Bedknobs and Broomsticks [HP fanfic; BNB Book 1]

The Order of the Phoenix

Geoffrey awoke the next morning to find Emilie curled up beside him, her breathing still slow and regular, her legs tangled with his. The bruise on her cheek, partially concealed by her dark hair, was still a deep purple, though around the edges it had already begun to fade to a greenish yellow. Blood from the cut on her arm had begun to soak through the bandages. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her lightly. She stirred and a faint smile crept onto her face, but she did not wake.

Disentangling himself from her, Geoff got out of bed and quickly pulled on a fresh set of robes before heading down to the common room. He dropped himself down on the end of Sirius's sofa. The movement of the couch under his weight was enough to make the darker haired boy crack open one eye and give him a baleful look.

"How's the couch?" Geoff asked, patting the armrest of the sofa. "Comfortable?"

"Not hardly." Sirius sat up, rubbing at his face in an effort to wake himself up. "No need to ask how yours was. It must have been awful with that snake in your bed."

"Oh, yeah, it was absolutely dreadful," Geoff said, rolling his eyes.

"What was absolutely dreadful?" James asked, descending the stairs into the common room, yawning.

"Your mum," Sirius said. He paused for a moment to yawn, and then went on, "Actually, Geoff here was just telling me about how poorly he slept last night with that snake between his sheets."

"Padfoot, lay off a bit," James said, pushing Sirius's legs off the couch to make room for himself. "I don't like her being here, either, but if Geoff's going to vouch for her, then that's fine with me. If she does turn out to be a Death Eater that's been spying on us, then Geoff gets full weight of the blame and will bear the consequences of her actions."

Sirius considered this for a moment. "And what would those consequences be, exactly?"

"Use your imagination," James said. He waited until a malicious grin had spread across his friend's face before turning back to Geoff. "However, if you decide to dump her now, we won't hold you responsible for her. But that only works if you do it now."

"No," Geoff said. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to dump Emilie just because you two don't trust her. I can't believe you'd even suggest that."

"Hey, mate, just trying to look out for you," James said, shrugging. "Just don't want you to get in over your head, that's all."

"I'm fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "She's fine. We're all fine. She's not a Death Eater. Even if she were, what has she done specifically that gives you any reason not to trust her?"

Sirius and James looked at each other for a moment in silence. As Geoff leaned back against the couch with a smug look on his face, Sirius burst out, "That doesn't change the fact that she's a Death Eater!"

"You're not talking about me, are you?" Emilie asked, appearing at the foot of the staircase. She crossed the room and settled herself on the armrest of the couch. She looked down at her arm. "I think I may need to go to the hospital wing..."

"Good, it'll get you out of our tower," Sirius said.

Geoff opened his mouth to say something, but Lily had appeared in the common room with Mariah right beside her, a bag full of books over one shoulder.

"Don't you guys ever go to class?" Lily asked. "We're going to be late for Transfiguration if you lot don't hurry up."

Geoff and Emilie stood, and they followed Lily and Mariah out of the portrait hole. They parted ways, Emilie heading toward the hospital wing, but the rest of the group trooped down to the third floor. By the time they reached the transfiguration classroom, class had already begun. McGonagall was standing at the front of the room with an iguana in her hands.