Always Remember What You Can't Forget

This was meant to be a one-shot of what I think the last chapter of the seventh book will be. But I had a lot of fun writing it so I’m continuing. Think of it as a Hogwarts: The Next Generation kind of thing. It is half what I think will happen and half what I want to happen. It takes place 18 years after Voldemort’s defeat.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or any of the other characters form the Harry Potter series. They all belong to the brilliant mind of J. K. Rowling. I’m just a humble peasant who’s afraid of lawyers, so please don’t sue.

Update: As of Deathly Hallows, this story is as completely, off the rails AU. But it's still a good bit of fun and fluff.


Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Thirty-five year old Harry Potter paced the waiting room of St. Mungo’s Hospital of Magical Maladies and Injuries nervously. He ran his fingers through his untidy, jet black hair, his emerald green eyes gleaming with anticipation. He’d been in this situation before of course, but this time it was different. He was expecting his fourth child, his only son.

Harry glanced around at the large group of people in the room. This was mainly due to the size of the Weasley family, and the fact that all of his brother in laws and their wives had brought their children. Not to mention the family friends that might as well have been relatives. There was an excited buzz going through the room as the clock struck midnight and everyone realized what day it was. July 31st.

The Potter girls were distinguishable by their eyes. Vivid emerald green and almond shaped, all three of them had Harry’s eyes. His oldest daughter, Elizabeth May, flipped her long black hair out of her eyes and smiled at her sisters. Harry could remember her birth so clearly. It was hard for him to realize that she would soon be starting her sixth year at Hogwarts. She was a sweet, quiet girl with a motherly instinct that came to her as naturally as breathing.

Nicole Lily, who had just completed her first year of school, was an image of her mother, except for her eyes. She was at the top of her class, but she had a flare for mischief. As she looked up at her father, her face was lit up by a beautiful smile. In Elizabeth’s lap was Harry’s youngest daughter, also a red head, fast asleep. Genevieve Ann was four years old and the closest thing to an angel Harry had ever met.

Looking back on his life, Harry glanced at the two people who had been there through it all. Ron Weasley took his wife Hermione’s hand and answered a question his son had just asked him. Arthur Bilius Weasley was as tall and gangly as his father had been when he was fourteen, with the red hair, freckles, and blue eyes common to the Weasley family. A grin spread across Harry’s face as a mane of brown hair sped past him. Jane, Hermione’s four year old carbon copy, was a completely wild girl. He’d never really gotten over the fact that someone who looked that much like his sensible, academically driven friend could be that crazy. He had a feeling her and Genevieve would get along fine.

“Hey guys.” Harry said, sounding bedraggled, as he slumped into a chair beside them.

“Are you okay? You look horrible.” Hermione had always had a habit of acting like his mother.

“Thanks.” Harry replied sarcastically. “No, really, I’m fine, but the sooner this is over the better. I can’t stand the waiting.”

“Yeah, but its your birthday. What are the odds of your son being born on your birthday?” Ron pointed out.

“That is kind of strange...”

“Hi Uncle Harry!” Arthur said.

“Hi Arthur. How’s school going?”

“Great, can’t wait to get back.” He said as he made his way over to the other kids.

“Harry, did you get that memo I put on your desk a couple of days ago.” Ron asked. He was an auror as well.

“Yeah. Why do you even bother writing memos? You work two feet away from me.” he replied, shaking his head at his friend’s silliness. “Hermione, I’ve been meaning to ask you forever, is that Veritaserum warrant ever going to be passed?” Hermione was a member of the Wizengamot, although she ran S.P.E.W. on the side. Ron had been trying to get her to change the name for eighteen years.

“I don’t know Harry, all the...er...seasoned professionals-“

“Old duffers.” Ron interrupted.

“Seasoned professionals.” she corrected, glaring at him, “Well anyway, they’re dreadfully slow.”

“No hurry, it’s just getting awfully boring staring at the walls all day.” he joked.

“JANE, could you please come over here and sit still for two seconds!” Hermione called, noticing that her small daughter was knocking things over and poking the other children.

“Good luck.” Harry muttered before getting up to continue his rounds. As he made his way over to Arthur and Molly Weasley, he saw they looked almost as nervous as he felt.

“So, are you two ready to grandparents...again?” he asked.

“Oh certainly. You know how much I love this.” Molly replied.

“How are you holding up Harry?” Arthur asked.

“Oh, reasonably well. At least I haven’t passed out cold this time.” Harry replied, suddenly remembering Nicole’s birth. The healer had rushed in to say there had been a problem, but Harry had never heard the last part of her sentence, for he had been unconscious on the floor of the waiting room. It turned out that their paperwork had been confused with another couples’ and by the time Harry came to it was sorted out.

“Yes, well we all got a fright that time.”

Harry resumed his pacing, wondering what was taking so long. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the long blonde hair and comforting smile of his oldest niece, Renee. Bill and Fleur’s only daughter would soon be starting her seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

“It’ll be okay Uncle Harry. Auntie is strong. Oh and happy birthday!” she said cheerfully and Harry grinned at her.

“I believe congratulations are in order. Head girl is quite an accomplishment. Liz is looking forward to being bossed around by you.”

“Oh, I’ll try to go easy on her.” she smiled. “But really, I’m sure Liz will be my best prefect. I heard she got ten O.W.L.’s. Or else, I have embarrassing baby stories, you know.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure to remind her.” He felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Harry, it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to you. How’s the auror office holding up?” Percy asked him smugly as he shook his hand. It was still like being introduced to the mayor. Percy was the only one of the Weasley children that was unmarried and his relationship with the others was still on shaky ground. Harry, however, had chosen to let the past go. They’d all made mistakes during the war.

“Great, as always.” He was a tad annoyed Percy had decided to talk about work. He must know after all, he worked a floor above them in the minister’s office. But that was Percy. “Not a lot for us to do right now.”

“Oh, we’re quite busy, you know.” he said smugly. “The minister is always asking for our opinions on reforming laws and other matters of great importance.”

Alaster “Mad-eye” Moody, an ex-auror himself, had chosen to walk through the door at this time. Harry, slightly glad for an excuse to get away from the Junior Minister, greeted him cheerfully. Mad-eye was getting on in the years, but he was still energetic, and he hadn’t missed the birth of one of Harry’s children yet.

“Constant vigilance, Alaster. So how’s retirement.”

“Mercifully quiet. I don’t think I’ve been followed.”

“I’m sure you haven’t.” said Harry, amused. Old habits die hard.

“Urgh, this eye keeps sticking! Excuse me Harry, I need to go find a glass of water.”

“Harry, old chap, we haven’t seen you in two days!”

“Can I have your autograph?”

He turned with some apprehension to face the Weasley twins, thirty-seven years old, but not quite grown up yet. It was to be expected though, they did run a joke shop. Harry had a suspicion that they wouldn’t have any rules in their house if it wasn’t for their wives. Fred and his wife Angelina shared a large country home with George and his wife Katie. Fred’s twin boys, Andrew and Ryan, were entertaining the younger children with stories of their adventures in their three years of Hogwarts, with help of George’s son, David. They were all red head menaces on the Gryffindor Quiddich team. It was no surprise, seeing as all of their parents had been Quiddich players in their day.

“So how’s the daddy of the day?” asked George. He was holding his blonde ten year old daughter, Daniella’s hand.

“The daddy of the day is pretty nervous.” Harry replied. “How are you guys, Angelina, Katie?”

“We’re all great and soon you will be too.” Fred answered.

“Oh, I wanted to thank the boys for looking after Nicole this year. She told me they yelled at some Slytherins who were giving her a hard time.”

“Yes, well our sons don’t really mind yelling at Slytherins.”

“Well they do take after you.”

“Unfortunately.” Angelina said from behind Fred and they all laughed.

“Yeah, well I heard the Malfoy boy was one of them.” Katie mentioned. She had a certain distaste for the Malfoys ever since she was almost killed by one back in her seventh year.

“Oh yeah, Liz told me about him, he’s in her year.” Harry said. “He’s Draco and Pansy’s son right?”

“Yep, that’s the one.” said Fred grimly. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh.”

“Obviously.” Harry gestured towards their own sons, now reenacting a Quiddich game.

“Hello, Daniella, your birthday’s in a couple of days isn’t it?” he asked the young girl.

“Yeah! And then I get to go to Hogwarts! I got my letter and everything!” she said, looking painfully excited.

“Did you get her an owl yet.” Harry asked George in an undertone.

“No, not yet.” he said.

“Don’t.” Harry said, winking.

Just then a loud scream out in the hall caused the room to go silent. Harry was halfway to the door when Charlie Weasley burst through it, grinning from ear to ear.

“Sorry I’m late, I just got the message. Apparated right on the front desk. I don’t think the secretary was too happy with me.” Everyone laughed. Charlie had a way of always apparating where he shouldn’t be.

“Leslie and the kids send their love, Harry. She obviously couldn’t apparate, being so far along.” Charlie and his wife were expecting their sixth child soon. Their five boys, Philip, Jacob, William, Albus, and Timothy, all went to Beauxbatons even though they lived in Romania.

“How’s the dragons?” Harry asked.

“Large and fire-breathing.” he replied. “Speaking of which, I have to give Hagrid his update on Norbert.”

“SIRIUS THEODORE LUPIN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” Nymphadora Tonks was glaring at her sixteen year old son. Harry noticed that her daughter seemed to have blue hair and a five inch long nose. Like his namesake, Sirius enjoyed being the cause of chaos and the center of attention.

“Nothing.” he said, smiling innocently.

“You know very well she can’t control it yet, young man.” she replied, tapping Rebekah on the head with her wand so that she was restored to her usual blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

“Ah, mum, you take all the fun out of having a metamorphagus for a sister. And I believe I’ve seen several pictures of you with pink hair.” he said grinning happily as Tonks turned around to look at her husband.

“I told you to burn them!”

“Yes, well seemed like a waste of good paper you know.” Remus muttered.

“Whatever. And that was different. Becca is only six.” A loud cry interrupted her. “And you’ve woken up the baby!” she said, rushing over to comfort her youngest daughter, Violet. “It’s a good thing I can morph, otherwise I’d have grey hair by now.”

Remus and Tonks had decided what to name their son long before he was born, so it was as much their shock as anyone else’s when he ended up looking like the first Sirius. Yes, Tonks was related to him, but it was still strange. He was a bit shorter than Sirius, but he had the same handsome face, the same grey eyes and black hair. The same personality, even. Him and Elizabeth were in the same year, but fought constantly.

“Goodness Sirius, you’d think you could be a little more mature. I mean, you’re a sixth year, and even though your not a prefect you should still try to set a good example.” Elizabeth said scathingly.

“Why on Earth would I want to be a prefect? I’d never have any fun and I would have to see you more than I already have to.” he replied, grinning at her all the same.

“Just because your father’s a teacher doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want.”

“And being a prefect doesn’t make you the queen of the universe.”

“Sirius, please stop being so rude, you’re already in trouble.” Tonks said dangerously.

“She started it, Mum.”

“Oh, that’s mature.” Liz muttered as she walked away.

“Those two are impossible, aren’t they?” Hermione were standing behind Harry.

“They remind me quite a bit of you and Ron, actually.” he said.

“Oh that’s just silly! We’ve never acted anything like that...” but Harry cut her off with two words.

“Yule. Ball.”

“Oh.” she said, blushing furiously, “Well yes, but we were young.”

“So are they.” Harry said. Hermione grinned.

“Not trying to marry your daughter off are you, Harry dear?” she asked sweetly.

“No!” he looked at her in horror. “I’m just saying he’s a good kid, that’s all.” He was beginning to get uncomfortable. “Oh, look, Neville and Luna are here.”

They went over to greet their old friends, who had been on vacation in France for most of the summer, and noticed that their two girls had grown quite a bit. Lynn was fourteen, with dark hair, big blue eyes, and a slim figure. She had inherited her father’s clumsiness and her mother’s brains, as she was in Ravenclaw. Her twelve year old sister, Celeste, had the same eyes, along with straggly blonde hair and Gryffindor bravery. She shared her mother’s love for wild theories and loved helping her with the latest addition of the Quibbler. They also enjoyed having their father teach Herbology at Hogwarts.

“Sorry we’re late Harry.” Neville said, smiling broadly.

“Nonsense, you’re just being fashionable.” Harry said, smiling back and hugging each of his friends and both of his god children.

“Celeste!” Nicole ran over to them to greet her best-friend. “I thought you weren’t coming back for two weeks.”

“We weren’t supposed to, but we came back when we heard Aunt Ginny went into labor early!”

“Oh, that’s good, I’ve been getting bored. Hi Uncle Neville, Aunt Luna, Lynn.”

“‘Arry, how are ya!” bellowed an extremely large man who had just entered the room, leaving an alarmed secretary behind him.

“Hagrid!” Harry exclaimed, glad to see his friend. “It’s been far too long, you know.”

“I know, I know. Maxime wanted ter come, but she had lots ter do gettin’ ready fer school ya know.” Hagrid had been living in France, helping his wife run Beauxbatons.

“It’s quite alright. I’m surprised you got here actually.”

“Well, I was comin’ up a couple a weeks early so’s I didn’ miss it, an’ when I got to the house, they said Ginny was havin’ the baby!”

“How’d you get here?”

“Flew.”

“You still have that blasted motorbike, don’t you?” Harry asked.

“Maybe I do.” Hagrid grinned. They both burst out laughing.

As everyone greeted Hagrid cheerfully, Harry looked around once more at the people he loved most in the world. ‘Yes,’ he thought, ‘All the hardship, all the pain, had definitely been worth it.’ He was glad his children could grow up in a world free of Voldemort, a world where they didn’t have to be afraid of coming home and finding the dark mark over their homes. It was a long road, yes, but it was worth it just to be able to smile without worry. Harry knew that someday, there would be a new dark lord, but Voldemort’s defeat had scared a lot of hopefuls. Maybe it would scare them for some time to come.

He thought about how his life would have been different if Voldemort hadn’t have chosen him and he concluded that it wouldn’t have been that different. He still would have fought him, maybe even defeated him, no matter what the prophecy said. It was something he was meant to do. Harry didn’t really believe in destiny, but there were some things that just can’t be argued with. His life was one of them.

The door to the waiting room opened. Harry turned when he heard Healer Pye say, “Mr. Potter.” He was terribly nervous, but relieved when he saw the healer was smiling. A hush had fallen over the room as everyone watched Harry walk through the open door.

“Are they alright?” Harry asked as soon as they reached the hall.

“Couldn’t be better. You have a very excited wife and a healthy baby boy.” Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He let out a whoop of joy.

“I daresay you’d like to see them.” Healer Pye asked while grinning.

Harry entered the room to see Ginny looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. Despite the fact she looked exhausted and her hair was soaked with sweat, she had an enchanting smile on her face. Harry smiled back.

“Happy birthday, Harry.” she said, mischief in her eyes, “Sorry I haven’t gotten you anything.”

Harry laughed. “Ginny, darling, I couldn’t have anything better than what you’ve given me.”

“Would you like to see your son?”

Harry strode over to her side, kissed her on the forehead, and took a bundle out of her arms. As he pulled the blanket down over the small figure’s face, he saw his own eyes looking back at him, a shock of jet black hair on the top of his head. In his arms was the boy who he would teach to fly, who would inherit the Marauder’s Map, who would carry the name Potter into the next generation. In his arms, he held the future.

“He looks like you, doesn’t he.” Ginny mentioned casually.

This was the understatement of the century. Harry gazed at his son, who had already been named, in shock. The thin face, the long nose, every feature was the same. There was a moment when James Harry Potter’s vivid green eyes looked directly into Harry James Potter’s vivid green eyes, and Harry realized the only difference between his son’s face and his own was the absence of that telltale lightning blot scar.


This was shorter than
I would have liked,
but don't fear! There shall be
new posts! :p
FEEDBACK! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)
Is greatly appreciated. :rotfl:

Hey guys, here’s the next post. Thanks-you times infinitesimal amounts to all the people who reviewed! :D


Chapter 2: Is That a Blush?!

Harry was running around his manor frantically, trying to make sure everything was perfect. Ginny was coming home today, and he was throwing her and James a surprise party. He loved his home, an old mansion in the sleepy little town of Godric’s Hollow, but he was starting to think it was far too big.

“Oh for goodness sake!” came a shout from the kitchen. He smiled. As he poked his head in to see what all the fuss was about he saw Sirius raiding the cupboards, watched by an irate Elizabeth.

“Dad, could you please tell this git to stop pigging out and allow me to get ready for the party in peace!” she exclaimed the minute she saw Harry.

“Now, dear, Sirius is a guest.” he said, grinning. Nothing could dampen his good mood.

“He can hardly be called a guest, he lives two houses down!”

“Soweunelari.” Sirius choked out.

“That’s disgusting, you know.” said Elizabeth, looking at him with revulsion.

“Yep.” he said, giving a huge swallow. “I said sorry Uncle Harry.”

Harry chuckled, “Help yourself.”

“Sirius, dear, did I mention I hate you?” Elizabeth asked sweetly.

“Many times. But you know you can’t resist me, really.” Sirius said, smiling charmingly at her. She rolled her eyes. Harry laughed outright.

“Oh, I pity your poor, poor parents!” he said, grinning at his godson. He left Liz to badger him for a little while after telling them both he expected them to be in their dress robes in two hours, and continued his inspection of the house.

He was polishing his cabinet in the sitting room for the twelfth time when he heard someone apparate into the garage. Hermione, flushed from the cold, came rushing in, took one look at him with a feather duster in his hand and burst out laughing.

“What?” he asked, bemused.

“Harry, you’re my best friend, but right now you look just like an old lady. Now come on, the house is spotless, and you need to get ready.”

“Where’s the herd?” he asked.

“Ron’s bringing the kids a little later, I came over to help you cook. We’ve got three hours so it’s going to be a bit tight, but we can manage. Molly’s coming soon as well.” She smiled. She was dressed in light green dress robes with her hair up in a bun, whispies flying around her cheeks. They made their way down the hall, and when Harry entered his room to change, she called “Harry, wear the blue ones!” through the door.

She went to check on the girls. Nicole was already dressed in black satin, and was now helping Gen, who was in light blue, braid her hair. When she came to Elizabeth’s room she found Sirius, clad in dark maroon robes, slumped against her closed door.

“Hi.” he said, looking up at her.

“Hi, Sirius, what are you doing?”

“I’m waiting for CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO TAKE FOREVER” he replied, yelling into the closed door. The door creaked open and a green eye appeared in the crack.

“Aunt Hermione, is that you? Could you do my hair like you did at Uncle Bill’s Easter party last year, it’s totally hopeless.” she said, sounding frustrated.

“Oh, of course!” Hermione said happily as Liz opened the door a bit wider to allow her inside.

“Oh, and Sirius, no one asked you to wait.” She smirked. Oh, yeah, and what else was he supposed to do, clean? Everyone else was getting ready, it’s not like he chose to talk to her in the first place. He could go home, of course, but he was too lazy to walk down the road.

He was quite tired. The sunlight streaming in from the open window coupled with the musical tone of Liz’s voice lulled him to sleep. He was crossing the threshold from the land of the conscious into the world of dreams.

Thump.

The door had opened and he fell backwards painfully, hitting his head.

“In the name of Godric, Liz, what did you do that for?!” he exclaimed, getting to his feet and rubbing his head.

“Well, I usually open my door when I want to come out.”

“Haha, very...” he stopped. All the breath had been knocked out of him as he caught his first glimpse of Liz. She looked stunning. Of course, Liz was absolutely gorgeous, he’d always known that, but her being annoying and evil had outweighed her beauty. But right now all he could do was stare. She was dressed in floating emerald green robes that matched her eyes perfectly, her hair up and curled, laced with baby’s breath. The pair of diamond earrings dangling from her ears didn’t even shine brighter than her eyes.

“Wow.” he said before his brain had caught up with his mouth. He mentally kicked himself almost immediately. To his utter surprise however, Liz smiled and, no it couldn’t be, was that a blush? He smiled back, realized what he was doing, and stopped. ‘No, man, you’re not going there. This is Liz Potter were talking about, your arch nemesis, the girl you swore you’d hate forever at the age of two. She’s evil! But the way her eyes sparkle...urgh, did I actually just say that, I mean think that?’

“Oh put your eyes back in your head and come on!” Liz snapped, already halfway down the hall. The last bit of rosiness in her cheeks was receding. “Boys!”

They passed the portrait that usually housed Sirius Black, but he must have been his other portrait at Hogwarts today, for the frame was empty. Liz’s grandparents waved and smiled at them. Albus Dumbledore, however, spoke.

“Ah, Miss Potter, lovely day isn’t it? And young Mr. Lupin as well! Tell me, how’s the new addition to the family?” He asked, blue eyes twinkling.

“He’s great, wait until you see him, looks just like dad.” Liz replied enthusiastically.

“How many people are coming to this thing?” Sirius asked as they walked away from Dumbledore.

“Oh, a fair few.” she said. She actually wasn’t sure, but her family was huge, so it would obviously be very big. “Oh, but I’m supposed to greet people at the door and since you’re here, you can help!”

“Great.” Liz missed the sarcasm.

The smell of roast chicken reached them as they came down the last flight of stairs and made their way towards the kitchen. When they opened the door a loud screech was followed by a small elf running toward them.

“Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Sirius, I haven’t seen you since the end of the school year. How are’s you. Dobby is very, very happy to see you again!”

“Hey, Dobby, how’s it going?” Sirius asked, grinning. “Thanks for all the midnight snacks, by the way.”

“Sirius!” Liz exclaimed in outrage. “If Aunt Hermione had heard you! She’s worked so hard to get the elves wages and people like you still take advantage of them.”

“Oh, hark, who’s talking? Could it be the girl I found sneaking out of the kitchen using the Marauders Map while I was going down.” He laughed at the look on her face. “Now Lizzie darling, if looks could kill...”

“Call me Lizzie one more time and you’ll wish looks could kill.”

“Oh dear, was that a threat? Not Prefect Potter threatening a poor defenseless fellow student! What would Headmistress McGonnagal say?”

Ring-ring.

“Come on, that’s the doorbell. Please try to behave yourself.” She said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door. Like he would actually crash a family party celebrating a birth. Of course, after last year’s Christmas party, he couldn’t really blame her.

“Wouldn’t think of anything else.”

Liz opened the door to find Hagrid on the other side with an armful of presents and a grin just as large. He pulled them both into a bone crushing hug. Their heads knocked together.

“Hi Hagrid.” Liz choked. He must have noticed that Sirius was turning blue for he released them.

“Sorry. Forgot me strength.”

“So how’s being back at Hogwarts suiting you.” Sirius asked, rubbing his neck. Hagrid, being the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, spent his summers in France and usually came back to England a few days before term started. He was already up here from the birth, however, so he just stayed.

“Ah, grea’ as always.” he said, taking his coat off and putting the gifts on the table.

“Your quite early, actually.” Liz said, checking her watch. “Dad’s in the kitchen with Aunt Hermione and Grandmom if you want to go say hello.” He went through the house to greet them and Liz and Sirius sat down on a bench by the door to wait for more people.

Sirius looked down at the top of Liz’s head. She really was quite short. He himself was just a half inch shy of six feet and he had a good nine inches on her. He’d never really noticed the little things about her but for some reason he did now. Her hair was poker straight but she always had a piece that came loose from the rest no matter how hard she tried to keep it up. It hung down tickling her cheek, where she furiously tucked it behind her left ear, only to fall down again. Her skin was very pale, but not ghostly, more luminous. There was a hint of the freckles prominent to the Weasley side, but no more. Her long, black eyelashes set off the green in her eyes. She was tiny, like her mother, but had her father’s thin face. He suddenly realized as though a lightening bolt had struck him how beautiful she really was. Her hair broke free of her ear again. Sirius had the mad urge to reach out and return it to its rightful place.

‘She’s evil.’ a voice in the back of his mind whispered. But was she really? He’d seen her with her friends and her sisters and her personality was nothing but sweet. There were no biting remarks, no boiling anger, none of the wrath of Elizabeth May Potter he had grown so accustomed to. On the other hand, he was not anywhere near as arrogant and reckless as he appeared to be around her. They seemed to bring out the worst in each other.

It seemed she sensed his eyes on her. She raised her eyebrows as she looked up. Sirius opened his mouth to speak.

Ring-ring. Stupid doorbell.

He got up to open the door and found himself face to face with his parents.

“Mum! Dad! Fabulous to see you again, really.”

“Oh hello Aunt Tonks, Uncle Remus, did you put something strange in his food this morning, he’s being helpful.” Liz cut in with a completely straight face.

They both chuckled. Tonks said, “No, but I wish I would have thought of that sooner.”

“Here, we can take your cloaks.” Sirius said, ignoring the attack on his character. His parents and little sister, with normal appearance, entered the room. “Where’s Violet?” he asked, noticing the absence of his youngest sibling.

“Well, the party may go on quite late and you know how fussy she can get.”

They were about to close the door when the Longbottom’s appeared on the other side. Neville happily greeted them, Luna smiled at them and said a dreamy hello, Lynn hugged them both, Celeste waved energetically.

“Oh Merlin, you two are talking.” Lynn joked, pretending to faint.

“Shush.” Liz muttered, nudging her. “The party’s in the dining room.” she added. The rest of the guests filed in at a quick pace. Fred, George, and company all stopped to talk loudly, asking when they could set off the fireworks. Liz said later. Best to let her father deal with that. Shortly after a flustered Ron showed up with Arthur and Jane, muttering something about a sleeping drought. Bill, Fleur, and Renee came in, hugging everyone they saw. Charlie wouldn’t be coming as he was back in Romania, but he sent an owl promising to be there for Christmas. Liz had to stop Sirius from running away when Minerva McGonnagal, headmistress of Hogwarts, showed up. Percy came rushing in ten minutes late, saying he would have to leave right after Ginny got back because he was “so terribly busy.”

“A fair few?!” Sirius asked Liz from under a tottering pile of cloaks. “I’m surprised the bloody minister isn’t here.”

“Dad doesn’t really like the minister.” Liz said, thinking of Rufus Scrimgeour with distaste. “Always said he’s hopelessly dense.”

A frantic Harry came running down the stairs.

“She’s coming!” he yelled to the assembled guests. They all hushed immediately. Liz turned off the lights.

The door opened and she heard her grandfather’s voice. “Oh, no dear I don’t know why it’s dark...”

“SURPRISE!” they all yelled together as Liz flipped the lights back on. Sirius stood on the bench.

“May I present the ravishing Ginevra Weasley Potter and her pride and joy, the handsome James Harry Potter!”

“Sirius, get down!” Liz exclaimed, but she was laughing.

“Ahh, Miss Potter here seems to have a problem with my introduction. Perhaps she’s jealous? Or perhaps she thinks she can do better?” He said, grabbing her hands and pulling her up on the bench with him.

“Don’t.” she said, trying to keep a straight face. He gave her a puppy dog look. “Oh, alright. May I present my lovely Mum, and my adorably sweet baby brother, home once again.”

“Weak.” Sirius muttered. The whole room burst into laughter. Harry walked up to his wife and put his arm around her shoulders. Everyone went into the dining room to eat, leaving Liz and Sirius alone.

Sirius jumped down from the bench and held out a hand to help Liz. She took it. He started to walk towards the dining room, but she grabbed his arm.

“What?” he asked.

“Why are you being so nice?” she blurted.

“What, I’m not always nice?” he asked, only half joking.

“No, your not. Usually you insult me, and make fun of me, and humiliate me, but you haven’t tonight. You’ve helped and you even paid me a compliment. Why?”

“Maybe I was just tired of us being at each other’s throats all the time.” he muttered. “You’re not always an angel either, you know. Do you think I like it when you tell me you hate me every five seconds?! Why do you hate me so much anyway?”

“I...I don’t know.” She sounded taken aback.

“Well maybe you should think about it sometime.” he said weakly. He walked away, and was glad to see that the two remaining seats were at opposite ends of the table. He sat between his father and Becca, staring moodily down at his plate. He glanced at his parents, who were holding hands as they talked to Ron and Hermione sitting across from them. He wondered vaguely if they’d always been that at ease, got along that well.

Liz came in a few minutes later and sat between her mother and Renee at the head of the long table. She looked okay, but Sirius saw her wipe a single tear off her cheek when no one was looking. He immediately felt a twinge of guilt.

Why does she do this to him? He could get her so riled up he couldn’t think straight one minute and make him feel as low down as a flobberworm the next. He really didn’t understand women.

Harry was making a speech. Ginny was smiling fondly at him, their new addition asleep in her lap. The dinner was great as always, but Sirius didn’t eat much. The party would have been wonderful if he’d been in a better mood. He’d been to a lot of the Weasley family’s parties, but the Potter’s were always the best. Liz seemed determined to keep him from having fun however. Even though she was not really doing anything to him the absence of her smile was enough.

At around midnight the guests started to disperse. The Lupin family made their way towards the door, exchanging last minute goodbyes with the Potters. Liz didn’t meet his eyes when she wished them a good night. That’s it, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’d like a word.” he said, grabbing her arm and leading her into a side hall.

“I’m sorry.” he said the minute he let her go.

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “Me too.” They looked into each other’s eyes for a long while before Sirius surprised them both and pulled her into a hug.

“Sirius.” she whispered into his ear, “I don’t hate you.”

“I don’t hate you either.” he replied.

“Good.” she said, pulling away. She was smiling. The room lit up when she smiled.

“I’d better go. Bye Lizzie.”

“Don’t call me Lizzie!”

Sirius grinned. Everything was back to normal.

**********

Liz was laying on her bed, flipping through her schoolbooks in her pajamas. She was in quite a good mood. She’d just taken a sip of hot chocolate when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Renee, Lynn, Celeste, and Nicole all trooped in. The three former were all staying the night at the house.

“What’s this?” Liz asked, eying them suspiciously. They were armed with popcorn and more hot chocolate.

“Girls night in, of course!” Lynn exclaimed. “We have matters of sensitive nature to discuss.”

“Oh, and what might these be?” Liz asked, her curiosity peaking.

“Well, you see, Nicole was observing you when...”

“Spying.” Renee interjected.

“My own sister, spying on me?” Liz exclaimed, throwing popcorn at her.

“Yes, well that’s not the point.” Lynn said impatiently. “The point is she saw you and a certain black haired, grey eyed boy have a very interesting conversation.”

“Oh.” Her heart sank. “You saw that?”

“Yes I most certainly did! ‘I don’t hate you, Sirius’” she imitated Elizabeth while pretending to swoon.

“So I said I didn’t hate him, what’s the big deal?”

“You hugged him!” her sister screeched.

“Correction, he hugged me.”

“That’s not much of a difference.” Celeste pointed out.

“Yes, it is!” she said indignantly.

“Oh come on, you can tell us, were family!” Renee exclaimed.

“Yes, were here to listen to your confessions about how you find him completely irresistible and devilishly handsome.” Lynn giggled.

“Oh yeah, how would you like, oh lets say, the entire school to know all about your ‘feelings’ for a certain Andrew Weasley?”

Her eyes got wide. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Liz grinned. “Try me.” Lynn hit her over the head with a pillow. The fight that followed left five girls in a giggling heap and a lot of popcorn on the floor.


FEEDBACK, OR ELSE!!!!! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)
Plz guys, it doesn't
take very long and
it means a lot! :rotfl:

Here’s the next post! Thanks for all my feedback, I love you guys! :rotfl:


Chapter 3: A Thousand Years

“Liz, Liz wake up.” Ginny Potter was shaking her very stubborn sixteen year old daughter gently.

“Why.” she asked, her voice muffled by her pillow.

“Hogwarts, dear.” she said patiently.

“What time is it?”

“Eight.”

“Why so early?”

“Because we have to floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then walk to the station. Unless you’d rather us drive, but in that case you should have got up about three hours ago.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Liz said, exasperated. She really hated mornings. Okay, lets see. Jeans, check. Sweater, check. Trunk, check. Owl, check. She always hated walking through London with her owl. All the muggles stared shamelessly. She kicked open her trunk to make sure she had all her books. She did.

When Liz entered the kitchen, dragging her trunk after her, she found Nicole and Sirius already eating breakfast. Her and Sirius had talked a lot over the last few weeks and decided they would try to be friends.

“Morning.” she yawned sleepily. “What are you doing here?” she asked Sirius.

“Mum got called into the office early this morning so I’m going to King’s Cross with you lot.” He replied. His voice was flat and there were dark circles under his eyes. He’d never been great with mornings either.

“Oh.” They ate in quiet. An hour later, Liz’s parents came in.

“Okay, I’m staying here with Gen and James, so your father’s going to take you to the train.” Ginny said, hugging them all. After last good-byes, promises to write, and multiple “behave yourselves” they made their way to the fireplace. Harry went first, then Liz, Nicole, and Sirius. They wiped the soot off their clothes, said a quick hello to Tom at the bar, and began walking towards King’s Cross. Leaning casually against the barrier of Platform 9 3/4, the Hogwarts Express materialized in front of them.

“Well, were a bit early.” Harry said, looking at the clock. It showed ten-thirty.

“We’ll go put our trunks away and meet you back here in a couple minutes.” Liz said.

They made their way down the train, stopping so Nicole could put her trunk in a compartment halfway down the train. Liz made her way to the last compartment, the one her and her friends had been sharing since their first year. To her bemusement, Sirius followed her.

“Are you going to follow me around all year?” he asked him.

“That’s the plan, yes.” He said while helping her stow her trunk in the luggage rack. His hand brushed against hers, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

“Aren’t you going to sit with your usual gits?” She asked, watching him lift his own trunk.

“My friends can survive one train ride without me.” he said simply.

She sighed. “Oh, very well, lets go say good-bye to Dad.”

They had just stepped out onto the platform when a woman coming through the barrier yelled, “Harry?”

Harry turned around to face her, and Liz recognized her as one of her best friend’s mother.

“Lavender, is that you? Goodness, I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you?”

“Wonderfully! It’s Lavender Finnagin now, you know.”

Liz walked up behind her father in time to see Angenette Finnigan coming through the barrier with her father.

“Yes, I knew that. Our daughters are friends.” Harry said.

“Oh, yes, of course. Hello, Liz dear, how are you.”

“Very good, Mrs. Finnigan.” Angenette came over and hugged her, squealing. They all said good-bye.

“See you soon!” Harry added. Liz thought that was strange since she wouldn’t see him again until Christmas, but her father wasn’t exactly what could be called normal. Nicole left for her compartment after promising to join them for lunch. Angenette, Liz, and Sirius made their way to the end of the train to find Marissa Davies, her other best friend, waiting for them. She blushed furiously at the sight of Sirius, both Liz and Angenette rolled their eyes.

“What’s he doing here, anyways.” Angenette whispered to Liz after they’d all sat down.

“Apparently, were friends now.” she almost laughed out loud at her friend’s expression. “Don’t ask.”

When the train started moving Liz got up to make her way to the prefects carriage. Sirius looked at her in horror.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Prefects meeting, we’ve got to get our orders.” she smiled at his expression. “You chose to sit with us.”

‘Oh, that’s just great, Liz, leave me alone with one girl who likes me so much she won’t speak to me and another who can’t stand me, splendid.’ he thought angrily.

“Er, hi ladies, how were your summers?” he asked awkwardly. Angenette glared at him. Marissa muttered a shaky, “Fine.” He caught sight of red hair outside the door. ‘Well, its worth a shot.’ He threw open the door.

“Arthur, old buddy! Come in, join us why don’t you.” Arthur Weasley looked taken aback for a few moments, looked into the compartment Sirius had just come out of, and snorted loudly.

“Got yourself in a spot of trouble there?” he muttered.

“Your cousin left me with these two.” Sirius muttered back. “Please? Just until Liz gets back, okay?”

“Oh, very well, but you owe me.”

Liz came back around one, along with Renee. They had a very enjoyable time playing Exploding Snap and eating their way through a mountain of Chocolate Frogs. They all squealed happily as they caught their first glimpse of Hogwarts protruding over a mountain. The castle’s high towers and stone walls were always so inviting. They were home.

The entourage got off the train, minus Liz and Renee, and stepped onto Hogsmeade Station. Sirius was carrying both his and Liz’s owls. His tawny, named Bob, looked quite plain compared to her Snowy, Miercoles. He remembered they had both gotten theirs as first years. Liz was making fun of him for naming his Bob when he pointed out that she named hers after the Spanish word for Wednesday. That had shut her up.

“Thanks.” The girls had caught up to them. Renee and Arthur went off to find their friends while the others made their way towards the horseless carriages.

“Firs’ years, over here!” the cry they had become so familiar to echoed over the moonlit grounds. They waved at Hagrid happily. It was quite a cold night for the first of September so the Gryffindor sixth years didn’t stall in finding a compartment. They did stop however, to call words of encouragement to the blonde head in the sea of first years.

“Bye Daniella, see you in Gryffindor!” her brother David called.

“Now, now, she may be in Ravenclaw!” Renee responded.

“Don’t forget Hufflepuff!” Arthur called.

Daniella gave them a shaky smile. She was very pale.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Everyone makes a fuss over the sorting, but it really isn’t that big of a deal. It won’t matter to us where your put.” Sirius spoke up. Daniella’s face lit up in a smile. Liz looked at him strangely. She’d never really seen much of his caring side even though she knew it was there. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after...

“Sirius, mate, where have you been?” Landen Wood, who in Liz’s opinion was the biggest idiot in the history of Hogwarts, walked up to them. He was also known as Sirius’s best friend. Christian Boot wasn’t far behind. Together they made up a group of extremely popular but very obnoxious boys. Liz didn’t particularly like any of them on their own, but together they were all but unbearable. She was really starting to regret becoming friends with Sirius.

“Ah, sitting with Potter, are we? Since when have you become too good for us?” Christian asked.

“I was just sitting with her for the train ride, it’s not like I’m marrying her.” For some reason he looked very annoyed. He looked at her.

“Your freezing.”

“No, I’m fine really.”

“No, here, take my cloak.” He said offering it to her. She was quite cold. Well, they were friends now. She took it and thanked him. Landen and Christian snickered.

“Can I hex them?” she muttered in his ear.

He laughed. “Leave it to me.”

‘He really is different this year.’ she thought. They jumped into the nearest carriage, Angenette and Marissa following them. To Elizabeth’s dismay, Landen and Christian followed them as well.

“So, how was everyone’s summer?” Christian asked. They all muttered “fine.” That was the standard response for that question. You never really told anyone about your summer, if they wanted to know, they already would. The short ride to the school was uneventful, the girls were talking amongst themselves, as were the boys. They finally lurched to a halt. Liz, being closest to the door, tried to open it and get out gracefully.

So much for that. She tripped over the hem of her robes and fell straight into a puddle of mud.

“Uck.”

“Need a hand?” Sirius helped her off the ground.

“Thanks.” she said, looking at her feet.

“And I thought I was the clumsy one.” he joked, wiping some mud off her cheek with his sleeve. “I must say, mud is not your color.”

She hit his arm. “I should curse you into the next...Dad?”

Sirius spun around. And there Harry was, standing in the doorway with a monster grin on his face.

“I told you I’d see you soon.”

“What are you doing here?” Liz asked.

“Something about it being the Sorting Hat’s thousandth anniversary, they wanted me to be the guest of honor for some reason.” Liz and Sirius shared a look. “But anyway, I thought I’d surprise you.”

He looked up at the castle. “Oh, it’s good to be back.”

“It is.” Sirius said more to himself than anyone.

“What’s with you and the other guys?” Liz asked him, suddenly wanting to make sure he was alright.

He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. They’re just like suddenly annoying the hell out of me. This is going to sound strange after years of fighting, but I’d rather talk to you.” She looked at him so intently she almost ran into the door. He held out an arm to stop her and she ended up tripping over his feet. She would have ended up on the ground again if he hadn’t caught her.

“Sorry.” she stammered, blushing furiously.

“No problem.” he grinned. “You look cute when you blush.”

“Shut up.” she said, blushing harder than ever. It was quite a relief to reach the table. Nothing more to trip over.

Nicole and Celeste sat across from them. “Okay, now why is dad here again?”

“The Sorting Hat is one thousand years old.”

“So?”

“If you were a thousand years old wouldn’t you want to celebrate?” Just then a hush fell over the students as Professor McGonagall led a scared looking line of first years into the hall. In her hands she carried a tattered and worn hat on a three legged stool.

They were silent for a moment. Then the first years gasped as the brim of the hat opened and burst into song.

One thousand years ago today,
Godric ripped me off his head.
And said, “My friends when we are gone,
This hat can sort instead.”

I’ve sorted many students,
Through my noble history.
For no one knows the founders better,
Than a soul who was there like me.

I see this line of students,
On the first day of every school year.
I’ll tell you where you belong,
I’m always right, do not fear.

So come let me look inside your head,
See the deepest desires of your heart.
I will think, I’ll think hard,
And find what sets you apart.

Oh, you may become a Gryffindor,
If you are amongst the brave.
When you’re unafraid of selfless deeds,
And courage is your way.

Or maybe a Ravenclaw,
Where intelligence is key.
If you have a sharp and working mind,
Learning will give you wings.

And then again, there is Slytherin,
The most cunning of their kind.
Those clever folks with pure blood,
Are the friends that you will find.

But let us not forget Hufflepuff,
If you are kind and good.
If you are always calm and fair,
Be in this house you should.

So this is my duty,
To sort you into four.
I’ve been doing it for many years,
And shall continue for many more.

So now you know what to expect,
And where this school has been.
Enough musings of an old hat,
Let the sorting now begin.

The hat went quiet once more as the hall broke into applause. The Headmistress unrolled a long sheet of parchment and began reading names. The hat seemed to be very dramatic today, taking a long time to decide everything, and then pausing after making a decision. Liz thought it must have been quite annoying for the first years, being nervous already.

Finally there was only one student left.

“Weasley, Daniella.” Professor McGonagall called.

Daniella slowly approached the hat and put it on with shaking hands. It fell down over her eyes. A moment’s silence.

“SLYTHERIN!” Liz never knew silence could be so loud.


Soooooooooooooooo,
what did you think?
:tu: :td: Somewhere in between?
Tell me here!!! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

This post is dedicated to Hermione3000, who wanted me to post so bad she owled me asking when I was going to. So you have her impatience to thank for me not being lazy for once and writing the whole thing today. You go girl! :rotfl:

Chapter 4: As Though They Were Yesterday

Everyone in the Great Hall was staring at the small girl in the front of the room. She still had the hat on. Her face was as white as a ghost. Silently, shaking madly, she took the hat off, set it on the stool, and burst into tears as she made her way towards the Slytherin table.

Sirius stood up and clapped, the sound echoing strangely off the walls. Harry, sitting at the staff table, joined him. Liz stood next, glaring at the other Gryffindors, who promptly followed her. Then, to their surprise and slight amusement, the Slytherin table applauded their newest member. Soon the entire hall was on it’s feet, clapping for a girl, who, in Harry’s day, would have been ignored by everyone. Daniella gave Sirius a watery smile and sat down, looking unsure yet more determined than ever.

“That was amazing.” Liz whispered to Sirius when they sat down.

“I told her we’d be proud of her no matter what house she was put in. I meant it.” She smiled. He smiled back.

Professor McGonagall stood up at the center of the table. The hall went silent once more. Her speech was short, outlining the rules of Hogwarts for the first years and other assorted students who, in her words, “seem to have forgotten some of them.”

“...and finally, on this very special occasion in Hogwarts history, I would like to welcome our guest of honor, Mr. Harry Potter.” The hall exploded in cheers. Harry, smiling at the clapping Slytherin table, got to his feet.

“Hello, my dear friends, it is so wonderful to be back at Hogwarts at last. And under such happy circumstances as well. I remember my days here as though they were yesterday, and here I stand a generation later, to find this school as strong at it has ever been. One thousand years ago, we were all united. Now, I’m sure you all know the story, so I will not bore you with it here. But before you today, I see students close to being united once again. In my fifth year, the esteemed Sorting Hat gave a warning. It told us that if the school remained divided it would crumble from within. At the time, I scoffed it off like a foolish adolescent would. But that wise old hat was right. And not heeding his advice almost cost us this school. Now, years later, I see the importance of those words. And I see the progress that has been made. You are close, my dear students, very close to achieving something that was once thought impossible.

“Eighteen years ago, a wizard who was trying to take over the world was defeated. Yes, it is true that I administered the final blow, but I do not for a second take credit for his defeat. That credit goes to the hundreds of brave people that gave their lives to save those they loved. In the end, Voldemort was defeated by the power of love. If there is one thing you remember from my speech today, let it be this. Never underestimate the power of love. For it is strong enough to fix all the problems of the world.

“When I was a first year, a wise man named Albus Dumbledore said a few words I will never forget. I will repeat them for you now. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Enjoy the feast.”

Professor McGonagall got up again. There were tears in her eyes.

“Thank you Harry. And now, the feast. Welcome, and welcome back!”

The tables filled with food before their eyes. The happy chatter that was so distinctively Hogwarts filled the hall once again. Liz glanced at Sirius. He smiled at her, an unmistakable twinkle in his eye. And for that moment, Liz was at complete peace with herself.

*************

She knew it was morning, but she didn’t want to gain consciousness. She had been having quite a nice dream. If only the person saying her name would shut up. And what was with all the shaking.

“Liz, for god’s sake, wake up!” She rolled over to look at her sister.

“What.”

“Come on, get dressed, Dad’s leaving and we’ve got to say good-bye.”

Grumbling, Liz got out of bed and groped around for her robes. First day back was always exciting but it seemed a lot better when you were fully awake. When she finally managed to get ready, she left for the common room to meet the others. She waved at the portrait of Sirius Black as she passed. There were a ton of portraits of fallen members of the Order of the Phoenix hanging around Hogwarts. They were planning on putting this particular one in the Transfiguration hallway where everyone could see, but her father requested that it was put in Gryffindor Tower.

The party entered the Entrance Hall to find what seemed like the entire school already assembled there. Harry was cheerfully answering questions about his days at Hogwarts. Liz coughed.

“Um, Dad, were here. Do you think we could go somewhere else?” she asked, observing a first year gaping at her father with his mouth slightly open. She really didn’t understand people.

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me.” The crowd groaned. The Potter’s, Weasley’s, Longbottom’s, and a Lupin followed him out onto the grounds. He said good-bye to all of them separately, making them promise to write. Liz’s father never ceased to amaze her. He was so busy, yet he always managed to write to all of them every week.

“Oh, here Liz, I brought you some more pictures of James.”

“Dad, I already have five of them hanging on my headboard.” she complained, taking them none the less.

“You can never have too many pictures.”

Harry walked towards Hogsmeade with a final “take care” and in the crack of apparation he was gone. For some reason Liz felt quite emotional. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, she rarely missed her parents. But right now she could feel the telltale prickle of tears behind her eyes.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sirius put a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, I don’t know why I’m getting upset.” she said, now wiping away rapidly falling tears. Everyone else had gone back to the school. Sirius pulled her close, and she felt a lot better at once. He muttered something into the top of her head.

“What?” she asked, her tears slowing.

“I said I don’t like seeing you cry.”

She looked up at him, no longer crying. “You can be very sweet sometimes, you know that.”

He grinned at her. “All part of my charm. Race you back.”

“What?”

“Race you back!” he yelled, already running towards the school.

“Oh no, you don’t.” she grinned, following him at a sprint.

They entered the Great Hall, panting slightly. “That wasn’t fair, you cheated!” Liz whined.

“Ah, but all’s fair in love, war, and antics we are much too old for, my dear.”

“Where’d you get that, ‘A Prat’s Guide to Life’?”

“Oh, mature.”

“I know I am.”

At that moment, a harassed looking Professor McGonagall came up to them, muttering about why she couldn’t understand why the head of houses couldn’t check schedules. She looked at the classes Liz and Sirius wanted to take, approved them, and moved on to the next group at the Hufflepuff table.

“Here, swap.” Liz took the schedule he was offering her and handed over her own.

“We have your Dad first.” she said. “And Neville right after.”

“All the same except one class. I have Care of Magical Creatures and you have Divination. Why do you bother taking that bloody subject? Even Uncle Harry says it’s a bunch of rubbish, and his life was planned out by a prophecy.”

“I just think it’s fascinating. You know, that some people can see the future. I agree that Trelawney has no idea what she’s doing but that doesn’t mean other people don’t.”

“Well, I still think it’s rubbish.”

“It gets me away from you for a little while.” He glared at her and she laughed.

“Hey guys.” Andrew, Ryan, and David had sat down across from them. David spoke again. “We just wanted to ask Sirius when Quiddich tryouts were.” Sirius was the newly appointed captain.

“I’m not sure yet, either this weekend or next. We really need a new seeker, I don’t want to use that reserve. Fancy trying out Liz?”

“I certainly do not! You know I can’t fly.”

“You mean won’t.” he corrected. “Both your parents played, I bet you could be really good if you tried.”

“Well, Quiddich is stupid, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It is not!”

They continued to bicker all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They were still at it when their friends joined them ten minutes later. When the lesson started, they were still whispering insults toward each other.

“Elizabeth, Sirius, would you please pay attention.”

They looked around to see that everyone else had already paired up and were practicing whatever was assigned.

“Sorry, Uncle Rem-I mean Professor Lupin.”

“Yeah, sorry...er...sir.”

“It’s okay. Now we are practicing nonverbal spells today, so I guess you two will have to pair up. I can trust you to not hurt each other, right?” he asked, a little uncertainly.

“Of course.” Sirius said. Liz nodded.

They looked at the rest of the class. They were all purple in the face, trying desperately to make a spell work without uttering a word. Liz and Sirius grinned. Liz’s father had taught them both nonverbal spells in their forth year.

“Let’s give them a little show, shall we?” Sirius asked her mischievously.

“Yes, I think that would be in order.” They raised their wands. Liz mouthed three...two...one. She cast a jelly-legs jinx. He repelled it with a shield charm. She ducked, then sent a stunner. Fernunculus. Protego. They had the entire class watching them now. A little thing called Levicorpus. Then Liz administered the grand finale, one of her mother’s famous bat-bogey hexes. Sirius banged into a wall, fell down, and admitted defeat. She walked up to him and performed the counter-curse.

“Where did you two learn that?” Remus asked, looking astounded.

“My dad.” Liz said while helping Sirius to his feet.

He chuckled. “I should have known. Most impressive, I must say. Twenty points to Gryffindor, although I think I remember saying only disarmers and stunners.”

“We weren’t listening, remember?” Sirius asked innocently. The whole class, including the professor, burst into laughter.

“Nice hex.” he muttered to Liz. They had both been given the rest of the class off while everyone else continued to struggle with the spells.

“Thanks. You didn’t do so bad yourself, Mr. Lupin.”

“Yeah, but you beat me.”

“All part of my charm.” she said grinning.

“You are honestly the most aggravating person I’ve ever met.”

“I know.”

“I think you might be annoying your poor friends to death. Or rather I’m annoying your poor friends to death.”

“Yeah, well what about you? They’ve been loyal to you, even if they are immature little gits. You should talk to them.”

“I did last night. They were complaining about me talking to you so I told them that you were my friend and I cared about you. I said that if they wanted to be friends with me they’d have to deal with you and not insult you while I’m around. They agreed. As long as they don’t break their promise we’re cool.”

“That’s good. Because I don’t want you ruining anything for me. I’m not worth that.”

“What if I think you are?”

“Don’t”

“Why do you do that? You always put yourself down, and I don’t like it.”

“Why do you stick up for me when I don’t deserve it? All I’ve ever been is nasty to you, but you gave me a chance. Why?”

“Because I know your more than that. And somewhere deep inside your heart you know that too. Your amazing and you don’t even know it.” She looked into his eyes for some hint of a joke. She found none.

And then the bell rang. They trudged off to Herbology, leaving Liz quietly walking beside Angenette and Marissa as they chatted happily about make-up, and boys, and other assorted things. For some reason she was in a foul mood. She thought about what Sirius had said. She didn’t really believe him even though she knew he was sincere when he said it. Then she thought about Daniella and how she was doing on her first day. She wished she didn’t have to be in Slytherin. It must be really hard on her. Even thought they had all assured her this morning that they weren’t angry in the least, she still seemed worried. Liz knew she was worried about what her parents would say. Liz knew they wouldn’t care, but then again she must be the first Weasley in at least a few hundred years to be put in that house. Liz would probably be worried too.

Thinking about Slytherins made her think about her father’s speech at the feast last night. He was right. All this inter-house rivalry was so stupid. They wasted all their time focusing on their differences instead of seeing how much they all had in common.

Her thoughts continued along these lines until she was positively seething.

She stared at the Thiplybluff Bush she was supposed to be pruning and began whacking one of the branches repeatedly with her clippers.

After a few moments of this she received a note in her lap. She looked up to see Sirius grinning at her. The note said, You show that bush who’s boss! Inclosed was a single chocolate frog.

She smiled.


Imperio!
Feedback here! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Ok, I had SO much fun with this post, that’s why it took so long. Good news! After this week I should be able to post more often. :p


Chapter 5: A Little Chat

Liz was sitting in the library late Wednesday evening with her nose buried in a book. It was only the third day of school and they were already swamped with homework. She looked at her half finished transfiguration essay blankly, wondering if she’d make it through the year. Professor Roshwick had assigned them two feet of parchment on conjuring inanimate objects. She glanced at a table on the other side of the room to see Lynn and Andrew studying together. Grinning, she tried to get back to work. No such luck.

“Hi.” Sirius sat down beside her. “Transfiguration?”

“Yes.” she said, pushing her essay away from him. “Do you get what were supposed to be writing about?”

“No idea.” She grinned at him. A look of mischief flashed in his deep grey eyes.

“Why do you always do your homework the first day it’s assigned?” he asked.

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“It’ll be just as annoying this weekend as it is now.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Red.”

“Do you enjoy aggravating me?”

“You’ve got to have some fun with life.”

“And driving me mad is fun?”

“Is it not?” He laughed.

“So, do you want to pool our collectively vast knowledge and see if we can get this done?”

“Sure.” she replied, smiling at his use of words. He was so cute when he did that. Wait, did she just think something Sirius did was cute?

An hour later, they triumphantly put away their essays and began their equally long and grueling potions essay. Liz was so bored with writing, even though Sirius made the process considerably more enjoyable.

“Do you remember that one time I turned myself purple when we were trying to make a shrinking solution?” Sirius asked her.

“Oh, I’ll never forget that.” She laughed.

“Urgh, I hate potions!”

“So how’s the quiddich?” she asked, desperate for a change of topic.

“I thought you hated quiddich?”

“I do, but you like it and I thought I should show a little interest.” she said, looking into his warm eyes. He smiled his gorgeous smile.

“I’m surprised you aren’t out there playing. The sun was out today and everything.” Liz pointed out.

“Those who are happy when the sun shines...”

“...have never danced in the rain.” Liz finished for him. He looked at her, all trace of a joke disappeared from his eyes.

“You have to be the strangest girl I’ve ever met.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed crimson. His hand drifted to her cheek, gently stroking the soft skin. They were very close. His mind was racing, her’s totally blank.

That’s when Sirius did something completely foolish, completely mindless, and completely right. He leaned in and kissed her.

She stiffened at first, not really sure what was happening. But then, as though being driven by another force, she melted. She could feel his soft lips on hers, his hand settling on the nape of her neck, sending shock waves through her. She didn’t know why she was letting this happen, only that it seemed to fit so well she couldn’t protest.

And then he pulled away as though he had been burned. Shaking his head wildly, he muttered “Oh no, oh no.” and ran out of the library at top speed.

Liz stared at the spot where he disappeared for a moment before she promptly burst into tears. She had only been friends with Sirius for about a month, but he already had this hold on her that she couldn’t explain. And she didn’t think she could bear to loose him now.

“Erm, Potter?” She looked up to see grey eyes peering into hers. But they were nothing like Sirius’s, however. They held none of his warmth, his depth, his glint of humor. They were slanted, cold and detached. She slowly took in the blonde hair and pale face of Abraxas Malfoy.

“What, did you come over here to gloat?” she snapped. He was the last person she wanted a conversation with right now.

“No!” he said, slightly offended. “It’s just, well, you’re crying.”

“No, I hadn’t noticed.”

“There’s no need to bite my head off, I just wanted to see if you were alright.”

She was so shocked she stopped crying. She’d heard so much about the Malfoys that it was hard for her to understand why he would be concerned for her.

“Why do you care?” she asked cooly.

“Why shouldn’t I. You’ve never done anything to me.”

“You’re a Malfoy, I’m a Potter.” she said as though this settled the matter.

“Oh, come now, Elizabeth. I thought you of all people wouldn’t care about family.”

“Well maybe you thought wrong.”

“Did you ever consider that you were the one that is wrong.”

“No.”

He actually laughed. “Ah, yes, you are most definitely a Potter.”

“Exactly. Will you be going now.”

“I really don’t think so.”

“WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!” she screamed, standing up and earning herself a reproving look from Madam Pince.

“I only have one?” he asked innocently. She was reminded horribly of Sirius.

“Sarcasm will get you nowhere.”

“It got you to stop screaming.”

“Oh would you stop it!” She was really starting to get annoyed. “I can’t think straight with you twisting my words around.”

He sat there smirking at her.

“Don’t look at me like that.” she snapped.

“Like what?”

“You know very well like what. Why are you here again?”

“I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“And why exactly do you care?”

“Because it’s common human courtesy to ask a girl what’s wrong when she’s crying in public.” he replied smartly.

“Your human?” Liz asked with her best straight face. He was not amused.

“I thought you would be better than that.”

“Better than what?”

“Letting petty family differences get in the way of your life. Yes, our fathers hated each other at school, they probably still do, but we’re not our fathers.”

There was too much truth in this to argue. She looked straight at him, as though trying to read his mind. “You were actually concerned?”

“Yes, I was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright, Elizabeth.” She was about to tell him to call her Liz, but she stopped herself. She rather liked how he said her full name.

“Well, you are a Slytherin.” she pointed out.

“I’m up for a little inter-house unity if you are.” He winked. She giggled.

“Now, you never answered my question. Why were you crying?”

Her lip trembled again as Sirius’s face swam in front of her. “Oh, it was silly.”

“The tears in your eyes say otherwise.” he said gently.

“Why do guys have to be so stupid?”

He chuckled. “Don’t tell me. Lupin?”

She was astounded. “How did you know?”

“Oh, erm, well...couldn’t help but notice...quite perceptive...”

“Forget it.” Liz said quickly, suddenly unsure whether or not she wanted to hear the rest of his sentence.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

He looked relieved. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m just not good at emotions.” he said, blushing. “Or girls.”

Liz smiled. She needed a challenge. “Got your eye on anyone in particular?” she asked innocently. He blushed harder than Liz thought was possible.

“Well...um...”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, well have that mystery lady fawning over you by the end of the year. Until then, I hear your good at potions. What do you think of the ethical use of Felix Felicis?”

Sirius Lupin watched two people tackling a potions essay behind a shelf of books. One’s shiny black hair belonged to a girl he had recently found himself infatuated with, the other’s cropped blonde head was that of a person he never had a proper conversation with, but suddenly loathed.

He sighed. Why had he pulled away? And why was she studying with Malfoy? This just wasn’t turning out to be one of his better days. He silently made his way to the door, dropping a bouquet of beautiful red roses on the dusty floor as he went.

**********

Daniella sat in one of the cushy armchairs by the fire in the Slytherin common room, writing a letter to her parents. Her first couple of days at Hogwarts had been a whirlwind, but she was having the time of her life. She didn’t mind being in Slytherin. She had been nervous at first, of course. And she had attracted a number of funny looks from the student body in general on the first day of term. But all that was behind her now. They had accepted her as just another first year.

She looked down at her half completed letter, at a loss of what to say. Harry had told them that she was sorted into Slytherin, and they had promptly sent word that they were very proud of her no matter what. But she was still having an internal battle over whether or not to tell them how happy she really was.

The wall slid open behind her, and she turned to see who had entered. Two girls, Daniella’s newfound friends, hurried over to her. They both shared her dormitory, and were the first people to accept her as a member of their house.

Felicity Baddock looked quite a bit like Daniella, with long blonde hair and grey-green eyes. She was very outgoing, and quite loud for a first year. She had three younger brothers and was fairly rich, but still down to earth.

Contessa Nott was the plainest of the three, with mousy brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was quieter, but by no means shy. Being an home schooled child living with a single mother, she had never had any real friends before she came to Hogwarts. Her elderly father died a few years after the second war, although he unfortunately was imprisoned for Death Eater activity at the time. She had a grown half-brother named Theodore, who was Uncle Harry’s age.

“Hey Dani, what are you doing?” Contessa asked, both of them taking a seat on either side of her.

“Trying to write a letter. It’s getting bloody boring though.” They laughed.

“Now ladies, we’ve been positively well behaved up until now. It’s disgusting. We need at least one late night excursion in out first week of school.” Felicity assessed, as though ordering troops into battle.

“Want to go steal some food from the kitchen?” Daniella asked, stowing the letter in her bag. “My brother told me were the secret entrance is.”

“Now your talking.” Felicity grinned.

‘Nope.’ Daniella thought as they disillusioned themselves as a disguise. ‘This year won’t be bad at all.’


FEEDBACK!!! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844) :rotfl:

Ok, I lied. But I have an excuse! Well, it’s not an excuse, just a reason. I’ve had massive writers block. *tears* So it’s probably not very good, sorry. And it’s kind of boring, but I had to get this whole Sirius/Abraxas, their first conversation thing done. Hehe, I’ll stop rambling and let you all read the post now, shall I?


Chapter 6: Mischief Managed

It was the first Friday back at Hogwarts, and Liz was on her way to Ancient Runes when she caught sight of blonde hair walking alone about ten feet in front of her. She and Abraxas had become fast friends, studying together and joking around. She’d found that she greatly enjoyed his company. He made the fact that she wasn’t on speaking terms with Sirius easier.

“Ax, wait up!” she called. He turned and smiled as she fell into step beside him.

“Where are you off to?” he asked.

“Ancient Runes. You?”

“Muggle Studies.” She looked at him strangely.

“Why?”

“I know absolutely nothing about them.”

“Oh. I’ve met quite a few, they’re very nice. Except my father’s relatives, I really can’t stand them.”

“How many times have you met them?” he asked, truly interested.

“Only twice. Once at some woman named Marge’s funeral, and another when my father invited them to tea last year. He seemed to think they could reconcile. That was a disaster, that was.”

“Why? What did they do.”

“Well my Great Aunt Petunia, she’s really not that bad. But she’s married to this oaf named Vernon. Their son is Dad’s age, but he still lives with them. Thick as custard, that one. Scared to death of wizards.” she said with distaste. “Here’s my stop. Library tonight?” she added.

“Will do. Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Liz said for the last time, laughing. She sat in her usual seat in the back of the classroom and pulled out her heavy rune dictionary. She felt someone sit down beside her. Assuming that it was either Angenette or Marissa, she was startled when she looked up to find Sirius sitting next to her. She uttered a small scream and fell off her chair.

“Nice to see you too.” he said sarcastically as she picked herself up off the floor.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked, her face now resembling a tomato.

“I’m sorry, even though I’m not really sure what it is I’m supposed to be sorry for.” He sounded very bitter, and she wasn’t sure why.

“You’re not sure what you have to be sorry for?” she asked angrily.

“Do you know what I have to be sorry for?” he asked, looking straight into her eyes.

“Of course I do!” she exclaimed.

“Well...”

“Erm...oh...alright, maybe I don’t, but that’s not the point.” He smirked at her, then frowned again.

“I went back to the library, you know. Even brought you flowers. But you seemed to have found other company.” he said cooly. Her eyes widened.

“Oh, is that what your so angry about! Honestly, me and Ax were just studying.”

“Ax?”

“His name is Abraxas, of course he shortens it.” she said, exasperated.

“My name’s Sirius.”

“Fine, I’ll call you Siri from now on.” He gave her a look. She glared back.

“I thought you hated him.” he said.

“I never knew him.”

“Okay, I’ll make you a deal. You never say anything about Wednesday and I’ll never try to stop you from ‘studying’ with him.”

“We were just studying.” He shrugged. “But fine, on one condition. Never make me call you Siri.” she said desperately. He laughed a genuine laugh.

“Sounds good to me.”

Professor Milanthus, head of Hufflepuff, gave them their translations for next week, and they set to work on it. Liz liked this class because the professor was kind and did not mind talking. She usually just sat at her desk while they helped each other with their homework.

“That’s partnership, not defense.” she said, pointing at one of Sirius’s lines. “And he’s really nice, you know.”

“Let’s not talk about your boyfriend right now.”

Angenette turned around in her seat so fast Sirius thought he heard a crack. “Liz has a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell us?” she demanded.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Liz exclaimed.

“You’ve been spending enough time with him.”

“No one asked you to join this conversation, Lupin.” Angenette said.

“I started this conversation!” he replied in disbelief.

“Oh for bloody Merlin just tell us who you were talking about!” Marissa hissed unexpectedly. Sirius looked at her strangely. This was the first time he’d heard her talk properly.

“Malfoy.” Sirius said, looking like he had something sour in his mouth.

“MALFOY!” Angenette screamed.

“Miss Finnigan, please keep your voice down.” Professor Milanthus said.

“Sorry professor.” she replied. “Malfoy?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t see what everyone’s problem is.”

“He’s a Slytherin!”

“My cousin’s a Slytherin.”

“Yes, but that’s different.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, it just is.”

“My problem isn’t him being in Slytherin.” Sirius put in.

“Then what is your problem exactly?”

“I just think he’s a rotten git.” he replied. “You can be a rotten git without being in Slytherin.”

“You don’t even know him!”

“I can tell.”

“Can you at least try to be civil to him?”

“Why?” Angenette and Sirius asked at the same time.

“Because you’re my friends and he’s my friend and I don’t want to spend all year splitting up fights!”

“I think you may be asking for a miracle.” Marissa put in, eying the other two.

“I concur with Marissa.” Sirius said, causing her to go ever so slightly red.

“Well Mr. Inter-House Unity, here’s your chance to walk the walk. Be nice to him.” Liz interjected.

He looked at her pleadingly. “Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” he gave up as the bell rang, “I’ll be civil to him.”

“That’s all I ask. Come on, we have break, and I believe we have a debate to settle.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” he said as they sat down at the corner of the courtyard. Angenette and Marissa had gone back to Gryffindor tower. “I owe you flowers.” He produced a bouquet of roses.

She blushed. “Oh, you didn’t have to.”

“No, I did.”

Liz pulled an old piece of parchment out of her bag and muttered, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” The Marauder’s Map sprang to life.

“No, see, look, I was right.” Liz stated. “The Room of Requirement’s not on here. It should be right there.” They had been having a debate on the matter Tuesday night.

He leaned over her to look at the map. “Oh, yeah, guess you are.”

“Someone owes me five galleons.”

Looking for a change of subject, Sirius looked at the map. He saw a tiny dot labeled “Abraxas Malfoy” headed towards them. ‘Oh, this could be fun.’ he thought.

“Liz, your friend’s coming.”

She looked down, then looked up, and whispered a hasty, “Mischief managed.” Stuffing the map back into her bag, she tried to look surprised at the sound of her name.

“Hello Elizabeth.”

“Hi, Ax. Erm...you know Sirius right?” she said awkwardly, jumping up off the ground. Sirius quickly followed. Both boys were eying each other with dislike.

“Lupin.” Abraxas said.

“Malfoy.” Sirius responded. Liz glared at him.

“But you can call me Sirius.” he said. Liz nodded in approval. “When Liz is around.” he added. She sighed.

“Same.”

They stood in a strained silence for a few minutes before Sirius took pity on Liz and spoke.

“Alright, look. Were obviously going to have to get used to each other since you and Liz are friends now, so let’s just try to be mature about it.”

“That sounds fine to me.”

“But be warned, Liz is like my little sister.” he said, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. “If you so much as think about hurting her...”

“Sirius, I’m older than you.” Liz interrupted.

“Only by a day!”

“There’s still the fact that you hated me for most of our lives.”

“Well...” Abraxas cleared his throat.

“As, er, lovely as this has been, I need to be going. I’ll see you later.” he directed at Liz. He gulped, “Sirius, hopefully not as soon.”

As soon as he was out of earshot, Liz rounded on Sirius. He was expecting to get yelled at, and was surprised to see a small smile on her face.

“What?” he asked, perplexed.

“You are completely impossible.” she laughed, then turned on her heel and began walking back to the castle. Sirius chuckled to himself as he watched her retreating back. This would be almost too easy.

“Mischief managed.”


Well, there it is.
Hehe, something interesting
is actually gonna happen
in the next chapter. Bet no one
can guess! :rotfl: :evil:
Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next post. And, if your wondering, yes the writers block is just about gone. For right now that is. :rotfl: You might think this post is a little different, but I’m in a weird mood. I’d love to know if you like it, hint hint...


Chapter 7: That’s Interesting

There were some people who were born leaders. Some were brave. Some were funny. Some attracted friends like a light attracts insects. Some were handsome, or beautiful, and some were just plain old amazing. Arthur Bilius Weasley was not one of these people.

He vividly remembered his first year at Hogwarts. There were four Weasley boys in one year, and the teachers were very apprehensive. Arthur had heard remarks about how they would never have a peaceful classroom again. They were all so certain they’d all be sorted into Gryffindor. He’d even heard them already being compared to the famed Marauders. Professor McGonagall’s exact words were, “Andrew, Ryan, David, and Arthur, all in one year. They’ll be the next Marauders, they will. Probably come up with a stupid name like the Conquerors or something.”

They were wrong. The other three lived up to their expectations, of course. It was he that dared to be different without daring to do anything at all. No one could believe the sorting hat had put the son of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in any house but Gryffindor.

Yes, Arthur was a Hufflepuff. If only he could be proud about it.

The other three had become the best of friends, causing trouble, making the Quiddich team. He had nothing against them, he just wished he could be like them. They were those kind of people you just couldn’t help but love. And Arthur? He was okay. Just okay. One of those people you smile at, then never think about again.

This wouldn’t all bother him nearly as much if it wasn’t for one thing. One girl to be exact. Lynn Longbottom.

It had started out as a silly crush, back before they even came to Hogwarts. But now he truly cared about her. If he was older, he would call it love. But fourteen year olds can’t fall in love. Can they?

If Arthur had written the dictionary, she would be the definition of amazing. The girl was friends with everybody. She would be only too glad to help a first year with their homework on a Friday night, she was the leader of her group of friends, and half the time she went to Hogsmeade with Liz and the other sixth years. Houses didn’t matter in the least to her. Studying with a Slytherin was just as good as studying with a fellow Ravenclaw.

She was also the only person who, no matter what, always found time to talk to him. She was unbelievably nice, adorably forgetful, and the smartest student in their class. She was perfect. Arthur was just tall, awkward, shy, fourteen, liked to blend into the woodwork.

Not to mention she was going out with his cousin. He’d known Lynn had liked Andrew for some time now, but officially as of Tuesday, they were a couple. Arthur had always known it was hopeless. He wasn’t good at a lot of things, but hiding his feelings was one skill he had perfected. He’d had a lot of practice.

Sometimes things just never work out.


************

Sirius walked into the Great Hall to find Liz sitting at the Gryffindor table alone. He checked his Quiddich robes to make sure he looked presentable, then walked gracefully over towards her. Or as gracefully as a complete klutz could anyways. In other words, he only tripped over his own feet once. And she didn’t notice. So far so good.

He actually had a plan. Usually Sirius thought plans were for brainy people who actually liked doing schoolwork. People like, well, Liz. But something this major needed a plan. Sure, embarrassing Malfoy was alright for an amateur. Now, Sirius Lupin was many things, but amateur was not among them. He was a professional at chaos. Except this time he wasn’t trying to cause chaos. No, he was trying to do something much more important.

Every good plan has a name, and this one was no different. It was called, “Operation Make Liz Fall In Love With Me”. He was thinking about making campaign buttons, but decided that might be a little too obvious.

Step One: Be charming, but not arrogant. Easier said than done.

“Good morning.” Sirius said cheerfully, being rather reckless and kissing her on the cheek. She said nothing but he could see a faint blush creep up her neck. “What are your plans for today?”

“Oh, I was thinking about coming down to watch your Quiddich tryouts.” she said while adjusting the crooked captains pin on the front of his robes.

“Awesome, the more the merrier!” he replied, smiling happily. This was going well. She was coming to watch Quiddich, a game she despises.

A hundred odd owls swooped into the Great Hall. Two landed in front of Liz, and Sirius had to grab her pumpkin juice to keep it from tipping over. One was a tawny carrying the Daily Prophet, the other was a beautiful snowy with a letter.

“Hedwig? Dad just wrote yesterday” she muttered to herself, untying the letter.

She read it quickly, then turned to Sirius, smiling. “Charlie and Leslie had their baby. You’ll never guess.”

“What, another boy?” he asked laughing.

“Yep.” she replied. “They named him Mercury. Who would name their son Mercury?”

“Apparently them.” he laughed. “Oh, and they sent a picture.” He pulled out a picture of a baby with a very round face and red fuzz on the top of his head, crying at the top of his lungs.

Liz flicked open the Prophet, disappeared behind it for a moment, then gasped and spit out her pumpkin juice.

“What is it?” he asked, alarmed.

“Look.” She pointed to the headline.

Minister Dies In His Sleep

“It says Scimgeour has had a bad case of dragon pox for a few weeks, and that he was found dead early this morning. A replacement nomination will be announced later this week.” she said in a shocked voice.

“I didn’t know dragon pox was that serious.” he replied, “But he’s probably over a hundred. It might have effected him different.”

Marissa and Angenette were full out running into the great hall, followed closely by Landen and Christian, who appeared to be chasing them with Dungbombs.

“Looks like our friends are bonding.” Sirius laughed.

They all sat down across from the pair and began staring at them intently.

“What?” Liz and Sirius said at the same time.

“Nothing.” said Angenette and Christian.

“Can we help you?” Sirius asked.

“No.” Marissa and Landen responded.

“Then why are you staring at us like we were dropped from outer space?” Liz asked.

“No reason.” Marissa and Christian answered.

“Okay, that’s nice.” Sirius turned to Liz. “Well, tryouts will start soon, walk down together?”

“Sure. See you guys when you’re...normal.”

As they were walking away, she distinctly thought she heard Angenette mutter, “clueless” under her breath.

“That was odd.” Liz remarked as she followed Sirius into the changing rooms where he was retrieving his broom. “Did you get a new broom?”

“Yeah, it’s a Firebolt 120, the newest model. Some long lost relative from America sent it to me.”

“That’s weird.”

“Mmmhmm. Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked innocently.

“NO!”

“Oh, I’ll get you up there someday.” he replied, grinning. “You know, I forgot why we spent most of our lives fighting with each other.”

“Well, we are...”

“...complete opposites.”

She grinned. “And we also...”

“...finish each other’s sentences.”

“Yep, that pretty much sums it up.”

He walked over to her, a twinkle in his eyes. “Sure I can’t talk you into one ride?”

“Pretty darn.”

“Alright, I’ll let you off the hook. For now.” He grinned crookedly at her, letting his hair fall elegantly in his face. He squeezed her shoulder, then crossed the room and shut the door, leaving Liz rooted to the spot.

“You’ve gone MENTAL.” she screamed at the wall. Outside the door, Sirius collapsed into a fit of laughter.

***********

Liz had never really liked Quiddich. It all seemed a bit pointless. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t recognize talent, and the Gryffindor Quiddich team definitely had that. There was Sirius, their captain and lead chaser, who made scoring goals look like taking a casual stroll. Liz wondered more than once if he would end up marrying one of the goal posts.

Andrew and Ryan Weasley were beaters, using the telepathy twins always seemed to have in reading each other’s thoughts. David Weasley was a wonderful keeper. You couldn’t trick him, and the other team rarely scored. The other two chasers were, both fifth years, were Helena Thomas, a tall and beautiful black girl, and Jacquelyn Fenmore, a short, blonde muggleborn with a sweet personality. They, along with Sirius, worked as a perfect team, scoring more goals in a short time than most of the other teams scored in a season.

The only thing the team needed was a good seeker. Their last seeker, Bernard Winters, had graduated last year, and their reserve had left much to be desired.

Liz realized she had been zoning, and glanced at the six hopefuls Sirius was now lecturing. There was a seventh year with a mild, okay severe, case of acne, standing beside a extremely small second year with mousey brown hair. Then there was the fifth year reserve, Horace McClaggan, a third year with long black hair, a forth year boy who looked a bit green, and her sister.

Wait, what? Her sister? But there Nicole was, clutching a new broom and looking remarkably calm. She looked up at Liz and smiled. Liz gave her a questioning look, but she just shrugged.

The seventh year was now trying out. The chasers and keeper were watching from the ground while the beaters hit bludgers at the maybe seekers. Sirius released the snitch and then they waited. And waited. The boy just hovered in one spot, dodging bludgers very well but not making any move toward the snitch. After a half hour, Liz had seen the snitch twice, and was hoping Sirius would tell him to come down soon.

Fifteen minutes and three snitch sightings later, the boy was told to go sit in the stands until tryouts were complete. The mousy haired boy whom Liz couldn’t help but feel she should know the name of was now trying out. He went into a nose dive when he saw the snitch, but got a little overexcited and slammed into the ground. After making sure he was alright, he was told to join the other boy.

McClaggan now sauntered onto the field. He botched the catching twice and almost got killed by a bludger, but finally managed to catch it after twenty minutes. Liz had never seen anyone look so smug while flying. The black haired girl was giggling to much to mount her broom, and ended up leaving the field laughing hysterically, Sirius rolling his eyes. The forth year walked onto the pitch, but retched before he had a chance to get into the air. He too left the pitch, this time for the hospital wing.

Now it was Nicole’s turn. Sirius, who now looked like he was about to cry, wished her good luck and released the snitch. She’d caught it within twenty seconds.

Sirius now looked like he was going to cry with happiness. “Here, do that again, I want to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.” She caught it even faster, while dodging a bludger. Sirius told her to come down, positively bouncing, and announced that Nicole would be the new seeker. Liz shrieked and ran down to hug her.

“Oh, my little sister, a seeker!” she exclaimed.

“Liz...”

“I’m so happy for you!”

“Liz...”

“Mum and Dad are going to be so proud!”

“LIZ!” she screamed. “There are still people here, you know.”

“Oh, right sorry.” she said. “But this is just so exciting!” She pulled Nicole into another bone- crushing hug.

“Liz, I can’t breathe.”

“Congrats, Nicole.” Liz let her go to see the small mousey haired boy grinning at them.

“Thanks, Rob.” she grinned. “Oh, sorry, I don’t think you two have met. Liz, this is Robert Creevey, Rob, this is my sister Liz.” Creevey, that’s the name she was trying to think of. Her father worked with a Creevey.

“I’M THE CAPTAIN, IT’S MY DECISION, NOW CLEAR OUT!” The three all turned in the direction of raised voices. McClaggan seemed to be taking his defeat extremely well, as he was now advancing on Sirius with his wand raised.

“YOU JUST PICKED THE GIRL BECAUSE SHE’S A FAMILY FRIEND OF YOURS!”

“NO, I PICKED HER BECAUSE SHE HAD THE BEST TRYOUT, AND YOU KNOW IT!”

“MAYBE YOU PICKED HER BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO GET ON HARRY POTTER’S GOOD SIDE, IS THAT IT?”

Sirius now stopped shouting, his voice deadly low. “I picked her because she was the best, and you know that, now clear out before I have to take out my wand.”

McClaggan seemed to be having an internal struggle, then he shoved his wand in his pocket and punched Sirius in the jaw, knocking him down. Liz gasped, then walked over to them with fire in her eyes. Forgetting she was a prefect and that half her house was watching, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

“Eat slugs!” she screeched. “Now get out of here before I’m forced to take points from my own house!”

McClaggan ran back up to the castle belching slugs, and Liz dropped to her knees by Sirius.

“Evil, foul, little maggot.” she muttered, healing his jaw at the same time. “Oh, you poor thing. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Liz was now running her hands over his jaw, checking it for permanent damage. He caught her hand in his own. “You shouldn’t of done that.”

“I know. Does it hurt?”

“So painful.” He grinned. “You could always kiss it better.”

She glared at him, but smiled nonetheless. Then getting on her feet, and pulling him with her, she muttered, “In your dreams.”

When Sirius got back to his dormitory, he found Landen and Christian rolling on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. And Landen held in his hands...uh-oh, that’s not good...

“Operation Make Liz Fall In Love With Me.” he read, “That’s interesting.”

Sirius snatched the parchment back. “Give me that! Can’t keep anything private around here! If either of you ever mention this again...”

“Relax, mate, we can help!” Christian interrupted quickly.

“You...you want to help?”

“Of course.” Landen replied. “What are friends for?”


Well, there it is.
Good? Bad? So horrible
I should be sent
to live under a rock?
Tell me here. (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next post. I went a little nuts on the cutesy stuff, hope you don’t mind. Thanks for all my feedback for the last post, I love reading it. I’m thinking about offering a spoiler as incentive, so if you guys want to see anything in particular, let me know! :rotfl: :eyebrows:


Chapter 8: They’re Kidding, Right?

When Liz Potter was late, she was late. And right now, she was late. It was Saturday, but it was also around the crack of noon and she was supposed to help Marissa with her Defense homework a half hour ago. She threw on the first article of clothing she found, an old blue sweater and a pair of jeans, and flew down the stairs to the common room, where she promptly collided with Sirius.

They took one look at each other, both bolting out of their dormitories with equal haste, and burst out laughing.

“Late for something, Sirius, dear?”

“Slightly. Did you just wake up too?” he asked.

“Yeah. So, do you want to go down to breakfast.”

“Lunch.” he corrected.

“Lunch.” she agreed. They were comparing what they were late for when they entered the Great Hall. An unnatural hush fell over the students, who then began talking once more.

“What was that about?” Liz asked once they reached the table.

“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling it wasn’t because of my stunning looks.” She spared him a glance.

“No, definitely not.” He sneered at her.

An owl delivering the Prophet fluttered down in front of her, which she paid with unusual haste. The new minister was yet to be announced, and since it had been a week, there was a certain amount of tension concerning the issue. Liz unfurled her paper, read the headline, and exclaimed, “They’ve gone bloody MAD!” Sirius snatched it out of her grip so fast it tore in half.

“Uncle Harry?” he said in an awed voice, “They’re joking. He’s never going to accept this.”

“Well, we know why they were staring now.” Liz said, her voice strained. “‘Harry Potter Nominated for Minister’, I’ll bet he’s thrilled.” Sirius could feel the sarcasm. As if on cue, Hedwig soared down towards them. Liz grabbed the letter eagerly and tore it open.

Dear Liz and Nicole,

There is going to be something about me in the paper today, and, well you’ll see what it is when you read it. But I want to assure you that under no circumstances am I going to accept this offer. I’ve been in and out of the Wizengamot all night, and I’ve made it perfectly clear I do not want this job. The next nomination should be announced tomorrow, they even asked me for a suggestion. Hermione is going ballistic, she’s had all the members of the court asking her to “talk some sense into me.” That’s why you should never get into politics.

How’s school? I’ve heard some interesting news about a certain duel in your Defense class, Liz? Tell Sirius I said hello. I’m sorry I couldn’t have spoken to you under better circumstances. Make sure to write. And behave yourselves! (Your mother told me to say that)

Love,
Dad

“Well, see, it’s alright.” Sirius had been reading over her shoulder. “He’s not accepting it!” She looked up at him, then across the table where two first years were gaping at her, then buried her face in her arms and burst into tears.

On instinct, Sirius put an arm around her. “Liz, it’s okay. It’ll be fine.” She lifted her head and buried it in his shoulder.

“Why is it always my family?”

“Do you actually want an answer to that?”

“No.” She lifted her head and wiped the tears away. “Well, I’m going to have to do some damage control.” She looked around the Great Hall just in time to see half the school look hastily away from her. Two people tapped her on the shoulder at the same time. Abraxas and Renee were both standing behind her, looking at each other strangely.

“Ummm, Liz...” Renee started, holding up the paper.

“Is he going to accept it?” Ax asked. Renee now turned to him.

“I’m sorry, do we know you?”

“Sorry. This is Abraxas Malfoy, Renee. Ax, this is Renee Weasley.” Renee gave her a half bemused, half exasperated look. “And to answer your question, no, Dad isn’t accepting the position.”

“Are you alright?” Ax asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just wish people would STOP STARING AT ME!” The two first years hastily dropped their gaze.

“If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks.” He went back to the Slytherin table, and Renee laughed. Liz turned around to see Sirius mimicking him behind her back. She glared at him, and he had the decency to look ashamed of himself.

“Liz, I need to talk to you.” Renee pulled her out of the hall before she had time to protest.

“What?”

“Malfoy?”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, he happens to be very nice!”

“Do you like him?”

“Of course I like him, he’s my friend...”

“No, I mean, do you like him?”

“Oh, no.”

She grinned. “Sirius thinks you do.”

Liz looked at her in amazement. “How do you know?”

“I know guys. But you know what this means don’t you?”

“What?”

“You can get Sirius to do anything you want.”

Liz laughed. “Renee Weasley, that is absolutely cruel. I never would have thought it of you. Brilliant. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go round up the rest of the family and inform them of the change of plans. We have far too many relatives.” She looked back at her and grinned. “Maybe I’ll get Sirius to help me.”

An hour later, all of the Weasley’s, assorted hangers-on, and random people bombarding them in the hall were informed that Harry Potter would not be their new Minister.

“Finally that’s finished.” Liz sighed in relief. Sirius grabbed her arm.

“Come on, were going for a walk.”

“But I really should help Marissa with her homework.”

“And I really should help Landen and Christian with theirs. They’re smart most of the time, they’ll figure it out.”

“Well, alright, but only because I’m two hours late anyway. She’s probably not even there.”

They walked slowly around the lake, Sirius was telling Liz about their first week of Quidditch practice. They were rather close together, and Sirius’s stomach did a somersault every time their arms brushed. Seized by a fit of daring, he reached out and took her hand.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a long while, before Sirius turned around suddenly so that he was facing her.

“You know what you need? A distraction.”

“Oh really? And what might that be, Mr. Lupin.”

“Well, Elizabeth May Potter, tonight you are going to experience Hogwarts like you never have before.”

************

Marissa sat in the back of the library, poring over a book called ‘Jinxes for the Jinxed’, her long blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. The library door creaked open and she looked up to see Sirius’s two friends, Landen and Christian, enter. She smiled at them, and they waved enthusiastically in turn.

“Hello Davies, how are things?” Christian asked as they both took a seat at her table.

“Pretty good. What are you two doing in the library?”

“Being the conscientious students that we are, we’re doing our homework.” Landen answered. She raised her eyebrows.

“Sirius ditched us for Liz again.” Christian interjected helpfully.

“Don’t worry, she ditched me too.”

“Where’s Finnigan?”

“Oh, she’s off somewhere doing...something.”

“So in other words, she’s snogging that seventh year Ravenclaw, what’s his name, Stebbins?”

She looked at him with a mixture of shock and amusement. “Oh, you’re good.”

He mock bowed. “Why thank you.” She giggled.

Landen rolled his eyes. “Yep, that’s our Christian, a girl at heart.” He punched him in the shoulder.

“Oh, I think you’re both girls.” Marissa commented, holding back laughter.

“You know, Davies, you’re not half bad.” Landen laughed.

“Same to you. And you can call me Marissa, you know.”

“Alright Marissa, then. I can see the desire you have to help me with my homework.” She rolled her eyes, but they set to work on the essay all the same.

“Our friends are spending far too much time with each other, though.” Landen mentioned after a while.

“Yeah, they really are clueless.” Christian agreed.

“Sirius just needs to pluck up the courage to...” he stopped short, glancing at Marissa.

“Why did you stop?” she asked.

“Well, you like Sirius, don’t you?”

She smiled. “You know what, I think I’m finally starting to get over him. I know he likes Liz and my friendship is more important to me than some silly crush.”

“Good. Did you realize we’ve never even heard you talk properly until now?”

“Yeah, I was kind of shy, wasn’t I?”

“Kind of?” Christian asked.

“Alright, excruciatingly shy.”

“That’s alright, you can make it up now by being extremely loud and immature.”

“We can help.”

************

Liz and Sirius were now walking through the Forbidden Forest around dusk. It had taken a full fifteen minutes for Sirius to convince her that it was completely safe as long as they stayed on the path. They had spent the afternoon in Hagrid’s hut, having tea and a cheerful visit after explaining several times that Harry was not planning on being Minister.

“Now, why in the world have you insisted on taking me into a forest full of dangerous creatures at night?”

“I want you to meet someone.”

“Who in there right mind would live in the forest.”

“Hello young Mr. Lupin.” a voice from the shadows spoke.

“Him.” Sirius replied to Liz.

A man, no a horse, no half of each, stepped onto the path. He had long blonde hair and a palomino body, with piercing, ice blue eyes. He was a centaur.

“Liz, this is Firenze.”

Firenze looked at her appraisingly for a moment, then said, “You’re the Potter girl, aren’t you.”

“Yes.” Liz answered, taken aback.

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your father on several occasions.” He explained, extending a hand for her to shake. “You have his eyes.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Firenze is a centaur, Liz.”

“Yes, surprisingly enough, I figured that one out by myself. What I’d like to know is why you would ever come out in the forest by yourself. And don’t tell me you weren’t alone, I know you better than that.”

“I don’t know, I was just curious...”

“You could have really gotten hurt!”

“Do you always have to act like my mother?”

“Well, I didn’t even think you could be this stupid.”

“What’s it to you, anyway?”

“BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO CARE ABOUT YOU, ALRIGHT!”

He looked down at the ground. “Sorry.”

“Just promise me the next time you have the urge to go gallivanting around the forest, you’ll take me with you.” He looked up at her and grinned.

“I think I’m a bad influence on you.”

“I agree completely.” Firenze was watching them the entire time with serene amusement. Now he spoke.

“Many things are written in the stars if you know where to look. It is not, however, the centaur’s way to shout or boast about their knowledge. But I will tell you this. Keep each other close, you’ll be glad if you do. This is where I leave you, my young friends. Be safe.” They walked out of the forest in silence, Liz wrapped in Sirius’s cloak, both thinking about the centaur’s words.

Then Sirius threw caution to the winds and picked Liz up, one arm going around her back, the other under the crook of her knees.

“Sirius, you idiot, put me down!” she laughed.

“No, my dear girl, I don’t think I will.” he replied, “You are about to go on the ride of your life.”

Liz had underestimated the persuasive powers of Sirius Lupin. In the matter of five minutes, he had managed to do the impossible. He had gotten her on a broom. Sure, he had threatened to jinx her first and had to assure her ten times that he would go slow, but he had still gotten her on a broom.

“Are you ready?” Sirius asked her.

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“As you wish.” He took off with Liz holding onto his waist for dear life. She had her eyes closed and her head hidden in his shoulder. He flew around at a slow pace for a while, until he got high enough. Then he went into a steep dive, pulling up at the last second. Liz gave a muffled scream, and he laughed. Gaining altitude, he sped off to the castle, flying above the astronomy tower.

“Liz, look up.” She did, now resting her chin on Sirius’s shoulder, and saw the millions of stars so close that she felt she could touch them.

“Wow.” she breathed. Sirius smiled. She turned her head and kissed him on the cheek, and saw his smile grow wider.

“Hang on.” He swooped down over the silvery lake, their feet skimming the surface. Liz could see their reflection on the smooth surface. He landed in the grass on the shore of the lake, and Liz found that she didn’t really want this to end. Sirius jumped off and helped her down, then turned to her grinning.

“See, you’re alive and in one piece. It wasn’t that bad, now, was it?”

She smiled at him, her green eyes shining. “It was...amazing. Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

Three hours later, they were staggering across the grounds of Hogwarts, laughing harder than Liz could ever remember laughing. They had been fighting over who got to carry the Marauder’s Map, when Sirius decided to settle the matter by throwing Liz into the lake. He then felt bad and jumped in after her, the map lying abandoned along with his cloak. The water was freezing, but that didn’t stop them from trying to drown each other in a water fight. The giant squid had finally gotten annoyed with them and thrown them onto the shore.

Sirius sat down by a tree and pulled Liz down with him. They were both shaking from the cold and had tears of laughter in their eyes. They were huddling for warmth, both wrapped in the same cloak. Liz was sitting in Sirius’s lap, her face buried in his neck. She could feel him shaking. An idea hit her, and she looked up.

“Sirius, why didn’t we just dry ourselves off with our wands?”

“Oh, I dunno...” To be truthful, he had thought of it, and had been hoping Liz wouldn’t. He started to reach for his wand when she stopped him. One of her hands touched the side of his face, the other resting on his arm.

“Never mind.” His eyes met hers and he saw something in them he didn’t recognize. It seemed to take an age for their faces to close the gap between them. Their foreheads were touching, their eyes closed, they could feel each other’s misted breath. And then they heard the voice of a very happy caretaker.

“Oh dear, out of bed at this time, we are in trouble.”


Evil Filch, who is
miraculously still
alive, lolz. I couldn’t
be bothered making up
a new one when he’s
already so perfect. :evil:
Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the good old U.S. of A!!!! I’m really getting into this fic now, so I’m having some fun with my characters. I know you guys think there’s too many of them, but they’re so much fun, lolz! :evil:


Chapter 9: Here We Go Again

Remus Lupin gazed at the two soaking wet, raven haired teenagers sitting before him sadly. He really didn’t want to punish anyone today, especially not them, but as the head of Gryffindor house, he had a duty to uphold. He turned the caretaker, who was wheezing in the corner.

“That will be all, Mr. Filch.”

“But you don’t understand, Professor. These students have been caught out of bed at all hours of the night, plotting, getting into all kinds of...mischief...”

“I understand completely.”

“They should be hung from their toes in the dungeons! Oh, if only those days would come again...” he muttered on his way out the door. Sirius silently thanked the heavens he hadn’t told his father what was happening when they were caught. He glanced at Liz, who was looking at her knees. He knew she’d be angry with him now.

“I must say, I’m very disappointed in you two. I’d have expected this from you, Sirius, but I thought you knew better, Liz. You are a prefect. Now, I realize this has been an unusual day, but that is no excuse.”

“Dad, it was my fault, I convinced Liz to come with me...” Sirius began.

“No, Uncle Remus, it was my fault. I...well I don’t know why, but...”

“Please stop.” he said strictly, although he was fighting back a laugh. “You are both equally responsible for your actions.”

Sirius couldn’t control himself any longer. “How many times were you caught on the grounds after hours? And you were the sensible one!”

For a fraction of a second, the corners of Remus’s mouth twitched. Then he said, “What I did years ago is not what is being discussed now.”

“But...” Sirius tried.

“No “buts”, young man, or I will write to your mother.” Sirius slumped in his seat. Now it was Liz’s turn to fight back a laugh.

“I really don’t want to do this, but I’m taking twenty-five points from Gryffindor and giving you each a detention.”

“NO!” Sirius exclaimed. Liz tried to shush him. “Can’t I do two detentions instead of Liz getting one?”

“No, Sirius, I want a detention.” She realized what she had just said. “Well, I obviously don’t want one, but I don’t want you to take my place! I deserve one just as much as you do.”

“Now, I want you both to apologize.”

“I’m really sorry, Uncle Remus.” Liz said immediately.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry too.”

He couldn’t suppress a smile here. “Are you sorry you did it, or sorry you got caught?”

“Do you really want an answer to that?” Remus laughed outright.

“Off to bed, both of you! And no more nighttime excursions please.”

As soon as the office door closed behind them, Sirius rounded on Liz. He had to get in a decent apology before she had a chance to yell.

“Liz, I am so sorry, you’ve got to believe me, I never wanted to get you in trouble and I feel so horrible about it, but please don’t be mad at me, I just wanted to...”

“Sirius...” she interrupted, looking up at him. Then she did the one thing he hadn’t expected. She smiled. He half considered kissing her right then and there, but the moment had passed. “It was worth it.” She gave him a swift kiss on the cheek, turned on her heel, and ran back to Gryffindor tower at full speed.

Sirius walked slowly after her, with only one thought running through his head. She’s definitely strange...

*************

The next morning, Liz and Sirius, both looking very tired, literally pounced on the owl carrying the Daily Prophet. They ripped it open, their heads knocking together in the process. They muttered a simultaneous “ouch” followed by “sorry”, then turned their attention to the paper.

Both stared for a moment, then Liz whispered desperately, “I can never catch a break.” Sirius snorted, but quickly turned it into a hacking cough.

Arthur Weasley Announced As Next Minister of Magic

In a hurried press meeting late last night, Hermione Granger-Weasley,
a representative from the Wizengamot, announced that her father-in-law,
Arthur Weasley, has accepted the position of Minister of Magic. After
Harry Potter, leading auror and long time friend of Granger-Weasley’s,
turned the job down, he reportedly offered Weasley as a suggestion. The
Wizengamot voted 98 to 2 in favor of Weasley, who was formerly head
of the Muggle Relations Department at the ministry. A long time
employee of the Ministry, Weasley strives to...

Continued on pages 3, 7, and 8.

Much of the rest of the front page was taken up by a large photo of Liz’s grandfather waving at them. In the corner, a much smaller picture of the entire Weasley family was crammed in. There were so many people you could barely see their faces.

“Could I have your attention please?” Remus Lupin’s magnified voice rang over the crowded Great Hall. “I need all the members of the Weasley family to report to my office immediately.”

“Liz, you’d better go.” Sirius said immediately.

“Come on, you idiot, he means you too.”

“But he said...”

“All members of the Weasley family.” Liz finished. “You’re family, blood or otherwise.”

They entered the office for the second time that weekend, and Liz found her father dusting himself off after stepping out of the fireplace.

“Dad!” she exclaimed, running into his arms like a little girl.

“Hi sweetheart! I’m sorry about yesterday, I wouldn’t have told you in a letter if I could have helped it.”

“It’s alright. Why are we all here?”

“We’ve got to go over the plan.”

“We? Who else...” The fireplace sprung to life once more, and Hermione stepped out of it, still in her purple Wizengamot robes.

“Aunt Hermione?”

“Liz! Oh, you look more beautiful than ever!” She said, throwing her arms around her as well. Liz noticed Sirius hovering by the door.

“Sirius, get over here and give me a hug.” Hermione said, noticing him too.

“I am allowed to be here, right?” he asked.

“Of course, you’re family!” Harry exclaimed.

The rest of the family filtered in, and soon there was a mass of people hugging each other, crammed in a tiny office. Remus finally came in with the Longbottom’s in tow, and shut the door with some difficulty.

Hermione now turned her attention to the room at large. “Alright kids, you’ll have heard by now that your grandfather, well most of your’s grandfather at least, is to be the next Minister of Magic. As an official member of the Wizengamot, he has chosen me to swear him in. The inauguration takes place next Saturday, and you are all invited. Some of your parents will come to escort you to Harry and Ginny’s place Saturday morning, and then we’ll go to the Ministry as a group from there. You’ve been excused from lessons on Friday because, well, Harry thought it would be a good idea.” She shot Harry a glare, who grinned at her. The students all smiled. “Oh, and I made badges.”

“You what?” Harry asked, amused.

“I made badges! Aren’t they neat?” she asked, holding up a small pin that said, “Support Minister Weasley” on it.

“Oh, I thought maybe they were spew badges.”

“It’s S.P.E.W., as you very well know.” He was laughing. Liz and Sirius shared an amused look.

“Alright children, no fighting.” Remus joked. The room burst into laughter.

“You guys are free to go.” Harry said, hugging everyone again. He and Hermione made their way towards the office door.

“Wait, where are you two going?” Liz asked.

“You don’t think we’d leave without having a drink in Hogsmeade first, do you?” She rolled her eyes.

They stopped in the Entrance Hall just long enough to pin their new badges on their shirts, marvel at how strange Hermione could be, and prepare themselves for another day of answering questions.

“You ready?” Sirius asked.

“No.” Liz answered truthfully. “I don’t know how Dad can stand this.”

They entered the Great Hall, where everyone hushed again. Sirius waved, smiled, and gave an extravagant bow. Liz snorted, vaguely aware that last year, this action would have annoyed her to no end.

When she sat down, Angenette and Marissa rounded on her immediately.

“Liz, your grandfather’s going to be the Minister of Magic!”

“This is so exciting! My best friend is the minister’s granddaughter!”

“What am I, chopped liver.” Angenette asked Marissa, grinning.

Marissa rolled her eyes. “Alright, one of my best friends.”

“Well I’m glad someone’s enjoying themselves.” she muttered vaguely. “I think I’m going to go hide in the library for a while, and let my cousins handle this one. Anyone want to come.”

“Yeah, I’ve still got five essays to do.” Angenette replied immediately.

“I’ve got four left.” Marissa added.

“What did you guys do yesterday?” Angenette blushed, and Liz nodded her head in understanding.

“I was talking to some people.” Marissa replied unhelpfully. Liz gave her a questioning look, and she mouthed ‘later’.

“What about you, Sirius.” Liz asked.

“I think I’m going to go hide around the Quiddich Pitch. I promised dumb and dumber I’d help them with their scoring.”

“Tell them we said ‘hi’.” Marissa said. Liz and Sirius had identical bemused looks on their faces, while Angenette looked like she had just eaten something sour.

“Alright, see you girls later.” He had obviously decided not to ask.

An hour later, Liz had finished all her homework, and was re-reading Hogwarts, A History for the fifth time. The other girls were still working feverishly. Marissa even had ink splattered on her nose.

Liz looked up to see Ax walking through the door, and waved him over happily. He grinned at her, then glanced at her friends as though unsure whether he should introduce himself or not.

“Hey, guys, this is Ax Malfoy, um that’s Angenette Finnigan, and that’s Marissa Davies.” Angenette looked up, smiled shortly and went back to her work. Marissa finished her essay with a flourish then looked up smiling. Her eyes locked with Ax’s, and the smile melted off her face, replaced by a blank stare. He had an identical look.

They must have stared at each other for the better part of two minutes, before Liz cleared her throat uncertainly. She and Angenette both had bemused looks on their faces. Marissa looked away, trying desperately to rub the ink off her nose.

“I’ve really got to...I forgot...see you later.” Ax muttered, then looked directly at Marissa. “Nice meeting you.” He rushed out of the library.

“He has amazing eyes.” Marissa said, then clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. “I didn’t really just say that out loud, did I?”

Liz was too busy laughing hysterically to answer, so Angenette, grinning, said, “Yes, you did.”

“Well, he does.” She was going very red. “And I can’t get this ink off my nose!” Liz waved her wand vaguely at her nose and it disappeared.

“Why couldn’t you have done that five minutes ago!”


Hehe, kind of a light
chapter. Let’s see,
detention and a bunch of
Weasley’s messing around
in the next one! :rotfl:
Feedback!!!! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

If you are having problems keeping the characters straight, check out my feedback thread, where I have posted a character list. Happy reading!


Chapter 10: Detentions and Decisions

Friday morning, Liz and Sirius both received identical notes saying:

You will serve your detention tonight at 8:00. Please report to my office ten minutes early.

-Remus Lupin

Liz gulped, and looked up with a very forced smile. “Well, at least we have all day off.”

“You okay?” Sirius asked. She nodded. “Hey, I asked my dad, and he said we could make a group trip to Hogsmeade today, because we need super formal dress robes for tomorrow.”

Liz, looking considerably brighter, replied, “Excellent! I’ve been dying to go since last year!” After rounding up their entire family, no small task, they made their way off the school grounds, stopping only to show a quite perturbed Filch their pass.

Andrew, Ryan, and David immediately ran off in the direction of Quality Quidditch Supplies, Andrew dragging Lynn with them. Nicole, Celeste, and Daniella headed towards the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer. Renee, Liz, and Sirius decided to find their dress robes first, when Liz noticed Arthur walking down the street alone.

“Hey, Art, are you by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you go with the other forth years?” He shrugged.

“Well come on, you’re coming with us.”

He hesitated for a moment, but Sirius said, “You’re not actually going to leave me with two girls, are you?” He grinned and joined them.

“Okay.” Liz immediately took control of the situation. “According to this paper, we’re supposed to wear formal black robes, since they are taking pictures and they want us all to look the same.”

“In other words, if we want to look good, we’ll need some major accessaries.” Renee interrupted. Liz snorted

“Alright, let’s see.” She adopted an evil grin. “Youngest first.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, and muttered to Sirius, “You could have told me that they pick on the guys.”

“Why do you think I didn’t want to be alone with them? Don’t worry, I’m next.”

“Oooooh!” Liz cried triumphantly. “Here, try these ones!”

“No, these ones!” Renee contradicted.

“No, these ones!” Sirius said in a high pitched voice, pulling a pair of fluffy pink robes off their hanger.

Liz looked at them for a moment. “Do those look black to you.” Sirius studied them for a long moment, then said “yes”.

“Good, you can wear those then.”

“How do you expect me to look good in pink robes?”

“You’d look good in anything.” She blushed furiously. “I mean, I thought they were black.”

Renee made a loud trumpet noise, interrupting them. “May I present, the dashing, Arthur Weasley.” Arthur, rolling his eyes, struck a pose. “Now, there’s no need for an attitude, little cousin!”

“You idiot.” Liz laughed. “Those look great, though.” she added.

“Okay, now Sirius!”

“Told you I’d be next.” He muttered. Both girls studied him for a while, before picking up two different robes at the same time. They each then tried to get him to try theirs on first.

“Now, ladies, I know I’m irresistible, but there’s no need to fight over me.” Renee made a gagging noise. Liz just rolled her eyes, using the opportunity to thrust her pair at him. “I really hate shopping.” Just for this comment, the girls made him try on several robes before telling him they liked the first ones the best.

“Isn’t their some kind of after party at your place?” Sirius asked Liz, while Renee was on a mad search for Liz’s robes.

“Yeah, semi-formal muggle wear.” she answered.

“Muggle?”

She grinned. “We’re talking about my grandfather here.”

“What is ‘semi-formal muggle wear’?”

“For you guys, button down shirt, no tie, dress pants...”

“Ah.”

“Okay, these are so perfect!” Renee shrieked. Liz grabbed the garment and left to try them on. They were made of silk, with a square swooped neck, corseted back, and black ribbon on the border. The pencil skirt had silver flowers embroidered at the bottom.

“Oooooh, I love them!” She cried happily, stepping out of the changing room. “What do you think?”

“I think they’re gorgeous.” Sirius said immediately. The other two nodded.

“Good, I’m getting them! Alright, Renee, what about you?” After Renee had purchased hers, the group left the shop. The rest of the day was spent meandering through the shops, and they all met up for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks at 4 o’clock before heading back to Hogwarts.

Andrew, Ryan, and David, or the “terrible trio”, as Lynn had taken to calling them, were terrorizing Madam Rosmerta while ordering for all of them. They had pushed several tables together and were all happily talking over each other. Liz was trying to shout something to her sister, halfway across the table, when Renee poked her.

“Ouch! What?”

“Come here, I need to talk to you.” When they were a safe distance away from the table she said, “What’s up with Sirius?”

Liz frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t stopped staring at you all day. And then when we got here, Ryan was going to take the seat next to you, so he slipped him a galleon to sit somewhere else. You haven’t made any love potions lately, have you?”

“What?! NO!” She looked around hesitantly. “Alright, if you must know, last Saturday, we spent all night on the grounds and he was about to kiss me when Filch caught us.”

Renee’s eyes were bugging out. “YOU were out on the grounds at night!”

“Yes, yes, and then his dad hauled us into his office and gave us a huge lecture, and we both have detention tonight.”

“Wait, wait, wait...he got you a detention, and you’re not mad at him? Who are you and what have you done with Liz Potter?”

“I know! But I can’t stay mad at the idiot. I try, believe me, but then he says something, or smiles at me, and I just melt! It’s hopeless.”

“Are you telling me, that after sixteen years of hating each other’s guts, you like him?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m saying.” she admitted to herself as much as anyone else. Renee started laughing. “May I ask what is so hysterical?”

“Oh, come on, think about this in my perspective!”

“Yeah, I guess I see your point.”

“Well, we have a lot of work to do. We’re going to make you so gorgeous for the inauguration, I’ll make sure his jaw drops.”

***********

At ten to eight, Sirius and Liz were heading towards their detention. Sirius was telling a joke, trying to cheer Liz up. She gave a very forced laugh, and they fell into silence.

“I’m really sorry for getting you into this.” Sirius said for the fifth time that night.

“It’s just as much my fault as it is yours.”

“You never would have been out there if it wasn’t for me.”

“You didn’t force me to come, Sirius.” Silence once again.

“Liz?”

“Mmmmm?”

“Never mind.”

“Ah, there you are!” Remus said brightly when they entered his office. “I think you’re going to enjoy this. You see, as a teacher, I have a lot of things to do...”

“Oh, no Dad, anything but that!”

“What?” Liz asked, confused.

“He’s going to make us grade essays.”

Remus laughed happily. “You got it. The answer sheet is on the top of each pile. And before you ask, I’ve taken yours out, so you can’t give yourselves ‘O’s. Have fun! I need to go talk to your mother about tomorrow.”

“Don’t tell her where I am!” Sirius cried desperately. Liz laughed a genuine laugh.

“This isn’t that bad, really.” she said a few minutes later. She was on her sixth essay while Sirius was on his second.

“What did you expect him to do, beat us?” Sirius asked grumpily.

“Oh, I don’t know.” she replied cheerfully. “I like grading these things though. Maybe I’ll become a teacher.”

“I thought you wanted to be an auror.”

“Well, last week I wanted to be an auror, and the week before that it was a healer, and the week before that...well, you see my point.”

They fell into silence once again. Then Liz voiced the question she had been wondering all week. “Sirius, what are we?”

“Homo sapiens.”

“No, I mean, how do you feel about me?”

“Well...” He couldn’t do this. “You’re my friend. One of my best friends and you’re very important to me.” Coward

He had to know. “Why? How do you feel about me?”

“Oh, the same.” Liar

For two people who were just friends, they were certainly very disappointed with each other’s answers.

*********

Ax entered the library, as usual. He loved the library, not because he liked studying, because it was quiet and he could think. He was alone tonight, seeing that Liz had detention and none of his other friends really appreciated the library. He rolled his eyes. What did she see in Lupin?

“To each his own.” he muttered out loud.

He really didn’t know how he felt about Liz. She was gorgeous, of course, and she was really sweet. But she never seemed to want to slow down, the exact opposite of himself. She wanted the world, Ax just wanted a little corner of it.

She was still the best friend he’d ever had, even though they had only known each other for a couple of weeks. He sighed. Liz always said he sighed too much. Then she usually told him to eat more chocolate.

He liked chocolate, he really did. But if you have too much of it, it loses it’s magic.

He’d learned that the hard way growing up. His parents thought they could win his love by buying him the world. It had worked on his sister, but not on him. Annabelle adored their parents, but Ax had never thought about them the same way after he found out his father had been a Death Eater. He had discovered this on accident, after his Grandmother had let it slip at one of their dinner parties. She made him promise he would never tell his parents he knew.

It was Liz who finally told him the full story. How Draco had been assigned the task of killing Albus Dumbledore, and failed. How his grandfather had been killed by Voldemort in revenge for his father’s disobedience. Voldemort had then given him the task of killing Liz’s father’s friends, including her mother. She’d hesitated here, but Ax had urged her on.

She then told him that he had all three of them tied up, and was torturing Ginny when Harry came in and disarmed him. He was completely at the mercy of him, and he knew it. He begged for his life, promising to do anything Harry asked him to. So he turned Draco over to the leaders of the Order of the Phoenix, who made him make an Unbreakable Vow that he would turn spy against Voldemort until the latter’s defeat. When the war was over, he spent six months in Azkaban before Harry bailed him out.

Ax had asked Liz why her father had helped him. She said he had told her, “Because I saw the remorse in his eyes, even if he himself couldn’t.” Ax had always seen his father as a typical rich, pureblooded wizard. Now he saw him as a coward.

But for some reason he still wanted to make him proud. He became a prefect, a seeker, got nine O.W.L.s, yet it still wasn’t enough. Ax sighed again, reaching for a book to read. He then heard a faint sniffling coming from the next isle.

He turned the corner to see Liz’s friend, Marissa, sitting on the floor with her head in her knees. Why did he always have to find girls crying in the library?

He slid down beside her, and she lifted her head and gasped. She really did have beautiful hazel eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” she answered cheerfully, surprising him.

“Then why are you crying?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes I just like to have a good cry.”

He laughed. “Okay, that’s different...”

“Yeah, well, that’s me.” He grinned at her.

“And what are you, exactly?”

“Hmmm, what am I? Good question.” She stroked her chin in a thoughtful way. “I’m the quiet one. The average one. The one nobody understands. I like to come into the library and cry for no reason, I wake up in the middle of the night and read, I only eat chocolate on the first day of every month...”

Ax interrupted. “I do that too!”

“Really? Everyone else thinks I’m mental. But I think it makes it more magical.”

“Exactly!”

“So, what are you?”

“I’m the one that likes the quiet, thinks average is perfect, can’t live without a little mystery. I love the library, but you’ll have to excuse the fact that I don’t cry. I only do my homework at night, and I barely ever sleep, but I like it that way.”

Marissa was looking at him in shock, fully aware that he had just mirrored all of her answers. Was he actually telling the truth. That’s when he surprised her even more.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re beautiful?”

“No.” she answered truthfully.

“Well, it’s about time someone did. You’re beautiful.” And with that he got up and walked away. Because life needed more drama...

***********

Liz came back to her dormitory to find Marissa positively singing. She shrieked when she saw her and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

“Liz, you are the best friend ever!”

“Whoa, what’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Oh, no, you can’t do that to me. I need some good news right now.”

“Okay, you know Ax?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was in the library...”

“Oh no, you weren’t crying, were you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing” She grimaced. “Go on.”

“He has to be the sweetest guy ever!”

Liz laughed. “That’s interesting.” She knew she wouldn’t get any more details.

“So, how was your detention?”

“The detention was fine.”

“And...”

“And nothing. I really don’t want to talk about it. Tomorrow’s supposed to be a happy day, and I’m not letting anything get in the way of that.”

She distinctly heard Marissa mutter “Sirius” while they were getting ready for the night.

Liz dressed quickly the next morning, grabbing her duffle bag and heading down to the common room. Sirius was already doing a head count.

“Alright, we’re just missing...ah, there you are, Liz.”

“Sorry, I overslept.”

“No problem, our ‘escorts’ aren’t here yet.”

“Come on, you lot, we’ve got to go meet the others in the Entrance Hall.”

Once there, they started a head count again. “Where’s Danni?”

“Right here.” The small girl said, as she skidded into the hall.

“Are you ever on time?”

“No.”

Remus, Tonks, and Neville walked into the hall. “Is everyone here?” Remus asked.

“Yes.”

“Alright, Nymphadora is going to take...”

“Am I going to have to tell you not to call me that for the rest of our lives?”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Nymphadora is going to take the first and second years first. Neville will take the fourth years, and I’ll take the oldest last. Any questions?” They all shook their heads. “Good. Alright, you three first.” He gestured towards Nicole, Celeste, and Danni.

After they left, Neville went ahead with all five of the fourth years, and finally Liz, Sirius, and Renee were the only ones left. They flooed from Remus’s office into Liz’s living room. She looked out the window into the back yard and saw that a stage along with about five-hundred chairs had been set up. The inauguration was taking place here. All the kids found a separate room to get ready in, some getting stuck in strange places like the library. The house was massive, but as the adults were also getting ready, there wasn’t a lot of choice.

Liz walked into her room, collapsed on the bed, and screamed into her pillow.

Eventually, she dragged herself up, and wiping the tears off her cheeks, slipped into her dress robes. Renee came in a few minutes later with a curling iron and make-up.

“I’m so glad you guys have electricity, I love these things!” She held up the curling iron.

“It’s no use, I might as well just go in my pajamas.”

She looked at her for a long moment. “What happened?”

“I asked him how he felt about me last night, and he said we were friends. That’s all.”

“He was lying.” Renee said immediately.

“How do you know?”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That’s not how you look at a friend.”

“But why would he lie?”

“Isn’t it obvious.” Liz shook her head. “He’s sixteen years old and he’s never felt this way about anyone before. He’s scared.”

“That’s nice and all, but what do I do about it?”

“Well, you could either sit around here moping, or you show him what he’s missing.”


This is a little longer
than usual, but I wanted
you guys to have a chance
to get into Ax’s
head. And you got
some info on Draco! :rotfl:
FEEDBACK! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Next post is up! Had some fun with the ceremony, hope it’s believable!


Chapter 11: The Minister’s Granddaughter

Sirius was very close to falling asleep. All the men were sitting in Harry’s tea room, awaiting the women, who were naturally taking much longer. He felt like he was going to an extremely stuffy wedding. They had been briefed on the procedure by a hard-faced ministry official. They were to enter the ceremony in pairs, and Sirius had logically been placed with Liz. He had to admit to himself that he was more than a little nervous.

He’d noticed that she seemed very upset with him this morning, and the only reason he could think of was what he had said in detention last night. He couldn’t see why though. She had said the same thing to him in reply.

Percy was sitting in a corner, brooding. He had overheard Harry telling his father that Percy felt he deserved the position more than Arthur. He had been a Junior Minister for twenty years, while his father had steadily moved up the ranks. Percy was obviously starting to resent his position as court scribe.

At least the new minister had given him the day off.

Sirius was so busy staring into the fire that he didn’t notice Liz had came down the stairs. She coughed, and he spun his head around. She was giving him a weak smile, her hair piled elegantly on top of her head, and her cheeks flushed. He jumped up, glancing at his feet self-consciously before grinning.

“I, you...wow...” She smiled a little wider.

“Thanks, I think.”

He extended an arm. “Shall we?” Harry was smiling at them with amusement in his eyes before he was distracted by Ginny.

They joined the couples already queuing by the French doors, taking their place behind Sirius’s parents. Sirius was about to say something to Liz about the way she was acting when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Now, Liz, is that really how you greet your favorite relative?”

Liz spun around with a huge grin on her face, and screamed “PHIL!”, before throwing her arms around her cousin. “I had no idea you guys were coming, when did you get here?”

“About two minutes ago.” She hit him lightly.

“You know very well that I do not have a favorite relative.”

“Yeah, but if you did it would be me.” Liz rolled her eyes.

“Last thing we knew you guys weren’t coming, with the baby being born an all.”

“Well, Mum and Dad decided that they couldn’t deprive their children of seeing their grandfather sworn in as Minister.” He looked around hesitantly. “Don’t tell anyone, but they’re also looking at houses. Dad had a near miss last week, he’s getting to old for taming. He’s been offered a position in the Magical Creatures department starting next year. I have to come up at the end of this year to take O.W.L.’s and everything, and then we’re all transferring to Hogwarts in the fall!”

“That’s great!” Sirius, who had been listening in, said.

“Hey, Sirius, how are you, mate. Wait...” A look of comprehension lit up his face as he noticed Sirius’s slackened grip on Liz’s arm. “You two are talking now?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we’re friends” She put particular emphasis on the last word.

“So you’re coming to Hogwarts. Oh, you wait, I have so much to tell you. And warn you about.” he added.

“Just don’t tell anyone, only me, Jake, and Will know so far.”

Liz was searching the crowd. “Where’s your parents, I want to see the baby.”

“Oh, come on, I’ll take you to them.” Liz walked a few steps after him, turned around and grabbed Sirius’s hand. “Come on!” He rolled his eyes and allowed himself to be pulled towards a gathering crowd.

At the center stood Leslie Weasley, who still managed to be a wisp of a woman, even after just giving birth. With long, dark red hair, bright dark blue eyes, and enough freckles to rival her husband, she more than made up for her stature with her beauty. In her arms she held a chubby little bundle with red hair sticking out of the top.

She spotted them. “Lizzie!” Leslie was the only one who really got away with calling her that. Liz really didn’t have a favorite relative, but the fact that she barely ever saw her Uncle Charlie’s family made them special. “Sirius! Get over here this instance!” She kissed them both on the cheek before showing off her new addition.

“Can I hold him?” Liz asked cautiously.

“Of course you can.” She passed the baby to Liz. “You’ll need practice for when you have a family.” Sirius squeezed her shoulder, then leaned in to look at Mercury. He hoped they had a decent nick-name picked out for the poor kid.

“I still think you’re crazy for having six kids.” He told her.

She smiled. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Although I really would like a little girl.”

“Oh, no, they’re moving!” Liz shrieked as she noticed the column of people filing into the garden. She gently passed the baby back to his mother, then allowed Sirius to steer her back to their spot. She slipped her arm into his, her skin tingling a bit where they touched.

Liz gasped at what she saw when they entered the garden. There was a white rose petal walkway flanked by Ministry officials creating an archway with long-swords. Ministry workers and other on-lookers stood on the sidelines, watching the family make it’s way up to the golden stage set up for the guests of honor.

“Do you keep getting the feeling someone’s getting married?” Liz whispered in Sirius’s ear.

“My thoughts exactly.” He chuckled. “And Liz...smile!” An excited cry of ‘Miss Potter!’ and a flash of a camera later, a half-blinded Liz was left facing Rita Skeeter in the press section of the crowd, smiling wickedly at her. Rita’s meticulously kept curls had long since faded from blonde to gray, her mannish hands had become a bit more lined, but she still had a knack for inventing particularly juicy gossip. Liz, to say the least, was none too fond of her.

“Wretched woman. There’s probably going to be a nice article about my flirtatious nature in Witch Weekly next month.”

“You flirtatious nature?” Sirius asked, holding back a laugh with difficulty. “That’s rich.”

“Tell me about it. Oh, and Sirius, when we get to the front, watch the steps.”

“What, are you saying I’m clumsy or something?” She shot him a look. “Right you are, Lizzie.”

“What did I tell you about that.” He whistled innocently, causing her to roll her eyes.

“I saw that!”

“Good.” They were fast approaching the gleaming podium, where Liz could now see her grandfather standing nervously. They turned and made their way to the steps on the left side of the platform, making their way carefully as to not trip over their long robes.

Once the entire family was seated, Hermione, sticking out like a sore thumb in purple robes with an embroidered W on the left side, placed a charm on her voice so as to be heard and faced the audience.

“Dear friends, we gather here today...” Sirius snorted. “...to celebrate a great event, the inauguration of a new Minister of Magic. We stand on this noble land of our beloved Great Britain, celebrating the life of the late Rufus Scrimgeour, as well as the dawning of a new era. I would like to now call upon, the future 325th Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley.” Arthur waved, and Molly got up to participate in the swearing in. Hermione pulled out the original Wizards of Great Britain, the book of laws, and handed it to her.

“If you would please place your wand on the cover of the book... Do you solemnly swear to serve the wizards and witches of this great nation?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to uphold the laws of the past, present, and future, up until the time the Wizengamot and the People’s Representative Union deem them void?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to not abuse or diminish your position?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to put forth a strong front of leadership and security the wizarding community can look to for guidance?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to work in partnership with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as foreign magical powers, and the Muggle community?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to uphold the honor of the name of wizard, not letting prejudices or preconceived notions get in the way of the effective running of our government?”

“I swear.”

“And do you swear to love and honor the noble history and people that make our world the way it is at the present time.”

“I swear.” The book grew white hot for a moment before fading back into it’s original dull brown.

“I present to the public, Minister Weasley!” The crowd exploded in cheers, and Arthur gave a relieved smile.

“Thank you, thank you! If any of you had told me twenty years ago that I would be standing here today, I would have replied that you needed to make a trip to Saint Mungo’s for evaluation. I was a poor man working in the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, a position I still have a certain fondness for. However, I’ve always been the luckiest man on Earth, for I have always been rich in family and friends. And now, as I watch my grandchildren grow up before my eyes, my destiny has been fulfilled. I now have my chance to give back to the community that has given me so much.

“I cannot possibly express in words how proud I am of this nation right now. We have overcome unimaginable odds, bounced back greater than ever. I am a firm believer that the best always comes out on top in the end, but that optimism has been tested many a time throughout my life. But here we stand, united more than divided. I could go into detail about my plans for the future, or I could just say this. My first priority is, and will always be, to keep our world safe, peaceful, and united. I believe that we are headed towards great times, my friends, great times. And if I am remembered for anything, I would like it to be this. I would like to be a Minister who cared first and always, about the people.

“I would like to dedicate this day to my wife, who has been there for me through it all. I would like to dedicate this day to all the brave souls who sacrificed their lives for the preservation of our world. But most of all, I would like to dedicate this day to all of you. From the poorest beggar to the richest warlock, every last one of you has something to contribute to the greater good. This is not my day. It is the nation’s day. Long live Britain, long live the magical community, and long live each individual. Go now, my friends, go in peace. But take time out of your busy schedules to remember how lucky we are. Take the time to thank those that you love. Take the time to smile. Thank you all so much.”

The crowd applauded louder than ever. Liz had tears in her eyes. She and Sirius turned to each other at the exact same moment and said, “Thank you.” Liz laughed, Sirius grinned at her. She pulled him into a tight hug, and whispered, “I’m sorry for the way I was acting earlier.”

“Don’t you even think about being sorry. Not today. You’re not allowed to be sorry today.”

“How do you do that?” She asked, looking up into his eyes.

“Do what?”

“You can always make me feel better.” It took all the self control he had not to snog her senseless in full view of her entire family, the general public, and dozens of reporters. He grinned at the thought of Rita Skeeter’s face.

After many pictures for various newspapers, organizations, and curious people, all the spectators were gone and the private party was about to start. Night had fallen, and lights were being levitated around the courtyard, refreshments being set up.

Liz ran quickly up to her room, in much better spirits. She pulled on a bright red halter dress( her favorite), along with a pair of black heels, let her still curled hair down so that it cascaded down her back, and headed outside.

Sirius and Phil met her, Sirius looking very good in a pair of black pants and a white shirt, his maroon tie not tied, but hanging loosely. Phil’s sense of humor had kicked in, as he was wearing a pink shirt, which clashed horribly with his orange-ish hair.

Each of them stepped on one side of her, and the three began catching up happily. When the family was together the kids formed cliques. These three, along with Renee, made up their group. The fourth years made up another, although Phil sometimes hung out with them, and Arthur or Lynn sometimes with the older kids. The last real group was Nicole, Celeste, Danni, and Phil’s younger brothers, Jacob and William. The young children were usually with their parents or following their older siblings around.

Lynn came over to say hello, wearing a dark blue dress quite similar to Liz’s.

“Ah, Lynn Longbottom, as lovely as ever, I see.” Phil said, his eyes twinkling. Lynn gave him a disgusted look. She’d never really liked him, although he seemed to have no problem with her.

“Stuff it, Phil.”

“The face of an angel, but the temper of a manticore, pity...”

Andrew came up behind them and put an arm around Lynn’s shoulders. “Hello, cousin, what was that you were saying?”

“Oh, does Ickle Andie-kins have a girlfriend? How sweet!” Liz found this interesting, since Phil and Andrew had always got along very well.

“That’s right, and I don’t take kindly to people insulting her, family or not.” Lynn smiled at him.

“It’s alright, it’s not his fault he’s an blundering idiot.” They walked away after greeting the other two cheerfully.

“That girl is going to be the cause of my early death.” Phil muttered. His mother called him over to watch his little brothers for a while. Harry had a muggle record player going, and the table was filled with muggle drinks.

A slow song started, and many people drifted towards the dance floor. Sirius grinned at Liz.

“So, how exactly does a guy go about asking the Minister’s granddaughter to dance?”

She touched her chin thoughtfully. “How about, ‘Do you want to dance?’”

He laughed, then his voice almost in a whisper, he asked, “Do you want to dance?”

“Absolutely.” He took both of her hands and pulled her out onto the floor, not taking his eyes off her. When they stopped, he placed his hands on her waist. Her arms snaked around his neck.

“You really do look beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks.” He pulled her a bit closer. She laid her head on his shoulder. “If someone would have told us last year...”

“...that we’d be slow dancing right now, we would have thought they were crazy. Amazing the kind of changes a couple of weeks can bring.” He said, kissing her on the forehead. She closed her eyes, her breath caught in her throat, and ignored the flash of the camera going off, the fireworks bursting behind her, and the song ending. Because part of her never really wanted the song to end.

But end it did. Sirius lifted her chin so that she looked at him, then said, “I have something for you.”

He pulled out a long velvet box and handed it to her. “Open it.” Inside was a small silver locket, with two intertwined roses engraved into the front. Inside were two pictures, one of her as a baby and one of her now.

“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed happily. “But what’s it for?”

“Just for being you. Here, let me put it on.”

He swept the long hair away from her neck and fastened the locket, his fingertips brushing her skin, and shocking them both. “Did you feel that?” he asked.

“Yeah. Must have been electricity. Thank you.”

“No problem, you deserve it.”

The party ended with Arthur announcing happily that he had to leave to meet the muggle Prime Minister. At nine o’clock, the adults apparated home, while the kids all went to their rooms for the night. They were staying there and going back to Hogwarts in the morning.

“Liz, Nicole, wait up, I want to talk to you both.” Harry said to his daughters before they could leave for bed.

After everyone else had left, Liz asked, “What is it, Dad?”

“I have something for both of you.” He led them into the sitting room. Harry sat down across from them.

“Alright girls, you know how every once in a while I get in a strange mood where I feel the need to give my children family heirlooms?” They both nodded, smirking at each other. “Well, this is one of those times.

“Nicole, you first tonight.” He pulled out a bundle. “These are two way mirrors. This one was given to me by Sirius, my godfather that is, when I was in my fifth year, and the other was found in Grimmauld Place after his death. Him and my father used them when they were at school. You can give the other one to whoever you choose, and when you say their name, their face will appear in yours and you can talk to them.” He knew Nicole would appreciate them the most, since she was the mischief maker. The children were all supposed to share the Marauder’s Map, although Liz kept it in her dormitory.

“Alright, now Liz.” He pulled out a thick book covered in white silk. “This photo album was given to me by Hagrid in my first year because I didn’t have any pictures of my parents. Now it not only has them in it, but me at school, and you kids when you were younger as well. I want you to continue it now, and someday you can pass it onto your children. Now, off to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow!” They both hugged him, and trooped off.

Liz was sitting on her bed with the album open in front of her when a soft knock came on the door. “Come in.”

Sirius walked in to see Liz sitting cross-legged on her bed, wearing a pair of striped pajama bottoms and a white tank top, her long black hair in two loose braids. He thought she looked just as beautiful now as she had earlier, if not more so. She had a book of some sort sitting in front of her.

“What are you looking at?”

“This photo album my dad gave me. Come sit down, you can look at it with me.”

Sirius sat next to her on the bed, feeling very awkward. Liz noticed, and smiled at him, amused. She flipped the album back to the first page.

“That’s your grandparents.” He muttered, looking at a pretty woman with red hair and emerald green eyes, standing by a man that looked almost exactly like Harry.

“Mmmhmm. And there’s...wow...” It was their wedding picture, and a man that could have been Sirius was standing next to them, his face full of laughter. Well, actually it was Sirius, just a different one. Everyone had always told him how much he looked like Sirius Black, but he’d never seen a picture of him as a young man before. The resemblance was uncanny.

“I still think that’s strange.” Liz commented.

“So do I.” he admitted. They went through the rest of it together, laughing at how wild Hermione’s hair was, or how short Harry was compared to Ron. They’d found a rather cute photo of them both as newborns, laying next to each other on a hospital bed. Sirius was wrapped in a blue blanket, Liz in pink.

“I think that’s the only time I’ve ever seen you wear pink.” Sirius joked.

“Shut up, I was still the cuter baby.”

“You’re head was the size of a small boulder!”

“Was not!”

“Was too!”

After they had analyzed every memory to it’s fullest extent, and Sirius had conceded that Liz was indeed the cuter baby, Liz yawned and rubbed her eyes.

“Oh, Merlin, it’s midnight. We’d better get to bed.”

“Alright. Goodnight fair maiden, sweet dreams to ye.” He said through a yawn. He touched her chin, and for a second Liz thought he was really going to kiss her. But he just pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “See you in the morn.”


Another longer chapter.
I kind of used the
inauguration of U.S.
Presidents and a
wedding to inspire me.
Hope it turned out well!
FEEDBACK! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

And here it is, the next post.


Chapter 12: Upside Down and Right Side Up

Sirius was sitting on a chair by the fire in the common room waiting for, well, he wasn’t sure. It was seven in the morning, and they had just gotten back to Hogwarts. No one else was up yet, seeing as it was Sunday. He couldn’t even bother taking his bag up the stairs, choosing to banish it instead. He supposed he was waiting for Liz, even though he didn’t know if she was coming down any time soon.

Then, as though he had unconsciously summoned her, Liz came bounding down the stairs looking entirely too cheerful. She practically sang, “Good morning!” and flopped into the chair next to him.

“What’s with the cheerfulness?”

“Oh, I don’t know! It’s just a nice day.” He glanced outside to see a thunderstorm in full swing.

“Erm...”

She was fiddling with the locket he gave her yesterday. “I like it when it’s gloomy.” He rolled his eyes. She had so many little quirks, that’s what he lov- liked about her.

“Hey, do you still have homework?” he asked through a yawn.

“A little bit.”

“Will you help me with my potions later?”

“Sure, but I don’t know how much help I’ll be. I have to ask Ax about the third question as it is.” He grimaced. “And I saw that.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“I know.”

“Do you understand yourself?”

“Not in particular.”

He opened his mouth to retaliate, realized he had nothing to say, and cracked up laughing. She was about to ask what was so funny, but decided just to join in laughing instead.

“What’s so funny?” Marissa and Angenette had just entered the common room. Liz and Sirius looked at each other and laughed harder.

“Did we miss something?” Marissa asked again.

“No.” Liz choked out.

“Yeah, we just don’t know what we’re laughing at. Come on Liz, let’s go to breakfast.”

Landen and Christian, who had just came down the stairs, each put an arm around Marissa and pulled her out of the common room. Christian muttered, “Come on, m’lady, we have some planning to do.”

A bemused Angenette asked the empty common room, “Is it just me, or has the whole world turned upside down?”

Liz was buttering her toast when the post arrived. Sirius, who was eating sausages with gusto, failed to notice them until a barn owl dropped a paper on his head. Liz snatched it up eagerly.

“What’s with the sudden interest in the news?” Sirius asked after giving a tremendous swallow.

“I want to see what it says about yesterday.” She opened the paper to see the front page bearing the headline, ‘Minister Weasley Gives Inspirational Speech’. After reading a short article outlining the basics, she flipped to the second page and gave a loud groan.

“What?”

“Rita Skeeter is going to die.” she said conversationally.

“Huh?” He leaned over her shoulder to see two pictures, one of the two of them dancing and another of them walking down the aisle together at the inauguration. But the headline was the worst:

Harry Potter’s Daughter Finds Romance at Last

“Oh dear...”

“You can say that again.” She tore the article in half. “Stupid little...” She tore it in fourths.

“And that is why I don’t like the Daily Prophet.” Celeste said as she and Nicole sat down across from them. “They’ll print anything if they think people will read it.” Liz decided not to comment on the fact that her mother’s newspaper had a fondness for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

Sirius had pieced the article back together and was fighting laughter with difficulty. “Listen to this: ‘Elizabeth Potter has finally found a male companion to share what so far has been a very independent and solitary life.’ They make it sound like you’re some kind of reclusive old maid with a hundred cats.”

“You find this whole thing hilarious, don’t you?”

“Oh, come on, if you can’t laugh at yourself, you can’t laugh at anything at all.” He glanced across the Great Hall to see a group of particularly gossipy Ravenclaws become suddenly immersed in extremely fake conversation. He put an arm around Liz’s shoulders and gave them a cheery wave.

She rolled her eyes. “Get off me.”

“You shouldn’t say that to your ‘male companion’, you know.”

She glared at him, but there was laughter in her eyes. “Well I wouldn’t want to continue in my individual and solitary ways, so my male companion can come help me with my homework.” she replied, grabbing his hand for show and leading him out of the Great Hall.

**********

“Can I ask why all three of us are crammed into a broom closet?” Marissa asked the two boys who were peering at her intently.

“Well, we can’t get anything done in front of people!” Landen exclaimed.

“Empty classroom, you dolt.” Both boys’s eyes widened.

“Hey, she’s smart.” She rolled her eyes, then grinned at them.

“Let’s just get to work.”

“Well, obviously, this will be very difficult and dangerous to pull off. It needs planning, precision, and skill...” Christian started dramatically.

“Dangerous? Are we being a bit dramatic? I mean, we have until November.” Marissa asked.

“Well, the danger will really be after the plan is executed.” Landen explained.

Marissa and Christian looked at each other at the same time and said, “Houston, we have a problem.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just a muggle joke.”

“Anyway...We’ve got to make sure we don’t get caught. And revenge might be a problem too. I doubt the Slytherins will take too kindly to having ‘Gryffie’s for the Cup’ tattooed on their foreheads for a week.”

“In pink.” Christian added.

“In pink.”

“What about the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs?” Marissa asked.

“Oh, they’ll just think it’s a brilliant joke, we’re not playing them.”

“So, Marissa, how do we pull this off.”

She studied them for a moment. “Remind me why I’m doing this again.”

“Because our charms are irresistible.” Landen answered without missing a beat.

“Try again.”

“Because you’re a very charitable person.”

“Closer.”

“Because you’re bored.” Christian cut in.

“That’s it, right there.”

“Alright, let’s see.” He pulled out their ‘plan’. “Here’s the charm I found. It just needs to be preformed on each common room two hours before it needs to take effect, and anyone who enters the door in the next six hours will be ‘branded’. Marissa, you should probably perform the spell.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because Landen here is rubbish at charms...”

“Hey, I do alright!”

“You were trying to summon a book and ended up giving Sirius three heads, how is that alright?”

“Shouldn’t Sirius be helping us plan this?”

“Nah, he never helps with the Quidditch pranks, says as a member of the team he should show good sportsmanship.”

“So why can’t you do the charm?”

“Well, I could, but you’re the new one. You have to prove you’re prowess as a prankster.”

“And if I get it wrong?”

He smiled. “That’s why we’re doing it a day early. Besides, you won’t get it wrong, have some confidence in yourself.”

Suddenly, the door was thrown wide open. “Look, I’m a prefect, and you really shouldn’t...”

Ax was staring at them as though he had never seen people before. Christian hurriedly stuffed their plan out of sight, Marissa blushed. “What are you three doing?”

“Talking.”

“Ah, yes, talking...wouldn’t by any chance be planning the pre-Quidditch game prank, would you?”

They all started muttering at once. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Ten points...” His gaze fell on Marissa. “You know what, let’s forget this ever happened.” She could have sworn she saw him wink.

He closed the door quietly. Both boys were looking at her with admiration.

“What?”

“If it wasn’t for you, we would have lost ten points and probably have gotten a detention.” Landen answered.

“Well, Landen, I think we’ve finally done it.”

“What?” Marissa asked.

“Found a Pranksterette.”

************

“Art! Hey, ART!” Arthur turned around to see Lynn running towards him. He stopped in front of the oak double doors, and she skidded to a halt, catching her breath.

“Hey.” he yawned.

“Tired, are you?”

“A little. I’m not great with early mornings. Did you need something?”

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask what we’re all doing over break this year. My folks wanted to know.”

“Christmas at the Burrow, New Years Eve at the Potter’s, I think.”

“Oh good. Where are you headed?”

“Outside.”

She stared at him blankly. “There’s a gale out there.”

“I know, I just need to go visit Hagrid.” She rolled her eyes and grinned at him.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you about that defense essay...”

“What defense essay?”

“The one due tomorrow. Two feet of parchment on the Unforgivable Curses.” Her eyes got wide. He chuckled. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later!” She sped of to the library at top speed.

“Well at least something’s right side up.” he muttered, before pushing the doors open to fight through the wind.

*********

Liz and Sirius were sitting in the back corner of the library, their homework lying on the table forgotten. Sirius was trying to make Liz laugh, she was gritting her teeth. He was running the tip of his quill across her cheek, and she was red in the face from trying to stay silent. But she just couldn’t let him win.

“Oh, come on Liz, I know you want to...” She was shaking with suppressed laughter. He abandoned all guidelines, grabbed her around the middle, and tickled her. She let out a loud giggle. Madam Pince gave them a scandalized look.

“I win.” he breathed in her ear. The proximity sent chills down her spine.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” She was surprised to find her voice wasn’t cool and sarcastic, but quite squeaky. He either didn’t notice, or he chose not to comment.

“Oh, go do your homework, or something.” he grinned.

Liz hid her blush by looking around, and saw most of the inhabitants of the library staring at them. She sighed, turning back to Sirius, who was staring at her as well.

“What are we going to do about this Skeeter thing?”

“I don’t know, it’s not really a big deal. It’ll blow over soon anyway. I doubt anyone really believes her.”

“But doesn’t all the attention annoy you?”

He gave her a look. “You’re Harry Potter’s daughter. You have got to be used to attention.”

“That doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Well I say, if they want to gossip, let’s give them something to gossip about.” He leaned over and flopped his head dramatically into her lap. There were several loud intakes of breath.

She looked down at a grinning Sirius. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Really?” he replied. “I thought it was hilarious.”

“People already have this ridiculous notion, and now you’re just fueling the fire...”

“Is it really that ridiculous?” He asked while sitting up. “Am I really that repulsive?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I don’t know much of anything anymore.”

“What are you on about?”

He took both her hands, and seemed to be having a argument with himself. “Liz...”

“Well isn’t this cozy! Are you two trying to live up to your title of cutest non-couple at Hogwarts?” They both seized the distraction of Marissa slamming her bag down on the table, followed by the banging of her head gratefully.

“Are you trying to live up to your title as resident drama queen?” Sirius asked.

“No.” she groaned into the table. “This is your fault.”

“My fault?” Sirius exclaimed.

“Yes, you and your bloody friends.”

“Oh. What did dumb and dumber do now?”

“Well, first they talked me into helping them with their stupid Quidditch prank, then a prefect caught us when we were discussing our plan, but I got them out of trouble. Now I’ve been deemed, the ‘pranksterette’.”

“Oh, so they’ve finally managed.”

“What?” Liz asked.

“They’ve been saying we need female influence for three years.”

Marissa nodded, then caught sight of Liz grinning. “What’s that smug look for?”

“I think I know who the prefect was.”

Marissa sent her a look that would have stopped a weaker person’s heart.


Not much happened
here, but there’s
always a calm before
the storm, lolz.
Feedback!:p (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Haha, I feel so evil!:lol: :lol: :D


Chapter 13: Familiar Stranger

The last week of September faded into the first week of October, time flying by as it always did at Hogwarts. Sirius and Liz never finished the conversation they had started in the library. They were also correct in assuming the school would get tired of gossiping about them after long. The Rita Skeeter article was long forgotten.

“Hey guys.” Liz said, dropping her books on the table and taking off her scarf. Sirius, Marissa, and Ax all mumbled a hello. The four had made it a habit of studying together, something Ax and Sirius probably could have lived without.

“You’re late.” Sirius pointed out.

“Sorry Mother.”

“Where were you?”

“Running amuck with a machine gun.”

“What’s a machine gun?” Ax asked, bemused.

“Ummm...aren’t you in Muggle Studies?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, it’s like a metal wand,” Marissa interrupted, “except it fires a lot of little metal things, called bullets, really quickly.”

His eyes went round in recognition. “Oh, is it one of those fire...fire...firesticks, or whatever.” All three of them laughed.

“You’d love my grandfather.” Liz said. “And it’s firearms. Although machine guns are more military equipment.”

“You never answered my question.” Sirius asked again. “Where were you?”

“I was visiting Hagrid.”

“Why couldn’t I have came?”

“Because we wanted to gossip about you behind your back. We all know how fascinating you are, after all.”

“Really?” he asked stupidly.

“No, not really. He just wanted to talk to me and Nicole.”

“Oh.” he said. “What about?”

“What part of ‘none of your business’ don’t you understand?” Ax snapped.

“How about you stay out of it.” Sirius snapped back.

“Boys.” Liz and Marissa warned at the same time.

“Sorry.” they both replied. The girls exchanged glances, clearly saying, ‘too easy’. All four fell into silence for a while, interrupted by the occasional cough or the scratching of a quill. After a half an hour, Liz thought she heard giggling.

“No, you ask!” a girl laughed.

“No, you!” another replied, giggling hysterically. Liz turned around to see two fourth year Hufflepuffs staring at them avidly.

“Can we help you with something?”

The bolder of the two stepped forward, still giggling furiously. “We were wondering if you could get us your father’s autograph.” Liz immediately felt her blood boil.

“He’s just so good looking.” the other one added. That was the last straw.

“Would you like me to get my mother’s autograph for you as well?” She snapped. The girls stopped giggling. “That’s what I thought. You all think my father is around only for the public’s enjoyment? Well, he’s not some glorified rock star, he’s a real person who’s worked very hard to have what he has today. He just wants some privacy. And he doesn’t give out autographs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some homework to finish.” She swept off into the next aisle of books, leaving the two girls extremely embarrassed.

She didn’t know what she was doing in the history section, as she was writing a charms essay at the moment. She peeked through the shelves and saw the girls had left. On her way back to their table, a book caught her eye. The Second War of the Unforgivables: From Beginning To End.

She slid down on the dusty floor and opened the large book, coughing slightly. Quickly finding her father’s extensive biography, she skimmed through the life history she’d been told so many stories about. She continued reading about each of his encounters with the dark lord, occasionally accompanied by Ronald Weasley or Hermione Granger. She even saw the name Ginevra Weasley once or twice. A few tears dropped onto the crinkled pages.

“Family history?” She jumped about two feet in the air, and turned to see Sirius sitting beside her. His penetrating grey eyes bored into her, and she was forced to drop her gaze. She stowed the book in her bag, and stood up, brushing dust off her robes.

“Just a little light reading.” She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

“Liz...look at me.” He forced her chin upwards. “Are you okay?”

“No, not really.” She sighed. “Can I have a hug?” Sirius chuckled, and pulled her into his arms. Resting her head against his chest, she said, “I just feel so guilty.”

“Why?”

“Because so many people gave up so much so that we could have this wonderful life, and none of us even really appreciate it.”

“I know that’s what it seems like. But they don’t know what we do. It’s history for them, for our parents, it was real. It still is real. It used to frustrate me that I couldn’t understand, but I realize now that I don’t want to understand.”

“You’re right, of course. How is it that you’re always right?”

He laughed, “I used to wonder the exact same thing about you.” He touched her locket. “Did I ever tell you the story behind this?”

“No.”

“Well, my grandmother has a huge chest of Black family heirlooms in her attic. Most of them are cursed, but I was up there a few years ago, and this one caught my eye. I’ve been saving it to give it to someone I really care about ever since.

“See the two roses on the front? I think they represent your past and your future coming together to create your present.”

“You thought of that?”

“Yes.” he grinned. “What? That hard to believe?”

“I never knew you were so poetic.” She faked a swoon.

“Oh, shut up.” He peeked through the shelf. “Well, it looks like Marissa and Mr. Wonderful left us, so what do you say we head back to the common room.”

“Can’t you at least try to be nice to him?”

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “You two are related, aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Shouldn’t you try to be civil?”

“He’s my relative, not my family.”

“You are so stubborn!”

He sighed. “Yes, that I am. It’s a blessing and a curse, really...”

“You sound like Professor Trelawney.”

“Hey, don’t stoop to insults!”

**********

“Remus, you have to tell him soon.” Remus sighed, speaking to his wife’s head in the fire of his office.

“I know. You got off easy.”

“Don’t I know it. I’m glad, too. But you always know what to say, so it’s better this way.” Tonks said with a reassuring smile.

“I must admit I have no idea what to say now. After all, I didn’t take the news extremely well myself, and he understands even less than I do.”

“Just promise me you’ll tell him tomorrow.”

“I promise. He has to know before they get here after all.”

“When are they due?”

“Next Saturday. Can you floo over here then? I don’t want them to have to wait until Christmas to meet you and the girls.”

“Of course. Everything’s ready here, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you for doing this. I know it’s a lot of trouble, and unexpected, but it means a lot to them and it means even more to me. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Nonsense, Remus. They’re my family too, after all. And I’ve always wanted a big family.” He laughed.

“Well, you’ve got that now.”

“I have to admit, this is easier than giving birth.”

“I wouldn’t know.” She grinned.

“Rem?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you quite sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, it’s just a hard fact to get used to. You understand better than anyone, with Sirius and that whole fiasco. And now this...”

“You’d think I’d be a little more upset, but I just can’t stop wondering what they’re going to look like.” He chuckled.

“We’ll find out a little too soon.”

“Oh, I’d better go, the baby’s crying.”

“Alright, give the girls a kiss for me. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Her head disappeared with a little pop. Remus got up with a little sigh, extinguished the lights, and left his office for the night. He was dreading the dawn.

**********

“Ax, where are we going?” He stopped, and turned to look at her. They were out on the moonlit grounds, stumbling in the dark. It was an hour past curfew, but neither of them seemed to really care.

“I don’t know. Any ideas?” Marissa rolled her eyes.

“No.”

“Want to walk down to the Quidditch pitch and look at the stars?”

“Sure.” she grinned.

“Do you know the names of a lot of them?” she asked. They were both laying flat on their backs, her head resting on Ax’s arm.

“Quite a few. I used to spend all night on my balcony with star charts when I was younger, trying to learn them all.”

“There’s so much I don’t know about you.” She realized out loud.

“We can fix that. So what’s your favorite color? Mine’s blue.”

“Green. Favorite season?”

“Spring.”

“Me too! Let’s see, favorite food. Mine’s cheese.”

“Pumpkin pie. Favorite class?”

“Charms.”

“Potions. If you could go anywhere, where would it be?”

“Paris. You?”

“Japan.”

“What do you want to do once you get out of school?”

“Anything that helps people.”

“Awww, that’s sweet. I personally have no idea what I want to do. All I know is I want three kids.”

“I want seven.”

“Oh my.”

“Yeah, I know. Call it small family syndrome.”

“I’m an only child, so I know what you mean.”

“Your mother’s a muggle, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d love to meet her. I have a slight muggle obsession, it drives my father mad.”

She laughed. “You really should talk to Liz’s grandfather. I’ve never seen a wizard who loved muggles more. He interrogated my mother for three hours.”

“Interesting choice for a minister. Maybe we’ll finally be on good terms with their Prime Minister.”

“You know, I keep forgetting about that. He’s such a jolly man. It’s really weird.”

They continued to talk like this for a while, learning all the little things about each other that seemed so important. Then Ax asked, “How would you describe yourself in one sentence?”

She thought for a minute. “The ugly duckling that never turned into the swan.”

He looked at her, softly giving her hand a squeeze. “You’re right. You’re too beautiful to be described as a swan.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not.”

“Then you’re a hopeless romantic.”

He grinned, then replied, “L'unica cosa più bella della notte sly è amore allineare.”

“Was that Italian?”

“Yeah. I said, ‘The only thing more beautiful than the night sky is true love.’”

“Ooh, say something else.”

“Mi domando che cosa è come baciare un angelo.”

“What did that mean?”

“I’ll show you.” He leaned in and kissed her. Their lips only brushed for a few seconds, but it was enough for Marisa to realize something. She really liked Italian.

She leaned in for another kiss.

**********

Liz and Sirius were sitting in the common room playing chess long after everyone else had gone to bed. This was a common occurrence, seeing as neither of them usually went to bed before two on weekends. Liz was winning. Not such a common occurrence.

“Oh, come on you idiotic pawn! Crush him!” Sirius was yelling. His pawn shot him a dirty look. Liz was laughing.

“Knight to B6.” Sirius groaned as Liz’s knight took his.

“This is cruel and unusual punishment.” Liz snorted into her hot chocolate.

“Ha, finally!” He shouted as his queen took one of her bishops. A minute later his queen was taken by Liz’s knight.

“That knight is going down.”

“Ooh, you have a grudge against a chess piece now, scary!” He sneered at her.

The portrait hole swung open. Liz looked up, then did a double take. There was a boy around their age standing uncertainly by the door. He was dressed in muggle clothing, wearing a light blue T-shirt and jeans with a beat up brown leather jacket. A trunk was standing on it’s end beside him.

“Umm, is this the Gryffindor common room?” He had a strange accent. Was it American?

“Yes.” Liz answered while getting up. Sirius got up as well. Even though she was very curious, she couldn’t help but notice he was very good looking. He was about an inch taller than Sirius, with shaggy light brown hair that framed a perfectly defined face. His nervous smile could melt the coldest of hearts. And his eyes...those eyes...

“Me and my sister just moved here from America to live with our uncle. I just got sorted into Gryffindor.”

“What year?” Sirius asked.

“Sixth.”

“Oh, we’re sixth years. You’ll probably share my dormitory.”

“Where’s your sister?” Liz asked.

“She was sorted into...Slytherin, I think? Second year.”

“Oh, my sister’s a second year. Gryffindor, though.”

“Thanks guys, I’m gonna go take my stuff up. I’ll catch you tomorrow.” He turned around at the foot of the stairs. “Which door is it?”

“Third door up, that way.” Sirius answered.

“Thanks.”

“Wait.” Liz yelled. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry, forgot my manners.” He said, grinning. “Copernicus Black.”

(A/N - Muahahahahaha! Now, I know what you’re all thinking, and you’re wrong. It’s not Sirius’s kids, since he was unfortunately as dead as a doornail when they were born. And I’ll leave it at that...)

FEEDBACK! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Happy holidays everyone! I managed to get this up before Christmas, aren’t you proud of me?


Chapter 14: A Reasonable Explanation

They both stared. Copernicus was looking at them curiously, clearly wondering why something as simple as his name would cause such a sensation. Liz, who regained use of her voice first, asked, “Can you say that again please?”

“Copernicus. Everyone calls me Nick, though.” He answered.

“No, your last name.”

“What, Black? Not that uncommon, is it?”

“In wizarding England, we’re inclined to think you’re lying. There aren’t any Black’s left, they’re all dead.”

He felt his wrist. “Well, I still have a pulse, you’re welcome to check it if you’d like.” Liz rolled her eyes. Great, he’s sarcastic, just what I need, another one.

Sirius, who so far hadn’t said a word, choked out, “Who’s your father?”

“My father was Regulus Black.”

“Now, that’s impossible. He died a good thirty years ago.”

“Correction, everyone thought he died thirty years ago. He actually died six months ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Liz cut in.

“It’s alright, we were prepared.”

“Alright then, who’s this uncle?”

“Remus Lupin.” Sirius let out a strange sound.

“You’ve got to be joking. This is all a joke, isn’t it.”

Nick’s eyes were narrowed, looking at Sirius intently. “What’s your name?”

But Sirius seemed incapable of speech. He sank into a chair with his head in his hands. “Sirius Lupin.” Liz answered for him.

“Oh, God, the first person I meet. What about you?”

“Liz Potter.”

“Of course! Of all the people I could have run into, it had to be the two people who would know who I am. Well, come on, we should go visit your father, he can explain better than I can.” He pulled out his wand, banished his trunk upstairs, and grabbed Sirius roughly by the arm, shoving him in the direction of the portrait hole.

“Liz, wait, what’s going on?” The portrait of Sirius Black called after her as she followed the two boys.

“I’ll explain when we get back!” She called over her shoulder. She heard a disgruntled, ‘hmpf’, before the Fat Lady shut them out.

When they reached the corridor that held Remus’s office, Nick walking a half step behind Liz and Sirius, she tapped gently on the door. Sirius was fidgeting restlessly. Liz reached out and took his hand.

Remus opened the door, looking confused at the sight of them. “Liz, Sirius, what are you...” He caught sight of Nick standing behind them. “Oh dear.”

“You must be Copernicus.” He nodded, and Remus grimaced. “You’re a week early.”

“Sorry about that, the orphanage wanted to get rid of us a soon as possible once they found out we had somewhere to go. Overcrowding, you know.”

Sirius was mouthing wordlessly at his father. “You...you knew about him?”

Remus sighed. “Of course I knew, Sirius. Come in kids, there’s a reasonable explanation for all this.”

“A reasonable explanation? He shows up out of the blue, you never told me anything about them, and yet there’s a reasonable explanation? And another thing, how in the name of Merlin are you his uncle?”

“Please calm down, I promise I can explain. Come in, it’ll only be a minute.” Liz gave Sirius’s hand a comforting squeeze and pulled him into the small office.

The three sat down around his desk as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. He stuck his head in, and started to speak. “Minerva, I’ve just become aware that the children arrived a bit early.”

They couldn’t hear the headmistresses voice, but she must have asked how he knew, for he replied, “Copernicus met Liz and Sirius in the common room, and all three are sitting in my office right now. Can you get someone to fetch Mira and send her here please?” He paused for a moment. “Oh, she’s still there? Just send her through the fire then.”

He stepped back, and a moment later, a very short, skinny girl was wiping soot off her clothes. She had waist length black hair and the same grey eyes as her brother and cousin. Although they held warmth, they also seemed to radiate power.

Nick had got up and walked over to his sister, putting an arm around her and conjuring another chair with a casual flick of his wand. She sat down, then looked curiously around the room, smiling slightly.

“Mira, this is Liz Potter and my son, Sirius. Kids, this is Mira Black.” Remus introduced them, then threw another handful of floo powder into the hearth. After a hurried conversation, his sleepy wife arrived wearing a dressing gown and looking very confused. She was carrying their wailing baby. Becca, however, seemed to be perfectly awake and wasted no time in jumping on Sirius’s lap, the latter giving a loud ‘umph’.

“Alright, what’s going on.” Sirius asked impatiently.

“Well, it’s a long story. I guess I should start by telling you that I had a sister.”

“What! You had a sister and you never bothered to find the time to tell me?”

“Sirius, please, just listen to me. She was my half sister. My mother died when I was only a year old, and my father was obviously heartbroken. A few months after her death, he met a waitress down at a pub he frequented in our town. He cared about her, of course, but the real reason he proposed to her was so I would have a mother. She didn’t realize this until three days before they were to get married. Then she ran off, leaving a note behind explaining that she couldn’t be in the shadow of a dead woman for the rest of her life. She never told my father that she was pregnant at the time.”

He paused for breath, looking very weary. “I didn’t know until my sister, Roselyn, came to Hogwarts. She was three years behind us, and a Gryffindor. She was always so innocent, the sweetest girl I’d ever met. She met Regulus in her fifth year. He was a year ahead of her, and a Slytherin, so when they fell in love they hid it from everyone. I didn’t even know until she graduated. Rosie didn’t join the Order on my wishes, but she disappeared all the same three weeks before Regulus’s supposed death. No one knew what happened, but it was the height of the war. People went missing every day, and they rarely returned.

“This is where it starts getting fuzzy for me. Apparently, Regulus was working undercover, trying to gather information for Dumbledore. There was already a leak in the Order, so no one knew. Anyway, he was tipped off that his life was in danger, so he sent Rosie into hiding, before faking his own death. They then both moved to America. Is that correct, Copernicus?”

He nodded. “Please, call me Nick.”

“Okay, Nick then. Can you tell us what happened then?”

“Sure. Well, Mum and Dad waited until they were older to have kids. Dad knew Voldemort wasn’t finished, since he had found one of the horcruxes, but hadn’t realized at the time there might have been more. He thought of that later, after his supposed ‘fall’. They didn’t want to raise a family in that kind of world, because they knew he would return again. After Harry Potter defeated him, they were considering going back to England, but decided they liked America anyway. My mother died while giving birth to Mira, and my father home schooled us. He’d been sick for a few years when he died.”

“That’s where I come in again. I didn’t even know my sister had survived the first war until after her husband’s death. When Regulus’s will was read, it gave custody of his children to me. Six months ago, I was contacted by a wizarding orphanage in New York City. We decided that the kids would arrive in mid-October. That’s how we got where we are now.”

“Wait a minute.” Sirius started. “I got that new broom six months ago from a long lost relative in America.”

“That was my dad.” Nick answered. Sirius was staring at his father.

“You’ve known for six months. Yet you never thought that maybe, possibly, perhaps I would like to know that my cousins from Merlin knows where were coming to live with us. Or couldn’t you find the time to tell me I had an aunt all these years. What did you think I’d do, get angry?” He laughed. “Well, to tell you the truth, Dad, I’m a bit miffed now.”

“Sirius...”

“No, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Sirius, sweetheart, please calm down.” Tonks tried.

“I AM NOT GOING TO BLOODY CALM DOWN!” He opened his mouth to say more, thought better of it, and left the room instead, slamming the door behind him.

Remus sighed. “I was hoping that wouldn’t happen, but I can’t say it’s entirely unexpected. I’m sorry you two had to witness that.”

“It’s really not a problem.” Nick assured. “I’d be upset too.”

“Mira, are you okay, dear?” Tonks asked, bending down to look at the girl. “You haven’t said much.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine Aunt Nymphadora. Just thinking.”

“Alright.” She still looked a bit concerned. “Well, this is Becca, and this is Violet. I brought you both some clothes and other things you might need. The rest of the family, well family friends technically, sent you care packages.”

Nick blushed. “Oh, that really wasn’t necessary... hey, this is from Harry Potter!” Liz cleared her throat. “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot.”

“Oh, Liz, there’s something I want to ask you as well.” Remus said. “Since you are a prefect, and a friend, I was hoping you could kind of introduce them to Hogwarts. You know, just show them around tomorrow. You and Nick also have the same schedule, so I’d appreciate it if you’d helped him out come Monday.”

“Of course, Uncle Remus, I’d be glad to.”

“Thank you. Now, it’s very late. I want you all to try to get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning. And Liz, can you see if you can calm Sirius down?”

Liz smiled slightly. “I’ll try.”

After Tonks had hugged all three of them and returned home, they exited Remus’s office and walked Mira down to the Slytherin common room.

“Well, they seem very nice.” Nick commented.

“Yeah, they do.” Mira agreed.

“Uncle Remus and Aunt Tonks are the best, you guys are going to love them. And you’ll love it here as well, I can’t wait to show you around. I have so many people for you to meet!” They looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“What?” Liz asked, her smile dropping.

“Nothing, it’s just you’re so excited.” Nick exclaimed.

“Sorry, we’re just really not used to other young people.”

“Oh, well we can fix that. What part of America are you lot from, anyway?”

“Ohio.” Nick said without enthusiasm.

“What, isn’t it nice there?”

“Oh, it’s okay, just really cold.”

Liz laughed. “You’ve obviously never been to England. We have the worst winters.”

“Great, we finally get out of there only to end up somewhere colder.” Mira put in.

“Oh, you’ll get used to it. This is the entrance. The password’s ‘mimble wimble’.”

“Alright, thanks. Goodnight.” She hugged her brother, gave Liz a cheery wave, and jumped into the common room.

“She really adores you doesn’t she?” Liz asked, laughing at how close they seemed.

Nick grinned. “Nah, it’s the other way around. I think she felt kind of bad when Sirius stormed out like that. She was really afraid of being a burden.”

“He’ll come around, I promise. He just needs some time. Besides, it’s not you, really. He just wished his father would have told him. And don’t worry, you won’t be a burden. Oh, wait until Christmas. You’ll be an official member of the Weasley family now, you’re going to freak.”

“And what does being a member of the Weasley family mean?”

Liz grinned. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

***********

The next day, Liz, as promised, was having a grand time introducing the pair to everyone. Besides a number of giggling girls making a point of saying hello to Nick, she was quite surprised at the lack of questions.

“Liz?” Nick asked, bemused. He had just been bombarded by three fifth year Ravenclaws. “Are English girls all this nice?”

Liz laughed. “Only when you look like that.” He blushed, and Liz laughed harder.

She had just finished introducing them to Danni and Ax when Sirius walked into the Great Hall. “I’ll be right back.” She left them talking to the Slytherins, and headed over to her own house table.

“Sirius, you look terrible.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“Look, I’m not going to be subtle here. This is stupid, okay. You can’t stay mad at your father, and you can’t blame Nick and Mira for this whole deal. Now, I’m showing them around the school today, and you’re welcome to join us. I doubt you will, but at least think about it. You’re the only family they have left.”

She left him looking more forlorn than he had been.

All in all, it was a very eventful day. They had covered every inch of the castle, Liz had explained all the rules, professors, ghosts, trick steps, secret passageways, killer trees, and giant sea animals that Hogwarts had. They had been properly introduced to the entire Weasley clan, Hagrid, Neville, and all of Liz’s friends. The three of them had also had a very odd conversation with Sirius Black’s portrait, trying their hardest to ignore all the strange looks they were getting from fellow inhabitants of Gryffindor tower.

Right now, they were in the empty boy’s dormitory digging through the mounds of gifts the pair had received for their homecoming.

“Oh, that’s a cool watch, too bad I don’t know how to read it.”

“I’ve always wanted a sneakoscope.”

“A broomstick servicing kit, awesome!”

“Why is this box making noises. Oh my God, it’s a cat!” Mira opened a box to find a pitch black kitten with bright yellow eyes mewing at her. “She’s beautiful! Who’s this from. Oh, Liz, your parents sent this!”

Liz chuckled. “I should have known. My Mum adores cats.”

“Oh, she’s such an angel. I can’t wait to thank them.”

Liz also found out a lot about the siblings throughout the day. They were both quite advanced magically for their age, but Mira was the real surprise. Even though she was absolutely puny, she was an extremely powerful witch, even though she was only twelve. She really liked both of them already. After Mira left for the night, Liz and Nick were left in the common room alone. She was explaining what each of his classes would be like.

After a few moments of silence, Liz asked, “Have you seen Sirius all day?”

“No, he’s not in the dorm either.”

“I should go find him.” She sighed.

“Are you two...you know...”

Liz blushed. “No.”

“I’m sorry, I just wondered. You can go find him if you’d like, I’m about to turn in anyway. Thanks for all your help today.”

“No problem, Nick. Good night.”

“Good night.”

As she walked through the dark corridors, she half considered going back for the Marauder’s map. She didn’t need it though. She knew exactly where Sirius would be. It was the same spot he always went when he was upset or needed to think.

Liz entered the owlery to find the object of her search slumped against the wall in a corner, looking exactly like a lost puppy. He didn’t even seem to notice she was there. She leaned against a wall and waited until he saw her.

When he was finally aware of her presence, he jumped and then looked up at her. There was nothing short of pleading in his eyes. Liz’s heart broke for him. She couldn’t take that desperate gaze anymore.

Wordlessly, she crossed the room and slid down beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hesitated for a moment, but then encircled her with his own arms, leaning her into him until her head was resting on his chest. Liz couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Instead, she just closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep.


Well, there’s your
explanation. This post
was actually a lot harder
to write than
I expected, so I hope it
was okay. Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next post! Us crazy Americans... Btw, this shouldn’t offend any Americans out there, but if it does for some reason, just remember, I love Americans (since I am one). I honestly don’t know why it would offend anyone, I mean this is Trelawney were talking about....well, you’ll see what I mean. Pardon the rambling. Does anyone actually read these? What? You want me to let you read the chapter? Okay, silly!:D


Chapter 15: A Head the Size of Canada

Liz woke up with a cramp in her neck. She didn’t remember where she was until she looked up into Sirius’s now sleeping face and yelped. He stirred slightly. She checked outside. The sun was just rising. She glanced at Sirius again, realizing they were still wrapped in each other’s arms. Well, five more minutes wouldn’t hurt...

“Good morning.” She groaned when she heard his overly cheerful voice.

“Morning.” She yawned. “I can’t believe we stayed out here all night.”

“How’d you sleep?” He asked.

“Pretty well. My neck’s killing me though.” He stomped on her foot. “Ouch! What the bloody hell was that for?!”

“So you don’t think about your neck hurting anymore.” She shot him a look that he took to mean, ‘Go jump in the lake.’ He got up.

“Where are you going?”

“To go jump in the lake.” Liz looked at him in amazement for a moment before bursting out laughing. “No, but really, we have classes in a few hours, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Oh, yeah, Monday, isn’t it?”

“There you go, genius. Now come on.” He offered her a hand up.

They walked back to Gryffindor tower in a companionable silence, although Liz really wanted to ask Sirius how he was. But she didn’t really want to remind him of the whole mess when it seemed he’d let himself forget for a few hours. She didn’t need to worry. When they were at the foot of the dormitories, he brought up the subject first.

“Liz, I just want to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being...you. You put a lot of things into perspective for me without even meaning to. The way only you could. So thank you.” He conjured a single red rose, tucked it behind her ear, and brushed his lips across the back of her hand. And then he...left.

Liz stared at the staircase he had just disappeared through for a long moment, before she let out an uncontrollable girlish squeal. It was such a simple, sweet gesture, but it was those kind of things that made Sirius...so Sirius.

Several hours later, Liz and Nick were sitting in Divination trying to control their laughter with difficulty. Nick, who was not used to Professor Trelawney’s...unique...teaching methods, was having a grand time making the entire class a very unflattering, provided hilarious, joke.

“Well, Mr. Black, since you think you can do this so much better, tell us. What do you see in your crystal ball?” Nick peered into the milky depths of the glass orb with a look of great concentration on his face.

“Ah...well, due to the way the fog swirls thickly around my oh-so-gorgeous reflection, I’m going to have to say, it’s telling me I’ve definitely arrived in England.” Liz snorted loudly, which she quickly turned into a hacking cough.

“That is a observation, not a prediction. Can you tell us anything about the mystical properties of the alignment of the planets?”

“No, but I can tell you all about gravity.”

“We do not speak of muggle nonsense in this classroom. We are here to study the realm of the unknown, the knowledge of the beyond gifted to some among us, myself counted among the privileged few.”

“Tell us, Professor, how does it feel to be so gifted?” He replied in a simpering voice, batting his eyelashes.

Trelawney scowled, ruining her mystical act quite efficiently. “I predict an early and extremely painful death for you, my dear boy.”

“Excellent, I never wanted wrinkles. Such a pain in the...”

“Enough! Class, I think a review is required today. Everyone grab a teacup and a partner.” She walked wearily over to her winged armchair in front of the fire, muttering something that curiously sounded like, ‘Americans’.

“That was brilliant.” Liz muttered on their way back to the table.

“Oh, you haven’t seen the half of it. Watch this.” He raised his hand. “Professor? What kind of tea do you use?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Black?”

“Well, you see, I’m deathly allergic to most herbs, and unless this is the untimely and painful death you had predicted, which I’m most certain it’s not, since suffocating isn’t really all that painful, just kind of uncomfortable. That is unless this tea’s made from eucalypts, in that case I’ll break out in yellow pus-like boils and my brain will ooze out of my ears. I guess that’s considered painful, depends on your point of view. Of course, I’ve never tried it, so I guess it could just tickle a little...”

“Er, that’s alright, why don’t you just not drink the tea. You two can read the same cup.” She said quickly.

“Your brain would ooze out of your ears? That is the lamest thing I’ve ever heard.” Liz pointed out.

“Well, she believed it.” He countered.

“Are you really allergic to herbs?”

“God no. Although I am allergic to bleach. And your cup says to beware of red-headed men.”

“Oh great, I’ll have to avoid half my family. Anything else?”

“Yeah, it says you’ll meet a dark and mysterious stranger who will change your life forever. Hey, that could be me!”

“Oh, yes, because us girls love the tragic rebel types. You’ve been reading too many romance novels.”

“You think I’m a tragic rebel?”

“Tragically stupid.”

“Now that was below the belt. But really, sarcastic, foreign, and quite hilarious if I do say so myself, what’s not to like?”

“The head the size of Canada. And foreign? Good grief.”

“Hey, Canada’s really big, you know. And here I was, thinking it hadn’t surpassed the size of Texas yet.”

“Okay, we’ll compromise. Alaska.”

“Fair enough. You really know your geography.”

“That’s because I’m brilliant.”

“Oh, who has the big head now?”

**********

“Can anyone describe to me how you would go about turning a beetle into a button?” Professor Roshwick, a short, pudgy, and bald man, asked his second year Transfiguration class. Nicole’s hand shot up as usual, but so did Mira’s.

“Miss Black?” The professor called.

Mira flicked her wand with ease anyone could admire, and the beetle immediately turned into a perfectly round button. “You have to concentrate on the similarities between the beetle and the button, and flick your wand just a little above it. The incantation is ‘ferreverto’, but I don’t really like to use them.”

Professor Roshwick’s mouth was slightly open. “You don’t like to use what?”

“Incantations.”

“You’re a second year and you can preform non-verbal spells.”

“Yeah.”

“How long have you been able to do that?”

“Since always, I guess.”

He tried to hide his amazement. “Very well, twenty points to Slytherin. The rest of you, practice.”

Mira looked around the classroom curiously. She still wasn’t quite used to this whole system. After spending your entire life with one teacher and no one else learning the same thing as you, it was very strange to suddenly be sent to school with a bunch of people your own age.

She put her feet up on the table and tilted back in her chair. There was a mousy-haired Gryffindor boy sitting beside her. Behind her were two girls she recognized. Liz had introduced them to her sister, Nicole, and Celeste Longbottom yesterday.

Celeste looked more like she was trying to murder her beetle than transfigure it. Nicole however, was sitting behind a pile of buttons, studying Mira suspiciously.

“Do I have something on my face?” she snapped. She didn’t know why, but something about the girl’s bright green eyes freaked her out.

“No, well, besides skin, of course.”

“Well, most people don’t find that so interesting.”

“I don’t find it particularly interesting.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

“It’s a free country, I can stare at whomever I please.”

“Whatever.” She turned back around. Great, she thought wryly, I got here two days ago and they already hate me.

*********

Liz was walking down the third floor corridor alone after dinner when she spotted someone she wanted to have a chat with at the other end of the hall.

“ABRAXAS LUCIUS MALFOY!” He spun around.

“Don’t use that bloody name, you know I hate it, Elizabeth May Potter.” He groaned.

“Sorry.”

“No problem. What’s up?”

“I’m here to pump you for information.”

“Oh dear.”

“There’s no use running, that will just make it all the more painful. Now, I know something very interesting happened Saturday night. And I know you were involved. And I know Marissa has been walking around since then with a goofy grin on her face. And you’re blushing. So spill.”

He sighed. “You are a cruel, relentless, absolutely horrible person, Liz.”

“Yep, now spill.”

“Alright already! Well...” He turned magenta. “We...I ummm...”

“Did you kiss her?” Liz blurted, feeling sorry for the poor guy.

“Yeah.” He promptly turned even redder.

“And...”

“I don’t know. I think she likes me, I mean, she kissed me back and everything. And, I know I just met her and everything, but it’s different.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“I think I’m going to ask her to Hogsmeade, what do you think? There’s a trip on Halloween.”

“Yeah, you definitely should. She likes you too, I can tell.”

“I mean, I know she kissed me and everything, but what if she decided it was a mistake.” Liz glared at him. “So you’re pretty sure she’d say yes? If I asked her, that is.” Liz nodded, and he grinned. “Thanks a bunch, I’ve got to go.”

There were a few unfortunate things about this conversation. One was that Sirius was coming down an adjoining corridor at the time. He unfortunately only heard the last few sentences Ax spoke. He unfortunately couldn’t see who he was talking to. And unfortunately, Sirius was in a bad mood as it was.

“Oi, Malfoy!” He didn’t care about his wand at the moment. Sometimes muggles had the right idea. He grabbed the blond by the collar and slammed him against a wall.

“Okay, you listen to me and you listen close.” She said through gritted teeth. Malfoy was turning slightly purple.

“Lupin...”

“If Liz likes you, and apparently she does or otherwise she wouldn’t have kissed you, then I won’t try to keep you apart.”

“Lupin...”

“But I swear to God, if you ever hurt her in any way at all, I’ll knock all of your teeth out, break every bone in your body, and let the house elves boil you into soup, you got it? And...”

“LUPIN!” Sirius stopped talking to look at him. “What are you bloody talking about?”

“You. I just heard you talking to someone about Liz. You said that she kissed you and that you were going to ask her to Hogsmeade, and...what are you laughing about?”

“I was talking to Liz, not about Liz. I don’t want to ask her to Hogsmeade or anywhere else.” Sirius looked at him for a moment, dumbfounded. Then he released him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s alright.” Ax answered, massaging his neck.

Sirius’s curiosity got the better of him. “Who were you talking about then?”

“I’m afraid that’s none of your business.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just gonna go...sorry again.” He walked away quickly, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

But wait...this meant he’d been stressing for nearly a month about absolutely nothing. Liz didn’t like Malfoy, Malfoy didn’t like Liz. Maybe he had a chance after all...

No, he didn’t. He’d decided that today. There was no denying he was completely infatuated with her, maybe even more. But he also couldn’t deny that he was scared out of his mind. He didn’t know what to do with all of the emotions he was feeling. But he knew he couldn’t take rejection. Not now. Not from her.

He entered his dormitory to find he wasn’t alone. Nick was sitting on one of the beds. His head snapped up when Sirius closed the door.

“Black.” Sirius nodded his head at him.

“What’s with you, anyway?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s with me.’?”

“What do you have against me? I’ve never done anything to you.”

“Who said I had anything against you?”

“Oh, come on. You haven’t spoken a word to me since I got here, you won’t even call me by my first name, and you won’t tell me what’s going on. That usually means you have a problem with me.”

“Nope.”

“Oh for God’s sake, we’re cousins! We’re in the same year! We’re going to have to live together, hate to break it to you. We might as well try to get along, I’m not really that bad. I promise.”

“I don’t know what to do! You two just showed up, no one ever told me about it, and now everyone expects me to just accept it and play nice like a good little boy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, well I just lost my father. Try that sometime.”

He left the room, slamming the door behind him. Sirius was truly ashamed of himself.


A little shorter than
usual, but there wasn’t
much to say really, lolz.
Feedback here! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

I know I just posted, like, yesterday...but I had time, so I couldn’t resist. :D Don’t get too used to it, though... And this one kind of sucks, but that happens sometimes too.


Chapter 16: So Simple It’s Complicated

A week later, Sirius had worked himself into an absolutely foul mood. He’d basically stopped talking to everyone, grunting and murmuring a one word response whenever anyone asked him a question. This had earned him detention from Professor Roshwick last Wednesday. He had been asked how to conjure a stream of water, and replied, ‘yes’. That probably wasn’t what had got him detention, however. It was probably the, ‘Oh, who bloody cares!’, following being asked if he was paying attention.

This was also a hindrance at Quidditch practice. Nicole had gotten so fed up with him that she ‘accidently’ threw the quaffle at him. Really hard. It left a bruise. She must have thought he was really stupid, though. An accident, honestly. He might have believed it if she actually even played chaser.

He attributed it to her going slightly mad with extreme frustration. Yeah, that was it.

In truth, he was feeling like a real git. And it wasn’t just because Liz had told him he was being a real git, either. He felt quite bad about giving Nick a hard time when he’d gotten there. After all, it wasn’t his fault his father had decided to conceal certain necessary information from him.

And when Sirius finally realized that Nick had lost his last living parent, he couldn’t even bring himself to apologize. Did that make him a git? It definitely made him feel like one.

He felt horrible. There was no way his cousins would want anything to do with him now.

So on Tuesday morning, let’s just say he was a little tetchy.

He was attacking his potatoes with a knife when Liz sat down beside him. She sighed, and gently took the knife out of his hands.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake Sirius, this has got to stop.”

“What?”

“What do you think? You’ve been walking around brooding for a week.”

“So?”

“If you don’t say more than one word at a time, I’m going to strangle you with my bare hands.”

“Alright then.”

“Urgh! Would you just tell me what’s wrong!”

“I have people asking me that question every time I turn around.”

“A full sentence!”

“Shut-up, Liz.”

“No.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Oh, Sirius, if you just tried talking to him. I mean, he’s really...”

“Yes, yes, I know, he’s bloody wonderful. Why don’t you just jump into bed with him and leave me alone!” He exclaimed hysterically.

Liz mouthed at him in outrage, her eyes filling with tears. “I was just trying to help.” She snapped in a shaky voice, jumping out of her seat and leaving him alone again. She still had the knife clutched in her hand.

Great. He’d now not only mortally offended Liz, he made her cry, and then sent her on her merry way with a dagger. Peachy.

He really needed a nap.

**********

Liz ran out of the Great Hall, wiping her tears away with her free hand. How could he be so...so...mean?

Did he really think of her like that? And here she was, thinking he was different. Thinking that maybe, he actually cared about her. How could she be so foolish?

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she ran right into someone. She muttered, “sorry,” while looking up into a pair of grey eyes. Nick and Sirius’s eyes were freakishly identical. He glanced at her, pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

“Umm, Liz? Why do you have a knife?” She glanced down at her left hand.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.”

He grimaced. “Do I want to know?”

“I don’t think so.”

She handed him the knife after he motioned for it. He turned to enter the hall, but she called him back. “Hey, Nick? Could you tell the teachers that I’m sick. I don’t really feel like going to lessons today.”

“Yeah, sure.” He turned around again, eyes filled with concern. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little upset. I’ll be okay, thanks.” She turned on her heal and ran off, before bursting into tears.

**********

Marissa knew she shouldn’t be expecting anything. But she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that Ax hadn’t said more than hello to her since last Saturday. And he was the one who kissed her.

And he couldn’t expect her to wait around. Which is exactly why she was doing just that.

Sirius wasn’t the only one in a bad mood.

Actually, she was more on auto-pilot than anything. Not only was she sick of waiting, but she was hurt. What was so wrong with her? Was she really that ugly?

But he said you were beautiful. A voice in the back of her head whispered. He could have easily been lying though.

When someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a broom closet, she couldn’t even muster a feeble protest.

That someone lit their wand, and she was left staring directly into Ax’s eyes. “You really shouldn’t kidnap people like that, you know.” She mumbled quietly.

“I had to kidnap you when you’ve been avoiding me all week.” Her mouth dropped in indignation.

“I haven’t been avoiding you, you’ve been avoiding me!”

“Maybe we’ve been avoiding each other at different times.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be smart.”

He stopped laughing. “You’re actually mad at me, aren’t you?”

She sighed. “No. I just thought, well...”

He was looking at her with a curious expression on his face. “I don’t know what I thought.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I guess I just made everything more than it was, and I was thinking, well, hoping actually, that maybe you thought that...”

“Marissa, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?” he interrupted. She stopped talking, and stared at him, her expression blank. “Well, I understand completely if you don’t want to...”

“What, are you stupid?” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. “Of course I’ll go to Hogsmeade with you.” Before he could say a word, she planted a kiss on his lips.

He was silent for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. She was now resembling a tomato.

“Sorry.” She whispered feebly.

“Why?” He asked. But he didn’t wait for her to answer. He just kissed her.

Ten minutes later, the pair was rushing into the potions classroom, nearly late. Unfortunately, the only two seats were right in the front of the room. This was unfortunate because Professor Guige had a tendency to spit when she talked. She was in the middle of roll call when they walked in.

“Davies.”

“Here.” Marissa muttered while sitting down. Angenette was giving her a questioning look. She shook her head a fraction of an inch to each side.

“Potter.” Silence. The professor’s dark eyebrows snapped together.

“Where is Miss Potter?”

“Erm, she’s not feeling well, Professor.” Nick spoke up nervously from the back of the classroom.

“Very well. Although I suggest she visit the hospital wing if she is ill.” Marissa noticed that Sirius, who was sitting directly behind her, was staring guiltily at his shoe.

“What did you do?” She asked out of the corner of her mouth.

“How’d you know?” He asked in reply, shocked.

“Oh please, you’re not exactly subtle.”

“I said something really rude.”

“Why?”

“I don’t bloody know, does there have to be a bloody reason for everything?!”

“Okay, sorry, I didn’t know it was that time of the month. Don’t cry please, I’m no good with whimpering girls.”

“Oh do shut-up.”

“What did you say?”

“I...implied something.”

“Oh.” She didn’t ask. That annoyed him for some reason.

“Oh, don’t act like you know what I’m talking about!”

“Oh, but why not, it’s so much fun.”

“God, I hate it when you’re in a good mood. Your boyfriend’s tapping you on the shoulder.” She blushed, but didn’t correct his title. Instead, she turned to Ax.

“Yes?”

“We were supposed to start our potion three minutes ago.”

“Oh sorry. Good luck on your own, Sirius.” She called over her shoulder. He had to try to suffer through an entire double period on his own, since his partner was...elsewhere.

This had gone on long enough.

“Professor.” Sirius said loudly, raising his hand.

“Yes?” Marissa grimaced slightly as she felt moisture on her face.

“I’m not feeling well, can I go to the hospital wing?” He asked, faking a cough for good measure.

“Yes, yes, very well. Go on then.”

“Thank you.” He said, grabbing his bag and practically bolting for the door.

This needed planning. She was in the girl’s dormitories, according to the Marauder’s map, which he had luckily borrowed the day before. And he couldn’t just waltz in there. Well, actually he would if he could, but he couldn’t. He’d been sitting on his bed thinking about complicated catapults and fake lures when it hit him.

His broom! So simple it was complicated.

He grabbed his broom, contemplating the best way to do this. He opted for flying to her window, just in case someone was in the common room. Of course, there was also the little matter that she was never going to let him in. Easy. He stowed his wand up his sleeve. She’d be a little perturbed about him forcing entrance but she’d get over it, in time.

A few minutes later, Liz, who was lying in bed crying for a change, heard a tap on her window. This was immediately followed by a loud shout of, “LIZ, LET ME IN!”

She rolled over and ignored Sirius, covering her head with a pillow. A few moments later, she felt someone trying to tug the pillow out of her hands. She dropped it.

“Lupin, get out of my dormitory.”

“Oh, don’t you dare use that last name nonsense.”

“If you only came up here to see if I would ‘jump in bed with you’, then you’re about to be sorely disappointed.”

“Liz, I never meant that, I swear.”

“Are you sure? What did you come up here for, to demean me further?”

He closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“You be sorry then.”

“What do you want me to do? I’m already on my knees! I’ll grovel, I swear I will. Do your shoes need cleaned, because I’ll lick them. Anything, I’ll do anything, please!”

“God, Sirius, why did you have to be cruel?”

“I don’t know!” he exclaimed, quite hysterical. “Would you please just looked at me?” Liz was shocked to hear how much pain was in his voice. She sat up, wiping her tears away. He got up and sat down beside her.

“Don’t you think this is hard for me too?” She asked. “Seeing you act this way? I’ve never seen you like this before, and I don’t know what to do with you. It drives me mad that I can’t fix everything, and I can’t stand not talking to you like this. It hurts, Sirius, it bloody hurts when you don’t look me in the eye. And then today...” She shook her head.

“When I made you cry today, I wanted to curse myself.”

“I wanted to curse you too.” She said, half laughing.

“I didn’t mean a thing I said, Liz. I was angry, and I was being bloody stupid, and I don’t think about you that way at all...”

“I just thought that maybe you didn’t care anymore.”

He touched her cheek, tilting her head until she was staring directly into his eyes, they’re faces inches apart. Both their breaths hitched in their throats. Sirius regained his first. “Don’t you ever think I don’t care about you.”

She squirmed, she had to. They were too close. Sirius put an arm around her and buried his face in her hair. That didn’t really help.

“You smell good.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She squeaked.

“You’re my best friend, you know that. I really am so sorry. Do you forgive me?” She sighed. His best friend, that’s all.

“Yeah, I do. To tell you the truth, Sirius, you’re a really hard person to stay mad at.”


Yeah, I know,
that was shorter
and more random
than the last post.
Next one’s more
interesting, I swear!
Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

I just want to thank you all for the overwhelming amount of feedback I’ve been getting on these last few posts. You guys are the best, and nothing can compare to hearing what my readers think. I really adore your opinions. :D :D :D So thank you! Here’s the next post:


Chapter 17: Kind of Awesome, Really

“Sometimes I have to wonder about you, Sirius.” Liz laughed.

“Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s kind of...pretty.”

“It’s hideous!”

“Well, if you squint it kind of looks like cheese.” They were sitting in potions, attempting to finish their project. They had been assigned to invent their own potion as an ‘exercise in creativity’. The result was that the classroom was now full of strange smoke and foul-smelling odors.

“Yes, and cheese is so pretty. I forgot, what’s this supposed to be again?”

“Essence of Gryffindor.” Sirius replied gloomily.

“Well, hopefully Gryffindor’s like cheese.”

“Well, it’s better than theirs.” He said, pointing to Ax and Marissa, who’s bubbling purple potion smelled exactly like burnt hair. They said it was supposed to make the drinker recite poetry until the antidote was taken.

“But, unlike ours, their’s probably works.” She retorted.

“We don’t know that ours doesn’t work.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to try it.”

“What do we have here?” Professor Guige asked the pair, spitting only slightly.

“It’s called Essence of Gryffindor.” Liz started immediately. “When taken, it increases the drinker’s natural capacity for courage. It is very useful in perilous situations, although if taken in excess, it can lead to hot-headedness, reckless behavior, and eventually death. Add one of your hairs and the hair of a true Gryffindor, and you have liquid courage.”

“Or congealed courage, anyway.” Sirius muttered under his breath.

She looked mildly impressed. “Well, I truly doubt it would work, but that was a lovely summary, and you seemed to have put a lot of thought into this, so full marks!”

Liz smiled. Sirius was looking at her in utter amazement. “Full marks?” He asked in disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten full marks on a potions test before. Remind me never to do anything to upset you ever again.” He leaned over their cauldron and kissed her on the cheek three times in quick succession.

Who would have guessed the way to a guy’s heart is through his potions grade? Liz thought to herself. She swore her cheeks would burn off from the blushing. And she was supposed to still be mad at him. She had the sudden urge to cry.

She didn’t, but it was a near thing.

“Er, Liz? Are you alright? You look a bit flustered.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”

“Probably because of all the potions.”

“Yes.” She replied, fanning herself. “That’s it.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Sirius’s mind working rapidly. He plucked her hand off the table and took it into both of his own, toying with her fingers. It amazed Liz how he could set her nerves on fire with the slightest touch.

Come on, it’s not that hard, only seven words. ‘Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?’ What is so hard about that? Sirius thought to himself. Where was all his courage when he needed it. Maybe he should have taken some of their potion.

Of course, he probably would have just ended up dead.

“Sirius? What are you doing?” He jumped.

“Oh, I dunno.” He quickly dropped her hand, causing it to land on his knee. She quickly jerked it away.

He took a deep breath. “Ummm,” The bell rang.

“That’s the bell. What were you saying?”

“Nothing.” He smiled, and handed her books to her. “Let’s go to dinner. We’re free until Monday!”

“Yeah...” She replied, shooting him a strange glance.

Nice, Sirius, real smooth.

***********

Liz was in the common room that night, Sirius being at Quidditch practice. She was attempting to do her Divination homework, but Nick continuously poking her was not helping her concentration. Not only that, but he also felt the need to announce the fact that he was poking her.

“Poke.” He said for the umteenth time. “Poke, poke, poke, poke...”

“Do you need something?” She finally asked.

“Can you help me? I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“It’s not that hard, you just need to predict what will happen to you based on your dreams for the next month.” She replied, not taking her eyes off the parchment.

“Oh, come on, I want to get this right. You know that old bat hates me!”

“Oh, gee, I wonder why...”

“Well, yeah, but still.” He muttered, peeking over her shoulder at her homework.

“Liz?” He asked after a few moments. She made a noise to show that she was listening. “What’s with all the...touching?”

“The touching?” She asked in disgust, looking up. “What are you talking about?”

“You...and Sirius. In potions. You’re always...touching.” He muttered, turning slightly red.

“What?”

“Oh for God’s sake, he’s always kissing your cheek and holding your hand, and do you guys realize that you sit about two inches away from each other. I mean, do you like him or not?”

She set down her quill, and turned her chair to face him completely. “You almost sound like you’re jealous.”

“SowhatifIam?”He asked quickly.

“What?”

“I said, so what if I am? I admit it, I’m jealous. There. Happy?”

Liz gaped at him. “But, why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I like you a hell of a lot. When I got here, you were the only one who really accepted me, and helped me fit in, and didn’t look at me like I’d just dropped in from outer space. And it just amazed me that this wonderful, caring, sweet, beautiful person wanted to talk to me. I was so afraid to come here, you have no idea, but you made it feel like home. I just want to make it up to you. And, I don’t know, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?” He blurted very fast.

Liz stared blankly at him for a long moment. Had he really asked what she thought he asked? She honestly didn’t know what to say.

What about Sirius? A voice in the back of her head whispered. What about him? Another voice snapped back. He’s had plenty of opportunity, and he’s never been the shy type. He obviously didn’t feel the same way about her. And no matter how she felt, she was not going to waste her time waiting for him.

She was still a bit confused.

Glancing at Nick, she saw that he looked adorably nervous and was still blushing furiously. He was nice, funny, and really needed people that cared about him in his life right now. And he had managed to pluck up the courage to ask her out, even though it didn’t look like it was too easy for him. Who knew, it might be for the best. And what could one date hurt, anyway?

He was now starting to look quite downcast.

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.” Liz whispered.

“That’s alright, I unders- what did you say?”

“I said I’d go with you.” She repeated, giggling slightly. His eyes widened.

“Really?” He asked stupidly.

“Yes, really.” He grinned widely, and Liz could feel her cheeks growing hot. His grin was a lot like Siri...that other one’s.

“Awesome. You won’t regret it, I promise.” He kissed her on the forehead and practically skipped up the stairs. Liz heard him let out a whoop after he was out of sight. She giggled, a small smile on her face, and looked back at her homework.

************

Sirius was walking through the castle at about midnight, humming a Christmas carol. They had a very good Quidditch practice, and he had never seen his team play better.

He didn’t see how Slytherin would stand a chance, come the first match. He, Helena, and Jackie were scoring more goals than ever, and that was saying something. Ryan and Andrew rarely missed their mark, and David was performing extremely well. He also had lots of practice since he had to try to stop the three best chasers at Hogwarts. And Nicole caught the snitch so easily she looked horribly bored most of the time. With her record, they might not have time to score at all.

Afterwards, he had a detention with Filch that wasn’t quite as enjoyable. He really hated that trophy room with a passion. Honestly, how many times could the thing be cleaned? The school was bound to run out of polish soon.

He stifled a yawn as he gave the Fat Lady the password. He was hoping Liz would still be up, since he hadn’t seen her in a couple of hours. His incredible need to be around her scared him sometimes.

The common room wasn’t empty, but it’s only occupant definitely wasn’t who Sirius was hoping to run into.

His cousin was lying flat on his stomach in front of the fire, flicking chocolate frog wrappers into it’s depths. Sirius sighed, and went to sit down on a couch. Nick glanced at him curiously. This was as good of time as any.

“Look, I’m sorry.” He said quickly. “For giving you a hard time, and...” Nick jumped to his feet. He seemed to be in the best mood Sirius had seen him in so far.

“It’s alright man, no hard feelings?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.”

“Have you seen Liz?” Sirius asked, unable to control himself any longer.

“Oh, she went to bed about an hour ago.” He replied, a vague smile on his face. That was odd. Liz never went to bed at eleven o’clock.

“Oh, okay.” Silence. Not regular silence, uncomfortable silence. Nick seemed to be fighting with himself over something.

“Alright, since were trying to get along now, and the fact that you’re my cousin, I think you should...umm...” He started.

“Yes?” Sirius prompted.

“Well, let’s say, hypothetically, I asked Liz out, and she said yes. What do you think about that?” He blurted, turning red a second later.

Sirius closed his eyes, a horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “We’re not talking hypothetically here, are we?”

“No, we’re not.” Nick admitted.

“It’s fine.” He lied. “Just please, don’t hurt her.”

Nick frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t treat her badly, or toss her aside if something better comes along, or lie to her, or not appreciate her for the amazing person she is, because be warned, if you so much as make her shed one single tear, cousin or not, I will curse you so badly that you’ll literally be crawling for the rest of your miserable life.” This all came out before he even thought about it, let alone had a chance to stop it. He regretted his words immediately, for not only had he revealed his true feelings for Liz, but judging by the look on Nick’s face, had offended him as well.

“Do you honestly think I’d do that?” He snapped.

“I don’t know.” Sirius replied cooly. “I don’t know you, remember.”

“Well, did you curse yourself so badly that you’ll ‘literally be crawling for the rest of your miserable life’?” He asked viciously. Sirius winced. There was too much harsh truth in that to argue.

“How do I know you just don’t want a challenge?”

“I could ask the same thing about you. Oh, yes, I’ve heard all about your little escapades. Dating a different girl every two weeks, what makes Liz any different? Maybe you just want bragging rights, is that it?”

“Take that back.” Sirius growled, whipping out his wand. Nick pulled his out as well.

“Why? Hit a nerve?”

“Don’t you dare! I’m not going to stand here and let you talk like that!” He was quickly losing control. “You’re the one who wants bragging rights, you pig!”

“Pig?”

“Yes, pig! Insulting my insults now? And Liz is...just different, okay?”

“How? How is she any different?”

“She’s like my sister! I just want to protect her!”

“Oh really? Well, out of the two of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t made her cry, so that makes me wonder who should be protecting her from whom.” Nick snapped.

Sirius didn’t bother with a comeback. He thought ‘fernunculus’, and flicked his wand. Nick blocked the spell easily, facing him fully now, with a look of deep concentration etched in his handsome features.

“Oh, you want to use wands now? Well, your wish is my command.”

And that is how the duel began. The two boys were rapidly sending spells at each other, diving behind furniture to avoid being hit. Different colored jets of light ricocheted off the walls, hitting whatever was in their path. Sirius was throwing anything he thought of at Nick, who looked almost bored. But that was probably just a clever bluff.

Wait, what are you doing? A voice in the back of his head whispered. He ignored it, but nothing about Sirius gave up easily. You can’t do this, you idiot. He’s your cousin! And you can’t duel in the common room, it’s stupid. Mum will murder us if she finds out.

Shut up! Another voice whispered.

Oh, great, now we’re talking to ourselves.

What? There’s only one of us, you dolt!

Oh, yeah...

He was now attempting to stun Nick. It wasn’t going well. Sirius had somehow managed to jump up on one of the tables, Nick standing on an upturned chair halfway across the room, and they were now hurling curses at each other with new-found gusto.

If McGonagall catches us...

He ignored his brain once again. He was beginning to get frustrated with the constant blocking. But if anything, he was becoming more determined by the second. They heard a loud shriek of surprise just as Sirius cast an extremely strong tickling charm and Nick cast an Inpediment jinx simultaneously. Sirius fell of the table with a loud crash, Nick keeled over laughing.

He looked up, paralyzed, to see something very scary. Scarier than McGonagall. Even scarier than his mum.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO THINK YOU WERE DOING!” Liz shouted, glaring at them both with venom. Her father’s invisibility cloak was lying limply at her feet. Apparently, she had just came through the portrait hole. She looked terribly torn for a moment, glancing from Sirius, struggling against his invisible bonds, to Nick, who had turned blue from choking on his own laughter. She waved her wand vaguely in both their directions. The laughter stopped. So did the struggling.

“What if someone had been coming down the stairs? What if one of the spells hit them, huh? What if you were caught? You’ve totally ruined the common room. Bloody hell, you could have really injured each other. And all for what, you selfish, idiotic pigs! Well, I hope you’re happy!” Her voice broke and her eyes filled with tears, as she turned on her heel, grabbed the cloak, and ran up the stairs.

“Liz, wait, we can explain!” Nick yelled after her.

“Please, don’t be...” He heard a door slam loudly. “...mad.” The rest of his sentence trailed away.

He glanced at Nick, who folded his arms and leaned against a wall. “Well that settles it,” Sirius started, “were both pigs.”

Nick snorted glumly. “Yeah, and there goes my argument for never making her cry in the process.”

“I’m still one up on you.” Sirius reminded him.

“So are you going to curse me now?”

Sirius half smiled. “No, I guess not. And I guess I believe you when you say that you won’t hurt her.”

“I guess I believe you too.”

“Good.”

“Yeah...” He looked away thoughtfully for a moment, before looking back at him, grinning. “That was kind of awesome, really. You know, dueling in the common room.”

To both of their surprise, Sirius returned the grin. “Yeah, it was.”


(A/N: So, that’s interesting. Sirius acting like Gollum, interesting thought. The schizo thing is really fun to write though. So how many of you guys want to shoot me about now? Yell at me here.:D (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844))

Wow, I really can’t believe that I’m on the 18th chapter already. :D


Chapter 18: Do Your Quidditch

Breakfast the next morning was a properly awkward event. Liz sat five feet away from Nick and Sirius, determinately keeping her eyes on the table. They were both staring shamelessly at her, trying to catch her attention.

Sirius noticed vaguely that her eyes still looked a bit puffy.

“Look, man, we’ve got to do something.” Nick said a few minutes later. “We can’t just sit here and zone all morning.”

He sighed. “Come on, let’s go talk to her.”

They sat down on either side of her, and she quickly pretended to be absorbed in her charms book. Both boys reached for one of her hands, caught sight of what the other was doing, and dropped their own hands to their sides quickly.

“Umm...hi.” Nick started lamely.

“We’re really sorry, Liz.” Sirius intervened.

“We knew we were being stupid...”

“And we had a chat about it and everything last night.”

“We’re alright now...”

“And we don’t want you to be mad at us, since we owe you for making us come to our senses.”

Liz looked up at them, grinning in spite of herself. “That was really scary, you know.”

“What?” They both asked at the same time. She burst out laughing.

“That! The finishing each other’s sentences thing.”

“We do that too.” Sirius pointed out fairly.

“Yeah, but we’ve known each other our entire lives, you guys have just met. That’s why this fighting was so stupid. You two are far too alike.”

“Yeah, well, we know that now.” Sirius muttered.

“Just promise me that you’ll never do that again.” She snapped, then her tone softened. “You scared me.”

“Is that what was bothering you?” Nick asked gently.

“We weren’t really trying to hurt each other, you know.” Sirius tried assuring her.

“Yes, you were!” She contradicted. “You were hurling curses everywhere, and standing on things, and you could have gotten really hurt, and...” They exchanged horrified glances when her eyes filled with tears once again.

“Oh, please don’t cry...” Nick tried, patting her arm timidly. Sirius rolled his eyes and did the only think he knew would calm her down. He pulled her into his arms. She squirmed for a moment, then melted and let out a deep breath.

“Okay. I’m okay now.” She muttered into his shoulder. He didn’t do anything. “Sirius, you can let me go.”

“Sirius, you can let her go.” Nick said loudly.

Sirius shook his head, coming to his senses. “Oh, right, umm...” He let her go, patting her on the head awkwardly. “I’m going to go practice homework, or do my Quidditch, or something.” He looked confused for a moment, shrugged, then walked swiftly out of the hall.

“So...” Nick began. Liz tore her gaze away from Sirius’s retreating back to face him. “Umm...yeah.”

“Yeah what?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” He answered slowly.

“That’s helpful.”

“I was just wondering...are we still on for next Saturday?”

“Well, yeah. If you want to still be on, that is.”

“Alright, we’re on then. But you never did answer my question about Sirius.”

“That’s because there’s nothing to say.” She lied, quite convincingly. Well, she convinced him, at least. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He grinned. Liz couldn’t help smiling back.

“So, what do you want to do today? Practice homework or do your Quidditch?”

He laughed, “Do my Quidditch, definitely.”

***********

Mira was once again sitting in Transfiguration, glancing curiously at the mousy-haired boy sitting beside her. She felt a bit guilty. He had sat next to her during every class they had together, yet she still didn’t know his name. She coughed to get his attention.

“We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Mira Black.” She said, holding out her hand. He shook it.

“I’m Rob Creevey, nice to meet you.”

“Creevey...why does that sound familiar?”

“My father, Colin, he’s an auror. He...”

“...took part in the Final Battle.” She finished for him. “He led that troop of house elves that captured twelve Death Eaters just by binding them to each other, didn’t he?”

Rob looked quite surprised. “Yeah...”

She grinned. “I’m a total history buff. Read everything about any of the big wars, wizarding and muggle.”

“So how do you like Hogwarts so far?” He asked. She shrugged in response.

“It’s...okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Yeah, just okay. It’s nice, but I don’t have any friends, and I really miss my dad, and why am I telling you this?” She blurted.

“I don’t know.” Rob replied, startled. “I’m sure you’ll make friends, you’ve only been here for a little while. And I don’t know what to say about your father, besides I’m really sorry.”

“It’s alright.” She said quickly. “Thank you, though.”

“No problem.” Mira turned around just in time to see Nicole Potter give her a quick glare before returning to her work. She sighed, then turned back to Rob.

“You’re friends with her, aren’t you?” She asked, gesturing behind her.

“Who, Nicole?” Rob asked, and she nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do you know why she seems to hate me so much?”

“Oh, I think hate is too strong of a word...” He muttered vaguely.

“Just get to the point.”

“Okay, I don’t really know.” He half-lied. “Although I must say, I’ve never seen her not get along with anybody before you came along. It’s kind of scary.”

“Guess I’m just special like that, huh?” She joked half-heartedly. Rob was thinking back to a conversation he had been part of in the common room the other night, trying to figure out exactly why Nicole seemed to dislike Mira.

”Urgh, I just can’t stand her!” Nicole was shouting to the empty room Wednesday night. Early Thursday morning to be exact. Celeste was dosing in an armchair, and Rob was toasting bread by the fire. Nicole was pacing in a tight circle.

“Why?” Celeste yawned.

“She’s...she’s trouble, that’s why! I mean, she came here from Merlin knows where, and she knows how to do all these things we shouldn’t be learning until after O.W.L.’s, and...I swear I saw her conjure a teacup the other day. That’s not normal!”

“She seems nice enough to me.” Rob interjected. Nicole spun to face him with fire dancing in her emerald eyes. He gulped. He’d never really seen her in a real rant before.

“Oh, nice, is she? Nice? Nice and powerful don’t go hand and hand, Rob.”

“I’m just saying,” He began cautiously. He knew he was treading on thin ice. “I think you might be the tiniest bit jealous, that’s all.”

She closed her eyes tightly. Celeste was watching them with mild amazement. They never fought. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Oh, I dunno...because you’re...”

“I’m what?” She asked sweetly.

“You’re used to being the best!” He said quickly, then readied himself for the blow.

“Really?” Her voice was dangerously low. “I’ll have you know, that Nicole Lily Potter does NOT get jealous! Especially of HER!” She stormed up the stairs, and they heard her dormitory door slam. Rob gave Celeste an apologetic grin. The blonde grinned back.

“Jealous.” They said in unison.

“Hello, earth to Rob.” Mira was waving a hand in front of his face. “You in there.”

“Wha- yeah, I’m here.” He smiled wickedly at her. “We’ve all heard the rumors, but tell me. What’s America really like?”

Her smile widened. “This is gonna take a while.”

**********

Over the next week, Sirius was proud to say that he was making an effort to make his cousins feel welcome. This was made harder by the fact that Nick and Liz had taken to holding hands in the hallway, but he was proud to say he hadn’t punched his lights out quite yet.

Not that he hadn’t fantasized about it a few times.

Now that was impulse control.

But the small, un-Liz-filled part of his brain had to admit that Nick was a good person. And that part of his brain was serving the dual purpose of keeping him sane as well.

He wandered into the common room late Friday night, and immediately saw Liz curled up in her favorite armchair, reading a letter. He leaned against the portrait hole, just watching the firelight dance across her face. She looked so perfect, sitting on her ankles and chewing on the end of a quill that she was twirling between her fingers. He had to regain his composure before he made his presence known.

After he trusted himself to speak, he made his way across the room and ruffled her hair, sitting on the couch beside the fire. “Hey stranger, haven’t seen you in a while.”

“What, since dinner?” She asked in reply, looking up from her letter to glance at him. “Not too long ago, I’d say.”

“Long to an insect.” He mumbled.

“Likening yourself to an insect now, I see.”

He stuck his tongue out at her, then said, “Well, are you going to leave me all alone over here in the dark? Come sit by me.” She rolled her eyes and got up, sitting gracefully beside him on the couch. “Who’s the letter from?”

“Phil. He said ‘hi’.” He edged closer to her under the pretense of reading the letter over her shoulder, but she just handed it to him, leaning back to rub her eyes. Feeling it would look a little out of place if he didn’t actually read it, he looked down at Phil Weasley’s untidy scrawl.

Dear Lizzie-kins,

So how are the Warty Hogs doing? It quite French here, I can’t wait to join you next summer. I’m dead sick of snails. Did you know that they serve them for breakfast? Anyway, I hope your studies are going well. (I sound like Mum.) Mine are magnificent as always. Although it’s a bit annoying that French schools are behind British ones, so I have to have extra lessons to prepare for O.W.L.’s. Why do you lot name your exams after animals, anyway? It’s a bit strange. Really.

My dear brothers are being prats as usual. Love them. Speaking of prats, how is Sirius? Tell him I said ‘hi’. So how many blokes does my dear cousin have wrapped around her little finger? And what is with Sirius’s cousins from America. Granddad tried to explain it to Mum through the fire, but he had to leave in the middle to go correct some crisis, or something. So we’re all hopelessly confused, as usual. I hate living so far away from everything. I’ll be so glad when we move. But at least I’m tri-lingual, that does have some perks. The ladies love it. In case you didn’t know, I’m quite the ladies man. Make sure you tell Longbottom that the next time you see her.

Speaking of Longbottom, did she get that package of dungbombs I sent her?

Guess where I am right now. No really, guess. I’m not going to tell you until you guess. Did you know that rotten brussel sprouts are almost as good as dungbombs? And no, you don’t want to know how I found that out. Just trust me. The dragons are hideous, as usual. Tell Hagrid that Norbert mated, and he’s going to be a father soon. Hagrid, a grandfather. Now that is scary.

I wish something interesting would happen.

Still wishing.

Well, I’d better go. Got to go see a man about a hippogriff. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

With love,
the King of the Universe (more commonly known as Phil)

P.S. Don’t snog too many undeserving fools. If you do, I shall know. I am the smart one, after all.

P.P.S. Nothing, really, I just like doing this.

P.P.P.S. What do you want for Christmas?

“He is so strange.” Sirius remarked after finishing and handing the piece of parchment back to her.

“Yeah, he is.” She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Her brain jammed. “So, how was your day?” Idiot.

He grinned in response. “Tiring. I think this workload is going to kill me.” His smile could send shivers down her spine. And she was supposed to like Nick, she agreed to go out with him, after all.

But you don’t. She whispered to herself.

She looked up into his glistening grey eyes, reflecting the firelight, and nodded, feeling incredibly stupid. Why did he have to look at her like that?

Sirius was having a furious internal battle for what seemed like the hundredth time that year. And it always had to do with the girl sitting in front of him right now. He didn’t really know whether she liked Nick or not. But he didn’t really know anything for sure when it came to her. But he did know that he’d deal with whatever she decided, because he wanted her to be happy more than anything else. He could deal. He could deal if he could only hold her one more time.

He yawned widely and laid down on the couch...taking Liz with him.

She squeaked, and he couldn’t hold back a laugh. She propped herself up on his chest to look at him, and asked, “What did you do that for?”

He grinned. “I’m tired, you’re tired. We’re taking a nap. Nothing wrong with that, is there?” Liz gave him an exasperated look. A nap at midnight, honestly. But a large part of her had absolutely no desire to move.

So she didn’t.

About five minutes later, Sirius wrapped a blanket around the both of them, and looked down at Liz to say goodnight. He found that she was already sound asleep. He chuckled, surprised at how tired she must have been.

Then he did something that, to the untrained observer, would come across as very foolish. But Sirius knew he was safe. Liz was the deepest sleeper in the whole of Europe. So he tilted her head upward and kissed her very lightly on the lips.

He thought he felt her stir for a moment, but she was as still as before an instance later. After brushing a lock of hair out of her face, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

“Goodnight, Liz.”


Yeah, I know,
dumbest ending ever.
Sue me. This is
probably my favorite
title for a chapter so
far. I don’t really know why...
Feedback pur-lease! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Ah, here it is. The long awaited, or dreaded, Hogsmeade visit. Dun, dun, dun...


Chapter 19: That Made No Sense

When Liz woke up at three o’clock in the morning the next day, she wasn’t quite sure how she ended up asleep in Sirius’ arms. After she became accustomed to her surroundings, she let out a deep breath, thanking her lucky stars that no one had caught them. She quietly slipped away from Sirius and tip-toed towards the stairs. Looking back, she had to fight the urge to laugh. He looked as innocent as a baby, hugging the blanket closer to him and turning over in his sleep.

She honestly didn’t know what she had been thinking. What if someone had come downstairs and seen them? How would she have explained that?

Maybe you don’t want to have to explain it.

No, she couldn’t think like that.

Liz cringed when the door to her dormitory gave a loud squeak. To her surprise, she found that Marissa was up as well. The blonde looked up from where she was apparently playing exploding snap with herself, and raised her eyebrows. Liz knew she was in for a lecture.

“Well look who finally decided to join us.”

She smiled smugly. “Har har. Not a word.”

“Ah, do late nights make us touchy?” Marissa asked, smirking.

“And why are you still up?”

“I can’t sleep, but at least I’m in my dormitory. Enough chat, where were you?”

“I was in the common room.” She muttered vaguely.

“Mmmhmm, in the common room doing what?”

“My homework?”

“Ah, yes because you always stay up until three in the morning doing your homework on a Friday night.” Marissa snapped sarcastically. “Come on, even Christian could think up a better excuse than that. I’m not even positive he ever does his homework, actually. Probably just copies Sirius’s...”

It was a good thing the room was dimly lit, because Liz felt heat rise to her cheeks at the sound of the name.

“Well, you’re one to talk.” Liz said. “You’re up playing exploding snap with yourself. How many people do that?”

“I told you, I couldn’t sleep.” She whispered, looking down at the cards that were in danger of setting her bedclothes on fire.

“And why is that?” Liz pried.

She shrugged. “Nervous, I guess.”

Liz gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t be nervous.”

Marissa threw down the card she was holding and glanced up at her. “I can’t help it! I don’t know why he even asked me out in the first place, and now I keep worrying that I’ll be too dull, or too fat, or to ugly...”

“Marissa, stop. Listen to me.” Liz commanded. “You’re anything but dull, you’re not fat, and you’re not remotely ugly. Ax likes you, anyone with eyes and most without them can figure that out. You talk to him everyday in the library, and this won’t be any different. Now I want you to get some sleep so you won’t have unsightly blemishes, and you can worry more tomorrow.”

“Well alright.” She replied reluctantly. “I guess I am a little tired.”

“Good. Don’t mind if I sleep some myself.”

“Liz?” Marissa asked as she switched off the light.

“Yeah?” Liz yawned.

“What am I going to wear?”

***********

The next morning, Liz awoke to a loud rummaging at the foot of her bead, accompanied by a fluent stream of curse words. She rolled over to look at her clock. Quarter after six. Ridiculous hour, in her opinion.

“Marissa, what in creation are you doing?” She groaned groggily.

“Looking for something to wear!”

“Urgh.” She replied, then dragged herself to her feet. “I’m going to take an extremely long shower, and then I’ll help you. Until then, ummm, here. Read this.” She tossed her a tome-like book lying on her bedside table. Marissa stumbled slightly when catching it.

“What is it?”

“The Complete Guide to All Things Muggle. Enjoy.” She sang.

“You do realize...” Liz closed the door. “...that my mother’s a muggle, right?” She just rolled her eyes and flipped the book open. “Chapter One: Life Without a Wand...”

When Liz finally emerged from her shower, Marissa was laughing hysterically. “This is so dreadfully boring. And do you realize most of it’s wrong?”

She snatched the book back. “It was a gift!”

“From who?” She asked curiously.

“Three guesses.”

“Oh, your Grandad.” Liz nodded. “Alright, moving on, what am I wearing?”

“I don’t know, what do you want to wear?”

“I don’t know, what do I want to wear?”

“How am I supposed to know what you want to wear?” Liz asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know, how am I supposed to know how you’re supposed to know what I want to wear?” Marissa retorted.

“That made no sense.” Liz said after a moment.

“Yeah, it did if you think about it.”

A long while and many moments like this later, the girls were ready. Marissa was wearing a soft blue tank top under a white corduroy jacket, and dark blue jeans. Liz had opted for a comfortable, emerald, off-the-shoulder sweater, her hair down and lightly curled.

“Should we wake the dead?” Liz asked, gesturing to Angenette’s bed.

“Do you have any last words?” Marissa asked in response. Liz cracked an evil grin.

“Hang on.” She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment, then came out with a glass of cold water. “Get ready to run.”

She poured the water over Angenette’s head, and both girls bolted for the door as they heard a disgruntled scream. Giggling furiously, then sped down the stairs, and Liz ran smack into Sirius.

“Woa.” He said, catching her before she fell flat on her face. “Good morning ladies, what’s the rush?”

“Liz just poured cold water on Angenette’s head.”

“That’s horrible!” He exclaimed dramatically. Liz quirked an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. “Come on, let’s go to breakfast.”

“Oh, I forgot something, I’ll be down later.” Marissa sighed, then resigned herself to facing her very disgruntled friend. Liz glanced at Sirius, trying to hide how awkward she felt.

“Oh, and thanks for leaving me in the common room alone last night.” Sirius said. Liz gulped. She had been hoping to avoid the subject. “Dobby was cleaning it. Do you know what a rude awakening, ‘Mister Sirius! Mister Sirius!’, is?”

Liz couldn’t help but giggle. “Awww, but you’ve got to love Dobby.”

“He jumped on me.” He whined, rubbing his side. Liz mocked a look of deep pity. “It’s not funny! Why so dressed up?” He added, glancing at her black skirt. He also noticed that she was wearing the locket he gave her.

“Umm, Hogsmeade?”

“Oh yeah...”

“Who are you going with?” She asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure? What are you going to do, pick up the first dateless girl you see?”

“That’s the plan, yes.” She rolled her eyes. “But you look really pretty, you know.”

“Thanks.” She blushed. “You look really pretty too.”

He shoved her shoulder playfully, then pulled her into a quick hug. “Have fun today. And if Nick’s not a gentleman, well, you know where to find me.” He punched his open palm with his fist, only half joking. Liz gave him a simpering smile and pushed him into the Great Hall.

Nick was already seated halfway down the Gryffindor table, looking around nervously. Liz sat down beside him, and Sirius across from them. “Good morning.” Liz said shyly, pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

“Wow.” Nick stuttered in response. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” She smiled.

Sirius scowled. Fine, Liz, two can play that game. He began scouring the tables, his gaze landing on his fellow chaser, Jackie Fenmore, apparently alone. He grinned. That would work.

“Oi, Jackie!” He called down the table. Liz’s head snapped up. Excellent. Jackie looked up from the book she was reading, and smiled when she saw who had called her.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to come to Hogsmeade with me?” She blushed slightly, but hid it well.

“Sure.” She called back casually.

“Good, it’s a date.” He winked at her, and she giggled. Sirius turned around to face the other pair, smiling smugly. Liz rolled her eyes at him, and he stuck his tongue out.

“Prat.” She muttered.

“Only if you made me so.” He responded.

“Too much effort.”

“Not enough time.” He agreed.

“Huh?” Nick interrupted. “That made no sense. Did that make sense to you?” He asked Liz.

“Not in the least.” She responded. He looked quite confused.

“Ummm...are you ready to go?” He asked finally.

Liz chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

A few minutes later, they were walking down the sloping lawns to the gates of Hogmeade. Nick had a hold of Liz’s hand, and they were laughing loudly at Filch’s expense. The man was honestly mad, and he’d had a grudge against Liz ever since she and Sirius had escaped expulsion, and gotten away with just a detention. He had insisted on interrogating her on her specific intentions at Hogsmeade today. Nick was really going to get her in trouble one of these days.

“I can’t believe you told him we needed to find a coffin big enough to put a cat in.” Liz choked. “You’re lucky everyone in line was starting to complain, or you might have ended up dead yourself.”

“Oh, he adores me, really.” Nick promised. “So, where do you want to go first?”

She glanced at the street in front of her. “Hmmm, I don’t know. You’re the one who’s never been here before.”

“Yeah, and I don’t know what anything is, either.” He laughed.

She thought for a moment. “Do you want to meet my uncles?”

“Which ones?” He asked, bemused.

“Fred and George. They run Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, it’s a joke shop. Their main branch is in Diagon Alley, but they have a small shop in Hogsmeade. They’ll both be here today since all the Hogwarts students will be too.”

“Sure, it’ll give me some idea of what to expect.” He grinned. Liz smiled and pulled him into an extremely crowded shop full of squealing Hogwarts students. She waved at Verity, her uncle’s secretary, and dragged a gawking Nick behind the counter and into the storeroom. Several people made noises of outrage.

“Are we allowed to do that?” Nick asked.

“Perks of being family.” Liz grinned.

Nick’s eyes went wide when he stepped into the magically expanded room, hundreds of products lined up on shelves, some old, some yet to be introduced. Liz, however, was peering between the aisles, looking for something besides merchandise.

“U-No-Poo?” Nick exclaimed, sounding a bit frightened. Liz snorted.

“One of our oldest inventions.” A voice said.

“But still one of our top sellers.” Another finished.

“Now, Liz, are you going to just stand there, or do we get a hug?” The first voice asked. She squealed, and hugged both her uncles in turn. George was eyeing Nick strangely.

“Are you going to introduce us to your friend here?” He asked.

“Oh yeah, sure.” She started. “This is Nick Black, you know, Sirius’s cousin from America. Nick, that’s my Uncle Fred, and that’s my Uncle George.”

“No, I’m George, he’s Fred.” One of them insisted.

“That old trick isn’t going to work on me, you know.”

“No, really, I’m George.”

“You have an ‘F’ on your shirt.”

“That stands for fantastic.” Liz rolled her eyes. “Okay, you’re right, I’m Fred. You can’t blame me for trying, though.”

George interrupted him, turning to Nick. “Ah, so this is the one we keep hearing about. Been wanting to meet you since you got here. And taking my young niece to Hogsmeade, I see.” He leaned down and said in a very dramatic stage whisper, “Have to watch out for that one. Vicious, she is.”

Liz hit him on the shoulder, and asked, “Don’t you have a business to run?”

“Ah, but you see, we’re the bosses. Trivial things like running the business are for people like Verity and our wives.”

“Aunt Katie and Aunt Angelina are here?”

“Katie is. Ange is back at ninety-three. Should be a slow day, so she can manage by herself.” Fred answered.

They stayed in the shop for a while longer, catching up on what was going on at home. Nick was buying quite a bit of merchandise, thoroughly enjoying the fact that Fred and George now gave family discounts. They were just about to leave when a pretty blonde woman with a flustered face ran into the storeroom, looking distressed.

“Georgie, we need twelve more...Liz!” She stopped mid-sentence as she caught sight of her.

“Twelve more cases of what, dear?” George asked.

“Extendible eyes. And might as well get a few ears while you’re at it.”

“I’ll take the shop and let you guys catch up. Come on, Fred.”

After introducing Nick to Katie, they chatted for a while before the shop got so busy that they needed all hands on deck. Afterwards, Nick and Liz decided to go and get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.

When they entered the bustling pub, they waved at Ax and Marissa, who looked very cosy in a booth in the back. They also waved at Sirius. He and his date were laughing uproariously about something. Liz didn’t know Jackie that well, but she seemed like a very nice girl, and she and Sirius shared a mutual love of Quidditch. Still, she couldn’t fight back a small twinge of jealousy, noticing that the blonde looked very pretty in a yellow blouse, her shoulder-length hair curled and half up. Sirius had surely noticed.

Liz sat down in a booth while Nick left to get their drinks. She had to admit, she was having a wonderful time. Maybe she had been right when she thought that this could all work out for the best.

Nick handed her a glass, sitting down beside her and wrapping an arm around. She rested her head on his shoulder, sipping her drink. She eventually asked, “So, how’d you like your first experience with the Weasley family?” She saw Sirius and Jackie leave out of the corner of her eye.

He smiled. “Loved it. I’ve always wanted a big family. It’s been just me, Mira, and Dad for so long. So, tell me about the rest of them.”

“Hmmm. Well, there’s Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. They were my Dad’s best friends when they were at school, and they bicker constantly still. Hermione is this really rule abiding person, and Ron’s an auror, but he doesn’t take anything seriously. They’re Arthur’s parents. They also have a completely wild four year old named Jane, who is incapable of sitting down. She’s the only child in our family who I refuse to babysit.

“Then we have Bill and Fleur, Renee’s parents. Bill is really cool, he’s a curse breaker for Gringotts, he knows Gobbledegook, he has an earring, things like that. Fleur’s really French, but she’s the best cook, next to Grandmom, of course. And she has an amazing sense of style, so it’s really fun to go shopping with her. Uncle Percy’s kind of annoying, to tell you the truth. He boasts about everything, and he’s always really formal with everyone. But Mum says he’s always been like that. I think he just needs a girlfriend, but...” Her voice trailed off as Nick laughed. When he was finished, he urged her to continue.

“We barely ever see Charlie and Leslie, but I always look forward to their visits. Charlie always has amazing stories about the dragons he helps with in Romania, and Leslie’s basically good at anything. She and Hermione are the two smartest people I have ever met. They have six boys. The oldest, Phil, is absolutely crazy. Wait until you meet him, you’ll be scared.

“Now, Neville and Luna aren’t really related to me, but they’re as good as family. That’s Lynn and Celeste’s parents, by the way. Neville forgets things constantly, but he’s the sweetest person and the best Herbology teacher. He’s only reason I’m still taking that subject, as a matter of fact. Aunt Luna, I absolutely adore talking to her. She and her father are the editor of the Quibbler, and she has all these wild theories and ideas. But she’s always positive, no matter what.

“Now, who am I forgetting? Oh, duh, Remus and Tonks. They’re probably who you really want to hear about, right?” He nodded. “They are honestly the best. Tonks is co-head of the auror department, and a metamorphagus, so she’s really fun. She used to have pink hair, but she’s toned it down a bit. She always pretends to be angry with Sirius when he causes trouble, but she’s really quite proud of him. We live two houses down from them, so she always used to give me and Sirius ice cream and chocolate before dinner and let us stay up late when we were young. I loved going over there. Uncle Remus is absolutely the best person to talk to. He’s so easy going, and once you get him talking, he can go on for hours. He’s really smart too, and he has a wicked sense of humor. And we couldn’t ask for a better Defense teacher. You’ll love it here, I promise.”

“So, you and Sirius grew up together?” He asked. She wondered vaguely why he had chosen to ask this.

“Yes, basically from the beginning. I’m a day older than him, so I like to think I at least had a few moments of peace in my early life.” He laughed.

“So, what about your parents?” He asked.

“Oh! I forgot about them.” She laughed. “I honestly could not have asked for better parents. My Mum is the most caring human being on the planet. She’s the tough one when she has to be, but she’s my best friend the rest of the time. And she loves her family more than anything. Now, my Dad... You’d think being Harry Potter and all, he’d be mature and wise beyond his years, and all that, but he’s really just a big kid himself. He’s the best. He’s an auror as well, but he always has time for us no matter what...” She stopped as she saw Nick was avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry, I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I?”

“No, I asked. It’s just, I still can’t quite believe he’s really gone.” He whispered, almost to himself.

“Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said all that, and now I made you think about it, and...” He placed a finger on her lips to stop her babbling. He seemed to be drawing closer to her. She realized that she didn’t really think she would mind if he kissed her.

He did kiss her. And she was right.

She didn’t mind at all.


Well, there you have it.
I feel violence coming.
Don’t be too mean to me,
I’m delicate, lolz.
Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)
Hey, did you know that
Gobbledegook is actually
a word? Hehe!:D

Here’s the lovely next chapter...


Chapter 20: A Farewell to Sanity

This was a new personal low for Sirius. He was moping. Sirius didn’t mope. It just wasn’t him. But here he was, sitting alone in his dormitory on a perfectly good Sunday, moping.

“Liz, what have you done to me?” he asked out loud. His reason for moping had become painfully obvious at the Halloween feast last night. After spending a very enjoyable day in Hogsmeade with Jackie, he had returned hoping to find out that Liz’s date with Nick had not gone well. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

They were sitting together at the Gryffindor table, Nick’s arm firmly around Liz’s waist. Sirius was discretely spying on them from his place five feet away. However, after he saw Nick kiss her lightly, he got so frustrated that he left the feast early. Once back in the safety of his dormitory, he had pretended to be asleep when the rest of the boys came back, and only got up when they had left for breakfast. He was doing very well with his plan to avoid everyone.

That was until the last person he wanted to see walked in on his pity party.

Nick was grinning from ear to ear, and greeted Sirius cheerfully, apparently not noticing his cousin’s brooding mood. Sirius decided to play along. After all, he had to see if Nick was even close to being good enough for Liz.

“Hey,” he said. Nick was rummaging in his trunk for a piece of parchment. After he found it, he flopped down on his bed, and uncorked a bottle of ink. “Who are you writing to?” Sirius asked.

“Myself,” Nick replied, laughing. “I’m writing myself a reminder, I’ll forget what I have to do this week if I don’t.” Sirius found this odd, since Nick didn’t seem to be the forgetful type.

“Can I ask you a question?” He’d been wondering for a very long time. The other boy nodded. “How is it that you’re so good at magic? I mean, when we had that duel, you didn’t even seem to be trying.”

Nick laughed. “Of course I was trying, if I wasn’t it wouldn’t have been much of a duel. I’m just a good actor.” When he made this last comment, his voice darkened considerably.

“And why is that?”

“What’s with the interrogation?”

“Liz is my best friend. It’s my duty to make sure the people she dates are good enough for her. Answer the question or I may just decide that you’re not. You do like the use of both your legs, don’t you?”

Nick sighed. “Fine, you win. I’m a good actor because I couldn’t use my real name when I met people in America. You may think you’re talking to Copernicus Black, but you’re also talking to Christopher Barnes.”

The only thing Sirius could bring himself to say was, “Same initials.”

“Yeah, we used the same initials just incase. Mira was Maureen, which she absolutely hated, my father was Roger, and my mother was Rita when she was still alive. Dad was still technically a war criminal, and we didn’t know how serious the Ministry was about rounding up former Death Eaters. Dumbledore wasn’t around to vouch for him anymore. We had no choice.”

“Oh, wow,” Sirius muttered. He couldn’t imagine having to live like that. “Did you have friends? I mean, I know you were home schooled, but...”

“We knew people our own age, hung out with them sometimes, things like that. I took an obscure girl to the movies once in a while. But we could never get close to anyone, because it was too hard to keep lying to them.”

“Oh man, I’m really...”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry, because you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s good that you care about Liz enough to confront me.”

You have no idea... Sirius thought.

“I am sorry you had to live like that, though,” he murmured. Nick’s eyes darkened.

“After Dad died, and I found out we were moving back here, I was relieved. I felt so guilty about it, but I was just so unexplainably happy that I didn’t have to lie anymore.”

“I understand that,” Sirius assured him. And he did understand. He’d have been relieved too.

“Yeah...”

“What about Mira?” he asked. “I overheard Nicole talking about her. She said that she can do non-verbal spells already.”

“She’s a Auctoritus.” He smiled at Sirius’s perplexed faced. “It means she was born with the natural ability to do magic. It’s a real pain sometimes. Every time she got angry when she was little, and that happened a lot, things would spontaneously explode. The first spell I ever learned was ‘reparo’, because I watched Dad do it so many times.” Sirius laughed, then Nick asked, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Yeah,” he answered sincerely.

“That’s the reason my mother died giving birth to Mira. An unexplained surge of electricity stopped her heart. That’s what the muggle doctors thought, anyway. I did some research later, and found that witches who give birth to Auctoriti rarely live. Mira doesn’t know what she is, and she never will. The truth would tear her apart.”

Sirius didn’t think he’d ever been so appalled in his life. “I won’t say a word.”

“Good,” he half-grinned. “So, did I pass inspection?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I believe you did.”

***********

Sirius had chosen to spend the rest of his day in his empty dormitory, not really being in the mood for people. He couldn’t quite believe what he was doing. He was actually reading Hogwarts: A History. Liz had been shocked speechless when he’d asked to borrow her copy, but she was always saying that it was an excellent read. He was even more shocked when he found out he was enjoying it.

The door opened and closed, but he ignored it. Until he looked up to find Renee Weasley standing at the foot of his bed with her hands on her hips.

“I don’t know what to ask first,” he started. “What are you doing in Gryffindor Tower, or what are you doing in my dormitory?”

“Oh, I think you know why I’m here,” she answered smugly.

“I don’t like you like that, Renee.” The blonde rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you are such a prat! I don’t even see why Liz...” she stopped short, closing her mouth quickly.

“You don’t see why Liz what?” he asked, his heart pounding furiously.

“Why Liz puts up with you,” she finished. His face fell.

“Oh. Shouldn’t you be doing something Head Girl-ish?”

“Nah, I have my prefect minions doing all the work.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing up here.”

She sat down on Nick’s bed, idly reading his to-do list. Then she said, “I saw you with your blonde yesterday. How’d that go?”

“I’ll have you know that Jackie is delightful,” he muttered.

“But she’s not Liz,” she said, laughing.

“No,” he answered, looking down. “She’s not. And no one ever will be.”

Renee stopped laughing, her eyes going wide. “Oh my God.”

“What?” he snapped.

“Oh my God!” She jumped up. “Oh my God, you love her!”

“Oh, I’d call it more infatuation...” he tried desperately.

“You’re in denial. You’re in denial,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“I’m not in denial...” he started.

“Oh yes you are, you’re in denial,” she mocked.

“Shut up, Renee, it’s not bloody funny!” he shouted. She looked mildly shocked.

“Alright, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were that touchy. I’m leaving now. Take a nap. You’ve gone insane, or something.”

She walked out, slamming the door behind her. Now he felt guilty for snapping at Renee on top of everything else. He started organizing his trunk to distract himself, but only managed to find something that made him feel worse. At the very bottom was a crinkled piece of parchment with his handwriting on it.

“Operation Make Liz Fall In Love With Me,” he read out loud. “What a joke.” He lit the tip of his wand on fire, and touched it to the corner of the parchment, dropping it out of his window.

“Goodbye sanity, it’s been fun. Won’t be needing you anymore.”

********

Marissa looked up from the book she was reading to see Renee Weasley stomp down from the boy’s dormitory, and through the common room. Ravenclaw, Head Girl, Renee Weasley.

“What in Godric’s name...” she muttered to herself.

“Do I want to know?” a voice behind her asked. She turned to see Christian leaning on the couch she was sitting on. Landen had already sat down beside her.

“I don’t think so,” she answered. “I certainly don’t. Did you two need something?”

“Well Miss Davies, you see, we haven’t had a chance to speak to you in a while,” Landen said.

“Or should we call you Mrs. Malfoy?” Christian asked smartly. Marissa went a brilliant shade of red.

“Hmm, Marissa Malfoy, I don’t think that really sounds too good...” Landen pretended to think about it. “What’s your middle name?”

“Guess.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair, we’d be here forever. Especially if it’s something really obscure, like Adoncia or something. It’s not Adoncia, is it?”

“Marissa Adoncia Davies? No.”

“Marissa Adoncia Malfoy, actually,” Christian contradicted.

“Hey, that doesn’t sound half bad!” Landen exclaimed.

“Besides annoying me, was there another reason you came over here?” she asked.

“Yes,” Landen answered seriously. “We need to talk about our Quidditch prank. Have you practiced the spell yet?”

“How am I supposed to practice it?” she snapped. It’s not like she could just give random people tattoos across their forehead whenever she wanted.

“You’re a clever girl, you’ll figure it out,” Christian said cheerfully. “Of course, if you were so clever, you wouldn’t be dating Malfoy...” She smacked him on the arm.

“Oh, would you leave him alone! Is your goal in life to drive me absolutely crazy?” They really were driving her crazy.

“What are friends for?” he asked. Sirius stomped loudly down the stairs, cursing everyone from the Prime Minister to the giant squid, and slammed the portrait hole with such force that the Fat Lady squawked loudly. Marissa burst out laughing.

“What?” Both boys asked in unison, bemused.

“Nothing, he’s just so stupid!” she shrieked. They looked terribly confused now.

“Girls...” Landen muttered to Christian. The other nodded vigorously.

********

Liz was doing patrols with Ax on Sunday night, as their prefectly duties entailed. She was also glad to get a chance to ask him how his Hogsmeade trip had gone. Marissa had been dreadfully illusive, although she had gathered that it had gone well by the grin permanently fixed on her face. She thought she might have better luck dragging details out of Ax.

“So, how was Hogsmeade?” she asked innocently. He immediately blushed profusely. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, you know.”

“It was fine,” he answered, causing her to groan.

“Urgh, I want details! Abraxas...”

“Alright, just don’t finish the name! Why I had to be named after dead, fanatical, pureblood obsessed Death Eaters is beyond me.” Liz coughed. “Okay! Well, we had a wonderful time, actually. We did all the normal Hogsmeade-y things. We even went into Madam Puddifoot’s, although we both agreed that it’s horrible. ‘Like walking into a florescent pink torture chamber,’ were Marissa’s exact words. Then we went to the Three Broomsticks, waved at you, and went back to school. We would have said goodbye, but you were a bit busy. Now, was that worth all the pestering?”

“Not really,” she answered. “You’re still being dreadfully vague about it.”

“Well, what do you want, a written report?”

“That would be nice, actually. I’ll be expecting something by Wednesday, eh?”

“You can’t be serious,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

“No, actually, I’m not. Sirius only wishes he could look this good.”

He looked confused for a moment, then said, “You did not actually just make a pun out of Lupin’s name, did you?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did,” she responded, grinning cheekily at him.

“Speaking of which...”

“What, puns?” she asked stupidly. He rolled his eyes.

“No, Lupin. What’s with the sudden interest in Black?”

“Well, of course it’s sudden Ax, he only just got here a few weeks ago. But if you must know, I’m quite fond of him.”

“You’re quite fond of him?” She nodded. “You make him sound like a type of pudding, Liz.”

“I do not! Well, what do you want me to say?”

“You never answered my question,” he pointed out.

“You never asked a question.”

“What about Lupin?”

“What about him? He’s my best friend, that’s not going to change just because I’m dating his cousin.”

“Ah, your best friend. And he feels the exact same way about you? You’re his best friend and all.”

“Yeah. We’re just friends,” she assured herself as well as him. He grinned.

“You can be really stupid sometimes, you know that?” he told her bluntly.

“Excuse me, but I happen...” She was interrupted by a loud giggle coming from a broom closet on her left. She rolled her eyes, and motioned for Ax to step behind her. She was in a vindictive mood, and busting a couple out of bed seemed like a good idea. She threw open the closet and started her speech.

“I am a prefect, and you are both out of bed past...SIRIUS?” And sure enough, it was. Her ‘best friend’ seemed to be very involved with a Hufflepuff seventh year, who was now giggling at being interrupted in their escapades.

“Umm, hi Liz,” he answered, grinning sheepishly.

She closed her eyes and said through gritted teeth, “Get back to your dormitories and stay there.” The girl ran off, giggling madly. Liz suspected that she had the I.Q. of a tree frog, but decided that it wasn’t her place to point that fact out.

“Liz, I can explain...”

“Save it, Sirius. Just go back to Gryffindor Tower, please.” She was trying desperately to keep her voice level.

“But I...”

“Go!” she shouted, before taking a deep breath. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

He hesitated. “Okay. But we’re talking later.” After he left, Liz turned to find Ax with his mouth already open.

“Not a bloody word,” she warned. He shut his mouth quickly, and they continued their rounds in silence.

He can kiss whoever he wants, that annoying little voice in her head whispered. You did.


Ah, and we have one
of my oh-so-sucky
informative chapters.
Oh well, leave me some
comments anyway!
Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Sorry about that, guys! I had the most annoying Spanish project on Earth to finish last weekend, and then an English project on top of that. But I might post again on Saturday to make it up to you guys! Oh, and this post is dedicated to daddylonglegs, since she gave me the idea for something that happens. Happy reading!


Chapter 21: The Green-Eyed Monster

“Sirius, is this really necessary?” Sirius had been serious when he told Liz that they were talking when she got back to the common room. She had tried to slip past him, but he’d caught her before she could make it up to her dormitory. Struggling had gotten her no where, and she was now tied to a chair in front of the fire.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“I won’t go anywhere, I promise,” she said, struggling against the ropes holding her to the chair.

“I don’t trust you.”

“Fine, well say what you need to say, and make it quick, I don’t want to be here all day.”

“It’s night, Liz,” he pointed out stupidly.

“I bloody well know it’s night, you git! You know, an hour where some people like to sleep? Can you just say you’re sorry so I can go to bed?” she begged, squirming again.

“Oh, I’m not going to apologize. I have nothing to be sorry for. I just want to talk to you.” Liz stopped struggling, and just stared at him dumbly.

“You’re joking, right?”

“No. Why would I be joking?”

“What could you possibly want to talk to me about? We talk all the time.”

“Not about our feelings...” he muttered.

“You want to talk about feelings?” She couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.

“Well, I didn’t think it was that funny...”

“Oh, but it is! You, the person who has no regards for the feelings of others, wants to have a chat about them, now that is brilliant...” He cut her off.

“I have no regards for the feelings of others?! D***** Liz, all I ever think about are your feelings, about what I can do to keep you safe, and happy, and...” he stopped, aware he had said far too much. All the color had drained out of Liz’s face.

“What do you want me to say?” Sirius asked.

“I want you to tell me why you’ll snog a girl when you don’t even know anything about her, don’t even like her,” she answered.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little hypocritical?” he asked. “Should I ask you the same questions?”

“I fail to see how Nick has anything to do with this,” she snapped.

“And I fail to see why you even care who I snog,” he snapped back.

“I just think it’s wrong just to snog a girl just for fun, when you don’t even want to see her again.” She had come up with the best answer she could think of on the spot.

“Uh-huh. That, and the fact that you’re jealous,” he said smoothly.

“What?!” Liz exclaimed, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. “I am not jealous.”

He walked over to where she was sitting, and rested his elbows on the arms of her chair, leaning down until their faces were only an inch apart. “Then why are you blushing?” he then asked. He laughed as she sputtered incoherently, walking towards the stairs leading to the boy’s dormitories.

“Night, Liz,” he said, while waving his wand and vanishing the ropes still binding her. “Sweet dreams.”

***********

Sweet dreams indeed. She had to take a dreamless sleep potion just so she was able to get to sleep at all. At six o’clock the next morning, she was rudely awoken by a loud hoot right in her ear. She looked up to see Bob, Sirius’s owl, attacking her hair, a bulky parcel attached to his leg.

She relieved the bird of his burden, opening a folded piece of parchment tied to the package.

To: The Green-Eyed Monster

From: Her Dashingly Handsome Yet Very Humble Servant

Well, green-eyes, I still say you’re jealous, but this conversation obviously isn’t going to get us anywhere. So allow me now, being the noble person I am, to apologize for whatever atrocity I have committed against her lordship, and to beg on bended knee for her not to bring her extensive wrath down upon me. Please, oh merciful one, I implore you. I need your wisdom to pass the dread class of potions. So accept these tokens of my appreciation, and be comforted by the knowledge that you’re still my bestest friend in the whole wide world. And yes, I am two years old.

-Mr. Gorgeous

P.S. Use it well.

“Use it well?” Liz whispered to herself. She then turned her attention to the bundle itself, and after a few seconds had revealed two pounds of Honeydukes best chocolate. Dark chocolate with almonds, her favorite. Underneath that was one of Fred and George’s portable toilet seats.

“Oh, use it well...” she muttered in understanding, rolling her eyes. Grabbing a piece of spare parchment and a quill off her night stand, she wrote a quick reply.

To: The Festering Blob of Gryffindor Tower

From: Lord Over All She Surveys

You are so unbelievably stupid. But thank you for the chocolate. And I need the Marauder’s Map back if you’re finished with it.

“Here, Bob, take this to that idiot of a master you have. And give him this.” She tied the note to the animal’s claws, then placed a dirty sock in his mouth.

She then realized she hadn’t written Phil back, and that he was probably waiting for a response. She pulled out another piece of parchment.

Dear Mr. Snuggle Muffkins,

Don’t ask, I’m in a creative mood today.

No. I absolutely refuse to guess where you are. I don’t even want to know, because if you’re there, it can’t be good. And why in the world were you messing around with rotten brussel sprouts? You know what, I think I’m just going to have to take your word for it.

Nick and Mira...they’re kind of better explained in person. You should probably just wait for one of the adults to fill you in. But basically, they came, they’re here, and they’ll be here for a while. Sirius is hideous, as always. He’s been, shall we say, interesting lately? He sent me a toilet seat today, for example. I think he may be planning to run off with a traveling freak show. He’s probably already sent in his application. I think he’d be a shoe-in, don’t you?

Lynn is absolutely pining from lack of contact with you. Not really, she actually had quite a few colorful words when she opened the package of dungbombs, but I’m not about to repeat all of them now. Has Norbert really mated, or is that just another one of your sick fantasies? Oh, and I promise that I won’t snog too many undeserving fools. And as for you being the smart one...

- Me, who else?

P.S. What is with all the P.S.’s???????????????

Shortly after she’d finished, Bob landed on her bed again with Sirius’s reply.

My Lovely May Flower,

You wound my heart. I am not, I repeat am not, a festering blob. But you’re very welcome for the chocolate. And yeah, I’m done with the map.

- Seriously Sirius

She laughed out loud, then jotted down a quick answer.

That was so lame.

Five minutes later, she received:

Yes, yes it was. Will you come to my Quidditch practice tonight?

She pondered for a moment before coming to a decision.

Yeah, sure, why not?

She got her final note that morning a few minutes later.

Great, see you then Lizzie-kins.

Prat.

***********

The second years currently occupying the dungeon Monday morning were trying to make a potion that would turn the drinker’s hair neon colors. Mira and Rob were both peering apprehensively at the contents of their cauldron, as though expecting it to explode at any moment. Neither of them would really be surprised if it did.

“I really hate potions, your wand is absolutely no help at all,” Mira muttered, clearly disgruntled.

“At least you kind of know what you’re doing, I usually just throw things in and hope I don’t die,” Rob replied, his face flushed and sweaty. Mira giggled. “What?”

“You kind of look like a tomato.”

“Oh, well I feel better now,” he said sarcastically. She grinned.

“Okay, next we need Millenleaf powder, can you hand me that phial?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure...whoops...” Rob knocked over one of her books in the process of adding the ingredient. She bend down to pick it up, but banged her head loudly on the underside of the table, almost spilling their potion.

“Ouch!”

“You alright?” Rob asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied.

“What’s the matter, Black? Couldn’t keep that huge head of yours out of it?” Nicole asked from behind them. Mira turned around to sneer at her.

“Nicole...” Rob whispered in a warning voice.

“Yes, that’s right Potty. But my huge head really can’t stand that annoying little voice of yours, so do shut up.”

“Mira,” Rob said to her now. “Let’s just finish our potion, alright?”

“Yeah, okay.” She turned her back on the other girl.

“Chicken,” Nicole muttered, not quite under her breath. A glass phial in Rob’s hand burst, and Mira’s eyes widened in shock. She hadn’t done that in a while.

“Oh d***, I’m sorry. Here, let me see that.” He showed her his hand, where she immediately began picking pieces of glass out of the skin.

“Why are you sorry? It’s not like you could have done it,” he responded.

“Oh, no, of course not. Here.” She waved her wand, and his hand was back to it’s original state.

“Wow, thanks!” he said in shock. “How’d you do that.”

“Magic,” she answered simply. He gave her a look, and she grinned. “All in a day in the life of Mira Black.”

***********

Potions that afternoon wasn’t the most enjoyable event for Sirius. Since Liz was dating Nick now, it was only natural that she would be his partner, which left Sirius with Angenette Finnigan. He had nothing against the girl, but she did seem to hate him with a passion for some reason. She was now sending him repeated glares as they attempted to finish their potion without speaking to each other.

After a particularly bad fiasco involving a sizzling, puke green color, and the entire class almost becoming ill from the strong aroma of rotten eggs, he’d had just about enough.

The blonde sent him a glare again, so he snapped, “Look, it’s not my bloody fault you won’t even talk to me, so don’t blame me when we do something wrong!” She glared at him again.

“What is it with you, anyway?” he asked. She just shrugged.

“Liz...” he whined. The girl in front of him turned around.

“What?” she asked nicely. Well, nicer than usual, that is.

“She’s being mean to me!” he answered, pointing.

“Oh no, anything but that!” she exclaimed sarcastically, ruffling his hair and turning around to work on her own potion.

“But, but, but, tell her to be nice!” he demanded.

“Why don’t you give her some chocolate...” Nick muttered, and Liz snorted.

“But I don’t have any chocolate,” he realized something, “Hey, wait a minute. How did you know I gave Liz chocolate so that she would be nice to me.”

“We live in the same dormitory, cuz.” He answered.

“Oh...”

When the bell rang for dinner (finally), Liz, Nick, and Sirius walked out of the classroom together, Liz and Nick holding hands, and Sirius keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn’t get too cozy. His shooting them glances every two seconds resulted in him bumping into several people, and even knocking one girl’s books out of her hands.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, bending down to help her pick the large pile up. “Didn’t see you there.”

“No problem,” she whispered timidly. “Thank you.” She walked quickly down the hallway, struggling under the massive amount of books she was carrying.

“You forgot your...” Sirius called after her, “...quill.”

After a quick dinner, he headed down to the Quidditch pitch with Liz. Nick said he had some homework to finish in the library and that he would be down later. Walking down the sloping lawn in the chilly November air, they were arguing about the best type of pie when they reached the pitch.

“I’ll just wait for you in the stands,” she said.

“Nah, just come on in the changing rooms, the rest of the team isn’t here yet. It’s warmer in there,” he added. He could see her shivering through her light, black sweater. She nodded and followed him in, sitting on one of the long benches and watching him set up animated posters showing the different plays. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on the Quaffle she was holding.

“What’s that one?” she asked, pointing to the nearest poster. He glanced at it while digging in a large pile for his Quidditch robes.

“Wronski Feint,” he answered. “Seeker diversionary tactics. You can try it out if you want, I’ve got an extra broom in my locker.”

“No, I think I’ll pass, thanks. It looks violent,” she said, watching as one of the little stick figures slammed painfully into the ground. She turned around to face Sirius and was both surprised and embarrassed to see that he had his shirt off, pulling his Quidditch robes on. She couldn’t help but think of how good he looked, though.

Sirius pretended not to notice the furious blush that was tinting Liz’s cheeks, although he was secretly beaming inside. “Toss me that Quaffle, would you? I’ll walk you out.” She threw the red ball at him a bit harder than she had meant to.

“You wouldn’t make a bad chaser, you know that?” he asked. She just shrugged.

They walked out of the changing room to find Nicole just coming around the corner. “What were you two doing in there...alone?” she asked. Liz blushed again.

“Setting up for you lot. Go get changed, I want the whole team in there for tactics discussion in ten minutes.” When the last of Nicole’s red hair whipped out of sight, he turned back to Liz. “Here, take my cloak, you’ll freeze to death out here when the sun goes down.”

Usually she would have protested, but it was really cold. As she thanked him and slipped it on, she felt that it was still warm from where he had worn it.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she said, turning around.

“Liz?” She turned back around.

“What?”

“Don’t I get a good luck hug?” he pouted. Liz rolled her eyes, but hugged him all the same.

An hour later, Liz was half watching the team, half reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. She felt an arm slip around her shoulders, and looked up as Nick greeted her with a kiss.

“Finish your homework?” she asked.

“Not exactly. I got distracted by a beautiful girl sitting all alone in the Quidditch stands,” he answered.

“Oh, you’re so romantic,” she said, pretending to swoon.

“I know,” he grinned, kissing her again.

Nicole, who was speeding past them looking for the snitch, shouted, “Get a room!” over her shoulder. Liz gave her sister a very rude hand gesture.

“People...” Liz murmured. She could feel Nick grinning against her lips. Then something hit her in the side of the head. She spun around to see Sirius looking truly apologetic with his hand over his mouth.

“Sorry!” he called. Liz threw the Quaffle back at him.

“You about ready to get out of here?” Nick asked her.

“Yes, please,” she answered, grabbing her book and his hand and heading for the stairs. She didn’t see Sirius shake his head sadly before resuming his practice.


One of the funnier chapters,
in my opinion. I really
liked the beginning. So
what did you guys think?
Tell me here! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

A big thanks to both scd and Evik, who are allowing me to use their names for minor characters. Both characters make their first appearance in this post. Thanks you two! Now this post is strange because, as all of you over at Confusion’s a Funny Thing know (sorry, shameless plug), my foot hurts. Yes, that’s right, I’m more creative when my feet hurt. Hehe, snow days make me loopy.


Chapter 22: Gryffie’s for the Cup

Tension was running high between Gryffindor and Slytherin the week before the first Quidditch match of the season. A few minor scuffles had broken out in the hallways, and most classrooms with both houses in attendance were filled with catcalls and wads of paper being thrown at players.

Sirius was quite nervous about this game, seeing as it was his first as captain, and he really wanted to win. He also was proudly observing that Gryffindor pride had never been higher. People were constantly patting him on the back, or breaking into a rousing chorus of the Gryffindor house song.

By the Friday before the match, he was pretty confident.

He gave the Fat Lady the password and jumped in through the portrait hole, only to find a completely empty common room. Why was it empty? It was seven-thirty on a Friday night. Something wasn’t right...

“Surprise!”

His house mates jumped out from every hiding place imaginable, clad in Gryffindor colors and bearing wide grins. Liz broke away from the crowd to hug him, squealing.

“What’s all this?” he asked.

“Well, I had to do something since this is your first game as captain!” she answered.

“You did this all for me?” he asked in disbelief, truly touched.

“Well, it started out as just a few posters and some food. But I was trying to charm that banner back there,” She pointed to a large sign reading, ‘Lupin’s Lions’ in large, flashing letters, “and Megan Shacklebolt, you know, Kingsley’s daughter, saw what I was doing. Well, she showed me all these charms for decorations, so we did the whole common room. Then we got everyone to put on our colors and hide. Do you like it?”

“Of course I like it! But you didn’t have to go to all this trouble...”

“But I wanted to.”

He grinned down at her, then took some time to inspect the common room more closely. It was lit by glowing golden orbs, and just about everything was either covered in confetti or draped with red and gold streamers. Several banners saying things like ‘Gryffie’s For the Cup’ or ‘Slay the Serpents’ were hanging on the walls. There were also posters of each team member scattered around the room. The players spent their time scowling menacingly or shouting plays at people when they walked by.

“Those are so neat!” he remarked, pointing at his frowning self.

“That’s the same charm they use for wanted posters,” a voice behind him remarked.

“Shackles!” The fourth-year Gryffindor grimaced at the childhood name. “Liz tells me you’re a regular Picasso at all things charms.”

“Nah, just the perks of having an auror for a parent,” she grinned.

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” Sirius said sarcastically. Tonks and Kingsley were both head aurors, and ran the department together. Megan stuck her tongue out at him. “You walked right into that, you know...”

“I’m leaving now,” she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, bye Shackles,” he said merrily.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Alright, see you later Boltie!” he yelled after her. She sent him an ice cold glare over her shoulder. “Well, that was rude...”

“Are you tormenting underclassmen again?” Liz asked. She and Nick had came back over to him, Liz carrying two butterbeers. He took one and thanked her.

“Yes,” he answered. “It’s just Shackles, if she wasn’t such a tom-boy I wouldn’t have to.”

Liz was about to retort when a small, blonde girl walked by them with a lion hat almost as large as her perched on her head. “Doesn’t Aunt Luna have a hat like that?” Sirius asked.

“I think Celeste stole it at the beginning of the year,” Liz replied, laughing.

“Ah...” Nicole walked up to them, grinning from ear to ear.

“This is so awesome!” she squealed. Sirius snorted.

“I remember my first game...” His eyes took on a glazed quality until Liz poked him in the arm. “What? Can’t a guy reminisce around here?”

“Hey, have you seen Rob?” Celeste, who had just joined them, asked Nicole.

“Nice hat,” Sirius remarked.

“Thanks.”

“No, I haven’t seen him all afternoon,” Nicole murmured with a scowl. “He’s probably off somewhere with that little...” She stopped, shooting a glance at Nick. “...squirrel.”

“He talks to squirrels?” a bemused Sirius interjected.

“Oh yes,” Nicole lied. “He’s a real animal lover. Squirrels, cats, squids, all sorts of things.”

“Okay, that’s weird...”

“Yeah...” She turned suddenly and slipped out of the portrait hole. Celeste shook her head, an expression of half amusement, half understanding etched on her face, and followed her.

“Strange,” Liz muttered.

The party went on for some time. Liz, Nick, and Sirius were shortly joined by the rest of their friends, who had commandeered the couch by the fire. Liz was sitting on Nick’s lap, so Sirius took it upon himself to make sure they didn’t permanently scar any first years. Or that was what he told them anyway.

Marissa, Landen, and Christian disappeared around eight, trying not to look too suspicious. Angenette, who had been forced to sit next to Sirius, rolled her eyes.

“So Angie, enjoying the party?” Sirius asked, basically because he was bored and he knew it would get her riled up.

“Don’t call me Angie,” she snapped.

“Hey, she talked to me,” he pointed out to Liz, who sent him a glare. “What? Hey, watch where you’re putting that hand.” He slapped Nick’s hand away from Liz’s waist.

“Sirius, you’re an idiot,” Liz commented casually.

“I know.”

The trio returned about an hour later, giggling madly. “How’d it go?” Liz asked.

“You’ll see tomorrow,” Christian and Landen said at the same time.

“I’m scared,” Angenette said. “Should I be scared?”

“Not unless you’re secretly a member of another house,” Marissa replied, still laughing.

“You cursed your boyfriend?” Nick asked.

“Not cursed...charmed.”

“Now I’m scared,” Sirius put in. “A charmed Malfoy, what’s next?” Marissa hit him over the head. “Ow!”

“Idiot,” Landen and Christian said in unison.

“Ha! See, even they think so!” Liz cried triumphantly.

Sirius just rolled his eyes. He sure did have a habit of picking interesting friends.

*********

The next morning, three-fourths of the school woke up, took a look at the foreheads of their friends, and uttered simultaneous screams.

No really, they all screamed simultaneously. Sirius didn’t know how they had managed to charm it so that everyone woke up at the same time, but they did. They could actually heart the Ravenclaws squawking from Gryffindor tower. Landen and Christian were both laughing hysterically.

Marissa poked her head into their dormitory fully dressed and beaming. “Oh good, you’re all up. It worked!”

“Brilliant job, m’lady, brilliant job,” Christian grinned.

“We’ll be down in five minutes to inspect the damage,” Landen finished.

“So what exactly did you guys do?” Sirius asked.

“Get dressed, and find out.”

Walking into the Great Hall in full uniform ten minutes later, he saw exactly what they did.

Every non-Gryffindor person in the school (aside from the staff, of course), had the words ‘Gryffie’s For the Cup’ tattooed across their foreheads in bold, neon pink letters. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs seemed a little annoyed by this at the most, and seem to still be supporting Gryffindor in the upcoming game. The Slytherins, however, didn’t seem to find this nearly as amusing. Especially the team.

Marissa, Landen, and Christian were all sitting at the Gryffindor table smugly, looking very pleased with themselves. Sirius sat down across from them, grinning.

“I’d say brilliant job, but that would be bad sportsmanship,” he told them. Then all four burst out laughing. Liz and Angenette came through the double doors clad in Gryffindor colors, took one look at the rest of the student body, and started grinning like idiots.

Sitting down beside him and poring herself some pumpkin juice, Liz said, “Nice weather we’re having. I smell victory.”

“This coming from the girl that hates Quidditch,” he smarted.

“Shush. And your captain’s pin is crooked again,” she said, adjusting it for him.

“Stop fussing.”

“It’s my job.”

“How many people do you know that are professional fussers?”

“If you’d hold still for one second...”

“Are you fidgeting?”

“No, I’m trying not to poke you...”

“You’re nervous about the game, aren’t...”

“Would you two shut it?” Angenette interrupted their bickering. Neither of them had realized they’d been going on for that long. Nick sat down on Liz’s other side just as Ax walked up to their table and began tapping his foot. Marissa either didn’t see him or pretended not to notice him. He cleared his throat loudly.

Marissa looked up at him, and tried her hardest not to burst out laughing. “Oh, you look so cute!”

“Cute?” he asked, revolted.

“Yeah, adorable!” she replied brightly.

“Ah, yes, because I woke up this morning and thought to myself, ‘Hmm, I have a Quidditch match today, I want to look cute.’ And then I looked into the mirror and saw that I had a tattoo wishing my opponent success in the most revolting color on earth across my forehead, a tattoo my girlfriend had put there, and what do you know, my dreams had come true!”

“Really?” she grinned. He tried to think of some terribly witty remark to come back with, but couldn’t quite manage not to smile. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bench.

“Come on, you still have to wish me luck.”

“Oh very well,” she joked, faking extreme annoyance. “You had to twist my arm, but...”

***********

“AND HEEEEERE WE ARE! THE FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON. AND IT’S SHAPING UP TO BE A GOOD ONE FOLKS!” The commentator, a Gryffindor fifth year by the name of Eva Jordan cried dramatically into the magical microphone.

“Is she a little excited?” Nick asked. They were all sitting in a straight line near the top of the stands.

“Nah, she’s always like that,” Landen answered. “Too much coffee, in my opinion.” All six of them jumped when they heard a loud roar, then laughed when they realized it was just Celeste’s hat. She, Rob Creevey, and Mira Black were all sitting in the row behind them. Liz looked at Mira curiously. She thought she might have found her sister’s ‘squirrel’.

“FIRST OUT, WE HAVE THE ROARING GRYFFINDORS! THIS TEAM ABSOLUTELY REEKS WITH TALENT, I TELL YOU. LED BY THE EXTREMELY SMELLY SIRIUS LUPIN,” Liz and Nick exchanged horrified glances, “THIS GROUP HAS PROMISE. THEIR NEW SEEKER, NICOLE POTTER, SEEMS TO BE SHAPING UP TO BE THE BEST SEEKER HOGWARTS HAS SEEN SINCE, IN A FIT OF ORIGINALITY, HER FATHER!”

“NOW, I GIVE YOU THE HISSING SLYTHERINS. CAPTAINED BY ABRAXAS MALFOY,” Marissa let out a whistle, and Liz elbowed her in the side, “THIS TEAM, KNOWN FOR QUICK WIT AND BENDING THE RULES, MAY HAVE MET IT’S MATCH. ONLY TIME WILL TELL. AND LET THE GAME BEGIN!”

Sirius and Ax shook hands, trying to look like they didn’t wish each other too much pain, and the referee threw the Quaffle in the air. Sirius immediately snatched it up, and sped towards the goal hoops.

“AND THAT’S LUPIN WITH THE QUAFFLE. NEARING THE GOALS, DODGES A BLUDGER FROM ZABINI, AND HE’S WITHIN SCORING RANGE. HE SHOOTS...AND BULSTRODE MISSES IT! TEN TO ZERO, GRYFFINDOR!”

We are mighty Gryffindor,
Come on, listen to us roar.
We fly fast, and we play rough,
Lupin’s lions for the cup.

Liz, jumping up and down on her seat, gladly joined in with the singing.

Oh-hoh, we’ll beat you,
Oh-hoh, loyal and true.

Slytherin scored a few minutes later. This type of play went on for some time, and the score was soon tied at sixty to sixty. That was when the real excitement started. Both seekers went into a spiraling nose dive, plummeting toward the ground at alarming speed.

“BOTH SEEKERS ARE DIVING! POTTER AND MALFOY ARE NECK AND NECK! BUT WAIT A MOMENT...WHERE’S THE SNITCH?” That’s when Liz noticed that although both players were still in a free fall, the snitch was nowhere to be seen. They continued to dive until they both pulled up in opposite directions at the last moment.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! BOTH SEEKERS TRIED A WRONSKI FEINT AT THE SAME TIME! PHENOMENAL...”

And then, Nicole rocketed toward the other end of the field. This time Liz saw what she was headed for. Ax realized about two seconds later that she what she had seen, and flew after her.

“Come on Ax!” Marissa yelled.

“Marissa!” Liz exclaimed.

“What?”

“AND THERE THEY GO AGAIN! THE SEEM TO HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN THE SNITCH THIS TIME. AH YES, THERE IT IS. POTTER’S A BIT AHEAD. THEY’RE CLOSING IN. WHAT IS SHE DOING!?”

Nicole had stood up on the broom, balancing herself with only her feet. Liz was pretty sure she was just showing off, but as long as she caught the snitch, she could have done back flips off a trapeze for all anyone cared. And sure enough, a second later her tiny fist had closed over the golden ball.

“NICOLE POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON. HA, TAKE THAT, SLYTHERIN!”

“The game please, Miss Jordan,” Professor McGonagall reprimanded.

“Sorry Professor,” she replied, lifting the charm from her voice to go join the rest of her house in celebration.

We threw the quaffle, caught the snitch,
Our seeker’s one hell of a witch.
You Slytherins just can’t keep up,
Lupin’s lions for the cup.

Liz, jumping around like a maniac, and dancing with joy, watched as her sister and her best friend were carried back to the castle by the cheering crowd. She still thought flying was pointless.

And she still thought Quidditch was stupid.

And she still believed in inter-house unity.

But for the first time, she could see exactly why Sirius had always loved Quidditch so much.


Mr. Linky (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Alright, here it is. It’s a bit on the angsty side (for this fic, at least), but I didn’t want to jump from the game straight to Christmas, so here it goes...


Chapter 23: Bigots and Bad News

December came, and a large amount of snow came with it. Friday night in the library could find a group of Gryffindors attempting to do their homework. Liz and Nick were snogging whenever Madam Pince wasn’t looking, Sirius was attempting to teach himself how to cast a patronus, and Angenette had fallen asleep on her Ancient Runes book. Ax and Marissa had disappeared about five minutes ago.

“Expecto patronum, expecto patronum, expecto patronum...Liz?”

The girl across from him looked up in annoyance. ”What?”

“Can you do yours real quick? I just want to see the wand movement again,” he asked pleadingly.

Liz rolled her eyes, pulled out her wand, and chose the first happy memory that came to mind. “Expecto patronum.” A large, silvery owl erupted out of the tip of her wand.

“Okay, thanks,” he muttered, and went back to producing puffs of smoke.

“No problem.” It was then that she realized what she had been thinking about. The time Sirius had kissed her in the library. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? That wasn’t a happy memory...

“Liz?” Nick’s voice broke through her thoughts. “You okay?”

“Oh, yeah, fine,” she smiled. “Where were we?” Sirius cleared his throat.

“What do you want?” Liz exclaimed. Not much, just you, he answered inwardly.

“Liz, I cannot allow you to touch my cousin in inappropriate ways. He is naive and innocent. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to put my foot down.” They both burst out laughing.

“What happened to your campaign of protecting her from me?” Nick asked.

“Didn’t seem to be working. I decided I’d try a new approach. Is she like, alive?” he added, gesturing to Angenette.

“Ancient Runes would put anyone to sleep,” Nick shrugged. Sirius nodded fervently.

“I happen to like Ancient Runes...” Liz muttered.

“But it’s not like you’re normal,” Liz sent Nick a glare, “...sweetie.”

“Oh, don’t sweetie me. And you...” She rounded on Sirius. “Go back to your patronuses.”

“Okay. Expecto patronum, expecto patronum, expecto patronum...hey!” Something huge and shaggy erupted out of his wand. “Cool.”

“Is that a lion?” Liz asked, interested.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Lucky. I get stuck with a stupid owl. What’s yours?” she asked Nick.

“It’s like this Golden Retriever type thing. Mira’s is the strangest I’ve ever seen. It’s a cat with two heads.”

“Is that even possible?” Liz wondered.

“Apparently.”

Sirius shrugged, and produced another perfect patronus. He was quite proud of himself until he realized what memory he was using. The time he kissed Liz in the library. He shook his head as though trying to get water out of his ears. He had to get this girl off his mind.

***********

Five minutes before curfew, Ax and Marissa were saying a hurried and mostly non-verbal goodbye beside the door to the Slytherin common room. They’d spent most of the evening chatting beside the frozen lake, despite the snow. Warming charms were wonderful things.

“I have to go...” Marissa muttered half-heartedly.

“Yeah, I know,” Ax replied, kissing her again. “I’ll...see...you...tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye,” she giggled. She’d been giggling a lot these past few weeks, something she was still not entirely accustomed to.

“Bye, sleep well,” he said, stealing one more kiss.

“You too.” She turned around and walked briskly down the corridor before she could be tempted to stay longer. He sang the password, and jumped into the common room, grinning vaguely. After flopping unceremoniously onto one of the couches and pulling out his Transfiguration book, he had begun reading when...

“Ax?” a familiar voice asked uncertainly. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”


He looked over the back of the couch to see his thirteen year old sister wringing her hands nervously. He’d always felt slightly overprotective where she was concerned, and she seemed to be in trouble. He slid the book back into his bag, and gestured for her to take the seat beside him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No, not really,” Annabelle stuttered. “It’s just...”

“Annie, just tell me. It’ll be easier that way.”

“Why are you seeing that girl?” she blurted.

He sighed, feeling anger boil in the pit of his stomach. “If you’re here to give me the usual lecture about pureblood nonsense, or do Father’s bidding, I think you should probably just leave before I say something I regret.”

“Ax, she’s a mudblood.”

“Don’t you use that word around me!” he snapped, his voice rising. She flinched. “And she’s half-blood, not that it matters.”

“She’s as good as a mud...” she stopped, sighing in frustration. “A muggleborn. She doesn’t deserve your attention.”

“Did Father put you up to this?”

“No,” she answered truthfully. “He doesn’t even know. Yet.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s me being realistic. He’s never going to approve of this.”

“I don’t care.”

“Mother and Father have given us everything...”

“Besides love,” he interrupted.

“Father loves us,” she argued.

“But he loves himself more.”

Her demeanor changed in an instant. Going from unsure and vulnerable to angry and self-righteous at lightning speed, she sneered at him. “You’re sickening. Walking around the halls with Gryffindor scum, contaminating yourself with that girl. She’s beneath you, and you treat her as an equal. I will not have you being a pawn in the court of a mud...”

“DON’T CALL HER THAT!” he shouted, standing up. The common room went silent, all eyes turning towards the pair. Ax grabbed her roughly by the arm and led her over to the portrait hole. “Come on, we’re causing a scene.”

“Ax, you’re hurting me!”

“Come on!”

Once out in the hallway, he sent Annabelle an ice cold glare, releasing her arm. “Don’t you ever call her that again, you hear me,” he hissed.

“That’s all she is, a piece of trash. What do you think Father’s going to do when he finds out?”

“I don’t care...”

“Father...”

“Father is a bigot.”

“Father has proper wizarding pride!”

“I can’t believe this! You’re going against everything wizarding pride should stand for. Friendship, unity, honor, love...”

“You are a Slytherin! You should not be consorting with Gryffindor riffraff!”

“That’s not saying much since the only reason I’m in Slytherin is because I asked to be!” She was shocked silent. “Yes, that’s right, the sorting hat was ready to put me, guess where? Gryffindor. But I begged to be put in Slytherin, because that’s what bloody stupid Father expected. Well, I’m done trying to please him. I gave up six years of my happiness for him, and I’m not about to give up the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“What about the Potter girl? How do you explain her?”

“If it wasn’t for her father, we wouldn’t even be here,” he spat viciously.

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you bantering about now?”

“Father was a Death Eater, Annabelle.”

Her upper lip curled. “That’s a lie.”

“Nope, it’s the good old truth, something Father should try sometime. He was a Death Eater, and he was quite proud of it. He spent six months in Azkaban before Harry Potter took pity on him and got the Wizengamot to release him under the pretense that he was brainwashed by our dear old granddad. I’ve got a copy of the Ministry records hidden in my trunk, I’ll let you borrow them sometime. They make for an amusing bit of light reading.”

“You’re a dirty liar...”

“I wish I was, Annie, I wish I was.”

She looked to be at a loss for words. “That doesn’t change the fact that he’s never going to accept this little relationship of yours.”

He laughed. “That’s the thing, though. I really couldn’t care less.”

***********

The next morning found Ax trying to inconspicuously sit down beside Marissa at the Gryffindor table. He made quite a spectacle of buttering his toast, looking anywhere but at the members of his own house.

“Alright, what’s going on?” Marissa asked. “You’re acting like an idiot.”

“Thanks,” he murmured sarcastically.

“Why are you sitting here, anyway?”

“Couldn’t I just want to see my lovely girlfriend more?”

“You’re sweet, but I don’t believe you.”

He sighed. “Fine. I had a huge fight with my sister yesterday, and we may have caused a bit of a scene in the common room.”

“What about?” she asked.

“What about what?”

“Your fight. What was it about?” She was too sharp.

“You,” he answered bluntly. “You and my father.”

“Me? What about me?” He hesitated. “You won’t hurt my feelings.”

He covered her tiny hand with his, giving it a light squeeze. “The usual pureblood, ‘you’re not worthy’ load of hogwash. I don’t think she’s talking to me now, and I’ll be in for it over Christmas break.”

She pulled her hand away from his, looking down at the bench beside her. “Oh...”

“Oh no, what’s wrong?” he asked, horrified. “I offended you, didn’t I? Don’t even think on it, she’s brainwashed, and my father’s just stupid...”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just...I never meant to cause trouble. I’m sorry.” She looked back at him, her eyes shining with tears.

“You’re not causing trouble, Marissa, you’re helping me realize what truly matters.”

“I don’t want your family to be angry with you...”

“It doesn’t matter. I care about you, that’s what matters.”

“He’s still your father, Ax.”

He sighed, and pulled her into a tight hug. “I know. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on running off to Mars anytime soon.”

“You better not,” she muttered into his shirt, and he chuckled. Liz, Nick, and Sirius sat down across from them, looking curious.

“Lost?” Sirius asked rudely. Ax sighed.

“No, Lupin, believe me. I know I don’t belong here,” he snapped, not being able to control himself. He stood up and stomped out of the great hall. Marissa shot Sirius a look of pure venom before following him.

“I think I’ve missed something,” Sirius muttered. He felt more than saw Liz’s eyes on him.

“Why’d you have to do that?” she asked angrily.

“I didn’t mean to offend him!” he said indignantly.

“Then why did you say that? It was really cruel, Sirius.”

“I don’t know, Liz, sometimes my brain doesn’t quite catch up with my mouth. Remember the library incident?”

This was another instance when his brain didn’t quite catch up. He made a mental note to remember this for future example.

“I thought we agreed never to talk about that,” she whispered.

“What the bloody hell are you two on about?” Nick interrupted. Sirius noted vaguely that he really was starting to talk like a Brit.

Liz had gotten up and was making her way toward the door. Sirius sighed heavily and followed her. When they reached the entrance hall, he gently called her name. He saw the fire in her eyes when she turned around.

“Look, I’m sorry...”

“Here we go again,” she murmured.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re sorry again. That’s all we ever do anymore. Apologize to each other!”

“Well if you weren’t so touchy, I wouldn’t have to.”

“Well if you weren’t so stupid, I wouldn’t have to be so touchy.”

“It’s not my fault that you do this to me, Liz. I just want this to go away, don’t you get that?”

Her eyebrows snapped together. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean...I don’t...I...URGH!” He turned on his heel and sped up the stairs, running towards the owlery, hoping she wouldn’t follow him, but somehow knowing that she would. All thoughts of Liz were driven out of his mind, however, when he reached the owlery.

A majestic, scarlet and gold phoenix was sitting on the ledge of the window, his fiery eyes already boring into Sirius as though he knew that he was coming. This wasn’t good. He recognized the bird immediately as Fawkes, Harry’s phoenix. But Harry always sent Hedwig with letters. Unless he needed something done quickly. Unless it was an emergency.

“Fawkes? What is it?” he asked. The bird landed on his shoulder, nipping his ear. Sirius took the letter out of his talons and found a hastily scrawled message on a ripped piece of parchment. It seemed like Harry’s hand had been shaking quite severely when he’d written it. He even thought there might have been a few tears smudging the ink. Sirius read it quickly, gasped out loud, and read it again. He could almost feel the color draining out of his face.

No. This couldn’t happen.

Not her.

Liz and Nick burst through the door, and Liz started to say, “Sirius, look...oh my God, what happened?”

He didn’t ask how she knew something was wrong. Maybe it was Fawkes. Maybe it was his face. Or maybe she just knew. He just handed her the letter mutely, quite surprised at just how fast her eyes could fill with tears.

Kids, Hermione’s in the hospital. We’re coming to get you immediately.


Can you guys feel the evil-ness?
And before you can ask, no, it’s
not Death Eaters or anything.
All yelling, theorising, and randomness goes here. (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next post! Possibly my favorite so far. I hope you guys like it, I do.


Chapter 24: Impossible to Reason

Liz and Sirius stood stock still, staring at each other, a silent conversation passing between them using only their eyes. How could this have happened? Hermione was smart, strong, seemingly invincible. She just didn’t end up in the hospital. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t possible.

Sirius was scared, she could see it in his eyes. And Sirius being scared frightened her even more. Sirius didn’t get scared unless there was a reason to be.

“Umm, I’ll go get McGonagall,” Nick said uncertainly. Liz jumped. She’d quite forgotten he was there. He plucked the letter out of her hands and slowly backed out of the room. Liz heard the door shut behind her, but she didn’t turn around.

“Sirius,” she whispered, reaching out to him, tears streaming freely down her face. He pulled her into a tight embrace, trying to take away some of the pain she was feeling. He hated seeing her cry. He couldn’t think of a thing to say, so he just held her.

After a few minutes, Sirius lifted her chin to look at her. She was a mess. They were still tantalizingly close, and Liz’s knuckles were white from having the collar of his shirt in a death grip.

“We should probably go to McGonagall’s office,” he said quietly, wiping some of the stray tears off of her cheeks. She nodded mutely, but continued to cling to him. He shifted so that they could walk, but left a strong arm around her shoulders. She was still leaning heavily on him.

“Come on, let’s go see what’s happening. It’ll be fine, probably nothing,” he continued this reassuring chatter all the way down the hall, but could tell Liz didn’t believe it any more than he did. He was scared, and he knew she knew it. But he knew he had to hide it the best he could. For all their sakes.

Entering the head’s office, they saw just how bad the situation had become. Professor McGonagall looked like she was about to pull her hair out. Nick and Mira were both in a corner, looking extremely uncomfortable. Lynn and Renee were both trying to calm down a white faced Arthur. Danni was sitting in one of the chairs, staring at the floor.

“You’ll all be taking a portkey out of here as soon as the rest of the Gryffindors get here,” the headmistress told them. She looked quite upset herself. “I’d go with you, but I can’t leave the school.”

Neville and Remus both walked into the office, and exchanged glances. The five other Gryffindors trailed in behind them. McGonagall handed Remus a broken fanged frisbee, and ran into her library, blowing her nose.

“Okay, come on kids, gather round,” he said gently. Renee and Lynn practically carried poor Arthur over to the rest of the group. Fawkes squawked at them. Sirius felt Liz jump, and he knew she’d forgotten about her father’s pet.

“Come here, Fawkes,” Sirius held out an arm for him. Liz also seemed to have forgotten how to use a portkey. He gestured to Nick, who managed to pry one of her hands off of Sirius’s robes and place it on the frisbee. Sirius shot him an apologetic glance. He shrugged.

And then they were gone in a blur of color.

**********

Nick felt strange being there. He’d never met Hermione, and only knew what Liz had told him about her. Everyone else seemed absolutely devastated by the news. It was scary, to be suddenly part of a family he didn’t know. He felt like an outcast constantly, even around Sirius and Liz. Just listening to them reminisce about their childhood made him unbelievably jealous of the bond that these people shared.

Walking into the waiting room of St. Mungo’s, he noticed that his girlfriend was still being comforted by Sirius. He could understand why. They had grown up together. They knew exactly what the other was going through. She was comfortable with him holding her, wiping her tears, telling her it was going to be okay. He just wished that someday, he would be able to comfort her like that.

He wished that someday, he would belong.

Harry was sitting in one of the chairs, his head in his hands, gripping his hair. Liz stared at him for a long moment before she spoke.

“Daddy?” He looked up, and walked over to them after seeing who it was. Liz broke away from Sirius to embrace her father, and noticed that there were tears in his eyes. Her father was crying. Her hero was crying. That was when she really broke down.

Harry looked incredibly distressed as he patted his daughter on the back, a steady stream of tears dripping down his own cheeks. After a few moments, he gestured to Sirius to help him out. Sirius was quite surprised, but took the crying girl into his arms regardless.

“Come on, let’s go sit down.” His words felt worthless. He led her over to the corner of the room, and pulled out a chair for her. She ignored it and slid down onto the floor. Sirius knelt down beside her, placing a hand on each of her knees until she looked up at him. “I’m going to go see if I can figure out what’s going on.”

She nodded. She looked so young. Sirius was suddenly reminded of the time when they were three years old and Liz’s first goldfish died. She’d gone on for days about what a wonderful friend he had been, and how he could never be replaced. He shuddered at the thought. He kissed her on the forehead, and dragged himself up.

Walking over to Nick, he asked, “Take over for me, would you? I need to go talk to my dad.” His cousin nodded and slid down beside Liz, wrapping her in a hug.

“Dad?” Remus looked up. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not really sure. But from what I’ve found out, Hermione and Ron were at Harry and Ginny’s visiting James when Hermione just collapsed. Apparently she stopped breathing and everything. Harry managed a few spells and got her here, but we’re still not sure how much damage has been done.”

“Where’s Uncle Ron? Aunt Ginny?”

“Ron’s pacing out in the hall outside her room, and Ginny’s contacting the rest of the family. I’m actually surprised Harry’s holding up so well. I remember the last time Hermione was hurt, he was a wreck. Of course, he was only seventeen at the time, but...”

“She’s going to be okay, though, isn’t she?” he interrupted.

“I don’t know, Sirius. I hope so.”

Nicole and Celeste were in the opposite corner of the room, sitting in silence. Danni was beside them, hugging her knees. Nicole glanced at Mira, who was leaning against the wall, seemingly trying to avoid being seen. “What is she doing here? She’s not family. She shouldn’t be here...” she muttered, what she thought was under her breath.

“Nicole, for Merlin’s sake, SHUT UP!” Celeste snapped. Nicole looked at her in absolute shock. Celeste never got angry. She was always the mellow, easy-going one.

“What?”

“Do you actually think if Hermione dies in there, it’s going to matter to anyone whether Mira was here or not?”

Nicole paled considerably. “But...but she’s not going to d-die, is she?”

“What do I look like, a seer?” Celeste asked testily.

“Everyone saying it’s nothing,” she whispered to herself. “Saying that she’ll be fine...”

“And you actually believe them?” Danni cut in. She realized they were both right. Now wasn’t the time.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said sincerely.

“You should be,” Celeste responded.

Mira took one last glance around the room. No one wanted her here. A single tear fell down her cheek, before she slipped out the door when she thought no one was looking. Nick saw her, however.

Liz saw the conflict on his face. He watched the door for a long moment, then looked down at Liz, then back at the door. She sighed. “Go.”

“Are you sure? I’ll stay.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got my dad, and the rest of them. She only feels comfortable with you. Go.”

“Thanks.” He kissed her when he determined none of her family members were looking, and followed his sister out the door. Sirius sat down beside Liz almost immediately. She sighed again, and shifted closer to him.

“Have you heard anything?” she asked.

“No. I can’t decide whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. You should try to get some sleep.” He gestured to the clock, which read eleven-thirty.

She made herself a bit more comfortable, using his shoulder as a pillow. “Sirius?” she asked, so quiet he barely heard her.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t leave me,” she begged. He made her feel so content, even when she was scared out of her mind. He made her feel safe. He made her feel loved. She liked Nick. She liked him a lot. He was a wonderful person and an even better boyfriend. He made her laugh, he never made her cry, and she loved spending time with him. There was just one problem.

He wasn’t Sirius.

She felt him sigh. “I won’t, Liz. I never will.”

***********

After much searching, Nick found his sister in a storage closet down one of the halls. She was staring at the wall as though wishing it a painful death, clearly fighting tears.

“Mira?” She jumped.

“I’m being selfish again, Nick,” she murmured. He sat down beside her.

“What happened?”

“I don’t belong here.”

“Mira, what...”

“They all hate me. Everyone. You have friends. You have a girlfriend. I’m just Mira, the freak. Mira, the American. Mira, the brainiac. I have one friend, and even he would choose Potter over me any day. I miss Dad. I want to go home,” she admitted.

“I miss him too. Sometimes I want to go back as well. I feel like a complete outsider half the time. Sirius is my cousin, Liz is my girlfriend, but they still have this unbreakable bond that I could never compete with. Like today. I tried to comfort Liz, but I could tell I could never compare to the way Sirius can comfort her.”

“I’m still being selfish, Nick. They’re all in there, worried about their aunt, and all I can think about is why stupid Nicole Potter hates me so much!” she burst out savagely. A pillow split open, spraying feathers everywhere. “D*****! Why do I do that?”

Nick skillfully ignored her question. “Mira, you’re not selfish. Selfish would have been staying in that room when you were feeling this way. And what’s this about Nicole?”

“She hates me! I didn’t even do anything to her, she just hates me!” she sobbed.

“Sweetie, I’m sure you’re just...”

“Don’t tell me I’m overreacting, you didn’t hear what she said in there. She said that I wasn’t part of this family, that I shouldn’t be here. And she was right. I shouldn’t be here. I’m just a burden.”

“How do you know she said that? She was sitting ten feet away from you.”

“I can read lips. And then Celeste started shouting, it was a little hard to miss, Nick.”

“You’re not a burden, Mira. You’re my sister, and I love you more than anything,” he soothed.

“I’m even a burden to you. If I wasn’t born, Mum never would have died.” If she was already blaming herself for that, it’s a good thing she didn’t know the full truth.

“Mira, you’re being ridiculous and you know it. That wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was! It’s all my fault.” Two more pillows burst. “Why does that happen to me?”

“I don’t know,” he lied.

“I want Dad back.”

“So do I,” he said. “This isn’t easy for me either, Mira. But Remus and Tonks took us in. We should be grateful that we don’t have to stay in that orphanage anymore.”

“I am grateful, Nick! But it’s not the same. Why does it have to hurt so much?”

He’d never seen his sister, his only friend for most of his life, in so much pain. “I can’t answer that. I don’t have many answers anymore. But it’ll get better, Mira. It’s bound to.”

She gave him a half-hearted smile. “I hope you’re right.”

*********

“Sirius...Sirius,” someone was saying. He opened an eye to see Renee peering at him.

“Yeah?” he asked groggily. He must have been dozing by accident.

“A healer just came in. Harry went with him.” Sirius nodded.

“How’s Art?” he asked.

“A complete wreck. Uncle Ron is too. He came in about a half hour ago. Jane’s even being quiet. She’s not here anymore though, Grandmom thought it would be best to take all the kids home a while ago.” Sirius nodded once again, and looked down at Liz, and shook her.

She gasped, then slowly opened her eyes. Once Sirius’s face came into focus, she asked, “Any news?”

“Your dad just went with a healer.”

“I’m so scared,” she admitted. And she was. Sirius could feel her heart beating.

The door opened. The room went deadly silent, as Harry backed into it, saying a last word to the healer outside the door. He turned around to face them all with a blank look on his face. Then, amazingly, he grinned widely.

“She’s going to be okay,” he shouted. They all let out their breath as one. “Better than okay. She’s pregnant!” They all gasped.

“Is the baby okay?” Bill asked.

“Perfectly healthy,” Harry announced happily. “I’m going to be an uncle again.” They were all silent for a moment, before the entire room broke into laughter, cheers, or relieved tears.

Sirius and Liz caught each other’s glance, and happily embraced. It was going to be alright. Everything would be just like it was. Better, even.

That’s when it happened. There was always a moment that made a person reconsider every aspect of their life. That moment, for both Liz and Sirius, was now.

Sirius had instinctively kissed Liz.

In his happiness, his feelings had caused him to forget everything besides how much he cared for the girl wrapped so perfectly in his arms. He’d unthinkingly, unexplainably, undeniably pressed his lips to hers, and she’d involuntarily, insistently, and impulsively kissed him back.

The kiss only lasted a few star-crossed seconds, but it answered three questions Sirius had badly needed answered. Yes, he still felt that strange spark between them. Yes, Liz felt it too. And no, Liz didn’t want to feel it nearly as much as he did.

She stared up at him in shock. No one else had seen them, due to the fact that they were hid away in a corner, removed from the raucous celebration. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted desperately for her to want him to kiss her again.

She sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night, removing her arms from where they had wound up around his neck. “Sirius...”

“It was an accident,” he said quickly. It practically was. “It never happened.”

“Good,” she said. Kind of, she added in her mind.

“Yeah,” he replied. Sort of.


The magical land of fat gnomes and even fatter reviews awaits your arrival... (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Lalalalala, killing time with absurd silliness. Oh, this was fun...


Chapter 25: And Then She Tried to Molest Me...

“Oh, Myrtle, you scared me,” Sirius exclaimed, clutching a hand to his racing heart. He probably should have assumed that she would turn up sometime, he was slumped against the wall of her bathroom after all. But turning around right after coming out of a doze to find a transparent girl staring avidly at him through thick-rimmed glasses was a very frightening sight. And it didn’t help when the ghost had a crush on him.

The real question was, why was he in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom anyway? Well, he was hiding. It was Friday, the last day of classes before they all went home from Christmas break, and he was hoping to find some time away from people in general before being stuck with a large number of them for two weeks. He was also hoping to find some time away from Liz.

They’d gone on like nothing had happened when they got back to school. Hermione was okay, and that was all that mattered. Sirius had known that they would never talk about it. It hadn’t mattered to Liz. And she thought it didn’t matter to him either.

If it didn’t matter, then why was that kiss the only thing he could think about?

He sighed, and looked toward the ghost, who was now giggling and blushing silver. “Hi Sirius...”

“Hello Myrtle, how are you today?” he asked courteously. He’d always made a point to be nice to Myrtle, no matter how annoying she could be. She was a sad story, her life cut short when it was just beginning, left to haunt the place she died. The first of Voldemort’s many victims.

“I’m absolutely awful,” she said cheerfully.

“Oh, I’m glad to hear that.”

“I’m even better now that you’re here,” she giggled. Sirius gulped. “So, did you need something,” she asked hopefully.

“Oh, no, not really,” he answered. “I’m just thinking.”

“Oh, about what,” she simpered.

“A girl.”

“Oh...” she murmured regretfully. “Well, I’m a girl.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed...”

She giggled again. “You’re so funny. Maybe I can help. But only if you promise to come visit me at least once a month.”

“If you help me, I’ll come visit you everyday. Bearing gifts.”

“Okay!” she said happily. It was quite strange seeing Myrtle happy. “So, what’s going on?”

He studied her, sitting cross-legged in the air with her chin in her hand, and sighed. “Okay, so this girl. She’s all I can think about. I try to concentrate on my schoolwork, or Quidditch, or pranks, but she always wiggles into my brain somehow. And then she won’t get out. I’ve never felt like this before, about anyone. It’s like, every time I’m around her, I turn into this massive pile of goo. I think...” he stopped short.

“What do you think,” Myrtle urged him.

“I think I love her.”

“Oh, that.” She looked extremely disappointed.

“But she doesn’t even seem to like me,” he added hastily, seeing her sad face. She was offering to help him, after all. She seemed to be moving closer. Uh-oh.

“I like you, Sirius,” she said sweetly.

“That’s sweet, Myrtle,” he said, backing up against the wall. “But, well, you’re dead, darling.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “And I suppose that means I don’t have feelings, right? You’re all the same, no one cares about stupid little Moaning Myrtle, not one thinks she’s pretty, no one likes her, no one...”

“No, Myrtle, I didn’t mean it that way!” he interrupted. “I just mean, you are dead, so there’s no way we could be together. But if you were alive, let me tell you...”

She stopped crying, her eyes alight with joy. “Really?”

“For sure,” he lied, trying his hardest not to gag. “And all the other guys too. We talk about how nice-looking you must have been when you were alive all the time.”

“Oh Sirius!” she cried, hugging him. Well, she really half went straight through him, but he assumed it was supposed to be a hug. He patted her on the back the best he could.

“There, there, see? There’s no reason for you to be sad all the time. Now do you have any advice for me?”

“Well, if she does have feelings for you, you should bring up other girls around her and judge her reaction. If she gets jealous, be yourself. It works, believe me.”

He was a bit scared.

Backing further against the wall, he muttered, “Other girls, that might work.”

“Other girls...like me?” Myrtle asked hopefully, stepping right up to him once again. He made a squeaking sound as she reached out to pinch an area he definitely did not want her touching.

“ThanksforallyourhelpMyrtle!” he said quickly while running out the door. That was close.

*********

Walking down the snowy streets of Hogsmeade, Lynn sighed. Andrew, who was walking beside her, didn’t seem to notice. He was babbling on and on about Quidditch this, Professor McGonagall that, off in his own little world. His hands were clasped behind his back. He never held her hand anymore.

She’d had a crush on him for so long. When he’d finally asked her out at the beginning of the year, she’d expected it to be magical. She had been bitterly disappointed.

At first, it was just how she’d always imagined. But after a while, they were almost like strangers. They never listened to each other anymore. Andrew spent a lot of time either at Quidditch practice, or plotting with Ryan and David. She read to pass the time. Let’s just say, she knew a lot more about toadstools than she ever wanted to know.

She smiled at Arthur as he and two Hufflepuff girls passed her. He gave her a little wave, still chatting animatedly to his friends. She noticed that he looked a bit sad.

“...and then he said, ‘You don’t have to hit that bludger at me, the game’s over.’ Who’s your favorite Quidditch team again?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” he asked. Lynn nodded. “Funny, I never knew that was a Quidditch team. What’s with you today?”

“What?” she asked stupidly, slightly ashamed of herself.

He sighed. “I asked, what’s wrong with you today? You’re not yourself.”

“I’ve just been thinking,” she answered vaguely.

“Oh...” he said. “Want to go to Madam Puddifoots?” he asked half-heartedly. She glared at him like a rampaging hippogriff. “Okay, sorry, just a suggestion.”

“God, Andrew, what is it with you!” she exclaimed hysterically. “You’re so stupid, all you do is...” She managed to stop herself, taking a deep breath. “Can we talk somewhere?”

“Yeah, the Shrieking Shack is just down the road,” he muttered.

They walked in silence, Lynn throwing Andrew glares every few seconds, and him giving her a questioning look in return. When they reached the decrepit fence, she turned to face him, her hands on her hips.

“What?” he asked, obviously confused.

“This isn’t working,” she said bluntly.

“Huh?”

“This. Us. It isn’t working. You spend all your time with Ryan at Quidditch.”

“He’s my twin, Lynn. Of course I spend a lot of time with him.”

“Yeah, well, I’m supposed to be your girlfriend.”

“We spend time together.”

“I see you once every other day, if I’m lucky! And then, we just snog the entire time anyway! That’s not what I call spending time together. You never listen to me either,” she said heatedly.

“Well, I don’t understand what it is that you want,” he admitted.

“I want a boyfriend by more than definition.”

“Well, I guess I could...” he started, but she interrupted him.

“I think we should break up.”

He blinked twice. “What?”

“I...I think we’re better off as just friends.”

She hadn’t known whether he would get angry or not, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to sigh in relief. Part of her was put at ease, but another part was slightly offended. Was she really that unbearable?

“I’m glad you said that,” he said.

“Yes, I can see that,” she replied grumpily.

“Oh, don’t get all offended, if anyone should it’s me,” he laughed, giving her a look. “I just didn’t think it felt right between us, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I just have one question.”

“Yeah?”

“Is it someone else?”

“Oh no, of course not,” she assured.

“Oh, okay,” he murmured. “I guess I’m just imagining things again...”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh no you don’t, Andrew Frederick Weasley. You can’t go and say something like that and not elaborate. Do you have no morals? Now, what did you mean?”

“Well,” he started, looking highly uncomfortable. “It’s just, I noticed some things at the inauguration.”

“Oh, and what things did you notice?”

“The way you and Phil are around each other.” Her eyes went wide, and she mouthed like a goldfish at him for several seconds.

“What?” she exclaimed finally. “You’ve...you’ve got to be joking! That disgusting, idiotic, unbelievably arrogant git! I think you’ve gone absolutely mental...”

“Okay, okay, you win!” he cried, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Like I said, I was probably imagining things. But he is right about one thing.”

“What?” she snapped.

“You’ve definitely got a temper on you.” She glowered at him, but he just laughed loudly and stuck out a hand.

“Friends?”

She stopped glaring and shook his hand, smiling. “Friends.”

***********

Liz was sitting alone at a booth in the Three Broomsticks with a large bowl of cheddar potato soup, her head bent over a long piece of parchment. Christmas shopping for her family was always a hassle. The long list of names was only half checked off, and she was starting to get a bit desperate. She’d stopped in for a quick bite to eat before resuming her mad search, but she’d only succeeded in frustrating herself more. She had to stop leaving her shopping until last minute.

One name on the list kept drawing her attention. Sirius. What in the world was she going to get Sirius? He was so unlike anyone else. She didn’t want to get him a sweater or a book on Quidditch like she usually did. This year was different. He’d gone from her enemy to her best friend in a few short months, and now she had to wonder where they would be a few months from now.

The truth was, she couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. She tried to tell herself that she had a wonderful boyfriend who she should appreciate wholeheartedly, but there was something nagging at her. The few seconds that his lips had made contact with hers were a few perfect seconds.

Now, Sirius was not perfect, but she wouldn’t want him to be. If he was perfect, he wouldn’t be Sirius.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her. For a while, she’d thought that maybe, she’d finally be able to forget about him. And then he had to go and kiss her. Now, once again, she found that when she would daydream in class or doze in the common room late at night, she’d think only of him.

The truth, and she’d only admit it to herself, was that she cared deeply for Nick. But she was in love with Sirius.

Love. That was a scary thought.

She wasn’t ready to be in love. She was sixteen years old, and falling in love at sixteen wasn’t part of her plan. But how else could she explain the unexplainable feelings she felt with as little as a glance from him. She hated that he could play with her emotions like that. Because she knew that as much as Sirius may have cared about her, he couldn’t be in love with her. Sixteen year old boys fell in love even less than sixteen year old girls. And Sirius had never been particularly sensitive.

“Liz?”

Darnit. There was Sirius, sitting across from her, his head tilted to one side.

“Did I startle you?” he asked.

“Oh, no, I was just thinking about Christmas shopping,” she answered, gesturing to her list.

He glanced at the napkin on the table where she had been picking out all of the pieces of bacon in her soup. “Don’t like bacon?” he asked teasingly.

She made a face. “You know I can’t stand the stuff.”

“So why didn’t you order it without?”

“It would’ve been too much work.”

“More work than picking it all out?” he smarted.

“You and your logic. Just eat the bacon,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“Where’s Nick?” Sirius asked.

“Detention.”

“Ah, I see I’m raising the boy right.”

“Yes, thank you for that,” she said. “So I’m attempting to do my Christmas shopping. What about you? Are you alone?”

“Nah, I’m meeting Eva Jordan here in an hour,” he answered while stuffing his face, judging her reaction carefully.

“Eva Jordan? She said you smelled in front of the whole school.” Was that...jealousy? Probably not.

“Reeked with talent Liz, reeked with talent!”

“You, my dear, have problems.”

“And you, my dear, have more bacon.” She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

When she calmed down, she asked seriously, “What do you want for Christmas?”

“I don’t know, surprise me.”

“Well, that’s what I was planning on, but I’m stumped.”

“You’re creative, you’ll think of something.”

“So, did you get my gift yet?” she asked nosily.

“Who said I got you anything?” She actually looked a little hurt. He laughed. “Not really. I’ve had it for a while.”

“And what is it?”

“Can’t tell you that. But I think you’ll like it,” he smirked.

“Hi guys,” someone beside their booth said. They looked up to see Marissa standing there. “Care if I join you?”

“No problem,” Sirius answered. She sat down beside Liz.

“Where’d Ax go?” Liz asked.

“I’ve been ditched,” she said happily.

“And you’re happy about this, why?”

“He had, ‘shopping’ to do,” she smiled.

“Oooh!” Liz exclaimed. Sirius was a bit lost. “You’ve got your birthday coming up too! So do you know what he’s getting you?” He figured out what they were talking about.

“No idea. But he knows he doesn’t have to get me anything.”

“But he will,” Sirius commented unexpectedly. They both looked at him strangely. He shrugged, then cast around for something to comment on. Saying the first thing that popped into your brain was not always the best answer.

“Moaning Myrtle tried to molest me yesterday.”

Marissa gagged, but Liz just smiled at him serenely, her chin cupped in her hands. “Really?”


The Land of Randomness (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!!!!!

Here’s the next post! Sorry about the delay, life got in the way again. I don’t think I’ll have much to do until fall, so maybe posting will get even better, who knows. Of course, after you read this post of suckiness, you might not want it to be. Sorry about that, btw. I’m just not feeling very inspired.


Chapter 26: Home Again

The usual rush to the trains the next day was particularly hectic. The group of sixth years fought through a gaggle of people searching for lost socks, pets, and siblings, and jumped into a compartment at the end of the train. While Nick and Sirius loaded everyone’s trunks, Liz sat down by the window, hoping to get a last look at Hogwarts.

The group in the compartment had changed a lot from last year. It was usually just the three girls, and one of Liz’s cousins once in a while. Now Sirius, Landen, and Christian had joined them, along with Ax. Nick and Mira made things a bit cramped. Soon, Liz had been squished in-between Nick and Sirius, and Mira had to sit on the floor.

Liz had never really noticed how obvious it was that Nick and Sirius were cousins before. Sure, she’d noticed the fact that they had the same eyes, but there was so much more. If Nick didn’t have an accent, they would have the same voice. They both had that carefree, joking personality that made them so popular.

But to Liz, they were so different. Nick was so perfect she knew it was too good to be true. He never made her cry, never got angry, never did anything beside treat her far better than she deserved. Sirius wasn’t perfect, but his imperfections just added to her adoration for him. He wasn’t perfect, but he was real.

She knew deep down that Nick was far from perfect, for perfect was an impossible ideal. She just never delved deep enough to find the flaws. She felt guilty now. He’d never been anything but wonderful to her, but she couldn’t return the favor. She tried, but she couldn’t love him.

“Liz?”

“Huh?”

“Are your folks picking us up?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, umm...yeah.” she answered, leaning against his shoulder and propping her feet up on Nick’s lap. Getting out the Daily Prophet to clear her head, she disappeared behind the front page.

“Sirius, stop reading over my shoulder,” she said without looking up.

“I’m not reading, I’m skimming,” he replied.

“It’s the same thing, you idiot.”

“Not technically.”

“Uh-huh, remember Uncle Percy after the Christmas dinner two years ago when Fred put vodka in his turkey?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. The infamous dictionary rampage...where are you going?” Nick, who had stood up, didn’t answer. Instead he just walked out of their compartment. Liz and Sirius exchanged glances.

“Did we offend him?” Sirius asked. Liz shrugged. She didn’t think Nick had any bad experiences with vodka or dictionaries.

“I’d better go after him.”

She found him walking briskly down the corridor a few compartments down. “Nick, wait up,” she called. He hesitated, but kept walking. “COPERNICUS BLACK!” Sighing heavily, he stopped to wait for her to catch up. Opening the door to an empty compartment, he let her proceed him.

“What was that about?” Liz asked as soon as the door was closed.

“I don’t know, Liz,” he snapped. “Every time you two go into a tangent about the past, I feel so left out, and I guess I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You and Sirius! All of your little inside jokes and conversations that only you two can understand. Sometimes I just can’t stand it. And I know it’s not your fault,” he said as Liz opened her mouth to interrupt. “You guys grew up together. But...I don’t know. It’s like, I already feel odd enough without the people I’m actually semi-comfortable around going off into their own little world.”

“Nick, I didn’t even know you felt left out,” Liz admitted.

“Of course I do. You would too if you had to move into this,” he said, gesturing around vaguely. It seemed like he’d been wanting to say all this for a while. “What did you think, I’d just adjust.”

“Well, I’m not a mind reader, Nick! I’m not going to know what bothers you if you don’t tell me! Have you noticed that we never fight? And yeah, that might seem like a good thing, but it’s not. It means we’re not communicating. The reason I know what Sirius is thinking is because he really talks to me. We communicate, because we’re not afraid to tell each other what’s bothering us.”

Nick flopped into one of the chairs. “I know. I guess I just need you so much right now, I didn’t want to mess it up.”

“What do you mean, you need me so much?” Liz asked fearfully.

“I just...I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you here. I guess I just didn’t want to upset you and ruin what I’ve found.”

Oh, this is bad, she thought to herself.

“Nick, you’re being over dramatic. I haven’t done anything.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten through this without you, Liz. There’s no way.”

“Nick...”

“No, it’s true. I’m sorry I brought this whole thing up...”

“No, I’m glad you told me. The thing is, I want you to tell me when something’s on your mind. Otherwise, this won’t work.”

He nodded. “Do you want to go back now?”

“Sure. I think were almost there.”

Nick held the door open for her, giving her a small smile, which she returned. When they reached their compartment, they found that Mira had taken Liz’s vacant seat, and that she and Sirius were now talking enthusiastically about hippogriffs and various other magical creatures.

“Have you ever seen one up close?” Sirius asked her.

“No, they don’t live in America.”

“Next term, I’ll take you down to see Hagrid. He’s got a whole herd.”

Nick gave her hand a small squeeze, smiling at his sister. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

***********

They all had a bit of a problem getting off the train. Sirius, being a bit of a klutz, tripped over his own feet on the stairs, and collided with Liz. She then fell into Nick, who landed on some poor, innocent girl walking down the platform and sent her sprawling on the ground.

“Oh damn, I’m sorry,” he said, offering her a hand. She reached out to take it, hesitated, then dropped her arm and pushed herself up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...don’t worry about it. I’m...I’m...sorry.” The girl walked off quickly.

“Well, that was weird,” Sirius commented. “It was like she was afraid of you. Do you know who that was, Liz?”

“No,” she answered with a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes then brightened as she saw something over the boy’s shoulders.

“Mum, Daddy!”

“Hi kids!” Harry exclaimed. He had Gen on his shoulders, and Ginny was holding James in her arms. He enveloped Liz in a bear hug. “How was your term?”

“Great,” they all answered at once.

“Where’s your sister?” he asked Liz. Mira made a face when no one was looking.

“I don’t know...oh, there she is,” she answered, seeing a mop of red hair walking towards the group. She also saw Ron, Fleur, Katie and Angelina, and Luna picking up their respective children. Sirius always went home with the Potters since their houses were so close together, and now Nick and Mira did as well.

“Is Uncle Charlie here yet?” Liz asked her mother while her father greeted everyone.

“No, the kids are on their way back from France right now. They’ll be here tomorrow. Here, take your brother for a minute, while I go yell at mine,” she responded, handing James to her as she made her way over to Ron.

“Umph,” Liz muttered. James had gotten a lot heavier. “Merlin Dad, what have you been feeding this one?”

“He’s a growing boy!” Harry said defensively. “And you were a chubby baby too.”

Ginny was walking back towards them, Ron and Arthur trailing behind her. “Ronald Weasley, I cannot believe you ate that entire cake. It was supposed to be for the children when they got home.”

“It was just sitting there Gin, what did you expect me to do?”

“Not eat your sister out of house and home when you’re a guest.”

“I’m not a guest, Ickle-Ginnykins, I’m your brother. There’s a big difference.”

“You could have asked first.”

“You would have said no.”

“That’s completely beside the point. I’ll tell Hermione on you.”

Ron looked horrified. “Oh please don’t! I’m already in trouble, she’s so hormonal right now.”

“Serves you right...eating my cake...” Ginny muttered.

“Ahhh!” Liz exclaimed suddenly. James had seized a section of her hair and yanked hard on it, trying to put it in his mouth. Sirius, fighting laughter, helped her disentangle the baby’s chubby hand from her hair. James then latched on to his index finger.

“Meh. He’s got quite a grip, this one.”

“I really do think they’re feeding him too much.”

***********

“I think my sister’s going to leave without me,” Ax murmured, half amused.

“Would she really?” Marissa asked, glancing at the blonde girl currently tapping her foot haughtily next to a taxi. Ax had recently explained to her that his parents never came to pick them up at the platform, preferring to wait for them at home.

He chuckled humorlessly. “What do you think?”

“Ax? Are you really going to be in trouble?” He smiled sadly down at her, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I don’t know. But I’d better get going. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas if I don’t get a chance to speak to you.”

“Okay. I’ll see you next year.”

“Next year,” he agreed, kissing her on the cheek. He sighed, making his way to an extremely impatient and frustrating sister.

“Well it’s about time,” Annie scolded as soon as he was within earshot.

“Don’t start,” he warned, stowing his trunk in the taxi and giving the driver directions to their house.

“Father’s going to hear about this, I hope you know.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“He won’t be happy.”

“I don’t really care much right now.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“That’s nice.”

She huffed testily, then lapsed into a stony silence. This suited Ax just fine. She seemed to loose her patience after a few minutes. “You’re going to have to talk to me sometime, Abraxas.”

“I’d beg to differ, Annabelle. I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring you until now.”

She smiled sardonically. “You’re going to be in so much trouble when we get home.”

“You’re sick! You actually get pleasure out of making my life miserable.”

“It’s not me who chose the mudblood over their family.”

“Half-blood.”

“Mudblood.”

“Half-blood.”

“Mudblood.”

“Are ye two like, the Royal family or summat?” the driver asked suddenly.

“Huh?” both Malfoys replied at the same time.

“Ye’s goin’ on about bloodlines. Jus’ wonderin’, tha’s all.”

“Mudblood,” Annie whispered.

“Mr. Davies was only a few years ahead of Mother and Father, how does that make her a...a...that word.”

“Oooh, is the big, bad, almost-Gryffindor afraid to say mudblood.”

Ax rolled his eyes. “You need to grow up, Annie. When you finally do, don’t expect to come crying to me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Open your eyes, would you?”

“They’re wide open.”

He sighed. “Someday. Someday Annie, you’ll be in my position. I only hope that you’ll be able to deal with it.”

************

Mira was sitting in the backseat of the Potter’s car between Nick and the window when she first caught sight of Godric’s Hollow. Taking in the warm feel of the large, Victorian-style houses, she felt for the first time since leaving America like she was home. Yes, she thought while they passed a quaint little pub, she could deal with this.

She glanced around her for what felt like the hundredth time, trying to comprehend that these people were now her family. There was Liz, holding her brother’s hand. Next to her was Sirius, holding James on his lap. Sometimes these two would have conversations that no one else could understand, and they were practically inseparable, but Mira was still very fond of them both.

She already knew she was really going to like Harry and Ginny. They were so happy, carefree, just basically the kind of people you loved to be around.

The entire experience of driving into the town that would be her new home was incredibly surreal. Coming to live with people she barely knew, in a place she hardly understood, was plain old scary.

They pulled into a long cobblestone driveway leading up to an iron gate that said ‘Potter Manor’. Beyond this was a beautiful mansion. Massive, but not gaudy, the air around this home seemed to breathe magic. A dirt lane led past the house to an abandoned restaurant and a white picket fence. Mira guessed her new house was on the other side.

She hadn’t even realized the car had stopped until Nick nudged her in the ribs. She jumped, then opened the car door and climbed out.

Stepping onto the polished mahogany floor of the Potter’s entrance hall, Mira had to grin. There was a grand staircase leading to the upper floors, just like in the movies. Sirius, Liz, and Nicole immediately dropped their luggage and headed toward the kitchen. Nick was gaping with his mouth fully open.

“SIRIUS, GET OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR! WE’VE BEEN HERE TWO MINUTES, FOR MERLIN’S SAKE!” Liz’s voice echoed from the other room.

“I’m getting this strange feeling of deja vu...” Harry muttered, grinning.

“Me too,” a voice behind him agreed. Tonks, today with long, curly, raven hair, immediately pulled Nick and Mira into a hug.

“So, how’s Hogwarts?” she asked excitedly.

“Great,” Nick answered.

“Hectic,” Mira added.

Sirius came out of the kitchen to hug his mother, handing both of his cousins a butterbeer. Liz smacked him upside the head.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“Hmph,” he pouted. They had a bit of a contest over who could give the better puppy dog look until Tonks cleared her throat.

“We should probably get going, dears. Your father will be home soon.”

Pulling their trunks down the dirt road, Mira saw a smaller, but still gorgeous house. The interior was as warm and colorful as the extensive garden was in the yard.

“Alright kids, we’ll give you the grand tour after you put your stuff away. All the bedrooms are upstairs.” The trio followed Tonks up the spiral staircase, their trunks being levitated behind them. “That’s the nursery,” Tonks said, pointing at the first door. “And that’s Becca’s room.”

“Here you are,” she said, gesturing to two doors in the center of the hall. “Nick’s on the left and Mira’s on the right. Sirius is right across the hall if you need anything.”

Mira’s hand was shaking ridiculously as she opened the door to her new bedroom. She couldn’t help but gasp. The walls were painted in the palest of lavender, with the large bay window draped in violet silk. She had a cherry, four poster bed dressed in the purest white lace. On her bedside table, a framed photograph of her parents sat as though it had always been there.

“Do you like it?” Tonks’s voice startled her slightly.

“Where did you find that?” she whispered, picking up the picture. Her aunt smiled.

“I thought you might enjoy that. Remus was looking through some of your mother’s old school things and he found that picture. There’s not a lot of your mother and father together, so I thought you might like a copy. They’re standing by the lake at Hogwarts.”

“I don’t have a picture of the both of them,” she murmured, distracted. Her parents smiled and waved at her. They looked so young, so innocent. It made her wish all the more that she’d had a chance to know her mother. “Thank you. Thank you for everything. The room...it’s beautiful. This is honestly like something out of a dream.”

“I’m glad you like it, sweetheart.”

“Thank you for all that you’ve done for us, Aunt Nymph...”

“Uck,” she interrupted. “Please, dear, just call me Mum.”

Mira grinned. “Alright...Mum.”

“Dora, I’m home!” Remus’s voice floated up the stairs. “Where are you?”

Tonks rolled her eyes. “I’m up here, Remmy!” They both burst into hysterical laughter.


All Lads and Lasses congregate here! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next post! Oh, I love the holidays sooooo much!


Chapter 27: You’re Family No Matter How Stupid You Are

“If she’s mad at us, I’m going to break your legs.”

“Relax, mate, it’s all in good fun.”

“You know how she can get...” Phil scoffed at him, pushing his fiery orange hair out of his eyes. He and Sirius were standing outside of Liz’s room at the crack of dawn. Sirius had been rudely awoken by the Weasley flooing into his house at four in the morning, and couldn’t get back to sleep. They decided that since they were bored, they might as well pull a few pranks.

The Potter’s front door was enchanted so that family and friends could enter when the door was locked, so they let themselves in. Now, armed with a bucket of ice water, they were about to give Liz a wake up call.

“Eh, she has a sense of humor..er...somewhere...”

“Not at six in the morning, she doesn’t,” Sirius pointed out.

“You are such a girl,” Phil laughed. Sirius opened his mouth in outrage. “Afraid your little Lizzie-kins will be mad at you?”

“No, I just...I...oh, let’s just get this over with.”

“That’s what I thought,” he muttered before pushing the door open.

The room was pitch dark until Phil murmured, “lumos”. Sirius’s eyes softened as the yellow glow of the light illuminated Liz’s peacefully sleeping face. Phil gave him a look of disgust.

“You’ve gone soft,” he chuckled.

“Shut up,” Sirius snapped back. “She looks so sweet.” Phil gagged loudly.

Liz snorted, and they both froze. However, she just rolled over onto her side. Phil let out his breath. Sirius couldn’t help but brush some of the hair out of her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Phil hissed. He just shrugged.

“Sirius?” Liz murmured quietly, still asleep. His eyes widened. Phil was now doubled up with laughter.

“Just dump the water, for god’s sake,” Sirius muttered angrily. Phil obliged, and Sirius braced himself for the blow. A loud gasp preceded the opening of a pair of very angry emerald green eyes.

“You two are going to DIE!”

“It was his idea,” Sirius said immediately, pointing at Phil. “I tried to stop him, but...”

”Dude!” Phil exclaimed.

“Have you been talking to Nick?”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“Anyway, just because you’re so smitten you feel the need to pet my cousin as she sleeps, I’m not going to...ow, that bloody hurt!”

Sirius had stomped hard on his foot. “Shut up you prat! I’m starting to think Lynn was right about you.”

“What, the sexy part or the hilarious part?”

“I was thinking more about the imbecile part.”

“Hey, aren’t I supposed to be yelling at you two instead of you yelling at each other?” Liz interrupted.

“Oh sorry,” Phil answered. “Go ahead.”

“Well, yeah, umm...” she seemed to be searching desperately for a train of thought. “Oh forget it. Sirius, dry me off.” He obediently waved his wand. His accomplice was looking mutinous. Liz patted him on the shoulder as she grabbed her clothes, and left to change. Phil was looking at him as though he had two heads.

“What?” he snapped.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Sirius sighed. “No, it’s just...well...yeah.” Phil blinked twice, then burst out laughing.

“Not funny, not funny, not funny...” Sirius grumbled, sitting down on Liz’s bed.

“Am I going to have to give you ‘the talk’?”

“Am I going to have to hit you? And did Lynn really say you were hilarious and sexy?”

“God no, the girl hates me,” he said nonchalantly. “But she does have a nice pair of...”

“Phil!”

“I was going to say eyes.”

“Liz has nice eyes...” Sirius said dreamily. Phil started making kissing faces at him.

Sirius put his head in his hands, then shouted, “LIZ, SAVE ME!”

Apparently, that was a mistake.

“Oh Lizzie, Lizzie, save my poor, unloved soul. You’re the only one that can make me the man I know I can be. Oh please...” He couldn’t continue with his monologue, because Sirius had tackled him to the ground.

**********

An hour later, all three of them were in the kitchen. Liz was looking tired, Sirius was frying bacon, and Phil was bouncing slightly in his seat.

“Don’t give this one any coffee,” she said, looking amused. He graced her with a sneer.

“Liz, what do you want for breakfast?” Sirius asked.

“Huh?”

“Well, I know you hate bacon, so what do you want me to make you?”

“Oh, don’t bother, it’s too much trouble.”

“No, really, it’s no problem. And I did pour ice cold water on you this morning.”

“I thought it was Phil...” she said, turning in her seat to raise her eyebrows at him.

He looked uncomfortable. “Well, umm, how about eggs?”

She grinned. “I’m just teasing. But eggs would be fine, thank you.” They heard the front door bang shut, and soon Nick and Mira had joined them in the kitchen.

“You’re up?” Nick asked Liz as though it was an occasion worth celebrating.

“And dressed,” Mira added. “National holiday, you think?”

“Most definitely,” he answered his sister. Liz glared at the both of them. “Nice apron, Sirius.”

“It’s Aunt Ginny’s,” he shrugged, placing a plate of bacon in front of them both. Phil pouted. “I’m getting yours...not that you deserve it.”

“Morning kids,” said a tousle-haired Harry from the doorway. “Phil? How’d you get here? You were at the Burrow last time I checked.”

“Well, I flooed to Sirius’s this morning, so we came over here and woke Liz up,” he explained.

“Rude, inconsiderate, little...” Liz muttered under her breath.

“I don’t want to know,” Harry grinned. “Sirius, are you wearing Ginny’s apron?”

He let out a disgruntled sigh. “You try to do something nice for people...bacon or eggs?”

“Eggs, please.”

“I see where Liz gets it from...”

“So what are you lot up to today?” Harry asked, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

“I have to watch Becca,” Sirius said, rolling his eyes. “Shouldn’t you guys be on break already? It’s the day before Christmas Eve.”

“An auror is a very demanding job,” Harry answered. “Hermione’s lucky. The Wizengamot’s been off since before you lot.”

“That’s because they’re all ancient.”

“Well, yes, but don’t let her hear you say that. I’ve never seen worst mood swings than she’s having right now. She’s running to Diagon Alley today if you lot want to go with her.”

“Ooh, can we Daddy?” Liz asked. “I really want new dress robes for the Christmas party.”

“You have a closet full of them,” Sirius interrupted.

“I do not! I only have a few, and I’ve worn all of them more times than I can count. You’re one to talk, Mr. I-Have-Sixteen-Broomsticks.”

“Fourteen. And two don’t really work, and another three are antiques!”

Liz opened her mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by her mother entering with her little brother. “Sirius, are you wearing my apron?”

“Yes! I’m bloody wearing your apron.”

“Don’t cuss, the baby’s in the room.” He huffed indignantly.

Hermione turned up at about ten to nine. Sirius had retrieved his little sister from his house, leaving his father to deal with Violet. The six year old hadn’t tried to morph yet, to everyone’s surprise, but she was still wreaking havoc.

“Nick,” she whined, pulling on his sleeve.

“What?” he asked.

“Nick.”

“What?”

“Niiiiiick!”

“Whaaaaaat!”

“I don’t know...”

Phil, being kindhearted, was welcoming Mira into the family in his own unique way. “Hey Mira?” he whispered.

“What?”

“Pull my finger.”

She looked at him in disgust. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Alright kids, enough of that,” Hermione scolded, slapping the hand Phil was offering her. “Let’s get going before all the shops are sold out.”

After a quick chat with Tom in The Leaky Cauldron, Hermione opened the gate of Diagon Alley. “Well, I have to go pick up some potion’s ingredients. How about we all meet at Flourish and Blotts in two hours.” They all nodded. “Behave yourselves, please.” She eyed Sirius and Phil reluctantly. “I’m begging you.”

Sirius immediately grabbed Nick’s arm. “Come on, you need a decent broom. Nimbus has a new model out, and I’ve heard something about a remake of Silver Arrows...”

“Okay Mira, you haven’t been anywhere until you’ve been to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes,” Phil was saying. “You can help me pick out a Christmas present for Longbottom...”

“Phil wait! You can’t leave me alone...Sirius! She’s your sister!” Liz shouted after them hopelessly. Sighing loudly, she looked down at Becca, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet, her hair suddenly bright red.

“Hmmm,” Liz said thoughtfully. “I guess it’s just us girls, eh? How would you like some real dress robes?” She nodded eagerly.

Two hours later, Liz had gotten her and Becca’s dress robes, finished all her Christmas shopping, and was stepping into the bookstore. She saw the other four already there.

“There you two are...” Sirius exclaimed. “Liz, what did you do to my sister?” She spun around to see Becca’s now green hair.

“Well, it was red a minute ago...” Sirius tapped her on the head with his wand, and she was blonde again. “That’s better.”

“Where’s Hermione?” Liz asked.

“Dunno,” Nick answered.

“It’s not like her to be late. Well, let’s look around, you three could use some knowledge.”

Liz was showing a very excited Mira the historical section when she caught sight of a blonde head stooping over a shelf of Latin original copies.

“Ax?” He looked up, surprised at hearing his name, then grinned widely when he saw her.

“Liz, hi! I was hoping I’d run into someone while I was here.”

“How’s your holiday so far?” His face darkened. “Not good, I take it.”

“No, it’s alright. It’s just...my father’s none too thrilled with me right now. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about actually. Can you do me a favor?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Well, Marissa’s coming to your New Year’s Eve party, isn’t she?” Liz nodded. “Can you give her this?” He handed her a small, carefully wrapped gift. “My parents locked up all the owls, and I don’t think I’ll be flooing anywhere anytime soon.”

She was starting to become concerned. “Ax, are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. I just can’t wait to get back to school. My sister’s become absolutely unbearable.”

“Are you sure? Because you look kind of peaky...”

“You worry too much, I’m fine.”

“You have bags under your eyes. Are they letting you sleep?”

“Of course. Don’t worry, it’s not really that bad. He’ll probably forget about the entire thing as soon as something else comes up.”

“But what if he doesn’t? What if it’s gets worse, and...”

“Liz,” he interrupted. “Don’t be concerned, I’m not.”

“Marissa’s been owling me everyday asking about you,” she told him.

“Really?” he asked, smiling slightly.

“What should I tell her?”

“Tell her I’m fine, and that I can’t wait to get back to school. Tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t see her. Tell her I miss her. Tell her...”

“Tell who what, Abraxas?” a cold voice asked. Liz’s eyes widened. Behind Ax, a tall, blonde man dressed in finely tailored black robes was standing with a sneer. He was unmistakably Draco Malfoy.

“No one Father. I was just saying...umm...I bumped into,” he started rambling.

“Shush. You haven’t introduced me to your charming...” Draco stopped short as he studied Liz. His eyes widened slightly, then narrowed into a sneer.

“You’re a Potter.”

“Last time I checked, yes.”

“Why are you speaking to a Potter, Abraxas?” he asked in a forced calm, his voice rising slightly.

“I...” Ax stuttered.

“I asked you a question, now answer me!”

“Father, I...”

“Is there a problem here?” Hermione had turned up behind Liz.

Draco turned to her with a curled lip. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I don’t think our conversation is any of your business.”

Hermione snorted. “You don’t even recognize me, do you Draco?”

His head tilted to one side. “Wait a moment...”

“Yes, I think the fact that you seem to be harassing my niece makes your ‘conversation’ here my business. That’s right, Hermione Granger Weasley, the mudblood.” He mouthed wordlessly at her.

“The last time I saw you, you were begging for mercy. I see you’ve lost none of your arrogance, however. Not forgetting that you owe Harry your life, are you Draco?”

“Why you foul little...”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake. I guess some things never change, do they? Well, I think I’m going to take my lot and leave before you pop a blood vessel.” He did look dangerously purple. “Oh, and do try to grow up,” she added acidly, patting him on the arm just to get him riled.

Hermione had to practically drag Liz away, as she was too shocked to move. They both heard Ax try to mutter, “Father...”

“We’ll talk about this at home, Abraxas.”

Rounding the corner, they saw the rest of the group spying behind a bookshelf, all chuckling silently.

“It’s not funny!” Liz snapped. “Me being there just made everything worse for Ax, and his father’s angry about seeing Hermione again, and now who knows what’s going to happen!”

“Liz, it’s okay...” Nick said.

“No, it’s not, it’s...” Sirius clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Calm down, and take a breath,” he coaxed gently. She nodded, and he threw an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, do you want some ice cream?”

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I’d love some ice cream.”


Tell me how lame that ending was right here... (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Okay, first of all, I want to apologize for something in this post. I originally stated somewhere on the feedback thread that it would be Nick that used the title in a line. Well, actually I said ‘a character that is yet to be introduced’, but it was originally supposed to be Nick. But now that we’re here, it makes much more sense if Sirius says it (well, not really says it, but you’ll see what I mean). I doubt any of you actually remembered that, but I wanted to just clarify incase someone has a photographic memory of some sort. But anywho’s, here’s the post.

There’s a lot in this chapter, and it’s probably the sappiest thing I’ve ever written, and that’s saying something. I just really hope you guys like the romantic stuff. So enjoy this monster of a chapter. Without further ado...


Chapter 28: Always Remember

Liz closed her bedroom door quietly, making her way over to her closet to check on Sirius’s Christmas gift. It was Christmas Eve, and assorted members of her family were currently conjugating in her sitting room for no apparent reason. She could hear them all laughing uproariously about something a floor below. By the looks of things, her father had put a little too much alcohol in the egg nog again.

There was now much whining and scraping coming from behind her closet door. She smiled. It had taken awhile, but she’d finally thought of the perfect gift for him.

She opened the door, and picked up the small Newfoundland puppy sitting innocently on the floor. Sirius had always been a dog lover, but hadn’t had one since he was six, and his first dog got ran over by a muggle car. Liz had seen a sign for puppies for sale on the other side of town when they were driving home from school, and decided to look into it. She’d immediately fallen in love with the runt of the litter, a pitch black puppy with expressive, pale blue eyes. He was tiny now, but soon he’d be a bear-like dog. Perfect for Sirius.

“Hello there sweetheart,” she cooed, sitting down on her bed with a bow in hand. “Do you want to get ready for tomorrow?”

She was just tying a bow around his neck when she heard a knock at her door. “Come in,” she called without thinking, then realized a moment too late that it was Sirius.

“Liz, you’ve got to come down there, your dad just ate an entire...what are you hiding behind your back?”

“Nothing!” she answered in a high-pitched squeak. ‘Nothing’, bless his furry little soul, gave a decisive bark. She cringed.

“Nothing, eh?”

“It may or may not be your Christmas present.”

“Well I can think of only one thing that could have made that sound,” he paused dramatically. “You’ve gotten me a cow!”

“Why in the world would I get you Rita Skeeter?” They both burst out laughing.

“Can I have my nothing now?” he asked.

Liz sighed. “Yes, is suppose since you know what he is already.” She brought the dog out from behind your back. “I thought you’d like him.”

“He’s so cute,” he said. He took the dog from her, examining him as he wagged his tail. “Really cute.”

“He is.” She sat down on the edge of her bed, patting the spot beside her. Sitting down, he placed the puppy on his lap, then grinned at Liz.

“Well, I should probably name him something besides Nothing.” A confused look crossed his face for a moment. “That sounded really weird, didn’t it?”

“Mmhmm, sounded like you,” she grinned.

“So, what do you think he looks like?” He held the puppy up to the light with both hands. “It needs to be creative, strong, manly...”

“Sirius, it’s a dog, not the heir to the throne.”

“Well yes, but dogs still need good names. I can’t just name him Buddy or Max. It has to fit his personality. And it has to be special, because he’s special. Because you gave him to me.” Liz couldn’t control a snort of laughter. “What?”

“For a guy, you’re really sensitive.”

“I’ve been told it’s endearing,” he said defensively.

“No, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s adorable. It makes me...” she stopped short. “You can name him Snuffles the Second,” she suggested.

Sirius kindly ignored her swift change of topic. “Nah, he’s nothing like the original Snuffles. Besides, I was thinking about Moony.”

“Like your dad?” He nodded. “That’s really sweet.”

“It fits,” he agreed, setting the newly named Moony down on the bed so he could walk around. “Now you know what else I need?”

“What?”

“A hug from a certain someone.”

“Oh really?” she said, playing along. “And who would this certain someone be?”

“Well, she’s smart, sweet, very beautiful,” Liz blushed, “and she’s sitting right in front of me.”

“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked in a whisper.

“Of course I do,” he replied quietly. “Inside and out. Do I get that hug now?” he asked, holding his arms out hopefully.

“Oh, I don’t know...” Liz said, faking thoughtfulness.

“Oh come on. You know you want to...” he grinned.

“Well, alright, but only because your handsome,” she blurted, blushing slightly.

“You think I’m handsome?” he asked.

“Well...Oh, just come here,” she said, blushing furiously as she threw her arms around him.

It wasn’t exactly a hug you’d give a friend. Sirius was running his fingertips up and down her back, pulling her steadily closer. Her breath hitched in her throat when she realized that she was practically in his lap, and that she couldn’t figure out how she had gotten there. Of course, she wasn’t thinking about much of anything at the moment. It was settled, she’d gone completely insane. This idiot had robbed her of her sanity.

She gasped slightly when he pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear. “Sirius, what are you doing?”

He pulled back slightly to look at her, their faces still only about an inch apart. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it feels right.” He sighed heavily, cupping her cheek in his hand. “Liz, I have feelings for you. And I know you feel the same way about me, I can see it in your eyes. And I’m sick of playing this stupid game with you. So I’m going to think with my heart for once. I care about you more than anything, and it just doesn’t matter anymore. I just don’t care what other people say, because you’re the only one that matters.”

Hearing him say this was like a dream come true. Now that he was looking at her with a soft, almost nervous quality to his deep grey eyes, speaking the words she had somewhat always wanted to hear him say, she didn’t know what to do. All the pent up emotion, all the feelings she’d been hiding for the past few months, burst through in a single tear that ran down her cheek.

He kissed the tear away as it fell. “Don’t cry.”

Her eyes were half closed now. “Sirius, I...”

“Shhh,” he whispered. “Don’t say a word.”

Their noses were touching now, sending chills down both of their spines. “Sirius...”

“It’s only you and me here now.” He was only a whisper away when they heard footsteps on the stairs.

“Sirius, where are you?” Remus shouted from the hallway. “It’s getting late, we have to go.” Sirius sighed loudly, leaning his forehead against hers. He kissed her gently, even hesitantly, grabbed Moony and stood up. He turned around when he had reached the door.

“Merry Christmas, Liz,” he said, smiling nervously at her. “And...thank you.”

She could just hear Remus ask outside in the hall, “What is that?”

“Well Moony, I’d like you to meet Moony,” Sirius answered.

There was a short pause, then, “I hope you realize that you’re explaining this to your mother.”

Liz groaned loudly, burying her face in her hands. “Urgh, what is wrong with me?” she demanded of her empty room.

She changed quickly into her pajamas, and she was brushing her hair when someone knocked quietly at her door. “Come in,” she called for the second time that night. “Hey Daddy,” she said after seeing who it was.

“Hi sweetheart, do you have time to talk?”

“Of course,” she answered. “What about?”

“I just want to see what’s going on with my little girl,” he grinned.

Liz rolled her eyes, but grinned just the same. “Dad, I’m sixteen.”

“Urgh, don’t remind me,” Harry cried dramatically, emerald eyes twinkling behind round glasses. “Speaking of which, Remus tells me some very interesting news. I hear that you’re dating a certain young Mr. Black?”

Oh yeah... Liz thought, Nick. My boyfriend. The one you’re hurting right now. “Dad...” she whined, blushing.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you the talk,” he chuckled. Liz breathed a sigh of relief. “I just wanted to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead,” she sighed, resigned to the worst.

“What about Sirius?” Liz had opened her mouth to answer when her brain had finally realized what he had just said. That was something she wasn’t expecting.

“What?” she asked in disbelief.

“Sirius,” he repeated. “He’s a good kid. What about him?”

“We’re friends. He’s my best friend actually.” Saying this made her realize something else. He really was her best friend. What if she lost him?

Harry was laughing quietly. “Oh Liz, you remind me so much of someone.”

“Who’s that?” she asked curiously.

“Me when I was your age,” he answered, grinning.

“What do you mean?” she frowned.

“It’s just, I know what it’s like to mistake attraction for love, and to mistake love for brotherly, or sisterly, affection.”

Her frown deepened. “What do you mean?” she asked again, her cheeks tinted bright red.

He chuckled again. “Just that you’re young, but soon you’ll get to the point where you’ll be able to tell the difference. I just don’t want you to get your heart broken, sweetie.”

Or break any hearts, she added in her head. “Thanks Dad,” she responded weakly, now resembling a radish with black hair.

He laughed out loud, but mercifully changed the subject. “How’s the career choices coming?”

“I’m giving healing a thought again,” she replied truthfully.

“For more than a week this time?” Harry asked. His daughter tried to glare, but couldn’t stop a smile.

“Yes, for more than a week.”

“I’ll see if Aunt Katie can let you observe her a couple of days this summer.”

“Oh, would you?” Liz asked excitedly.

“Of course” He glanced at the clock. “You should probably be getting to sleep before your mother has my head. Goodnight sweetheart,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Goodnight Daddy,” she replied. “Merry Christmas.”

Resigning herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to get any sleep, she couldn’t quite get rid of the wide grin on her face.

************

Ax was sitting in his cold, impersonal, third story bedroom on Christmas morning, brooding gloomily. He’d never exactly enjoyed going home for the holidays, but up until this year they had at least been bearable. But this year, he longed to return to Hogwarts even more.

His life had definitely taken a turn when he chose to befriend Liz Potter. Mostly, this turn was for the better. He now had new friends, Marissa, new confidence, Marissa, a new outlook, Marissa, a new chosen career path, Marissa, a new hopefulness for the future, and Marissa. But along with it came an absolutely dismal home life.

He looked sadly once again at a large book titled, A Wizard’s Nobility: Why Bloodlines are Important, his only gift from his immediate family this year. Annabelle’s gift didn’t count. She’d bought him a handkerchief, with a note inclosed that said, To wash your filthy, mudblood touching hands with.

This change in Annie’s attitude was what had hurt the worst. He’d never really got on well with his parents, but he and his sister had always been close. Or close as standards in the Malfoy family were. He’d at least had someone to talk to during the holidays, instead of dwelling in his room like now.

His relationship with his parents had also never been worse. His mother would look absolutely revolted by his presence every time he entered a room. His father varied between a stony silence and loud, almost entirely one sided, screaming matches. He glanced at the calender on his wall. Another week of this...

He’d just unwrapped his only other present, a sweater from his grandmother. He actually liked his father’s mother, despite her slightly patronizing attitude. On the whole, the second war had changed her. She wasn’t particularly prejudiced against muggles and muggleborns anymore, and she seemed to genuinely care about her two grandchildren.

His maternal grandparents left much to be desired. They were cold, extremely rich, and thought they were better than almost everyone. He rarely saw Bernard and Florence Parkinson, but he still dreaded every visit. They were far too superior to bother with silly things like Christmas.

“ABRAXAS!” his father bellowed from the library downstairs. Ax sighed, standing up and heading towards the voice with a resigned feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t wait until next year when he’d be of age and he could move out.

“ABRAXAS!” Draco Malfoy yelled impatiently again.

“I’m coming!” his son bellowed back.

He entered the library to find his father at his desk, bent over a piece of parchment and a book, looking irritated. Ax strongly resembled his father, a fact that he hated.

“Took you long enough,” Draco admonished.

“Big house,” Ax grunted in reply.

“Sit,” his father commanded, gesturing to the chair in front of him. “Do you know why you’re here?”

“I have a feeling it has something to do with me being a severe disappointment,” he answered bluntly. He wasn’t in the mood.

The senior Malfoy surveyed him sternly. “I will have no more of this, Abraxas. I will not have you disrespecting me in my own house. I did not raise a blood traitor, and you will not be acting like one, do you understand me?” he asked, his voice raising with each syllable.

“Yes Father,” Ax grumbled.

“What was that?”

“I said, yes Father,” he repeated louder, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

“Good. Now you will raise your Charms grade. An ‘acceptable’ is under no circumstances acceptable. You will drop that ridiculous Muggle Studies class. I will hear no more about you wanting to become an auror. That is a degrading job for someone of your blood. You will be a politician and restore the family name. You will stop seeing this...girl,” he added in disgust. Ax was fuming.

“And for Merlin’s sake Abraxas, if I hear another word about you fraternizing with that Potter, you will live to regret it.”

“Yes sir,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“Very well. Your grandparents will be here shortly for Christmas dinner, I want you looking presentable. You may leave.”

He didn’t need telling twice. He bolted out of the chair, and practically ran back to his room, earning a disapproving look from his sister along the way.

Pulling on his stuffiest dress robes, he glanced at his fogged up window longingly. If he could just jump out...

Knowing his luck, he’d probably break his neck.

“Merry bloody Christmas.”

***********

Liz had managed to drop off at about dawn, falling into a light, almost doze. The sunlight streaming through her window was a bit irritating, however. When she rolled over to bury her face in her pillow, she hit something hard.

“Ow,” she said softly. Opening her eyes drowsily, she found the source of her discomfort was a medium, flat, carefully wrapped gift, along with a letter and a single red rose. She sat up, now wide awake, and pulled the flower away from the ribbon that attached it to the rest. It was perfect, not a petal out of place, not a thorn to be found.

Sirius was the only one who ever got her red roses.

Next she opened up the piece of parchment, to reveal cramped, slightly messy writing that she immediately recognized as Sirius’. She set it aside to read later, and pulled the package into her lap.

There was a picture of herself and Sirius in an antique silver frame. They were in the common room earlier this year, just being silly and dancing around. Sirius lowered her into a ridiculous dip and she pretended to swoon. He then picked her up and spun around wildly until they were both laughing too hard to continue dancing.

It was then she realized that she loved Sirius even then. You could tell that they had chemistry just by the way they looked at each other. She wondered if everyone had seen it but her. Even her father knew. Why couldn’t she have figured it out?

Liz now opened the letter again.

My Darling Liz,

Merry Christmas. I hope you like your gift. I had an awful time trying to think of what to get you this year. I finally decided on a photo, because I realized that a precious memory would mean far more to you than anything else. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one is priceless to me, and I hope it will be to you as well.

There are so many things I need to say to you, but I’m at a loss of where to begin. I guess I’ll start by telling you this. You’re everything to me. Ever since that day when you told me you didn’t hate me, gave me one of your beautiful smiles, and agreed to try to be friends, a part of me knew that we could never be just friends. You were too nice, too wonderful, too beautiful for me not to want more. You’re like an angel to me. You’re so perfect that I could never deserve you.

Did I ever tell you that I hate to see you cry? But I like it all the same, because you look to me for comfort. When I see you in pain, I just want to take you into my arms and hold you forever. Is that wrong of me, to want you to be mine forever when I don’t even deserve you for a second? I want to be the one that makes you smile, and makes you happy, and makes you feel safe. I know I can be the man you need me to be, because I need you to survive.

I’ve never felt like this before, and I didn’t know what to do. So I hurt you. But you have to believe me when I say that I never meant to. I was so afraid that you would break my heart that I broke yours. If I could go back to the day I kissed you for the first time in the library, I would have told you right then how crazy I was about you. But it took me too long to see what that moment really was. The happiest moment of my life.

You’re probably sitting in your room thinking about how cheesy this is right now. I know it’s lame, but I’m willing to make a fool of myself for you. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’d do anything for you, even if it means being alone. I’m not lying when I tell you how much I care about you. And I know I’m scared, so I can imagine how you’re feeling right now.

I’m sorry for every cruel word I’ve ever said to you. I’m sorry for every tear I’ve made you shed. I’m sorry for being stupid enough not to see you from the beginning. And I’m sorry I’m only telling you this now.

I’ll never forget how you make me feel again. I’ll never forget how beautiful you look when you smile. I’ll never forget any of the little things about you, like how you hate bacon, how you always tuck that piece of hair behind your left ear, how you love it when it rains. I’ll never forget any of it, because I can’t. Always remember what you can’t forget. Always remember me, because I’ll never forget you.

I love you.

Forever yours,
Sirius


The next part of this chapter will be up ASAP, but I just wanted to give you something before I was murdered. The second part is the Christmas party, so be prepared for fireworks, figuratively and literally.


Feedback! (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73844)

Here’s the next part:


Sirius was lying on his back in the snow in his back yard, trying to teach Moony to play fetch. It was just a bit past noon, and the rest of his family had gone to the Burrow to help set up for the Christmas party. His mother, sensing his melancholy mood, was allowing him to come with the Potter’s later.

His dog, it seemed, was far too smart to run after a silly stick over and over again. Instead the puppy chose to sit down beside him, and swat at his arm with his paw.

“Alright, alright,” Sirius said, scratching him behind the ears. “Insistent, are we?” Moony wagged his tail. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He sighed loudly. “I wish I could just talk to her. Waiting is driving me crazy.” Moony gave a short bark. “I told her I loved her for the first time today, and I don’t even know how she reacted.”

“What if she’s mad? I mean, she’d dating my cousin, and I know she has to have some feelings for me, but what if they just aren’t that strong? What if I was just imagining everything? And why am I talking to a dog? You don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” His companion cocked his head to one side, ears flopping.

“At least you don’t give me useless advice,” he said, chuckling slightly. “I poured everything I had into that letter. She has to feel the same way, she just has to. Doesn’t she?” he asked uncertainly. Moony laid his head on Sirius’s arm.

“Oh, am I boring you?” he chuckled again. The dog’s blue eyes drooped. “Well, it’s not my fault you won’t play fetch.”

He heard something shake the gate on the side of his yard, followed by a girl’s loud cursing. “D*** bloody fence...argh!” The fence had opened suddenly, causing Liz to tumble into the yard, barely catching her balance. She then turned around and started kicking the gate repeatedly.

Sirius jumped up, and cleared his throat loudly. Liz spun around wildly, her eyes widening when she saw him. She looked ready to burst into tears at the smallest sound.

“Hi,” she said in barely a whisper.

“Hey,” he replied, just as softly.

Not in a million years could Sirius have ever been prepared for what happened next. Liz stomped her foot on the ground, now clearly fighting tears. Then she screamed, “I love you too, you bloody idiot,” and ran straight into his arms.

She was sobbing freely as she pulled him into a mind blowing kiss. Sirius laughed as she pulled away, entwining their hands into a perfect fit. She was smiling too. “I’m guessing you liked my gift.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she asked, giving his hands a squeeze.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Point taken,” she admitted.

“I guess my second gift is rather unnecessary,” he admitted, pulling a small clump of mistletoe out of his pocket and dangling it above their heads jokingly. Liz looked at it with her brow furrowed for a moment, before grabbing the mistletoe from him. She threw it over her shoulder, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him again.

***********

A while later, they were both sitting in the shade of a large oak tree, just enjoying the other’s company. Liz was leaning against Sirius, and his chin was resting on the top of her head. Moony was sleeping beside them, apparently tired out from not playing fetch.

“Liz?”

“Yeah?”

“What are we going to do about...you know...” he asked.

“About what?” she asked in response, turning slightly to look at him.

“Nick.”

“Oh! Oh god...” she groaned. “Now I feel awful. I completely forgot about him.”

“Well, it wasn’t you know....serious, was it?” he asked uncertainly. She shook her head, restraining from making a name pun with difficulty. “So...are you going to break up with him?”

“Of course. I can’t be with you when I’m dating your cousin.”

“Good, well that’s settled then,” he said happily.

“Er...not exactly,” she replied, smiling weakly.

“Why not?” he asked, confused.

“Sirius, it’s Christmas. I can’t break up with him on Christmas.”

“Oh, I see your point,” Sirius said gloomily. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until we get back to Hogwarts, won’t we?” She nodded, looking if possible, more depressed than he was.

“Hey,” he smiled, lifting her chin with his finger. “At least we’re not hiding our feelings anymore, right?”

“Right,” she agreed, wrapping her arms around him and leaning against his shoulder.

“This is weird, isn’t it?” he said suddenly. Liz grinned into his sweater.

“Yeah. But I like it.”

“I can’t believe they did that!” a voice came from the kitchen, followed by much giggling. Liz and Sirius both jumped up in horror, brushing themselves off.

“Yeah, well that’s Fred and George,” another voice replied. The first had an American accent so it must have been Mira. The second Liz guessed was Tonks. “Although they seemed to have outdone themselves this time.”

“Did you see the look on Percy’s face?” Sirius gestured to Liz, indicating that they should go inside. She grabbed Moony and followed him.

“Hello Mum, Squirt,” Sirius said cheerfully. Mira gave him a look, but Tonks looked quite surprised.

“You’re in a better mood. Oh hi, Liz. You must have cheered him up.” Liz and Sirius shared a look, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

“We were trying to teach Moony to play fetch,” Liz explained as they both sat down at the kitchen table. The dog sat down right in front of Tonks as she was walking across the room, causing her to almost trip.

“Liz, I really don’t know why you and your parents insist on giving us animals. First that wretched cat,” she started.

“Hey, Mittens is not a wretched cat, she’s darling,” Mira interrupted.

“And now this mangy mutt. Like I didn’t have enough animals in the house with that thing over there,” she said, gesturing to Sirius. Liz snorted, causing Sirius to elbow her in the side. They shared another look. Their gaze must have lingered a bit too long however, because Mira was looking at them with her brow furrowed. They quickly looked away.

“Bloody dog,” Tonks said with her back turned.

“She’s just bluffing, I caught her talking to him this morning,” Sirius whispered, and both girls laughed.

“Mira, what did we come back for anyway?”

“Flour,” she replied promptly.

“Oh, of course. Could you grab that for me, dear? It’s on the top shelf of the cupboard.” Mira snorted. “Oh, that’s right. We really need to get you a step stool,” she said, reaching up and grabbing the burlap bag.

“I’m not that short,” Mira grumbled.

“Yes you are,” Liz and Sirius said at the same time.

“Har har, very funny. My sides are splitting, really.”

“Your sides are splitting? Doesn’t that hurt?” Sirius asked sarcastically.

Mira opened her mouth to retort, but Tonks interrupted. “Well, we better be getting back. Are you still coming later?” she asked Sirius.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, see you two then,” Tonks said, stepping into the fireplace and yelling, “the Burrow!” Mira grabbed a handful of floo powder.

“See you Squirt,” Sirius said, ruffling her hair. She punched him in the arm. “Oww...”

“Mira, is your brother over there?” Liz asked.

“Yeah, he’s helping set up the yard. Why?”

“No reason. Thanks.”

“No problem. See you guys later,” she said, stepping into the fire and following her aunt.

Sirius looked at Liz. She looked back. “I should go home,” she said.

“Yeah, you should,” he agreed. Neither of them moved.

“I don’t want to go home,” Liz admitted.

“I don’t want you to go home either.”

There was a slight pause. “But I really should.” She stood up. So did Sirius. They both walked over to the door, but when Liz reached for the knob, Sirius stopped her.

“You know, it might be a while before were alone again...” he said thoughtfully, moving closer to her with every word.

She nodded, and grinned up at him. “So we should probably make the best of it.”

“Glad you feel that way,” he laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist, and trapping her in-between himself and the wall.

“Sirius?”

“Hmmm?”

“Merry Christmas.”

************

While she was standing in front of the mirror in her room giving her appearance a last check, Liz realized she was nervous. Not just nervous, she was dreading this party. After making the biggest confession of her life, she had to be Nick’s girlfriend. How was she supposed to pretend like she wanted to be with him? How was she going to stop herself from staring at Sirius?

She sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She was wearing her new periwinkle blue dress robes. They were off the shoulder with long, flowing sleeves, and made of material that twinkled when it caught the light. Her hair was down and curled in ringlets.

Nick had gotten her a beautiful pearl necklace for Christmas, but it just didn’t feel right. She undid the clasp, and put her locket back on, placing the pearls safely in her pocket. She’d have to give them back to him when the holidays were over.

She hoped that they could still be friends, because she truly did care about him. She just couldn’t help the fact that her heart would always belong to Sirius.

“Liz!” her sister called down the hall. “We’re ready to go, are you coming?”

“Just a second!” she called back, checking her hair once more. Bolting down the stairs, she heard Nicole grumbling about how long she took to get ready.

“Oh, you just wait until you’re my age,” she said, smiling. She caught Sirius’s glance, and flashed him a grin. He was staring unabashedly at her.

Harry was offering the flower pot full of floo powder to everyone when Liz noticed that Sirius was still staring at her. She gave him a look, gesturing towards her father. He looked confused. To her horror, her mother was now looking suspiciously between the two as well. Liz sighed, then shook her head a fraction to each side.

“Oh!” Sirius exclaimed loudly in understanding. Liz smacked her hand to her forehead, looking at him in disbelief. Could he really be that dense?

With luck, they all made it from the Potter’s to the Burrow without any uncomfortable questions, where they were all bombarded by their family. All of them except for Percy, who seemed to have developed an extra arm and purple hair, and was now sulking in the corner.

“Hey beautiful,” Nick said, smiling at her.

“Hi,” she smiled back. He was too sweet for his own good. How was she going to do this? He grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the backyard where Christmas dinner had been set up. She had to fight the urge to laugh when she saw Sirius with a sour look on his face, glaring at Nick.

Walking up to where Renee was arranging silverware, Liz noticed that the whole house seemed to be a lot neater than usual, and that the table looked ready to serve a king. There were even...

“Name tags?” Liz asked questioningly. “Why do we need name tags?”

Renee turned to face them, amusement evident on her face. “Grandmum’s gone absolutely mad. She said now that Granddad’s the minister, we can’t be living like a bunch of ruffians.”

“So we need organized seating arrangements?” she asked, picking up her own identification card. It even had her full name. It was then that she realized who she was seated next to. “Oh no, no, no...” she muttered under her breath.

Suffering through dinner in between Sirius and Nick on that particular night was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of her life.

Every time Nick would get anywhere near her, Sirius’s face would contort slightly. He now had a steady twitch in his eyebrow, and Liz thought she’d even heard him growl once. Nick was looking at him curiously.

“Is he alright?” he asked Liz quietly.

“Erm, yeah, he’s just constipated,” she blurted unthinkingly, then cringed.

“Oh, alright then,” Nick replied uncertainly. Liz turned around to face Sirius and mouthed, “Knock it off.” He gave her a hopeless gesture.

She was actually quite relieved when Nick asked her to dance, and she accepted gratefully.

“Liz, are you alright? You seem a little distracted,” he asked, looking truly concerned. Liz was now feeling even more guilty. She forced a smile.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re not wearing the necklace I gave you,” he said quietly. She could see the hurt in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry Nick,” she lied. “I was in a rush and I completely forgot.”

“That’s okay,” he replied, but she knew it wasn’t because of his next question. “Who gave you that locket?”

“This?” she asked, brushing her fingers across the pendant. He nodded, and she fought a sigh. “Sirius.”

“That’s what I thought,” he nodded. He didn’t sound hurt now. He sounded bitter.

“Nick, is something wrong?”

“Yes, there’s something...” he started in a harsh whisper, then glanced around them. “Come here.” Leading them to a far corner by a large tree, he continued. “Yes, there’s something wrong, Liz. I need to tell you something.”

“What?” she asked. Maybe he would break up with her so she didn’t have to.

“I love you.”

She blinked several times before trying to choke out some sort of response. Finally she managed, “What?”

“I love you,” he repeated.

“No,” she insisted. “You don’t. You’re over-exaggerating. You just...”

“No. I’m telling the honest truth when I say that I’m in love with you. I don’t need to hear it back. Just wait until you’re ready. I just want you to know that I love you, Liz.”

Liz looked directly into his eyes for a long moment before she burst into tears. “I’m s-sorry, I just...”

“Well, this isn’t exactly what I imagined...”

“Nick, I’m so sorry. You can’t love me. You shouldn’t, because I can’t love you, and I never can!” she cried.

His face dropped. “What do you mean?”

“Nick, I’m...I’m...”

“You’re in love with someone else, aren’t you?”

Liz looked at him in shock, realizing yet again that everyone seemed to have known but her. She slowly nodded. “I was going to end this when we got back to Hogwarts. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he said, even though it was obvious that it wasn’t. “I guess I should have known. I think I’m just going to go...” He turned his back on her and started walking towards the house.

“Nick?” He turned back around. “You’re going to find someone that can love you like you deserve.” He nodded without a word. Liz slid down the trunk of the tree, buried her face in her arms, and sobbed.

************

Nick was standing alone in the kitchen of the Burrow, floo powder in hand. A part of him had expected this. But he had to tell her he loved her. He just had to know.

Well, now he knew all right.

The door opened from outside, and Sirius walked in to face him. His cousin was definitely the last person he wanted to see right now.

“What happened to you?” Sirius asked, looking slightly worried.

“I told Liz I loved her,” he replied brusquely. Sirius’s face dropped significantly.

“And?” he asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice, and failing miserably.

Nick threw the powder into the fireplace, stepping into the emerald green flames. “And she broke up with me.”

And he was gone with a whirl of smoke.


Well, there’s the rest of that chapter. I know you guys are probably disappointed that I didn’t really show too much of the rest of the family, but I’m saving that for the New Year’s post, which is the next chapter. Leave me some feedback, you know where the thread is!

Ah, New Years post! Let’s just say, it’s NOT what some of you were probably expecting...


Chapter 29: The Science of Unpredictability

“Liz?” Wiping her eyes on her tear soaked sleeve, Liz looked up to see her cousin’s concerned face peering into her own. “Are you okay?” Phil asked.

She opened her mouth to say yes, but couldn’t quite get the word out. Instead she said, “No, not really.”

“Sweetie, what happened?” he asked, sitting down beside her and dabbing her cheeks with his handkerchief.

“I really don’t want to talk about it. I just really need a hug,” she said. He laughed and pulled his cousin into a hug, where she started crying again.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

“Oh yes, please,” she said gratefully, jumping to her feet. Phil followed her, putting a protective arm around her shoulders and leading her around the back of the house to avoid awkward questions. “Should I tell my parents where I’m going?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell them when I get back. Do you want me to go get Sirius?” he asked. She looked up at him, shocked.

“Why would you go and get Sirius?” she asked worriedly. Did everyone know?

“I don’t know,” he replied in surprise at her defensive tone. “He’s usually the one you like comforting you, that’s all.”

“Oh...yeah, that. Umm, I don’t care, I just want to go home.”

“Okay, come on,” he returned gently, opening the kitchen door for her. They didn’t need to look for Sirius. He was sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, gripping his hair. His head snapped up at the sound of the door opening. After seeing Liz, he stood up quickly and pulled her into a wordless hug. She broke completely in his arms, sobbing harder than ever.

“Home?” he mouthed at Phil. The red-head nodded. Sirius gestured to the fireplace, and Phil threw a handful of powder into it and flooed to the Potter’s. Sirius picked Liz up and followed suit.

“Sirius, I can walk,” she said in a weak voice as they entered the Potter’s sitting room. She didn’t really want to be put down, being quite comfortable resting her head on his shoulder with his strong arms around her, but she figured he might not want to carry her around like a cripple.

He shrugged, his hair tickling her nose. “That’s alright. I happen to like carrying you.”

“You’re an angel, Lupin.”

“Why thank you Potter.”

“Urgh, I think I’m going to be sick,” Phil said from the corner. They both turned their heads in his direction, having forgotten he was there.

“Sorry Phil,” Liz said, cracking a small smile, and snuggling more comfortably into Sirius’s chest as he carried her up the stairs. “Forgot how innocent you were.”

“I’ll have you know that...”

“You’re quite the ladies man in France, we know,” Sirius finished, getting a laugh out of Liz. He turned his head slightly to wink at Phil. Once in Liz’s bedroom, he gently laid her down on the bed, covering her with a quilt and sitting down beside her. He quickly waved his wand to transfigure her robes into a pair of comfortable pajamas. Taking her hand in his, he brushed his lips across her knuckles, then turned back to Phil.

“Mate, can you give us a minute?” he asked.

“Erm...yeah.” Sirius was surprised to see that he actually looked uncomfortable. “Behave yourselves.” Sirius rolled his eyes, turning back to Liz. He was startled to see that she had tears in her eyes again.

“Hey, there will be no more crying,” he said gently.

“I really hurt him, didn’t I?” she asked in a small voice.

“He’ll be fine,” he said. “He’ll mope for a while, but then he’ll meet someone new and...”

“He told me he loved me, and I broke up with him. On Christmas! I’m a horrible person, I,” He put a finger on her lips to quiet her.

“You’re not a horrible person. You had no choice. Not telling him, dragging it out, hurting him even more, that was your other choice. You made the right one.”

“Will you go talk to him?” she asked pleadingly.

“I don’t know if I’m exactly the person he wants to see right now,” he said hesitantly.

“Oh please Sirius? He needs someone to talk to him, or otherwise he might do something stupid. Please? I just can’t bear to go on with this,” she gestured between them, “if I don’t know that he’s alright.” He gave in under the gaze of her eyes.

“Alright, I’ll talk to him. But I can’t promise anything.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, then the tip of her nose, then very gently on the lips. She longed to deepen the kiss, but didn’t want to go back on her word to make sure Nick was alright before starting anything with Sirius.

“Alright, you’ve been in there long enough!” Phil called from the hallway. Sirius grinned at Liz, kissed her hand one last time, and got up. He slowly closed the door, shutting the light off and smiling softly at her once more.

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight,” she replied. He leaned against her closed door, grinning vaguely. Phil was looking at him with his arms crossed across his chest.

“What?”

“Sirius, you’re like a brother to me, but I’ve got to say this,” he started. Sirius motioned for him to continue. “If you break her heart, I’m going to have to hurt you. She’s too good for that.”

Sirius almost laughed, but looking into the other boy’s dark blue eyes, he found no hint of a joke. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Phil couldn’t help himself. “No, you are.” Sirius gave him a look, and rolled his eyes. “But yes. She’s my cousin, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt her.”

“Phil, you know I’d never hurt Liz,” he said earnestly.

“I know. I just needed to get that out. She doesn’t have an older brother, and I’m the oldest male, so it’s my job. And just for the record, if she has to date someone, I’d rather it be you. I was just doing my cousinly duty, we’re cool,” he said, shaking Sirius’s hand.

“Speaking of cousins, I have to go talk to mine,” he said, sighing loudly.

“Good luck,” he said. “I’d go with you, but I have to go tell Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny where Liz is. That, and I don’t want to.”

************

Nick was sitting on the window-seat in his room, staring blankly at the inky night sky. It would be a full moon in two days. He never really thought about his uncle being a werewolf before, but he couldn’t help but wonder what it felt like. He wondered vaguely what hurt worse, a full moon or a broken heart.

It was a long time coming, and he knew it. It had never been right between him and Liz. But that didn’t change the fact that he loved her. He thought he did, at least. Maybe it wasn’t true love. He really had nothing to compare it to. But all he knew was that no matter what he was feeling was called, it hurt like hell.

He knew he couldn’t blame her. She couldn’t help how she felt any more than he could. He could blame Sirius even less. It would be like blaming him for being born. He didn’t know how he was going to face them though. And the thing was, he had to. They were his only friends, and anyone else he knew was closer to them anyway. Not to mention, he had to live with Sirius. But it didn’t make it one iota easier.

There was a knock at the door. “Go away!” he called.

“No,” the person, now identified as Sirius, called back. “I’m coming in.” And that he did. He just walked into the room and sat down in the armchair at the corner of the room, not saying a word. Nick finally broke after a few minutes.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Who?” Sirius asked in surprise. Nick rolled his eyes.

“Who do you think?”

Sirius frowned. “How do you know I saw her?”

“You look happy,” he answered simply. Sirius looked at him for a while before answering.

“She’s fine,” he said quietly. “How are you?”

“I’ll live,” he said, his tone of voice suggesting he wished he wouldn’t. It scared Sirius a bit.

“Look, mate, I’m sorry...”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. Neither of you can help how you feel about each other. Just do me a favor?”

“Sure,” Sirius said.

“Be happy. Make her happy. Give her everything she deserves,” he said. Sirius got up and moved toward the door, sensing his cousin wanted to be alone.

“I will. We cool?” he asked uncertainly.

“Yeah. We’re cool.”

***********

Liz was lying on her bed on New Year’s Eve, staring vaguely at the ceiling. She’d been in an absolutely foul mood. She’d not only been avoiding Nick over the last few days, but she’d also been avoiding Sirius. It was wrong of her, since he didn’t do anything wrong, but she felt guilty. Nick was suffering because of her, and she didn’t feel that she had the right to be happy.

Liz sighed, glancing at the picture on her bedside table. His letter was lying beside it, much more worn than you’d expect a week old piece of parchment to be. She’d taken to reading it over every night before she went to bed, even though she’d memorized it by now.

Every time she saw Nick, he looked so sad. She still couldn’t believe that he’d actually fallen in love with her. She hadn’t even realized that he considered their relationship as serious. She was trying to protect him by avoiding Sirius, because she didn’t think she could resist the urge to jump into his arms and never let go for much longer. She didn’t know how Nick would react to that, and she couldn’t bear to hurt him more than she already had.

She’d just have to be miserable for a little while longer.

Someone knocked softly at her door, and after being granted access, her mother walked into the room. “Sweetie, Marissa and Angenette are here, it’s time to get ready for the party.”

“Okay,” Liz answered, not moving and still staring at the ceiling.

Ginny sighed, and sat down on the edge of her bed, glancing at the picture. “Liz, just tell him how you feel.”

Liz’s eyes snapped from the ceiling to her mother’s face quickly as she sat up. Then she sighed loudly, dropping her gaze to her hands. “How is it that you know everything?”

Ginny chuckled. “It’s my job.”

“He already knows Mum. He feels the same way,” she admitted grudgingly, grabbing the letter off the table and handing it to her. It took the red-head a moment to read it, looking back at Liz with a soft glow to her eyes.

“I don’t really see what the problem is, honey. He sounds very sincere...”

“No, the problem is, he says he loves me. And, the thing is, I love him too. But I don’t think I’m ready for this,” she answered quietly.

“Sweetie, I know you’re young, but no one’s rushing you. I was younger than you when me and your father started dating.”

“Yeah, but...” she stuttered. “That was you and Dad.”

Ginny smiled. “We weren’t the only people ever to fall in love, you know.”

“Well, no, of course not. But you were in the height of the war, you didn’t know what was going to happen, so you had to make the best of it. It’s totally different.”

“You sound just like your Aunt Hermione right now. Liz, you’re trying to think up a logical explanation for love, and you’ll never find one. Love is strong, but it’s also very fragile. It can only take so much, and if you’re lucky enough to find true love, you have to cherish that. Although I’m most certainly not telling you to go out an elope, so don’t even think about it, young lady,” Ginny’s voice was suddenly stern, although her eyes were teasing. Liz gave her a weak smile. “This is really getting to you, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “I’m just worried...what if we only think we’re in love?”

“Liz, did I ever tell you how your father proposed to me?” Ginny asked unexpectedly.

“Yes, many times. It was Christmas, and you were at Hogwarts for your seventh year. He was stuck in Ireland for auror training, and couldn’t get off to come and see you. So he wrote you a long letter, and at the bottom was ‘P.S. Will you marry me?’. Wait...” It suddenly hit her why her mother had asked her this. A letter? Christmas?

“History does repeat itself, doesn’t it?” Ginny asked, looking slightly amused. Liz still didn’t look convinced. “Sweetie, does it feel like you’re in love.”

“Yes,” she answered immediately.

“Then chances are, it’s true. Talk to him tonight, okay?” She nodded. “Alright, I’m going to go make sure your father’s not making James too fat. I’ll send the girls up, since I think they’re being entertained by Gen’s pet slug right now.”

Liz laughed. “Okay...and Mum? Thanks.” Her mother smiled at her as she left. Liz flopped back on her bed and sighed loudly, before dragging herself up to rummage in her trunk. A moment later, both her friends were barging into her room, chatting loudly. After a group hug and much squealing, the long process of readying themselves for the party began.

“Oh ‘Ris, I have something for you,” Liz said, grabbing the small box Ax had given her off her night stand and tossing it to the other girl. Marissa looked at it sadly for a moment before turning back to Liz.

“When you saw him...did he look okay?” she asked hesitantly.

Liz smiled sadly at her, knowing what she meant. “Yeah. Tired, and kind of sad, but okay.”

An hour later, the three girls were looking much more dressed up than before, and were just about ready for the party. Angenette was curling Liz’s hair when she asked the question Liz knew would be coming.

“So, what did Nick get you for Christmas?”

Liz grimaced. “Well, he got me a pearl necklace, but I had to give them back.”

“Why?” her friends asked at the same time.

“We broke up,” she said quickly.

“What!?” Angenette asked, the curling iron jerking violently and burning the skin on her neck.

“Ouch, Ange, that bloody hurt!”

“Sorry,” she groaned. “Why?”

“Why? Because you just stuck a heated piece of metal against my skin, you...”

“No, why did you two break up,” she asked, exasperated.

“He told me he loved me.”

“So you broke up with him?” Angenette asked confusedly.

“It’s...complicated,” Liz replied, blushing.

“Does this complication go by the name of Sirius Lupin?” Marissa asked calmly. Liz couldn’t even work up the effort to look surprised.

She huffed grumpily, massaging the burn on the back of her neck. “Am I that bloody obvious?”

“Yes,” both her friends answered bluntly.

**********


Mira was sitting alone in the Potter’s expansive kitchen, feeling a bit...tetchy. She wasn’t exactly the biggest people person in the world, and there were certainly a lot of those there tonight. The Christmas party had been bearable, for it was just the Weasley family, and she knew all of them already. But tonight was not only them, but friends and colleagues as well.

It hadn’t all been bad. She’d met two Unspeakables, a field she had recently read about and was now quite interested in. She had also had a very interesting conversation with a pretty, yet tom-boyish girl named Megan Shacklebolt. The fourth year had told her about a hex that caused the hexed to talk like a house elf, something she was planning to test the next time Sirius called her Squirt.

Her brother had barely said two words to anyone all night, and it was starting to get a bit aggravating. She loved Nick to death, but he was a trial when he worked himself into a bad mood.

Propping her feet up on the table, she leaned back and rubbed her eyes. It would be midnight in a half hour. Hopefully, this new year would be better than the last.

“Miri-kins?” a sing song voice asked. She looked up.

“Oh, hey Phil.”

“What’s a witch like you doing in a kitchen like this?” he asked jokingly, sitting across from her.

“Sitting down, the last time I checked. It was quite peaceful.”

“Oh, an irritable midget. Want some firewhiskey?” he asked, holding out the goblet he was carrying. Her curiosity outweighed her indignation at being called a midget.

“Let me see that.” She took the cup and sniffed the contents. “It’s pumpkin juice.”

“Could be firewhiskey if you have enough imagination,” he argued.

“Only you would be stupid enough to say something like that.”

He shrugged. “It’s true. Nothing’s anything unless we make it so. Isn’t that right Longbottom?” he asked, grinning. The girl behind him jumped about three feet in the air, dropping the water balloon she was holding on her feet instead of his head.

“How’d you know she was there?” Mira asked, astonished. “You didn’t even turn around.”

“I used a silencing charm on my shoes too,” Lynn grumbled, drying her feet off with her wand.

Phil shrugged again, turning around to face her. “I smelt your perfume. You always wear that French stuff that smells like strawberries and cream.” Mira thought that he probably missed the shock on the brunette’s face at hearing that he knew what kind of perfume she wore, but she didn’t.

“Umm...yeah, I do,” he murmured. “I was supposed to tell you something though. What was it?” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Oh yeah! Your mother wants to talk to you.”

“Oh okay, thanks,” Phil said, dragging his feet to the door of the room. Lynn was still standing in the spot behind his abandoned chair, her brow furrowed.

“He’s right, you know,” Mira said suddenly, causing the other girl to jump again.

“What?”

“Nothing is anything unless you make it something.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly in though. “What do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean,” she smiled.

“No one ever knows what you mean, Black,” Nicole Potter said upon entering the room.

Oh goody...

“At least I have a functioning brain,” she replied, yawning. Lynn sidled out of the room.

“Too bad the only part that works is the area of insanity,” the red head returned, rummaging in the refrigerator for some ice.

“That didn’t even make sense.”

“Shows how little you know.”

“At least I actually know how to insult people properly.”

“At least my head isn’t so big that I can get on a broomstick without it tilting to one side.”

“Oh, I’m the arrogant one now?” Mira asked, laughing.

Nicole shot her a smirk. “I meant that literally, you dolt.”

Mira smirked back. “At least I can preform a simple switching spell.”

Nicole slammed the refrigerator door. “At least I have friends.”

That one had hit a little too close to home. Mira stood up so quickly it was alarming, any lightness that had been in the atmosphere evaporating on the spot.

“Shut up,” she said in a low growl.

“Oh dear, did I hit a nerve? Is the fweaky wittle American all awone?”

“I said shut up!” The very air seemed to be getting colder. Her fingers were itching to pull out her wand.

“Aww, poor dear. All alone in the big bad world, tut, tut...”

Suddenly, Mira’s mind was blank of all thoughts except for that of deep dislike. She could feel power surging through her body to the tip of her fingers. Not a good kind of power either. Although she was not thinking rationally at all, she somehow knew that if she let this power escape her, nothing good would come out of it. No matter how much animosity she felt towards Nicole, she didn’t want to hurt her.

She felt her body starting to shake. Nicole must have thought it was with anger at first, for she continued taunting her. Mira saw her green eyes grow wide right before her knees buckled and her eyes rolled back in her head.

The next thing she knew was extreme pain. It felt like a weight was pressing down on her from all sides, hindering her breathing as well as putting a lot of stress on her limbs. She couldn’t even gather enough air to cry out in pain as her right arm snapped, jutting out at a strange angle.

She heard Nicole’s faraway scream of horror, then the sounds of people rushing into the room. She heard someone mutter ‘finite incantatem’ from right beside her, then heard the same person yell for someone to get cold water.

There was a lot of shouting. Mira caught phrases like, ‘Get the kids out of here,’ or, ‘Should we take her to St. Mungo’s?’, and even thought she heard something about not being able to use healing spells.

Then everything went black.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Here’s the next post! You guys are all completely crazy, btw... Oh! And the number of views of my feedback thread has surpassed the number of views of my actual story, isn’t that weird?


Chapter 30: Bigger Than Us

The first thing Mira could remember was hearing two voices talking. She could tell they were whispering, and she couldn’t make out a word either was saying, but it sounded as though they were shouting in her ear. Someone was gently dabbing a wet sponge to her forehead. One of the people asked a question, and she groaned at the noise.

“She’s getting up!” one of the voices really did shout. The other hushed him quickly.

“Mira?” the other asked quietly. “Can you hear me?” She tried to nod, but her head was far too heavy. She tried to open her eyes, but the lids felt like lead. So she just made a noncommital noise.

“She’s coming around,” the second voice, a girl, said.

“Should I go get Nick?” the first asked.

“No,” the girl answered. “Wait until she wakes up.” Mira tried lifting a hand, but found her entire arm was wrapped in something. After a few minute’s struggle, she managed to flutter her eyelids.

“Just take your time, Mira. Don’t push yourself,” the voice turned away from her. “I’d better take her temperature again. Has anyone been able to contact Aunt Katie yet?”

“We called St. Mungo’s. They said she was in surgery.”

“That’s alright then. I think she’ll be okay,” the girl said nervously.

“Thanks to you,” the male voice responded.

“Sirius...” Mira was beginning to get very confused. After another few minutes struggle, she was able to open one eye. She saw blurry shapes moving around to her side. After blinking a few times, she managed to open both eyes, and realized she was in her room. The lamp on the bedside table seemed quite a bit brighter than she remembered. A hand quickly turned it off and lit the tip of a wand instead.

She tried to ask what was going on, but all that came out was a squeak.

“Shhh, don’t push yourself,” the girl said quietly. Mira could make out a pair of green eyes peering intently at her.

“What happened?” she finally managed to ask in the strongest voice she could find. It was quieter than a whisper.

“Well, we’re not really sure,” the girl she’d now identified as Liz answered.

“It seems like you somehow cursed yourself,” the person who was definitely Sirius answered. “It was real bad. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Sirius, don’t scare her!” Liz hissed.

“Sorry,” he said. “Your brother can probably explain this a lot better than we can,” he told Mira.

“We’re going to tell Remus and Tonks that you’re up,” Liz finished. Mira noticed for the first time that they were holding hands. “We’ll send Nick up in a minute. Don’t try anything strenuous.”

About five minutes later, her white and shaking brother opened the door quietly, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that she was awake. “You gave us quite a scare there,” he said in a quavering voice, sitting down on the chair at the edge of her bed.

“Why is everyone acting like I’m on my death bed?” she asked weakly. Nick looked uncomfortable. “First Liz taking my temperature and talking about St. Mungo’s, then Sirius acting like that, now you? What happened?”

He actually cracked a smile at her indignation. “Well sweetie, you’re going to have to get Liz something very nice for her birthday.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She saved your life, Mira.” They sat in silence for a long moment before Mira could bring herself to respond.

“What?!”

He sighed. “Were you and Nicole having a fight before you blacked out?”

She thought for a moment before answering, “Yeah.”

“That’s what I thought. She hasn’t said a word to anyone since you collapsed, by the way. I think you probably accidently tried to curse Nicole, but realized it would hurt her and turned it back on yourself. Whatever it was, it was a real powerful curse, Mira. None of us knew what to do except for Liz. It was scary. You looked like you were suffocating, and you’re arm broke under some kind of weight or something. She stopped whatever it was and patched you up afterwards. The curse prevented using healing charms, so that’s why you have the cast on your arm.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Four hours,” he answered. “You’ve been running a high fever for that entire time. It seems it’s finally breaking. It scared me half to death, Mira.”

“But it can’t be that bad, Nick. I mean, I’m twelve. I couldn’t have done something powerful enough to kill me, could I?” He looked away. “Nick?” she asked fearfully.

“Mira, you’ve got to understand. You’re my baby sister, and this is really hard for me to say...”

“Nick...” she said in a warning tone.

“I’m supposed to protect you, and...”

“Nick!” she shouted, then winced from the pain in her head.

He sighed. “Alright. There’s something you should know...”

************

Sirius had insisted on walking Liz home after they’d left Mira with her brother, something she’d told him repeatedly was not necessary. Snow was lightly falling on the grand houses of Godric’s Hollow, and it would have been incredibly romantic on a different night. Sirius glanced at Liz, who was still holding his hand. She had snowflakes clinging to her dark eyelashes, her hair slowly coming out of it’s elegant knot.

“Liz?” he asked quietly, stopping so that she turned to look at him. “How did you know what to do tonight?”

She sighed. “I don’t really know. I just followed my instinct, I guess. Aunt Katie was at work, and someone had to do something.”

She looked quite a bit sadder than the situation warranted. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, taking her other hand.

“Sirius? Are you positive that...” her voice faltered.

“What?”

“That you love me?” she whispered, blushing.

He almost laughed, but sensed that this wouldn’t be the best reaction. “Yes.”

“Are you really sure? Because I understand if you’re not, it’s a big thing to say, especially at our age. Really, I won’t get angry, I promise. You can tell me if you...”

“Liz,” he stopped her. “I love you.”

She looked at him for a long moment, before taking her hands out of his and turning away from him. “I don’t get it,” she said. “If you’d told me all this six months ago, there’s no way I’d believe you. But now, I know you’re telling the truth. What happened?” she asked, turning back to him, her eyes shining.

“You happened, Liz,” he answered bluntly.

“I’ve been here all along, Sirius.”

“Yes, you have. And I’ve been stupid enough not to realize it. But the fact is, I love you.”

“Stop saying that!” she exclaimed unexpectedly. Sirius’s brows snapped together.

“Why?” he asked in a hurt voice. “It’s true.”

“With you saying it, it makes it so...so real!”

“It is real, Liz. I love you,” he told her again. She pulled at her hair in frustration.

“But I don’t want it to be real. I’m not ready to be in love! YOU’RE not ready to be in love! I mean, who do we think we are? We’re sixteen years old, this can’t be real. What if we’re just making a big mistake? What...”

“What happened to you?” he interrupted. “A week ago, you were telling me you loved me too. What happened to that Liz?”

“I thought about it,” she said bashfully.

“Then don’t think about it. Feel... Please Liz, just think with your heart for once,” he pleaded, his voice quiet, eyes soft.

“I don’t know how!” She was getting quite hysterical now.

“Let me teach you,” he said, pulling her to him. “Let me show you, please.” Some of the tears filling her eyes fell. “Don’t you love me too?”

“I...” Yes! a voice in her head screamed. Yes, you love him! Just tell him you love him! “I...umm...” He stepped back away from her, his face blank.

“You know you do,” he said in an expressionless voice. “But I can’t make you see it. I’m going to walk away, and I’m not going to come crawling back to you like I usually do. Whenever you realize you made a mistake, I’ll be right here. Until then, I guess this is good-bye.”

He didn’t think about the fact that he was far too stubborn to go back on his word later when he realized he had possibly made the biggest mistake of his life. He didn’t think about the fact that Liz was far too stubborn to come to him and admit that she had possibly made the biggest mistake of her life. He didn’t think at all.

The last thing Liz saw before he turned away was her heart breaking in his eyes.

***********

Two days later, a very quiet group of students was stepping onto platform nine and three-quarters, ready to board the Hogwarts Express once again. Nicole had barely said a word to anyone since the incident of New Years eve. As soon as she got to the platform, she took her trunk and left immediately for the nearest compartment.

Liz and Sirius were both miserable, desperately avoiding each other’s eyes. Mira didn’t know what happened between them, but she knew it must have been something bad. Sirius had accidently bumped Liz in the usual rush to leave that morning, and she had immediately burst into tears. It took several minutes for Ginny to calm Liz down. Nick had tried to talk to Sirius, but had ended up walking away shaking his head.

Her brother was nearly as melancholy as ever, and Mira couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about adding to his sadness. But she really couldn’t help being angry with him for keeping something so important from her.

He’d told her about how he found out she was something called an Auctoritus that night. Apparently, she had a natural talent for magic. That explained a lot, but it didn’t explain why her brother had purposefully kept this information from her. If she hadn’t had good instincts, she could have seriously injured Nicole, or even someone else.

He’d told her that was all she needed to know, and not to go digging into the matter any further. So the first thing she was planning on doing when she got back to Hogwarts was taking a trip to the library.

She heard someone call her name behind her, and turned to face Rob. He had a bright smile, and seemed about to pull her into a bear hug when he actually caught sight of her. His jaw dropped, and his eyes bugged out.

Mira knew she looked awful. There were dark circles underneath her eyes, which were bloodshot and irritated. Her arm was still wrapped tightly in a cast, which was supported by a sling. She was pale, and probably looked like a strong gust of wind could knock her down. But his reaction did nothing to hearten her.

“What happened?” he asked, sounding quite frightened.

“I had a little accident,” she answered lamely.

“Yes, I can see that,” he responded. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she assured him, surprised at his concern.

“Well, we’d better find a compartment,” he said. “Here, let me get your trunk.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to...” she stuttered.

“Yes, I do,” he said bluntly.

“Well, I was going to levitate it, but suit yourself,” she said, actually smiling. Rob just shrugged and grinned back. Once settled in a compartment, Mira was surprised to see Rob stowing his trunk in the luggage rack as well.

“You don’t have to stay, you know,” she said. He turned to look at her. “You can go sit with your friends.”

He stared at her like she had three heads for a moment before his expression softened, and he sat down in the seat next to her. “You don’t honestly think you’re not my friend, do you?”

“I am?” she asked.

“Of course you are! What did you think?” he asked in a disbelieving tone.

“I guess I thought that you were just being nice because you felt back for me,” she answered shyly.

He sighed, smiling slightly. “Mira, you’re more than some girl in my year to me, alright? Nicole and Celeste...they’re great, but it’s always those two, then me. With you... I feel like I can talk to you about anything. You’re incredibly important to me. I just can’t believe you didn’t know that.”

Her lower lip quivered.

“Oh, please don’t cry!” he exclaimed, looking quite scared. “Ummm....” He hugged her, probably out of fear, but it meant a lot to Mira anyway. In fact, it would have been the perfect gesture except for the fact that...

“Rob?” she squeaked. “I hate to ruin the moment, but you’re squishing my arm...”

*************

Ax stepped out of the taxi, paying the driver and absentmindedly giving him far too much muggle money. “Keep the change,” he said, vaguely hearing the man thank him profusely. He grabbed his trunk, rather rudely leaving his sister to get her own, and headed off towards the platform.

Once he’d crossed the magical barrier, he immediately began scanning the crowd for one head in particular. He found her quickly, standing beside the train and talking to Angenette Finnigan. He smiled happily, deciding to sneak up behind her.

Angenette saw him as he was approaching, and was about to tell Marissa, but he put a finger to his lips and winked. The other girl rolled her eyes and continued with their conversation. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and whispered, “Miss me?” in her ear.

Marissa squeaked, and turned around to jump into his arms. He laughed, hugging the life out of his girlfriend at the same time. She pulled away to look at him, and he saw her eyes narrow.

“You look thin. And tired. What have they done to you? Oh, I’ve been so worried about you! Ever since Liz told me those awful people weren’t letting you use your owl, I just had the urge to march right up to your front door and give them a piece of my mind...”

He laughed again. “I’m fine, really. I’m just really happy to see you again. Did you get my gift?” he asked uncertainly. Marissa beamed, but hit him on the shoulder soundly.

“What were you thinking, spending so much money on me?” she asked, staring fondly down at her right hand, where a dainty ruby ring was proudly displayed on her finger.

“You’re worth a million of those.”

“Ax...” she smiled up at him.

“Did you read the inscription?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what it means. Italian again?”

“Yes. Una bellezza di una,” he said. “The beauty of one.”

“You’re adorable,” she said earnestly, beaming at him once again. They left for their compartment hand in hand, just about to enter when someone tapped Ax on the shoulder. He turned around to see Sirius Lupin looking unbelievably awkward.

“Can I have a word please?” he asked.

“Sure...” he answered, shrugging in response to Marissa’s questioning glance. She continued on into the compartment, and Lupin waited for her to close the door before taking a deep breath.

“I just want to apologize for the way I’ve treated you,” he began.

“Oh, it’s alright...” Ax tried to interrupt.

“Just let me get this out,” he said earnestly. “I’ve been extremely stubborn, and I’ve treated you unfairly. You’ve never done anything to me, and I’m truly sorry for the way I’ve behaved. I hope you can forgive me.”

“It’s really no problem. Let’s just put it behind us.”

“Water under the bridge?” he asked.

“Water under the bridge,” Ax agreed. They shook hands, and he asked, “Any particular reason why you’re telling me this all now?”

Sirius grinned nervously. “I need your help...”

Well, I know I haven’t posted on Confusion yet, but I’m positive you guys would rather me post here, and I think I may be murdered if I don’t within a reasonable amount of time, so here you are! And thank you again for the amazing amount of feedback, looking forward to reading it is what has gotten me through this past week. And for any shadow readers out there, come join the party! We have cookies...


Chapter 31: A Decidedly Un-Romantic Valentine’s Day

Over the next month or so, Liz and Sirius became more miserable by the second. Liz had started helping Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing to try and take her mind off her personal life, but nothing really helped. She wasn’t sleeping or eating well, and her grades had even begun to drop. There were dark circles under her eyes that no amount of make-up could cover, and she’s lost ten pounds off of her already slim frame. So it was really no surprise that when the morning of February 14th dawned, she didn’t even realize what day it was until she walked into the common room to see love-sick couples snogging in every available space. Rolling her eyes, she stomped off towards the great hall, snapping at a first year for giggling on the way.

In truth, she really missed Sirius. She missed hearing his laugh, seeing that twinkle in his gorgeous grey eyes she’d found she loves so much, their daily banter, just having him wait for her to go down to the great hall every morning...she missed everything. It was usually during the late hours of the night when she couldn’t sleep because she was thinking of him that she really asked herself what she was doing. Why didn’t she just admit that he was right? Admit that she loved him?

Because she did love him. This last month had shown just how much. But was he still willing to take her back?

She hadn’t realized just how close she and Sirius had become until she didn’t have him anymore. But their rift had made her realize that he was the person she spent most of her time with. She had Marissa and Angenette as always, but Marissa spent most of her time with Ax, and Angenette had become so fed up with Liz’s self-pity that she had started talking to Landen and Christian a lot more than necessary.

Ax was another person who was acting peculiar. On several occasions, Liz had witnessed him and Sirius being quite friendly towards one another. He also seemed very determined to get her to ‘come to her senses’, as he put it, about Sirius. She’d thought if anyone would have been happy she’d had a falling out with Sirius, it would have been him.

She and Nick still weren’t on speaking terms, but she could sense that he was no longer angry with her. She thought this might of had a lot to do with what she did for Mira, but either way, she wasn’t complaining. He seemed to be getting progressively happier.

She was still surprised when she looked up in divination to see him sitting across from her.

“Hi,” she said automatically.

“You look terrible,” he said bluntly, gazing at her with something like concern in his eyes.

“Thanks,” she snapped sarcastically. “Anything else?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t come over here to insult you, I wanted to see if we could forgive and forget.”

“What?”

“Look Liz, no offence, but you really look like you could use a friend right now. And even with all we’ve been through, I still care about you. So can we just forget about the past few months and go back to being friends?” he asked.

“Really?” she asked uncertainly.

“Really,” he smiled. To both their surprise, Liz started tearing up. Nick looked a bit scared.

“I’m sorry,” she said thickly. “I just...I’m so sorry for what I did to you. I was so stupid, and now it’s all a big mess, and I broke your heart for nothing! I’m sorry I’m blubbering like a baby too, but...”

“It’s okay, Liz,” he said, patting her hand awkwardly.

“I’m just sorry,” she finished lamely, wiping tears furiously.

“So am I,” he said very quietly. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence for a while before Nick spoke again. “Sirius is miserable, you know.” She nodded. “What happened between you two anyway?”

“I did something amazingly stupid, something I’m not sure he can forgive me for,” she muttered.

“Well, why don’t you just try talking to him? You’re both in a state, it can’t make things much worse.”

“I wish it was that simple,” she held up a hand to keep him from interrupting. “I don’t even know if I know what I want.”

“You do,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Oh?” she asked in surprise, and he saw a flicker of the old Liz in her eyes. “And how did you come to this conclusion?”

He sighed. “You haven’t said a proper word to him in two months, but you still wear that locket every day.”

Her hand flew to the heart securely fastened around her neck. “I hadn’t even realized...”

Nick smirked, “I rest my case.” They were silent once again, until Nick mercifully changed the subject. “Did I ever thank you? For what you did for Mira, I mean?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, Nick...”

“Yes, it was. You saved my sister’s life. Now I have to do something to repay you.”

“No, it’s not...” she stopped, suddenly hit by an idea. “Well, how about this. Let me help you find a girlfriend.”

“What?! Are you joking?” he asked uncertainly.

“Nope. We’re going to find you someone. And no buts, because I’m doing this with or without your consent. What about her?” she asked, pointing to a Hufflepuff across the room. Nick shook his head. “Why not?”

“Too giggly,” he said bluntly.

“Giggly?” she asked, cracking a smile.

“Yes, giggly. You know.” He did a very bad impression of a girlish giggle, waving his hands wildly and fanning himself. Liz actually snorted.

“Okay, how about...her,” she said, pointing to a Ravenclaw next.

“Too loud,” he answered almost immediately.

“What would you like, a rock?” Liz asked, getting a shrug in response. “Alright. What about her? She’s a Slytherin, so I doubt she’ll be giggly...”

“That’s a guy, Liz,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

“What? No she’s not, she’s....oh dear, she is a guy,” she trailed off. “Alright, maybe divination isn’t the best class to do this in.”

*************

Liz’s momentary good mood was long over by Defense Against the Dark Arts as she took her now customary seat in the back of the class and started her usual staring match with the wall. She glanced over at Sirius once, sitting in the middle row on the other side of the classroom. Nick was right, he did look depressed.

She let her mind drift to where it usually did during classes these days. What would it be like if she hadn’t been so stupid? She wouldn’t be sitting in the back of the classroom daydreaming, that’s for sure. She’d be sitting beside the grey eyed boy that had currently captured her thoughts, listening to Remus talk and intently taking notes. Sirius would be trying to distract her, probably successfully. He always managed to distract her...

It took Liz a moment to realize that Sirius was starting at her. Actually, the entire class, including the professor, was starting at her. “Liz?” Remus asked. “Do you know the answer?”

Ha! She didn’t even know what the lesson was about! “Er... vampires?” she guessed lamely. Remus’s brow furrowed. No cigar then...

“Vampires was the year that the three unforgivable curses were made illegal?” he asked. She could have sworn he was slightly amused. The rest of the class obviously was, seeing as they were laughing hysterically. All except Sirius, that is. He hadn’t even cracked a smile...

“1742,” he murmured quietly and unexpectedly. It got everyone to stop laughing though.

“Thank you, Sirius. Please stay after class, Liz.”

She sighed, resigning herself to the worst. After the bell rang, she hung back, her friends giving her sympathetic looks as they passed her. She desperately wanted Sirius to look at her, but he didn’t, just walked by with his head determinedly bent downward.

Remus motioned for her to follow him into his office, and poured her a cup of tea. Moony sauntered up to her and laid his head on her feet. Sirius had refused to leave him at home, and since students weren't allowed to own dogs, Remus had agreed to keep him in his quarters. He'd become a sort of 'class pet' for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She sat down in front of his desk, sipping the hot liquid, waiting for him to give her a detention.

He didn’t.

“I gave my recommendation for head girl next year to Minerva yesterday. It was you.” Liz choked on her tea. He smiled.

“You were by far the most qualified. Outstanding grades, highly responsible, and most importantly, a deep sense of caring for the other students. Ever since we got back from Christmas break, you’ve been like a walking ghost, Liz. As a teacher, I’m disappointed. As family, I’m worried,” he finished.

“I’m sorry Uncle Remus, I never meant to worry you...” she started, but he interrupted her.

“Liz, you are like another daughter to me. It concerns me to see you throwing away your present and quite possibly your future in depression. Now, I don’t know the specifics about your situation, but I do know it has to do with my son, judging by his state. But at least he’s keeping up with his studies. I actually think he may be concentrating on them to keep his mind off other things. But you...

“Your grades have dropped considerably, you know. I hate to watch you quite possibly damage your future, Liz.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Remus, I really am. I’ll keep up with them from now on, I promise,” she said honestly, feeling incredibly guilty.

He smiled at her, “Good. You’ll make a fine head girl.” She blushed. “If you ever need to talk to someone, I’m always right here, you know.”

“Thank you,” she said, getting up and heading for the door.

“Oh, and Liz?” She turned around to face him. “Try eating a little more and getting some sleep. Your grandmother would have kittens if she could see you now.”

She nodded mutely, wondering if she really looked that awful. It didn’t really matter if she did. But she did vow to herself that she wouldn’t let her love life, or pitiful lack thereof, get in the way of her studies any longer.

When Liz finally walked into her dormitory at the end of a long and exhausting day, something very unexpected was waiting for her. A dozen red roses were sitting on her bedside table. The note attached had no name, but just said, Happy Valentine’s Day, Luv.

No one heard her muffled sobs.

************

Nick was doing something very unusual on a chilly Friday evening. He was sitting in the common room staring at a girl. There wasn’t any particular reason he had chosen this particular girl to stare at, other than the fact that she fascinated him. He wasn’t even sure why. She just seemed so familiar for some reason.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting on the couch in front of the fire, just watching her as she sat on the window seat on the other side of the room. The common room was oddly empty for a Friday night, and the people who were there were split up into groups in secluded corners. Nick and this girl were the only ones who seemed to be sitting on their own.

It’s rude to stare, a voice in his head apprehended.

He wasn’t even sure why he was staring. She didn’t really stand out in any way. Plain, not really pretty, but in no way ugly. She was tiny, almost frail looking, and probably even shorter than Liz. She had long, mousy brown hair, spilling down her back in soft curls that glistened in the light of the setting sun. He couldn’t see her eyes, as they were hidden behind glasses much too large for her delicate face. There was a large, ancient looking book sitting on her lap, but she wasn’t paying it the slightest bit of attention. Instead, she was gazing out of the frosty window, looking like she was trying to solve all the world’s problems at once.

She looked so familiar, but Nick couldn’t remember where he’d seen her before.

Liz had kept her promise about getting him a girlfriend. Ever since they had started talking again Monday, she’d been pointing girls out in the hall to him. He let her do it, because it kept her busy and even caused the occasional smile to grace her face. But he always found some kind of fault in them. In truth, he didn’t want another girlfriend when a part of him was still in love with Liz.

He was slowly getting over her. But falling for her so quickly, and so hard, had taken it’s toll. Maybe another relationship would be good for him, even if it was short and meaningless. Liz seemed to think so, seeing as he had been set up on a blind date for Hogsmeade tomorrow. All he knew about the girl was that she ‘wasn’t too giggly’.

“Hello...” a loud voice on his other side interrupted his thoughts. “Nicky boy, you in there?”

“Never call me Nicky boy again,” he warned Sirius warily. His cousin, still in Quidditch robes, was looking very disgruntled. “What’s up?”

“It’s Nicole! She’s not...well, she’s not seeking! Not as well as she can, anyway. How are we going to win the next game if our seeker’s not paying attention to the snitch? I don’t care that she’s in a foul mood, so am I, and I’m still scoring goals, aren’t I? What are we supposed to do, I don’t want to kick her off the team, then we’ll have no one...are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, sure. Nicole’s not snitching, and you can’t kick the goal.”

“That didn’t even make sense in your head, did it?” Nick shook his head. “What’s eating you?”

He sighed. “Nothing I can put my finger on really.” He was hit by a sudden idea. “Hey Sirius? Do you know who that girl by the window over there is?” he asked, jerking his thumb vaguely behind him.

Sirius craned his neck, looking confused. “What girl?”

“The one right...” he trailed off after he turned around. She was gone. “Oh. She must have left.”

He turned back to Sirius to see the closest thing to a grin he’d seen in a while on his face. “Got your eye on someone?”

“No, she just looked really familiar...” he murmured before changing the subject. “Hey, did you send Liz flowers on Monday?” He’d been wondering ever since he’d asked her why she was crying at breakfast the day after Valentine’s Day, and she’d spilled the whole story.

Sirius’s eyes fogged over. “I couldn’t help it. She looks so sad.”

“I think it made it worse, mate,” Nick told him bluntly. “She knew it was you. Didn’t you see her crying Tuesday morning?”

“She was crying? Oh d***,” he responded. “It seems like I just keep sticking my foot in.”

“I think she thinks you won’t forgive her if she apologizes,” he continued.

“She should know I will,” Sirius grunted.

“Why don’t you just talk to her?” he asked, exasperated.

“Because I said I wouldn’t come after her like I usually do,” he maintained stubbornly.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Nick exclaimed, getting frustrated quickly. “You two... you have a chance for something so wonderful I can’t even describe it, and you’re going to throw it away so you can be right! You and her are honestly two of the stupidest people I’ve ever met!”

He stomped away without a second thought, leaving Sirius staring sadly into the fire.


(A/N: A short little ‘feelings’ chapter, but necessary for the plot, I’m afraid. Next chapter is where it starts getting interesting, not only for Liz and Sirius, but for Nick too.)