Chapter 10: Waiting In The Wings.
It was getting closer to Halloween, Patrick and Sam were still together, much to the annoyance of everyone, especially Remus.
He would occasionally see her catching quick looks at him. This, of course, pleased him greatly but he wished she would break up with Patrick so they could be together.
They all noticed how Sam and Patrick were fighting almost everyday and they were happy because it might mean the end of them for good.
James, Remus, and Sirius were getting ready for the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Peter had detention with Professor Slughorn because his potion burned through his cauldron and all over his desk. The potion ate through the desk and the floor.
They were walking a few feet behind Lily, Lilac, Patty, Mary, Sam, and the unfortunate Patrick. Sam was talking to Mary, and when Patrick pinched her butt, she stopped talking and turned towards him. She yelled at him for a few minutes, and they were lucky enough to catch a few of the insults.
"Can't keep your hands to yourself! Need to keep it in your pants! Always around and never give me a moment of peace!" She left him standing there, confused.
James, Sirius, and Remus were howling with laughter. They saw him running to catch up with her, yelling. "What did I do!"
"Hey! Wait up!" They turned to see Michael running up to them.
"Hello, Michael." Said James. Remus and Sirius nodded a hello.
"I need to talk to you three about Sam and my ponce of a cousin."
They looked at him, shocked. "You don't want her to be with him either?" asked Sirius, sounding surprised.
Michael nodded. "When she told me they started dating, I begged her to think about it. I warned her what a complete git he was but she wouldn't listen. She said she finally cared for someone who wasn't a friend of her brother's. She said we wouldn't be friends anymore if I continued to bad mouth him to her. So, I decided to keep my mouth shut and still be her friend. But I can't keep quiet about this anymore."
They stopped walking and leaned in to listen closely. "What are you talking about?" asked James.
Michael looked around to see id his cousin or Sam was around. "Well, last night, I was in the corner of the common room doing my work when Patrick came in laughing with his friends. There were talking about their bet."
"Bet? What are you talking about?" asked Sirius.
Michael sighed. "Patrick and his friends made a bet that Patrick couldn't sleep with Sam before the Christmas ball."
"What the hell!" exclaimed Remus.
"I know. I confronted them. James, you know I care deeply for your sister and would never want to see her hurt or used."
James nodded. "I know, Michael. You're a good friend to her."
"Thank you. I told him to leave her alone and that she didn't deserve to be treated this way. That's when they threatened me. They said they were getting back at James and Sirius for always hexing them whenever the Professors weren't looking. They said that if I said anything to anyone, they would make me pay. That's when they gave me this." They noticed his black eye.
Sirius was livid. "Those asses! You did the right thing telling us."
Michael was surprised by this. "I care a lot about Sam. She's always there for me when I need it. Whatever you're planning, count me in. Cousin or not, that prat is going down!"
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They followed Patrick around, waiting for the opportunity to get him alone. Finally, they saw Patrick kiss Sam goodbye and went off with his friends.
They saw them go by an old mansion. They heard them laughing.
"Mate, I'm so close. She does everything I say. I convinced her she was getting too fat, so she practically stopped eating! If it wasn't for those prats, Lupin and Black, it would have already happened."
Some dark haired boy laughed. "Yeah, sure. So, I didn't see her berate you in front of everyone for pinching her bum?"
Patrick rolled his eyes. "Oh please, that was nothing. It's almost done. She thinks I love her!"
They had heard enough and were ready to pounce.
"You stupid git!" yelled Sirius.
Before anyone knew it, a fight broke out. Professor McGonagall and a few others came running over, trying to break it up.
"Stop! You're all going to Professor Dumbledore's office right now!"
"You better stay away from my sister!" yelled James while Professor Kettleburn pulled him along.
Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Flitwick. "Find Ms. Potter. Bring her to Professor Dumbledore's office at once!"
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Professor Dumbledore looked at each of the boys with such disappointment. Sirius, Remus, James, and Michael felt ashamed. They hated letting down Professor Dumbledore. Patrick and his friends looked like they could care less.
Sam knocked on the door. Professor Flitwick took her out of Zonko's Joke Shop, saying she had to see Professor Dumbledore at once. She didn't know what she did and she was so nervous.
"Please, come in, Ms. Potter."
She walked in awkwardly and was surprised to see James, Remus, Sirius, and Michael on one side of the room and Patrick, with his friends, on the other.
"H-Hello, Professor Dumbledore."
She was pleased to see that he was smiling at her. "Do not worry, Samantha. You are in no trouble. You were simply asked here because it seems these young men had a disagreement over you."
Sam looked around the room and sighed. "Professor Dumbledore, sir? With all due respect, may I speak to these young men in private?"
Professor Dumbledore nodded. "I expect this to be resolved. Oh, and Ms. Potter?"
She looked at him, expectantly. "Yes sir?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Please, stay behind afterwards. So, you and I can talk."
Her eyes widened and quickly nodded. Dumbledore left the room.
"So, what happened?" asked Sam.
Michael told her everything. Sam was in complete shock. Patrick, of course, denied everything.
Sam purposely turned towards her brother. She could see Patrick through the mirror, which he didn't know. "I can't believe you!" She saw Patrick smugly smirking. She knew Michael was telling the truth. She gave her brother and his friends a wink before turning to Patrick. "You are a disgusting, slimy, no good git! I can't believe I went out with you!"
"Sam! They are lying! I love you, why would I lie?"
"They have no reason to lie! To think, I delayed breaking up with you!"
Patrick stared dumbly at her. "You were going to what?"
"I was going to break up with you. Remus and I are in love! I didn't want to hurt you!"
Sirius, Michael, and James gave a hard look at Remus. They saw Sam give them a smile and they relaxed. They believed she was just saying that to hurt him. Remus was thankful for that. "You actually thought I would lower myself to sleep with you! You must be crazy! Don't you dare speak to me again! And if I hear that you even entertain the idea of harassing me, Sirius, James, Remus, or Michael again, I'll hex you all the way back to your first year!" Patrick looked fearful as did his friends. "Now, go!"
They quickly left. Sirius, James, Remus, and Michael all looked at her, amazed. They took turns hugging her tightly. "That was brilliant!" exclaimed Sirius.
Sam looked sadly at them. "I'm really sorry for acting like such a git. Can you all forgive me?"
They laughed. Remus smiled at her. "Of course, we can."
Sam smiled. "You lot better go. Dumbledore wants to speak with me."
They hugged her once more before leaving. She jumped when Professor Dumbledore appeared. "Sorry to frighten you, Ms. Potter."
"N-Not a problem, sir."
Dumbledore smiled while he sat down. She quickly sat down. "I must say I am very confused by what happened today. I asked you to stay behind to enlighten me."
Sam gulped. She filled him in, leaving out certain indecent moments.
Dumbledore smiled at her. "You are a very brave young woman. Standing up to Mr. Lewis like that. It took a lot of…guts, as they say. I hope you realize that I do have to give detention to each of them but Mr. Lewis and his friends will be punished even more. What they planned to do to you is unforgivable. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this. I hope you know that you are very lucky to have so many people care about you."
Sam nodded. "I do, even though I didn't act like it."
"I know how much you care for each of them. Especially Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin."
Sam looked away and blushed.
"Sometimes, you must wait for the darkness to turn into light. I do hope you and young Remus are happy together."
Sam looked shocked. "Thank you, sir?"
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Sam walked onto the grounds. She saw James and Sirius play fighting, trying to impress some girls walking by. Michael and Remus were laughing hysterically at the sight of them.
James and Sirius quickly stopped when she approached. "Hey Sammy! How does it feel to be a free woman?" asked Sirius while giving her a big hug.
Sam laughed and pushed him away. "It feels pretty damn good!"
He laughed and picked her up and spun her around. She laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes.
When Sirius finally let go of her, she told them about the meeting with Dumbledore. They stared at her and groaned. She rolled her eyes at them. "You are lucky not to be expelled! He also said Patrick and his band of idiots were getting a more severe punishment for their cruelness towards me."
"Serves them right." Said James while slapping Sirius upside his head.
They went back to play fighting while Remus hugged her tightly. "I'm happy for you." She winked at him and he blushed.
Michael looked at them sadly. He had a feeling that Remus and Sam would be the next couple that Hogwarts would be gossiping about. Michael had a huge crush on Sam. He knew nothing would ever happen between them until she got Remus and Sirius out of her system. He tried dating her friend Lilac but they soon realized that they could only be friends.
Michael saw how Remus and Sam acted with one another and could admit that he was jealous but he wasn't going to jeopardize his relationship with her. "I'm really sorry, Sam."
She broke away from her hug with Remus and smiled at him. "What for?"
"For what my cousin did."
She hugged him. "It's not your fault. Plus, you tried to warn me about him, everyone did. I'm sorry I was too blind to realize how right you all were." Michael beamed at her.
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Every one of Sam's and Michael's friends was ecstatic that they didn't have to deal with Patrick and his friends anymore.
Remus and Sam took a walk around the grounds. They made sure no one was around and held hands.
"Remus? I think we need to talk."
Remus stopped so suddenly, it caused Sam to stumble. "I didn't think it possible to break up with someone before even starting to go out."
Sam kissed his hand and laughed. "I'm not breaking up with you. I just wanted to talk with you about the possibility of us."
Remus sighed in relief. "But, I do think we should start off slow. Take our time with certain things."
Remus smiled down at her. "Of course. I do have to speak with your brother about us."
Sam looked away from him. "M-Maybe we should wait. To get together, I mean. Just to see if what we are feeling for each other isn't just because I was with Patrick and technically forbidden."
Remus couldn't believe what she was saying. "You honestly think that I would like you because you were with someone else?"
"You believed I would use you to get over Sirius!"
Remus groaned. He was never going to live that down. "I'm sorry. I was just confused then but I'm not anymore! I know for a fact that I love you."
She smiled. "I believe you. But I still want to hold off on a relationship for a bit."
"Until when?"
"The Christmas Ball will be our first official date unless we have changed our minds."
Remus groaned. "That's so far away."
Sam rolled her eyes. "You're such a baby. It's two months, that's nothing!"
"Can we still kiss?" asked Remus shyly. Sam blushed and stood up on her tiptoes to briefly kiss him but was surprised when he lifted her up and kissed her deeply. She giggled while wrapping her legs around him. "I love you, Remus."
Remus smiled. "I love you too, Sam." He kissed her some more.
