Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 72: Introducing Snuffles…
After saying goodnight to Alice, Sirius trudged up the staircase to the fifth year boys' room. James was still up, researching some potential Quidditch plays for the team.
"Did you catch up with Alice?" he asked.
"Yeah," muttered Sirius, opening his trunk and searching for something.
James, seeing what Sirius was looking for, asked, "So what's so bad that you had to dig out your teddy bear?"
Sirius, hearing a slight mocking tone to James' voice, scowled and said, "This is not just a teddy bear, I'll have you know. This is a ferocious attack-bear."
James smirked and said, "Attack-bear, Padfoot?"
Sirius nodded, brandishing the seemingly cuddly attack-bear and said, "That's right, Prongs. He's charmed to recognize me and attack those he doesn't recognize. Shall I demonstrate?"
James, slightly curious and deciding to humor Sirius, replied, "By all means."
Sirius flopped onto the bed with the bear and, seeing that Peter was still awake, ordered, "Wormtail! Come over here. I have to tell you something."
Peter looked over from his spot across the room and asked, "Why can't you tell me from across the room?"
Sirius gave James a sneaky look and replied, "Because it's a secret. I need to whisper it into your ear."
Peter, the ever-obliging friend, got up and approached Sirius. Once he reached the bed and leaned over Sirius, the charmed bear kicked into action and latched onto the side of Peter's face, using its padded paws to try and beat the stuffing out of Peter. Peter, startled, stumbled backwards onto the floor with a loud yelp and swatted the bear off of his head. By the time Peter had scrambled to his feet he saw that the teddy bear was charging after him again, ready to attack. It lunged at Peter and grabbed hold of a leg, while Peter ran frantically out of the room trying to shake it off and get away.
Once they were gone, Sirius gave James a smug look and said, "See? I told you. He's an attack-bear."
James laughed and said, "Somehow, I think after tonight Wormtail's boggart is gonna look a little different." He looked at Sirius and with a sly grin asked, "And what was the name of this attack-bear?"
Sirius muttered something under his breath.
"Sorry, Padfoot," said James. "I didn't quite catch that name."
"His name," started Sirius, "…is Snuffles."
James was openly laughing by that point. "Snuffles? That sounds ferocious!"
Sirius rolled his eyes and in an attempt to save face, said, "It's to throw off the enemy."
"Riiiight…" said James. Refocusing on the original question, James asked, "So why did…ahem…Snuffles need to make an appearance? What's bothering you? Is there a problem with you and Alice?"
Sirius frowned and replied, "There is no 'me and Alice'."
"You broke up with Alice?" questioned James. "Why?"
"It was just over, that's all," replied Sirius, not bothering to correct James on who broke up with whom.
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The next morning the girls were rushing around as usual trying to finish their morning rituals before heading down to breakfast. Marlene was trying to finish the last paragraph of her History paper while Lily and Alice silently packed their book bags.
"Oy, Alice," called Marlene. "Can I borrow your History notes?"
Alice let out a miffed sigh, ignoring Marlene and storming out of the dorm room, her bag in tow.
"What's with her?" asked Marlene, offended at the snub.
"Maybe she's ticked off about your spat last night with Sirius," suggested Lily. She, herself, was still a bit miffed that she had gotten caught in the middle of the duel.
"What's so different this time?" asked Marlene. "Black and I are always arguing."
"You'll have to ask her," replied Lily, picking up her bag.
They caught up with Alice just outside of the Great Hall. As the girls walked in, Lily and Marlene were surprised that Alice continued past the Marauders and took a seat further down the table. As Lily passed the boys, she leaned over and asked Remus, "What's going on with Alice and Sirius?"
Remus, casting a quick glance at Sirius and then Alice, quietly replied, "Sirius broke up with Alice last night."
"What?" she hissed. She looked up at Sirius, who was watching Peter with a amused expression as he limped over to the table, muttering things about 'crazy bears'.
"Morning, Evans!" smiled James. "Care to join us for breakfast?"
"Not especially," replied Lily.
"C'mon, Lily," said Marlene, pulling her toward Alice. As they sat down, Marlene asked, "What was that all about?"
Lily gave Alice a sympathetic look and said, "I just heard. I'm sorry."
Alice gave a half-hearted shrug while she picked at the crust on her toast.
"What happened?" asked Marlene, frustrated at being in the dark.
"Sirius broke up with Alice last night," replied Lily.
"He what?!" exclaimed Marlene. "That jerk!"
Alice focused her gaze on Marlene, her eyes flashing. "What are you acting so indignant about? I thought you'd be celebrating!"
"What?" asked Marlene, taken aback. "Just because I think he's a type of fungus doesn't mean I'm less upset about him breaking up with you. You're my friend and-"
"Wait a minute!" interrupted Alice, holding her hand up. "What did you just say?"
"You're my friend," repeated Marlene.
"No, not that," said Alice. "The part before that."
"I'm ticked off that the git broke it off with you. I mean for some odd reason you actually liked the guy and-" started Marlene.
"Where did you get the impression that he broke up with me?" asked Alice.
"That's what Remus said," answered Lily.
Alice looked down the table where Sirius was smiling and pretending to attack Peter, who looked quite put out. James and Remus were laughing at his antics. Alice huffed, not believing that he could act so amused the morning after she broke up with him.
"Alice?" questioned Lily.
Alice suddenly stood up and strode down the table until she was standing by Sirius.
Sensing a presence behind him, Sirius turned around and saw Alice hovering over him, her arms crossed. "Morning, Lyons," he said.
Alice scowled at the way he addressed her.
Seeing her sour mood, Sirius impatiently asked, "Is there something you want?"
"Want?" she asked, shortly. "Perhaps you could tell me why my friends think that you broke up with me?"
Sirius noticed the attention their conversation was drawing and the questioning looks from his mates. Not wanting to lose face, he gave her a sad smile and said, "Ah, Lyons. You know it had to end sometime. We just weren't meant to be. I'm sorry if you're having a difficult time accepting that."
"You-! How dare you!" stuttered Alice, shocked at his casual attitude and lies.
"Black, you really did it this time, didn't you?" said Marlene, walking up next to Alice, ready to defend her. "I warned you about hurting Alice after you started dating, and now you've gone and-"
"Shut up!" yelled Alice, turning on Marlene. "This is partly your fault, you know!"
Marlene blinked and stepped back. "What? I was just trying to-"
"Just trying to find an excuse to yell at him or hex him," accused Alice. "Don't use me as an excuse. I'm sick of it! I'm done acting as the referee." She started to walk out of the Hall, but turned around and shouted at Sirius, "And that is why I broke up with YOU!"
After she had left the Great Hall, which had gone silent after Alice's shouts, Sirius nervously glanced around at the people gawking at him. He coughed, gave a small laugh and said, "Nutters, that one is. It's a good thing it ended when it did - OW!" he exclaimed as Marlene whacked him on the side of the head before returning to where Lily was sitting.
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The tension throughout the fifth year Gryffindors could be cut with a knife over the next few days. Marlene was smarting from Alice's words and wasn't sure whether she should be angry at her or try to apologize. While she was at least on speaking terms with Lily, she was irritated that she was forced to spend a detention scrubbing the floor in the hospital wing with Sirius.
Lily was torn between her friends, trying not to take sides and hoping the two girls would make up before she was dragged into their 'cold war'.
Alice was growing increasingly frustrated. Everywhere she went someone would offer their condolences about Sirius 'breaking up with her'. Every time she tried to convince someone she had broken up with Sirius, he or she would give her a doubtful but sympathetic glance before walking away.
Finally, Alice took to hiding in the library, hoping to be left in peace while she tried to forget her troubles and study. Every time she tried to focus on the Potions homework in front of her, the image of Sirius casually smirking at her or someone offering false sympathy would invade her vision and cause anger to bubble in the pit of her stomach.
"Alice?" came a voice from behind her.
Thinking it was another person wanting to get the goods on the breakup, she didn't bother to turn around and spat, "For the love of Merlin, can't you just leave me alone?!"
"Erm…sorry…it's just that I thought we were supposed to meet tonight," said the voice.
Alice slowly turned around and to her dismay she realized that she had just yelled at Frank, who was standing behind her holding his DADA text. "Oh crap! I'm sorry, Frank. I thought you were someone else."
He gave her a nervous smile and said, "We could always reschedule for another time, if you want…"
"No, no, it's okay," insisted Alice. "C'mon, sit down."
Frank sat across from her and for a moment his gaze lingered on her face, like he was about to say something. Alice held her breath, waiting for the inevitable comment about her breakup with Sirius. To her shock, Frank broke the gaze and opened his textbook. "I was able to finish most of the homework," he said, "but I'm a little stuck on the answers to numbers 12 and 15."
Alice stared at him for a moment, pleasantly surprised.
When she didn't respond, Frank gave her a questioning look and said, "Alice?"
"Oh, erm…right. Question 12..." she said, pulling out her DADA assignment. Scanning it, she smiled and said, "I think I can help you with that one. Let me see what you have so far."
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"Hi Remus!" greeted Emm with a bright smile as he sat down across from her in the library.
Remus smiled back and said, "Hi. Alright, Emm?"
"Alright," she replied. "Where's Lily?"
"Trying to hide from James," said Remus. "She'll be here in a little bit, I'm sure."
Emm laughed and said, "I guess he's still got his eye on her, eh?"
Remus, noticing how nice Emm's laugh was, took a moment to respond. "Erm…yeah, that's putting it mildly."
Emm sighed and said, "I don't see why she doesn't at least give him a chance. He's not that bad of a bloke."
"No, he isn't," agreed Remus, "but I don't think Lily's gotten to see much of that so far this year. There was that time a few weeks back when he nearly blinded her."
Emm chuckled, causing Remus to grin widely.
Hoping to make her laugh more, he added, "Then there was her birthday present. James, thinking he was ordering a book of poetry, accidentally ordered her a book of dirty limericks."
That sent Emm into a fit of giggles and Remus found himself chuckling with her.
"What's so funny?" asked Lily, having just arrived. She took a seat and smiled at the mirthful expressions on her friends' faces.
The confused smile Lily gave them sent them into further hysterics. An annoyed shushing sound came from the librarian, forcing the pair to gather their composure.
"Really, guys," insisted Lily. "What's so funny?"
Emm and Remus exchanged a conspiratorial glance before Emm replied, "Remus was just telling me about the birthday present you received from James."
Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."
Remus, remembering his promise to James about Lily, said, "He didn't mean anything by it. To be honest, he didn't even realize what type of poetry was in the book before he ordered it."
Lily shook her head and opened her book.
"I mean it, Lily," said Remus. "He had good intentions."
"Fine, fine," replied Lily, flipping through the pages of her book.
Emm and Remus exchanged a glance before Remus said, "Lily…it wouldn't hurt to give him a chance, would it?"
The page turning froze however Lily did not look up. "Why are you going on about this Remus?" she whispered.
"James likes you," he replied. "Is there any chance you could try to get along with him?"
Lily was silent for a moment before looking Remus in the eye and asking, "Did he put you up to this?"
"N-No," stuttered Remus.
Lily held his gaze for a moment before replying, "You're lying to me." She sighed and said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to get in the middle of this, Remus. You're his friend, and you're my friend. It'd be better if you stayed neutral in this."
Thinking of his original promise to James, Remus wanted to give it one more shot. "But if you just tried to spend-"
"Remus!" pleaded Lily. "Please, can't you just let this go? We're supposed to be studying, anyway."
Remus, unsure of how to proceed, looked at Emm, who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, indicating that he should leave the subject alone. Realizing Lily's stubbornness, he opted to follow her wishes and not push her toward James. At least he could tell James he had tried, though he wished he had been more successful.
"Alright, then," he replied. Seeing Lily's book, he asked, "So I guess you want to start with Transfiguration tonight?"
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Frank and Alice were packing their books away after a few hours of DADA review. As much as Alice had originally been dreading tutoring Frank, she had to admit he kept to the subject matter and was pleasant toward her. Plus it was a good way to forget about all the latest gossip and hassles about the breakup with Sirius. Not once had he brought up the topic of the breakup, and Alice was extremely grateful.
On the way back to Gryffindor tower, her curiosity finally caught up with her. "Erm…Frank? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he replied.
"How come you haven't said anything about this whole ordeal with Sirius?" she asked.
Frank, taken aback, said, "You seemed pretty irritated about it when I saw you earlier. I assumed you didn't want to talk about it. Why? Did you want to talk about it?"
"No," replied Alice. After another moment of silence and walking, she sighed and said, "Well, maybe…well, no…ugh! I don't know!"
Frank smiled and said, "It's okay to talk about it, Alice."
Alice sighed and said, "I don't regret the breakup. It was time for it to happen. I mean, I'm almost 16 years old. It's not like Sirius was supposed to be my soul mate or anything like that."
Frank nodded and asked, "So why are you so upset?"
"I guess," started Alice, "it's because he was my first boyfriend and I feel like I should be upset that it's over. I feel like he should be at least a little upset about it, but the next morning he was smiling and laughing with his friends. He even had the gall to tell people that he broke up with me, and then he treated me like someone he barely knew."
"It's okay to be sad about it, even if you broke up with him," replied Frank. "It's not easy to get over your first crush, even when you know that it's time to do so." He paused, giving her another sidelong glance, before adding, "Sirius may have acted like a prat to you, but don't assume he wasn't affected by the breakup. I saw him after he came up to the dorm that night, and he was sulky. He did what he usually does - tried to cover up his problems with sarcasm and humor. He's a guy, and he doesn't want to seem weak or emotional in front of other people."
"Well if that's how guys are, then they're stupid," muttered Alice.
"Hey!" said Frank, with a mock-hurt face. "I resent that!"
Alice cracked a smile and said, "Present company excluded, of course."
"Of course," he said with a smile. "So are you going to be okay?"
Alice sighed and replied, "Yeah, I will, once all the gossip mongers leave me alone. I'm just sick and tired of trying to convince people that Sirius didn't do the breaking up."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I believe you," said Frank.
Alice smiled and said, "Thanks."
They walked for another few minutes before Alice spoke up again, "McGonagall hinted that you want to be an auror."
"Yeah," said Frank.
"What made you decide to do that?" she asked.
Frank rubbed the back of his neck and replied, "I guess it's because my dad wanted to be one."
"Wanted?" echoed Alice.
Frank nodded and said, "He died before he finished his training." Before Alice could comment he added, "And I suppose I want to help out with all the stuff that's been happening lately, with…You-Know-Who."
Alice nodded, a slight shiver going up her spine at the thought of Voldemort. His support was growing, and the brutality of his attacks caused an innate fear at the mention of his name. She thought of her family and the danger her father could be in due to his open support of education for Muggleborn children.
"What about you?" asked Frank. "Do you know what you want to do after graduation?"
"I was thinking about becoming an auror, too," she replied. "I just hope my grades will be strong enough."
"I know what you mean," agreed Frank. "You shouldn't have any problems though. I mean, you're tutoring me, so you probably have a better shot at it."
"I'm tutoring you because DADA is my best subject," said Alice. "I still have to do well in my other classes, including Potions. That's never been a strong subject for me."
"It's not so bad," said Frank. With a small smile, he said, "Once I get past my clumsiness, I do pretty well in that class." After seeing Alice crack a smile, he said, "If you'd like I could help you out…since you're helping me in DADA, that is. It's the least I could do to repay you."
Alice's smile widened and she replied, "Yeah…sure. I suppose I could use all the help I could get."
They reached the portrait hole and Frank said, "Amicus Fidelis." After they stepped through, he told her, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow in class, then."
Alice nodded and as he walked away she called out, "Frank…" After he turned back to her she gave him a smile and said, "Thanks…for everything."
Frank smiled and said, "G'night, Alice."
"Goodnight," she replied before heading up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.
As soon as she entered the fifth year dorm room she saw Marlene getting ready for bed.
Marlene gave Alice a nervous look, initially unsure of how to speak. They had both done a good job of avoiding each other until then. Finally, Marlene said, "Alice, look…I'm sorry if I had anything to do with your breakup with…him." She sighed and added, "I know you liked the guy and I'm sorry I didn't try harder to get along with him. It's just that…it was Black…and he just has a way of irritating the hell out of me."
Alice gave Marlene a sheepish smile and said, "I know. I am angry…erm…was angry at you for the arguments, but you weren't the cause of the breakup. Maybe the catalyst, but not the cause. Sirius and I had been drifting apart for a while before the other night."
"So you're not mad at me anymore?" asked Marlene.
Alice saw the sincerity in Marlene's eyes and realized she had missed her friend. Smiling, she said, "No, I guess I'm not mad at you anymore."
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A/N: I was in a bit of a weird mood when I wrote the beginning of the chapter with Snuffles, Sirius' teddy bear. I guess I remembered writing something a while back about Marlene getting a picture of Sirius with his teddy bear. Thought I'd introduce him - Snuffles! Does the name sound familiar?
Thanks to my latest reviewers: A New Reader, Golden Phoenix, Anu, hpfreak, Mani12191, nanopy, Potterhead, Jo Bob, Hermione G. Potter, Remus'sweetie, granger1191 (x2), God'sgirl, Naikalam, delpheena, likediamondrain, AshleyM, sun-obsessed, ASiriusGirl (x2), mrs. padfoot, Alicia78, and mrs. pendragon.
Next chapter: James' next 'brilliant plan' to woo Lily. Also - more Marauder mischief.