Chapter 5
As you may remember, Hogwarts has quite a hard time finding teachers for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
A hand reached out and grabbed Rebecca's arm. Her books toppled to the floor. With an exasperated moan, she bent to pick them up. Sirius knelt beside her.
"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to make you drop your things. I just wanted to get your attention."
There was no one else in the hallway. "We're going to be late for Defence." She tried to slide past him, but he blocked her path.
"I want to talk to you about that."
"Defence class?"
He nodded. "Sit with me today."
"No," she frowned. Something was making her uneasy. "No, I always sit with Severus."
"I know." He met her eyes. "James and I talked last night. We. . .we're sorry. . .about everything."
She opened her mouth, but he hurried on before she could speak. "I know we haven't exactly been nice to you. Or to Snape. But we're sorry. If. . ." He took a deep breath. "If you could forgive us?" He smiled wanly.
"Actually, I'm beginning to like being called 'Slytherin Girl.'" She told him. "I'm taking it as a compliment. But I forgive you."
"Great." He sighed with relief. She realized he had been holding his breath. "I'll save you a seat, then" he told her, and loped off.
"Don't bother," she called after his retreating figure, but if he heard her, he gave no sign. Shaking her head, she stood and followed Sirius. Another hand reached out and grabbed her arm. For the second time, her books tumbled to the floor. This time, a bottle of green ink shattered, drenching her transfiguration homework. She dropped to her knees with an angry cry.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Remus. He helped her clean the ink off her books. "I didn't mean to-"
"I know," she snapped. "It's just that you're the second person to do this to me in the last five minutes."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who was the first?"
"Sirius."
"What did he want?" he asked, handing her a stack of clean parchment and an unbroken bottle of green ink.
"To apologize." She slid the parchment into her bag and looked up. "Is that what you wanted?"
He looked as uncomfortable as she had felt talking to Sirius. "No, actually I wanted to ask you a favour." She said nothing. "You're the best Potions student in Gryffindor, even though you're only a fourth year. I was wondering-"
The bell rang suddenly, over their heads. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "We're late!" She started to run down the hall, but Remus caught her arm.
"I'll explain to Professor Spellman."
"But-"
"It'll be fine. I need to ask you something." He let go of her arm. She didn't run. "I have a friend in Ravenclaw, and they had Defence yesterday. He said that we're doing individual projects, and since you and Snape always work together, and you're both so good at potions, I was wondering. . ."
She realized that he was talking the same way Severus had when he had told her he was a parselmouth.
"Do you think, that for your project, you could maybe. . .look for a cure for werewolves?" He said this last in a rush and shut his eyes.
Rebecca was speechless. Whatever she had expected, it was not this. After a few moments, she realized her mouth was hanging open. She quickly shut it. "Do you mean to tell me," she whispered, "that you are a werewolf?" There was a note of awe in her voice, but no fear or scorn, so he opened his eyes.
"Yes," he whispered. "And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone, especially not Snape."
"But if I'm going to be working with him on this. . ." she trailed off. "All right, I'll make it sound like just a whim. And in return, you can do a favour for me." She met his eyes. "You can stand up for me if I'm ever caught in the Slytherin common room."
He laughed a bit uncertainly. "You're joking, right? I mean, you've never been in there. . ."
Her eyes were hard. Her face was dead serious. "And don't tell a soul," she added.
"All right."
"Now you had better have a fabulous explanation for Professor Spellman, because everyone in the class will think we were off, snogging or something." She was gratified to see a slight blush creep across his face.
Just as she had thought, when they walked into class together, there were snickers and a few whistles. Lily winked at Remus, who was walking up to Professor Spellman's desk. Rebecca took her seat next to Severus.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Oh, he grabbed my arm and I dropped all my stuff. He helped me pick it up. Do you have the transfiguration homework?" she asked smoothly, holding up hers, which was solid green, covered in her spilt ink.
Apparently, Remus's explanation satisfied the teacher, because he said nothing about the incident to Rebecca.
On her way out the door, another hand grabbed her arm. she managed to hold onto her books this time, but when she turned to see Lucius grinning at her, she could not help herself. She flung her new ink bottle at him. It shattered against the wall, leaving a green splash.
Lucius looked surprised, to say the least. "I just wanted to commend you on the excellent way you have kept our little secret this year and last," he told her formally. "And I apologize for giving you such a hard time. You are a Slytherin at heart." He picked up the fragments of glass and handed them to her. She took them wordlessly.
What is it with today? she wondered. That's three people who have grabbed my arm and two who have apologized for something major. She shook her head and walked up to Gryffindor tower.
