AN- hey, guys! I actually got reviews without demanding them again! It was so cool. There weren't as many as normal, but still… anyways, I'm not sure what has happened, I think I forgot to thank a few people last time, so if you didn't se your name as a thank you last time, I'm sorry I didn't thank you, I think you reviewed after I wrote the next chapter. Also, I'm updating this on the twenty-eighth, so if you review me later, I'll have to thank you next time. I want to get to the story, so yeah. I'm making this fast. Again. None of this happens to me. Don't start. I'm a happy, smart, kind, (if not slightly abnormal,) teenage girl.
Reviewers for Depression that I didn't have last time, (I owe you all an apology, hope this makes up for it.
Kokiri Fairy- wow, I love that name, where did it come from? Anyways, I haven't seen you before, but I'm glad to see you now, so glad you like it. And I owe you an apology. As I said before, I didn't check my new reviews before I posted, and I should have, and that's why you weren't on there last time. I'm really grateful you thought to review even though I didn't thank you in my last update, please keep going!
panda29- I owe you an apology too! I'm so sorry! Yeah, I know about the grammar, but I really am working on it, it just depends on how quickly I get the next chapter out. Thank you anyways. I'm trying to get a beta, I've had many offers, but when I update I don't want to have to wait, so it's difficult. Sorry.
Anonymous- thank you for the compliment, hopefully you'll continue reading to see this!
Tough Times reviews-
Sk8erWitch- Hey, my first reviewer for my new fic, and a familiar face at the same time! So nice to hear from you! Anyways, so glad you liked it that much, I was really worried I was losing my touch! But anyways, you re-boosted my confidence; I hope this meets your standards. It will if you like suspense. (Smiles evilly.)\
sarahmay- Hehe, I liked the stairs part too, but things will get so much funnier, you'll see I have it all planned out! And if it makes you feel special that I updated, imagine how special it makes me feel that you actually took the time to review! Thanks you so much! And god are you ever lucky to be graduating! I wish I were, I'm only in eighth grade however, and I still have all of high school to go. (Makes face,) but hey, thanks!
Lara- I'm so glad you broadened your horizons to l/j and that you chose my fic to start with! That makes me feel all fuzzy and warm! And yeah, they finally kissed, (I had planned on making it earlier, but I love pressure,) but how will they react? (Smiles evilly)
Kokiri Fairy- I owe you a sincere apology. Again, I' glad you liked it and continued to review me, it really keeps me going when people say they like what I write! Thanks and sorry!
Lex- See it did make me post faster! Hehe! I loved the short but sweet review! Thank you!
Sweetkiwi456- hey again, I've really gotten used to you, you know? I like, look for your reviews, and when I get them I tell people, and they all roll their eyes because I'm obsessive about fanfiction, but oh well, at least you like it! I'm grateful you'll agree about the thing I wrote you about in the e-mail, I'll email you soon! And I had though I was getting worse, I was actually worried what you would think, so thank you for the compliment, I took it to heart!
PurplePasties1985- hey again! Whenever someone says they're adding something I wrote to their favorites, I squeal! And I'm sorry about the whole sequel thing, I just got smart with you, just teasing, I didn't mean to offend! Hopefully I'll hear from you soon! I'll e-mail you some time you said I could. And I'm not sure what I'll do about the beta thing ye, but I'll let everyone know soon.
hermionegranger- you'll see what happens with his dad this chapter, I think. Just remember what Sirius saw when he stole the locket. (Smiles) glad you liked it, I've heard from you before too. See you soon, enjoy.
GreenEggsandHam- I do not like them Sam I am. No just kidding, I loved Dr. Seuss as a kid! Glad you liked Depression, and so glad you took the time to review. It's little things like that that keep me writing this story! Thanks!
panda29- both you and Kokiri Fairy are so sweet, did I thank you? Can I thank you enough for continuing to review? I don't think I can! I couldn't make the kiss cliché, that'd be too normal, and as I am consistently reminded, I'm not anything near normal. Wait till you see what James though of his lip lock with Lily. And I'm evil, but I'm so good at it! (Smiles. Looks demonic.)
alniyat- nice name, I like, I like! Hehe, if you are happy, I'm happy, because it means I get wonderful people like you who review me and make me write more, because you want to know what will happen next. It will get interesting!
Yekwah- Haha, I know I'm evil, but I'm so good at it! Hehe! And that's weird about the grill thing, but if it helps, every time I write my name, (you know,) I accidentally write James. It's really annoying! And I read your e-mail, I love finding Nemo, it's one of my favorite movies! "And I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine!" Hehe!
Disclaimer- I read somewhere that before a fanfic, you are supposed to give warnings. Warnings about what I don't know… kids, don't do drugs? Oh, they mean the story. Okay, um, kissing and drinking, that's about it. It just sounds more sophisticated to make it PG13. So there. That's all I have to say on that.
James-
Lily didn't end up telling Michelle anything. Like I've said before, I don't believe in keeping secrets from friends, but Lily had pointed out that it wasn't really her secret to tell, and I had to agree. Remus went back to Hogwarts so Pomfery could check him for injuries; I contemplated my kiss with Lily, and Lily? Well, she kept silent the rest of Sunday.
Our kiss hadn't been what had expected. Whenever I had dreamed of us kissing, it had been under the stars, when Lily admitted she was wrong and sorry for hating me all those years, and I forgave her and kissed her again. Never, in my strangest dreams, had it been in our dusty old study in the Potter Manor. And never had I thought that I would be the one scared away.
It may not have been everything I had imagined, but it had been something, all the same. I've kissed before, I mean I'm seventeen what do you expect, I wasn't going to wait around for Lily to come to her senses. But that kiss had almost made me wish I had waited for her. It was different from anything I'd every felt before. And it was only a second long. But something had passed between us. I just had no idea what, and this was what kept me thinking, the feeling that had made me run last night.
We left on the train around noon, to go back to Hogwarts. I think everyone but Michelle was happy to be back, I know I was. It gave me time for a butterbeer before classes began again and a chance to think things over.
Sirius had come with me, and we were silently walking down Hogsmade, side by side, me deep in thought and him, (patiently for Padfoot,) waiting for me to start talking.
Unfortunately, as we have seen prior to this, Sirius Black is a very impatient person, so for him, waiting patiently lasted all of fifteen minutes. He was silent until we were seated with our butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks before saying anything. When he did say something, it was short, showing that he didn't really care about his own words, just the reaction. "What happened?"
Well, I knew he wouldn't let it be, but I could play stupid. "Huh?"
"With Lily, dolt. What happened after I left, and before you came rushing in just in time to stop Moony from eating me? I mean, I appreciate it, but all the same, you were bright red. What happened?" Wow, Padfoot had kept quiet about something all night?
"Nothing." I lied solemnly, trying to buy myself time. Padfoot would be the only person I have ever met that that never works on, probably because he has this other special ability that no one I have ever met has. Sirius Black has the ability to get under my skin. And he's good at it.
"Damn, Prongs, I hate it when you're upset." Really good at it.
"I'm not upset."
"Are too." He acts like such a little kid sometimes.
"How can you tell?" I asked, amused. Looking at me thoughtfully over the rim of his mug, he replied,
"It's the one-word answers. That, and I can read you like a book." I buried my head in my hands, running my fingers through my hair again, an old habit. (See, I don't do it just for attention!) "Did you kiss her?" My head shot up, and I felt my face color like it hasn't since… I don't know when.
"Yeah."
"And she ran?"
"No. I did."
"What!" He quieted it a deadly hiss when others gave him looks and leaned over the table, glowering at me. "You've been mooning after her since third or second year, Prongs. You've been all upset over her the past year. Bloody hell, I hear you call out to her in your sleep, or at least, I used to. Why did you run?"
Biting my lip, I tried to put something felt but never said into words. "Padfoot, we've been dating girls left and right since third year, right?" Sirius nodded, so I continued, encouraged. "And we've told girls since fifth year that they were special, that they were different, all of that on dates, right?" Sirius sighed, obviously annoyed, and asked,
"James do you have a point?"
"Yes, I'm getting to it. My point is, Lily…I'm not just saying it with her. She really is different, and if she left me, after I thought I had her… it'd actually hurt. So after I kissed her, I didn't honestly want to see her reaction." Sirius just shook his head. Some things children, (and Padfoot was a child,) will never understand.
Remus-
Peter had just finished telling me the events of last night in excruciating detail. Sirius and James had left after I'd woken up, and reassured me they'd see me later, they just needed time to talk. To be honest, I was thanking god they had left, and wishing they could take Peter with them. Gods, sometimes they can get on my nerve, especially after a transformation.
"He kissed her last night, you know." Peter stated thoughtfully, bringing me out of my daze. Peter hadn't mentioned this earlier, and I said as much.
"You didn't say so earlier."
"I couldn't, Prongs was here." He replied, still thoughtful. It was a very strange look on his face, seeing him think. After a while I asked,
"Who did Prongs kiss? Evans?" He'd better not me referring to Michele. No it had to be Evans, Michelle didn't know about my form yet.
"Yeah. She asked him to transform for her, and he did, and then they kissed." Peter said. While I was mildly surprised, I didn't show it.
"Did she pull away?" I winced inwardly at the thought of James, and the mood he was liable to be in after Lily turning him down like that.
"No. Prongs did, thank god." I mulled this thought over, wondering why he would run, what Lily had thought, if she was scared of me, and then why Peter sounded so relieved that James had run.
"You don't sound too upset about him being frightened away." I stated calmly, watching Wormtail carefully for a reaction. Peter, to my great disappointment, just shrugged.
"I just don't know what he sees in that Mud-" He changed his wording at the look on my face. I was very touchy after my transformation, and shifted under my blankets, ignoring the pain in my limbs and looking for something to argue about. "-Muggleborn. I mean, she doesn't like him, she's been flat out rude to Prongs in the past, and she's not even very pretty. He's had better. She's not anything special."
"She's special to Prongs." I spat, then said, "I'm sorry, Wormtail, you didn't deserve that. It's just, you know, I'm annoyed." Peter nodded in understanding. There was more than one reason they used to call it my time of the month.
"But she's muggle born." Peter argued.
"I'm half blood." I reminded him. Peter's face darkened, as every other Marauder's did at the mention of my origins. It's incredible; they dislike my father and how he thinks of werewolves more than I do. I can understand dad's reaction, after I was bitten I had read through `werewolf rights', if they can be called that, and saw what we had done in our other forms. It was frightening, but I couldn't control myself anymore than any of the werewolves that had killed could. I could be the next one to murder. And it wouldn't matter to that family whether I were in my right mind or not.
"Yes, and we must remember that he's still afraid of you, and has been since you've been bitten." Wormtail hissed. I nodded slowly, my head feeling heavy as I remembered the look of horror on my fathers face when he saw my Hogwarts letter. It had been years ago, but the memory would forever be etched into my mind, the look of betrayal.
"You were afraid to touch me for a month after you found out." I scolded him, determined to defend my father. Peter flushed.
"Yes, but that was different. I didn't understand." Peter argued. It gave me perfect reason to argue.
"Neither does he." That was the end of it, and both of us knew it. I shrunk down under the hospital sheets, drained as always from the transformation. Peter sat forward in his visitors seat and asked,
"Are you going to tell Michelle?"
"I'll have to, wont I?" I replied, more tired than ever. The secret was so hard to keep it'd have to be out eventually. I just wasn't too sure what I could say that wouldn't scare her away from me.
Sirius-
Well, if you hadn't seen it coming, I must agree with what James said later about us. We were incredibly thick. It was just our luck, something we should have seen coming, or at least, something I should have seen coming, for a while now.
All right, I'll get to the point. We were just walking towards Honeydukes to get back to school when we heard shouting coming from somewhere near by. Being the curious idiots that we are, (I mean, were) both James and myself had to see what was happening. Most people had by now gone to The Three Broomsticks, and we had to play the heroes and make sure everyone was all right.
I really wish we hadn't. I really, really wish we hadn't. As we turned the corner wordlessly we saw two people being thrown into the street, laughing all the way. The man I recognized as the bartender at the Hog's Head, (don't ask how I know these things. You really have to know about my parents, the Blacks. That should say enough for you,) yelling at the two shadowy figures,
"OUT! And stay out! I hereby ban you from my pub."
"Nice working with you Dung." I felt horror, pure horror, as I realized who it was. Unfortunately, Prongs realized who it was at the same time.
"Dad?"
The laughing abruptly stopped, and Mr. Potter stood up staggering slightly. What was there to say about Mr. Potter and his appearance at that moment? Not very much. His tee shirt was stained, his hair was wild and tangled and his knees of his black jeans were wet and stained as bad as the shirt.
There was really nothing I could say that would've made James feel better. He just…blew up. There are no better words for it. It was much like all of the times Evans had blown up on him, or at the beginning of the year when he actually blew up on Evans. His face turned red, as he stalked forward and said,
"Is this where you've been all weekend? Getting wasted? Why am I not surprised?" He seemed at a loss for words after that. Mundungus Fletcher, (don't ask how I know Dung either, remember my family,) had by now high-tailed it out of there, and I was left to watch James just stand there critically eyeing his father. "Sometimes I wonder who the adult is." He growled.
"Prongs…" I started, wondering what I could say to make him feel a bit better about the situation. There was nothing that would stop his disgust.
"Padfoot, do me a favor. I don't trust him to apperate in this state. Bloody hell, I barely expect him to walk. Get him a room in one of the local inns that will accept him like this." I watched James walk away mournfully and did as he had asked me to, swearing on my honor as a Marauders, though that isn't really saying much, that I would pull James out of this one quicker than I had the last time and get myself a girlfriend before the end of the year. Despite what you may believe, my world does not revolve around James Potter.
Michelle-
As I walked into the Hospital Wing, I watched Remus sit up in the white sheets. "Hospital wing again? Why don't you have your own bed by now?" I joked as I plopped down next to him on the edge of the mattress. I think he said something along the lines of
"I do." Before I heard him say "we really need to talk."
"About what?" I asked, watching him carefully. I have never, in my time knowing Remus Lupin and scoffing at the Marauders, seen him so uncomfortable, and that was saying something as he had been fairly uncomfortable asking me out, extremely uncomfortable watching the others pick on Snivellus, and almost scared enough to wet his pants when he was being sorted.
He was bruised and scratched, and looked like something had attacked him last night rather than what he had said. He had said, earlier that he hadn't felt well. I will never forget what he said next, because it changed my views on many things forever.
"It's about what happened last night."
AN- So, Hehe I left you on a cliffy! (Giggles!) I love leaving people on cliffies, because do you know what that means? It means I can demand reviews to make me update faster, and I'll have more time to think up the next chapter. I'm sorry for any grammatical errors, I've been busy, and a beta wasn't used this time, sorry, I will get to anyone who wants to be my beta later, when I'm half-awake. G'night, and fourteen reviews would be nice! Really nice. Two or three days nice!