"Serana...." I dragged Lily, Ellie, Alice, and Marlene along behind me.
"Just
tell us where we're going, please," Marlene begged, her breath heavily.
I was smiling slighty. I stopped in front of the wall where the Room of
Requirements was.
"We're here," I breathed happily.
"Serana, this is a wall," Ellie said, looking up at it. I nodded my head.
I need somewhere to cool off.
A door slowly grew on the wall.
"Woah, Serana...." Lily's sentence drew off.
"Come
on." I grabbed Lily's hand and pushed the door open. My music room
appeared before me. The guitar sat off the side, along with a violin, a
cello, and a flute, instruments I had yet to learn to play. But in the
middle of the room, sat the grand piano. On it, my red journal, full of
sheets for music. So far, there was only Cowboy Casonova, and the new
song I had been working on.
"Serana, what is this place?"
"What are we doing here?"
"How did you find this?"
"Holy Poopsicle."
"I know, right," was my only reply, "And, remember, its Rani again. Please." The four smiled. We were silent. I was grinning.
I made my way over to the piano.
"I
found this place a few months ago. I was upset and I needed somewhere
to cool off. I first wrote Cowboy Casanova on the guitar. I've been
working on a new piece based off of the Phantom of The Opera book. It
wasn't supposed to be for you, but I needed to show my apologies, so I
finished the song for you," I said, "It's a rough draft." I added
quickly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Lily smiled.
"I'm sorry, I
don't have any other stools. I would give you mine, but I kind if need
it." I trailed my fingers across the top of the piano.
"It's alright, Rani. We can stand," Ellie said.
"Thank you, Ellie-"
"It's Jinxy, Rani." I grinned. I sat on my stool, looking at the sheet music.
I started playing the intro. I continued to play as the lyrics started, and I began singing with it.
"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness wakes and stirs imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses
Helpless to resist the notes I write...
For I compose the music of the night

Slowly, gently, Night unfurls it's Splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Hearing is believing, music is deceiving
Hard as lightening, soft as candlelight.
Dare you trust the music of the night?

Close your Eyes -
For your eyes will only tell the truth
And the truth isn't what you want to see
In the dark it is easy to pretend
That the truth is what it ought to be.

Softly, deftly music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night

Close your eyes -
Start a journey through a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before
Close your eyes -
And let music set you free.
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, Sweet Intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savor each Sensation
Let the dream begin, Let your darker side give in
To the Power of the music of the night.

You alone can make my song take flight. Help me make the music of the night.

You along can make my song take flight. It's over now the music of the night!"

I
finished the song by holding the last note on the piano. As the note
came to a stop, I suddenly became aware of the silence. I turned slowly.
Marlene and Alice's mouths were a gap. Jinxy had fallen over and was
now sitting on the floor. Lily had tears in her eyes.
"You...you made that for us?" She asked. I stood, ringing my fingers and nodding slowly. I gnawed on my lower lip.
Lily ran over and hugged me. I felt a tear slip past my eye. I smiled.
"You didn't have to do that. Even though it was beautiful, you don't need to prove or do anything," she said.
"Yeah, we've been trying to apologize ourselves, you were the one who had the courage to do it first," Alice added.
"I
love you guys, I really do. I hope you know that you can't expect me to
just leave Reg and Cissy in the dust," I told them. They all nodded.
"We know," they said. I smiled. We each wrapped our arms around each other and stalked out of the ROR.
I stopped abruptly.
"What is it?"
"We're leaving today. It's our last day as 5th years," I said. The girls looked at each other.
"I guess it is," Lily said.
"Everything is so different now," I breathed, as we entered the Common Room. I saw the Marauders sitting on the couch.
"Will you excuse me?" I asked my friends. They nodded. I made my way over to the boys. James looked up.
"Oh, Serana." I looked down.
"What do you want?" Sirius drawled.
"I...I
wanted to say...Im sorry. I have no idea what came over me. I was just
really upset and I was still stressing over the OWLs. I'm really sorry
James. You don't need to forgive me, in fact, dont. I don't deserve
forgiveness for what I've done. I just wanted you to know how sorry I
was," I said. I turned and started walking towards the stairs.
"JAMES POTTER! YOU FORGIVE HER RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME!" Lily.
"She
jumped on my Lily-Pad! While she was in her Wolf form!" James replied.
Lily stormed over to him. Though he was inches taller, she was obviously
more scary.
"You attacked her friend, for Merlin's sakes! And you,
Sirius!" Sirius' eyes widened in fear, "Serana is the most wonderful
girlfriend you could ever ask for! Your continuously push her to the
side like she's nothing! She is the kindest most gentle soul and you are
a selfish, gitty, tosspot!"
"Lilu, please-"
"No, Serana! I'm not standing by and watch you being tormented!" James smirked at her.
"You're hot when you're angry," he said. I looked away. Her glare didn't soften.
"And you, are infuriating," she hissed. She stepped back towards me.
"Jinxy,
I know you're holding it in-" Lily didn't even finish her sentence
before Jinxy started screaming at Remus. Marlene glared sharply at
Sirius, and Alice at Peter.
"Alright. Enough. Enough!" I shouted,
"Lily, Jinxy, Mar, Ally. I really appreciate it, but I created this
problem. I should fix it," I said.
The Marauders all looked
frightened of the girls. They were backed up against the wall, eight
eyes glaring daggers into their chests. As the girls' glares settled,
the boys calmed down a little.
"Rani, the point of having friends, is so you don't have to fight your battles on your own," Lily said, smiling. I tried to smile.
Everyone was quiet.
"I
guess since no ones going to speak, I might as well," James piped up,
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done what I did to Snivillus-ah, Snape.
Serana, this isn't just on you," he said. I corners of my lips curled
upwards. Soon, everyone was saying apologies. Remus had his arms wrapped
around Jinxy. Alice and Marlene were smiling at each other. Lily and
James still stared at each other, though Lily's was a cold, hard, stare,
rather than James' heart felt, loving gaze. The only ones not speaking
were me and Sirius. Jinxy noticed this.
"Hey, Marlene, Alice, Lily and I need to finish packing. I'm assuming you boys do to," she said loudly. I shook my head.
"No please-"
"You're right, Jinx. Come boys. Padfoot, you mind cleaning up our mess? I did it last time. Thanks buddy."
They
left. Sirius and I stared awkwardly at each other. He bent down to pick
up the mess James was talking about. It was just some whisps of paper.
"Would
you like some help?" I asked. He didn't respond. So I bent down and
helped him anyway. I reached for a piece, my hand started to tremble,
feeling like he hated me. The room was dark, lite only by the firelight.
I felt a hand touch mine. I looked up. Sirius' eyes were locked on
mine. My heart skipped a beat. I was absorbed in those beautiful grey
eyes. His lips slowly formed a smile.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. I tried to pull my hand away, but he latched onto it. I gasped quietly and looked back at him.
"Don't be," he whispered back. The two of us were bent over in front of the fire, staring at each other.
Was it just me, or was everything getting hotter and hotter?
"Alright,
just kiss already. You're mind kissing and it's irritating because I
haven't seen you guys kiss yet. So yeah, get on with it." I looked up.
The other three Marauders and my four friends stood above us. I laughed.
Sirius pulled my face towards his and kissed me.
"Okay, you can
stop now. If you keep going, one of you is going to end up pregnant
tomorrow," James said. I pulled away, my face a terribly bright red.
Sirius glared at him as he flopped onto the couch. I sat back onto my legs. I looked at all my friends around me.
This is right. This where I'm supposed to be. With these people. Forever.