Saturday, October 25, 2008
Continue Story (I copy and paste from internet) - Chapter 2 - 'ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT YOU CAN'T FORGET'
CHAPTER 2
Harry was running around his manor frantically, trying to make sure everything was perfect. Ginny was coming home today, and he was throwing her and James a surprise party. He loved his home, an old mansion in the sleepy little town of
“Oh for goodness sake!” came a shout from the kitchen. He smiled. As he poked his head in to see what all the fuss was about he saw Sirius raiding the cupboards, watched by an irate
“Dad, could you please tell this git to stop pigging out and allow me to get ready for the party in peace!” she exclaimed the minute she saw Harry.
“Now, dear, Sirius is a guest.” he said, grinning. Nothing could dampen his good mood.
“He can hardly be called a guest, he lives two houses down!”
“Soweunelari.” Sirius choked out.
“That’s disgusting, you know.” said
“Yep.” he said, giving a huge swallow. “I said sorry Uncle Harry.”
Harry chuckled, “Help yourself.”
“Sirius, dear, did I mention I hate you?”
“Many times. But you know you can’t resist me, really.” Sirius said, smiling charmingly at her. She rolled her eyes. Harry laughed outright.
“Oh, I pity your poor, poor parents!” he said, grinning at his godson. He left Liz to badger him for a little while after telling them both he expected them to be in their dress robes in two hours, and continued his inspection of the house.
He was polishing his cabinet in the sitting room for the twelfth time when he heard someone apparate into the garage. Hermione, flushed from the cold, came rushing in, took one look at him with a feather duster in his hand and burst out laughing.
“What?” he asked, bemused.
“Harry, you’re my best friend, but right now you look just like an old lady. Now come on, the house is spotless, and you need to get ready.”
“Where’s the herd?” he asked.
“Ron’s bringing the kids a little later, I came over to help you cook. We’ve got three hours so it’s going to be a bit tight, but we can manage. Molly’s coming soon as well.” She smiled. She was dressed in light green dress robes with her hair up in a bun, whispies flying around her cheeks. They made their way down the hall, and when Harry entered his room to change, she called “Harry, wear the blue ones!” through the door.
She went to check on the girls. Nicole was already dressed in black satin, and was now helping Gen, who was in light blue, braid her hair. When she came to
“Hi.” he said, looking up at her.
“Hi, Sirius, what are you doing?”
“I’m waiting for CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO TAKE FOREVER” he replied, yelling into the closed door. The door creaked open and a green eye appeared in the crack.
“Aunt Hermione, is that you? Could you do my hair like you did at Uncle Bill’s Easter party last year, it’s totally hopeless.” she said, sounding frustrated.
“Oh, of course!” Hermione said happily as Liz opened the door a bit wider to allow her inside.
“Oh, and Sirius, no one asked you to wait.” She smirked. Oh, yeah, and what else was he supposed to do, clean? Everyone else was getting ready, it’s not like he chose to talk to her in the first place. He could go home, of course, but he was too lazy to walk down the road.
He was quite tired. The sunlight streaming in from the open window coupled with the musical tone of Liz’s voice lulled him to sleep. He was crossing the threshold from the land of the conscious into the world of dreams.
Thump.
The door had opened and he fell backwards painfully, hitting his head.
“In the name of Godric, Liz, what did you do that for?!” he exclaimed, getting to his feet and rubbing his head.
“Well, I usually open my door when I want to come out.”
“Haha, very...” he stopped. All the breath had been knocked out of him as he caught his first glimpse of Liz. She looked stunning. Of course, Liz was absolutely gorgeous, he’d always known that, but her being annoying and evil had outweighed her beauty. But right now all he could do was stare. She was dressed in floating emerald green robes that matched her eyes perfectly, her hair up and curled, laced with baby’s breath. The pair of diamond earrings dangling from her ears didn’t even shine brighter than her eyes.
“Wow.” he said before his brain had caught up with his mouth. He mentally kicked himself almost immediately. To his utter surprise however, Liz smiled and, no it couldn’t be, was that a blush? He smiled back, realized what he was doing, and stopped. ‘No, man, you’re not going there. This is Liz Potter were talking about, your arch nemesis, the girl you swore you’d hate forever at the age of two. She’s evil! But the way her eyes sparkle...urgh, did I actually just say that, I mean think that?’
“Oh put your eyes back in your head and come on!” Liz snapped, already halfway down the hall. The last bit of rosiness in her cheeks was receding. “Boys!”
They passed the portrait that usually housed Sirius Black, but he must have been his other portrait at Hogwarts today, for the frame was empty. Liz’s grandparents waved and smiled at them. Albus Dumbledore, however, spoke.
“Ah, Miss Potter, lovely day isn’t it? And young Mr. Lupin as well! Tell me, how’s the new addition to the family?” He asked, blue eyes twinkling.
“He’s great, wait until you see him, looks just like dad.” Liz replied enthusiastically.
“How many people are coming to this thing?” Sirius asked as they walked away from Dumbledore.
“Oh, a fair few.” she said. She actually wasn’t sure, but her family was huge, so it would obviously be very big. “Oh, but I’m supposed to greet people at the door and since you’re here, you can help!”
“Great.” Liz missed the sarcasm.
The smell of roast chicken reached them as they came down the last flight of stairs and made their way towards the kitchen. When they opened the door a loud screech was followed by a small elf running toward them.
“Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Sirius, I haven’t seen you since the end of the school year. How are’s you. Dobby is very, very happy to see you again!”
“Hey, Dobby, how’s it going?” Sirius asked, grinning. “Thanks for all the midnight snacks, by the way.”
“Sirius!” Liz exclaimed in outrage. “If Aunt Hermione had heard you! She’s worked so hard to get the elves wages and people like you still take advantage of them.”
“Oh, hark, who’s talking? Could it be the girl I found sneaking out of the kitchen using the Marauders Map while I was going down.” He laughed at the look on her face. “Now Lizzie darling, if looks could kill...”
“Call me Lizzie one more time and you’ll wish looks could kill.”
“Oh dear, was that a threat? Not Prefect Potter threatening a poor defenseless fellow student! What would Headmistress McGonnagal say?”
Ring-ring.
“Come on, that’s the doorbell. Please try to behave yourself.” She said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door. Like he would actually crash a family party celebrating a birth. Of course, after last year’s Christmas party, he couldn’t really blame her.
“Wouldn’t think of anything else.”
Liz opened the door to find Hagrid on the other side with an armful of presents and a grin just as large. He pulled them both into a bone crushing hug. Their heads knocked together.
“Hi Hagrid.” Liz choked. He must have noticed that Sirius was turning blue for he released them.
“Sorry. Forgot me strength.”
“So how’s being back at Hogwarts suiting you.” Sirius asked, rubbing his neck. Hagrid, being the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, spent his summers in
“Ah, grea’ as always.” he said, taking his coat off and putting the gifts on the table.
“Your quite early, actually.” Liz said, checking her watch. “Dad’s in the kitchen with Aunt Hermione and Grandmom if you want to go say hello.” He went through the house to greet them and Liz and Sirius sat down on a bench by the door to wait for more people.
Sirius looked down at the top of Liz’s head. She really was quite short. He himself was just a half inch shy of six feet and he had a good nine inches on her. He’d never really noticed the little things about her but for some reason he did now. Her hair was poker straight but she always had a piece that came loose from the rest no matter how hard she tried to keep it up. It hung down tickling her cheek, where she furiously tucked it behind her left ear, only to fall down again. Her skin was very pale, but not ghostly, more luminous. There was a hint of the freckles prominent to the Weasley side, but no more. Her long, black eyelashes set off the green in her eyes. She was tiny, like her mother, but had her father’s thin face. He suddenly realized as though a lightening bolt had struck him how beautiful she really was. Her hair broke free of her ear again. Sirius had the mad urge to reach out and return it to its rightful place.
‘She’s evil.’ a voice in the back of his mind whispered. But was she really? He’d seen her with her friends and her sisters and her personality was nothing but sweet. There were no biting remarks, no boiling anger, none of the wrath of Elizabeth May Potter he had grown so accustomed to. On the other hand, he was not anywhere near as arrogant and reckless as he appeared to be around her. They seemed to bring out the worst in each other.
It seemed she sensed his eyes on her. She raised her eyebrows as she looked up. Sirius opened his mouth to speak.
Ring-ring. Stupid doorbell.
He got up to open the door and found himself face to face with his parents.
“Mum! Dad! Fabulous to see you again, really.”
“Oh hello Aunt Tonks, Uncle Remus, did you put something strange in his food this morning, he’s being helpful.” Liz cut in with a completely straight face.
They both chuckled. Tonks said, “No, but I wish I would have thought of that sooner.”
“Here, we can take your cloaks.” Sirius said, ignoring the attack on his character. His parents and little sister, with normal appearance, entered the room. “Where’s Violet?” he asked, noticing the absence of his youngest sibling.
“Well, the party may go on quite late and you know how fussy she can get.”
They were about to close the door when the Longbottom’s appeared on the other side. Neville happily greeted them, Luna smiled at them and said a dreamy hello,
“Oh Merlin, you two are talking.”
“Shush.” Liz muttered, nudging her. “The party’s in the dining room.” she added. The rest of the guests filed in at a quick pace. Fred, George, and company all stopped to talk loudly, asking when they could set off the fireworks. Liz said later. Best to let her father deal with that. Shortly after a flustered Ron showed up with Arthur and Jane, muttering something about a sleeping drought. Bill, Fleur, and Renee came in, hugging everyone they saw. Charlie wouldn’t be coming as he was back in
“A fair few?!” Sirius asked Liz from under a tottering pile of cloaks. “I’m surprised the bloody minister isn’t here.”
“Dad doesn’t really like the minister.” Liz said, thinking of Rufus Scrimgeour with distaste. “Always said he’s hopelessly dense.”
A frantic Harry came running down the stairs.
“She’s coming!” he yelled to the assembled guests. They all hushed immediately. Liz turned off the lights.
The door opened and she heard her grandfather’s voice. “Oh, no dear I don’t know why it’s dark...”
“SURPRISE!” they all yelled together as Liz flipped the lights back on. Sirius stood on the bench.
“May I present the ravishing Ginevra Weasley Potter and her pride and joy, the handsome James Harry Potter!”
“Sirius, get down!” Liz exclaimed, but she was laughing.
“Ahh, Miss Potter here seems to have a problem with my introduction. Perhaps she’s jealous? Or perhaps she thinks she can do better?” He said, grabbing her hands and pulling her up on the bench with him.
“Don’t.” she said, trying to keep a straight face. He gave her a puppy dog look. “Oh, alright. May I present my lovely Mum, and my adorably sweet baby brother, home once again.”
“Weak.” Sirius muttered. The whole room burst into laughter. Harry walked up to his wife and put his arm around her shoulders. Everyone went into the dining room to eat, leaving Liz and Sirius alone.
Sirius jumped down from the bench and held out a hand to help Liz. She took it. He started to walk towards the dining room, but she grabbed his arm.
“What?” he asked.
“Why are you being so nice?” she blurted.
“What, I’m not always nice?” he asked, only half joking.
“No, your not. Usually you insult me, and make fun of me, and humiliate me, but you haven’t tonight. You’ve helped and you even paid me a compliment. Why?”
“Maybe I was just tired of us being at each other’s throats all the time.” he muttered. “You’re not always an angel either, you know. Do you think I like it when you tell me you hate me every five seconds?! Why do you hate me so much anyway?”
“I...I don’t know.” She sounded taken aback.
“Well maybe you should think about it sometime.” he said weakly. He walked away, and was glad to see that the two remaining seats were at opposite ends of the table. He sat between his father and Becca, staring moodily down at his plate. He glanced at his parents, who were holding hands as they talked to Ron and Hermione sitting across from them. He wondered vaguely if they’d always been that at ease, got along that well.
Liz came in a few minutes later and sat between her mother and Renee at the head of the long table. She looked okay, but Sirius saw her wipe a single tear off her cheek when no one was looking. He immediately felt a twinge of guilt.
Why does she do this to him? He could get her so riled up he couldn’t think straight one minute and make him feel as low down as a flobberworm the next. He really didn’t understand women.
Harry was making a speech. Ginny was smiling fondly at him, their new addition asleep in her lap. The dinner was great as always, but Sirius didn’t eat much. The party would have been wonderful if he’d been in a better mood. He’d been to a lot of the Weasley family’s parties, but the Potter’s were always the best. Liz seemed determined to keep him from having fun however. Even though she was not really doing anything to him the absence of her smile was enough.
At around midnight the guests started to disperse. The Lupin family made their way towards the door, exchanging last minute goodbyes with the Potters. Liz didn’t meet his eyes when she wished them a good night. That’s it, he couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’d like a word.” he said, grabbing her arm and leading her into a side hall.
“I’m sorry.” he said the minute he let her go.
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “Me too.” They looked into each other’s eyes for a long while before Sirius surprised them both and pulled her into a hug.
“Sirius.” she whispered into his ear, “I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t hate you either.” he replied.
“Good.” she said, pulling away. She was smiling. The room lit up when she smiled.
“I’d better go. Bye Lizzie.”
“Don’t call me Lizzie!”
Sirius grinned. Everything was back to normal.
**********
Liz was laying on her bed, flipping through her schoolbooks in her pajamas. She was in quite a good mood. She’d just taken a sip of hot chocolate when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” Renee, Lynn, Celeste, and Nicole all trooped in. The three former were all staying the night at the house.
“What’s this?” Liz asked, eying them suspiciously. They were armed with popcorn and more hot chocolate.
“Girls night in, of course!”
“Oh, and what might these be?” Liz asked, her curiosity peaking.
“Well, you see, Nicole was observing you when...”
“Spying.” Renee interjected.
“My own sister, spying on me?” Liz exclaimed, throwing popcorn at her.
“Yes, well that’s not the point.”
“Oh.” Her heart sank. “You saw that?”
“Yes I most certainly did! ‘I don’t hate you, Sirius’” she imitated
“So I said I didn’t hate him, what’s the big deal?”
“You hugged him!” her sister screeched.
“Correction, he hugged
“That’s not much of a difference.” Celeste pointed out.
“Yes, it is!” she said indignantly.
“Oh come on, you can tell us, were family!” Renee exclaimed.
“Yes, were here to listen to your confessions about how you find him completely irresistible and devilishly handsome.”
“Oh yeah, how would you like, oh lets say, the entire school to know all about your ‘feelings’ for a certain Andrew Weasley?”
Her eyes got wide. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Liz grinned. “Try me.”
# posted by Sek Koon @ 9:12 AM 
