A/N: This was originally supposed to be part of the previous chapter, but I
was leaving school for a 4-day weekend, and I had to post then or I
wouldn't get to for a while. But I hope you enjoy anyways.
Remus groaned softly. His technique of saying very little had failed. For the past hour and a half, the four students had peppered him relentlessly with questions. He looked around him suddenly. He smiled.
"Perfect." He announced. They were standing in a secluded clearing in the forest. "We camp here tonight." Fauna sat down on one of the surrounding logs immediately.
"Thank goodness! My feet are killing me!" She complained. Gary and James exchanged an amused glance.
"That's what you get for wearing heels on a hiking trip, Fauna." James pointed out, and ducked to avoid her flying fists.
"I always wear these shoes, you know that." She pouted. Gary rolled his eyes.
"And you complain daily about how they hurt." Gary added. Veronica turned away to hide her grin. She and Fauna were best friends, but even she had to admit that Fauna tended to complain about things that she could easily change. Remus smirked.
"Good to know that girls never change." He commented. James and Gary grinned.
"How so, Professor?" James asked curiously.
"I grew up with a girl named Lily Evans. She was absolutely gorgeous, and smart, and basically perfect. She ended up marrying one of my best friends, James Potter. But that's not my point. Between our 5th and 6th years, she changed drastically. She became even more gorgeous, and she flaunted it. Guys wanted her and girls wanted to be her. Anyways, Lils would wear high heels every day during our 7th year, and without fail, she would complain about it. I think it's just because every time she did, James would carry her. But it's the same concept." Remus finished. He had set his pack down and was retrieving their dinner out of it.
"They make our legs look longer and slimmer." Veronica defended herself.
"As I pointed out to Lily on numerous occasions, no one sees your legs under your Hogwarts robes, so you may as well be comfortable. And speaking of comfortable, you may all wish to get your bed rolls out and warm them up a bit. It's going to be a cold night." Remus changed the subject smoothly. He smiled to himself and prepared his dinner. Each of the students was responsible for his or her own dinner. He was only half listening to the happy chatter when suddenly something that Fauna said caught his attention.
"Gary, what is that...?" She asked, terrified. Remus looked up and grinned.
"Oh, hello Bane." Remus nodded casually at the centaur. "To answer your question, Fauna, Bane is a centaur." A faint smile flitted over the face of Bane.
"Good evening, Remus and students. May I ask what brings you to the Forbidden Forest this evening, Remus?" Bane asked politely.
"A fieldtrip, one might say. Professor Black is, as you know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor up at the school. He persuaded the Headmaster that it would be wise to allow his 7th year students to spend an evening in here. Therefore, Professor Weasley, Professor Snape, Professor Granger, Professor Black, and I each have a small group of students. I hope we did not disturb you." Remus was perfectly at ease, but the students were still scared. Bane nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed. A wise decision for Professor Black. Have you noticed that Venus is bright this evening?" Bane was watching the stars as usual. Remus smiled.
"In fact, I did. I was hoping to get a word with you this evening. Venus is extremely bright, and Jupiter is also a bit brighter than normal." Remus commented. Bane smiled, warming up to Remus. Bane nodded at the students.
"Will you introduce me to your students? I'm curious as to their houses, as well." He questioned. Remus was on his feet in an instant.
"Oops. So sorry, everyone. Normally I would never forget to make an introduction, but this evening it seems to have slipped my mind. Bane, this is Fauna McKinley, a Gryffindor. Veronica Collins is a Hufflepuff. Gary Marks here is a Gryffindor, and James Spinney is a Slytherin. And this is Bane. He's one of the more well-known centaurs for those of us who wander the forest." Remus finished his introduction. Fauna smiled.
"So nice to meet you, Bane." She smiled charmingly. Bane smiled in return.
"The pleasure is all mine. Remus, you seem to have been lucky in your group. I just heard Sirius's group. He seems to be having a rough time with them." Bane returned his attention to Remus. Remus grinned.
"He chose the groups, Bane. He's with 2 Slytherins and 2 Gryffindors. Those four couldn't get along if their lives depended on it." Remus told him.
"And they very well could. Did I mention that Venus is bright tonight?" Bane was back to gazing at the sky.
"You did. Bane, have you seen all of the groups this evening?" Remus asked, curiosity taking over. Bane nodded.
"I have. You are the only one that I approached, however. Hermione's group was busy, Sirius's group was too loud, Severus's group had Severus in it, and Ron's group was too skittish." Bane explained. Fauna smirked.
"Accurate descriptions." Remus smiled.
"Now, I really must be going." Bane nodded his farewell, and sauntered out of the clearing. Remus sat back down, and got comfortable again.
"Well, what did you think of Bane?" He asked his still awestruck students.
"He's very polite." Veronica piped up.
"He seemed more interested in the stars than in us." Gary added.
"He seemed very smart." James confessed.
"He was a bit withdrawn." Fauna mused. Remus smiled.
"Yeah, that's centaurs for you. They're all like that. Wonderful creatures, and very respectful, but they are a bit distant, in more ways than one." Remus told his students. "Professor Black asked me to make suggestions to you as to your papers. My first suggestion to you is to include your conclusions on Bane and centaurs in general." Remus yawned.
"Will that really work?" Fauna asked eagerly.
"Yup. Guaranteed. You'll need more than that to fill 6 feet though." Remus smirked.
"Hey Professor, will you tell us why Professor Black is more thorough this year?" Gary asked, his mind returning to their earlier question. Remus smirked again.
"Professor Granger, Professor Weasley, myself, and Professor Black all work together. Well, in the same room, at least. We do that when we're making lesson plans or grading work. It's a special room that we dedicated to that. Nothing else can go on in there, and unless you have something to grade, you're out of there. Professor Granger is always the last one in there. Professor Black was usually the first out. He's taken to grading more thoroughly to spend more time with Professor Granger." Remus finished. Gary and James gagged. Veronica and Fauna looked like they were about to swoon.
"How sweet! Professor Granger is so lucky!" Veronica squealed.
"Oh that's so cute! I can take more time on my essay then." Fauna announced.
"Oh please. That's pathetic. He's whipped!" Gary argued. James hit his arm.
"Wouldn't you be for her?" James demanded. Gary hesitated.
"Yeah, ok, good point." Gary admitted. Remus was laughing softly. He glanced into the distance, and smiled. The first rays of dawn were creeping up, and a faint, pale light was filtering in through the trees. He stood up.
"Well, pack up, students. We're just about finished here." Remus started packing his own things. The students followed suit.
"Professor Lupin, I'm so glad that I was in your group." Veronica cooed. James rolled his eyes.
"Pathetic, Veronica. But yeah, Professor Lupin, it was nice being in this group." James said. Remus smiled.
"Thank you. By the way, if any of you need help on your essays, come to me. I would be more than happy to help. I won't write it for you, but I can help." Remus offered. The students smiled. Remus looked around the campsite. All signs of human presence had been wiped out. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Let's go. We still have a bit of a hike ahead of us before we make it back to the school." Remus started walking towards Hogwarts. His students followed happily. Remus only half listened to the conversations. Instead, he was thinking about how to get another date with Amy.
Remus groaned softly. His technique of saying very little had failed. For the past hour and a half, the four students had peppered him relentlessly with questions. He looked around him suddenly. He smiled.
"Perfect." He announced. They were standing in a secluded clearing in the forest. "We camp here tonight." Fauna sat down on one of the surrounding logs immediately.
"Thank goodness! My feet are killing me!" She complained. Gary and James exchanged an amused glance.
"That's what you get for wearing heels on a hiking trip, Fauna." James pointed out, and ducked to avoid her flying fists.
"I always wear these shoes, you know that." She pouted. Gary rolled his eyes.
"And you complain daily about how they hurt." Gary added. Veronica turned away to hide her grin. She and Fauna were best friends, but even she had to admit that Fauna tended to complain about things that she could easily change. Remus smirked.
"Good to know that girls never change." He commented. James and Gary grinned.
"How so, Professor?" James asked curiously.
"I grew up with a girl named Lily Evans. She was absolutely gorgeous, and smart, and basically perfect. She ended up marrying one of my best friends, James Potter. But that's not my point. Between our 5th and 6th years, she changed drastically. She became even more gorgeous, and she flaunted it. Guys wanted her and girls wanted to be her. Anyways, Lils would wear high heels every day during our 7th year, and without fail, she would complain about it. I think it's just because every time she did, James would carry her. But it's the same concept." Remus finished. He had set his pack down and was retrieving their dinner out of it.
"They make our legs look longer and slimmer." Veronica defended herself.
"As I pointed out to Lily on numerous occasions, no one sees your legs under your Hogwarts robes, so you may as well be comfortable. And speaking of comfortable, you may all wish to get your bed rolls out and warm them up a bit. It's going to be a cold night." Remus changed the subject smoothly. He smiled to himself and prepared his dinner. Each of the students was responsible for his or her own dinner. He was only half listening to the happy chatter when suddenly something that Fauna said caught his attention.
"Gary, what is that...?" She asked, terrified. Remus looked up and grinned.
"Oh, hello Bane." Remus nodded casually at the centaur. "To answer your question, Fauna, Bane is a centaur." A faint smile flitted over the face of Bane.
"Good evening, Remus and students. May I ask what brings you to the Forbidden Forest this evening, Remus?" Bane asked politely.
"A fieldtrip, one might say. Professor Black is, as you know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor up at the school. He persuaded the Headmaster that it would be wise to allow his 7th year students to spend an evening in here. Therefore, Professor Weasley, Professor Snape, Professor Granger, Professor Black, and I each have a small group of students. I hope we did not disturb you." Remus was perfectly at ease, but the students were still scared. Bane nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed. A wise decision for Professor Black. Have you noticed that Venus is bright this evening?" Bane was watching the stars as usual. Remus smiled.
"In fact, I did. I was hoping to get a word with you this evening. Venus is extremely bright, and Jupiter is also a bit brighter than normal." Remus commented. Bane smiled, warming up to Remus. Bane nodded at the students.
"Will you introduce me to your students? I'm curious as to their houses, as well." He questioned. Remus was on his feet in an instant.
"Oops. So sorry, everyone. Normally I would never forget to make an introduction, but this evening it seems to have slipped my mind. Bane, this is Fauna McKinley, a Gryffindor. Veronica Collins is a Hufflepuff. Gary Marks here is a Gryffindor, and James Spinney is a Slytherin. And this is Bane. He's one of the more well-known centaurs for those of us who wander the forest." Remus finished his introduction. Fauna smiled.
"So nice to meet you, Bane." She smiled charmingly. Bane smiled in return.
"The pleasure is all mine. Remus, you seem to have been lucky in your group. I just heard Sirius's group. He seems to be having a rough time with them." Bane returned his attention to Remus. Remus grinned.
"He chose the groups, Bane. He's with 2 Slytherins and 2 Gryffindors. Those four couldn't get along if their lives depended on it." Remus told him.
"And they very well could. Did I mention that Venus is bright tonight?" Bane was back to gazing at the sky.
"You did. Bane, have you seen all of the groups this evening?" Remus asked, curiosity taking over. Bane nodded.
"I have. You are the only one that I approached, however. Hermione's group was busy, Sirius's group was too loud, Severus's group had Severus in it, and Ron's group was too skittish." Bane explained. Fauna smirked.
"Accurate descriptions." Remus smiled.
"Now, I really must be going." Bane nodded his farewell, and sauntered out of the clearing. Remus sat back down, and got comfortable again.
"Well, what did you think of Bane?" He asked his still awestruck students.
"He's very polite." Veronica piped up.
"He seemed more interested in the stars than in us." Gary added.
"He seemed very smart." James confessed.
"He was a bit withdrawn." Fauna mused. Remus smiled.
"Yeah, that's centaurs for you. They're all like that. Wonderful creatures, and very respectful, but they are a bit distant, in more ways than one." Remus told his students. "Professor Black asked me to make suggestions to you as to your papers. My first suggestion to you is to include your conclusions on Bane and centaurs in general." Remus yawned.
"Will that really work?" Fauna asked eagerly.
"Yup. Guaranteed. You'll need more than that to fill 6 feet though." Remus smirked.
"Hey Professor, will you tell us why Professor Black is more thorough this year?" Gary asked, his mind returning to their earlier question. Remus smirked again.
"Professor Granger, Professor Weasley, myself, and Professor Black all work together. Well, in the same room, at least. We do that when we're making lesson plans or grading work. It's a special room that we dedicated to that. Nothing else can go on in there, and unless you have something to grade, you're out of there. Professor Granger is always the last one in there. Professor Black was usually the first out. He's taken to grading more thoroughly to spend more time with Professor Granger." Remus finished. Gary and James gagged. Veronica and Fauna looked like they were about to swoon.
"How sweet! Professor Granger is so lucky!" Veronica squealed.
"Oh that's so cute! I can take more time on my essay then." Fauna announced.
"Oh please. That's pathetic. He's whipped!" Gary argued. James hit his arm.
"Wouldn't you be for her?" James demanded. Gary hesitated.
"Yeah, ok, good point." Gary admitted. Remus was laughing softly. He glanced into the distance, and smiled. The first rays of dawn were creeping up, and a faint, pale light was filtering in through the trees. He stood up.
"Well, pack up, students. We're just about finished here." Remus started packing his own things. The students followed suit.
"Professor Lupin, I'm so glad that I was in your group." Veronica cooed. James rolled his eyes.
"Pathetic, Veronica. But yeah, Professor Lupin, it was nice being in this group." James said. Remus smiled.
"Thank you. By the way, if any of you need help on your essays, come to me. I would be more than happy to help. I won't write it for you, but I can help." Remus offered. The students smiled. Remus looked around the campsite. All signs of human presence had been wiped out. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Let's go. We still have a bit of a hike ahead of us before we make it back to the school." Remus started walking towards Hogwarts. His students followed happily. Remus only half listened to the conversations. Instead, he was thinking about how to get another date with Amy.