's nearly fond remembrances of summer, things had been set on fire when Gumi was in a foul mood, so it might only be a matter of time.)
Bridget sneaked an unnecessarily sly glance at her (Gumi wasn't noticing anything), before sketching the letters RJL on a corner of her parchment with an accompanying heart and giving Holly a sharp poke in the side. The other girl glanced down and rolled her eyes, nodding. Anyone who knew either Remus or Kagumi would be able to tell that they fancied each other.
"So then you like Peter?" Lily asked with a grin. "If it's none of the other three — and believe me, I've seen girls interested in Lupin, they don't act like you are — then it has to be Peter."
"Well, yes. I rather fancy him." Holly blushed.
"That is so sweet," Bridget said, grinning as she draped herself over Holly's lap. She peered up at the other girl with her eyes innocently wide. "Are you thinking of a spring or summer wedding?"
Holly flushed red. "I'm not sure. I think Sirius would look dashing against a snowy backdrop," she replied, eyes sparkling. "Don't you agree?"
"That is so not—"
"Oh come on, Bridget," Lily interrupted. She was grinning just as widely as Holly when it came to teasing the other witch. "Everyone knows how Sirius looks at you; he hasn't even shown interest in another girl since you showed up."
"I'll take your sage advice then, Mrs. Potter," Bridget snapped back, sulking.
"I'll have you know that James—"
"James, is it now?"
Lily glared at Bridget like she wished she could make her spontaneously explode. "Potter is an overconfident bully and I can't stand the—"
"Ahem," Kagumi interrupted pointedly; her tension was still obvious, "while you boy-crazed chickies talk about your various romance issues, lemme see your essays. I'll do a quick grammar check."
She held out her hand, apparently unaware of the large, vaguely Australia-shaped splotch of ink on her nose. As the other three rolls wound up in her hands, she read over them, making minor notations.
Until she got to Bridget's.
"Bids. Why do you have RJL and a heart at the top of your essay?" she asked, exasperatedly.
"Um," Bridget frowned at the bundle of papers, "as you can… see, my essay clearly relates the transfiguration of insects into inanimate objects. But I also believe that we need… um… love to deal with… pests, at least at first. Therefore, it stands for — for — um…"
"Rapidly jumping locusts," Holly said suddenly, her quick grin being lost on the other two girls. "Those buggers can be hard to catch, but they can be calmed with a loving touch."
"Rapidly… jumping… locusts?" Lily asked slowly, arms crossed.
"Yes," Bridget said, hiding her glee. "Rapidly jumping locusts. Nasty little things. Much better to make them into forks. Once you get them calm, of course." She gave them a quick grin. "All you need is love."
Nearly the entire school was watching warily as James rotated the fork between his fingers that morning at breakfast. There was a breathless quality about the observing masses, and it pleased him to no end. He leaned back with a satisfied grin that struck fear in the hearts of nearly everyone at the head table (Dumbledore, for one, definitely didn't fear the Marauders — he found them quite amusing). Remus, Sirius and Peter had similar pleased looks on their faces; anyone who knew them would worry about what they'd done, especially when they took into consideration that it was All Hallow's Eve.
Minerva McGonagall already had their detentions planned with an alternate week's worth of detention if they had put Severus Snape in drag. Again.
In preparation, Lily Evans had triple checked all of her possessions and subtly casted Finite Incantatum on everything she touched from the moment she woke up. It was something she'd learned after six previous years of Halloweens with the Marauders. Some of them had amused her, reluctantly, but mostly they just caused problems for her to solve.
Bridget Griffins had resolved to stay close to her friends if only for the safety of proximity (as long as Sirius Black or James Potter had an arm around her shoulders, she figured she was safe enough) and Kagumi Pheonix had several plots for revenge planned if the boys were stupid enough to pull anything on her. Of course, she'd also held out hope that they'd let her in on the secret, too, and so far that hadn't happened either.
The Marauders were… smug and it frightened everyone.
The book fell to the table with a loud, reverberating bang as Gumi dropped into the seat behind it. "Okay, tell me what you're up to," she demanded, crossing her arms and stretching her feet out across Sirius's lap.
James's eyes widened innocently as he placed a hand against his chest. "Us? We're not up to anything, Miss Pheonix and it hurts that you would thin—"
"Bollocks," Bridget interrupted with a grin. "It's Halloween and the entire school's watching you four like you're about to explode." ("Aw, Jet, that was fourth year. We don't do repeats.") "You are up to something. Besides, you are always up to something."
Sirius smirked and shoved at James's shoulder. "I think they're on to us mate."
"Aye, we should be more careful."
"We should be sneakier," Peter added with a solemn nod; the nod was ruined, however, by the wide grin attempting to stretch his mouth too far across his face.
Remus sighed. "We should be less predictable. We do something every year."
"But, Moony," Sirius whined dramatically, "it's tradition."
Remus rolled his eyes in response.
"You're not going to tell us anything, are you?" Kagumi asked despondently, sighing. "And here I thought you'd at least realize that with more people helping the prank, the bigger prank you could pull off."
Bridget looked up at her over her book and Kagumi noticed, for the first time, one of the likely reasons why Sirius Black was practically radiating glee and satisfaction; Bridget was acting much more comfortable with him than she normally did. Kagumi didn't feel quite like ruining his joy by telling him that it was partially because it was probably the safest place to be on a notorious pranking day. That thought in mind, she resettled herself on the other side of Sirius, right between him and James.
"Did you really think they would?" she asked and Kagumi shrugged noncommittally.
"Not really."
James and Sirius gave the girls identical grins. "You'll just have to wait until supper like everyone else," Sirius said and the other boy nodded.
"So…" Bridget traced absent-minded patterns on Sirius's knee and looked up at him through her eyelashes. "It's gonna happen at dinner, then?"
There was a moment of stunned silence before Kagumi burst into peals of laughter, with Bridget's pleased giggles soon joining in. Peter groaned, burying his face in his hands and Remus threw a crumpled up ball of parchment at his friend, which struck him dead on the nose.
"Padfoot!" James whined, throwing a dramatic arm over his eyes. "You're such a gullible prat."
The House Elves were orange.
Lily blinked and walked forward from the doorway she'd frozen in. She should have known better than to agree to have a served dinner after Jame — after Potter of all people had suggested it. Only bad things could happen when it was one of the Marauders' ideas.
Speaking of Marauders… Lily spotted Remus in the corner levitating pumpkins onto the Head Table. She dropped her knapsack on the nearest table and strode over to him, tidying up her uniform as she did so. He didn't seem to notice her approach, so she crossed her arms over her chest and began tapping her shoe.
"Remus John Lupin, what have you four done?"
Remus let out a startled yelp, the pumpkin crashing onto the head of one of the fifth year Hufflepuff prefects. He shouted and fell onto his backside, but his partner started to pull the squash off of his head, so Lily didn't see how she could help the situation any more. She turned back to Remus and gave him a level, solemn glare, waiting for him to speak.
"Nothing, Lily," he said in an admirably innocent voice that she didn't believe for a second. "Why would you think that?"
"Because," she gestured widely at the room, nearly knocking over the same Hufflepuff who'd just had his head in a pumpkin and would probably smell like fresh produce until next week. "The House Elves are orange, you prat."
"And black," a voice breathed in her ear. She flushed red and tried to tell herself it was from being snuck up on and not from the sudden brush of breath against her skin.
Lily whirled around and poked James in the chest. He was right. "You. This is your fault. It is always your fault. What have you done to them?"
"Me?" he asked innocently, hazel eyes widening behind his glasses. "Why would you think that?"
She gave him a stern look she'd perfected over the years. "It is always you."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"What if you've hurt them, James?" Lily asked, feeling her careful wall of righteous indignation crumbling away like old Pumpkin Pasties.
His grin widened and he made a sharp gesture at one of the nearest Elves. "Nutty," he called and the orange creature bounded towards them. She smiled up at James like he was her Lord and Savior and Lily fought the urge to smile fondly; instead she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Master James? How can Nutmeg help Master James?" she squeaked. "Does Master James want Nutmeg to fetch another bottle of Heavenly Dreams Bubblebath? Madame Delafleur has the pretty lilac one Master James likes because it smells of the Master's mistress."
"Um…" Lily thought James's cheeks might've flushed pink, but it must be the light; after all, everyone knew James Potter didn't blush. "No. No thanks. I was just wondering if this new and festive coloring of yours hurts any?"
"Oh, no, Master James," Nutmeg replied eagerly. "Of course not. Nutmeg likes being orange, yes, she does. And it doesn't hurt at all, just like Master—" James made a quick, abortive gesture that Lily would normally miss, but she'd been around him long enough to see it. "Just like Master said it would. Only a tickle."
"Thank you, Nutty." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, and Lily would've thought he was embarrassed if it had been anyone else because when he turned his attention back to her he was grinning just like he normally did. "See, Evans. It doesn't hurt at all, not that I had anything to do with it in the first place."
She sighed. "Right," she conceded. Lily resigned herself to the appropriately tinted House Elves; at least it was relatively harmless and Severus wasn't in a dress. Again.
Dinner was almost over and nothing had happened. Of course, the Elves were a painfully bright orange or a midnight black that had them blending in with the shadows (a lurking Elf had startled Severus into a yelp that had the boys bent over with glee and laughter while the girls carefully avoided mentioning it, or in fact, even looking in the direction of the obviously sulking Severus), but that wasn't close to the Marauders' level of prank expertise and Kagumi was on edge. Bridget moved closer to James, careful to only eat what the male Gryffindors were eating.
"This better not be anything too terrible," she muttered to the boy. He smiled innocently, enjoying her concern entirely too much for her comfort.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"Oh, please, you so do know. Anyways," Bridget poked him in the ribs before glancing down to the seat where Lily was eating with Kamal, "Lily's been warming up to you. You don't want to screw that up. I think she might even go out with you soon enough."
"Really?" James perked up, expression softening as he gazed at his long-time crush. "Should I ask her to Hogsmeade?"
"No, love. Not quite yet. Wait until she's head over heels." Bridget shrugged. "It shouldn't be that long for her to go completely mad over you." She grinned as Lily looked up, noticed both her and James's attention and looked away, blushing. "She's already halfway there."
James settled down in his seat, smiling in a very satisfied way. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad."
"What is it?"
"I swear, James Potter, if you lot have got tap dancing skeletons hidden somewhere…" Kagumi trailed off threateningly.
"Just wait."
Bridget sighed and was about to push farther when shrieks and giggles started down at the end of the tables where the first years were seated. It seemed to grow into a ripple down the tables until it reached the seventh years.
Kagumi dropped her fork with a yelp, staring at the changing food on her golden plate. What had once been a very nice Shepherd's Pie had suddenly become a mass of Werther's caramels, and she turned to Remus, who smiled smugly at her from around a large Honeydukes chocolate bar.
"This is what you were planning?" she asked, amazed.
"Tha's right," he said. "Sirius asked James, who asked Lily, who asked Bridget, what your favorite candy was. Are you surprised?"
In lieu of a response, she tossed one of the hard caramels at him and then proceeded to unwrap one and eat it. He smiled slightly, resuming his attack on the chocolate.
Bridget pulled at James's shirt and the boy turned to her. Grinning, she bit into the Reese's Peanut Butter cup that either Sirius or James must've remembered was her favorite. "I have a surprise for you."
"What is it, my little inkwell?" he asked. "Are you planning on heaping glory and praise on me like my ingenuity and skill with the wand obviously deserve?"
"Not a chance in all the levels of hell," she replied cheerfully. She continued in a sing-song voice. "But, I think our dear Miss Evans might think a little differently."
Bridget pointed down at the table again. Lily was staring down at the bouquet of Sugar Quills and plate of chocolate bars in front of her, name spelt out in sparkling, bright red sugar crystal sprinkles. Softly, she ran her fingers along the edges. Bridget nudged James.
"See, she's coming around."
Raminus turned to Cordan, who was studying the Mirror that showed the Halloween feast. "That's... not as bad as I expected it to be," the Gryffindor said softly, he actually seemed a little disappointed in the lack of fanfare, but the moment of simple enjoyment would serve the students well in light of what was to come.
"Well, their pranks don't always end in disaster and mayhem."
"No, just usually," Cordan said, stretching his back as he stood up. "Oh, I'm getting too old for this Guardian nonsense."
"Cordan, you're only — for the love of Merlin, stop being such a whinger. You're not that old. You've the body of a twenty two year old just as I do." Raminus rolled his eyes, looking at his best friend.
"Yes, but this absolutely spectacular twenty-something body is—" Cordan's brows furrowed. "Is... how long have we been here, again?"
"Not a clue," Ram replied distractedly. "I lost count after a century. When do you think the news will reach the school? Of what — what happened."
"I dunno," Cordan sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
He looked... weary, older than he should look for someone who hadn't even reached maturity and… for just a moment, it broke Ram's heart. The lines around Cor's face were deeper, more pronounced. His eyes were tired, skin was almost ashen. His hair was standing on end from the many times that he'd run his fingers through it in aggravation and helpless anger and Ram had an insane urge to smooth it out for him.
Cordan rubbed his eyes and looked back up at his friend. He looked the proper age again, but there was that protective glint in his eyes that had made the Gryffindor temper famous. "They'll know when Albus gets the message. Not before. Not after."
"I had wondered when things would start to pick up," Raminus said, fiddling with a quill on the desk so he wouldn't have to watch Cordan's worry any longer.
"We knew it couldn't stay peaceful forever, Ram." Cordan looked to his friend, who sighed deeply, eyes large and green and sad.
"Didn't stop me from hoping."
Author's Ending Notes: Dear Readers. Faithful Readers. We are your groveling, prostrate and ever-slaving writers. We are so terribly sorry you've had to wait so dratted long for a new chapter. Things have been absolutely insane. Really. Spectacularly insane. Real life has interfered once again, and there's a ton of new strange going-ons that are just – well, insane. Anyway, there it is. We're so sorry. We promise we'll have the next one out sooner. Life just has a terrifically distressing habit of interfering.
And as always, a special shout-out to Hoshi Kawada and Xitwa74 for putting us on alert/favoriting us, and to Xitwa74 and BlistersOnMyFingers for the lovely reviews.
Next Time, in DIN:
"Bridget all right, then?" he asked.
"Cleaning up," Sirius replied dismissively. "You know how birds are. Prongs, do you feel like something's wrong with all this?"
"You as well, then?"
"Yeah. Lily's on edge, too, but you know how Remus can get after the full moon. He wouldn't notice if we were all replaced by House Elves some days. And Bridget— Bridget knows that something's wrong."
"None of us know what's going on."
Sirius watched him expectantly until he gave up on his friend and sighed, deftly tapping James once in the middle of his forehead before he settled back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. James blinked at him a second before it all became clear to him.
"You can't possibly think she's--"
"Think about it, Prongs," Sirius interrupted. "It makes sense."