Sunday October 3, 1976
Well, it started out bad…
"Some performance Beth." Narcissa laughed at the breakfast table.
"Hey, at least she got the worst kind of creeps around school fighting each other. We won't have to worry about them." Bellatrix echoed Narcissa's hollow giggle.
"At least I've mastered something." Bethany frowned.
"Just keep up the good work and pretty soon we won't have to worry about people like Snape, Sirius, or Lupin being around here." Bellatrix smiled.
"Rumor is Sirius got loads of detention, and even dirty old Snape got into trouble for inappropriate use of dueling on school grounds." Narcissa said.
"Yeah the only one who made it out without a scratch was Loony Lupin." Bellatrix chuckled.
"Loony Lupin's got plenty of insanity that he doesn't need any more help from the teachers." Narcissa said. "He's sickly too. It's a weird creature that Lupin."
"Sickly?" Bethany asked.
"Yeah, seems like he's in the hospital wing at least once a month, if not twice. We have Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. He really is loony." Narcissa said. Narcissa handed Bethany a biscuit. "Good job."
The sick part is she meant that… "Good job. Way to go Bethany, make all the people you actually get along with hate you! I hope tomorrow you blow up the school. While you're at it why don't you kill all the Muggles too?" She told me 'Good job'! Each day we get closer to Hogsmeade the further away I get from telling Bell that I'm not going to be spending that day with her. I can't bring myself to tell her that I'm going with Sev. I'm even more distanced from telling them that I WANT to go with Remus.
"I think I'm going to go for a fly in the Quiddich Pitch." Bethany said. "Want to come?"
Narcissa shook her head. "We can't. Professor Dumbledore's given us a five feet essay."
"I want to Sissy." Bellatrix said.
"Me too. But we can't." Narcissa told Bellatrix firmly. Narcissa looked at Bethany. "Wait until next year when you are preparing for your N.E.W.T.s. The O.W.L.s were nothing." With that Narcissa and Bellatrix got up and vanished down Slytherin table.
Bethany took herself down to the Slytherin girls' dormitory and collected her Dragonfire 6 and headed out to the Quiddich Pitch.
A gift from my father, the best broom on the market to date. The Dragonfire. He wanted me to play Quiddich this year. He said I'd make a hell of a Chaser. Mum encouraged me to try out too, it wasn't in me though…trying out I mean. But wow, I love to fly now that I've gotten the hang of it without falling off.
The breeze was light on Bethany's face when she got outside. It was a chilly morning in early October. It took all she had to keep from hopping on her broom there and riding it over to the Quiddich Pitch. She was half way there when she heard her name in the distance.
Bethany paused and heaved a great breath. Par for the course would lead to bad things from here. She shrugged and turned, there was no escaping whoever or whatever it was.
Remus was jogging her way. She leaned on her broom and waited for him to get to her.
"Hey." He said out of breath.
"Hello." Bethany's voice came out awkward, even to her.
"Nice broom."
"Thanks." She looked him over. "What are you doing out here?"
"I came out to study. I tend to do better in the outside air." Remus held up a book.
"Good luck with that." Bethany said and turned to go.
"Beth." Remus voice stopped her again.
She turned back.
"I saw you coming out here from the tower and I wanted to talk to you." Remus found it in himself to admit what he'd really meant to say. Bethany looked to the tower that faced the field. It was a good distance away.
He ran the entire way…the entire distance to talk to me. When life's going straight and you can ride with it, something from somewhere throws a curve. Tainted, bleak, these are my outlooks on life but today I got a little splash of color.
Bethany gulped, and once again she found it difficult to be in Remus' presence.
"You must be really mad at us." Remus began.
"Mad?" Bethany asked.
"You know yesterday I felt justified being rude to you because you're a Slytherin. That's not right though. You've been nothing but kind to us and you are a good friend of Lily's. She was really mad about the way Sirius and I treated you when you were just doing the right thing. A thing, I might add, that I can't even bring myself to do. I guess I can't bring myself to stop Sirius because he is too much of a friend even if I don't agree with the way he acts all the time." Remus took a deep breath, still trying to recover from the run. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologize. Not for Sirius but for me, for my actions yesterday. You didn't deserve that. And I knew you had to try. I do understand."
Bethany smiled. "Thank you Remus."
Hermione jumped again as Ginny came in the room again.
"Hermione? You're still awake?" Ginny asked surprised.
"Yes." Hermione slipped the journal under her pillow this time.
Ginny smiled crawling into her bed. "I'm tired now too."
"Yes I do suppose it's time for some sleep."
"Straight away." Ginny said getting comfy in her bed.
"Ginny? Have you heard of Bethany Spence?" Hermione asked suddenly.
Ginny was just blowing out the candle between her and Hermione. "No. Should I? Is she a new student?"
"No, a very old student." Hermione said.
"Oh, I wasn't thinking backward." Ginny pondered it for a moment. "Bethany Spence you say? It sounds familiar but I don't recall from where. Maybe you should ask mum. Why?"
"Oh no reason, really." Hermione said.
"Good night Hermione."
"Night Ginny."
Hermione woke the next morning to Potions as her first class. She had received and O.W.L in potions so she continued with it. Somehow, miraculously, Harry had managed scrapping an O.W.L in Potions too and pursued it with Hermione in the hopes of one day becoming an Auror.
Hermione collected her bag as soon as breakfast was over. Harry jogged up to her. "Hey, can't we walk to class together."
"Oh yes, I'm sorry Harry." Hermione shook her head. "I just haven't been thinking lately. Loads of stuff on my mind."
"Hermione, it's almost Christmas break, it can't be all that bad."
"Oh it's not." Hermione smiled. "You know me, always studying."
Harry just watched Hermione for a few seconds then followed after her.
"Hermione?" Harry asked once they made it into the Potions dungeon. "What are you doing?"
"Looking." Hermione said walking along the desks and peering at the floor.
"Looking for what Miss. Granger?"
Hermione stopped at the sight of the hem of Professor Snape's robes. Slowly her eyes left the ground, where she caught a glimpse of a green seared stain at his feet. Hermione's eyes slowly lifted to meet his. "I lost my quill," she said sheepishly.
"Perhaps you should ask Potter to borrow one then." Snape's face remained stagnant.
"Professor." Hermione found some courage to mock Snape. "What happened here? Where's this stain from?"
Snape's nostrils flared and he turned on his heels choosing not to answer Hermione's question as he swept around behind his desk.
"What's gotten into you?" Harry whispered when Hermione took her seat next to him.
Hermione was staring at the faded green stain on the floor. "Nothing."
"You're going to bed already?" Ron asked. "Hermione it's not even after 9."
"I know. I'm tired though."
Harry and Ron's discouraging looks didn't stop her from going to her dormitory.
Hermione found the leather bound journal in her backpack. She tugged it out and flipped through the pages…
"Thank you Remus." I said. What happened next I didn't intend. He kissed me. Just kidding. But I was hoping.
"Then you accept my apology?" Remus asked.
"Absolutely." Bethany nodded. She offered her hand to him this time. "Friends?"
Remus took it with a smile. "Friends."
Bethany smiled at Remus and he returned her smile.
Hermione turned the next page and found brown stains on the pages and smudged ink. Bethany's writing was not neat as Hermione had seen it previously, nor was it smooth, instead it was jagged as if Bethany's hand was shaking as she wrote.