Lily stormed out of Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop, letting the door slam roughly back into its frame, the bell that indicated an exiting or entering party clanging wildly as it swung with such force it nearly hit the ceiling.
But she wasn’t concerned with doors or doorbells. Her only thought was about how to get as far away as possible from that bloody Caradoc Dearborn.
She muttered obscenities under her breath as she made her way back to the path that led up to Hogwarts, “Precious Caradoc,” she murmured, fists clenched beside her. “Thinks he’s so wonderful because his father…owns half the Prophet…ruddy star quidditch player…has the nerve to make me pay unless I snog him…ought to…” She kept on, so engrossed in her fit that she failed to hear or notice as James came running up to meet her.
“All right there Evans?” he asked, slicking back his hair with the palm of his hand as he jogged to catch pace with her.
Shocked, she abruptly stopped her fast pace and turned sharply to look at him, with a surprised look about her face. It wasn’t the normal scowl that accompanied her usual looks at James and in this new light it startled her to see him through a different pretense. He was almost…handsome. But of course, she must have been hallucinating or so angered by her previous companion…or perhaps she was just beginning to lose her mind. She should probably get that checked out.
“Evans?” James stared at her tentatively. She seem as though she was going to curse him, but one could never be too sure. She didn’t respond however, she just continued to stare at him in that inquisitive manner. He dropped his head level with her, grabbing onto her shoulder and shaking them, “Lily? LILY?! What did that bloody Dearborn do to you?”
Something in Lily’s eyes seems to click back to life; sending a jolt through the emerald green and making James jump back a step and grab the back of his head sheepishly. “What Potter?” She asked exasperated. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
“Er…” James looked away from Lily. He couldn’t tell whether or not she was frustrated with him or if he had caught her in an embarrassing situation. Something had to have brought on that flush.
“What?” She asked again, the irritation unmistakable in her voice.
“Er…” he mumbled, feeling his confidence drop tenfold as his eyes met Lily’s. He stuttered to regain control over his brain functions, “You just seem a bit stroppy is all.”
To James’s surprise Lily let out a great laugh and dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach in an attempt to subdue her giggles. “A bit stroppy?” She laughed, “A bit?” she continued laughing, hanging on her stomach.
James chuckled wearily, his eyebrows raised in confusion and shifting back and forth. He was unsure what had happened. Usually this was the point where Lily told him that he was a no good stuck up ponce and that he would do better to try one of his lines on the Giant Squid; James was unprepared for this sort of chivalry between them, especially when there were no onlookers to prevent Lily from cursing him into next week. “Lily… are you all right?” He helped her to her feet, holding gently onto her elbow, “Did Caradoc do something to you? Did he hurt you? Lily!” He shook her shoulders again when she didn’t answer.
This sobered her up immediately, “James! Would you please stop?” she asked, shoving his hands roughly off her shoulders. “As I told you before, my business with Caradoc is my own. I appreciate your concern, I do, but you’ve really got to learn how to hold your tongue.” She left James standing there, dumbfounded, as she trekked back up the hill to Hogwarts, dusting the dirt off of her knees as she went.
James gathered his invisibility cloak into his hands throwing it roughly over his head. He had skived detention for this? No, he was going to find Dearborn and he was going to teach him a lesson.
~.:#:.~
A loud slop filled the trophy room as Hannah let the head of the mop she was holding fall to the dirty floor leaving a large and soapy puddle to spill out across her feet. She stretched her arms around her back to loosen her tired limbs. They had been working since the morning and it was already half passed three in the afternoon. She angrily shushed her stomach as it growled in protest to the lack of food it had been receiving. Peter was next to her, on his knees, and polishing a rather large trophy that had been awarded to one Perilious Daiswerk. He sat back on his knees to admire his work, “Blimey, can’t imagine being a muggle and having to do this daily.” He said, wiping a dribble of sweat before it could curve down the side of his face.
Hannah, while having heard him, was too engorged in her mopping to register that she was supposed to reply to his comment. “Getting hungry,” she said after a moment, “wonder when they’ll come and feed us.”
They continued cleaning in silence, scouring and polishing trophy after trophy, the room beginning to glisten ever more as they went. At about four in the afternoon Filch came limping into the Trophy room with a platter of food in his hand. He threw the plate onto one of the trophy shelves saying, “Told me I couldn’t leave you here without feeding you. Miss the good ol’ days. Used to be you’d be down in the dungeon on the rack for the day!” he left, laughing quietly to himself, reminiscing on the wonderful days of torture in Hogwarts.
“Brilliant!” Hannah laughed, jumping down from her perch atop one of the higher levels. She snatched a sandwich from the platter and poured herself a glass of juice, motioning with her hand for Peter to follow suit. He happily got to his feet and grabbed a sandwich for himself. They ate in a comfortable silence, not feeling the need to say anything to one another. For a while it stayed this way; the only sound that could be heard was the rough chewing and swallowing of the two and the occasional gulp of drink.
“So Hannah,” Peter started, examining his feet very carefully.
“So Peter,” She mimicked, flashing him a large smile before grabbing her sandwich in her teeth and ripping a large piece off. When Peter didn’t say anything she continued, “Potter owes us big time for skiving off on us like he did.”
Peter smiled lightly and watched Hannah for a moment. He finally began to speak, very quietly, “I’ve been mulling it over in my head for some time and I figure that now is as best a time as ever. And so I was wondering, if you’d have it, that maybe we-”
The door to the trophy room swung open and Professor McGonagall appeared, taking in the Trophy Room as she entered. “Very nicely done, Mr. Pettigrew, Ms. Kelly. Perhaps this will teach you the values of owning a wand and the consequences that come when one abuses those privileges.” McGonagall held out her hand, revealing both Hannah and Peter’s wands.
“Right Professor, we’ve definitely learned our lesson; it won’t be happening again,” Hannah flashed a grin before swiftly grabbing her wand from McGonagall and running out of the Trophy Room. Peter sighed internally before he too grabbed his wand and bid her farewell. His courage was gone now; perhaps he’d try again at another time, but for now he didn’t think he could stomach the idea.
~.:#:.~
When the sun sets in Hogsmeade it is incomparable to any other sunset in the world. The tips of the warm cottages and shops catch the tepid orange sun as it cascades its decadence onto the villagers who respond with a fire in each home, letting tuffs of smoke drift lazily out of the tops of each building. The descending stars bathe their shoppers in one last glimpse of the early spring days as it retreats into the earth, beckoning its calm sister, which seems stark in resemblance yet decidedly more majestic, to take its place.
It is heartwarming view to watch, but even more fantastic to come upon it whilst exiting Madam Puddifoot’s, drunk on teenage love and a day spent staring googly-eyed at your date. This was the way in which Remus and Eva stumbled upon the beautiful sight, staggering to a halt and momentarily forgetting about their playful indulgences of tickling and flirting.
“Look at that,” Remus said, pulling Eva close under his arm. She smiled warmly up at him before turning to the sunset.
“It’s beautiful,” She breathed and nuzzled into the nook in Remus’s side. They stood staring at the rooftops for a while, engulfed in the beauty of the scene, blissfully unaware to the silence that surrounded them, their beating hearts setting the beat of the fading light.
She broke free from Remus after a moment and twirled around in the dirt path, letting her arms rise into the air as she went. Remus chuckled, walking over to her and wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders as he went. She looked down, obscuring the large smile that fell across her face. Remus tilted her chin upward. The smile had not faded from her face and she opened her mouth to speak, but Remus, sensing the moment, cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips softly against hers.
~.:#:.~
“It’s getting late, you think we should be heading back?” Sirius asked as he pushed his butterbeer away from himself with a satisfied look. He smacked his lips together, rubbing his slightly protruding stomach. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have had the third one,” he grimaced, “Feeling a bit bloated now.”
“Should have listened! Stop now before it’s too late!” Gizelle laughed, gesturing toward the half full mug of butterbeer. She had told him that three was pushing it.
The bell above the shop door clanged as it opened and closed. Caradoc Dearborn walked in with a pretty girl that Gizelle recognized from Hufflepuff. She was in their year with dark skin and blue eyes. They were chatting each other up as they took a booth near Gizelle and Sirius to themselves, sitting close, with their finger entwined and dreamy looks in their eyes. Caradoc let his finger gently prod the girl’s nose, causing her to erupt into a fit of giggles and grins.
Gizelle looked away, rolling her eyes in the process. “Thought he was supposed to be here with Lily,” she said coolly.
Sirius choked into his mug, sputtering butterbeer across the table and narrowly missing Gizelle’s range. He began coughing, desperately trying to clear his windpipe of all liquid by coughing and slamming his fist against the table. Gizelle tried to help, thumping him roughly on the back a few times, but when nothing happened she began to panic. “Sirius! I can’t use magic, I’m not seventeen! I don’t know the Heimlich!”
Sirius realizing his own stupidity for not thinking of it before, brought his wand up to his throat and released the hold that the liquid had on him. He sighed, the color returning to his face he now pushed the butterbeer away displeasingly. “James is going to piss himself when he finds out,” he finally said. He didn’t have to wait long however because just as he said this his mug of butterbeer lifted up to the air, tilted back and drained of its remaining contents. Sirius looked confused for a moment before a grin spread into the length of his face.
“Prongs! Thought you were supposed to be in detention with Pete and Hannah!” They saw a hand appear from nowhere and wave him silent. Sirius’s grin widened. James’s head appeared for just a moment to flash then a smirk before it disappeared again.
“Reckon he’s going to do Caradoc in?” Gizelle mumbled, her nails finding their way in between her teeth.
“Nah,” Sirius replied, leaning back in his chair to enjoy the chaos that was about to ensue. “He’ll teach ‘im a lesson definitely, but he won’t hurt him.” Gizelle still looked unsure; did James really need another detention?
Caradoc was twirling a strand of the girl’s hair on his index finger, his whole body turned toward her and smiling passionately - whispering into her ear. The girl was buying every second of it. She laughed and pushed his face playfully away from hers. ‘Least she’s got that much dignity,’ Gizelle thought as she watched, glancing up every few seconds from the table cloth she was playing with to keep tabs on the situation.
As the girl was playfully keeping Caradoc at bay with her hands smushed against his chest and hair an audible cry rang through The Three Broomsticks.
“Fancy a bit of a tumble dear? I ‘fink the loo’s free at the moment!” The girl quickly drew back from him, a disgusted look on her face and went to grab her bag. “Oi! Fatty!” It was unmistakable. That had definitely been Caradoc’s voice, even he recognized it, though he shook his head in horror imploring the girl to believe it wasn’t him.
Her mouth had dropped to the floor. Her eyes had narrowed. Caradoc had enough experience with woman – which is to say he had more than enough – to know that he was approaching the danger zone and had better act fast, lest he want a butterbeer down his shirt. Even as he thought this, however, the girl bent down again to retrieve her bag saying, “If that’s the way you want to play-”
And while her head was ducked down, she received an entire pitchers worth of butterbeer down the front of her blouse.
She brought her head instantaneously back up with an audible “Ahgh!” trying her best to brush off the sticky liquid from her clothes. She thrust her bag onto her shoulder and picked up her untouched mug of butterbeer, “Bleeding idiot! Whatchoo do that for?!”
Caradoc was at a loss of words, trying but failing to come up with an explanation. What was he going to tell her, that someone had forced the pitcher into his arm and that it had also lifted his arm and poured it onto her while she was looking? Even he had trouble believing it.
“Frida!” he called desperately trying to grab onto her arm to stop her, but found it difficult as it was still moist with butterbeer. She wretched it away roughly and stormed out of The Three Broomsticks, leaving Caradoc dumbfounded. Madam Rosmerta bustled over, shaking her finger toward Caradoc and scolding him for making such a mess. Sirius and Gizelle quickly dismissed themselves, followed by James, who was still tucked safely under his invisibility cloak, but if one listened well enough, they would have been able to hear his distant chuckling as the top bell tinkled its sign of dismissal.
Once they were far enough from The Three Broomsticks, James took the invisibility cloak off of himself, grinning from ear to ear, “That might teach him to watch who he messes with!”
“What happened Prongs? Thought he was supposed to be with Lily.” Sirius asked, when they had reached the hill that would bring them up to Hogwarts Castle.
“I’m not exactly sure,” he admitted, “I followed them into the Madam Puddifoot’s and I couldn’t really hear anything, but I do know that Caradoc said something that made Lily really upset. And she left him there shortly after. I followed her, but I couldn’t get her to tell me what happened, so I decided to find Caradoc and sure enough I he was already with that girl.”
“How’d you get him to call her a fatty?”
“Simple mimicking charm,” James shrugged his shoulders. “I used it to copy his voice.”
“And the butterbeer?”
At this James chuckled, “That…” he said, “I just sort of forced it into his hand and then threw it on the girl.” He shrugged, not his best prank. “He’s dumb enough to not question it, though.” James added.
“Definitely worth it though,” Sirius said as they passed the old oak tree that marked the halfway point to the castle. “Did you see his face? Thought he was going mad, he did! Speaking of which,” he added, “I’ve been meaning to get Snape with a nasty knee reversal hex…” he noted this in his head.
Gizelle shook her head reproachfully, it really wasn’t any use trying to dissuade Sirius from harassing Snape, but that didn’t stop her from disapproving of what he chose to do. Sirius seemed to not have notice, though, as he hadn’t made a remark towards her look, he just kept trudging up the long slope; Hogwarts Castle was waiting in the distance like a mother with her arms outstretched, ready to welcome her children home after a long day of play.
So what do you think? I’m not sure that I’m satisfied with this chapter, but yeah... I’m also a little worried. I don't mean to sound needy, but I wonder why I am not getting many votes or comments. Are people not commenting because they don’t really like the Marauders? Do they not like my story? Do most not really comment, period? Haha, I’m confused and feeling a bit down! >.> But I am, of course, incredibly thankful and appreciative to all who do vote and comment! You guys make my day! :D On a side note, I'm only six votes away from one hundred! Woooot!
Let me know what you thought of this, yeah?
Cheers!