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 83: Pete's Prediction
Over the next few days, Sirius tried to prove that he was doing fine, that he was returning to his old self. James and Marianne knew better. They could see it in the way Sirius looked when he thought he was alone. He would pace or brood by a window, but when James was around he smiled and made plans of wooing certain girls or tormenting certain Slytherins once they returned to school.
Sirius found it especially difficult to be around Perchy, the Potters' house elf. She had developed a crush on Sirius over the years he had been visiting, and she found ways of being around him. One morning Sirius had awoken to find her standing next to him. She gave him a large lovesick smile and handed him a plate of pancakes and bacon. Sirius, reminded of Beeste's covert trips to deliver him forbidden food, snapped at Perchy and told her to leave him alone. Feeling guilty, Sirius eventually apologized but Perchy opted to go with the house elf code by not being seen while working - at least in Sirius's presence.
Thanks to Marianne's attention, Sirius's injuries healed and he was able to go flying with James after a few days of recuperation. Flying was the best medicine as far as Sirius was concerned. When he was goofing off in the air with James, he was able to leave his problems on the ground far below them.
After an afternoon out in the sun, James and Sirius walked into the kitchen, both laughing about a neighbor lady they had startled when James was diving for the Quaffle they had been passing back and forth. She had screamed and started thwacking James with her purse as if she was a Beater and James was a Bludger. Sirius was quite mirthful that James had gotten flogged by an older lady, but James pointedly reminded Sirius of the bowtruckle incident from months earlier.
Their laughter died down when they saw Marianne at the kitchen table, a worried frown on her face. James asked what was wrong, and Marianne stood up and slowly approached Sirius.
"I heard something at work today," she said to Sirius, "about your father."
Sirius's expression darkened and he walked to the cupboard to find a can of chilled pumpkin juice. "What about him?" he asked, attempting to sound casual.
"One of my colleagues told me he was brought into St. Mungo's several days ago," she said. "It was the morning after you arrived here."
Sirius opened the can of pumpkin juice and took a swig, refusing to comment. James stood nearby, watchful of his friend as he recalled Sirius's description of what had happened that night.
"Apparently he had fallen down some stairs," she continued, "and wasn't found until several hours later. He had several severe injuries, including a concussion and a fractured skull. He had broken his legs and his spine."
"Had?" said James. "Is he-?"
"No, he's not dead," said Marianne. "His injuries were so severe that if he had gotten to St. Mungo's quickly they may have been able to heal him, however due to the time between the injury and when he was found, he's going to suffer from some lifelong problems as a result of his injuries."
James glanced at Sirius again, seeing his friend continuing to concentrate on his drink, though the grip on the can was tight enough to cause a few dents in the metal. Turning back to his mum, he asked, "What kind of 'lifelong problems'?"
"The trauma to his brain caused swelling. Left untreated the pressure on the brain caused permanent damage. He won't be able to function properly in society. He doesn't understand where he is and he's barely able to speak. The trauma to his spinal cord rendered him unable to walk. He will be housebound, most likely for the rest of his life," said Marianne. "Despite the potions they used to bring down the swelling of his brain, the damage has been done and they don't expect much if any improvement over time."
Marianne noticed James glancing at Sirius again and asked, "Sirius, is there anything you need to tell me about your father's fall?"
Sirius was quiet for a moment before taking one final gulp of his juice. He muttered, "Must've stumbled," and left the room, forcefully tossing the empty can into the dustbin on the way out.
"James, do you think that he-" started Marianne.
"Does anyone else think he did?" interrupted James.
"Well, nobody implied that there was any kind of foul play-" she said.
"Mum, you know Sirius better than that. Whether or not he had anything to do with the fall, we both saw what his dad put him through," said James. He didn't want to break Sirius's trust by saying that he knew Sirius had pushed his father down the stairs. "There was no foul play, so there's no point in dwelling on this."
"James, even if it was self defense, and even though his father was horrible, he was still his father. I know that Sirius is good, and that's why I'm worried about him. I'm worried that, even though he's trying so hard to act like he's fine, he'll let what happened simmer under the surface, waiting to boil over," she said.
"He'll be fine," James insisted. He left the room, knowing that his mum's worried eyes were following him. Going upstairs, he heard a thumping noise coming from his room. He walked in to find Sirius laying on his bed tossing a Quaffle up and down, hitting the ceiling each time. "Padfoot?"
"Marianne send you up here?" asked Sirius, still tossing the ball.
"No," replied James, "but she's worried about you." He sat on his own bed and started to pull off his shoes.
"I'm fine," said Sirius.
"I know," said James. He watched the Quaffle for a minute before asking, "Do you think anyone will find out you did it?"
Sirius snorted and said, "I'm certain my ex-family knows about it. Probably figured it out the moment they found him."
"Why didn't they turn you in, then?" James wondered aloud.
"Family pride," said Sirius.
"But I thought they hated you," said James.
Sirius let out a dry laugh and said, "Not pride in me, Prongs. They don't want anyone to know what happened to the 'great' Octavius Black, the patriarch of the family. They don't want the world to know that they couldn't control their own son." He threw the ball harder, causing some paint to chip off the ceiling.
James eyed the flakes of paint as they traveled downward, wondering if his mum had a point about Sirius. He shook his head, mentally telling himself that his best mate would be fine. After all, it was Sirius; he was strong and he would be able to get past this.
**************************************************************************************
Lily checked her watch for about the millionth time that evening. She had to stare at it for a moment to make sure it was still working, because she felt it was impossible that only a few minutes had passed since the last time she had checked it.
"And then the Japanese golfer said…"
'Ugh!' she thought. 'Not another one of Vernon's offensive jokes!'
To Lily's dismay, Vernon Dursley had been coming for dinner at least once a week. He still looked at Lily distrustfully, and Lily didn't do anything to hinder his suspicions about her. He seemed even more pompous that he had the previous summer. The only good thing that Lily could say about him was that Petunia seemed to be happy around him. He seemed to genuinely care about her.
The thing that bothered Lily the most about Vernon was that despite his attentiveness to her, he seemed to be changing her sister. He made sexist comments and Petunia said nothing to correct him. That shocked Lily the most, because Petunia had never let anybody tell her she couldn't do something just because she was a girl. Now Petunia was more absorbed by what Vernon wanted.
As dinner came to a close, Anne stood up and cleared the table. After an admonishing look to each of her daughters, Lily and Petunia got up to help her. Once they were in the kitchen, Petunia set her stack of dishes by the sink and proceeded to stare dreamily at the doorway to the dining room, where the mutterings between her dad and Vernon were taking place.
Lily bit back a laugh and caught her mother's eye, who raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Don't make fun of your sister.' Anne's silent reprimand was less effective when she heard Petunia let out a contented sigh, causing Anne to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh. This set Lily off and the two started giggling.
Petunia snapped out of her daze and watched her sister and mum, confused. "What are you laughing about?"
Anne and Lily attempted to swallow their giggles and stop, but seeing the perplexed look on Petunia's face set them off again. Petunia started to make a face at them but Anne's laughter settled into a large smile and she grabbed Petunia's hand, pulling her over and gathering her and Lily into a hug.
"I'm so glad to have both my daughters home," said Anne. "I'm so proud of you both." Petunia had just completed her studies and had been accepted into the university with a scholarship. Anne was thrilled that, if things kept up the way they were going, they would eventually have a doctor in the family. After a moment Anne stepped back and said, "All right, help me get the pudding ready."
As they walked back into the dining room they saw that Harold was rather pale and Vernon looked somewhat proud of himself. Sitting down next to Vernon, Petunia asked, "What were you two talking about?"
Vernon cleared his throat and said, "Actually, I had something very important I wanted to discuss with your father. It's about something I want to ask you."
Petunia's face flushed a little and she glanced at her dad, who looked like he was about to watch a train wreck and was deciding how best to stop it.
Vernon puffed out his chest and said, "Petunia, dear, will you-"
Suddenly an owl flew into the room and swooped over Vernon's head on its way to Lily. Unprepared, Vernon shrieked and stood up, knocking over his chair. Petunia looked like she was about to hyperventilate, and Harold looked like he had just won the lottery.
"How did that beast get in this house?" bellowed Vernon. He grabbed a napkin, ready to start swatting at it when he noticed the owl had perched itself on the back of Lily's chair. His eyes bulged as he watched Lily casually turn around as if it were a perfectly normal occurrence to have an owl land on her chair. The owl stuck out its leg and confused Vernon even more by revealing a roll of parchment attached to it. When Lily reached over and untied the letter, Vernon let out a confused gasp and said, "What is going on?"
Lily looked at Petunia, who was on the verge of tears as she shook her head, muttering, "No, don't you say it, Lily!"
"Petunia," said Harold. "If you and Vernon are as…ahem, serious as you say, then perhaps it's time he know everything about our family."
"Our family?" exclaimed Petunia. "You say that like we're all affected, when it's only her," she said, indicating Lily, "who is…different."
"What is going on?" repeated Vernon, a little louder. He nearly fell over when the owl took off and flew over his head on the way out of the house.
"You need to tell him, honey," said Anne. She glanced at Lily, who shrugged.
"I can't," whined Petunia. "He'll hate me, because of her!" she said, pointing to her sister.
"What is going on?!!" bellowed Vernon.
Petunia sent Lily a scathing look before meekly turning toward her boyfriend. Twisting a napkin in her hands, she said with a shaky voice, "Lily is a…a…witch."
Vernon stared at Petunia for a moment before giving a small smile and saying, "Well, I'm not fond of her, either."
Before Harold or Anne could say anything, Petunia said, "No, Vernon. Lily is a w-witch. She does..magic."
Vernon stood there silent for a moment before he burst out laughing. He leaned over and gave her a small pat on the shoulder and said, "Very funny, dear. You almost had me going there for a second. Magic indeed!"
Petunia gave her mum a helpless look before Anne said, "It's true, Vernon. Remember how we told you Lily goes to a different school than Petunia? It's for witchcraft and wizardry."
Vernon looked at Anne as if she had just claimed to have invented ice cubes. He glanced at Petunia, who was rather pale and staring at her plate. "Right," he said. "And the owl…"
"The owl delivers mail," said Lily, holding up the piece of parchment that had just been delivered to her. She opened it and gasped, saying, "Mum, Dad! These are my O.W.L. results."
The focus of Anne and Harold shifted from Vernon to Lily, who was staring at the parchment in shock. "Well? Let's see!" said Anne.
Lily, dumbfounded, handed the results to her dad who said, "What's this mean? The grading system is different than what I'm used to. You got an 'O' in Charms, both in the written and practical sections. What's that mean?"
Lily replied, "It means Outstanding. It's the highest letter grade we can get."
"You got an 'E' in History of Magic?" said Anne, who was looking at the parchment over Harold's shoulder.
"It means Exceeds Expectations," said Lily. "Next one down is 'A' for Acceptable. Anything at or above an 'A' is a passing grade."
"Lily, these marks are wonderful!" exclaimed Harold. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"Congratulations, sweetie," said Anne. "I knew you'd do well!"
Lily smiled and said, "I honestly wasn't sure how I'd done on the Transfiguration practical. I thought perhaps the peach I'd transfigured from a kitten was a little to fuzzy, but I suppose peaches are supposed to have some fuzz so they let that one slide…"
As Lily and her parents talked about the different spells and potions she had to know for her exams, Vernon sat in front of his untouched pudding and pondered the sanity of the Evans family. He noticed that Petunia was still staring at her plate, and that she was on the verge of tears. He felt a pang of sympathy for her, knowing that she had to deal with unusual behavior of her family when she herself was quite normal. He loved that about her.
"…and this year we're supposed to start our Apparition lessons…" continued Lily, while her parents oohed and aahed in amazement.
"Isn't that where you disappear from one spot and reappear in another?" asked Harold. Lily nodded.
By this point, Vernon had heard quite enough. He stood up and cleared his throat. "I must be going," he said. Harold, Anne, and Lily stopped their conversation and looked at him. Petunia continued to stare at her plate. Vernon leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, whispering, "Don't worry, love. I understand completely." He was referring to her role as the sane person in the Evans family.
Petunia gave him a shocked look as he started to leave.
Lily suddenly stood up and said, "Vernon!"
Vernon turned around and gave Lily another suspicious look. "Yes?"
"It's important that you not say anything to anyone about my being a witch," she said. "Muggles, rather non-magic folk, aren't supposed to know."
Vernon let out a small snort. As if he'd advertise Lily's lunacy to other people. He'd never do that to poor Petunia! "Don't worry," he scoffed. "Your…secret…is safe with me." He turned and left, mumbling, "Witch, indeed!"
Petunia shot out of her chair and rushed to the door to say goodbye. The remaining people at the table watched her leave the room before Harold let out a relieved sigh.
"Do you think he'll break up with 'Tunia over this?" asked Lily.
"I don't know," said Anne. "He's rather close-minded, especially when it comes to you, Lily. However, he seems to really care about Petunia."
"That owl had impeccable timing, though," said Harold. "He was about to propose to her."
"What?!" exclaimed Petunia, who had just reappeared at the doorway.
Harold tensed up and stuttered, "Erm…that is to say…"
"He was going to propose? To me?" exclaimed Petunia. Seeing the look on her father's face, she added, "Tonight?"
Harold couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded. He wasn't thrilled about Vernon but he and Petunia really cared about each other. Harold noted that at least Vernon was better than that last bloke Petunia had had a crush on who had treated her poorly.
Petunia let out a choked sob and turned her attention to Lily, who was trying to wrap her mind around the idea of Petunia getting married to Vernon, let alone getting married at all. She realized with a jolt that Petunia was legally an adult and was actually old enough to marry a man.
"This is all your fault!" sobbed Petunia, her watery eyes focused on her sister. "He'll never want to be with me now that he knows what you are!" She turned and rushed out of the room and up toward her room.
Lily felt the stab of a mixture of anger and hurt as she heard her sister's bedroom door slam. Her parents said something, probably to comfort her, but Lily was too absorbed in her own thoughts to hear. She couldn't help that she was a witch, but it seemed like her life just kept finding ways to point out to her that she didn't belong in either the magical or Muggle world. She constantly felt a barrage of guilt at how her life affected those she cared about.
Well, she thought, darned if she wasn't going to dig her heels in to try and salvage her relationship with her sister. Blood was thicker than water (except for knarl blood which was in fact thinner than water, which she recalled from her Care of Magical Creatures class), and she decided to go speak with Petunia before there was nothing left of their sisterhood.
Not bothering to knock, Lily walked into Petunia's room to find her curled up on her bed with a ratty old teddy bear, looking more like a pouting teenager than a woman about to become engaged.
"What do you want?" Petunia whined tiredly. "Have you forgotten how to knock?"
"I'm sick and tired of your blaming me for your problems," said Lily. "I'm a witch, and you've had over 5 years to get used to the idea. What is it that you can't accept about me?"
Petunia sat straight up and retorted, "I can't accept that the man I love who was about to propose to me will probably never speak to me again because he thinks my family is deranged. He was going to propose, Lily! I could have become Mrs. Vernon Dursley!"
"There you have it - Mrs. Vernon Dursley, not Petunia Dursley, or Petunia Evans-Dursley!" exclaimed Lily, throwing her arms up in the air. "You've been changing, 'Tunia. It's like you're referring to yourself as his possession. What happened to the independent girl who wanted to become a doctor?"
"Vernon once told me that his wife wouldn't need to work," Petunia weakly replied.
"Wouldn't need to work?" echoed Lily. "You never decided to become a doctor out of need, 'Tunia. You've wanted this all your life! Are you telling me you want to forget all of that…forget who you are…for him?"
Petunia opened her mouth to reply but found her retort caught in her throat.
Lily softened and approached Petunia, sitting next to her on the bed. "I know that you care about him, 'Tunia. I just don't want you to have to give up on your dreams. Marriage is forever, and I don't want you trapped in a life that will make you unhappy. Just think about it, okay?"
Petunia rested her chin on her knees, taking a deep shaky breath. "Probably doesn't matter, anyway, if he never speaks to me again…because of what you are."
Lily sighed. She could see another crack forming in their relationship, though she felt certain she had gotten Petunia to start thinking seriously about how Vernon was changing her.
**************************************************************************************
"Very funny, Padfoot," said James dryly, mopping his face while his mates and mum laughed. It was his sixteenth birthday, and Peter and Remus had come to help him celebrate. Sirius had bought trick birthday candles that were charmed to spray water at the person who blew at them.
"He fell for it last year, too," Sirius said to Remus and Peter.
James frowned and said, "I did not! Last year you bought me a cake that smashed into my face after I blew out the candles."
Sirius shrugged and said, "It's practically the same. Both were related to the candles, so you should have known better."
"Especially around you," snorted James.
It certainly seemed like Sirius was getting back to his playful old self, but Marianne was still worried that he hadn't fully dealt with what his father had doneto him earlier that summer. It seemed as if he was putting on a show for Remus and Peter, trying to prove that nothing was wrong. Remus and Peter knew that Sirius was now living with James and they knew there was more to the story, but that was all Sirius had told them. James certainly wasn't going to break Sirius's trust by telling them.
"Just think," said Peter. "Soon we're going to be seventeen and we'll be of age."
"Speak for yourself, Wormtail," said Remus. "Prongs here has to wait an entire year for that."
Sirius smirked and playfully said, "Yeah, Prongs is the baby of the group."
Marianne stepped forward and gave James a smothering hug. Getting into the playful tone of conversation, she said, "He's my little baby!"
James patted her on the back and pulled away, saying, "Ha ha, very funny."
Marianne looked up at him, starting to feel rather short in his presence. "Well, it's rather hard to believe that my baby will be an adult soon."
"That's probably because he acts like a three year old half the time," muttered Remus, causing Peter to snigger.
"True," admitting Marianne, causing James to scowl. Smiling, she hugged him again and said, "We're just having fun with you, love. I'm still thrilled and proud of how you did on your O.W.L.'s. You too, Sirius," she added.
Sirius smiled and said, "Wasn't like they were difficult."
"Easy for you to say," said Peter. "Not everyone aced all their exams."
"Sirius didn't ace all of his exams," corrected James. "He only got an 'A' in Muggle Studies."
"Well at least I passed it," retorted Sirius. "I seem to recall you got a 'P' in Divination, Prongs."
"I didn't pass, either, Padfoot," said Remus.
"You guys didn't pass the Divination O.W.L.?" asked Peter.
"It's Divination," said James. "It's not like it's a real subject. I doubt anybody passed."
Peter nervously cleared his throat and said, "I passed."
James laughed and said, "Very funny, Wormtail."
"No really, I passed," repeated Peter.
James stared at him for a moment trying to decipher if Peter was trying to pull a fast one on him like Sirius had done with the birthday candles.
"What'd you get?" asked Remus.
"I got an 'E'," replied Peter.
Sirius started sniggering and said, "Nice try, Wormtail. I remember how you were freaking out after the exam, after what you had predicted about the examiners."
"You mean about Professors Tofty and Marchbanks?" said James. He started laughing.
"No, I really mean it, guys. I got an 'E'," insisted Peter.
Remus's eyes widened and he said, "Are you serious, Wormtail?"
"Yes!" Peter said, exasperated.
James and Sirius suddenly stopped laughing when they saw that Peter was serious. They turned to each other and said, "You don't suppose…?"
"Tofty and Marchbanks?" said Remus.
"What about them?" asked Marianne, unaware of Peter's O.W.L. prediction about the upcoming affair between the ancient examiners.
The four boys just looked at each other for several moments before erupting into disgusted groans.
"Eurgh!" exclaimed Sirius. "Please don't tell me they'll be at our N.E.W.T. exams. I don't think I'll be able to keep a straight face."
**************************************************************************************
A/N: I know, I know. I'm horrible. I've been neglecting this story and you guys. I swear I have not and will not give up on this. Life just kind of surprised me during the past few weeks. We're getting closer to the real meat of the story, so I can't give up after all that I've written! I do apologize, because my life is a bit more hectic lately. I will forewarn you that I will be out of the country for a few weeks next month, so I probably won't be able to get to a computer to write. I'll try really hard to get more up before I leave.
This chapter was sort of a transitional chapter to get through the summer, so I'm not entirely thrilled with it, but I'm glad to have it out of the way so I can start sixth year.
Many thanks to my wonderful reviewers: tiger fairy (x2), Golden Phoenix (x2), Anu, German Wings, Calypso, DreamAngel, britishbabe, delpheena, Remus'sweetie, Anonymous (x2), Jo Bob, Alicia78, missclearwater, RainDateChick, Mani12191, God'sgirl, granger1191 (x2), Watermelon!, kat black, shen (x2), sExYaZnBlOnDy, lily potter, phillygal, and dilna.