Disclaimer: No, we do not own any of the characters except for the ones we've created. Can you guess which ones they are? Well, if you said Nadia, Lara, Alice, and Death, you are so correct. Awesome! And you win…absolutely nothing!
Authors' Note: Yes, we are multiple authors, and we all hope you enjoy our story! We are putting in our best effort! So, please, please, review! It would mean the world to us! Thank you so much, and we love you! And thanks so much to our first reviewer! Thank you so, so much! Is there no way to express how delighted we are?
"Now remember, everyone, no magic! Now, twenty, nineteen, eighteen…" Lara and Sirius counted, their eyes tightly closed.
Lily hurriedly slid behind an old, large tree.
Nadia frantically ran around, picking up Death, and hid herself under a low bench. Remus, following her example, ducked under a nearby bench, with some difficulty, as he was not as small as Nadia was.
Alice peered around, then plopped down onto the spot, and rolled up into a ball.
"Six, five, four…" Lara and Sirius continued.
James searched desperately for a hiding spot, and finally chose to get behind a tree. He slid behind the thick trunk, out of the seekers' views, and…found himself face-to-face with none other than Lily Evans.
"You!" Lily said in a hoarse whisper. "Get out!" She tried force James out from her hiding place, but James didn't move.
" Geez, Lily! I didn't know you were here either! And the lake's behind me! Do you want me to drown?"
Lily quieted, partly because she heard Lara and Sirius shouting in the background, "Ready or not, here we come!", and partly because, as much as she hated James, she didn't want him to drown.
Sirius looked around, his gaze falling on Alice. "What the-?" he said as he approached her. "Alice? Is that you?"
Alice froze for a moment, but then said, "No. I am a rock."
Sirius stared at her. "Ah. My apologies…rock…"
Meanwhile, Lara searched for her friends, wandering around until she spotted Remus. Lara skipped toward him. "Hey, Remus. I found you," she said sweetly.
Remus groaned. "Darn. I'll come out." He struggled under the bench for a few moments, until he looked up at Lara pleadingly. "Hey, could you…help me get out, please?"
Lara grinned, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "On one condition. You have to buy me a big box of chocolate frogs from Hogsmeade the next time you go. I love chocolate!"
Remus groaned yet another time, but finally agreed, "Fine!"
Lara laughed happily. "Okay then, it's a deal!" She skipped away.
"Hey, wait! Wait! What about getting me out of here? Wait! HEY!"
"Huh?" Lara turned around, then smiled brightly. "Oh, right! I totally forgot that tiny detail of our deal. Sorry, I was thinking about the chocolate. Did I mention that I love chocolate?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, only about two million times since we met. Now, get me out of here!"
Lara beamed, and with a flick of her wand, the bench was off of Remus.
"Thanks," Remus said, dusting himself off.
"No prob. Don't forget the chocolate!" Lara reminded him before prancing off to look for more people.
"Nadia, where are you?" called Sirius.
"You really think that she will answer?" scoffed Lara.
"Well, no, but the cat might!" Sirius called once again, but this time, "Death! Death! Where are you?"
From underneath another bench came a small meow.
"Hah!" yelled Sirius triumphantly, and sauntered over to the bench. "Nadia! I found you!"
Nadia slipped out nimbly from under the bench and glared at Sirius. "Cheater! Curse you! I hate you!"
"Woah, woah, girl! It's a game!" Sirius said, chuckling.
Nadia growled menacingly, and looked pointedly at Death. Almost immediately, the black cat sprang up at Sirius. Only by pure luck, Sirius managed to avoid the cat's sharp claws. He turned and scrambled frantically away, the cat following closely behind.
Meanwhile, a giggling Lara had spotted Lily's auburn hair from behind the large oak. "There you are!" she murmured to herself, then sneaked closer. As she approached Lily, Lara saw that she was with James! Smiling, Lara tiptoed up to her friend, who was facing the other way, at James, and pushed her gently into his arms.
James, taken by surprise, took a startled step back. It was at that moment that Sirius decided to run by that very tree, and of course, Death was almost at his feet.
James's foot landed on Death's tail, and it yelped in annoyance and pain. James, losing his balance as the cat jerked its tail away, toppled into the lake with a great splash, Lily in his arms and Death tumbling in along with him.
Lily shrieked and fumbled wildly.
James scowled and gasped for air. Finally getting his nose overwater, he discovered with much irritation that Death was perched quite calm and dry on his head.
"Death!" yelled Nadia, frantically sprinting to the edge of the lake.
"Ugh! Get off!" Grabbing Death with his wet hands, James swam ashore with some difficulty as to not kill the cat, threw Death onto the grass, and started to scramble out himself.
"James!" yelled Lara, stopping Remus from diving in to rescue Lily, "Lily! She's still there!"
Finally remembering that his crush was still in the water, he started to swim back to the middle of the lake, scanning around for Lily. Sighting her red head bobbing up and down, he made his way to her.
"Let me help you. I know you can't swim," he said, paddling in place, and reached out to hold her.
Lily, with some difficulty, squirmed away from James. "Excuse me, James Potter, but I am NOT a damsel in distress that needs rescue! Get out of my way!" With that, she doggy-paddled toward the shore, still managing to keep her dignified air.
"Darn, she looks so gorgeous even when she's drenched and doggy-paddling!" James said to himself, swimming in place and lost in thought.
Alice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey! I see the giant squid's leg! It's gonna get you!" she yelled, jumping up and down.
"Alice, that's just some water-plant. Calm down," reassured Sirius.
James swam ashore, and Remus met him with a fluffy, pink towel that he had conjured up. Lily stood shivering next to Lara, wrapped in a white towel, her hair dripping. James shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere.
"Hey, guys?" said Alice, dreamily wiping droplets of water off her arm, "I think we should go now. Otherwise the crumple-horned snorkacks are going to get us!"
Remus, laughing at Alice's remark, added, "Well, I'm not sure about the crumple-horned whatevers, but we do have to get these two inside. Let's go now."