Yrie's LJ

USA

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:46:20 GMT

So - and this is totally embarrassing - I'm a closet USA Original Series fan. I always start out going "I'm not going to like this" and end up being totally enraptured. On many a Friday night, I'm chugging caffinated beverages so I can stay up late enough to watch Psych. Yes. I know, I suck at life.

So, for those of you who don't watch USA Original Series, Psych is in mid-season hiatus and there's now another new show filling its spot during that hiatus. I was like - cool! Early bedtime Fridays! But no, I watched that show and it didn't completely suck and I have a bad feeling I'll probably end up watching that one. I blame Saved By The Bell; the new show has Kelly Kapowski married to an FBI agent and I am really amused by this.

I'm not sure what this says about me.

Nothing good.

RIP, Patrick Swayze

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:22:10 GMT

Here's a clip from one of my favorite chick flicks (and you know that's a very short list). *sad*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo

Hm, maybe this self help book doesn't totally suck

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:22:22 GMT

So, I finally caved to peer pressure and bought Now, discover your strengths. I took their quiz and it actually pegged me straight on. Like uber scary how well it knew me. And reading the reasons people are scared to embrace their strengths professionally made me tear up because I actually feel like that! So - I suppose peer pressure was right and this is a good book. I hardly slept last night because I was up so late reading it. And it's a nonfiction book where things don't blow up.

In other news, I feel a bit offended by Stupid Idiot who was working at the B&N. When I showed up to purchase the aforementioned book, there were a ton of women in the store and the parking lot was packed. No one is ever at the B&N. WTF? I wonder. I manage to park and go into the store, where there are even more women. I fear that perhaps Stephanie Meyer is around, but realize there aren't enough screaming tween girls for that to be the case. Temporary relief. I go to the help desk. "What's going on?" I ask. Stupid Idiot tells me that author-whose-name-I-forget is signing his book and hadn't I ever heard of him? I stare at him blankly, then explain that if author-whose-name-I-forget does not write science fiction or fantasy, then I can promise him I'd never heard of him. Stupid Idiot says, "You'd probably like him. He's really popular with women in their twenties and thirties." I say, "Does he write science fiction or fantasy?" Stupid Idiot says, "No" then goes on to explain that author-whose-name-I-forget writes books they turn into chick flicks. Did I not twice tell Stupid Idiot that I like science fiction and fantasy? *headdesk*

Crack

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:45:38 GMT

In honor of finding the "A Very Potter Musical" Soundtrack online, I took fifteen minutes to write this up. It's pure crack. As always, I own nothing.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. A Very Potter Musical belongs to StarKidPotter.

“Malfoy’s up to something,” Harry exclaimed once the classroom door shut behind them. “I know he is!”

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. “Not again,” Ron murmured.

“Harry, I know you have your reasons for thinking something’s going on,” Hermione started.

“He’s working for Voldemort, Hermione,” Harry insisted, cutting her off before she could finish.

“He is spending an awful lot of time in the library,” Ron admitted. “I mean, Malfoy’s not Hermione. It’s a bit odd how he’s taken up residence at the table across from hers.”

“He has?” Hermione asked.

“You haven’t noticed. You’re too busy studying hard to be a good witch,” Ron told her. “Anyway, he’s there every time we come to get you for dinner, pouring over piles of parchment.”

“See?” Harry exclaimed. “He must be doing research for Voldemort.”

Hermione sighed. “Think about it, Harry. Why would Voldemort have Malfoy do his research for him? That just doesn’t make any sense.”

“You know,” Ron offered, “We could just take the invisibility cloak down there, wait until he leaves, and look at what he’s doing.”

Harry and Hermione both stared at him.

Ron shrugged, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “It was just a suggestion.”

“Well,” Hermione started hesitantly, “I suppose that would be one way to figure it out once and for all.”

“And I do have the cloak…” Harry continued. They exchanged another look before he pulled the cloak from his bag. “Come on.”

Surprisingly, Hermione didn’t protest that sneaking into the library after hours was a violation of the rules. Instead she joined Harry and Ron under the cloak as they made their way to the library. By the time they reached their destination, Madam Pince had already locked up for the night. A quick Alohamora from Hermione and they were inside.

“Okay, now where?” Harry asked, pulling the cloak off their heads.

“Honestly. It’s like you two don’t know your way around the library in the dark,” Hermione complained.

“Hermione, we don’t know our way around the library in broad daylight,” Ron pointed out.

She let out a little humph as she led them across the darkened room. “I usually sit here.” She stopped in front of a table that was stacked high with books.

“What are all of these?” Ron waved a hand at the books.

“Oh, just some light reading,” Hermione remarked, nonchalant.

“Lumos,” Harry interrupted them before Ron could respond, holding out his wand. “Look. Malfoy’s left whatever it is he’s working on.” He leaned over the table in front of Hermione’s and frowned.

“What is it?” Ron asked as he and Hermione huddled over the table.

Hermione snatched up the top sheet of parchment and stared at it. “It’s an application.” Her eyes widened as they scanned across the document. “Malfoy’s attempting to transfer.”

“To where?” Ron asked. “Durmstang?”

“They teach the Dark Arts as part of the curriculum there,” Harry told them. “I told you this had something to do with Voldemort.”

“Except he’s not transferring to Durmstang,” Hermione said, handing the application to Harry and picking up the next page of parchment. She made a face “I think this is supposed to be his personal essay. Honestly, don’t they teach proper grammar in the Wizarding world?” She rolled her eyes as she set the essay back on the table. "At least this is harmless." She crossed her arms and stuck Harry with a look. “Now do you believe me that Malfoy’s not up to something?”

Harry read over the application one more time, shaking his head. “I guess you were right, Hermione.” He sighed as he returned the parchment to the table. “I just…I could have sworn Malfoy was thinking up some master plan where he’d sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts through the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement as part of a constantly backfiring, convoluted plan to kill Dumbledore, and, here, all he wants is to attend Pigfarts.”

You're Welcome

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:39:24 GMT

Fans of "A Very Potter Musical" - now you can get the soundtrack. There are a couple of the characters who are now played by different people on the soundtrack than in the actual show, but the leads are all the same. Linky: http://dimby.net/2009/08/a-very-potter-musical-soundtrack/

And if you haven't seen A Very Potter Musical, get ye to YouTube immediately!

WTF, Self?

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:09:55 GMT

Somehow, I haven't been on my lj for like a month. I don't know what is up with that. What did I do this past month? Okay, so there was a week of vacay but other than that...I mean, I just worked and stuff. How did I not get on lj? Seriously?

*great sadness*

Harry Potter Meme, stolen from Mi

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:35:34 GMT

Oh, you know I couldn't resist THIS.

List the books in order from your favourite to your least favourite.
1. Goblet of Fire (It gets all dark and people start dying. Of course I loved it).
2. Prisoner of Azkaban (Two Words: Remus Lupin)
3. Deathly Hallows (This would have been higher if it omitted the epilogue. And Remus had lived)
4. Order of the Phoenix (Darkness and Angst! Darkness and Angst!)
5. Chamber of Secrets
6. Half Blood Prince (Nothing happens for 100s of pages, then Snape kills Dumbledore)
7. Sorcerer's Stone (Because in it, Harry Potter is such a classic Gary Stu, I nearly didn't read the rest of them)

List the movies in order from your favourite to your least favourite.
1. Sorcerer's Stone (No one does faithful adaptations anymore these days; kudos to someone for doing it like the book)
2. Half-Blood Prince (It's rare for me to say this, but: better than the book)
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Goblet of Fire
6. Order of the Phoenix (Complete waste of my money)

Top 5 favourite characters?
Only five? In no particular order: Hermione, Remus, Neville, Fleur, and Tonks
Honorable Mention goes to DH-Dudley, just because of his growth as a character.

5 least favourite characters?
In no particular order: Dobby, Ginny, Winky, Narcissa, and any dragon.

Favourite Unforgivable Curse?
Don't really feel one way or the other about them.

Favourite mode of wizard transportation?
I always wanted to orb when I watched Charmed; I suppose apparation is the HP version of that.

Favourite magical object to own?
I never hear of Hermione having to clean Crookshanks litter box. I assume it's some magical self cleaning litter box. I want one.

Favourite Weasley?
Bill

Favourite non-human Hogwarts resident?
Are werewolves considered human or non-human?

Favourite couple?
Remus/Tonks. I also ship Harry/Hermione.

Biggest surprise of the series?
I was spoiled for most of it so it's not like I was shocked by things that happened in OotP and HBP. I'll go with JKR pulling a Del Rey in Book 7.

Biggest letdown of the series?
The epilogue. Killing Remus.

One character you wish lived?
REMUS

One character you wish had died?
One of the damn Malfoys. How come they get to live happily ever after?

Moment that will always make you cry?
Always? I don't think there's an always cry point for me.

Ron/Hermione or Harry/Hermione?
Harry/Hermione. Nothing against Ron, but I don't think him and Hermione make any sense. They'd kill each other in real life if they were married.

Which house would you want to be in?
All the little quizzy things put me in Hufflepuff

Would you ever enter the Triwizard tournament?
Why would I want to do a damn fool thing like that?

Do you think you would enjoy being a witch/wizard?
Not sure. I'm not exactly a fan of their curriculum. What fun is going to school if you don't get to learn English Lit or Calc or foreign language...okay, I could do without the foreign language.

meme stolen from Yubsie

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:52:01 GMT

List the first lines of your last twenty stories. See if you find any patterns.

I'm not sure what pattern I see other than the fact that I write about Wedge and Janson a lot.

1. The knock on his door was so soft he barely heard it. [Harry Potter]

2. “I need you to be my boyfriend.” [Harry Potter]

3. He’d stared out the front of his cockpit at the star lines for at least twenty minutes, reliving the defeat over and over in his mind, when his headset com finally came to life. [Star Wars: Pash Cracken]

4. The problem with being a member of a resistance group trying to overthrow the government was – well, there were many problems, such as lack of decent food, having to spend massive amounts of time in hiding, the wanted posters…. But the current problem was that their small, hidden base was too small. [Star Wars: Wedge Antilles]

5. It was going to be the longest two weeks of his life. [Star Wars: Janson & Hobbie]

6. Janson set down his mug of caf. [Star Wars: Fab Four]

7. It was one of those simple things that he absolutely had to have to be functional. [Star Wars: Wedge Antilles]

8. Seven draped caskets. [Star Wars: Rhysati]

9. “You know everyone.” [Star Wars: Mirax]

10. It was just a harmless little round mirror. [Harry Potter]

11. This whole experience definitely ranked up there on his list of “Ten Things I Never Want To Do Again.” [Star Wars: Doran Tainer]

12. The summer I was fifteen was a particularly lonely one. [To Kill A Mockingbird]

13. He awoke to absolute darkness and tangled, sweaty sheets. [Underworld]

14. “It’s my room, too!” [Charmed]

15. “Oh hell!” [Star Wars: Janson & Inyri]

16. “Who do we have next?” [Star Wars: Gavin & Inyri]

17. He hadn’t expected to finish running his errands this soon. [Star Wars: Doran Tainer]

18. “And that’s when I realized I should never again try to cook,” Wedge finished. [Star Wars: Wedge Antilles]

19. The graduation hat wasn’t what she expected. [Star Wars: Cheriss & Janson]

20. Kal’s Fine Corellian Restaurant had been one of the top Coruscant dining establishments since 7 BBY. [Star Wars: Ensemble Cast]

Pro-pilotfic I want

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:59:23 GMT

As a joke, I scripted a fake letter to Del Rey, asking for them to write a book for me. Although I'd very seriously buy and love this book, if I were really going to write to Del Rey, I'd clearly be more respectful, etc.

Nonetheless, the plot synopsis (which is based on every X-wing book ever written because they all use the same formula) was just so shiny, I had to share. So without further ado, here is an excerpt from the letter in question (the 'you' is Del Rey):

Syal Antilles takes over/reforms Rogue Squadron (since you insist she must be a pilot, let her do pilotty things). Enter eleven OC's (before you get all up in arms about this, remember that it worked very well when Stackpole did it, even if we did have to read about how great Corran Horn was for four books). Syal and her eleven OC's train for a short period of time, then take off on a mission. I don't really know what great disaster you have in wait for the GFFA but I'm sure you have one since you're always doing horrible things there. Honestly, the place is worse than the middle east with it's unrest. So just enter your political unrest/war/violent issue of the week. Syal and her OC's take off on a mission to help handle aforementioned unrest/war/violence, where they get into a spot of trouble. They are then aided by Doran Tainer at the last minute, and he helps them escape without too much loss. Because he's now involved and can't quite get uninvolved, he joins them for the rest of their misadventures in the novel, during which time romance blooms between him and Syal. (If you don't remember who Doran Tainer is, he's a JEDI (you love them) whose father and mother used to fly with Wedge. His mom raised him away from Luke&Co on Yavin, so chances are he isn't crazy like the rest of them. We hope). Syal, Doran, and the remaining redshirts and OC's-who-will-actually-be-important need a place to lie low for a bit and lick their wounds, and they end up on Tanaab where Wes and Inyri hide them for a short period of time. Syal, Doran, and one or two of the important OC's come up with a plan to Fix Their Mess, and depart from Tanaab to set such plan into motion. The plan works, although a redshirt or two dies, and Syal and Doran emerge victorious, although there was a tense moment where one of them almost dies and the other realizes their Twu Feelings. Such Twu Feelings remain as unresolved sexual tension to be dealt with in the sequels.

I can only hope someday, someone writes this novel.

Musicalness

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:12:05 GMT

So one of my friends just discovered les mis. We were talking about how awesome it is, and this prompted me to think of the musical parts I really want to play.

(1) My number one I-really-want-to-do-this-once-in-my-life would be Christine from Phantom. Even if it's just covering one song for Broadway night I was 14 when I went to NYC for the first time and saw this musical. It was also my grandmother's favorite. So there's a lot of history behind it.
- - - Why I could do it: I've got a huge range
- - - Why I could not do it: My range currently tops out at the D#/Eb above Soprano C; the part requires the E. I've been working on extending my range and we haven't found the top yet. There's still hope.

(2) Eponine from Les Mis. It's angsty and the whole the-guy-I-love-loves-my-friend thing just resonates. Every girl's been there at least once.
- - - Why I could do it: I can rock out the low F without any vocal strain
- - - Why I couldn't do it: Les Mis is a sung-through; that's a lot of lyrics not to mess up/switch around, something I'm infamous for doing (though it's only happened once during an actual performance).

(3) Amneris from Aida. Ever since I heard "My Strongest Suit," I've wanted to play this part. It's also the character with the most growth in the story (you know how I am on that stuff). Despite my voice being more suited for the title role, I just love Amneris to pieces.
- - - Why I could do it: For a tomboy, I am amazingly good at portraying snooty and shallow.
- - - Why I couldn't do it: There's a high F that needs to be sung with belt. I have a belt and a high F, but it's hard to get the belt to combine with the F.

(4) Galinda/Glinda from Wicked. This is one I want to play for the comedic aspect of it. Also, see above comment about portraying shallowness. This is another one of those musicals where my voice is more suited for the title role, but I want the other role.
- - - Why I could do it: I can do both the belt and the classical parts
- - - Why I couldn't do it: The role is very acting-heavy as well and my experience there is lacking, considering my last major acting role was as Christmas Tree 5 in the 3rd grade play.

Of course, all of this is just speculation. I won't be moving to NYC anytime soon. It's just fun to think about and analyze.

Oh, and my honorable mention - I want to play Draco Malfoy in A Very Potter Musical. But that doesn't much count so I'm not even going to analyze.

Fanfiction I never want to see again (and one I desperately want to see)

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:07:27 GMT

Okay, we all know I love me some badfic. I go looking for it because, well, I don't know. I just like it. We all have our guilty pleasures. Harlequin romances at the supermarket and badfic online are mine.

Nonetheless, there are a couple of fics that I never want to see again. In no particular order, the three dreaded fanfics of the day are....

(1) "The Fifth Marauder" - There are four Marauders. James, Sirius, Remus, and (yes) Peter (who used to be friends with James, Sirius, and Remus. No, trust me, he used to be their friend. JKR says so. Stop arguing with me about this). Lily is not a Marauder. Serena Isabelle Merriwether Moonshine is not a Marauder (and I'm pretty sure not even a realistic addition to JKR's universe). Sirius has ONE sibling, his brother Regulus. Therefore, Sirius's younger sister Arabella Rene Black cannot exist, nor can she be Remus Lupin's one twu wuv (that would be Nymphadora Tonks). James is an only child (this means he doesn't have a younger sister named Arabella Rene Potter who is Sirius's one twu wuv). I love badfic and Mary as much as the next girl, but I don't think even I can sit through another one of these.

(2) "Harry has a Twin Sister" - Harry is an only child. He does not have an older sister, a younger sister, a twin sister...nothing. For all the reasons "The Fifth Marauder" is annoying, so is Harry's Twin Sister.

(3) "Bella Goes To Hogwarts" - Okay, first of all, it contains Bella of Twilight fame (or infamy). Second, Bella has no magical ability what-so-ever (unless you count her ability to make me want to bang my head against the desk as feminism dies as magic). Third, I'd like to point out a continuity issue in that Twilight appears to be set in present day and Harry Potter is set ten years ago (despite what Warner Brothers apparently believes). Fourth, it contains Bella of Twilight fame. I suppose I should be happy that Edward only shows up and sparkles about half the time.

As for fic I want to see....

This would be the greatest crack fic ever: Luna Lovegood meets Detective Munch. Not in a "romance" way, but just in a "let's hang out and talk conspiracy theory" way. I would love to read that fic. Bonus points for X-files references.

You know, I don't think it's that I like badfic. I think it's that I like crackfic. There's probably a difference.

You Guys!

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:11:19 GMT

You have got to watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

Thanks to Yubsie for linking me to it.

Half Blood Prince (movie!verse)

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:44:03 GMT

So, my day took a turn for the OMGYAY when I went to see Harry Potter this morning. My overall take – if you like Harry Potter, you will probably like this movie. It was definitely better than HP5 and I thought it was better than 4.

I am going to go over the parts of the movie in detail now. Anything that happened in the book, I’m not going to tag as a spoiler because the book has been out for over three years now. Anything that’s new to the movie, I will tag.

The Great:
One of the things that really stood out to me in this movie was the director’s use of light and shadow. While this symbolism can be overused/overly-cliché, I didn’t think that was the case in this movie. It wasn’t as subtle as Jackson’s LotR usage, but the way it was used was really powerful just the same. There’s a scene near the end where this is especially so and the hope that it radiated really struck a chord with me. Just a great job.

Also, the characters were so much more real this time. I especially found myself feeling bad for Draco Malfoy (who I never felt bad for while reading). I don’t know anything about the little boy who plays him, but I thought he did such a great job portraying how the weight of what he was caught up in started to affect him. Also, there’s a moment when Harry and Dumbledore are talking about the horcruxes and the expressions on the actor who plays Dumbledore’s face are so subtle but speaks volume about what that character is putting together. Very powerful. Just excellently done.

The Good:
The characters felt like people this time (with a few notable exceptions – see WTF?!). They reminded me of their book counterparts for the most part and they weren’t just one emotion/an emotion template. The whole spectrum was portrayed. On the back of my novel, there’s talk about how the 6th installment is supposed to focus on the homefront, and I think that really got carried through to the film through the many different and real emotions the characters display.

Lavender – hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. The girl needs to watch ‘How To Loose A Guy In 10 Days,’ but damn I laughed so much at her. And I felt bad for her when her and Ron break up, because I think she really did like him and he really does hurt her when things end between them. If she could calm her shit down, I might start shipping them.

The Plot – well, for one, it existed and you could follow it without having read the novel (already, we’re better than movie 5). And despite my complaints that “not a lot really happens in book 6 except learning the back-story” the movie kept moving at what felt like a fast pace. I didn’t even mind the quidditch scenes (gasp!).

Aragog’s funeral scene – I just really liked it.

The Bad:
Okay, let’s just get my shippiness out of the way first – despite Harry acting like he’s more interested in Hermione than Ginny, his dialogue is all about liking Ginny and not liking Hermione, which made my little shipper heart break. It’s not bad for the movie (and it’s – wince – canon); just bad for the shippers.

Several characters were severely underutilized. Much so more in the movie than in the book. For example, there was very little of the classes and such – as a result, you saw very little of the teachers. I think that’s a shame.

STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS

The WTF?!
Okay, so…there was a bit of a Harry/Luna vibe a couple of places that I just…I don’t know.

Christmas at the burrow. I don’t know what Christmas at the Burrow the movie was attempting to show, or who all it was attempting to claim were in attendance, but it’s resemblance to canon left much to be desired. As in there was no resemblance to canon at all. First, the whole Death Eaters attack and a ring of fire?! Excuse me?! And then DESTROYING the Burrow?! And the whole Harry chasing Bellatrix and Ginny chasing Harry thing? Just WTF?!

And, in a similar vein, I’m curious as to who the Weasley’s guests really were. They claimed to be Remus and Tonks, but I have doubts as to their actual identities. For one, alleged!Remus and alleged!Tonks appear to be in a serious relationship judging by their interactions (she speaks as if they’re living together and calls him ‘sweetheart’ a couple of times). Canon!Remus would be running for the hills at that point in time if Tonks even attempted to have a coupley moment with him. (It’s kinda his MO – something happens that could end good or bad, he runs away before it has a chance to end bad. Repeat). Also, while Canon!Remus does stand up for Snape during Christmas, he doesn’t do it in the angry, almost aggressive way Alleged!Remus does (if you ship Snupin, you may take much from this exchange). From my understanding of DH, Canon!Remus never acted in such a way towards/in front of Harry until the whole thing with him leaving Tonks came up. Speaking of Tonks, despite Alleged!Tonks apparently being in a relationship with Alleged!Remus, she appears the way Canon!Tonks does in book 6. What gives?

Finally, the whole thing with Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron deciding to hide the potions book – it felt like it came out of a mafia movie. Either that or “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Take your pick.

EDIT - One more WTF thing - I didn't realize the luck potion made you act like you were drunk. While many fanficcers have speculated on what a drunk Harry would be like, I think we now have an answer.

Even with the WTF stuff, I still really recommend this movie. Out of the last three (4, 5, 6) it's the best one.

Spell Check

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:18:55 GMT

I know I have the worst spelling known to man. Really, I do. And I get all messed up on homonyms. BUT - MS Word has a nifty little spell check feature so, as I'm writing a story, I can check and see if I'm, you know, spelling things properly.

Everyone misses a word here or there. But when I'm reading fic that could be decent if the author didn't misspell every other word, I have to wince.

Therefore, our lesson for the week boys and girls: Spell/Grammar Check Is Your Friend.

Astro, I blame my lack of sleep on you

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:38:16 GMT

Because I was up half the night thinking about certain crack SW ships/stories and smiling maniacally. You have no idea.

Happy Birthday Carr!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:05:34 GMT

Happy Birthday Carr!

Amusing

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:01:09 GMT

http://i.io9.com/5303443/seasteading-is-the-aquatic-answer-to-the-housing-crisis

I also wikipedia'd it and learned all about "Sealand" a non-recognized country in the North Sea on what was once an old English naval base. I must admit to being highly amused.

Done posting to ffn

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:28:16 GMT

I finally uploaded all my chapters of the Remus Sirius Friendship Fic on ffn.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5163545/3/Resurrecting_Moony

I currently have no outstanding fic projects.

Okay, except for that one which I'm not finishing. :p

Random

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:31:02 GMT

So, I present the flist with a fun link today: http://www.catsinsinks.com/

The site's domain name is self explanatory.

Myra!

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:50:36 GMT

Myra! You cannot tease me like that and then disappear! Whose bachelor party is it? I need to know!

In other news, tonight I learned that Flood 09 claimed the life of "The Writing Laptop." It no longer turns on. It was a good little laptop that lasted through many difficult trials these past six years. May it rest in peace.

Exhaustion....

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:18:02 GMT

I'm putting cuts. Because there's a lot of stuff here and I need to ramble.

So, we're home. This weekend, I have spent:

- 18 hours in a car (most of which were through interstate traveling).
---Of these, a good 15 were spent listening to the radio, which was playing Michael Jackson songs on the half hour in tribute and asking "when are they going to play Thriller?" Yes, I'm a child of the 80s. And yes, they finally played Thriller around 10 pm last night, somewhere between DC and Richmond, during which I did the dance as best as one can when sitting in a car. Oh, and yes, on Halloween, when they play Halloween songs on the half hour, I listen to the radio all day for the same reason. Why? See earlier remark re: Child of the 80s.
---Because of a missed turn, my cute little Chevy was in DC right in time for Friday rush-hour, which I spent with 1 million of my newest, closest friends sitting on the beltway. Time spent? Eh, lost count, but it was at least an hour.
---In addition to DC, there were a good 2 hours of not moving due to accidents. The four car pile-up just outside of Richmond was the worst.
- 9 hours asleep (not counting the nap I finally got today but counting Friday and Saturday nights; most of those hours were Friday night)
- 3 hours ignoring people I am supposedly related to by hiding at the open bar

The best part of the trip? That little sign that said "Welcome to North Carolina" that was passed exactly at midnight last night. It was an "OH THANK GOD" moment. Never been so happy to be home.

For those who didn't read the part under the cut, the only thing that's really important is the part where I said "I am a child of the 80s." I know Michael Jackson was really weird and...let's call it "had issues"...but, having grown up when I did, he had a pretty big effect on the pop culture of that time. So, for those who did grow up in the 80s (and for those who wish they did) I was able to scrounge up the original Thriller video online. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8. Bonus points to all members of my flist who have seen it before; double points to all members of my flist who can do the dance.

Also, Farrah Fawcett passed away this week as well. I grew up watching Charlie's Angels Reruns and pretending to be the different characters. I thought they were so cool. I'm not sure if anyone here is old enough to remember the TV show "Charlie's Angels," but I was super excited to find the opening credits for the pilot episode here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_daBHfjag. Yes, it was a good TV show before it became two absolutely terrible movies. No, I don't know why Hollywood keeps doing that.

Okay, I've got to go help with the lawn because it's been two weeks and the neighbors might revolt.

Resurrecting Moony - a.k.a. Remus Sirius Friendship Fic - Part Three

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:58:13 GMT

Disclaimer: Ri remains in mourning over the fact that she has no ownership rights to Harry Potter. The series, its characters, and its locals are the property of JK Rowling. Ri makes no money off her therapeutic fanficcing.

July 27, 1995

James once told him that true friends could sit together in silence, and, in the end, agree they’d had an excellent conversation. At the time, he’d looked James squarely in the eye and told him that he was daft. How could it be a conversation if no one said anything? In fact, it reminded him a bit of when his parents were furious about something and the silence was just better than the screaming. That wasn’t exactly the image he wanted of friendship.

Sitting silently in the kitchen beside another childhood friend and nursing a glass of some of his father’s finest firewhisky made him rethink his quick actions in writing off James’s theory so long ago. Sirius smiled slightly to himself as he sipped at his drink. It was good to have friends again. He’d known, of course, during those years in Azkaban, that he was alone. Now that he was sitting beside his closest living friend, he was hit with just how alone he had been, and how much he appreciated the friend currently sitting with him.

“Do you think we did Prongs proud?” Remus asked softly, breaking the silence.

Sirius nodded. “If there’s a heaven, I’m sure he’s looking down from there and applauding us.”

“To Prongs, then.” Remus held out his own glass of firewhisky.

Sirius clinked his glass against Remus’s and took a quick drink. The alcohol burned going down and he blinked three times in rapid succession. Beside him, he heard Remus give a little cough. Hard alcohol and Remus never mixed well. Sirius briefly wondered what people would think if they learned all those stories about werewolves having an incredible tolerance for liquor were false. Actually, he wondered what people would think if they learned of some of Remus’s finer moments at the hands of firewhisky. Until the day he died, he’d never forget the night Remus had gotten them into a spot of drunken trouble in a seedy part of London – a night in which things went from troublesome to bad to worse far too quickly – and how James had to come bail them out of it. Looking back, it seemed like James had done that a good deal. When had James become the responsible one? The one they counted on to rescue them and to fix things? Somewhere in there, he had.

“He got it, you know,” Sirius remarked, staring at his glass. “Prongs did. He understood it better than I ever did. Better than anyone, probably.”

“How to trash someone’s room?” Remus asked, a touch of amusement in his voice.

“No. Friendship.” Sirius reached for the bottle of firewhisky and topped off his drink. “Never met someone more loyal, more giving. He really would have died for us, you know.”

“I do.” Remus accepted the bottle offered to him and topped off his own glass. “Maybe it’s selfish, but sometimes I think he went after Severus that night more to save me than to save Snape.”

“He did,” Sirius told him. “You avoided most of our rows about that, but as someone who participated in them, trust me, that’s why he did it.” He’d never seen James so furious. Yes, James Potter would fight to the death to try to keep someone from hurting one of his friends, even if he’d once called the person he was fighting a friend. He always took on whatever risks necessary in order to protect the people closest to him – and did so up to the very end, when he stood between Voldemort and his family. Sirius was silent for a moment. “You know, some of them thought it was me.”

“Thought what was you?”

“The traitor. A couple of the members of the Order weren’t too sure about me. I overheard one of them telling James to keep me at arm’s length, to remember that blood is thicker than water. I sometimes wonder if that’s why James insisted on me instead of Dumbledore.” And what a wonderful decision that had turned out to be.

Remus said nothing for a long time as he occupied himself with his firewhisky. Finally, he set his glass back onto the table. “No one trusted anyone. Voldemort was very good at sowing seeds of doubt amongst his opponents.”

“No one trusted anyone,” Sirius repeated, “Yet we all trusted him.”

“Of course we did,” Remus’s voice became very matter-of-fact. “He was one of our best friends. You don’t expect your best friend to….” He trailed off. After a moment, he silently returned to his firewhisky.

“No, say it,” Sirius said bitterly. Most people didn’t expect their best friends to betray them. He wondered what that said about him, about how he measured his friendships. He’d been so certain it was Remus. So sure. Remus had been distant, had given the sort of half answers and half-truths he gave when he was hiding something. They all knew there was something he wasn’t telling them, and they all assumed the worst. All of them, except… “For the record, Lily never lost faith in you.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had,” Remus replied calmly. No, he probably wouldn’t have. Remus was always expecting people to lose faith in him, to abandon him. “I don’t blame any of you.”

“You bloody well should.” Sirius slammed his glass onto the table. “We were supposed to be your friends, Moony.”

Remus just shrugged in response. “It’s in the past, Padfoot. Just let it stay there.” He paused. “I’ve made peace with it.” Of course he had. Remus made peace with everything, whether or not he should. Remus sipped at his drink before adding, “And with you. Please. We’ve been down this road. We can’t change what happened; we can just move forward.”

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t fight Remus on this. He’d already tried and failed on several occasions. If James was the loyal one, Remus was the accepting one. Sirius wondered which one he was. The hotheaded trouble causing one? The one people trusted one they shouldn’t? The one whose bright ideas caused friends to be placed in mortal peril? “I am sorry, Remus.”

“I forgave you when I learned the truth, Sirius,” Remus replied softly. “And I meant it.”

They were silent again, each lost in their own thoughts. Sirius sipped at his firewhisky, walking through the what ifs in his mind again. Twelve years in prison, two years on the run…they never left him.

“For what it’s worth,” Remus broke the silence, “Thank you.”

Thank you? Sirius turned his head in surprise to look at the man sitting next to him, unable to think of a single reason he deserved gratitude at the moment. “What?”

“These past few months…it’s been difficult. I know I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with.” He sipped at his drink as if they were calmly discussing the weather instead of bearing their souls. “You didn’t give up on me, and I appreciate it.”

Sirius shook his head slightly, feeling a small smile work its way onto his face as he heard what wasn’t said even louder than what was. He couldn’t name a moment where he’d actually deserved the friends he had; for some reason, in spite of that, they seemed to be quite difficult to get rid of. “Well,” he tried his best to sound just a little flippant, “I did have an ulterior motive, you know. I really don’t want a – what is it, again?”

“Stodgy old curmudgeon,” Remus offered.

“Yes, I didn’t want a stodgy old curmudgeon as a housemate. I mean, I already have the crazy old bat in the hall and her insane little helper sneaking about doing who-knows-what. There’s only so much insanity allowed in this house, I’m sorry to say.” He rocked his chair back on two legs. “I’m happy to see you’ve been cured of your curmudgeon-ness.” Sirius took a sip of his drink. “Oh, and that you aren’t writing me poetry about Nymphadora, because, mate, I don’t think I could take another summer like that.”

“Whatever did happen to Abigail Learth?” Remus asked, pointedly ignoring the barb about Nymphadora. “I’ve always wondered, but I never tried to look her up.”

“Last I heard, she got hitched right before Harry was born,” Sirius told him. “Just think; it could have been you. If only you’d sent her that poetry you wrote about her.”

Remus groaned. “How much will I have to pay you to get those letters back?”

“Too late, Moony, they’re already gone.” He grinned and reached for the firewhisky bottle again.

“You destroyed them?” Remus sounded hopeful.

“Of course not.” Sirius glanced over at him and went for the kill, giving him a wicked smile. “I gave them to Nymphadora.”

The color drained from Remus’s face. “You didn’t.”

He started to laugh. “Of course I didn’t. They’re all safe and sound in my little hidey hole. If it means that much to you, we can burn them later. I may be a lot of things, Moony, but I’m not a complete bastard.”

There was a crash from upstairs. Ah, the twins were awake, and it sounded as if they’d just found the nice little present left for them by the Marauder Fairy.

“Well,” Sirius amended, setting his chair back on all four legs. “I’m not a complete bastard when it comes to my friends. Or at least, I try not to be. When it comes to annoying little gits, on the other hand…”

Another crash sounded upstairs, followed by the sound of a door being slammed open and angry, thumping footsteps on one of the landings.

“It appears our young houseguests have woken to discover our redecoration scheme,” Remus remarked happily. “More firewhisky?”

“I’m good, thanks.” Sirius waited and listened. Another door slam, then loud voices. In the hall, his mother’s portrait began to scream. He ignored it. Let the old bag howl away.

“You know,” Remus said thoughtfully, as if they were still sitting in relative silence and talking about serious, life changing matters, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget you re-introducing me to your mum.” He shook his head, then launched into a very accurate imitation of Sirius several weeks earlier. “‘Hey, Mum, this werewolf followed me home. Can I keep him?’”

Sirius laughed. “Yes. That was inspired, wasn’t it?”

There were footsteps pounding down the steps, and, in the hallway, Ronald could be heard yelling at the portrait.

“No, not inspired, but it was humorous nonetheless,” Remus replied.

“Fair enough.” Sirius clinked his glass against Remus’s. “Let’s drink to that.”

As they sipped from their glasses, the door to the kitchen swung open, admitting Fred and George. It was everything he could do not to start grinning like a fool. The twins were fuming, covered from head to foot in stink sap and several other wonderfully disgusting things.

It was one of the most beautiful things he’d seen in the past year. The only way it could possibly get better would be if it had happened to Snivellus. Or Molly.

Rocking his chair back on two legs, Sirius surveyed their handiwork and blew several strands of hair from his eyes. He glanced over at Remus, “Why, Mr. Moony,” he feigned surprise, “What do you suppose we have here?”

“Well, I can’t be certain, Mr. Padfoot,” Remus nursed his drink as he rocked back in his own chair, “But I believe we have two amateurs who fell victim to a very nefarious plot.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it nefarious, Moony,” Sirius remarked. “I’d just say these unfortunate young men were gotten by their betters.”

“Couldn’t say it better myself, Padfoot old friend.” Remus extended his glass towards Sirius.

He clinked his glass against his friend’s and took a long drink from it before smugly returning his attention to Fred and George. The twins’ expressions of outrage were gone, replaced by shock. Sirius grinned, “What? You didn’t think we had it in us?” He shook his head and imitated the clucking noise Molly used to express her disgust. “Honestly, gentlemen,” he laid his free hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

Fred opened his mouth but seemed to be unable to find words. His mouth opened and shut several times without making a sound.

“You know how I’m the stodgy old curmudgeon?” Remus commented. “Well, I believe you’re supposed to be the angry brooding ex-con, a person highly unlikely to have the slightest idea of how to have fun.”

“Now, Moony, I was only angry and brooding because you decided to ban fun,” Sirius protested jovially.

“A brief moment of insanity,” Remus assured him. “It won’t happen again.”

George made a little squeaking noise. He raised his right hand to point at Remus. “You?” The finger jerked to the side to point at Sirius and he repeated, “You?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Yes, us. You didn’t think it was Ginny, did you?”

George’s voice went up another octave, his face still one of complete shock. “You?”

“No,” Fred whispered, finally finding his ability to speak. His face had gone completely white.

Okay, this was getting a bit strange. While he’d expected some surprise from the twins, it should have been the short lived my-pride-took-a-hit shock, not the absolute shell-shock the two boys were currently exhibiting. They looked as if every truth they held about the world was instantly shattered into a million pieces. Cocking his head to the side, Sirius exchanged a glance with Remus.

His friend took it from there. Clearing his throat, Remus set his chair back on all four legs, placed his drink on the table, and calmly folded his hands together in front of it. “Are you two alright?”

“You’re Moony?” Fred asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “But, but…you were a professor!”

Remus’s face split into a large smile. “Very good, Mr. Weasley. Two for two. Take twenty points for Gryffindor,” he remarked.

Sirius grinned as everything fell into place. So future generations of Hogwarts students knew of the infamous adventures of Mssrs. Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. James would be proud. They’d always hoped to one day become Hogwarts legends, especially James. Their last night in the dorm, the two of them laid awake talking, listening to Remus and that-other-roommate snore while discussing their legacy. “Lily would be horrified if she knew,” James had remarked, “But I rather hope that I’m remembered more for the trouble the four of us got up to than for anything I did on the Quidditch pitch.” Sirius had completely agreed with the sentiment. Now, years later, it looked like they succeeded. He raised his glass towards the ceiling. This one’s for you, Prongsie.

George made another little squeaking noise.

Fred turned to look at Sirius. “And you’re Padfoot. I, I, I don’t believe it….”

“You’re my heroes!” George suddenly blurted out before Sirius could respond to Fred. “Ever since first year! I’ve wanted to be you!”

Remus looked as surprised by the outburst as Sirius felt. “Well,” Remus found his voice first. “I can honestly say that’s the first time anyone’s ever said that about me.”

“Now, Moony. You have a lot of characteristics people consider heroic,” Sirius commented. “Let’s see. You’re probably the bravest bloke I know, you can be downright wicked when you want to be,” he began to count on his fingers, “You’re good at casting an impression of innocence so people never suspect you – I still want to learn how you do that, you know. Let’s see, what else…”

“Sirius, a moment, please.” Remus interrupted his list and turned to the twins. “Out of curiosity, how do you know about Moony and Padfoot?”

“‘Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,’” George said, as if reciting a lesson.

“‘Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers,’” Fred continued. “‘Are proud to present.’”

“‘The Marauders Map,’” they finished together.

“Ah. So that’s where Harry got it.” Remus smiled. “I always had trouble believing he stole it from Filch himself. He’s got too much of Lily in him.”

“Our greatest achievements are because of you,” George told them. “Did I tell you that you’re my heroes?”

“Yes, we caught that part,” Sirius replied. “Just don’t share that with your Mum. She wouldn’t want you to have a convict for a hero.” Of course, that was all the more reason for him to retain his hero status.

Fred’s eyes darted from Sirius to Remus and then back to Sirius, a question forming in his expression. “So where’s ….”

“Don’t.” Remus stopped him, his voice soft and firm with a just trace of frost. Sirius saw his friend’s face close up, and knew Remus was teetering on the edge of a very dark place in his mind. “I know what you’re going to ask. Just…don’t.”

Fred frowned, as if concentrating on a difficult problem, before his face took on a look of understanding. He knew. The twins might like to cause trouble, but they were also quite bright. They’d heard enough of the story about why they were currently in this house to put the rest of the tale together. “Oh.” He sounded sincerely apologetic. “Sorry.”

Before the ensuing silence could become too awkward, the door swung open and Ron stomped in. He pointed across the table, his finger darting from Sirius to Remus. “Tell them you did it!” He exclaimed, his face as red as his hair. Sirius felt another twinge of guilt. The twins had been making life miserable for Ron, and it was their fault.

“They know,” Remus acknowledged.

“And we’re sorry,” Sirius added. “We didn’t mean for them to become quite so…”

“The word you’re looking for is possessed,” Remus offered.

“So possessed in procuring retribution,” Sirius finished. “How did that sound, Moony?”

“Best be careful, Pads.” Remus sipped as his drink again. “You keep talking like that and people might start believing you’re as boring as I am.”

“Anyone who thinks you’re boring,” Sirius told him, “Doesn’t really know you.”

Ron glared at his brothers. “I told you.”

“They’ll leave you alone, Ron,” Remus said. Although his voice was soft, there was a touch of amusement in it. “If they don’t, let me and Sirius know. We’ll take care of it.” He winked, getting to his feet. “Come on, Padfoot.”

“Where are we going?” Sirius asked.

“To perform the countercharms and return the twins’ bedroom back to its former pristine condition,” Remus explained. “We can’t exactly expect them to sleep there in its current state, and it’ll take them days to figure out what spells we used.”

Sirius pouted. “But I’m not done with my firewhisky.”

“It’ll still be here in fifteen minutes,” Remus said. “Don’t make me give you my disapproving-prefect look.” If Remus hadn’t been snickering as he said it, Sirius would have accused him of being curmudgeonly. It was nice to have Remus – the real Remus – back. It made being locked up in the house just a bit more bearable.

“Oh, fine. I’ll come help – but not because of the prefect-look.” He pulled himself to his feet. “You know it never affected me.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Remus said soothingly as he headed towards the door. “That was a different Sirius Black who asked James if I was serious about giving you detention.”

“That was one time,” Sirius protested, “And you yelled at me, Moony. You never yell.” He gestured to the three Weasley boys – two of whom were watching the exchange as if it were the most fascinating thing they’d ever witnessed – to follow as he fell in step beside Remus.

“We hate to break up this trip down memory lane,” George interrupted them, “But before we go fix our room, Fred and I have a question about tonight’s festivities we were hoping you could help us with.”

Remus paused, his hand on the kitchen door. There were any number of uncomfortable topics the twins could ask, and, while they’d at least shown some tact when it came to certain things, whether that tact would continue was debatable. Sirius could easily tick off a good two dozen conversations he would refuse to have with the boys. Beside him, Remus seemed to brace himself for the question. “Go ahead.”

“Well,” George exchanged a look with his twin and both their faces lit up, “We were just wondering…is there any way we could convince you to share how you turned our room into that swamp?”

Sirius caught Remus’s eye and felt his mouth twitch into a grin. Oh, to bring mischief back to Hogwarts….

Remus took a minute to look thoughtful before he also grinned. It was a wicked, Marauder, I-solemnly-swear-I-am-up-to-no-good grin, and it was one of the greatest things Sirius had ever seen. Remus cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, I think we might be able to offer you a deal….”

~finis~

Part I available at - http://hm-yrie.livejournal.com/139052.html
Part II available at - http://hm-yrie.livejournal.com/140136.html

I was going to wait and post this later, but Astro made me this wonderful icon and I love it so much that I had to use it. And since the quote comes from this part of the story, I had to put this part of the story up instead of sitting on it.

Resurrecting Moony - a.k.a. Remus Sirius Friendship Fic - Part Two

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:21:13 GMT

Disclaimer: Despite Ri's wildest hopes and dreams, Ri still does not own the Harry Potter series, its settings, and its characters. Ri continues to remain in mourning over the fact that she does not own these things and is reduced to writing fanfiction in an effort to cope with this reality.

When we last saw our heroes, they had produced a folder of potential Marauder projects authored by Prongs years prior and were planning to use it to retaliate against the Weasley twins after an incident involving Remus, Tonks, and a lust potion (much to Remus's mortification).

July 25, 1995

Tweedledee and Tweedledum suspected Ronald. Moony, who had always been more devious than anyone gave him credit for, suggested they start with several small projects to cast suspicion away from them and onto more likely suspects. As a result, Ron and little Ginny had both been thoroughly interrogated by the twins on several occasions, and, in turn, pointed the finger at each other. The twins naturally believed Ginny, and Ron became Public Enemy Number One. Ron, meanwhile, continued to vehemently deny any knowledge of how unfortunate incidents kept happening to his older brothers, which only furthered the twins’ suspicions. Remus himself put in a good act in his supporting role of Disapproving Curmudgeon on several occasions, chastising Ron and the twins for their alleged prank war – “I thought the three of you were better than this.” - and chastising his partner in crime for laughing about it - “Stop that, Sirius. You’re only encouraging them.”

Sirius would never doubt Moony again. The plan was simple, brilliant, and had the added benefit of annoying Molly. When he wanted to, Remus Lupin could be an amazingly evil genius.

Unfortunately, what geniuses had in intelligence, they lacked in common sense. Such an affliction was the only reason Sirius could find for why the evil genius in question hadn’t considered protecting himself from Fred and George, an act that directly explained why he was currently standing in the middle of the library, his skin a brilliant shade of green.

Remus sighed, “I suppose,” he remarked sourly as he examined a bright green hand, “I should be glad they didn’t go for anything more devious.”

Sirius studied his friend, shaking his head and making a ‘tsk’ sound as he did so. “Moony, I thought you’d be smarter than to nap someplace where they could get to you. It’s a good thing I’m here. You’ve already forgotten the basics.” He shook his head again. Surely Remus knew better than to leave himself open for attack.

“The problem with being a stodgy old curmudgeon,” Remus explained with a straight face, “Is that you’re the perfect target for childish pranks. It was necessary to protect my cover.”

Sirius felt a smile tug at his mouth. “So you purposely left yourself open to attack?”

“The things I do for your plans,” Remus replied, pretending to be somber. “Luckily, this should be easy enough to fix.” He raised his wand.

“Wait!” Sirius grabbed his arm. Seeing a confused look from his friend – really, how had Remus managed to survive the past fourteen years? – he quickly explained, “If it was me, I’d have modified that spell so using the normal countercharm only makes the victim turn another obnoxious color.”

Remus scowled, but lowered his wand. “That is something we would have done.” He sighed dejectedly. “I suppose I’ll just have to wait until it wears off. Should only be a couple of hours.” He moved to look at himself in the mirror above the mantle and made a face. “I look like Tonks’s hair.”

“You know, Moony,” Sirius came up behind his friend and pretended to brush at lint on Remus’s shoulder, something that had always annoyed him when they were younger. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but green really isn’t your color.”

Remus swatted at Sirius’s hand. “Stop that.” He moved to lean against the desk, wincing slightly and still looking a bit peaky from the full moon two days prior. “What did you need, Pads?”

“Huh?”

“You obviously came in here looking for me,” Remus elaborated. “I just happened to be asleep when you found me.”

“And green, Remus.” Sirius added innocently. “You were also green when I found you.”

Remus glared at him. “Padfoot….”

“Right.” He held up his folder – better known now as The Grand Works of James Potter and Sirius Black, Volume Five (Second Edition featuring Addendums by R.J. Lupin) – and passed it to Remus. “I’ve gone over your research and compiled the spells we need. Everything’s in there.” With a flourish, he tossed himself into the chair he’d found his friend napping in a few minutes earlier. “This plan may be one of my best.”

“You mean one of Prongs’s best.”

“Same thing.” Sirius waved a hand through the air. “Prongs came up with the original idea, but I helped.” Actually, Prongs came up with the idea and started the necessary research one summer eons ago, Remus had finished the necessary research, and Sirius himself had run several test trials in his mum’s room – determining which charms worked in practice the way they were supposed to work in theory and which did not - while Buckbeak looked on and admired their ingenuity. He’d also determined the countercharms to reverse the damage once the twins were put in their place. In his opinion, his share of the work was just as important as Prongs’s, especially considering half of the spells Prongs selected needed a little tweaking to get right. There was a lot of work involved, but it wasn’t like he was going anywhere. He had nothing but time, and he’d used it well. Kicking his booted feet on the footstool in front of the chair, Sirius suddenly noticed something that did not bode well.

Remus was watching him, obviously amused. He arched an eyebrow, then snickered and flipped open the folder.

Sirius frowned. He knew Remus well enough to recognize that expression. It had been a favorite for when one of his friends had done something horribly idiotic. Normally, it had been projected at James during those times he’d acted like a fool to impress Lily. Now, it was being projected at him and, for the life of him, Sirius couldn’t figure out what he’d done to warrant that reaction. “What?”

“Oh, nothing,” Remus commented with a smirk, flipping through several pieces of parchment. The haughty look. The one Remus used when he knew something that no one else knew - knowledge that usually gave him the upper hand in something. This could not be good.

“What?” Sirius asked again, indignant.

Remus ignored him as he paused to read something. He was being infuriating on purpose; Sirius just knew he was.

“Remus!” Sirius stood. “What?”

Without looking up from the folder, Remus pointed towards the fireplace. Nonchalant, he flipped a piece of parchment over and began to study the back.

Turning, Sirius caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. “Oh, damn it all! The chair?! They bewitched the damn chair?!”

“It appears so,” Remus remarked with another snicker.

“This isn’t funny, Moony!” Sirius glared at his reflection in the mirror. “I’m green!” He balled his fists. “When I get my hands on those little berks….”

Remus calmly looked up from the folder. “You know, I have an idea.”

Sirius stopped fuming and looked over at him. This could be good. Remus’s ideas were rarely flashy, but they were always devious. If he already had something cooked up for the twins, this could be excellent payback. “What?”

“Well, I was thinking,” Remus set the folder beside him on the desk, “Maybe you could change into Padfoot.”

Sirius frowned. He didn’t see how being a big black dog had anything to do with revenge. Oh! But transfiguring himself into a big black dog and transfiguring back might break the hex currently afflicting him! He chewed at his upper lip thoughtfully. “You really think that would get rid of this?”

“No,” Remus said, still the picture of calm collection, “But I’m rather curious as to whether your fur would be green.”

Sirius glared at him and saw Remus lose his battle and start to laugh. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

“No.” Remus replied. “Just easily amused.” He picked up his folder. "Though I'm slightly wounded to learn that our young pranksters weren't specifically targeting me. I liked believing I was important." He flipped the folder open again and began to shuffle through the pages, looking for where he'd left off reading.

“I can only imagine what everyone will think if we show up for the meeting in matching hues of green,” Sirius grumbled, glowering at his reflection in the mirror once again and ignoring Remus. He rubbed at his face. He looked like a cross between a house elf and an ogre. What was worse was that everyone would know he’d been had. Snivellus, he was sure, would be overjoyed. Sirius hated the idea of giving that prat the satisfaction of knowing the tweedles had gotten him. Maybe he’d pretend to be ill and wait with Buckbeak until the color faded.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sirius,” Remus remarked from behind the folder, “But Molly’s married. You really should give up on trying to impress her.”

Sirius shuddered. “That’s not funny.” Molly Weasley had been the bane of his existence since she’d entered his home. Sometimes, he almost missed the dementors from his last prison. Molly might not be able to actually suck out his soul, but she came pretty damn close with her ability to take the fun out of everything. Plus, she screeched. The dementors, despite all their faults, never screeched….

“So I’ve found the problem.” Remus snapped the folder shut. It took him a moment to realize Remus was talking about the plan and was doing what he’d always done – find the fatal flaw. Remus hopped off the desk and passed him the folder. “What if the twins are light sleepers?”

“Sleeping draught?” Sirius suggested.

“They’re not going to fall for that,” Remus replied. “Slipping something into someone’s drink is the oldest trick in the book.”

“And yet, Nymphadora fell for it,” Sirius shook his head. “So much for constant vigilance.” Remus, he noticed with some satisfaction, began to blush furiously – something that looked twice as ridiculous thanks to his green skin - at the mention of Nymphadora’s potion incident. Sirius cleared his throat, “Moony? Have you spoken with the girl since she tried to take advantage of you?”

“Of course we’ve spoken,” Remus said quickly. Any trace of indignation he attempted to put in his voice faltered and he came across as an insecure fifteen-year-old boy.

Sirius sighed. “Have you said more than ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ to her?” Knowing Remus, he doubted it. While people changed over time, Remus’s self confidence had shown no signs of ever climbing out of the sub-basement in which it resided during their school years. By now, he was almost certain it had decided to remain in that location permanently.

“I asked her to pass the potatoes at dinner last night,” Remus replied.

“Now there’s a heartfelt, meaningful conversation.” Sirius muttered. “At the rate you’re going, Moony, I’ll have grandchildren before you get to first base.”

Remus glared at him. “Has it ever occurred to you, Sirius, that I might not think about your cousin that way? That perhaps I’m mortified about what she tried to do to me.”

He contemplated that for a moment, then decided Remus was protesting too much. “Remus, you’re male. Nymphadora’s a young, beautiful, vibrant female. Unless you’ve changed teams since writing poetry about Abigail and snogging Lily, then you’ve at least thought about Nymphadora in a naughty way.”

“When I was taking NEWT courses, she was being potty trained.” Remus continued to protest, as if that explained why he couldn’t possibly be interested in her. He began to pace nervously. “Why are we even talking about this? We’re supposed to be working on a master plan to prank the twins.”

“Which we’re doing so you can defend fair lady’s honor.” Sirius made a grand, sweeping bow.

“Sleeping draughts won’t work,” Remus said, ignoring his last comment as he continued to pace. “Any other suggestions?”

With another sigh, this one portraying annoyance, dejection, and pain and suffering, Sirius started towards the large bookshelves lining the walls. While his father – and his grandfather and his great-grandfather so on – had maintained a vast collection of tomes on the Dark Arts, there were also a fair number of useful and slightly less evil books in the Black family library. The trick would be remembering which ones were which. “Somewhere in this room is a black leather-bound book about this thick,” he held his hands three inches apart, “About charms utilized by assassins. It’s got stuff in it about how to prevent your quarry from seeing or hearing you until its too late. We might find something useful in that.”

Remus glanced around the library. Most of the books fit the description Sirius gave. “You wouldn’t happen to remember the title of that book, would you?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Sirius turned to take in the bookshelves on all four walls. “I tried to block out most of my memories of this place to preserve my sanity. Remembering specific titles of my father’s ‘How to be a Dark Wizard’ literary collection was never high on my list of things to do.”

Remus sighed. “Right then. So I suppose we look at every black book about this thick,” he mimicked the measurement Sirius had given moments earlier, “And hope we see something on the spine about charms and assassins.”

“More or less.” Perhaps it would take ages and he’d have a good reason for missing the Order meeting. If nothing else, it at least gave him something to do other than stare at the wall of his latest cell.

Remus sighed again as he bent over to examine one of the many black, leather-bound books in the room.

As he moved towards the far end of the library to direct his search back towards Remus, Sirius was almost certain he heard his friend mutter, “So much for returning to my nap.” He grinned, knowing the protest was more for show than anything.

Remus was enjoying shedding the curmudgeon nearly as much as Sirius was enjoying having his partner in crime back.

~*~

Need to find/read Part I? Follow the link! - http://hm-yrie.livejournal.com/139052.html

Busy busy day

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:22:34 GMT

So I've been running non-stop today (making up a lot of missed stuff since the great flood of last week). I finally got my dinner break (yay) and in a few moments I'm running off to an event at my local B&N.

When I get back, if I'm not exhausted yet, I'm going to make a couple of edits to the Remus Sirius Friendship Fic and put up Part Two. And maybe even Part Three (we'll see).

And now, a message from literary critics

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:08:11 GMT

http://graphjam.com/2009/06/19/song-chart-memes-books-with/

I need not say any more.

*goes off to fic*