Author's note: sorry this is like 12 hours earlier than I normally post, having a sudden mental health issue and I doubt I'll be able to get the chapter out before work 'tomorrow' which is when I was planning on it.
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Peter was a nervous wreck as they headed to Occlumency. He kept wringing his hands and mumbling under his breath, no matter how many times Remus promised it would be all right. Peter asked multiple times what Fawley wanted with him, and Remus replied he wasn't entirely sure but Fawley was liking the other Marauders a lot more than she used to, so it couldn't be too bad.
"Hello Remus, Peter," Fawley said when they went through the door.
"Urp," Peter gulped.
"Hello Miss Fawley," Remus said.
"I brought the bit for your prank," she said, pulling a ball of very thin ribbon out from her purse. "It should cover the Great Hall entrance. Be careful, once you put some spells on there, that's it."
The ribbon was glowing very faintly blue. Underneath the blue it seemed to be a sort of browny-grey color that would match the stone around the entrance. "Thank you so much." Remus tucked it in his robes pocket, feeling very excited. "I can't wait to show you next week."
"I can't wait," she laughed. "Have a seat, both of you. Peter, I wanted to talk to you a little bit."
"Um. R—right, yeah, um, yeah," he squeaked. "I don't—I'm—it's, uh—"
Fawley reached out, resting a hand on his arm. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you, or interrogate you. I only wanted to ask you a few questions."
"L—like you did before?" he asked, still shaking a bit.
"Yes. This is more along the lines of what to expect from Occlumency," she explained. "Do you know much about it?"
"Um, no Miss, I—not really. Remus, um, he's said some things. It hurts, right?"
"A little bit," she said. "Remus can better explain, it's been a while since I've experienced it myself."
"Headaches," he told Peter. "And sometimes this stabbing pain behind my eyes."
Fawley went on to tell Peter what else to expect. How difficult it was, how he shouldn't expect to make much progress for a while, that he would have to practice a lot emptying himself. Remus watched Peter's face, pleased that Peter was taking everything in very determinedly. He had a crease between his eyebrows and he kept nodding. Fawley finished with asking him if he'd like to experience it.
"Ummmmmmm. Yeah, uh, yeah sure. You won't... ummm..." Peter shot to his feet, grabbing Remus's hand. "H—hold on, Miss Fawley." With that he dragged Remus out of the room, practically shoving him against the opposite wall. "What if she sees me on the loo?!" he hissed out into Remus's ear.
Remus covered his mouth, trying not to laugh. "She won't stay in the memory if it's anything personal," he said. "There have rarely been any instances where she saw a memory of me going to the bathroom or taking a shower or anything like that. It... has happened, but she's never seen anything... personal, if you know what I mean."
"Your... you know," Peter said, wide-eyed. He then mouthed the word 'penis'.
Remus paused since yes, Fawley had seen that in memories of waking up after a full moon. "Well..."
"She has?!"
Remus quickly shook his head, grabbing Pete's arms. "Not like that, no. It was because it was... something involving... my... you know..." He glanced around then made a face. "As James likes to put it..."
"Your furry little problem?"
"Ugh. Yes. It involved that."
"Ooh."
"Other than... that... no, she's never seen anything personal."
Peter slowly nodded. "A—all right. Sorry if that seemed stupid I just got kinda worried. I don't want... um, yeah."
Remus pat Peter's shoulder. "It's fine, I understand. It wasn't stupid at all, it's a legitimate concern."
They returned to the room and sat on the couch, Peter next to Fawley. She told him what to expect, then put her fingers lightly on his temples. Remus watched eagerly since he hadn't really seen it done. The time with Sirius didn't count, since he had kicked her out without even trying. Oh, what if Pete's a natural too? he wondered, suddenly anxious. What if all his friends were?
But Peter sat there slightly slack-jawed while Fawley frowned, both of them frozen in place. After nearly a full minute they pulled apart, Peter whimpering and rubbing his head, Fawley putting her hands in her lap.
Finally Pete spoke. "That was so weird! Remy, you didn't say how weird it is! It was so... clear. Like I was watching the telly. 'Cept it was my own memory."
"Are you all right?" Fawley asked.
"Uh-huh. Just a little weird. No headache though..."
"The headache is from fighting it," Remus said.
"All I do is... pretend my head is empty?" Peter went on.
Fawley nodded. "It's different for everyone. When I learned, it worked best for me to imagine my head was an empty room with white walls."
"I like to try to think of my brain as an empty book," Remus said. "I turn the pages and nothing is on them."
"What works for us might not work for you," Fawley added. "Sometimes it might take a while for you to find something that clicks."
"Okay. Um—when do we—I mean, when are we going to uhhh, um..."
"Begin your lessons?" Fawley asked. "I'm still not sure about that. Perhaps not until next year. It will be difficult to arrange things without Albus knowing why I am here for either an extra day of the week, or giving Remus longer sessions. In addition, we'll need to work around your club meetings, and James's practices."
Remus shifted a little, trying not to think about the pressure they were putting on Fawley with keeping this a secret from Dumbledore. He hoped it wasn't too bad... and also still wasn't sure about the payment.
Fawley and Peter talked for a few more minutes before Peter left so Remus could work on his Occlumency. It went about as normal as it usually did—him putting up a wimpy barrier—and by the end his head was hurting some. Once they were finished, Fawley asked if he had any idea when would be a good time to meet with James. Remus wasn't really sure, but Fawley asked if perhaps sometime if she showed up for their lesson early if he and James wouldn't mind coming in at 5:30, since his practice didn't start till 6.
"I'll talk to him," Remus promised. "Um... th—thank you. For being willing to—to help them... I know it's a lot and—"
"It's all right," she said, patting his arm. "I'm not sure how their lessons will go however it is encouraging that they are willing to try to keep you safe."
"Th-they're really amazing friends," Remus said quietly, more to himself.
"I'm glad you have them."
Remus smiled. "Me too. I don't know how I ever got so lucky. I—I'll see you next week, Miss Fawley. Thank you for the ribbon."
He left the room, startled to find Peter waiting for him across the hall. Pete said he didn't feel like going outside by himself in the dark to the Quidditch pitch, and he hadn't wanted to go to the common room either. The two of them walked together, Peter asked questions about Occlumency and emptying the mind. He said he wasn't sure how well he'd do, since he wasn't good at much. Remus told him he was sure he'd do fine, and that Peter was good at plenty of things.
"I, um, have another question," Pete said when they ducked into a hallway that led to a back stairwell. "It's really... uhh... probably really personal so, um, I can understand if you don't wanna answer it." Peter tugged at the strap of his satchel, looking rather nervous. "Earlier you said she's seen you... um... you know, and you said it was cause of—of, um, that, and I just wasn't sure... what that meant? I mean, that it had to do with... that?"
Remus's head was throbbing, and it was difficult to follow along Pete's train of thought. "I'm not sure I understand the question, I'm sorry."
"Well. You said she's seen you without—you know... naked. That it had to do with your... month thing. And I wasn't sure why. It kinda confused me."
"Oh." Remus took in a sharp breath, an uncomfortable feeling trickling down his spine. It probably would be okay to say he didn't want to talk about it, he figured Peter would understand, but at the same time it felt a little... nice that Peter was asking a question related to lycanthropy and sounding curious instead of scared. Even if it had to do with Miss Fawley seeing him in the nude. "When..." He stopped both speaking and walking, tilting his head to listen, making sure nobody was around. Once satisfied they were alone he began speaking again. "When I transform, if I'm wearing clothes they get—ah, erm, torn up. So I... don't. I mean, I undress before—before sunset. So I don't ruin my clothes."
Peter frowned, and for a second Remus was worried Pete would think that was weird or creepy or stupid. "That sucks," he finally said. "That means when you're stuck as a person all night long you're starkers?"
While it was a little uncomfortable to be discussing the fact he was naked, he didn't mind answering Peter's question. "Yes."
"Damn! No wonder you get so cold!" Peter sounded very worried. "I'll see if my mum can make another blanket—"
"No, no, it's all right!" Remus said quickly. "I have a fire going in the winter, and the blanket you gave me helps loads."
"I'm glad it helps." Peter didn't sound very glad though, he sounded rather miserable. When Remus pointed this out, he winced a little. "No, I am glad, I really am. It just makes me mad."
"What does? That the blanket helps?"
"No!" he whined. "That—that we can't do more. Sirius says..." Peter trailed off, biting his bottom lip and looking very guilty.
Remus stopped walking again, the hair on the back of his neck rising a little. "Sirius says what?"
"Oh, you know him, he's got a big mouth," Pete said with a very fake chuckle. Remus folded his arms, glaring until Peter broke down. "He says that—oh, he says that there must be something more we can do for you and he's not gonna stop till he figures it out. That there has'ta be a way to make it easier for you during the... you know, the moon time. That he'll find something."
Remus stood still, anger curling its way through his body. He had doubted Sirius and James wouldn't rest about trying to figure something out, however he hadn't expected this much determination. It was frustrating, especially since Remus had made it clear there was nothing that could be done.
Peter was watching him with a wrinkled forehead, visibly distressed. Remus took in a few deep breaths to try to calm himself down. Taking his anger out on Peter was wrong.
"Sirius is an idiot," he finally said, once he knew he wouldn't snap. "And he's very much so mistaken. You can tell him that, too. Both things. That he's mistaken, and an idiot."
Peter sighed. "We just wanna help—"
"You are helping." Remus took a step closer to Pete, wishing he could get this through their heads. "I've said it countless times. You're all there for me in ways nobody else would be." Peter looked like he wanted to say something more, but didn't. "Please believe me. All three of you have made my life... so much better."
"You guys have made mine better too," Peter said dubiously. "But what's so wrong with us trying?"
"There are better ways to spend your time," Remus said, resuming walking again. "Like studying." Pete gave a snort, and Remus smiled. "Fine, like coming up with pranks."
Peter darted forward and linked his arm with Remus's, squeezing gently. They walked arm in arm back to the tower while Remus tried his best to squash the fury down even more. He didn't want them wasting so much time on him. He already took up too much time and attention with his issues, he didn't want to be such a... a focus. There were so many more important things than him! He wished they would understand.
/\/\/\/\/\
Once morning hit, all four boys were very giggly about the prank. They got dressed in their uniforms, James got his broom, and Remus had Fawley's string. They went under the cloak and headed through the school, as it was before second years were permitted to be out and about in the mornings.
The set up went without a hitch. Remus and Peter hid out while Sirius put the sticking spell on the door and James stuck the string down. It still glowed faintly blue until the four of them put the heart bubble spell on it. They couldn't test to see if it worked, since if it did work one of them would have a heart bubble before going into breakfast; all they could do was return to the dorm to put James's broom away and also grab their school supplies. By this point it was seven and Remus and Peter casually made their way down to the Great Hall, with James and Sirius under the cloak behind them. They reached the Great Hall by seven-twenty, and they knew it worked since there was a commotion inside.
The two of them hid smiles as they walked through, feeling the spell hit them. They both made loud noises of shock as large, pink, heart-shaped bubbles expanded over their heads and began floating along with them, a few feet above them. There were several students already there (all with the bubbles) and a few teachers (also with bubbles). Remus and Peter took seats at the Gryffindor table, trying not to laugh.
Professor McGonagall approached them pretty much right away. They kicked at each others' ankles and put their most innocent faces on. "P-Professor!" Remus said, hoping he sounded confused. "What's going on?" He pointed at the heart bubble. "Is this part of the—the decorations?" The room was already decked out with pink, red, and white everywhere. Streamers, heart shapes, even confetti fluttering down and disappearing before it hit the tables. The heart bubbles fit in perfectly.
"Where are Misters Potter and Black?" she inquired very firmly.
"In bed," Peter said, slathering marmalade all over a piece of toast. "'Least they were when we left."
"You two usually aren't at breakfast on Wednesday mornings," she noted.
Panic filled Peter's eyes and Remus gave him another kick. "We're going to—to the library after," he said quickly. "Peter needs help with some assignments."
Peter gave an eager nod in agreement. "Yeah, I'm a little behind in homework."
McGonagall looked down her nose at them. "I see. You have no idea about what could have caused this?"
Remus looked up at the one floating above his head. "I've—I've never read about a spell like this," he answered with absolute honesty.
"Hmm." She still looked suspicious. "I see. Thank you." She returned to the teachers' table to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore glanced down at them then back at McGonagall, shrugging.
As students came in and got hit with the spell they complained loudly but soon gave up when they realized the bubbles weren't doing them any harm. Some of the students started up games of swatting their heart balloons away. One Hufflepuff tried stabbing hers until Sprout asked her to please put the knife away.
Eventually Lily, Colgate, and Inkwood came in and all three made startled noises when their balloons appeared. They whispered at each other then Inkwood pointed at Remus and Peter.
Lily led the way, marching over. Peter gave a snort, sliding down low in his seat to avoid the glaring as best he could. Remus glanced up through his fringe. "M—morning," he said as innocently as he could.
"Don't you morning me, I know you did this," she said, indicating the bubble floating above her. "Heart. Bubble."
Remus gulped, remembering the incident in the library when he told her the Welsh words. "Ahhh..."
Lily let out a sigh and plopped down next to Remus with Inkwood on her other side, and Colgate sitting with Peter who went bright pink. "I mean, obviously it was Black and Potter's idea. I'm blaming them."
"N-not everything is—is us," Remus tried and Lily gave him such a glare that he shrank back and quietly went back to his food.
"I think it's sweet," Inkwood said, looking up at hers with a smile.
"And it's harmless," added Colgate. "Which, considering some of their other pranks, is a bit of a marvel."
Inkwood reached up and batted at her bubble, watching it bobbing around. "It's kinda romantic. Was it Sirius's idea?"
"Actually—" Peter began, and Remus kicked his shin. "OUCH!"
"Actually," Remus said, "we don't kn—know what d-did this."
Lily gave him another one of those looks, but Remus was saved from further withering by James and Sirius showing up, much earlier than planned. They were laughing about the bubbles and kept twirling around, trying to get their bubbles to knock against one another without them physically touching them.
"Morning," Sirius said, sitting next to Inkwood who began giggling.
"Morning!" James said brightly then stopped in his tracks. "Whoa, Evans, what's with the hat?"
That's when Remus realized Lily had a rather bulky hat jammed over her head, and all her hair tucked up underneath except for a few stray strands which stuck out at odd angles.
Lily went red. "My hat is none of your business, Potter!"
"It's not that cold inside." James was studying the hat with a really awful grin on his face; Remus had a bad feeling. "It kinda looks like you're hiding something."
"Stay away from me or I'll jam a spoon up your nose!" Lily threatened, waving a spoon at him.
James took a step back. "Calm down, Red! I think the hat suits you."
"Hmph."
"It's really hiding your hair."
"I'm not—"
James reached out and yanked the hat off. Lily shrieked, hands flying to her head as her hair sprang wildly out. It was a mass of unruly curls that went everywhere. Peter dropped his fork while James and Sirius began laughing.
Lily gave a cry and scrambled off the bench. "You—you—you—" but she couldn't figure out an adequate enough insult, and fled from the Great Hall.
"YOU FORGOT YOUR HAT!" James shouted after her, flailing the hat over his head, causing the bubble to bounce wildly around.
"Potter that was so mean!" Colgate snapped, getting up to go after Lily.
"You jerk!" added Inkwood, following suit.
"That was extremely mean," Remus said, and went after Lily too. When he passed through the door he was hit with the spell again—something he hadn't thought about—and followed Colgate and Inkwood down the hall. Lily was tucked away in a side corridor, covering her face as her shoulders shook.
Inkwood and Colgate flopped onto either side of her, rubbing her back, and giving her words of comfort as well as insulting James. Six bubbles bobbed above the three of them
"I w-w-wanted to l-look nice tonight," Lily sniffled at Remus. "I t-t-tried the spell last night and—and Veronica t-t-told me it would wear off by morning but it's worse! I w-went to P-Pomfrey but she—she said—"
"It w-wasn't a m-m-medical emergency," Remus finished for her, and Lily gave him a look. "I'm s-s-sorry James did that."
"He's awful!" She wiped her nose off on her sleeve. "I hate him! I completely hate him! I mean, Black can be annoying but Potter is downright awful! I can't stand him!"
"Lily—" Remus tried, unable to finish as the other girls began talking over him.
Inkwood pressed her face against Lily's shoulder. "He deserves detention for the rest of his life."
"Like detention ever stopped him before," muttered Colgate, still rubbing Lily's back. "He doesn't care about anything but himself."
"Lily," Remus tried again.
"Lupin, I know you want to help but this isn't really in your realm," Inkwood said in a rather condescending manner that pushed Remus's buttons. His entire body stiffened, and a rude retort rose to his tongue. He quickly bit it back.
"Yeah, no offense but Potter's your friend, and you're a boy so you wouldn't understand," Colgate agreed.
Remus considered walking away. If they didn't want his help, so be it. He nearly did... except Lily was his friend (pinky promised friend) and he couldn't leave her in the lurch. He pulled his wand out and tapped Lily's nest of red curls. "Teresium," he said.
Lily jerked then her jaw dropped as her curls uncurled, and fell in a straight cascade past her shoulders. She grabbed a hank of hair and pulled it forward to look at, letting the strands slip through her fingers. Inkwood and Colgate stared in shock.
"How did...?" Lily looked up at Remus and then jumped to her feet, flinging her arms around him. "Thank you!"
Remus went rather pink, wishing Lily would let go of his neck. "Er, w—well, um, it's not—ahhh—you're w-w-welcome..."
"Veronica said there wasn't a spell to undo the curls!" Inkwood complained.
"Th—there i—isn't," Remus said, wondering if shoving Lily away would be a bad idea or not. "Not technic—nically. It—it's j-just a spell to—to st-straighten the hair."
Then Lily did one of the worst things possible: she kissed his cheek. A big kiss, right on his cheek. Inkwood and Colgate fell into giggles, and Remus went even pinker, knowing this would make things worse. The two girls chorused 'oooooooh', then Colgate said she thought Lily was going to the dessert thing with Struthers. Remus was a little surprised at that news.
"I am!" Lily said, finally releasing Remus's neck.
"You kissed Lupin," Inkwood said, covering her mouth.
"Only on the cheek," she argued, putting her hands on her hips. "Remus is my friend!"
"Just your friend?" Colgate asked.
"Yes!"
Remus took a few steps back, tugging at his sleeve. "Er—I, uh, b-b-better get b—back to breakfast..." Without waiting for anyone to say anything he ran back to the Great Hall, getting his with the spell again so he now had three heart bubbles over his head. He slumped onto the bench next to James, glad they hadn't seen the cheek kiss.
James gave Remus a smile that didn't falter at all when Remus glowered at him. "All good?" he asked.
"No! That was awfully mean of you." he snapped back.
"Aw. Don't worry, I'll apologize—oh! Her hair is back to normal." James sounded a little disappointed.
"Go apologize," Remus said, elbowing James.
"Fine, fine." He got up, messing his hair up as he went over to where the girls sat not too far down the table. "Here's your hat back," he said, offering it out. Lily snatched it from his hands, shoving it into her bag. "Um. Well."
"Yes?" she asked snippily.
James messed his hair up yet again. "Sorry," he snipped right back, and then returned to his seat. "There. I apologized."
Before anything else could be said on the matter, the owl post interrupted them. Namely, valentines flooding in. Sirius got several, James got a couple, and Remus got one to his absolute shock. The envelope was very light pink, and inside was a card with some flowers and hearts drawn on it. You're simply the sweetest and cutest second year. I wish I was going to the Valentine's dessert with you. I wish you would see me. It was signed with a heart.
"Aren't you gonna read yours?" Peter asked glumly, watching James completely ignore his valentines. Sirius was ripping through his many, reading them, and setting them aside.
"Nope," James replied, shoveling food in his mouth. Peter poked at his food miserably. James stopped eating, and pushed his envelopes over. "You can have them."
Peter's face went a little red, while Remus winced a little at James's words. "Th—that's not—it d-doesn't work like that!" he pointed out, feeling bad for poor Peter.
James blinked a few times, realization settling in that his offer, while done with good intentions, wasn't a very kind thing to do. "Er, well." He ruffled his hair, trying to figure out how to smooth his blunder over. "You know, if I were to send one, you'd get it."
"Ditto," Remus said, going back to his food.
"Yeah me too," agreed Sirius, finishing his last card.
"Mmm, three valentines from my friends, real nice," Pete grumbled, slumping down. Remus felt awful and wondered if he could send a card to Peter the next day or if that'd be a not-so-good thing to do. Peter was the sweetest second year and deserved valentines.
"Remy, what's yours say?" Sirius asked curiously.
That shook him out of his pondering over sending something to Peter. "Hmm? I don't know, something about the dessert and seeing her." Remus shrugged, already forgetting most of the card contents.
"Not from Evans?" Sirius pressed.
Remus glared at him. "No! Why would it be?"
The others believed him for the time being but unfortunately not for very long, because after Charms (which was fun with all the heart bubbles everywhere, including over Flitwick's head) Sirius barreled towards Remus nearly knocking James over, demanding to know about him and Lily kissing.
"Wh—what?!" Remus squeaked.
"WHAT?!" James screeched.
"What?!" Pete yelped.
Remus shook his head, horror sweeping through his body. "Who s-s-said that?!"
"Cassie," Sirius said, a frown on his face. "She says Evans kissed you this morning, for fixing her hair."
"Evans kissed you!?" James grabbed Remus's arm. "And you didn't say anything?!"
"Merlin!" Peter said, clapping excitedly. "You got kissed!"
"NO!" he shouted, furious. How could Inkwood say that?! Why would she say that? "She—it—it w-w-was on my—my cheek! As a—a th-th—thanks!"
James deflated a little. "Just on the cheek?"
"Yes!" Remus snapped.
James looked very disappointed. Sirius, however, seemed a little cheerier.
"A kiss on the cheek is still a bit impressive," said Peter. "I've only ever been kissed on my finger."
"James has never been kissed at all," Sirius added with a smirk.
James's eyes flashed a little as he cocked his head, fixating his eyes on Sirius. "Says who?"
"All right, then, who kissed you?"
"I—well—that—" James spluttered then pushed his glasses up, scowling. "All right, well, only family, but I still could have been kissed by someone! You don't assume!"
Sirius snickered, and yanked James in for a half-hug. "Maybe if you fix Evans's hair she'll give you a kiss on the cheek," he said before making sloppy kissing sounds near James's ear.
James gave a loud squeal of disgust and shoved Sirius away, wiping at near where Sirius's lips were. "I'd rather kiss Rocky."
"Bet that could be arranged," said Peter, and everyone—except Remus—laughed.
Remus was too busy seething with rage. "What exactly did Inkwood say?" he asked Sirius.
Sirius pulled a bit of parchment out of his pocket, handing it over. In cursive it said, by the way theres going to be drama tonight. Then: why? - SB. Back to Inkwood's writing: lily is going with struthers to the dessert but she kissed lupin this morning since he fixed her hair followed by several heart doodles.
Remus stared at the words, the wolf stirring violently. He wanted to rip the paper up, but the note didn't belong to him. Calmly, he gave the note back to Sirius. Or he tried to be calm, anyway; his hand was shaking a little bit, betraying what was going on underneath.
"You all right?" Sirius asked, noticing the shaking.
"No! She lied!" Remus hissed out, clenching his teeth, trying to keep the wolf pushed down. It was panting for revenge, pawing at Remus's soul to do something about all of this.
"If she kissed your cheek it isn't really a lie, is it?" Peter asked.
"Yes! That—that m-makes it sound like we kissed on the—the—the lips!" Remus waved his hand at the note.
Apparently Sirius wasn't the only one told because at lunch Struthers came over to Remus to tell him if he wanted to take Lily that'd be fine. Remus said he didn't want to, and why would Struthers think that? Struthers replied that Spinnet told him that Inkwood told him that Lily and Remus kissed that morning.
"It w-w-w-w—" Remus was too angry to even explain.
Sirius explained for him. "It was only on the cheek."
"Oh." Struthers looked a little awkward. "Sorry. I thought—well, anyway. Sorry." He quickly stalked back to Spinnet.
Remus was too busy trying to push the wolf back down. His head rang, and black crept into his vision. Inkwood was going around saying...! Spreading lies! It was annoying enough everyone assuming they were a couple because they were friends... now nobody would believe otherwise! He looked down the table where Lily sat with them, wondering if Lily knew Inkwood was saying this.
"I'm not hungry." Remus shoved his plate away, grabbing his satchel. "I'm going to the library."
"Remy—" Sirius said, but Remus stormed out of the Great Hall, getting his fifth heart bubble. The first three were sagging slightly though not much. It had been a little entertaining when they first went to lunch and saw the sea of heart bubbles but now Remus was too angry to care how well his original spell was working.
Instead of the library, he went to the Pits Passage to pace around, tugging at his hair and muttering under his breath. He was dimly aware of the gossip and rumors that spread through the school, however he had never paid much attention. Had never really cared. Now he was the object of gossip, at least a little bit; hopefully, it would only stay within the second years but he had a sinking feeling it wouldn't.
