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 78: Just Friends
"Have you boys finished packing?" asked Marianne. They were due to leave for the station in a half hour.
"Pretty much," replied James while he buttered his toast.
While Marianne debated with James what the meaning of 'pretty much' meant, Perchy walked into the dining room with the morning post that had just been delivered. After dropping a stack of letters and the Daily Prophet in front of Marianne, the house elf approached the boys. Holding out a letter, she said, "M-Mister Sirius? A letter for you, Mister Sirius."
Sirius took the letter and smiled at Perchy, who blushed and rushed back toward the kitchen.
James noticed the exchange and smirked, saying, "Mate, what'd I tell you about flirting with our house elf?" It had been an ongoing joke that Perchy was developing a crush on Sirius. James' theory was all but proven when she had made Sirius' pancakes larger than everyone else's.
"Can't help it if I'm irresistible," replied Sirius while warily eyeing the letter.
"Aren't you going to open it?" asked Marianne.
Sirius was a little unnerved by the arrival of the letter. Only a few people knew that he was staying with James and Marianne over the holiday. Remus and Peter addressed their letters to both James and Sirius. For a moment, Sirius was worried that his family had figured out that he had left the school to come to James' for the holiday, but when he realized the envelope wasn't red like a howler would be, he decided it was safe enough to open. Once he saw the handwriting, he let out a small sigh of relief. "It's from Andromeda," he said.
Dear Sirius,
Happy Christmas! I'm taking a chance and assuming that you are staying with your friend for the holiday. This letter is probably late, but I had to take certain precautions when I mailed it so that nobody could trace our whereabouts.
Ted and I had a beautiful wedding, even though we eloped. I was scared to death when I was packing to leave, but as soon as I saw him I realized I was making the right decision. I enclosed a copy of our only wedding photo. I charmed it so only you can see it. We are still in hiding, and I have been using my skills to disguise my natural appearance when we're out in public.
Ted still works in Muggle law enforcement. We are doing well, though I was worried for a while what I would do with myself. After I quit my job at the Ministry I didn't know what kind of job I could take. Since we're still steering clear of the family, I knew I couldn't take a regular magical job. The Black family has too many connections and I'd be worried about who would find us. I also don't know much about Muggles and I doubt I'd find a job that I'd be qualified for.
As fate would have it, a different job sort of landed in my lap, though I won't be due to start it until the end of June or early July. It's motherhood. Yeah, that's right, cousin. Ted and I are expecting a baby. We were shocked when we found out (Ted fainted), but after the initial surprise, we were thrilled.
I hope you are doing well, and I hope the family has not given you a difficult time since I ran away. I hope they don't suspect your involvement. I wish you could come visit, but it's safer right now if you don't know our whereabouts.
Love,
Andromeda
P.S. Go easy on the Slytherins this term. If I know you, you've probably caused them a lot of grief this year so far.
Sirius handed James the letter and grabbed the photo that had fallen out of the envelope. He saw Ted's smiling face as he stood beside a woman with his arm around her. At first glance Sirius would not have recognized the woman, but when he looked closer he saw the opal necklace he had given his cousin before he had said goodbye to her at the end of the summer. It was Andromeda, though her true appearance was concealed by a disguise brought upon by her Metamorphmagus abilities. Andromeda was wearing a simple white dress and carrying a small bouquet of white roses. She had a radiant smile on her face as she leaned against her new husband.
"She's pregnant?" said James.
Sirius snorted and said, "Yeah. Didn't take 'em long, did it?"
"Who's pregnant?" asked Marianne.
James gave his mum an apprehensive glance. He had not forgotten the gruesome talk she had given them on Christmas Eve, and any mention of 'pregnancy' or any allusion to a joke about sex made him jittery that she would force him to endure another talk.
"My cousin, Andromeda," replied Sirius.
"That's the one who got married last fall, right?" asked Marianne. When Sirius nodded, Marianne smiled and said, "That's wonderful!"
James let out a sigh of relief and decided that it was time to go from 'pretty much' packed to 'completely' packed. Excusing himself, he escaped to his room and started tossing his belongings into his trunk.
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When they arrived at the station, James surreptitiously looked around for Lily, hoping to see her yet hoping his mum wouldn't. They ran into Remus and Peter on the platform and Remus was looking quite ill due to the upcoming full moon later on that week. Sirius decided to duck inside the train when he caught sight of Regulus arriving with their mother.
James and the others caught up with him in a compartment and saw that Sirius was angrily looking out the window as his mum bid a fond farewell to her youngest son. James, seeing that Sirius needed an outlet for his angry energy, pulled out his invisibility cloak and said, "Up for some fun, mate?"
Sirius, intrigued by the mischievous look on James' face, said, "What do you have in mind?"
After the train started moving, James and Sirius left Peter and Remus in the compartment and wandered the corridor under the invisibility cloak, keeping an eye out for anything that would amuse them. Their opportunity came when Snape stepped out of his compartment at the other end of the car and headed in the direction of the boys' bathroom.
Sirius and James exchanged a knowing grin, neither having to voice their thoughts as they had the same idea running through their heads. Since they were closer to the bathroom, the boys quickly ducked inside and threw a dungbomb into the toilet, before quickly making their exit.
They had hardly stepped out of the way before Snape stepped inside the loo. As if the Slytherin could sense something off, he turned around for a moment and looked around the corridor suspiciously, before ducking back into the loo and closing the door.
Sirius drew out his wand and muttered, "Colloportus." The two Marauders stepped back to watch the show.
A few moments later brought the sound of the dungbomb exploding along with a splash and a disgusted yelp. The sound had lured a few students from nearby compartments to open their doors and curiously peer out to see what had caused the commotion.
The handle of the door to the bathroom jiggled from the inside but the door did not budge. The movement of the doorknob became more frantic as Snape cursed in frustration and anger. Water started to seep under the door and into the corridor, causing the nearby students to back away.
"What's going on, here?" asked Amos Diggory, wearing his Head Boy badge, as he approached the crowd.
"I think someone's locked in there," pointed a third year girl.
Amos looked at the door and then down at the wet floor before approaching the bathroom. "Is someone in there?" he loudly asked.
A loud pounding on the door along with some more muffled yelling was his response.
Amos grabbed his wand and unsealed the door. When he opened it, a wave of water rushed out, carrying Snape as he floated out into the corridor and landed on his arse with a splash. A few of the other students laughed at the sight of the Slytherin, who was drenched from head to toe. The stale and pungent odor of the dungbomb emanated from his skin in small puffs of steam.
Amos, attempting to hide his mirth and bring order, asked, "What happened?"
Snape, who was visibly seething, spat, "Potter and Black! They locked me in the bathroom and set off a dungbomb!"
Amos, who was aware of Sirius and James by reputation, both from Quidditch and from the warnings of a few professors, looked around for signs of the two Marauders. He asked Snape, "Did you see them?"
"I didn't have to see them to know they did this!" spat Snape.
Amos turned to the crowd and asked, "Did anyone see Potter or Black nearby?" Seeing no affirmative response, Amos turned back to Snape and said, "If nobody witnessed anything then I can't punish them."
Snape, who was starting to tremor from his anger, moved to stand and slipped on the wet floor a few times before managing to right himself. He glared at Amos and said, "They did this, I know they did this. I'll prove it!" He turned around and marched away, in an obvious effort to track down his nemeses.
Amos shook his head and followed the Slytherin as he pounded down the corridor, his shoes making squishing noises with each step. A few cars down, Snape threw open the door of a compartment and stormed inside. Amos walked in behind him to see James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus looking at Snape with incredulous faces.
Sirius finally barked in laughter and said, "What the devil happened to you, Snivellus?"
Snape, still dripping water onto the floor, raised an accusing finger and said, "You know what happened, Black! You and Potter!"
James gave Snape a sarcastic look and said, "Hmmm…you got wet?"
Snape made a motion to grab his wand however Amos grabbed his shoulder and said, "Enough! Unless you want to lose points, Snape, I suggest you let me handle this." He turned to the Gryffindor boys and asked, "Where were you about five minutes ago?"
"We were in here, playing Exploding Snap," replied Remus.
"All of you?" probed Amos.
"Yes," said James. "See?" he said, indicating the scorch marks on his hands from the cards.
Amos looked at Peter, who eagerly nodded in agreement with James.
"They're lying!" yelled Snape.
Amos shrugged and said, "You have no proof. There's nothing I can do."
Snape narrowed his eyes and glared at each of the Marauders, hatred oozing out of his dark orbs. His gaze finally landed on Remus. "You will regret this," he hissed. He glared at James again, "You walk around the school like you own the place, but I know better. You have weaknesses…secrets. Just wait, Potter. I will find them, and make certain the entire school finds out what kind of people you and your friends really are."
James stood up and clenched his fists, aching to pummel the Slytherin. Sirius snorted and said, "Ok Snivellus, if you feel the school needs to know exactly how smart and dashingly handsome I really am, then go ahead." He leaned back and smirked at Snape, but his voice was not as carefree as it had been when Snape and Diggory had first entered the compartment.
"C'mon, Snape," said Amos. "There's nothing left to say here that won't land anyone in detention."
After Diggory practically dragged Snape out of the compartment, Peter let out a sigh of relief and said, "That was close."
James sat down, still angry at Snape's threats. He said, "There's no way we would have gotten caught. Thanks for the scorch marks, Moony, by the way," he added. As soon as Sirius and James had rushed back into the compartment earlier, Remus had purposely set off one of the Exploding Snap cards to singe the hairs on James hands. Peter, in the meantime, had rearranged the cards to look like four people had been playing. They had just finished when Snape had barged into the compartment.
The tension in the room was broken by a chuckle from Peter. When the other boys looked at him, he said, "I think that's the first time Snape ever got wet."
Sirius laughed and said, "Didn't really make him smell any better, did it?"
Remus smiled and shook his head, adding, "Probably didn't help that he had dungbomb fumes clinging to him."
James finally relaxed and laughed along, while reminiscing, "I'll never forget the sound he made when the dungbomb exploded. Wish I could've seen his face the moment it happened."
"Do you think he's figured anything else out…about me?" Remus wondered aloud.
"Nah," said Sirius. "If he had then the whole school'd know about it by now."
"He's still determined to find out, though," said Remus.
"He'd rather humiliate me or Padfoot," said James. He snorted and said, "Did you hear the way he described us? Walking around as if we own the school?"
"Maybe we should back off of him," suggested Remus. "The more you antagonize him the more he'll want to dig into our secrets."
"No," insisted James. "He hates us enough to pry even if we back off." He looked at Sirius and said, "Maybe Padfoot and I should take the heat off of you, Moony. If we annoy him enough by doing exactly what he says we do then maybe he'll focus more on us than you."
Remus looked at James and Sirius warily. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. If I get exposed the worst that can happen is I'll have to leave Hogwarts. If your secrets are exposed you risk going to Azkaban."
Sirius waved his comment off and said, "We've been covering our tracks for several years now, Moony. We'll be fine."
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True to their word, Sirius and James decided to 'strut' about as if they were the cat's meow. Not that they hadn't had a touch of arrogance before the encounter on the train, but now they were more blatant about it. Sirius opted to channel his greatness into charming the female race. He was often seen in the company of a pretty girl.
James chose the Quidditch route. It had worked for him to that point and he had the 'fame' of being Gryffindor captain to booster his popularity. He scheduled a few practices at times when he knew he'd have an audience and practiced outrageous maneuvers on his broomstick including some that weren't typically used by Seekers. He was often drawn into conversations with other students, all asking how he was able to perform such feats.
James used the opportunity, especially if Lily was in the vicinity, to dramatically regale the crowd about his brushes with death from the steep dives and flips. He even went so far as to muss his hair up like it would look from the wind rushing through it during his maneuvers.
"He's doing it again, Lily," said Marlene as they were walking outside after class one afternoon.
Lily looked and saw James as he demonstrated his Snitch-catches from previous matches. As the crowd cheered and laughed James caught sight of Lily as he was mussing his hair, making it more unkempt than ever. He grinned and waved at her, saying, "Oy, Evans! How about you reenact that catch you made at the last Gryffindor game?"
Lily pretended she hadn't heard and ushered Alice and Marlene along.
Alice smiled and said, "I'd kind of like to see that reenactment, myself, Lily."
Lily gave Alice a stern look and said, "Oh hush! You know, if it wasn't your birthday, I might have to push you into the lake."
Alice smiled and said, "In the middle of January? On my sweet sixteenth? I don't think you would be that cruel."
Lily gave her a mischievous look and said, "You want to test me?"
Marlene watched in amusement as Alice gave Lily a nervous look, wondering if her friend would really go through with her threat.
Instead, Alice opted to escape. "I'd love to stay and find out, but I'm supposed to meet Frank in the library in a little bit."
"On your birthday?" exclaimed Marlene.
Alice shrugged and said, "I can't help it if the teachers don't have limits in the amount of assignments they pile on us."
Marlene gave Alice a sly smile and said, "Seems to me like you don't mind the company of Mr. Longbottom so much anymore."
"We're friends," insisted Alice. "We study well together."
"Studying," mused Marlene. "Is that what they call it these days?" She laughed and ducked out of Alice's reach.
"You do spend a lot of time with him," Lily pointed out.
Alice let out a dry laugh and said, "There's nothing but friendship between us, okay…Mrs. Potter?"
Lily's jaw dropped and she said, "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You say I spend a lot of time with Frank, but I see James hanging around you all the time," said Alice.
"That's different!" exclaimed Lily.
"Yeah," said Marlene. "He follows her around all the time. It's not like Frank ever did that to you, Alice." She laughed and added, "Maybe in a few years you'll be 'studying' with James, too, Lily."
Lily glared at Marlene before saying, "How did this conversation suddenly turn on me? I thought we were talking about Alice and Frank."
"And I'm supposed to be meeting him right now," said Alice. She smiled at Lily and then promised to meet up with both of them later on that evening for a birthday celebration.
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Alice found Frank at a table in the corner of the library, spreading his books and notes in front of him. As soon as Alice sat down next to him, she smiled and said, "Hi Frank! Sorry I'm late."
Frank smiled back and said, "No problem, Alice. It's your birthday. You're allowed to be a little late."
"How did you know it was my birthday?" asked Alice.
"I heard you talking to Marlene about it," said Frank. He grabbed his bag and started rifling through it, and Alice wondered if he had actually overheard Marlene, or if he had already known about her birthday. Suddenly he pulled a box out of his book bag and said, "Here. Happy birthday, Alice."
Alice smiled and said, "You got me a gift?"
"I saw it when I was Diagon Alley a few weeks back during the holiday and it made me think of you. I thought you should have it," he replied. "Go ahead…open it."
Alice eagerly tore off the pretty wrappings and opened the box. Pulling out a large wad of tissue paper, she unrolled it and gasped at what was inside. "Frank, I can't believe it!" She gazed at the enchanted snow globe in her hands and looked at the miniature figurines inside.
Frank tapped his wand on top of the globe and the globe came to life. Snow swirled around and the figurines started moving. Some were ice skating and some were having snowball fights. One girl was running about trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
Frank smiled as Alice watched the scene and said, "You said you loved the winter, so I thought you could keep a bit of it year round."
Alice smiled at the sight of one figurine pulling its cloak tighter as a gust of wind blew past it. She looked up at Frank and saw his warm brown eyes looking back, waiting to see if she liked his gift to her. For a moment Alice was speechless, but then she gave him a hug and said, "Thank you, Frank. It's a lovely gift."
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Later on that evening as Alice was getting ready for bed she placed the snow globe on her nightstand. Lily noticed as Alice activated the globe with her wand and started gazing inside. Approaching it, Lily said, "That's really pretty. Where did you get it?"
"Frank gave it to me for my birthday," replied Alice. "I told him how much I like the winter so he thought I should be able to have a piece of it all year round."
"Frank gave that to you?" asked Marlene as she walked out of the bathroom.
Alice nodded, causing Marlene to raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance with Lily. Alice noticed this and said, "What was that look for?"
"Seems like Frank might still harbor some feelings for you," commented Marlene.
"It's a snow globe, not an engagement ring! It was just a friendly gift," insisted Alice.
Alice looked pleadingly to Lily for support, but Lily shrugged and said, "It is a really nice gift."
Alice huffed and said, "You girls are crazy. Frank knows we're just friends. He hasn't tried following me around or asking me out all year!"
"That's because you're always with him to begin with," muttered Marlene. Cracking a sneaky smile, she said, "Studying, right?"
Alice let out a frustrated sigh and closed her bed hangings, effectively ending the conversation.
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Over the next few weeks, Marlene and Lily's words nagged at Alice's thoughts. 'They can't possibly be right, can they?' she would wonder. Then she would look up at Frank who would usually be concentrating heavily on his DADA text. 'Nah,' she would think. 'There's no way he still has those feelings for me.' She would then think herself silly for wondering those things, and try to refocus on her studies.
One evening in February, Alice was walking with Frank back to Gryffindor tower. They had just spent a few hours reviewing practical DADA in one of the classrooms, and Alice had twisted her ankle when Frank had successfully stunned her. He wanted to take her to the hospital wing, but Alice insisted it wasn't more than a slight twist and that she would be fine by the next morning.
In the meantime, Frank insisted that Alice lean on him while walking back to the tower. For about the tenth time he apologized, saying, "I'm really sorry, Alice."
Alice barely heard his words, as she was wondering when exactly Frank had become a head taller than her. When Frank nudged her and apologized yet again, Alice finally snapped out of her daze and said, "Forget about it, Frank. It's no big deal. Besides, I'm so proud of you for getting the spell right! We should go over it again on Friday, though, so we know you can do it consistently."
Frank looked down at the floor and said, "Actually, I needed to talk to you about Friday."
"Oh?" asked Alice. "What about?"
Frank cleared his throat and said, "Friday is Valentine's Day."
Alice suddenly felt her stomach flip. Why would Frank mention Valentine's Day to her? Could Marlene and Lily be right?
Frank continued, "Dumbledore okayed letting the fifth years and up go to Hogsmeade for a few hours after classes
let out."
Alice gulped, a foreboding feeling creeping into her. She was ready to kick herself for not seeing the signs. He was going to ask her out again, and she would have to find a way to let him down easily, if that would even be possible. She braced herself, waiting for the inevitable.
"I was wondering," started Frank, "if it would be okay to reschedule our study session."
Alice opened her mouth, ready to give him the 'let's be friends' speech, when his words caused her to pause and say, "Huh?"
Frank gave a shy smile and said, "I asked Amy Brady out and she said yes. I completely forgot that it would coincide with our study time. I'm so sorry. Is it okay?"
Alice felt a little light-headed and realized she had been holding her breath. She blinked and looked back up at Frank, who was biting his lip and waiting for her reply.
"Alice?" he prodded.
"Hmm?" she muttered, wondering why it was suddenly difficult for her to form a sentence. "Um, yeah…fine."
Frank let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thanks, Alice. You're the best!"
Alice nodded blankly, feeling a tad shell-shocked. She had certainly not been expecting Frank to say he was dating someone else. And Amy Brady? Alice searched her memory to try and match a face with the name, with no luck. Well, at least she could prove that she was right to Lily and Marlene. Frank only thought of her as a friend.
"Do you need any help getting upstairs? I could find a girl to help you," said Frank.
Alice looked up, startled to realize that they had arrived in the common room and were standing by her staircase. She looked at Frank and numbly shook her head, muttering a 'good night' before limping up the staircase.
Her thoughts swirled around her head like the snow in her globe, and it was as if Alice could feel the chill that the figurines inside felt. She supposed she should be happy for Frank. He had found a girlfriend. Alice remembered her worries earlier that she would be forced to turn Frank down once again. Now that Frank had found someone else, Alice realized that she should feel relieved…but why did she feel so depressed instead?
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A/N: Okay, this chapter is finished. My brain hurts. Several little details I had to get into this chapter. So what do you think about the little twist I wrote about Frank at the end? *evil laughter from the author*
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Will the Wierd, God'sgirl, blackquill, delpheena, Anu, Golden Phoenix, astronomylover, DreamAngel, Mani12191, Anonymous (x4), Incendia, Watermelon! (x2), Remus'sweetie, Adria, granger1191, AshleyM, German Wings, vikkala, Jo Bob, Calypso, RainDateChick, VirginiaRiddle, and Missrs.