Chapter 26: Thanks to the Slytherins
Summary: It has been quite a day, and now, to top it all off, Remus and Lindi have broken curfew and seem destined for detention. What else will they experience on their little adventure before the day is over?
A/N: As I stated in an author's note in an earlier chapter, with the information from HBP, my timeline is a little off. Just keep in mind that in my story, Lord Voldemort's rise is only just now becoming well known. The terror hasn't reached the point were people fear his very name. Thanks.
The crunching of dried leaves shattered the stillness of the night. Remus was no longer worried about attracting the attention of the forest dwelling creatures now that he and Lindi were in sight of the forest's edge, and they would waste no more time by treading cautiously. They needed to get back to the castle. The outline of Hagrid's hut was silhouetted against the many lighted windows of the castle now visible in the distance.
Remus put out his wand light and motioned for Lindi to do the same so they wouldn't be spotted in the darkness. He slowed his pace and made a quick assessment of their location in relation to the Owlery tower to determine the safest route for them to take. They would run along the perimeter of the forest, keeping in its shadows. Then they could make a dash across the open ground to the Herbology greenhouses which would provide cover from anyone who might be looking out the castle windows. He wondered if Lily and Peter had been able to sneak a broomstick up to the Owlery for them. If so, would it be of any use to them? What were the chances of finding an open window this late in October? He didn't think they were very good. He tried to think of another way inside.
What about the Astronomy Tower? No, that wouldn't work. Mr. Filch still had the trap door secured. For some time, the caretaker had been trying to convince Professor Dumbledore that the tower was being ill-used by some of the students who were having parties there, and leaving butterbeer bottles and litter lying about. But at the beginning of this year, when a third year Ravenclaw named Delburn Warfeld had overdosed on Billiwig stings he had brought back from holiday in Australia, the Headmaster had instructed Professor Flitwick to place a powerful locking charm on the trap door. That stopped the idiots from being in such a dangerous place when they were giddy with the effects of the stings. Now, if they were stupid enough to use them, at least they wouldn't be on top of the highest point in the castle when they started levitating. Delburn had drifted off of the tower and into the top of a yew at the edge of the forest, only narrowly missing the Whomping Willow. Now only those with legitimate Astronomy homework could gain access to the tower.
Sirius had been livid. The Astronomy Tower had always been one of his favorite date spots, so he could take girls star gazing. They seemed to find it romantic that Sirius was named after the brightest star in the sky, althoughhe liked to joke that it was named after him. So when Delburn had finally returned from the hospital wing, Sirius had engorged a Billiwig sting until it was three inches wide, and had threatened the boy with it, telling him where he was going to stick it if Delburn didn't stop being an ignorant git. Remus hoped the threat would work or the boy might find himself permanently damaged. The prat could already barely keep himself on the ground.
But regardless of the reason, the Astronomy Tower was now no help to Remus and Lindi. So, what next? The Owlery was no use, as the openings in it were just high enough for a large owl to fly through, but not a grown witch or wizard on broomstick. No, someone was going to have to open a window for them.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Remus swung his arm over and stopped Lindi from continuing out onto the open grounds. They were behind Hagrid's hut, but no lights were visible in the windows so it was probably safe to hide here for a moment.
"Hold on, Lindi," he gasped, clutching at a stitch in his side. He wondered briefly if he would even be able to get out of bed tomorrow. He explained his plan to her and then pulled James' mirror from his pocket. He didn't dare call into it in case Lily and Peter weren't alone. Instead, he touched his wand to the face and said, "Vibrato." Nothing happened. He tried again, but the only face in the mirror was his. "Crap!"
"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Lindi's voice quivered.
"Probably."
"What do you think will happen to us?"
Remus looked into her worried face. He didn't really want to think about what their punishment might be. He had been caught out of his house after hours with the Marauders once before. Professor McGonagall had taken twenty points from Gryffindor for each of them and given them all a detention. Of course, that was just for being in the castle corridors after hours. It had also been before the stricter rules had been implemented due to the rising dangers from this Lord Voldemort that Remus had been reading about in the Prophet. It seemed that Voldemort and a group of his supporters who called themselves the Death Eaters were behind most of the trouble that had been going on over the past few years, and things were rapidly getting worse. Remus thought it was likely that the Death Eaters were at least suspected of being behind the break-in at Dervish and Banges, which would explain why the students' curfew had been moved up. If these Death Eaters weren't stopped soon, Professor Dumbledore would probably stop letting the students leave the castle, much less the school grounds.
Then Remus considered some of the things he'd read, and a shiver ran up his spine. If Lord Voldemort and his supporters were really as bad as they sounded, it was very likely that there would be a lot more damage than having a Hogsmeade visit cut short before everything was said and done.
But there was nothing Remus could do about that now. All he could do was try to prevent him and Lindi from losing fifty points and getting a week's worth of detentions. She was looking at him anxiously.
"If we get caught, I'm sure we'll lose points," he said causing Lindi to grimace. "And we'll probably get detention."
Lindi groaned miserably.
"You've never had detention, have you?" he asked sympathetically.
"No, have you?"
"I've had a few. It's an occupational hazard of being a Marauder."
Lindi smiled, but her heart wasn't in it.
"I'm sorry, Lindi. I didn't mean to get you into trouble," he said earnestly.
"It isn't your fault, Remus. It's not as if you put me under the Imperious Curse and forced me to stay out against my will. I wanted to," she said resolutely. She smiled sincerely then and seemed a bit calmer.
Ugh! He really didn't want her to get into trouble! "Well, we haven't been caught yet. Let's get going. I'll try to get in touch with someone when we get to the greenhouses."
He slipped the mirror back into his pocket, and they started to walk quietly around the edge of Hagrid's garden. Suddenly the stillness was disturbed by a pandemonium of barking coming from the hut beside them, causing them to freeze in their tracks. The heavy oak door was being jarred by the massive dog Hagrid kept as a pet. Apparently part bloodhound and something enormous, the dog was so large, Remus sometimes thought it might have been engorged. It even made Padfoot seem only average-sized. And it had obviously heard or smelled them and was trying to get through the door.
"Come on, Lindi," he said, instinctively grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. They hurried past three rows of the largest cabbages Remus had ever seen, past a patch of giant pumpkins, and were just clearing a plot of thistleberry bushes when a booming voice echoed across the grounds.
"Vlad, will yeh shut yer trap!" cried Hagrid. "I'm comin', yeh great mutt!"
The barking ceased at once.
The gamekeeper was walking along the path from the castle, a lantern swinging at his side. He was only several yards from the front of the hut when Remus realized with a shock that Hagrid would have a clear view of him and Lindi as soon as he rounded the bend to the front steps.
"Get down, Lindi," Remus hissed quietly and pulled her to the ground between two thistleberry bushes. Remus felt thorns snagging at his robes and pricking his face and hands. The rustling of the bushes must have aroused the dog again. It started howling from inside the hut. Hagrid paused as he reached the front steps and looked in their direction. Remus didn't dare move even enough to glance Lindi's way, but he could sense that she was holding her breath.
"Quiet down, Vlad. It's only a rabbit er somethin'," Hagrid said finally as he reached for the door handle.
Just as Hagrid started to open the door, an owl hooted loudly from somewhere in the trees behind them. Lindi gasped, jumping into Remus and knocking him off balance. The two of them fell headfirst into the thistleberry bushes.
"Who's there? Show yer self!" bellowed Hagrid, holding up the lantern to light the garden. He only just grabbed the great dog's collar as it lunged for the open door, growling loudly.
But Remus couldn't move. He and Lindi were tangled in the thorny shrubs. Lindi seemed to have frozen as if she thought Hagrid might lose interest if they stayed still long enough.
"Don' make me send Vlad in there after yeh. Yeh won' like it," threatened Hagrid.
"Come on, Lindi. It's no use," Remus urged quietly.
"It's Remus Lupin, Hagrid, from Gryffindor," he called. He untangled himself from the shrubs and helped Lindi to her feet.
"Blimey, Lupin, what are yeh doin' out here? Who's that with yeh?"
"Lindi Dellington," Remus answered.
"Hello, Hagrid," she said in a small voice.
"Alrigh' there, Lindi?" called Hagrid. "Wait a minute. What are the two a yeh doin out here? Don' yeh know it's past yer curfew?" Hagrid rounded on Remus. "Do yeh know they're lookin for yeh up at the castle, Lupin?"
"Do you know why they're looking for me?" asked Remus eagerly.
"I jus know that some of the Slytherins told Professor McGonagall that they didn' think yeh were in the castle. I figured they were jus' tryin ter stir up trouble for yer house after that row with Potter and Black, but look at yeh! They were right!" Hagrid looked disapprovingly at Remus.
"James and Sirius had a row with the Slytherins tonight?" Remus asked. How had they managed an argument when they couldn't have been in the castle but a few minutes themselves?
"Tha's not unusual is it? But what are yeh thinkin, bein' out after hours and yeh a Gryffindor Prefect? What have yeh been up to?" He held the lantern up so that it shone on Remus and then on Lindi.
"Nothing, we were just talking and I lost track of the time," said Remus. He glanced at Lindi.
In the dim light from the lantern, he could see that she was completely disheveled. Her hair was a rather alluring, tangled mess complete with a few leaves. Her robes were askew and had dirt and leaves on them, as well. He thought he probably looked about the same and could imagine what it looked like they had been up to, when Hagrid smirked skeptically, raising one bushy eyebrow.
"Well, the nex' time yeh want ter talk with yer young lady, yeh need ter find someplace in the castle ter do it. In my day, they used ter talk in the broom cupboards."
Remus was thankful for the dim light. He felt sure his blush was rivaling Lindi's at the moment.
"Honestly, Hagrid, we were just talking," she insisted, the mortification evident in her voice.
"Well, yeh shouldn' be out of the castle at any rate. It's too dangerous these days. Not to mention, now yeh're in a load of trouble, thanks ter that Slytherin lot. They'll be thrilled tha' yeh're goin' ter lose loads of points fer Gryffindor, Lupin. Yeh gave em jus what they want. Ruddy bunch of snitches," Hagrid seemed to be working himself into something of a rant as his voice started to rise. "Just like…well, they just can' keep their noses out o' other people's business. Always thinkin' they know it all. Just wantin' ter get yeh in trouble because yer a Gryffindor, an' yeh've let em do it."
Hagrid had clenched his long fingers into an enormous fist. Remus got the impression that Hagrid might have had a row with a Slytherin or two himself. It gave Remus an idea. He knew he shouldn't have been caught out of bounds, but he really didn't want Lindi to suffer for it. Hagrid knew the Hogwarts grounds as well as anyone, as far as Remus could tell.
"I really didn't mean to break curfew, Hagrid," he said honestly. "It's all my fault for losing track of time. I know the Slytherins just want to get me into trouble, but now Lindi is going to get punished as well. I don't want that. I don't suppose you know a way into the castle that she might be able to use that no one would notice--that you could take her to?"
"What about you?" asked Lindi sharply.
"I'm not going to ask Hagrid to break the rules to keep me out of trouble. I should have been more careful. But you shouldn't have to suffer because of my carelessness or because of our feud with the Slytherins. It has nothing to do with you," Remus told her.
"You didn't hold a wand to my head, Remus," she said. "I already told you, I'm in this mess of my own free will. I can tell time as well as you can, you know."
"But the only reason they are even looking for us is the Slytherin's dislike for me. Otherwise, we probably would have been able to slip back into the castle before anyone noticed we were missing," Remus argued.
"That is beside the point," snapped Lindi. "I am every bit as guilty as you. If you get detention, I should too." She winced slightly at the thought but continued undeterred. "I don't think I could sleep tonight if I let you take all the blame. Besides, what excuse would you give for being out all by yourself?"
Remus stared down into Lindi's determined face. Merlin she was gorgeous when she was being stubborn.
There was a loud tisking sound and Hagrid mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like young love. "C'mon yeh, two," he said. "Let's get yeh both back into the castle where yeh belong."
Remus' heart sank, but when he saw Lindi's resigned face he felt slightly better. He really hoped they would get to serve their detentions together. Of course, when Professor McGonagall caught them in their current states of disarray, Remus was sure she would probably think it unwise to leave them alone for five minutes. She would probably jump to the same conclusion as Hagrid.
"Well, c'mon. We don' have all night," said Hagrid gruffly.
"But Hagrid, the castle is that way," said Lindi pointing towards the castle with its many lighted windows twinkling invitingly. But Hagrid had moved toward the back of his house. He stopped, turning to look at them.
"Right. But yeh don' want ter go traipsin' up the front steps, do yeh?"
Remus and Lindi looked at each other in stunned silence. Was Hagrid going to help them? He looked down at them seriously and gave his shaggy head a shake.
"I shouldn' be doin' this—and if I ever catch either one of yeh out o' the castle after hours again, I'll drag yeh into the Headmaster's office me self. Yeh understand me?" he barked, wagging an enormous finger at Remus. "I expect more out o yeh, Lupin, yeh bein a prefect an' all. But we all make mistakes and I know yeh are alrigh' or Professor Dumbledore wouldn' a made yeh a prefect in the firs' place. And I know Professor McGonagall is right fond of yeh. I don' think she'd be too happy with either one of us fer this, though." Hagrid scratched his scruffy chin as if reconsidering what he was about to do. "But she don' like takin' points from Gryffindor, even if yeh do deserve it. Especially when it's those ruddy Slytherins stirrin' up trouble."
He led them around the back of his hut and to a small hill with a door at its center. Pulling a giant key ring from one of his coat pockets, Hagrid unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal a root cellar. He told them to look for a concealed door at the back of the dark chamber and to follow the tunnel there. It would take them back to the castle.
"I don' know exactly where it will lead yeh, but I think it takes yeh to the dungeons. I don' use it 'cause I'm too big ter fit through it."
"I really appreciate this, Hagrid," said Remus.
"Well, just remember what I told yeh. And I don' want ter catch those friends o' yers tryin' ter sneak out of school through here. I know what you lot are like, so I'll tell yeh now that as soon as I know yeh're through, I'm sealin' it shut."
Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Lindi trying not to grin.
"Now yeh better get goin' er yeh'll be in trouble anyway."
Remus lit his wand, took a step down into the cellar, and waited for Lindi to follow. She threw her arms around Hagrid's massive waist as she started to pass him. "Thank you, Hagrid," she said, greatly relieved. Hagrid looked taken aback and patted her awkwardly on the back making her grunt aloud with the pressure of his powerful touch.
"Go on, now," he said, ushering her forward.
They walked between shelves that had been built into the stone walls. They were lined with baskets laden with potatoes, onions, and turnips. At the back, just as Hagrid had told them, there was a barely visible outline to an opening. Remus probably wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't known to look for it.
"Dissendium," he said, tapping the wall with his wand. A heavy stone door swung open revealing a dark tunnel running steeply downhill before them. The musty smell of moist earth filled his nostrils, and he was reminded of the tunnel under the Whomping Willow. But the smell here was even more pungent, as though it hadn't been exposed to fresh air in many years. There were darkened holes puncturing the sides of the tunnel that looked like the burrows of small rodents, and some not so small.
He stepped inside and turned to Lindi. The panic was etched into her face.
"I don't think I can do this, Remus," she whimpered. "I think I might like to try my luck with detention after all."
He smiled sympathetically. "Come on, Lindi. You can do this. It's just another part of the adventure. It's a chance to see that you really are strong, like your mum."
"That's rather a low blow, Remus," she smirked.
"Did it work?"
She pulled herself up bravely, swallowed and gave a tentative jerk of her head. "Lumos," her voice cracked as she raised her lighted wand. Remus took that as a yes and smiled.
They stepped carefully down and followed the sloping tunnel deep into the earth as the air became cooler and heavier still. Remus wouldn't have thought it possible, but this passage was even more eerie than the one to the Shrieking Shack. Of course, he realized his feelings about that one were highly biased by the things he associated with it. But this tunnel had an uncomfortable feel to it, even without those negative associations. There were dark, gnarled roots snaking through the jagged walls. As they passed under the roughly hewn ceiling, clumps of moist earth and rock kept falling, spattering ominously in the silence. More than once, they had to squeeze past a boulder that had fallen, blocking their path. Remus' head scraped an exposed root and a shower of dirt fell, peppering his hair and robes.
"Come on, Lindi," he said, trying to hide the urgency in his voice. He wanted to get out of this tunnel.
Finally, the path started to rise, until at long last they reached the end. Thank goodness! Now if they could just get through the passage and into the castle without being caught. Remus held his wand up to check himself, shaking the dirt off of his cloak. It was a mess, so he took it off, as did Lindi. They would look suspicious wearing their heavy cloaks indoors anyway. The cold, damp air of the tunnel suddenly went very warm when she reached up and dusted the dirt lightly from his hair. Gooseflesh erupted on his arms when she combed her fingers gently through it, straightening it back out of his eyes. Oh how he wished she'd do that for reasons other than just to groom him. His heart literally ached when she leaned in closely and ran her finger tips over his face, brushing away as much of the smudged earth as she could. He found it hard to breath with her so close. She really better stop doing that or he wouldn't be held responsible for messing up their friendship.
She must have realized it and pulled her hand away slowly. Yes, Remus felt confident that things were going to progress fairly soon. He actually thought that if he kissed her this very moment, she would kiss him right back, friends or not. Unfortunately, they really needed to get into the castle immediately. He thought it would probably be worth a month of detentions, but he didn't want that shadow hanging over their first kiss, not when he didn't think he'd have to wait much longer anyway.
"We better get going," he said barely managing a whisper. She nodded in agreement. He took his wand and tapped the wall in front of them. "Dissendium."
A large slab of stone slid silently to the side, revealing what appeared to be the back side of a frame. Remus listened for a moment for a sign of movement on the other side and heard nothing. He pushed on the frame, but it didn't budge. He took his wand and tapped the back of the frame, trying Dissendium again, but still nothing happened. "Alohomora," he said. Again, nothing. He tried another door opening spell even though this wasn't technically a door. But the only movement came from the sparks flying out of his wand. "Aperio… Exitus… Amoveo Obstructo," he said tapping the frame with each incantation. Still nothing….
"I can't believe we made it this far and now we can't get through," said Lindi. She tried a couple of spells that had no more success than Remus'. Then she waved her wand and said, "Abracadabra you stupid thing!" and she pounded her fist on the frame.
"What is that?" laughed Remus. "Did you say abracadabra?"
Lindi explained that it was a word Muggles apparently made up when they pretended to do magic.
"Yes, I've read it before, in Muggle children's books. My grandmother was a Muggle. How do you know it?" he asked her, momentarily forgetting the problem at hand.
She told him about a Muggle friend of her Aunt who lived in Australia. "Miss Bert was married to a wizard and they lived in the village near Aunt Ronnie's house," she said fondly. "She was a retired Muggle school teacher. She taught literature and had the most wonderful library."
He really wished they could just forget about the stupid frame and stay here forever, talking and…but they couldn't, so he shook the thought off and turned back to the task at hand.
"Open sesame," he said, dramatically waving his wand. "What, you didn't read about that one?" he teased when she gave him a funny look. "It's another Muggle incantation, and obviously it doesn't work any better for us than it would for them."
Lindi giggled.
They tried a number of other spells, tapping, poking, and waving their wands at the apparently immovable frame. Perhaps someone had sealed it. Remus felt his frustration returning. This really wasn't very funny anymore. He really didn't want to have to go back through the tunnel.
Remus prodded the frame with his wand. "Open!" he said exasperatedly.
"Will you stop poking me please?" hissed a whispered voice. "The coast wasn't clear."
The frame swung out into a dimly lit corridor. They were clearly in the dungeons somewhere. From the look of the paintings, most being still life images of fruits, vegetables, or wines, they were near the kitchens. Remus stepped out through the opening and helped Lindi through. When the frame swung back over the secret passage, a rotund man holding a frothing tankard glared at them in annoyance.
"You realize that it defeats the purpose of having a secret passage if you come barreling out of it in front of other people, don't you? Next time, have a little patience, will you?" the man in the portrait said irritably. "No one has been through here in years and I finally get something to do, and now I'm going to be black and blue from you jabbing me with your bloody wand." The man made a point of rubbing his back.
"We're sorry, we didn't realize there was anyone guarding the opening," Remus said. "Do you know which way to the main floor?" The man waved them to the right and they thanked him and wished him goodnight.
Remus and Lindi made their way briskly up the corridor and found the staircase. He wanted to put some distance between them and that passageway, just in case. When they reached the ground floor, Lindi looked at him with great relief and graced him with one of her gleaming smiles.
"We did it. I can't believe it. That was really…exciting," she said.
"Don't tell me you enjoyed it?" he said. He knew she was feeling the rush that came with a narrow escape. How many nights had he felt that surge of adrenaline when the Marauders had barely slipped through a professor's snare? He knew it could be a rather intoxicating sensation.
"Well, not at the time, but now that it's over…"
They rounded a corner and nearly collided with none other than Professor McGonagall. She took one sharp look at them and pursed her lips severely. Maybe it wasn't quite over.
"Where on earth have the two of you been?" she asked.
Now that they were in a well lighted corridor, Remus wished they had taken more care in tidying themselves up.
"We were just exploring Professor," Remus answered evasively.
"Exploring what, Lupin, a dung bog?" Professor McGonagall said, her nose wrinkling as she took in the state of his trousers. Remus looked down and noticed the brown stains at his knees. Hagrid must have fertilized his garden recently.
"Er, we were out on the grounds earlier and had a little accident in Hagrid's vegetable patch," said Remus offering just enough of the truth to answer the question.
"An accident, earlier?" the Professor said sharply. "Miss Dellington, perhaps you'd care to tell me what happened." Professor McGonagall rested her beady gaze on Lindi whose eyes widened in panic.
"Oh, er—well, we were hiding from Hagrid—er—Hagrid's dog I mean," she sputtered. "He started barking at us and I—er—I knocked Remus over and…"
"Why was Hagrid's dog barking at you, what were you doing in Hagrid's garden?"
"Erm, well, we were out walking," said Lindi guiltily. She looked at Remus for help and he realized with a bit of concern that Lindi was an absolutely dreadful liar. "And then we, er, we…noticed the lovely pumpkins…yes, have you ever seen them? They're enormous. I don't know how Hagrid does it. Do you suppose he uses some spec…"
"Miss Dellington," Professor McGonagall interrupted irritably. "When was this?"
Lindi blinked. "Erm, I'm not exactly sure of the precise time, Professor. I didn't check my watch or anything…"
"An approximation will do," snapped McGonagall.
"Well, it was earlier, before curfew," Lindi said a little too certainly, while she conspicuously refused to look at the professor.
Yes, Lindi was definitely a bad liar. The only thing that could have made it more apparent would have been forgetting to remove the truth charms from their game. Still, Lindi's hair didn't need to turn green for it to be obvious that she was lying.
Professor McGonagall cocked an eyebrow and glared at Remus. "Well, that is certainly a relief," she said sarcastically. "Because I had a report that you were out of the castle after curfew. Why do you suppose that is?"
"I wouldn't like to say without knowing who reported it, Professor," said Remus carefully.
"It was Mr Avery and Mr Snape of Slytherin house," she said. "Why would they say you were out of bounds, Mr Lupin?"
"I'd say they were probably hoping to cause Gryffindor to lose points by getting me into trouble," Remus said steadily. It was much easier for Remus to use the truth to mislead someone than to blatantly lie. He knew Professor McGonagall was too smart to be fooled by it, but it was worth a shot. She seemed to be spooling herself up for a response and Remus figured they were about to get landed in detention for quite some time.
"I do not doubt for one minute that that was indeed their intention. Fortunately for you and for Gryffindor, you were not caught out of bounds, Lupin. I would have been very unhappy if you had been," she said pointedly. "In fact, if I ever catch you out of bounds like that, you will serve a month of the most odious detentions I can assign, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Professor," he said.
Remus couldn't believe she was going to let them get away with it. Maybe his friends were right; they always teased him that he was McGonagall's favorite. Still, it had never stopped her from giving him detention before. Letting him off this time probably had something to do with the way the Slytherins were involved. Professor McGonagall was generally a stickler for the rules, but she didn't like pettiness or vindictiveness. What the Slytherins had done would have seemed both, no doubt. Besides, there really wasn't any proof that they had been out of bounds.
"Now I suggest you both go to your dormitories and get cleaned up. If Mr Filch catches you tracking that filth in the corridors he'll want permission to flay you. Come to think of it, twenty points from each of your houses for being a disgrace."
Remus figured Professor McGonagall would have felt the need to give them some punishment. He knew it was only fair and tried not to show his gratitude. Professor McGonagall turned to Lindi once more.
"And Miss Dellington, if you have been in this state since earlier in the day, I suggest you get those thistleberry worms out of your hair before they build nests and lay eggs."
Lindi shrieked and started shaking her head frantically. "Getem off! Getem off, Remus!" she cried, slapping her hands through her hair. Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes in exasperation, the corners of her mouth twitching as she walked away.
Remus bit his lip, but couldn't help grinning at Lindi and their great fortune as he vanished the worms from the floor and calmed her down. They had actually gotten away with it. As an added bonus, he got to run his fingers through Lindi's hair. It didn't matter that it was just to make sure no worms were burrowing in. The little tremor that went through her when his fingers grazed the nape of her neck and the way it made her blush thrilled him. Having a group of second years watching and giggling as they were on their way out of the Great Hall didn't embarrass or annoy him at all. On the contrary, he rather liked it, just as he had enjoyed knowing Hagrid thought they were together as more than friends. Maybe if enough people believed it, Lindi would, too. They talked lightly as he walked her to the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower.
Standing together outside the door, it felt so much like the end of a date, a really interesting date, that it seemed natural for him to kiss her good night. But after their conversation at the cove, he was very hesitant to attempt it. Still, she kept standing there instead of going inside…maybe things had progressed more quickly than he dared hope. Why wasn't she going inside? She looked rather conflicted. The powerful temptation to grab her and kiss her erupted inside him again (as if it had ever left him). But it was a Saturday evening and people kept passing in and out of the hallway. Lindi looked around awkwardly each time the door swung open or footsteps came down the corridor behind them. Remus felt great annoyance when a couple paused only feet away to say their goodnights. When the two started kissing, Lindi looked more uncomfortable than ever and would hardly look at him.
But before she could make a hasty retreat into Ravenclaw tower, Peeves, the poltergeist, appeared through the ceiling above them.
"Oh look at the lurvy durvy boys and girls. Better stop, before Peeves hurls!" he said. He started making rude gagging sounds and throwing what Remus hoped was only leftover bits of food.
The kissing couple broke apart, the boy swearing loudly at Peeves who only got louder and ruder. Finally, the seventh year pulled his wand and started shouting, "Waddiwasi!" and the bits of food started flying back off the floor to pummel the poltergeist. With the distraction, Lindi finally turned to Remus.
"I had a lot of fun, Remus," she said.
"It was fun," he agreed. They stared at each other for another moment until Peeves blew a very loud raspberry and zoomed over their heads and through the wall.
"Well, I better go," Lindi said hastily. "I'll see you in class I guess…and at Dueling Club practice…and the masquerade. You are going aren't you?"
"Of course," he said.
"Good, well, goodnight then," she said, and went through the door.
Remus turned slowly away as a smile formed on his lips. He knew it was just a matter of time.