A/N: First of all, I would like to apologise for the delay in update. My mother had undergone a major surgery recently, because of which I wasn't able to finish the chapters. And secondly, thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly!
So, without further ado, here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
A/N 2: 'Italics' is conversation in mind-link.
Warnings: Drama, angst, sarcasm, language.
"To start, I want two students from each year, regardless of their houses, to assist me with the work I give to you all. They will be your leader, of sorts, and you will listen to them-you will respect them and complete your assigned tasks. I don't want any stupid house rivalry getting in between these sessions or your training. This way, I'll have fourteen leaders in total, to help me with the planning, syllabus and so on. The mock duels have already started for the seventh year, as you might have heard. You could ask them too if you want to know more."
Professor Nicholas repeated the instructions for what felt like the thousandth time, this time, to the batch of sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins who hadn't stopped glaring at each other since the moment they entered the class. The hormonal teenagers were getting Nicholas' nerves now.
He wanted to kill someone so badly. Or torture would suffice too. Anything that could save him from dealing with horny and egoistic teenagers. God, how did he manage his years at Hogwarts!
Perhaps, he should have recorded the speech and spared his precious vocal cords from all the trauma and shouting they had endured.
He repeated how these so-called 'leaders' would be selected, and could easily see the gears turning in their heads, and boredom finally lifted off of them.
"Hear that, Snivellus. We actually have to fight the duel ourselves. Would you be able to do that?" Sirius taunted Severus, from where he was purposely sitting behind Snape. His voice was only a whisper but was still heard by many, including the Professor. And Professor Nicholas was growing agitated when Sirius interrupted him—the boy either had a lot of guts or was plain stupid because Sirius still kept snickering along with Potter and Pettigrew.
Nicholas stood stoic wanting to see for himself as to how far the Black Heir would stretch the poor joke. The boy he had taken a jibe at though, remained silent and ignorant of the words thrown towards him. It was clear that Severus did not need a mad teacher at his tail.
"Padfoot, shut up!" It was just a whisper, but Nicholas heard it anyway. So, Sirius Black was the infamous Padfoot. Interesting. That left Moony, Wormtail and Prongs, and according to what Harriet had told him about Remus Lupin, Nicholas thought that 'Moony' would seem like an appropriate name for the young werewolf.
"Oh, come on Moony." Yup, Nicholas was indeed right in his assumptions. "I'm only joking."
"Anyone have any questions?" Nicholas asked, not wanting to show his irritation because of Sirius Black for now. Killing Black seemed quite enticing at the moment.
Getting no reply in return Professor Nicholas continued, "No? Good then, we'll start with the mock duels."
With a quick non-verbal spell, the desks and chairs were cleared off, leaving the centre of the room with plenty of space. "Now, please choose your partners for the match. Then, each pair will come to the centre and start duelling," Nicholas instructed as he took out a parchment and quill to write down their names, scores, etc. Meanwhile, Black's voice rang through the silent classroom yet again.
This time everyone heard it.
"I bet you ten galleons that I would be one of the two 'leaders' by the end of this class, Jamesy. Professor Nicholas knows how brilliant I am." Man, the boy had a big ego.
"Oh yeah," James mocked his friend with an ever-present smirk. "Deal then, but if you lose, you'll have to do my Astronomy assignment for the rest of the month."
"You're on." Sirius sealed the deal with a quick handshake, not noticing how the Professor was observing him now. But Remus saw that, and his face paled when Professor Nicholas' stern gaze remained fixated on two of his friends.
He was not happy.
"Sirius…" Remus' words fell on deaf ears when the Professor's booming voice startled them all.
"Mr Black, perhaps it would be better if I duel with you. I'm sure that Mr Potter would be assured in your duelling abilities as well if he saw you fight me in front of him. After all, a bet is a bet," Nicholas spoke in that sickly sweet voice, not giving away any inkling of irritation that was bubbling in his blood. Nicholas' words though, had the colour draining from Sirius' face, he looked as if the Gryffindors had lost a Quidditch match against the Slytherins. Totally unacceptable.
James was equally frightened for his best friend, and so was Remus. Wormtail looked the worst out of them, and the rest of the class was just silent. They knew that Professor Nicholas wasn't someone to be messed with, and Sirius with his stupid need to boost his ego even further, had done exactly that.
A duel with Professor Nicholas was signing a death warrant for yourself—they were all aware that he was not only a strict teacher but a ruthless and marvellous duellist as well. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't just allow any teacher for the post of DADA for that matter.
Surely, he was joking with Sirius.
Right?
"Professor, I…."
"Now that Mr Black has himself, so enthusiastically, volunteered to go against me, I want you all to be very attentive. As I have already mentioned, duels are not only physical but mental exercise as well. Lose your focus for a mere second and you'd be dead."
"But sir…" Remus' protest wasn't of any use either because Professor Nicholas seemed too determined to teach Sirius a lesson in discipline. They helplessly watched as their teacher strode to his designated position in the middle of the room.
Sirius gulped hard when the Professor took off his robe. Dang, the man had muscles! He could easily choke Sirius, and he would be dead.
Yikes! Should not have talked in his class.
On the other hand, ignoring the hormonal teenage girls who were surely eye-fucking and fantasising about him, Nicholas rolled up his sleeves and made sure to flex his muscles a bit just to intimidate Mr Black a bit more.
"We don't have all day, Mr Black. Hurry up and take your position or I will start the duel whether you're ready or not. Threats don't come with warnings," Nicholas boomed, taking out his wand and pushing the hair out of his face. He was hundred percent sure that he saw some dreamy sighs, and not just from girls this time.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he would have that same effect on Harriet or not. That girl had been occupying a lot of his time and thoughts recently, especially after their little adventurous night. Her attitude, her sassiness, her kindness—all of her little nig-nags had been driving him crazy, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand how to handle such situations. Well, Harriet Potter was a debate for another time. Right now, these brats needed punishment, and Nicholas needed some fun.
Too bad he couldn't torture them. Eh, he could always settle for morally discouraging them and treat them like dirt.
Sirius took off his robe, passing it to his friends, who looked at him worriedly.
"All the best," James muttered in the slightest of voices. He didn't want to be heard. What if Professor Nicholas called out for him next?
With a cock smirk plastered on his face, Sirius turned to face his opponent, but anyone could tell how fake it was and how terrified he felt at that time.
"Are you sure you wanna duel me, Professor? I don't wanna let your reputation down...WOAH!" He hadn't even completed his sentence when he was suddenly pushed to the ground without any warning.
Snickers were heard across the room, while the three remaining Marauders were equally as surprised as him, "Sirius!"
"Hey! I wasn't ready," Sirius muttered with a pout.
"If someone was trying to kill you, Mr Black, I'm sure they would take this as an opportunity. Again!" Nicholas barked seeing as Black got into a defensive position once again, this time more prepared.
"Ready now?" Professor Nicholas asked, getting a nod in return. He sent a mild defending spell which Sirius tried to block but got his shoulder bummed. Nonetheless, the boy didn't give up and stood again, throwing a Reducto with a yell.
Nicholas dodged the spell with an easy wave of his wand, without even batting an eyelash. Sirius threw another spell that was as easily thrown away as the first one. Another spell, and then another one. Nicholas defended himself without breaking a sweat. There was a clear satisfaction on his face on seeing the arrogant boy struggle; upon the fact that Black couldn't harm him in the slightest, just like his father.
Not getting a reaction out of him, Sirius grew agitated.
"Is that all you can do, Mr Black? Pathetic. Might as well start preparing yourself for doing your friend's astronomy homework for the next month," Nicholas sneered at him, knowing that the words would affect him. And as predicted, the Slytherins didn't fail to hide their snickers, angering Sirius to do something more than making a fool out of himself.
Sirius threw a string of curses that forced Nicholas to put a strong Protego in front of him. Black's confidence grew and his friends started cheering for him. Even the Professor's face lit up with surprise, only to be replaced by a knowing smirk. Seemed like it was Nicholas' plan all along to see Sirius' true potential.
Once again they engaged in a battle and the students cheered as curses flew off.
"Protego!" Sirius saved himself from the powerful levicorpus before continuing, "Incendio."
"Aguamenti," Nicholas yelled. Water clashed with fire filling the whole room with smoke, and taking advantage of that smoke, Nicholas threw a Reducto that caught Sirius by surprise, threw him against the wall with a loud thud, and finally unconscious.
Upon seeing his friend lay still on the ground, James reacted instinctively by taking out his wand and attacking Professor Nicholas.
"James!" Remus yelled in surprise at the sudden behavioural change of his friend. James' anger was starting to get out of control nowadays.
"It's okay, Mr Lupin. Let him," Nicholas gestured with his hand making Remus stop in his tracks. There was clear worry and fear on Remus' face, for James' safety. What would the Professor do at his sudden outburst?
"I won't hurt you, Mr Potter. Put your wand away," Nicholas instructed James in a soft voice as if talking to a toddler. There was anger swirling in his hazel eyes, with something else that Nicolas couldn't put a finger to.
"Shut up!" James roared before turning his attention towards the other two Marauders. "What are you doing here, Moony? Take Sirius to the hospital!"
Remus was baffled. Never had Prongs spoken to either of them in such a manner, and it wasn't the first time that Sirius had got injured. What was going on with him?
Remus looked towards his Professor, who nodded his head at him, signalling him to do exactly as James had demanded.
"I'll help you," Lily ushered him towards Sirius, both of them knowing that Peter should stay with James. Not wasting any more time, they picked Sirius and practically ran off to Madame Pomfrey's aid.
"LEVICORPUS, INCENDIO, REDUCTO, BOMBARDA, CONFRINGO!" James kept shouting curses after curses at the Professor who was now looking at his young student in an indecipherable way. His fellow housemates and even the Slytherins worried for his safety—it looked as if he wasn't himself at the moment. He looked crazed.
He was so lost in his duel that he never noticed Professor Nicholas quickly stepping over to where he was until he was only centimetres away from him. Nicholas, on his end, took the opportunity of putting his forefingers on James' forehead and muttering quietly, "sleep."
The Potter boy immediately fell asleep and lost his balance, whilst Nicholas caught him securely.
"Prongs!" Peter scurried over to another unconscious friend of his who was safely tucked in Nicholas' arms.
"He's alright, Mr Pettigrew. Just sleeping," Nicholas spoke, trying to ease his worry.
"What did you do?" Peter asked accusingly. Professor or not, he wanted an explanation. Because of the smoke, he'd only seen Professor moving swiftly to James' side and the latter falling.
"I just put a mild sleeping charm on him. The way he was stringing curses at me had already drained a lot of his energy. If I hadn't put a stop to him, it could have permanently damaged his magical core," Professor Nicholas explained in a soft voice—one because Pettigrew was his friend, and two, to keep the annoying little shit from speaking too much.
But there was something wrong with Potter, and he had to find it out quickly.
Multiple sharp inhales were heard as soon as he muttered those words. Damaging his core could have been life-threatening to Potter.
Picking up James easily in his arms, Nicholas stood up, "Class is dismissed for now. Next class, we'll continue with the duels, so be prepared, all of you."
Without another word, he started moving towards the door when a voice stopped him.
"Sir, will he be alright?"
"Yes, Mr Snape. Don't worry." He rushed out without Pettigrew in tow. But he didn't miss the 'back off, Snivellus' from Peter.
Remus sat forlornly beside his two sleeping friends in the hospital wing. It had been two hours since Sirius woke up, but he'd been given some nasty concoction by Madame Pomfrey. Turns out that his back had taken quite a severe hit when he was thrown across the room and knocked out cold. It wasn't the most painful injury that Padfoot had endured, though.
James, on the other hand, had yet to wake up. He had used too much energy while trying to hurt Professor Nicholas, and thus, it would take his body a little more time to heal.
Yes, Remus was extremely worried about the both of them, and yes, he was also angry at the young Professor for hurting his friend. But Peter had recited to him every single detail on what happened when he had left with Sirius. So technically, James did dig a hole for himself.
He sighed, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair in exhaustion. The next full moon was near, and it was starting to take a toll on his tired mind. He heard light footsteps that caused him to sit up straight. That was a perk of being a werewolf that Remus thoroughly liked. His senses—smell, vision, strength, taste—all amplified as the full moon neared, meaning that his wolf was close to the edge.
Looking behind him, he was surprised to see Lily accompanied by Severus, with brown bags in their hands and sombre expressions on their faces.
"Hi Remus," Lily greeted politely, breaking the awkward string contest between him and Severus. Remus could only wave adroitly in response. Severus nodded at him in greeting, which he returned.
"Any changes?" Lily asked, gesturing towards the sleeping duo.
"Nah, still sleeping. Pretty sure they are not gonna wake up before noon tomorrow though."
"You look like…," Lily started before stopping again, as if she was trying to find the right words to describe his scrawny condition.
"Shit!" Remus completed her sentence, a chuckle escaping both their lips. Severus stood unbothered.
"No, I didn't mean that. I wanted to say that you look like you could use some help," Lily explained, taking a seat on one of the empty stools beside Sirius' bed. She passed the two brown bags to Remus and his nose was filled with the rich aroma of freshly-baked muffins. He peered inside, and sure enough, he was right. There were freshly cut fruits, blueberry croissants and chicken sandwiches in the bag as well.
"You are an angel!" Remus' lit up at the delicious-looking food.
"Severus told me what happened in defence after we left, and we didn't see you in the Great Hall for dinner. Figured you'd still be hungry and worried for these two idiots." She truly was a kind girl.
"Thank you, Lily. This is all really sweet of you," Remus gladly accepted the goodies. But damn, this girl was god-send—kind and humble.
"Actually," Lily peered from her eyelashes towards her brooding best friend, "it was Severus' idea."
Remus' brows rose up in confusion, while Severus merely rolled his eyes at Lily's antics.
"I merely suggested you help him out by bringing him dinner, only because you couldn't shut up being worried about him. Both of these baboons could get lost in the Forbidden Forest for all I care, but you dragged me here. Forcibly," Severus drawled out in an unimpressed tone. He clearly didn't want to be here.
"It's his way of showing care," Lily whispered not-so-discreetly in Remus' ears, and the latter could only smile at their silly bickering. He thought about the fact why Severus acted so kindly towards them when they had only caused trouble to the poor boy.
More so, why had they started pranking him in the first place? Was it because of James' jealousy over the fact that Severus was closer to Lily? Or was their pranking their justified means of harming Severus for being a Slytherin?
Had Remus really let the prejudice of the houses blind his rational thinking?
Nonetheless, Severus owed an apology and a thank you from them.
"Thank you, Severus. It was really kind of you to bring us dinner." The expression on the Slytherin's face didn't budge in the slightest. This guy had mastered the poker face, Remus thought.
"As I said, I didn't do it for you. But, you're welcome," Severus spoke.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" Peter's booming voice caught their attention, as he stood there with anger all over his face. He didn't hide the fact that Snape's voice bothered him.
"Peter," Remus stood up, walking towards his friend and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He tried to calm him down because Remus knew, first-hand, where this silly fight could lead.
"What the fuck, Moony? Are you trusting these snakes now? How could let him near James and Sirius, especially when they are defenceless?"
"What are you saying? He brought us food, Wormtail. I was only thanking him," Remus was annoyed at his behaviour. All three of his friends had been acting pretty strange and angry since the start of the new semester.
"I'm pretty sure it's poisoned," Peter glared at the food resting on the table, then at Severus who now stood straight; his hand firmly holding his wand in case a fight started. "What is it you did this time, you slimy wreck?!"
"Careful with your words, Peter. You cannot call other students such names," Lily warned him, her emerald eyes blazing. "Don't forget I'm a Prefect; I can report you straight to Professor McGonagall right now."
"Oh yeah? Let's see what you can do!" Peter grabbed the two brown bags from the table in a second, and threw them into the bin with accuracy. The very next moment, his wand was pointed straight at Severus' throat.
"What is going on here?!" The voice thundered so loudly in the silence of the quiet hospital room that Peter scurried away from Severus quickly. In the doorway stood Professor Nicholas along with James' parents—Fleamont and Euphemia Potter.
The four students were frozen in their spots seeing their furious Professor. If they thought that they had witnessed his anger, then they were surely in for a surprise now.
"Sir, we…" Peter tried to push words out of his mouth, but it just didn't work. It only came out as gibberish.
"It's not Severus' or Lily's fault, sir. They came to offer me dinner since I skipped my meal, and also to check upon James and Sirius," Remus quickly came to their aid. There were confused expressions on the Potters' faces.
"And what about Mr Pettigrew?" The question was simple and straight, yet the quadrant couldn't say anything knowing it would bring Peter some severe punishments.
"Did he threaten you again, Mr Snape?" Nicholas was looking Severus dead in the eyes, making the young boy shiver uncomfortably. The Professor's piercing gaze was reminding him of not-so-good memories of his home. Lily, noticing his shy gaze, moved and held his hand tightly to offer him support.
"He did." Severus was shocked to hear those words from Lupin's mouth. He looked at the boy in disbelief, the same way Peter stared at him.
"Moony, what are you saying?" Was he really betraying him for Snape?
"Professor, he's lying! I did no such thing, I swe…"
"This is the second time I have seen you threaten another student, Mr Pettigrew. Not to forget the slight warning you gave to Mr Snape, earlier in the class. Did you really think I wouldn't hear it?" Nicholas looked at him as if daring him to lie. When Peter didn't say anything further, as Nicholas expected, he continued, "You'll have detentions with me for the next two months. I'll speak to Professor McGonagall personally."
"You can't do that! I'll speak to the Headmaster, he trusts me. He'll know I'm not lying," Peter was outraged now. The fact that his friend's parents were standing and witnessing the stupid drama, annoyed him. It was all because of Snape.
"OUT NOW! We'll start tomorrow," Professor Nicholas' tone did not leave any room for compromise. With an angry huff and a murderous glare in Remus and Severus' way, Peter all but ran out of the hospital wing.
"Professor?" It was Euphemia Potter that spoke next. It was certain that she had some questions.
"I'm so sorry for that, Mrs Potter. Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall would join us shortly. The matter was a bit urgent, so I wanted to talk to you personally," Nicholas led them towards the two boys. Euphemia, surprisingly rugged towards Sirius' side first, checking him for any injuries, while Fleamont made sure that James was alright.
"What happened to them?" This time it was Fleamont. He looked a bit angry that his son was harmed, but he trusted Remus to tell him the truth by the way he was looking at the young werewolf for explanation. Before Remus could speak though, his Head of House and the healer came just in time, to hear the fiasco as well. But McGonagall was surprised to see parents of her students present there as well. She wasn't informed of their arrival.
Remus, with the help of Lily and Severus backing up his story, narrated what happened.
"Thank you, Miss Evans and Mr Snape. You may take your leave now. It's getting late," Nicholas sent the two children a kind smile for all their help and kindness towards another student. They were admirable friends.
But Remus still remained there, confused and frightened at the same time. Not once in their six years at Hogwarts, had their parents even been called.
Once they had left, McGonagall turned and spoke to the young DADA Professor, "I understand what happened in the defence class was a mere accident, Mr Lupin. What I don't understand though, is why Mr and Mrs Potter were troubled to get here as soon as possible, Professor Nicholas? Accidents like these happen all the time, we can't call parents every time something minor happens."
"You mean to tell me that students lay unconscious in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, without their parents being informed? Like this is a normal thing at Hogwarts?" Salazar, Nicholas couldn't believe what he was hearing. The standards at Hogwarts had fallen way below the line since Dumbledore became the Headmaster.
"No," Professor McGonagall was confused now. Things have always been this way since she'd started teaching here. But she never questioned it because she trusted Dumbledore to protect all the students and Hogwarts itself.
"And what about the fact that one of the Potter's sons was knocked out cold during a mock duel and the other one was poisoned?"
"I'm sorry, James was poisoned?" Eupehmia was horrified. Her poor son was poisoned by someone! Who was it who dared to harm her son?
"I beg your pardon? I'm sure I must have heard wrong," Fleamont couldn't believe it, and neither could Remus.
"No, you didn't, and I thought you would have noticed it by now," Nicholas rounded James' bed and held up his hand. James' nails were a slight shade of blue and the skin at his fingertips was pale. Not too pale, enough to go unnoticed though.
"I first noticed it when he suddenly attacked me. His pupils were dilated, and there was a pink ring surrounding them. Next was his anger; it was getting out of hand very quickly. And lastly were his spells. They were too powerful, which would have been a good thing had they not started draining his core. His magic was bound by something; it was restricted, thus harming him. I did the only thing I could think of and put him to sleep." Everyone was astounded to hear Nicholas' explanation.
"I checked upon his vitals, as you asked Professor. You were right. There were remnants of the poison in his blood, but they were in extremely small amounts, very hard to notice, which also means that it was given regularly. For a long time now. His body is practically immune to it, I believe," Madame Pomfrey handed over the report to Nicholas, while he and McGonagall read through it thoroughly. They passed the report to the anxious parents then.
"If his body was immune to it, then why the sudden reaction?" Ahh, Euphemia Potter was a smart woman. And a true Black.
"Either the intake of the poison this time was in a larger capacity than his body is used to. Or the poison that was concocted this time was much concentrated. So instead, the poison did not get fully dissolved in his blood and started hurting his white blood cells, which would further explain the sudden drain in James' energy and magical core,"Madame Pomfrey gave the answer immediately. She had made a thorough report, it seemed.
"James has been acting really strange and angry for a while now," Remus piped in. He was in deep thought as he spoke, still shocked from what all he'd heard.
"Why do you say that, Mr Lupin?" Professor McGonagall asked in a soft voice. The boy was shaken.
"Whenever he used to see Lily and Severus together, he used to get jealous. He would say something mean about him or to him, but he would often laugh it off. Now though, he just stares at them. He said he wanted to hurt Severus the same way he was hurting. I didn't get it at first," Remus looked at Nicholas as if seeking his help. "And the pranks too. They were only meant for fun, never to harm anyone. They are getting vicious and harmful too, others are getting hurt more often now."
"How often do these pranks happen to Mr Snape, son?" There was a fatherly tone in Fleamont's voice; a reassuring one.
"He's the target most of the time." Fleamont and Euphemia were not happy with that answer. They had never thought that their son could do such things, yet they were proven wrong. They needed to do something.
"Is there anything that he eats regularly? A favourite perhaps? My guess is the poison must have been put in his food," Nicholas inquired. Remus thought for a moment before his breath hitches, and alarm crossed his face. It was brief, but Nicholas and Fleamont both caught it.
"No, sir. Nothing," Remus stammered, hoping he wouldn't get caught. Fleamont looked at Professor Nicholas, knowing he saw Remus' hesitation too and nodded at him. They would have to talk to him later.
"That is okay Mr Lupin. We will look further into the matter," Professor McGonagall assured the young boy that he wasn't in any trouble. More so, she remembered that with the full moon nearing the boy needed his rest.
"You please go back to your dormitory now, Remus. Don't worry." It was the first time that Professor Nicholas had called him by his name. "One of the kitchen elves would bring you dinner to your room, though I would apologize that it wouldn't be as delicious as the one your friends got for you."
The boy looked down at his feet in embarrassment. Of course, they witnessed everything that Peter did.
"We all saw what happened here, Remus. We'll stay the night here, son. Don't worry, we'll take good care of your friends," Euphemia cupped his cheek lovingly. Her boys were all so troubled right now.
"Okay, Mrs Potter. And thank you, Professor," Remus was so glad that Professor Nicholas was looking into the matter personally. He didn't know why, but the young werewolf trusted his new teacher immensely. Not just him, his wolf side too.
"It's my duty, Mr Lupin."
With one last glance at James and Sirius and a great lot of reluctance, Remus left the hospital wing with a heavy heart and questions on his mind.
Back in the hospital wing, Nicholas saw as the anxious parents moved to sit beside the boys.
"What will happen now?"
"We'll find out who did this, I'll make sure of it," Nicholas mind-linked to the girl who had been standing beside him quietly all this time.
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, followers, favorites and reviews are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)