IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so I don’t know why, but for some odd reason, I could have sworn the twins were only 6th years during OTP. I’m pretty sure in an earlier chapter, I said Kayla and Damon were in the twins’ grade, but they are not. They are both 6th years while the twins are 7th. I apologize for the inconsistency.
I smirked from my place in the trees, watching my prey. The red-headed dragon tamer was moving slowly, looking all around him. “I know you’re out here Rika,” he called out warily. “Now stop messing around, Mum wants you in for lunch.”
I fished a small rock out of my pocket and tossed it into a bush towards his left. An evil smile stretched across his lips as he began stalking quietly towards the bush. I waited till he was almost there, then launched myself out of the tree, landing on his back. He went down hard but wasted no time in flipping over and trying to pin me.
Ever since I’d fully recovered, Charlie and I had been engaging in spontaneous wrestling matches. It was interesting to see how the moon cycle effected who won; the moon was almost at its farthest point from Earth, so it didn’t take Charlie very long to cream me. He stood, tossing me over his shoulders, and carried me in. “I got the beast!”
“Very nice dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, “but no playing at the table.”
Charlie dropped me in a chair by Sirius, ignoring the animagus’s glare (Sirius didn’t like any male close to me, even if it was simple play-fighting).
“I take it Charlie won?” Remus asked with a chuckle.
I responded by maturely by sticking my tongue out at him.
The last few weeks at Grimmuald place I’d managed to find some means of peace. Sirius had given me a new phone—with a built in mp3 player—so I was able to speak with my friends, and lavish in my music, and I’d told Dumbledore my suspicions that Voldemort may have succeeded in creating a werewolf animagus. Since there was really nothing I could do about that, I decided to try to relax and enjoy myself for a while.
“Is Bill coming?” Charlie asked.
Mrs. Weasley shook her head sadly. “No, he put an extension on his leave time. Apparently the goblins are being more stubborn than we had hoped.”
Bill was trying to recruit the goblins to our side; Charlie would soon be returning to Romania to recruit there.
“Wotcher,” Tonks called out, walking into the kitchen. “Kinsley won’t be in today.”
“Neither will the professors,” Remus said with a shake of his head. “It’s going to be a pretty pathetic Order meeting.”
I shrugged. “An ex-convict, a house wife, two werewolves, a dragon tamer, and a Ministry grunt. Could be worse.”
“One werewolf,” Remus corrected. “You young lady will not be attending the meeting.”
Darn, I was hoping he wouldn’t catch that. “I stand corrected then: your meeting is doomed to suck.”
“Lovely little thing, isn’t she?” Sirius asked Tonks, shaking his head.
Remus nodded, taking a long sip of tea. “I swear she’s already aged me another ten years.”
“Oh shut-it you two,” I said. “You know I bring joy and light into your dreary lives.” I picked up my plate. “Now I am going to have a brilliant little picnic outside with the sunshine and happy little birds, whilst you lot discuss boring, stale things.”
Sirius reached out to smack my arm as I walked by, but I ducked out of the way, continuing outside with my head held snobbishly high. I sighed softly as the kitchen door slid closed. Even though I’d decided to try and stop worrying about things I couldn’t control, I still felt a mild flicker of annoyance that I was being excluded at meetings. It wasn’t worth fighting over though; I was just lucky no one had called me out over my last argument to be let in.
I shoved the rest of the food in my mouth and pulled out my wand. The wand had yet to fully switch alliances to me, so it still put up some resistance towards me. It was useable, but I found myself longing for Kayla’s wand, or even Damon’s.
Nevertheless, a stubborn wand was better than no wand. I focused in on my normal practice tree—a poor abused looking thing with multiple slashes and sever missing limbs—and began a barrage of hexes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Reeemuuuus,” I groaned from my spot on the couch.
“Yes,” he asked without looking up from his book.
“I’m tired. Carry meeee.”
“You have two feet Rika. I’m fairly confident in your ability to make it up the stairs.”
I rolled towards him languidly. “But tomorrow is my crappy no-moon day.”
He flipped a page, fighting down a smile. “Tomorrow. Not today.”
“But you love me!”
“I’d carry you up,” Tonks offered, “but I’d probably get us both killed going up the stairs.”
“Thanks Tonks,” I said, “at least someone cares about me.”
“Actually,” Sirius said, plopping down next to Remus. “No one really does. Tonksie is just being nice.”
I gave him a wide-eyed stare, putting on my best ‘I’m both horribly crushed and irreconcilably sad’ face. “Y-you don’t c-care about m-me?”
Sirius sprung back up, waving his hands. “No, no, I didn’t mean it! Of course I do! Blame Moony, he’s the one who’s and unfeeling jerk!”
“Well thanks Pads,” Remus said dryly.
While Sirius continued to panic, Remus and I exchanged amused glances. “If you really don’t want to walk, I don’t mind carrying you,” he said.
I shrugged. “I really don’t want to, but I’ll survive.”
I made to get up, but Sirius grabbed me. “No, no, I’ll do it, since I care so much more than Moony does!”
“Well alright,” I said, relaxing into him.
He carried me upstairs, and dumped me on my bed. “Night pup.”
“Night Siri.”
He gave me a quick hug. As he disappeared out the door, Remus popped in, coming to give me one last goodnight hug.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGG!!!!!!!!!!
I groaned, groping around my nightstand, eyes closed, trying to find my phone. “Hello?” I yawned into it.
“Rika?” Kayla asked. “Are you taking a nap? I know you like sleeping, but isn’t it a little early for that?”
“No, I just woke up. By the way, thanks for that.”
“Seriously? It’s past noon.”
I answered her with a pitiful moan. “I think I’m going to puke.”
“You’re not hung over are you?”
“Who’s hung over?” I heard Fred ask Kayla on the other side of the line.
“Rika,” Kayla answered him. “It’s her time of the month.”
“The full moon is tonight?” he asked.
“No, it’s her crappy time..like her reverse time of the month.”
“Now that you’ve got that cleared up,” I said, “can we get back to the original purpose of this call?”
“Oh, I just wanted to say hi,” Kayla said. “But you seriously sound like shit.”
“I feel like it.”
“No, I mean you sound like worse shit than you normally do. Like if shit took a shit, it’d be you.”
“Lovely,” I groaned. “Just lovely.”
I swallowed had against my rising nausea. “Not to be rude Kays, but I’m going to go; my head’s killing me.”
“Alright hon. Bye.”
“Bye.” I dropped the phone, closing my eyes. I really did feel worse than usual, but within minutes I’d drifted back to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Rika…Come on cub, wake up.”
I groaned, burrowing my face further into my pillow. The voice was insistent though so I reluctantly opened my eyes. Remus was standing over me looking concerned. “I know you don’t feel good Rika, but it’s nearly three in the afternoon; you really should be getting up. And Severus is here. He wants to take some blood samples from you.”
“Why?”
“He wants to see how you’ve been affected by what the Death Eaters did. He’ll also be taking samples the week leading up to the full moon.”
“Alright, just give a girl a few minutes to freshen up, alright?”
“Alright, but if you’re not down in fifteen minutes, I’m assuming you fell back asleep and I’ll seek Padfoot on you.” He ruffled my hair before leaving.
I sighed heavily to myself, scrambling out of bed and landing on the hard floor in a heap of covers. I made my way to the dresser and threw on a plain black cotton dress—I had the feeling if I tried to shimmy into jeans, I’d fall over—and went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. Now I just had to make it down the stairs without falling over…
As soon as I approached the top step, Remus, who was sitting in the living room, came to escort me down. The firm grip on my arm probably saved me a few extra bruises. Sirius and Snape were seated at opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other. Sirius’s glare melted into a worried look as I sat down beside him on the couch.
“Not to be rude pup, but you look like one of those freaky gothic porcelain dolls with china white skin that’s been left to sit in the attic for a bit too long so it gets all cracked and dusty.”
Well it was better than Kayla’s description of me. I supposed my scars could resemble cracks, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t dirty.
“Shall we begin?” Snape asked, sneering in Padfoot’s direction.
I nodded. “Sure.”
Snape pulled out his wand and a small vial and came to stand by me. He waved his wand in a complex motion, muttering under his breath. Within seconds, a shallow cut appeared on my arm. A few drops of blood levitated from the wound into the vial. He waved his wand again, closing the cut, and capped the vial. “Done.”
I turned to give Remus and incredulous stare. “You got me out of bed for that? You could have just done it in my sleep.”
“I assumed you’d rather be awake while someone literally took your blood,” he said a bit amused. “Besides, you needed to get up anyway. After all, you still have food you need to eat and nutrition potions you need to take.”
“Yes Mum,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him. He ignored me, going to the kitchen to get me some food. I turned to Snape who was making his way towards the door. “How’s Draco?” I called out.
He paused, keeping his back turned to me. “Draco is adjusted well. Mr. Calls has taken him under his wing, and he has been moved back into the Slytherin dorms.”
Good, Aubrey would take care of him. I wanted to ask Snape how he was doing, but he swished out of site before I could open my mouth.
Remus came back in and shoved a tray of food in my lap. “Eat. Then you can sleep again.”
Eating did make me feel better, but it wasn’t long before I’d fallen back asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exploding. Going to explode. Any second now.
“Rika,” Snape warned, “I can’t take your blood if you do not remain still. Stop pacing this instant.”
It was the day of the full moon, and I was wired. I felt as if some energy was inside me, bubbling under my skin, trying to break loose. I muttered a quick apology, doing my best to remain still, though I could completely stop my hands from twitching.
This was absolutely crazy. Snape had yet to tell me if he’d learned anything from my blood samples, but I knew something was different. For once I couldn’t wait for night to fall; I needed to calm my nerves no matter what or I may just jump of a bridge in a fit of moon-induced madness.
Snape finished taking the sample and shoved a vial into my hands. “Take this. It is a calming draught. Your heart rate is speeding faster than I would like it to.”
I nodded absentmindedly, downing it.
“Should I give her more later?” Sirius asked Snape. He had assigned himself to watch after me today rather than Remus, not that it mattered; Remus had forced himself downstairs and on the couch to watch over me too.
The sudden whoosh of calmness from the draught made me feel a bit dizzy. I sat down heavily on the couch by Remus’s feet. He shuffled over to bump shoulders with me.
Snape watched me with a frown. “Perhaps in a few hours. The one I gave her is very potent, so it shouldn’t wear through her metabolism too fast. I realize she is prone to hyperactivity, but today has seemed a bit excessive.”
“She didn’t go to sleep last night,” Sirius admitted, brow furrowed with worry. “I found her outside when I woke up, she said she’d been there all night. She doesn’t really look like she’s with it either. Normally she’ll start rambling when she talks, but now it’s like she has to force the concentration to spit out the words.”
Snape nodded. “I want you to take her to the safe room earlier than normal. I am worried she may experience an earlier transformation than normal.”
Sirius nodded, and sat down on my other side, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “Feeling better now kid?”
“Mm.”
“Should I take that as a yes?”
“Mm.”
He and Moony shared a helpless look over my head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight’s transformation came easier to me than any transformation I could remember. I watched through canine eyes as Remus’s body underwent the last few stages between man and wolf, then pounced on him.
The larger wolf growled, warily, but when he saw who it was, he perked up, nipping happily at my ears; Moony had missed his cub.
Padfoot joined the two, hoping this would be an easy transformation. Both wolves seemed contented. Moony suddenly tensed, growling lowly and nosing my shoulder. Through the thick fur, the scar from Greyback’s bite was still visible. Moony didn’t like seeing another wolf try to mark possession of me. I didn’t like it either; my whole being was seeing rage. My wolf self refused to allow another wolf’s mark on its skin. I backed away from the others, and sunk my teeth into my own shoulder.
From there things went downwards as the scent of blood filled the air, and the other two canines went into panic mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Holy bitch, my shoulder!” I hissed, blinking my eyes against the light.
Snape’s face was swimming in my vision. He grabbed my hand before I could clamp it against the offended limb. “Very eloquent Miss Rika. Are you always so vulgar upon waking after a transformation?”
I craned my head to the side, watching as he wiped dried blood from my shoulder. Instead of my bite mark scar, my shoulder now bore a..well, I wasn’t sure what it looked like. It was a large, slightly misshapen oval of divests, almost all connected and differently sized.
“What did I do to myself?”
“Apparently your wolf reacted badly to seeing Greyback’s mark and sought to correct the situation by covering the mark with its own. I came by before my classes to collect another blood sample, and Black thrust you into my arms, squawking incessantly till I agreed to look at your shoulder. It seems to be healing fine on its own, though it will probably have a lingering soreness till the skin fully closes.”
“I noticed,” I muttered, wincing as he dabbed some liquid on it.
He stood and gave me a nod before turning on heel and exiting my room. Within seconds Sirius came in. “How’re you feeling cub?”
“Freaking peachy.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Moony’s been whining after you.” He adopted a high falsetto which was odd considering he was mimicking a man. “I swear to Merlin Pads, let me out of this bed right now! If you don’t let me check on Rika, I will permanently hex your left testicle blue!”
I snorted, sitting up. “Well I better go see him then.”
“Can you walk alright?”
“I hurt my shoulder not my leg Pads. Besides, I’m feeling pretty good.”
“Good. Because we wouldn’t want Mamma-Moony to crap his panties.”
Shacking my head, I linked arms with Pads, and off we went to Remus’s room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was just another normal day when my phone began ringing. I answered it and barely got out a ‘hello’ before my ear was assaulted with loud, vicious, cursing.
“Ow!! Kayla, what the heck?!”
“AND MERLIN’S OLD CRINKLY **** SHOVED UP A ******* WHORE’S STOMACH, AND STAPLED TO A *****!!!!! BLOODY COW *****!!!!!! WITH A BLOODY ******* IN HIS ******!! HOW COULD THEY!!!??!!! I MEAN, YEAH, IT WAS AWESOME, BUT THEY ***** LEFT ME WITH ***** THE ROTTEN ******* TOAD***********!!!!!! *****!!! ************!!!”
“Okay, Okay, calm down! You said Toad? As in Umbridge Toad, or just a random word, Toad?”
Kayla took a deep breath, obviously fighting to stay calm. “Umbitch. Stupid toad.”
“And what about her?”
“They. Left. Me. With. Her.”
“Who?”
“The twins! They had to go and be all wonderful, and glorious, and inspire us all!”
“Um..I love you and all hon..but maybe you should hand the phone to Damon so I can learn what the heck happened?”
A few seconds later, Damon’s cool voice came over the line, informing me of the twins last prank at Hogwarts. I sat in silence, slowly digesting this new information. Umbridge or not, I couldn’t believe the twins had dropped out of school (though their preferred method of leaving was just wicked). Oh was Mrs. Weasley going to be furious! I could understand why Kayla was angry though. She and the twins had gotten pretty close. Actually, I think everyone had benefitted from the twins presence, especially this year when faced with Umbridge.
“Well Damon,” I said solemnly, “this makes you the man of the house now. You solely are responsible for keeping Kayla out of trouble.”
“We’re in different houses Rika. Why don’t you get Harry to do it?”
“I can’t assign him such a dangerous mission! He’s only a child!”
“Then get Aubrey to do it.”
“He’s already looking out for Draco.. Oh Merlin, Kayla’s going to shank somebody! Please, please keep her away from sharp objects!”
“She’ll still have a wand.”
“Well, shit. You guys are screwed.”
From downstairs I heard Mrs. Black’s portrait begin howling.
“I’ve got to go Damon. Good luck in comforting Kays.”
I hung up, and went downstairs to see what’d set the old bat off. Molly Weasley was standing in the middle of the kitchen, hands on her hips, red-faced, and screaming at Sirius.
“I SWEAR TO MERLIN SIRIUS ORION BLACK, THIS IS SOMEHOW ALL YOUR FAULT, I JUST KNOW IT!! YOU AND YOUR BAD INFLUENCE, AND—“
I stopped listening. Moony shot me a gleeful glance, covering his smile with his hand. Mr. Weasley was standing behind his wife, shrugging at Sirius helpfully. And Sirius—oh poor Sirius—was wearing the most horrified and contrite look I’d ever seen on his face. I quietly crept out of the room lest her overbearing mom-logic found a way to blame me as well.
Just as I was going up the stairs, my phone went off. I quickly answered it, fearful of being caught. “Hello?”
“Ah, Rika, I see that Mum’s already there,” George chuckled, as Mrs. Weasley let out a particularly loud ‘FOOLISH, IMMATURE’ and Mrs. Black’s portrait began a new wail of ‘FILTHY BLOODTRAITERS.’
I winced. “Yeah, I do not envy Siri right now. Or me for that matter, it’s awfully loud right now. By the way, you’re going to have to do some serious kissing up to Kayla to make up for ditching her with the Toad.”
“Will do. There’s a box of Weasley’s Wizarding finest hidden under her pillow. Now, I have a proposition for you.”
“And that would be?”
“How would you like to come up to Diagon Alley for a week and help Freddie-boy and I set up shop?”
(A/N: Well, I am feeling highly uninspired, so let’s see some comment love!!!! Especially because next time the twins will be there! I'd also love some comments on my newest one-shot (or any oneshot))