Sunflowers

Showers and Somebody's Grandma

"So, Dorcas and Sophie, you'll sneak into their room. Dorcus has the hair spell for the pillows and Sophie will do perfume in the body wash and sheets. Thia and I will distract them during lunch while the rest of you get the common room," Lily looked around the room, "Everyone clear?"

The girls nodded. It was the last day of break, and the train was due back at any moment. Time for a little payback.

~

Thia and Lily were just settling down for lunch when the Marauders showed up, wedging the girls in. Remus and Sirius dropped beside Thia, with James and Peter across from them. Lily laughed as James slung an arm over her shoulders, pressing a kiss onto her cheek.

"Miss me, James?" She asked teasingly, "Because I wasn't sure."

"You joke, Evans, but we had to talk him out of sending more," Sirius pointed a fork at her, "You owe us."

Thia rolled her eyes, "Sirius, if you saw the way she read those letters, you'd know she would have been just fine with more."

"That true, Evans? Got a crush on me?" James grinned cheekily. Lily pushed him away, but he just laughed, "Nice necklace there, Kit."

"Okay, yeah no. You are not calling me 'Kit'. I am not your child," Thia slipped a piece of ham to Cosette, "But thanks."

"Why not?" James was crestfallen, "I came up with that myself!"

"James, none of us got it on the first try," Remus assured the boy, "Or did you forget, Bambi?"

Lily hid a giggle behind her hand as her boyfriend groaned, pulling at his hair, "I still don't know what that means!"

"Nothing, love," Lily kissed his cheek, still laughing, "Nothing at all."

~

Gryffindor House was awoken the next morning by screams, and the girls hurried downstairs to see the result. Thia settled into her favourite spot in the corner, Cosette between her legs. Lily perched on the arm of her chair.

"Who do you think screamed?" There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"James and Sirius, definitely. Sirius will hate how the pink clashes with his tie." Thia scratched Cosette's head as they heard footsteps on the stairs. 

"So will James." They both looked up as someone reached the bottom of the stairs. It was Remus, hair a shocking pink and smelling like somebody's grandmother. He sneezed repeatedly.

"Nice job, girls. Although I doubt the others think so." He joined Thia and Lily in the corner, plopping on the floor beside them, "You realise this means war, right?"

"Oh yeah." Lily ruffled his hair, "Bring it on, Rem."

"I'm going to breakfast," Thia stood, "I'd like to catch the other houses' reactions."

Others had the same idea, joining her as she slipped from the portrait hole. Sophie and Callum fell in beside her.

"What was that about?" Callum asked, glancing over his shoulder. Thia and Sophie shared a smile.

"You'll see."

~

After the pink hair incident, war broke out between the Marauders and the girls of Gryffindor. One night, the girls found all their furniture on the ceiling. The next, the boys found that they couldn't even reach their dorms, because someone had enchanted them like the girls' stairs. 

It came to a head soon after the rest of the Gryffindor boys got involved. Someone had managed to get inside knowledge of the girls' next prank and reversed it.

~

Thia was the first up most days, and this time was no different. She didn't mind really, because it meant she was the first to shower. Laying her clothes out on her bed beside her prosthetics, she grabbed her crutch and called Cosette after her. 

Turning on the water, she stripped off her pyjamas, leaning her crutch against the sink. Her eyes slid closed as she sat in the shower, letting the water pour over her. A sigh escaped her, and she blinked, reaching for the shampoo. She froze.

Her arm was covered in a deep red colour. A scream built in her throat as she stared at it. Cosette whined, pushing aside the curtain with her nose. The scream burst out of her. The sound made her come to a little, enough to push herself out of the shower and wrap a towel around her.

"Thia? Are you alright?" Someone's voice seeped around the door. Cosette stood, opening the door with her mouth. Thia felt the panic welling up in her chest, felt teeth sinking into her arm, claws tearing through her leg. Her breaths came rapidly as someone fell beside her.

"Oh my God." Thia's vision blurred. "Someone go get Lily!"

The girl took the corner of her towel and brushed away the red. "What the...?" They brushed more, then peered into the shower, placing their hand under the water. Thia suddenly felt as if she was watching from above. "Oh, I'm going to kill them."

"Thia— Merlin!" She looked down as Lily kneeled beside her, wiping at her face with the towel, "Where is this blood coming from?"

"It's not blood," The girl (Thia noted with a detached surprise that it was Vera) said, "Look at the towel. There's no red."

"What is it then?" Lily finished drying her off and slipped a robe over her shoulders, "Come on, Thia. Let's go back to bed, yeah?"

Thia jerked away when Lily went to wrap an arm around her shoulders, backing into the corner. She felt as if she had been snapped back in herself. Except, everything was so loud. The water hitting the floor of the shower. Vera's clothes rustling. Lily's voice as she talked to her.

"Thia, it's just us. You're okay, you're fine. It was just water. No blood." Thia pressed her hands over her ears. It was all just too much.

"Lily," Vera's voice was soft as she took a step closer, "Give her some space. She's overstimulated." They turned off the water. Cosette lay beside her, nosing her hand onto her head.

Sophie entered the bathroom, crouching beside Thia and slipping something over her ears. Everything went quiet.

~

"Any word on who did it?" Lily asked, glancing around the common room as she leaned into James' side. The four Marauders shook their heads, toward the stairs. Thia was sleeping finally, excused from classes for the day.

"Best guess is one of the younger boys got over-ambitious," Remus said, "Besides, I've a feeling Thia will want to take care of this herself."

~

A/N - Gah, sorry for not posting yesterday! Just means to watch for a double-update soon! Hopefully it won't happen again, but we'll see.

Later, loves!

Cinder