When She Spoke (Marauders Era)

Chapter Twenty One

As most people know, teenagers often have trouble making decisions. First, they're angry, then they're frustrated, after that they're simply confused. Give the situation a few minutes and then the said teenagers might even progress to all-over angst. Lark's frustration wasn't quite so obvious or violent as the most expected reaction of a child at her age, but it was most definitely there, and she knew it.
Six months ago, the word "Marauders" would come up in a conversation and she would unquestionably gag. The very thought of the four boys with all their cruelty and prejudice would repulse her beyond belief. James Potter, the indefinite ring leader, would've come to mind as a popular boy with too much pride and too little consideration (quite obviously). Sirius Black, heir to the throne, would've been the comical ladies man and classic ignorant antagonist. Remus Lupin could easily be pinned as the handsome nerd that was just too shy to make the cut. Peter Pettigrew, well, he was just there.
Now, however, she wasn't quite sure exactly what to think of them. James appeared to be a kind person who just never knew exactly what to say... maybe a bit too much of an actor for his own good. Sirius still held Lark's original opinion, but with much more gentle than she expected. Remus was an honest bloke who loved books and knew how to make people laugh, but unlike James, never spoke up enough. Peter, thought she hated to admit it to herself, was still just there. Above all, though, they were suddenly people rather than simply ugly characters from her past.
These thoughts all wriggled into Lark's brain as she arrived in a mostly moonlit clearing on Sirius Black's back, her arms wrapped comfortably around his neck. The space was almost entirely draped with bright white sheets hanging from extended tree branches and dazzled with lanterns strung so high up she barely see the space they extended from. As Lark gazed a bit harder, she realized that the lanterns were actually jelly jars cleaned out and used to capture fireflies, which were silently dimming and then growing brighter again every few seconds.
"Wow," she sighed.
"Yep," Sirius said bluntly, letting Lark slide down his back. "It gets better every year. James usually puts a heating charm on it, so feel free to get comfy."
"What do you three usually do here, anyways?"
"Well, there usually aren't girls"- a snicker came from one of the stronger oak branches far above their heads - "and I'll bet three sickles that that'll change a thing or two."
A tall, sandy-haired boy dropped down from the opposite tree, scrambling to his feet and brushing the snow off his jeans like jumping eight feet was completely casual to him. "Make it a galleon and we can split the profits!"
She rolled her eyes, "Remus, James, you're betting on me now? Isn't that just a teensy bit... predictable?"
"Predictable?" James called from the branch he had been climbing down from. "Slythers, I am offended. Your hypocrisy almost admirable. What's predictable here is that our damsel in distress"- he nodded to Lark as a thinner branch broke under his boot, causing him to fall a good two meters - "grudgingly let her handsome devil carry her away from the terror that is damp shoes."
"Handsome devil?" Sirius smirked, helping James to his feet.
"Don't start," grumbled the lanky boy, tousling his already unruly hair. "It was a slight exaggeration. So, you brought the snake, eh, mate? When I said 'bring a girl' I thought you would bring McKinnon or something."
"Too blonde!" He remarked through a mouthful of cinnamon roll which he had gotten from, to Lark's fascination, the hollow of a thick pine.
"Jane, then?" Remus asked.
"The Greengrass spawn? Nah, she's all up in the pureblood mania," he scoffed.
"What about Evans?" James said exasperatedly, asking the question that he'd clearly been withstanding for a good five minutes. The other two boys exchanged hesitant glances, failing to notice their smaller, more feminine friend who was desperately digging through the pastries hidden inside the hollow crater.
"Well, mate," Remus said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Do you think she'd even consider it?"
James cast an anguished look at his friends, mood quickly dipping to a depressing flatline. "You didn't even try? I mean, I think if we pushed enough she'd have to give in at some point and from there maybe she'd even like hanging out and then maybe she'd want to hang out mo-"
"You know I'm right here?" Lark asked obviously, a large stash of truffles in either hand.
"Yeah... so?" He crossed his arms stubbornly, voice nearly cracking with pressure.
"I'm a girl!" She laughed, looking around at the three of them like they were the stupidest creatures alive. "I'm a bit of a better confidant than these two blokes. I know things, and I most definitely know what I'm talking about when I say that you have nothing to worry about."
"Ouch," Remus muttered. "That hurt."
Lark brushed away his comment, taking a breath of relief at the realization that maybe the evening wouldn't be a total waste after all. James was on the tips of his toes, now, hanging onto her every word.
"I mean, you're a bit of a tease."
It was nearly comical as utter shock washed away James Potter's default smirk, making him look like an infant being introduced to long division. "I'm a what?"
"A tease," she repeated. "You're a complete tease."
Remus and Sirius, who had pulled up dark wooden beach chairs from who knows where, began laughing simultaneously. "A bloody tease?" Cackled Sirius, doubling over with
laughter. "Lark, Prongs has been trying to score the redhead since first year. It's pretty hard to be a tease after five years."
Lark leaned on the back of Remus' chair, complete confusion crossing her mind. "Wait, you three didn't know?" She was answered with three blank stares. "Good Godric, it's like you're raised to be clueless."
James scoffed, swaggering over and swinging on long arm around her neck. "Alright, Slythers, if you're such a genius then please, please inform us all how I'm such a tease."
"Well, for starters"- she precariously removed his forearm from her shoulder, once again adjusting her cardigan sleeve - "every time you actually get the chance to be all gooey, you totally ignore Lily."
"I do?"
"Yeah!" She giggled, finally sitting down in a chair that Remus had pulled up for her and crossing her legs sassily. "All the bloody time! Remember that day at Hogsmeade when we actually got her to go skating with you?"
All three boys nodded subtly.
"Yeah, well Prongs over here barely said a word to her the entire night!"
"Um..." James squinted, rubbing his arm. "Only the guys call me that."
"Oh," said Lark, pausing. She had been getting a little too carried away for her own good. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"It's-" Remus sat up abruptly and glanced at his friends. "I guess it's okay. If you want, you can call us-"
"Yeah," Sirius chimed in, grinning and walking up to face Lark confidently. "Go ahead. It's Padfoot, Moony, Prongs and Peter's Wormtail, but he usually doesn't come to these; spends Christmas Eve with his folks."
A Blue Jay chirped from far above, its musical chime a gift to moment. Lark smiled at Sirius affectionately, not quite understanding the privilege he'd just offered her nor knowing the entire backstory.
Back in third year, when the four boys had been drawn closer by Remus Lupin's furry little problem, they had given each other nicknames with the intention that they'd be calling one another by their aliases for as long as they lived, strictly bound between the quartet. No other living being had gotten away with calling one of the boys by his given title without severe consequences. Now here she was, a Slytherin girl who hadn't set up a cringe-worthy prank in her entire sixteen years, and she was allowed to call the Marauders with a collection of letters that made up their entire amatuer existence.
"Thanks," she shrugged.
...
Lark was caught in what she presumed to be bliss. Way up high, above what Earthen issues could interfere with, a collection of dazzling white sparks remained stubbornly in the night sky, like milk sprayed across a navy blue tapestry. The heating charm that James had performed earlier was beginning to fade away slowly, replaced by a certain chilly accent in the air. It danced across her lips with the softness of a professional, nimble and light like a feather.
Sirius had called a house elf named Creature to bring them thick chenille blankets when the four of them began to shiver, and steaming hot chocolate when their throats became dry. From there, every little detail faded into a gorgeous blur.
She couldn't tell how long it had been since the four of them had resided from idle chatter and sat down by the crackling fire pit to drift amongst their thoughts, but Lark hadn't brought a watch and didn't want to open her mouth to ask for the time. She didn't even want to blink. Maybe it was the fear that if she closed her eyes even for a millisecond, all her problems would come flooding back, or maybe it was the knowledge that if she broke her gaze then the moment would end. Either way, Lark didn't want to move, even a little.
Maybe this is what it feels like to be addicted, she thought. This is quite possibly the feeling I would get from drugs or alcohol or cigarettes. The feeling that I never want to live unless I can spend the rest of my life in this moment.
The soft, steady breathing of the three boys intertwined with the sharp popping of the fire, stumbling together like raindrops crashing down on the pavement. James played a quiet melody on his guitar, reaching Lark's ears as a heartbeat in her graveyard of thoughts
"James, when did you learn to play?" She whispered, just barely loud enough for him to hear.
"Before I came to Hogwarts," he answered without even pausing. "When people thought I was weird. I played guitar when I got bored."
She played with the soft ends of her blanket, which was pillowy and cool against her fingertips. "Doesn't everybody?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well-" She hesitated for a trill in the music before resuming. "- everybody has some sort of occupation when they're lonely or sick or... bored. You play guitar, I sing- well, used to sing, Remus reads books, and Sirius flirts."
"Do not!" Sirius objected almost immediately.
Lark scoffed, not even bothering to take her eyes off the sky. "Yes, you bloody do."
The Blue Jay resumed his tune, chirping down at the four of them fondly.
"Sorry."
The tall boy shook his head quietly. "Right."
"So, you sing?" Remus asked abruptly, trying desperately to change the subject.
"Used to," she corrected, picking at the sleeve of her sweater. "I guess that I stopped after a while; there's not much time for singing when you've got school and a whole world of issues to get rid of."
"Why not now, then?" Remus asked.
"Excuse me?"
When nobody answered, James snatched up a chance to offer his input. "C'mon, Slythers. For old time's sake?"
Lark turned to Sirius, asking him with her eyes to object the life out of the proposal.
"No one's stopping you," he smirked. She groaned.
"James, can you do Act of the Apostle?"
The musician struck the first chord with a flourish of dramatic foolishness, striking the winter air with the clean cut of a razor. He left one hesitant hand at the base of his large, elegant guitar before taking a small breath through his nose and bringing it back up to begin the harmony.
"I'm bored out of my mind, Too sick to even care," Lark sang softly, striking the first few delicate notes giddily. She stood, laying the blanket back down on her chair like an old skin. From out of the corner of her eye she could glimpse Sirius leaning back with a certain swagger, smirking expectantly. "I'll take a little walk, Nobody's going to know, I'm in senior ward, That gives you a little free time..."
James paused and grinned at Lark knowingly, waiting her her to chirp the cue line. She bit her lips, shaking with nerves and smiling down at the others.
"I'll just use it all at once! Took the fence and a lane, The bus then the train, Bought an 'Independent' to make me look like I got brains-" She winced as her accompaniment hit a sour note. The musician mouthed a very regretful 'Sorry' and resumed the tune. The two other boys chuckled awkwardly. Lark shot them a glare before swinging her hips onto the arm of Remus' chair daringly.
"I'm a genius, A prodigy, A demon," she laughed, throwing her head back goofily and placing a hand behind it, "at Maths and Science, I'm up for a prize, If you've gotta grow up sometime, You have to do it on your own."
Sirius grinned brightly during the musical interlude, giving his two friends a loud wolf whistle. Lark tried to ignore the heat that rose to her cheeks in a highly embarrassed manner, but found herself laughing as James stood to come and dance with her.
"The Bible's my tool, There's no mention of school! My Damascan Road's my transitioner radio, I tune in at night when my mom and my dad start to fight. I put on my headphones..." James let the instrument rest on a strap around his neck to grab the singer's hand and twirl her like a dancer. She stood on her toes to reach his fingers, which were smooth and warm. He smiled, letting her fall halfway to the ground in his arms gracefully. The other boys watched in awe.
"And I tune out, I am devout, The girls are singing about-" Lark laughed, pointing an insistent thumb toward her chest. "- my life, But they're not here they've got the wild life."
At which point Sirius was drawn to his feet, helplessly tired of watching his best mate and closest girl act like fools together. Foolishness was a game for at least three. The dark-eyed girl danced toward him clumsily, singing the next few words like a walk in the park.
"If you want to find out, find out, You've got to look them in the eye," she gestured toward her own pair of pupils, then back at his for effect. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hands, pulling her forward temptingly. She obliged and reached up to place her palms on his shoulders. Remembering a sequence of steps from a dancing class that Mr. and Mrs. Black had forced him into taking with Andromeda, he slid his hands around her waist. For the first time Sirius noticed that Lark really wasn't thin. She was, in fact, a bit heavy for her height. For the first time in his life, he couldn't make himself care.
She picked up on the dance in seconds and bent her knees in response, jumping up to the treetops with Sirius' help. He held her in the air for a small second before cautiously letting her back down.
"That's why my only choice," she sang, placing a hand at the nape of his neck. "Is find the face behind the voice."
The final echo of Lark Riddle's deep, melodic voice hung in the air precariously as James' hand flew across the guitar strings, playing forte to what he could only hope to be the maximum. Their song came to a close when Remus began clapping quickly, giving them the most well-deserved standing ovation the world would ever come to know.
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A/N: Okay, quick note this time, right?
Questions:
Thoughts on the chapter?
Do you like or dislike the excess song lyrics?
Questions for me?
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Rose