"And that concludes our lesson for today. Your homework is to write a nine-inch essay on three of the major Defensive Spells. Have a nice day!" Said Professor Hiltraud merrily as the bell rang.
Eila tapped him on the shoulder as the rest of the class cleared out of the room. He turned around and replied with an even more enthusiastic, "Hmm?"
"Why are you so…so happy?" asked Eila, sort of freaked out by Professor Hiltraud's new-found cheeriness.
"I don't know…I just feel really chipper today. Would you like a mint? Have one!" he said, handing Eila a mint.
"Are you okay, Professor Hiltraud? Do you have a fever? Are you delusional or something?"
"Yes, I'm fine, infact, I've never felt better. And no, I'm not sick. Yes, though, I may be delusional because I have nothing to be happy about." Said Professor Hiltraud, tickled pink. Eila shrugged and unwrapped the mint—
"NO! DON'T EAT THAT MIINT!" came Rana's voice. She came running into the classroom, panting very hard when she stopped.
Rana whispered into Eila's ear as Professor Hiltraud wrote "Good Afternoon!" in big, bold, bubble-letters on the board, "Don't eat them, they're spiked."
"With what?" asked Eila.
"With an unusually booming amount of Extra-Virgin Pepper-up Potion."
"…Oh…" said Eila, tossing the mint in the wastebasket, "Well, keep him on it; I'm starting to enjoy the new Professor Hiltraud."
"Me too! I'm going to the Quiddich Pitch to meet the guys wanna come?" asked Rana. Eila nodded and followed Rana.
X x X
"Hello, Remmy!" said Rana, seating herself next to Remus, who was sitting on one of the bleachers. Rana gave him a friendly hug. Eila walked passed the two and made her way to the bottom of the pitch where Sirius, James, and Peter were standing.
James said, "Hey, Eila. Oi, do you have a broom?"
"…No, but I was thinking of getting one next year—"
"Do you wanna fly with us?"
"I would, but like I said, I don't have a broom—" Eila said, but she was interupted by Sirius.
"Here, you can ride with me." He said, getting on his broom and making a place for Eila behind him. Eila was a little bit unsure about flying.
"It's…It's not scary or anything, is it?"
"No, no, not at all." Said Sirius, smiling at her conclusively, "Come on!"
"Oh…alright." She said, timidly getting on the broom behind Sirius. She was feeling rather solicitous about flying on a broom with a bunch of boys. Although, these boys were her best friends.
Sirius said, his voice increasing like a crecendo, "Hold on tight!" Eila wrapped her arms firmly aorund Sirius's waiste the second before the broom lifted into the air. Ecstasy. She was scared out of her wits, but also was amazed. It was rather fun after the first few minutes.
She smiled at the beautiful sight of Hogwarts and Hogsmede below her. Eila unknowingly rested her head on Sirius's shoulder.
"See, I told you it wasn't scary." Said Sirius, noticing this. He felt this odd sort of sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was like adrenaline was just released into his bloodstrem as soon as he felt her touch; but no, that couldn't be, could it? Why he feeling this odd tingling? It was more of an emotion than an actual nerve-to-brain feeling. Whatever it was, it made him feel very happy.
Rana sat with Remus-saying nothing, but watching all of the bright red streaks go across the high-noon sky. Remus looked into Rana's pale grey eyes, but could not hold his stare "Come on, Remus, how hard is it to look at Rana? She's not that pretty…"
Remus continued to argue with himself.
"Yeah, but who am I fooling, she is really pretty."
"Pull yourself together man, you cannot let yourself fall into such emotions! You cannot fall in love because of your condition!"
"But, Rana helps me! I know she loves me back, but just to make sure…"
Remus put his book down and started a conversation with Rana, "So… what do you think?"
Rana looked surprised at Remus, "About what?"
"Well, about the team."
"Oh, well, James looks like a pretty good keeper, he's 8-2 right now, and as for Sirius…well I don't think he would make it past tryouts, especially with Eila on the back of his broom."
"Sirius, already wooing the ladies, are we? Well then it can't hurt to try…" Remus thought.
"Yeah, I agree." He paused awkwardly, as if he was trying to say something in his head, but couldn't make it come out of his lips. He felt this strange…prickle in the tips of his fingers, as if they were telling him that he should just try to connect with her in some way, some subtle gesture that would sum up all his feelings for her.
"No, that-that would be completely unacceptable, I'm only 12 for Merlin's sake!"
"Come on, Remus, only touch her hand it's not like you guys are going to kiss. Rana's not like that!"
"No! I-I can't! She doesn't think of me like that-and that would hurt our relationship."
"Better to ask forgiveness than permission. You know you want to."
"I know I want to, but will she agree, and you know it, why else would she stay with you for this long!"
"I-I have a sweaty palm, She'll think that I'm disgusting!"
"No she will not, that night, when you were a wolf, and you almost ate her face off, you could smell that she loved you with all her heart, now just move your hand…"
Remus moved his hand over Rana's. She blushed slightly, but did not move it. Emotions swirled in her head, she could not think rationally. "Remus, was that a desperate attempt to say that you like me?"
"No, of course not. You know me."
Rana's face changed to a very red color, like she was sun burnt "You know, Remus…I was thinking the same thing."
"What? You were, then you understand…"
"Yes, and I wanted to tell you…I feel the same way. Meet you tonight at the oak tree after potions class, we can talk privately there. There are too many people here. Bye Remus!"
Rana walked off from the bleachers and went up to the Gryffindor common room where Eila was sitting, reading a sixth year Defense Agaisnt the Dark Arts book.
Rana asked, "Where'd you get that?"
"Oh, I stole it from Prefesser Hiltraud's classroom. Seriously, keep him on those mints. I stole this in front of his nose and he didn't even care, he just offered me some chocolate chip cookies."
"Those were spiked too!"
"I never said I ate them."
"Good, because that was spiked with the antidote."
"Why give him the antidote?"
"Then we'de we subject to questioning, and I don't like questioning!"
"You'de be subject to questioning, not me."
"Well…you're asscosated with me so, therefore, you'de be subject to questioning also," said Rana, "Anyway, that's not why I came here…"
"Why would you not be here; this is your house commonroom."
Rana gave Eila a nasty look and continued, "I need help!"
"Yes, you do."
"Shutup! I need help with Remus!"
"Oh…okay, then. I don't think I'm the right person to ask considering no one really likes me and I don't really like anyone…like-like…"
"That's a bunch of owl-droppings!"
"Ask Sirius, he's has tons of girlfriends."
"No, he hasn't."
"Yes, he has."
"Anyway, it's about more personal things that Sirius wouldn't know about…"
"Fine…gosh. You sit here and ask me questions and I'll pretend to listen." Said Eila, looking back into her book.
"Yay! Okay," Rana replied, sitting next to Eila. Rana took a deep breath and continued, "Okay…Remus-told-me-that-he-likes-me-and-I-said-that-I-like-him-too-but-I-don't-really-like-him-but-like-I-said, I-said-I-liked-him-to-him-and-now-I'm-out of-breath-and-don't-know-what-to-do…" Rana took another deep breath, and slowly let it out.
"Then you're screwed! Go ask Molly or something. I really don't know."
"Oh, yeah; and I saw you and Sirius together today. You guys make quite a cute couple."
"We are not a couple!"
"…Sure…" said Rana, walking away.
"I'm Serious!"
"He's already told me about it…fifty times."
"Well, he's stupid and he's lying."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"I'm not! I don't lie!"
"Sirius doesn't lie either, so obviously, one of you has to be lying."
Eila shut her book, got up, and marched towards the boys' dormitory, "SIRIUS! GET DOWN HERE!" Sirius came down and plopped himself down on a chair.
He asked, "You rang?"
"Yes, I…rang," Eila said, "Did you tell Rana that you have a girlfriend?"
Sirius paused and looked at his fingers, trying to aovid eye contact with Eila. He said, "Err…not from anything I remember—"
"See? He's lying! Look, he's trying to avoid contact with me, aren't you Sirius?"
"I…g-guess. Am I in trouble or something? What's this about?"
"Nothing…" said Eila, "you can go if you want; I just wanted to prove something to Rana. And no, don't ask questions because I won't answer them."
"Alrighty, then." Said Sirius, rushing upstairs to his room as fast as his legs could take him.
Rana laughed triumphantly as she grabbed a flask of a greenish brown potion. "I'm going to Potions class; it starts in fifteen minutes, By the way."
Eila rushed to get her books and her cauldron.
When they got to the potions room, they were already two minutes late, but, thankfully Professor Slughorn didn't notice. Rana slipped the potion flask into Remus's bag, along with a note, telling him where to meet for the next full moon. Eila smiled, in a sort of "what-in-the-world-are-you-doing" way. Rana mouthed, "I'll tell you later" as she started to listen to the professor's lecture.
"So, does anyone know the main ingredient to the hair-raising potion?"
Two students raised their hand quickly. Rana, and the strange, pale-skinned boy from but a week earlier Rana looked across the room to the Slytherin side and cast a dirty look to the boy. The boy just merely raised his hand higher, nearly lifting his bottom off the seat. Rana sat down politely, looked more professional and merely batted her eyelashes at the teacher. The boy stood completely up and screamed out the answer, "IT'S RAT TAILS, PROFESSOR!!!!!" Rana smiled to herself, "He obviously wants to get attention. But as you know, the nails that stick out get hammered down first."
Professor coughed to himself and walked up to Severus, and slapped the boy's hand with his pointer, hard, a loud crack echoed through the classroom. Professor Slughorn turned around and continued with his lecture, he then set the others to work until the class bell rang.
"Don't forget to bottle your potions and place the flasks on my desk for testing. Rana quickly got up, corked her flask and set it on the desk and looked around. Severus had already left. She thanked the professor and went out into the hallway outside of the dungeons, where she saw Severus and along with a fetching white-blonde haired boy talking. She walked up to Severus and tapped him on his left shoulder and jumped to his right. Severus fell for the trick and expected to see someone on his left. Rana acted mortally offended, and when Snape blushed; Rana started bursting into hysterical laughter. She stopped, "Forgive me. Hey, is your hand alright? Is it bleeding? It sure sounded painful. Here, let me fix it for you."
Severus huffed as he turned away, "No, I'm fine, silly girl."
Rana smiled, "I thought as much, anyway, I've never met you, what's your name?" she turned to the blonde-haired boy. The boy frowned, "Why should I tell you, filthy mudblood?"
Rana's friendly smile turned into a scowl, "Am not! My name is Rana Aries Black, Daughter of Orion and Walburga Black, and how dare you insult me?"
Lucius smirked as he bowed fervently, "Forgive me—I just assumed that, since you are in Gryffindor, I thought that you were—My name is Lucius Malfoy, my pleasure to meet you." Lucius replied courtly as he kissed Rana's hand. Rana blushed as she pulled away from Lucius, she giggled girlishly, "Heehee, you're weird…" She turned on her heels as she went to the stone circle to meet Remus.
Eila walked up behind Lucius and tapped his shoulder. She asked, "Who the heck are you and what did you do to my friend?"
"Friend? So…you must be pure-blood as well?"
"…Yeah…Eila Clough…pleased to meet you…" she said blandly.
"…Lucius Malfoy…properly elated to meet you…" he said, delecately kissing her hand even more than he had Rana's.
Eila gave him a monotonous look and shook her hand away. She said, "Yeah…whatever."
"Honestly, you could be a little more lady-like." Lucius said, half-annoyed. Eila swatted her hand in ignorance, walking away towards the Gryffindor common room. As she left, she muttered under her breath, "Stupid, fatheaded Slytherins."
XxXIt was approximately eight 'o Clock when Rana had met Remus by the Whomping Willow. She asked, "Did you take your potion?"
He nodded, looking down at the grass for no aparent reason. He didn't want to embarrass himself further more in front of Rana.
He stood there, still welshing from Rana's eyes. He looked at his watch.
"Any minute now…", he said, "3…2…1…"
The full moon appeared from behind the clouds. Remus could feel the potion working. Being forcibly transformed into a wolf was much less painful that into a were-wolf. Being forcibly transformed into a wolf was much less painful that into a were-wolf.
Rana smiled as she pat the wolf on the head lovingly, "Aww…wook at ze sweet wittle doggy-kins!" She cooed as she knelt down to the wolf's level. Remus licked Rana's face. Rana chuckled as she left for the open passage way back to Hogwarts. Remus whimpered (Or as Jack London describes as ki-yied. - White Fang), begging her not to go.
"Remus, I have to go, stay here." Rana commanded Remus as she left the room.
Remus once again Ki-yied and nipped the back of Rana's pant leg, keeping her from moving. She was out the doorway with the door slightly. Just then Eila walked by, saw Rana and motioned her to go inside.
"Come on, Rana, curfew bell's already rang. Let's go."
Rana stuttered as she looked at her friend, "I-I can't…This dog won't let me go."
Eila looked behind Rana "Aww…she's cute, what's her name?"
"I think I'm going to call her…Daphne Von Wolfykins."
The wolf snarled angrily at Rana, as if trying to say, "I'm a guy, you twit."
Rana bent over, and blushed slightly, "Uh…I think it's a guy dog. I know what we can call it, Freddie Von Wolfykins!" Rana joked, patting Remus on the head. Rana heard the distant hoot of an owl as she motioned Eila to come inside of the small passage.
"Eila… can you keep a secret? This is a really big secret that only four people know in this entire school."
"Uh—yeah, sure I can, what is it?"
"Freddie von Wolfiekins, he's—he's—actually Remus…transformed because of an infection in his blood. You are the first I have ever confided this in anyone, and if everyone finds out Hogwarts could be closed down forever."
"Er—What kind of infection? Is it contagious? We need to take him to Madame Pomfrey."
"No—no it's not contagious, at this moment, he's infected with lycanthropy, but I gave him a potion of mine own invention that help suppress the side-effects."
"Remus is a were-wolf?" asked Eila in shock. She paused, "…THAT IS SOO COOL…but I won't tell anyone."