Chapter 48: Q&A

February 28, 1994

"Penelope, I…"

"I don't need your explanation, Percy," she snapped, throwing back her hair. "I get it. You aren't very faithful, are you?"

"Please, just hear me out…"

"I don't think that's necessary," she replied angrily. "So you and Sarah have kissed? Three times?"

"She's lying!" cried Percy. "She… We're not together! I thought you trusted me more than that!"

"I… I do, but…"

"But what?" Percy challenged.

"But I know what I saw! And that isn't okay." She glared at him. "You were flirting with her. You've been sneaking off with Sarah." She let out a bitter laugh. "Honestly, Percy, of all people, I would've thought you had better judgement than Sarah."

"I don't like Sarah! She likes me!" Percy ground his foot in frustration. "Don't you get it? She likes me, and she doesn't like me being with you! Did you ever see me sneaking off with her?"

"Well, no…" she began.

"Did you ever see us kissing?"

"No, but…"

"Did I ever flirt with her?"

She looked doubtful. "You really didn't do anything with her?"

"Why would I, Penny? I'm already with you. I'm not going to just run off on you. Besides, Sarah is an idiot. She was the one falling on me, she was the one flirting with me, she was the one holding my hand. I did not do anything. Honest. Okay?"

"Okay," sighed Penelope. "I believe you. Sorry."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay, I guess. It's just… you should have more faith in me."

"Sorry," she repeated. "I just… assumed."

"That's okay." He gave her a small smile.

"I think we have to get back at Sarah, though," Penelope remarked thoughtfully. "Serves her right for trying to mess things up between us."

Percy chuckled. "What do you suggest?"

"Well," Penelope mused, "I do know some good hexes."

"Penny, you're Head Girl! You can't abuse your power like that."

She rolled her eyes. "Only you care about this kind of stuff. I don't mind getting detention for a nice hex. But the question is… which hex?"

"But Penny!" he protested.

She groaned. "Fine, but only for you. So, maybe we should spread a rumor about her? Or do something to make her jealous?"

"Like what?" Percy asked. "How do we do that?"

"I dunno, maybe we tell everyone she likes Ethan," offered Penelope. "Ethan's an idiot, nobody's going to be happy about that."

"Maybe we tell everyone she has a wart under her foot?" he suggested.

She scoffed. "That's boring. Besides, she can easily disprove that by taking off her shoe. Let's stick with Ethan."

"What about your partner, Benjamin?" Percy asked. "That other prefect? We could ship him with her."

She thought about it. "Not a bad idea. He's going to go crazy. And it's more plausible, anyway. Ethan's already with Brianna. But I guess we could say Sarah likes Ethan, and Ethan is conflicted between Brianna and Sarah? But then maybe Jonah's going to be offended. He's best friends with Ethan and Sarah, but he hates Brianna. What do you think?"

"Too much drama," muttered Percy. "Life is too complicated."

Remus Lupin was many things, but stupid was not one of them.

Quite the opposite, actually. While at school, and for several years afterwards, he had been acclaimed for his ability to think and reason, but also his tendency to know things.

He was thinking back on that conversation he had had with Sia back in January. Sia was much like him. Someone with a secret that someone found out. A friend had found out about her secret, and she was worried about what would happen from there.

It didn't escape his mind the request Tonks had made to him, to be gentle about the subject of vampires, because a student was sensitive to the topic. And Tonks barely knew any of the students that well, well enough that she could find out such a large secret, except for Sia.

So what did this mean? Why would Sia be sensitive to the topic of vampires? Was it possible that there was a traumatic event in her life that involved vampires? Maybe that could explain the scar on her forehead?

Remus knew scars. He could relate, possibly better than anyone else could. He knew how it felt, being a Dark creature himself.

Maybe that was what it was. Maybe Sia was a Dark creature too.

Another thing Tonks had said to him came back to him.

"Remus, you have to realize that you may not be the only one."

Maybe he wasn't the only one.

Werewolf. Vampire. Who knew what else.

He wasn't alone.

"Okay, everyone!" announced Charity Burbage, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. "So, listen up! This is going to be, like, your Cruise 101. Just one session. So, first, we'll go over everything that you need to know about a cruise, and then we're going to talk about what to be careful with around Muggles. Then we're going to go over what you're going to need for the cruise, so you know what to pack, and then finally, we're going to talk about what you have to do. Kay? And then, right after, we can have a, erm, Q&A kind of a session, so y'all get a nice chance to ask any questions. And, like, if you guys ever want to ask something about the cruise after today, feel free to ask me. Okay? Can we get started?"

There was a collective murmur of assent.

"Brilliant!" she exclaimed. "So first, what is a cruise? A big ship. It's literally a big ship. And there's lots of rooms for people to stay, pools, restaurants, cafes, event halls, and they have a lot of fun activities for people to engage in. The thing is, you're not going to be on the ship 100% of the time. There's these things called shore excursions, and they're when you get off the ship and go do something at the place the ship's visiting. So, our ship's going to go to Rome one day. The ship will stop there, and people can get off and go visit for a day trip. Then they come back to the ship, and the ship moves on to the next port. Makes sense?"

The audience nodded.

"Splendid! So, on the cruise, they're going to give you these cards. They are the most important things you can have. It's like your identification. They check them every time you get on and off. You cannot lose them, or you're in big trouble. Okay?"

"I have a question," interjected a trembling Neville. "What if I lose mine?"

Charity nodded. "If you lose your card, there's a bunch of problems it can lead to. If you want to make sure it's safe, I would get myself a laniard… like, one of those things you hang around your neck, and put the card in there. Oh, and another thing." Her eyes narrowed. "If anyone here is mean enough to steal someone else's card or lose it or throw it away or something, then they will be sent back to Hogwarts. Mr. Filch will have a special assignment for you. Additionally, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall have both promised to punish any offenders as well." She glanced around the ocean of students around her. "Do I make myself clear?"

Gulp.

"Yes, Professor Burbage," chanted some people meekly.

Charity nodded. "All right. So that's basically the essentials of a cruise. Now, important things about Muggles: you have to dress like them. Nobody in this room…" She glanced around. "Well, Draco's wearing Muggle clothes today. Nice shoes, by the way. Anyway, none of the rest of you are wearing Muggle clothing. Muggle clothing is what I'm wearing right now." She gestured to her t-shirt and jeans. "No robes. No cloaks. Also, it's gonna be really hot down there, especially on the beaches, so make sure you pack some shorts, and light, cotton t-shirts. Nothing too thick, because you're gonna sweat. And bathing suits. Bathing suits are a must. Almost every cruise involves swimming."

"Professor Burbage?" asked someone.

"Yep?"

"Er, what if I don't have a Muggle bathing suit?" the student asked timidly.

"Good point, thanks for bringing that up. I think Professor Dumbledore is going shopping one of these days for Muggle essentials, so I'll ask him to add that to the list. Kay?"

"Okay," squeaked the student.

"Cool. Back to what to pack." Charity ran a hand through her hair. "So, light clothing, shorts, bathing suits. Socks and innerwear. Sunglasses would be nice to have. You should have beachy sandals and good sneakers, because you'll be doing a lot of walking."

"What about passports?" someone called.

"Ah, yes. Passports. So, passports are Muggle identification books that they use when you travel between other countries. All of you guys have passports issued by the government. Professor Dumbledore has them all in his study. He'll hand them out when we get ready to leave, on March 5th.

"Now, those are the clothing items you'll need. Other things. Muggle money. Professor Dumbledore will distribute those to you too on March the 4th or 5th. Toothpaste, toothbrushes. Hairbrushes, if you want to do things the Muggle way. Perfume, deodorant, cologne. Whatever y'all use. Have some sort of bag for a day trip. Snacks that won't go bad. Insect repellent, or you'll get bug bites. Hand sanitizer, to keep your hands clean. A lot of germs spread on cruises. Um, makeup, if that appeals to you guys. And I know that there's magical spells for most of this stuff, but you can't use magic in front of Muggles. Okay? And just basic other stuff like that. This is mostly it.

"All right, so finally. What you do on the cruise. You're going to be on the ship in the nights, when it sails. In the daytime, you'll be off on day trips. But on a few days, we'll be sailing all day, so that's your chance to explore the ship. Like I said, pool, spa, casinos, and tons of places to eat. You'll have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but you might have to organize for lunch during your day trip, so be mindful. If you have allergies or are vegan or vegetarian or something like that, don't worry, they have a ton of different options on the cruise. Off of the ship, you'll have to be a little more mindful. If you don't behave, you will be assigned an adult chaperone. Which you probably don't want. So just behave, guys, and don't get in trouble with the Muggles."

Charity took a deep breath. "Okay, so that's basically it. Anyone got any questions?"

About twelve hands went up. Oh, boy.

"Okay. Er, redhead dude? You're Ron, right?" she called.

"Yeah," said Ron. "So, er, do we have to pay for this cruise?"

"No payment," she announced. "All paid for by our headmaster. Next time you see Albus, be sure to thank him. You do have to pay for some stuff, like souvenirs, but Professor Dumbledore's giving you all money for that. Nothing coming from your own pocket."

Ron nodded.

"Okay, Irish guy." Charity pointed to a guy in the back.

"So, I was thinking about setting up a Muggle clothes drive for everyone who doesn't have Muggle clothes," explained Seamus. "Can I do that?"

"Sure!" She grinned at him. "That's really thoughtful of you! You can set it up right outside the Great Hall, and people can pitch in clothes for people who don't have 'em. Brilliant! Thank you!"

"Okay," said Seamus.

"Next. Harry's little sister."

Liana scowled. "What type of events and activities do they have on the ship?"

"Good question. They have lots of plays, magic shows, comedies, stuff like that."

"Magic shows?" asked someone.

"Yeah. Muggles like to use illusions and stuff to make 'magic'." She used air quotes. "It's not real magic."

"What about sharks?" asked someone.

Charity laughed and explained about sharks.

"Severus!" squeaked Flitwick.

Severus turned around to face the tiny little Charms teacher. "Yes, Filius?" he asked in a bored tone.

"How are we going to split the room?" asked Flitwick, bobbing up to him. "I can take the bed, and you can have the sofa."

"For what?"

"The cruise!" answered Flitwick impatiently. "I'll take the bed, you can have the sofa. Do you snore?"

"I beg your pardon?!"

"Severus, have you gone deaf?" Flitwick asked, reaching a hand up to tap his ears.

"Get off of me," snapped Severus. "How dare you suggest that I snore?"

"So, do you hog the bathroom?" continued Flitwick. "Because I tell you, I'm a speedy pooper."

"Go away!" shouted Severus. "I don't want to know!"

"Where do you want to keep your underwear? In the closet, or in the…"

"Filius!"

"And toothpaste, oh, that's important. What flavor? Strawberry? Oh, I had this really good banana toothpaste yesterday. Mm. I had two whole helpings."

"I don't care."

"Ah, and what about deodorant? Oh, Severus, do your armpits smell?" Flitwick made to sniff his armpits.

"You are disgusting!" snapped Severus. "Go away! Stop sniffing me!"

Flitwick made a face. "Well, yes, you do smell sweaty. Why do you sweat so much?"

"Shut up," hissed Severus. "I don't care. And I do not smell sweaty. Now can you move? You're being very annoying."

"But, Severus, do try to understand! I need to know your potty habits. Do you have constipation? Or are you a speedy pooper like me? Sometimes, you know, I sit down on the toilet, and I go, and in a few minutes, the room is filled with the most wonderful smells..."

Severus shot a hex at him and walked away.

"Lily?"

Lily yawned. "Mm?"

James and Lily were in bed, supposed to be asleep (though, obviously, neither of them really were). She rolled over on her side to face her husband. "What's up?"

"Did I wake you up?" he asked.

"No, not really."

"Okay. Well, it's nothing, really. I was just thinking about Sirius."

Lily instinctively put a hand to his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Well, do you believe he's innocent?" he asked doubtfully.

"I…" She hesitated. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want to hear your real opinion." He nudged her gently.

"Well, I don't think there's any way he can be innocent, can there?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean, he betrayed us. And he framed Remus for it. I… I don't know how he possibly could be innocent at this point."

"I know," he sighed. "But sometimes… You know, I just…"

"I know," she replied gently. "You want Sirius to be innocent because he was your friend."

"No, it's not that," he said, his voice cracking. "It's that… I trusted him, so much, and… he went and betrayed that. And I wish he didn't, because I trusted him more than I've ever trusted anybody."

She tensed. "Yeah."

"You don't count, of course," he added quickly. "We're married. I trust you with my life. But I'm just saying."

"Yeah, I know," she replied softly, reaching a hand up into his hair, tangling her fingers through it. "But I guess we can't just hold onto that forever. He's gone. That's gone. That chapter's closed, James. We can't go back to it. We just need to move on, you know?"

"I know, I know," he whispered. "It just hurts sometimes."

"I know it does," she answered sympathetically. She remembered all too well when James had become a human zombie; literally. He had shut himself out from everyone else (even her and Remus) and had gone into deep, deep depression. One of his friends was dead, murdered by another one, who had tried to betray him to Voldemort. "At least it's over."

"Do you think he's gone, Lily?" he asked quietly. "Voldemort?"

She gulped. "If You-Know-Who's dead, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you ask?" she queried, stalling for time.

"Just tell me, Lily."

She took a moment to think. Did she really think You-Know-Who was dead? Was he gone, gone because of a curse that had deflected Harry, impaled him with a peculiar lightning bolt on his forehead, and bounced back at him? Was he truly dead?

"No matter what happened to him," she answered quietly, "there's still more coming."

Harry looked around quickly to make sure that none of the other boys in his dorm were awake. They weren't. He slipped off of his bed and to the ground, digging the Marauder's Map from his trunk (which he had recently gotten from Fred and George) and looked through it.

"I swear that I am up to no good," he whispered.

The Map didn't open.

"Darn it," he cursed. "What do I have to say? I promise that I am up to no good?"

No response.

"MAP!" he shouted at the Map.

This at least seemed to elicit some sort of response from the map.

'Harry, there's really no need to shout. You were very close the first time.'

That sounded like what Professor Lupin would say.

'Yes. I solemnly swear.'

It was just writing on a piece of parchment, but Harry could swear (solemnly swear, actually) that this one was his father.

"Oh," he realized. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

'Much better,' came another snide remark, and it opened up to him.

He traced the outline of the map with the pads of his fingers, exploring his parents' room, where he saw the dots of James Potter and Lily Potter practically right on top of each other. He shook his head, smiling, and turned to the headmaster's study, watching Dumbledore do a weird formation in his office. He wasn't pacing. No, this was more like some sort of forwards and backwards movement. If Harry didn't know better, he would've thought Dumbledore was dancing. He traveled to the Ravenclaw Tower, one big, black, inky dot standing out in particular to him.

Cho Chang.

Her dot was stationary, which meant that she was most likely asleep, and Harry couldn't help but smile. She was really pretty, and he could only imagine how peaceful she looked asleep.

He shook his head. His mum was going to yell at him for being a creepy stalker again.

A/N: One chapter left until we get into the entire travel routine! The itinerary was in chapter 46, if you want to look back at that.

Coming up: Dumbledore makes (another) special announcement, and Sirius pops in and meets a student! :)