It Only Hurts When I Breathe

The little group of Gryffindors continued through their first, second, third, fourth, and fifth years without much fuss. Of course, there were the inevitable "arguments" with Snape, Rosier, Wilkes, the Lestrange brothers, and the other Slytherins, but overall their lives were relatively peaceful. Grace knew the boys, whom had taken up the nickname "Marauders", were always up to something fishy, but she tried to turn her head. The highlight of every school year was Quidditch. She, James, and Sirius were on the house team, after joining in their third year. James and Grace were Chasers, while Sirius was the Keeper. They spent hours with Remus and Peter discussing the inter-house matches and the moves each player had used. Grace got on with them quite a bit better than Lily, but that was because of James. Often Lily would go on for hours about how he was stuck-up, selfish, a bloody git, and on and on until finally one day, during their sixth year, Grace had had enough.

"Honestly Lily, the both of you fight like you were in love," Grace said in their dormitory as she lay upside down studying her Charms homework.

Lily's face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. She dropped her Potions book and sputtered, "Where on EARTH would you get an idea like that!" She narrowed her eyes. "Did Rosier hit you with a Confundus charm?"

Grace shrugged. "No, but still, you act as though you're practically married. Lily gave her an incredulous look. "Seriously, Lils, every time he gets a girlfriend you pout around and look jealous and find some poor Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff to snog in dark corners to make him envious. You know as well as I that he's liked you since third year. The least you could do is go with him to Hogsmeade or something."

"Why the bloody hell would you say that? I bet James has got an Imperius curse on you to make you say that."

Grace laughed and rolled off her bed onto her feet. "Whatever you say sweetheart, but I've got to run." She winked. "Marcus Drummond is meeting me in the library for a 'study session'."

"You're still fooling around with him? Really, Grace, I thought you could choose someone better than him. What about Sirius?" Lily sat up on her bed. "The two of you would look nice together."

Grace made a face. "You're more daft than I am; THAT womanizer? I'd have to be the last girl in Hogwarts to go out with him." She turned and walked toward the door. "Wish me luck." She passed the Marauders huddled in a far corner of the common room, and by the looks of them they were definitely up to no good.

"Tonight, at dinner, Peter and Sirius, you'll distract him and Remus and I'll put the love potion in his pumpkin juice," James whispered to the three other boys huddled around him.

"But it's Snivellus for heaven's sake," Remus whispered back. "You know how good he is in Potions. He'll figure it out in two seconds."

Sirius laughed. "But it'll still be good to see what he'll do in those two seconds." He turned to see Grace listening to their conversation and quickly said, "Yeah, Prongs, number seven of this Transfiguration homework is hard. Mooney, did you get it?"

Grace rolled her eyes and left the common room. "Sometimes they think they're so clever." She turned a corner and ran straight into Severus Snape.

He sneered at her and said, "Watch where you're going much?"

She looked him straight in the eyes and returned, "Bugger off Snape, I've got better things to do than listen to your pathetic excuse for a person talk."

"Oho, it looks as though someone's got their knickers twisted," Snape sneered. "What's wrong, caught Black snogging someone else?"

Grace immediately drew her wand and shot her best Bat-Bogey Hex at him. He ducked behind a suit of armor as he sent a curse back at her. She dove to the floor, crawled across the corridor into a doorway and stood back up. By the time she had done this, Snape was gone. "Coward!" she bellowed at the empty hallway. Furious at being had by a Slytherin, Grace stormed back to the Common Room, all thoughts of snogging Marcus gone.

Several weeks later, Grace was bemoaning her fate to Lily in their dormitory. "A P in Potions! How am I going to become a Healer with NEWTs next year when I'm getting P's in Potions? The A in Herbology isn't so bad, but a P!"

Lily sighed. "Look Grace, maybe you need to try a little harder, put a little more effort into it. Stop spending so much time with Marcus and start concentrating on your grades."

Grace glowered at Lily. "I'm not telling you to give up Tom Anderson, am I?"

"No, but I'm not struggling in Potions am I?" Lily retorted. "All you have to do-"

Suddenly Grace's face lit up with an idea. "Lily," she began in a singsong voice. "You're my best friend in the whole world, you know."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "What?" she said suspiciously.

"Well, as we're best friends we've been through a lot together. We've done favors for each other. Please Please PLEASE will you help me?" Grace fell to her hands and knees, crawled to the foot of Lily's bed, and proceeded to grovel quite nicely. "I'll do anything, I'll do your History of Magic homework, I'll do your prefect duties, and I'll throw James off of the North Tower, Lily you've got to help me."

Lily giggled. "Although I wouldn't mind getting rid of James, I just don't have much free time to help you. Between my own homework and Charms Club and Professor Slughorn's parties I can't do much of anything."

"Lily this is life or death!" Grace howled. "If I don't get good enough marks I'll never get into the Healer Academy."

"Well," Lily began. "There is one way I might be able to get you some help..."

"Anything!" Grace shouted.

"I might be able to talk Severus Snape into tutoring you."

Grace gaped at Lily, her chin dropped nearly to her chest. "Have you taken a bludger to the head? Snape? That slimy git? By all that is sweet and holy you really don't expect me to go for that, do you?"

Lily shrugged. "Why not? He is the best at Potions in our year, isn't he?"

'That's not the point. The point is, he's a Slytherin, or in six years of our schooling together have you forgotten that Gryffindors and Slytherins are mortal enemies and would sooner hex each other than have a five word conversation."

"Oh grow up, Grace. Not everyone is like that. Severus and I get along fine," Lily said as she casually turned the page of her Transfiguration book. "Besides, we're all going to have to get along together someday anyways, so we might as well start now."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Do you not remember when he called you the m-word last year during O.W.L.s?" By the m-word she meant Mudblood. "Or when he 'accidentally' dropped a armadillo bile in your potion two years ago so he could have the best potion in class?"

"We're past all that now," she said lightly.

"You don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting me to work with Snape. And if you, my best friend, will not help me, I suppose I'll have to find someone else who will." Grace huffed and threw a copy of Witch Weekly at Lily. She roughly gathered her books together and stormed out of the dormitory.

"Who are you going to get to tutor you?" Lily asked innocently.

"Someone other than you," Grace retorted, thumping down the stairs in the common room. As she wove through the clusters of Gryffindors, she noticed the Marauders playing Exploding Snap in the far corner. Suddenly, she got an idea. She sauntered over and deposited her bag on the floor next to James with a loud 'thump'. The startled boys looked up, and Grace took a seat next to Remus. "How're you doing in Potions this year, Remey?" She used her favorite nickname for him, trying to butter him up.

He shrugged. "Fine, I s'pose." He eyed her curiously. "Why?"

Grace swore inwardly. She should have known that he would pick up on her quick. "Well, you see, my Potions marks aren't exactly the best this term." She leaned toward him. What did Scarlett O'Hara do in that Muggle film she watched last summer? She batted her eyelashes and laid her hand lightly on Remus' knee. "And I was wondering, since you're one of the best in the class, if you would help me?" If this doesn't work, she thought...

"Why won't Lily help you?" Sirius said as he leaned over to interrupt the conversation.

"She's too busy, with the Slug Club and all that." Grace forced her lips out into a pouting expression. She felt ridiculous, but her Potions marks were more important to her right now than looking like an idiot.

"I dunno," Remus started.

At this time Grace threw caution to the wind and begged. "Remus, you know how important the Healer Academy is to me. If I don't get in there, I'm sunk!"

Sirius laughed. "Well, if your career doesn't pan out, you can always marry me. Think of what an honor it would be, making my dinner, washing my clothes, oh, and don't forget making little Siriuses."

Grace threw him a withering stare. "When kneazles fly." Then, she got a better idea. "Remus, if you help me, just a little, I'll go to the Yule Ball with you."

Remus blushed. Sweet Merlin, she really wanted help. It was common knowledge that he had a difficult time with girls, as he was very shy. Going with Grace meant that he wouldn't have to ask anyone to go with him, and Grace was as much fun as the Marauders, well, almost. He sat in silence for a few seconds, mulling over her proposal. Grace, Sirius, as well as James and Peter, whom had recently entered the conversation, were staring at him intently.

Finally, with faintly pink cheeks he said, "Ok."

Grace was so overjoyed that she grabbed Remus by the shoulders and kissed him on both cheeks. "Thank you thank you thank you," she said over and over, dancing around in little circles. Peter, who was sitting next to Remus, looked quite put out that he didn't get kissed. Then she ran back up to the dormitory to rub it in Lily's face.

After she left, Sirius let out a low growl. "Mooney..." he warned. He had made it known to the Marauders that he had intended to ask Grace to the Yule Ball.

Remus threw up his hands. "Padfoot, what was I supposed to say? Besides, d'you really think she would have gone with you? The two of you fight like cats and dogs. But if it's any consolation I'll let you dance with her a couple of times.

Slightly appeased, Sirius leaned back in his chair. What was so special about Grace? He was the dashing and debonair Sirius Black: official ladies man of Hogwarts. He could have any girl he wanted. He'd already snogged quite a few of them. So instead of Grace, he asked her dorm mate Carrie. She was nice enough looking that he felt he wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with her in public. Oh well, at least Mooney promised him a dance with his date, if she didn't hex him first...