((Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter, to my immense displeasure. But then, maybe that's all for the better.))
"What happened to your knee?"
"Hm?" I asked, more than a bit tired the next morning. I'd sat up all night trying to figure out how the hell seeing my life-blood leave my body when I'd accidentally cut myself in the shower could possibly make me feel any better. I'd finally decided that it really didn't; after all, dying wasn't a very comforting thought, whether I was depressed and angry or not. Which I was currently not. I was too tired to be depressed.
"I asked what happened to your knee," Mira repeated, giving me a worried look. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," I insisted, glancing down at my leg as I put on my robes, which covered my knee nicely. "My hand just slipped while I was shaving."
"Oh, I hate it when that happens. Hurts like a bitch."
"Yeah." Silence ensued, and not one of the comfortable ones.
"You sure you're alright?" Mira asked, giving me an even more worried look. "You seem rather off..."
"Huh?" I said, zoning out again. "Oh, yeah, I'm just really tired. Couldn't get to sleep last night." I yawned widely, as if by speaking the words my body had suddenly realized they were true.
"Maybe you should go see the nurse?" she suggested softly, not wanting to command me but obviously afraid that I was contracting an illness of some sort. I just smiled.
"I'm fine."
And that was that. She didn't ask any more questions as we went down to breakfast, joining Lily and Olivia at the table for toast and juice. They both stared at me as I sat down.
"What?" I growled in an aggravated voice, trying to keep my fragile temper from flaring. They still jumped and shook their heads, muffling their voices with their toast. I scowled, but turned to my own breakfast, only to start choking it when Sirius slid himself onto the bench right next to me, close enough that our knees were pushed tight against each other, and slung his arm around my waist. The fluttering feeling in my stomach surprised me, as did the sweet boyish scent that rolled off him and made me dizzy.
"Merlin, you look like crap," he commented, grabbing my toast from my hand while I was busy unsuccessfully trying to swallow the bite I'd just taken of it. "Melanie's not down here yet?" he asked Lily, who was staring at him like he was an alien while he munched on my toast. She slowly shook her head. Finally, I managed to get my airways clear, barely succeeded in keeping my voice to a minimum, and wriggled myself out from under his arm.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Black?" I snapped under my breath, only getting a smirk in response as he put his arm around me again. He looked around me to the doors, then leaned forward again.
"You're going to pretend to be my girlfriend," he stated with a completely serious face. I gaped at him, my mouth hanging open. "Melanie won't take a hint, and when I told her to bugger off, she just got more persistent. So you can blame her."
"Bloody—Melanie? You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend so that bloody Jordan will stop stalking you?" He grinned evilly and nodded. Big mistake, though. I mean, really, what happened next was completely his fault.
Actually, I didn't even realize what I'd done till I was in McGonagall's office, trying to explain to Dumbledore and McGonagall why Sirius Black had been taken to the Hospital Wing in the shape of an extremely smelly bald skunk missing a few, er, body parts and perhaps some bones as well. I almost laughed when I thought back on it; he'd probably not smell quite like that Sirius smell I'd noticed for a few weeks at least. I might have to watch my back for a while, but at least I'd be able to smell him coming.
In the end, I had four detentions, all four on Saturdays, during the first of which I'd be helping Slughorn prepare the more volatile and disgusting ingredients for the first and second year students. A price well worth it, I suppose. I got off pretty lucky, actually; Filch was mumbling in the background the whole time about shackles. As soon as it had been established that I would go to Slughorn's office at three this coming Saturday, I was sent off to double Herbology; I took my time, not in any real hurry to see if the damage I'd done had been repaired. I didn't even make it to the entrance hall before I saw that it was.
Sirius was a little ways ahead of me, heading down the stairs. He glanced back at my footsteps, then turned back forward again, ignoring my presence completely. Which rather frustrated me; what kind of person just ignores the one who turned him into a skunk not even an hour before. I quickened my pace, catching up to him as we crossed the entrance hall. He gave me an angry glance out of the corner of his eye before turned back to the front doors and pushing through them. I was a little disappointed that he didn't smell bad. In fact, there was no sign at all of the ordeal that I'd put him through. I sighed; he whirled around, as if my sigh had pissed him off more than my presence had. His gray eyes flashed from underneath his black hair, showing what his calm countenance did not. For a few seconds, we just stared at each other.
"What?" he snapped finally.
"Er, I was just wishing I'd done a better job. With the transfiguration, I mean. I was hoping you'd still smell a little after they fixed you." By this time, I was standing next to him and feeling quite sadistic. I sneered at him as I passed him by. I was surprised when he grabbed my arm and pulled me around to face him, raising his hand and slapping me across the face. I was even more surprised when none of my usual anger lashed out in response. "Done?" I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, awestruck at the calm in my voice, even through the stinging of my cheek. He leaned forward, a grim smile on his face; the memory of our encounter on the train flashed through my head and the sweet scent washed over me again.
"You wish."
The words almost seemed to echo around my brain as he walked away. I felt as if my world was spinning with the animosity in them, as if it was crashing down around me. I stood as if in a trance for a few minutes before I realized that Sirius had vanished, most likely to Herbology. I considered following, but suddenly I was in no mood for class, especially not one with Sirius (who had just promised me certain doom), James (who probably was not very impressed by my work), and Lily (who was almost certainly angry about the entire situation).
So instead I wandered in the general direction of the lake, trying to calculate how much detention I'd get for skipping.
***~~~***
"Where is she?" Lily muttered under her breath to Sirius, who was suddenly looking a bit more than flustered at the fourth repetition of the question.
"How the hell would I know?" he snapped, quite a bit louder than he intended; he instantly regretted it when Lily turned a vicious glare on him. "I'm not her babysitter, okay?"
"You said she was right behind you, but that was twenty minutes ago! What did you say to her?" Lily asked, suddenly becoming monstrously suspicious. James came to Sirius' aid.
"Lily, just because she may have decided to skip class doesn't mean it's Sirius' fault..." he faltered when Lily shot him a warning look. "Er, what I mean is, erm, I mean, I'm not saying he didn't have anything to do with it..." Now Sirius was glaring at him too. James grimaced and covered his mouth, trying to keep any further statements from slipping from his lips, slumping down in an attempt to escape the impaling death glances. Remus rolled his eyes at the trio from across the table.
Lily had braved the table of the four Marauders, aiming to discover the location of Ms. Gaunt, but she wasn't getting anywhere. Remus was getting nervous; if she didn't get the answer soon, he was worried that she'd kill something. Whether it was the Snargaluff that they were attempting to pot without being eaten or the four boys themselves had yet to be seen. Peter was currently trying to cower under the table, but Lily was once again focused on Sirius.
James having relented to Lily's fearsome gaze, Remus took up the task of rescuing Sirius.
"Evans, I think you're being rather unreasonable. Just because Sirius saw Artemis doesn't mean that she was headed to class. It's completely possible that she just decided to skip class since she's already in trouble anyways." Lily's death glare found Remus, and even though he tried to stop himself, he let out a small whimper and withdrew from the conversation as James had.
"I'm just saying," Sirius said, prodding the Snargaluff with his wand with the result of a strange "mrgggfffll" sound, "that she's got her own mind. It's not my fault she's not in class, and I don't know where she is."
Lily growled in response before turning to Professor Sprout, the relatively young Herbology teacher, with an enormous Head Girl smile. "Professor, may I please take a short peek outside, just to see where Ms. Gaunt has got to?"
Professor Sprout gave her a small nod then hurried off to help one of the students a few tables away reclaim his hand from his Snargaluff. Lily herself hastened to the door of the greenhouse, pulling her robes tighter to protect herself against the chill September air. It was a few more minutes before any of the Marauders could drag up the courage to say anything.
"I swear that girl is mental. I don't get you, Prongs," Sirius said, giving his best mate a sarcastic shake of the head; no sooner had he spoken than Lily's shouting was entering through the still open door.
"Artemis! What are you doing? Get the hell out of there!" Even though her voice was faint, not coming well through the greenhouse walls, Sirius judged from her tone that she was rather shocked; he had turned to the door, ready to run outside to see what Artemis was doing, but Professor Sprout interrupted.
"Everyone stay put! Mr. Potter, kindly go and see what Ms. Evans is shouting about."
James nodded and pushed through the students, all of whom were looking curiously at the door. Silence followed, besides Michael Creefer's shouts as the Snargaluff munched on his arm. When a few minutes of stillness had passed, most of the students returned to what they had been doing; Professor Sprout returned her attention to poor Michael, managing to save his arm from the conniving plant before too much damage had been done. Sirius returned his hands to the pot that they were preparing for their own Snargaluff, but his mind was still immensely curious. He didn't have to wait long.
"Artemis, what the hell are you doing?" James yelled, his voice giving some image of disbelief. His voice, like Lily's, was muffled, and whatever he said next was indecipherable. Professor Sprout hurriedly attended to the numerous cuts on Michaels arm before ordering the class to continue their work, hastening out the door to where the next trouble was. Sirius glanced at Peter and Remus, who stared back in alarm, or did until the Snargaluff between them began attacking them. Sirius' attention was drawn to the vicious plant before him, and he decided he'd rather keep all his limbs than try to work out what was happening outside.
***~~~***
"Artemis! What are you doing? Get the hell out of there!" Lily's shout ripped through my mind, jolting me back into reality and allowing me to realize that I was thigh-deep in the dark waters of the Black Lake. Confusion was the next feeling I felt. The last I'd remembered, I'd been sitting next to the lake, wondering how cold the water was on this chilly day. Certainly icy. Some voice deep inside me had said Let's find out... jump in. An obvious mistake; it was cold, it was dark, and it was stupid. Everything inside me told me so. Everything except that voice. Jump in, it said, jump in. You know you want to... The next thing I knew, I was in the water, cold waves licking my thighs perversely.
I shivered.
"Artemis, what the hell are you doing?" James voice joined Lily's as he sprinted down the lawn after her. I vaguely wondered what they were doing; after all, class was still in session. Head Boys and Girls don't usually skip class. Well, at least, Lily didn't. By the time Lily reached the shore, the voices in my head had faded, and I realized clearly that they must have noticed that I wasn't in class and had come looking for me; shortly after that, I realized that the ice cold water was biting viciously at my legs. I shivered again and waded slowly to the shore as James came to a stop next to Lily, looking extremely pissed off, not at all the usual James Potter expression. I paused when the water reached as low as my ankles, considered making a break for it. The harsh stares that I was receiving made me feel very anxious, even more so when Professor Sprout's joined them.
"Ms. Gaunt, I think that now is hardly the time for a bath," she stated, beckoning to me with a wave. "Now get out of that water before you lose some limbs to frostbite!" I had no choice now, ordered by the teacher. I pulled myself out of the water, dragging myself up to the trio of superiors. Lily and James both opened their mouths to scold at the same time, but Sprout overrode them. "Ms. Gaunt, what on earth were you doing? Skipping class? Swimming in the lake? I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention, and five points from Gryffindor. I'll allow Professor McGonagall to notify you of the time and place. You'd best go and change now, then come right back. Ms. Evans, perhaps you should go with her. Mr. Potter, back to class."
James gave me a final look of fury before he stalked back to class, followed by Sprout. Lily, meanwhile, shot me her own version of James' look as she started up the hill for the doors, pulling me by the wrist. When we reached the dormitory, Lily slammed the door behind us and whipped around to face me.
"What the hell were you thinking? That bloody lake had to be below freezing! What made you go in it?" She half-yelled. When I didn't reply, she continued. "And then earlier! I know you hate Sirius, and I know that what he said was, well, was absolutely ridiculous and insulting and so, so stupid, but really, Artemis, did you have to transfigure him? Into a bald skunk, for god's sake?"
I smiled at the memory, but then I remember how he'd slapped me and basically warned me that life as I knew it was going to end. I sighed and went back to ignoring Lily's lecture, heading to my trunk and finding myself a clean pair of clothes. Lily decided that it wouldn't be that easy, however; she followed me to the bathroom, even going so far as to stand outside of the door and keep yelling at me, whether I was listening or not.
"Artemis! This is not funny! You and Sirius are seriously getting out of hand! There's a big difference between throwing witty insults back and forth and trying to maim each other!" She paused, listening for any response. When she got none but the rustling of cloth, she knocked on the door. "Artemis, are you listening to me? If you... Mira told me you were acting funny this morning, and that you cut your knee. If you're, you know, not feeling well or if you're depressed, you should, er, you should tell me. Or Mira, or McGonagall, or anyone really. We're here for you."
I opened the door and led the way back to the girls' dorm. "I'm not depressed! I'm just fine!" I paused by my bed, wondering if I should tell Lily about those weird voices.
Don't tell her, the voice commanded. Don't tell her. She'll think you're crazy. They'll throw you in St. Mungo's. I nodded to myself.
"I'm fine, really Lily. Just, er, thought I saw something is all. I was just a little curious. I promise I'm not depressed." Not yet... the voice added gleefully. I did my best to hide my grimace. Lily gave me a skeptical look.
"Well, if you're sure..." she said slowly, then smiled at me. "I trust you, then. But, really, Mira and me, we're here for you if you ever need anything. Liv is too." I nodded, giving her a true smile. It was good to know that someone cared. "We ought to go back to class then. Well, I ought to go back to class; you ought to get to class in the first place. You were going to skip, weren't you?"
"Er, maybe?" She rolled her eyes at me. I shrugged, uncomfortable under her stare. "I, er, I didn't plan on it."
"Well, let's go then; Professor Sprout won't wait forever." I sighed and followed her out the doors. When we got down to the greenhouses, I avoided everyone's eyes, looking carefully at only the girls seventh's Snargaluff. Mira gave me a look that said she was definitely going to be questioning me later. Melanie gave me a smug look, and, oddly enough, Olivia mimicked it. I could feel Sirius' eyes drilling into the back of my skull. My head swam as I recalled how tired I'd been before breakfast.
I wish this stupid plant would just eat me, I thought wearily. I suddenly realized what I was thinking. Fuck, no I don't! I don't want to die, damn it all! Mira elbowed me gently.
"You alright? I really think you should go see Madam Pomfrey..."
I shook my head frantically. "I'm fine. I already told you, I'm just exhausted. I'll get some sleep tonight, and then I'll be just fine." Mira gave me a worried look, and Lily managed to mirror it perfectly. "Really, you two. I'm okay. I swear you two are like mother hens." I scowled and snatched the pot from Olivia, who was filling it with the wrong type of fertilizer. "Olivia, you need to use Lobalug manure, not Flobberworm manure. The Snargaluffs are real picky." Olivia glared at me, as if my correcting her, potentially a life-saving adjustment, was horrendously insulting. I kept myself from rolling my eyes, using my wand to open the Lobalug fertilizer and filling the pot halfway. When that was done, we spent another hour and a half wrestling the Snargaluff into the new pot. Mira almost lost her pinky when she bent a root a little in the wrong direction, and Melanie almost lost her perfect nose when she shot Olivia a This-is-stupid look. Lily and I were the only two who managed to make it by without a scratch, a miracle for me since I was half asleep.
"That was the most ridiculous lesson we've ever had!" Mira scowled as we headed out of the greenhouses after class. I laughed at her. "I mean it! Who the hell wants those stupid things anyways? Why would you want a man-eating plant?"
"Oh, come on now, Mira. They're the perfect guards!" I laughed. "I mean, throw them in your garden; you'll never have anyone stealing your veggies!" Mira scowled.
"Yeah, but is it worth it? Those things almost ate Creefer!"
I snorted. "Yeah, well, Creefer's always all zoned out. If you know what you're doing and you pay attention, you'll be fine." I glanced back at Michael, who was nursing a scratched up arm. "Besides, with Sprout there, nothing was going to happen. She might be a relatively new teacher, but she knows what she's doing."
Mira sighed. "Ar, you're always so stubborn. I know you enjoy Herbology, but Snargaluffs? Really, Artemis?"
"Well, sure. Although, I'd personally prefer some Devil's Snare." Mira shook her head at me, rolling her eyes at my strange tastes. "I like Care of Magical Creatures better though."
"Yeah, I know you do. I don't understand why you're so obsessed with the thestrals, though." She rolled her eyes again as we entered the entrance hall. "You're so strange." I just shrugged. After a few minutes of silently climbing stairs and ambling down hallways, Mira broke the silence once again. "So, uh, how'd you end up in the lake?"
I paused in the middle of the hallway, feeling a small blush creep up my neck. "Who told you that?"
"James stopped by our table; he whispered it in my ear. None of the others heard, though. I don't think he even told Sirius, even though he was basically begging." She gave me another of those concerned looks, something I seemed to be getting quite a lot of today. "Why'd you go in?"
I didn't really know how to reply, so I just shrugged. She'll think you're crazy, the voice told me.
Maybe I am, I thought back.
"Artemis, please, if something's wrong..."
"I'm fine, really. And I'm also tired of repeating myself," I said, giving her an annoyed look.
"Well, if you'd tell the truth, maybe you wouldn't have to repeat yourself." I stared at her. Was she accusing me of lying to her? My best friend? Instead of dignifying her statement with a response, I passed her, off to Charms. She caught up to me after a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Ar, I am. I won't bother you anymore, okay? Just promise me you'll tell me if you, you know, if you aren't okay."
"I will, I promise. Now can we change the subject?"
"Sure. How about Sirius? That was the most hideous, er, thing I've ever seen, whatever the hell you changed him into. Smelled real bad, though. Was it a skunk?"
"Yeah, couldn't you tell?" I grinned at her.
"Well sure, if you'd left the tail, or left the hair, or left his, er, you-know-whats. Why'd you make him a female skunk?"
"I didn't think he deserved those. In fact, he really wasn't a gender. He was an it."
Mira snorted as we arrived at the classroom, earning herself a curious look from Remus, standing against the wall a little ways away.
"Something funny?" he asked, looking carefully between us.
"Oh, just discussing Artemis' wonderful transfiguration this morning."
"Ah, that. You might want to watch your back, Artemis. Sirius isn't going to take that lying down. I'd expect at least a few days of, er, what do you call it? Fun? If not more like months..."
"I figured as much. You wouldn't happen to have heard what he was saying to me, did you?"
Remus smiled and nodded. "I did. If I wasn't one of his mates, I might agree that he deserved it. Don't tell him I said that though." I nodded. "How much detention did you get?"
"Four Saturdays. First one's with Slughorn this Saturday. Preparing some ingredients for the first and second years. Course, now I guess I should add on that one Sprout gave me..."
"That reminds me... if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing this morning? When you were supposed to be in class I mean."
"I was, er, going for a little swim," I admitted. Remus stared at me disbelievingly, ignoring his sandy hair as it fell into his eyes. "Er, yeah, thought I saw something in the water, and I just ended up in it, I guess." Remus raised his eyebrows a little higher, but didn't ask any questions, to my immense relief.
"Right... well I hope you enjoyed your, er, swim, then. You think maybe you caught a chill? You don't really look so hot."
"Just tired is all. Thanks for your concern, though, Remus." Remus smiled at me. I noticed suddenly that he was rather pale and tired-looking too. "You're not looking too good yourself."
"I'm tired too. I think I might be getting a little sick, maybe." I gave him a pitying look. "Uh oh..." He shot a disapproving look over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to find Sirius and James, though the latter had his face hidden in his hands. I didn't mind James, instead staring open mouthed at Sirius, who was busily snogging April May June, the Hufflepuff prefect, while he was walking. James quickly made his way to Remus, striking up an instant conversation.
"They've been going at it ever since halfway through Herbology! They won't stop!"
"I have a solution," I smirked, taking out a bottle of ink and taking careful aim at Sirius' head.
"No!" James yelled, but it was too late. Fortunately for Sirius, but unfortunate for April, the couple whirled around at the last minute, the bottle of black ink smashing against the back of April's blonde head. She spun around, staring at me with wide, tear-filled eyes.
"What the bloody hell, Gaunt?" she screamed, fleeing down the hall, right past Professor Flitwick, who gave me an amused, slightly disappointed look.
"Collecting detentions today, are we, Ms. Gaunt?"
Fuck, I cursed mentally. I was having a hell of week.