Another Chance
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JKR, various publishers of the HP series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 9 – Hokey Pokey (uploaded 1/05/04)
At dinner, the Great Hall buzzed with excitement after the Quidditch game. Everyone who played were ravenous at the dinner table. They ate like teenagers, even Professors Lupin, Tonks, and Weasley. Remus relaxed in the teacher's lounge, tired but happy, he closed his eyes to relive the afternoon game. He played Quidditch when he attended Hogwarts, though not on his house team because he was always too tired after his monthly transformations to be a reliable player for the house games. Even the relatively recent invention of Wolfsbane potion didn't help with the energy that it took to transform every month.
"Feeling your age already, Lupin?" a deep dark voice asked.
Remus opened his eyes and leaned forward in his chair to rub his lower back. "I guess I overexerted myself today, Severus. I just have never felt so energetic after a transformation," he gave a weak smile. **HIC** Lupin's eyes grew wide, he covered his mouth, "Excuse me!" **HIC**
Snape hovered over him with his arms crossed. However he didn't look like the intimidating overgrown bat without his black robes and long black hair. "What did you have for dinner?"
"Mmmm, everything. The Quidditch game really brought out my appetite. **HIC** Pork chops, potatoes, applesauce, vegetables, desert, and tea."
"Is that it?" Snape looked bored.
"Well, I had second helpings on the chocolate chip chocolate mousse with chocolate cake and chocolate sauce," Lupin recounted. **HIC**
"I can see I won't get much reading done in here with your hiccups. I have a dueling class to teach anyway." As Snape turned to leave, the wardrobe cupboard shook and a muffled giggle was heard from inside. Lupin immediately stood up **HIC**, Snape already had his wand drawn.
"Peeves, come out immediately!" Snape approached the cupboard slowly. He glared back at the werewolf when another loud hiccup came from his mouth.
"Severus, if it's a boggart, I'd like to have it for my class," Lupin asked, trying to control another hiccup that threatened to emerge from his chest.
"Shhh, drink a glass of water or something!" Snape hissed. "And no, you are not going to embarrass me again with that ruse." **HIC** The hiccup escaped.
Lupin drew his wand. Snape pointed his at the cupboard, "Alohamora!" The doors flew open, revealing two red-faced teens. Albus had his finger to his lips, apparently trying to quiet the girl on his lap, who had her hands over her mouth. Minerva cleared her throat and hopped off his lap to straighten her robes and pat down her hair. She nodded at Lupin and Snape, "Gentlemen," and made it out the door within three strides with as much dignity as she could muster. She stood out in the hallway, leaning against the door to the teacher's lounge with a hand on her chest to catch her breath.
The tall teen Albus Dumbledore stood and closed the doors to the cupboard, "Sorry, Remus, I'm not a boggart." His eyes twinkled like mad as he winked at the werewolf with hiccups. "Try a teaspoon of sugar, or here, a lemon drop?" He reached into a pocket and offered several lemon drops to the two other men. Snape waved it off with a sour look on his face. Lupin accepted them and popped one into his mouth.
"Thanks, Albus. I'm going to **HIC** try some other things, as well. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey has something more helpful," Lupin left quickly. He nodded with a big smile at Minerva, who was now leaning on the wall in the hallway.
"Severus, are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape sniffed and set his jaw. "I'm fine, headmaster," Snape's face returned to it's unreadable mask. "I have a class to teach, please excuse me." He berated himself as he walked away, 'What do you expect, idiot. It's the story of your life. You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up. Then again, I haven't felt like this since I was a student here. That's what it is, just a schoolboy crush on your teacher.' He was so involved in his own conversation, he didn't notice the young cat that followed him quietly down the hallway, stopping at the stairs which lead down to the dungeons.
~ ~ ~
At the Slytherin meeting room, Snape, as Coach Alan Marston, had his students working on their footwork. Students were paired off and sent stinging hexes toward each other's feet to get them to learn to move out of the way. They worked on bob-and-weave, rolling away, and fake wand waving.
As Snape paced around the room, he yelled, "No shielding, no parrying. The purpose of this exercise is to get you to move. You might have noticed in the demonstration how Tonks spun away from the spell and countered immediately. If you have mastered this exercise, throw in an occasional spin. Do not use it too often, as your opponent will get your timing and throw a hex into the back of your head.
"Mr. Crabbe, the back of your head is smoking. Miss Parkinson, please extinguish his Vincent's hair." Snape rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
"Team tryouts tomorrow at noon in the forest. We will meet at the big oak tree by the lake and you will follow me to the clearing where we will have a 'King of the Hill' elimination."
"Draco, may I see you?"
"Yes, sir?" Draco waved Crabbe and Goyle on. They waited for him in the hall.
"You seem distracted this evening. Although your performance was adequate, you will need to stand out in order to gain a spot on the team tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Marston. I need to talk to Professor Snape in person."
"I can assure you I am in his confidence. I will pass the message," said Snape.
"Just tell him that I really need to speak to him about a personal matter." Draco answered.
"Very well, I will relay the message this evening. Good night, Draco."
~ ~ ~
Dumbledore, coaching the Hufflepuff House, had more of a choreographed approach to teaching footwork.
"Front foot step, back foot drags up. If you step six inches, drag six inches. If you step two inches, drag two inches. One and two and switch your stance. If you were left foot forward before, now you should be right foot forward. And a one, and a two—"
"Don't look down at your feet, look forward at your opponent. And a one, and a two. Step-drag forward, step-drag back, step-drag left, step-drag right. You should end up in the same spot as you started."
"Maintain the same distance between yourselves. If your opponent moves a foot to the left, be his mirror, you move a foot, as well. And a one, and a two."
"Don't forget, everybody, team tryouts will be tomorrow at noon, behind the greenhouses. We will use a round-robin double elimination. That means you have to lose twice before being eliminated from competition."
~ ~ ~
While Tonks and Minnie Stewart taught the Gryffindors, Hermione asked Harry, "Have you been able to talk to Remus yet?"
"Not yet, he looked tired after dinner," Harry answered. "I was so close, but then Neville wanted to practice deflecting hexes."
"Speaking of dinner, did you see how much he put away? Almost as much as Ron!" Ginny giggled.
"Yeh, but Remus has better table manners." Harry snorted. "C'mon Hermione, you put your left foot back, you put your right foot back, then you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around."
"Oy," Ron interrupted, "what the hell are you two doing?"
Hermione laughed, "It's a little dance muggles learn in primary school. It's almost like the footwork we're supposed to be working on, Ron."
"Yep, look there, the Creevy brothers have it. Look around, you'll notice that most of the muggle-born students picked it up rather easily." Harry said, "Ginny, may I have this dance?" Harry and Ginny worked together on the footwork drill, except at the end they spun around, wiggled their hips, and drew small circles in the air with their wands.
McGonagall cleared her throat at the sight, "Adding a flourish to the drill, Mr. Potter?" Harry's face immediately went beet red as he turned to face her, but Tonks started doing the Hokey Pokey with Ginny.
Laughing, Tonks admitted, "This is fun! And you're right, Hermione, I never thought of why it was so easy for me to pick up this drill when I was in training. My dad was a muggle, you know. I learned it from him when I was four."
Tonks and McGonagall walked toward their chambers together after class. Minerva asked her companion, "Tonks, what do you think of Severus?"
The auror-on-temporary-assignment shrugged, "He's intelligent, but he doesn't know how to have fun. Ooo, but he's so cute as a dark blonde, isn't he? And he looks good without the black robes." **HIC** "What was that?" Tonks pulled out her wand. **HIC**
"Oh, dear. That's not necessary, Nymphadora, it's just Remus." McGonagall called out, "Remus? How are you dear?"
Remus stepped into the hallway from the Hospital wing, clutching his stomach. Looking sheepishly at the ladies, "Still have the HICcups. I've tried drinking water. I've tried holding my breath. I've tried a spoonful of sugar, I even tried a handful of lemon drops! Nothing has helped. **HIC** Madam Pomfrey thinks all the chocolate I ate with dinner might have interacted with the antidote that restored me today. My stomach hurts from all the hiccups." **HIC**
McGonagall looked at her watch, then hooked Lupin's elbow with her own. "Come, dear. Let's go see if Severus might be able to help. I'm sure he's still awake." Tonks hooked Lupin's other elbow and helped walk him down to the dungeons.
"Thank you, Minerva. You too, Tonks. You know, Madam Pomfrey had me turned on my head in midair. I thought I was cured, until she turned me over and I started up again," Lupin shook his head at the thought. **HIC**
~ ~ ~
A/N: Poor Remus, eh? I hated giving him the hiccups, but he was the most logical one to catch it.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JKR, various publishers of the HP series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 9 – Hokey Pokey (uploaded 1/05/04)
At dinner, the Great Hall buzzed with excitement after the Quidditch game. Everyone who played were ravenous at the dinner table. They ate like teenagers, even Professors Lupin, Tonks, and Weasley. Remus relaxed in the teacher's lounge, tired but happy, he closed his eyes to relive the afternoon game. He played Quidditch when he attended Hogwarts, though not on his house team because he was always too tired after his monthly transformations to be a reliable player for the house games. Even the relatively recent invention of Wolfsbane potion didn't help with the energy that it took to transform every month.
"Feeling your age already, Lupin?" a deep dark voice asked.
Remus opened his eyes and leaned forward in his chair to rub his lower back. "I guess I overexerted myself today, Severus. I just have never felt so energetic after a transformation," he gave a weak smile. **HIC** Lupin's eyes grew wide, he covered his mouth, "Excuse me!" **HIC**
Snape hovered over him with his arms crossed. However he didn't look like the intimidating overgrown bat without his black robes and long black hair. "What did you have for dinner?"
"Mmmm, everything. The Quidditch game really brought out my appetite. **HIC** Pork chops, potatoes, applesauce, vegetables, desert, and tea."
"Is that it?" Snape looked bored.
"Well, I had second helpings on the chocolate chip chocolate mousse with chocolate cake and chocolate sauce," Lupin recounted. **HIC**
"I can see I won't get much reading done in here with your hiccups. I have a dueling class to teach anyway." As Snape turned to leave, the wardrobe cupboard shook and a muffled giggle was heard from inside. Lupin immediately stood up **HIC**, Snape already had his wand drawn.
"Peeves, come out immediately!" Snape approached the cupboard slowly. He glared back at the werewolf when another loud hiccup came from his mouth.
"Severus, if it's a boggart, I'd like to have it for my class," Lupin asked, trying to control another hiccup that threatened to emerge from his chest.
"Shhh, drink a glass of water or something!" Snape hissed. "And no, you are not going to embarrass me again with that ruse." **HIC** The hiccup escaped.
Lupin drew his wand. Snape pointed his at the cupboard, "Alohamora!" The doors flew open, revealing two red-faced teens. Albus had his finger to his lips, apparently trying to quiet the girl on his lap, who had her hands over her mouth. Minerva cleared her throat and hopped off his lap to straighten her robes and pat down her hair. She nodded at Lupin and Snape, "Gentlemen," and made it out the door within three strides with as much dignity as she could muster. She stood out in the hallway, leaning against the door to the teacher's lounge with a hand on her chest to catch her breath.
The tall teen Albus Dumbledore stood and closed the doors to the cupboard, "Sorry, Remus, I'm not a boggart." His eyes twinkled like mad as he winked at the werewolf with hiccups. "Try a teaspoon of sugar, or here, a lemon drop?" He reached into a pocket and offered several lemon drops to the two other men. Snape waved it off with a sour look on his face. Lupin accepted them and popped one into his mouth.
"Thanks, Albus. I'm going to **HIC** try some other things, as well. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey has something more helpful," Lupin left quickly. He nodded with a big smile at Minerva, who was now leaning on the wall in the hallway.
"Severus, are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape sniffed and set his jaw. "I'm fine, headmaster," Snape's face returned to it's unreadable mask. "I have a class to teach, please excuse me." He berated himself as he walked away, 'What do you expect, idiot. It's the story of your life. You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up. Then again, I haven't felt like this since I was a student here. That's what it is, just a schoolboy crush on your teacher.' He was so involved in his own conversation, he didn't notice the young cat that followed him quietly down the hallway, stopping at the stairs which lead down to the dungeons.
~ ~ ~
At the Slytherin meeting room, Snape, as Coach Alan Marston, had his students working on their footwork. Students were paired off and sent stinging hexes toward each other's feet to get them to learn to move out of the way. They worked on bob-and-weave, rolling away, and fake wand waving.
As Snape paced around the room, he yelled, "No shielding, no parrying. The purpose of this exercise is to get you to move. You might have noticed in the demonstration how Tonks spun away from the spell and countered immediately. If you have mastered this exercise, throw in an occasional spin. Do not use it too often, as your opponent will get your timing and throw a hex into the back of your head.
"Mr. Crabbe, the back of your head is smoking. Miss Parkinson, please extinguish his Vincent's hair." Snape rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
"Team tryouts tomorrow at noon in the forest. We will meet at the big oak tree by the lake and you will follow me to the clearing where we will have a 'King of the Hill' elimination."
"Draco, may I see you?"
"Yes, sir?" Draco waved Crabbe and Goyle on. They waited for him in the hall.
"You seem distracted this evening. Although your performance was adequate, you will need to stand out in order to gain a spot on the team tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Marston. I need to talk to Professor Snape in person."
"I can assure you I am in his confidence. I will pass the message," said Snape.
"Just tell him that I really need to speak to him about a personal matter." Draco answered.
"Very well, I will relay the message this evening. Good night, Draco."
~ ~ ~
Dumbledore, coaching the Hufflepuff House, had more of a choreographed approach to teaching footwork.
"Front foot step, back foot drags up. If you step six inches, drag six inches. If you step two inches, drag two inches. One and two and switch your stance. If you were left foot forward before, now you should be right foot forward. And a one, and a two—"
"Don't look down at your feet, look forward at your opponent. And a one, and a two. Step-drag forward, step-drag back, step-drag left, step-drag right. You should end up in the same spot as you started."
"Maintain the same distance between yourselves. If your opponent moves a foot to the left, be his mirror, you move a foot, as well. And a one, and a two."
"Don't forget, everybody, team tryouts will be tomorrow at noon, behind the greenhouses. We will use a round-robin double elimination. That means you have to lose twice before being eliminated from competition."
~ ~ ~
While Tonks and Minnie Stewart taught the Gryffindors, Hermione asked Harry, "Have you been able to talk to Remus yet?"
"Not yet, he looked tired after dinner," Harry answered. "I was so close, but then Neville wanted to practice deflecting hexes."
"Speaking of dinner, did you see how much he put away? Almost as much as Ron!" Ginny giggled.
"Yeh, but Remus has better table manners." Harry snorted. "C'mon Hermione, you put your left foot back, you put your right foot back, then you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around."
"Oy," Ron interrupted, "what the hell are you two doing?"
Hermione laughed, "It's a little dance muggles learn in primary school. It's almost like the footwork we're supposed to be working on, Ron."
"Yep, look there, the Creevy brothers have it. Look around, you'll notice that most of the muggle-born students picked it up rather easily." Harry said, "Ginny, may I have this dance?" Harry and Ginny worked together on the footwork drill, except at the end they spun around, wiggled their hips, and drew small circles in the air with their wands.
McGonagall cleared her throat at the sight, "Adding a flourish to the drill, Mr. Potter?" Harry's face immediately went beet red as he turned to face her, but Tonks started doing the Hokey Pokey with Ginny.
Laughing, Tonks admitted, "This is fun! And you're right, Hermione, I never thought of why it was so easy for me to pick up this drill when I was in training. My dad was a muggle, you know. I learned it from him when I was four."
Tonks and McGonagall walked toward their chambers together after class. Minerva asked her companion, "Tonks, what do you think of Severus?"
The auror-on-temporary-assignment shrugged, "He's intelligent, but he doesn't know how to have fun. Ooo, but he's so cute as a dark blonde, isn't he? And he looks good without the black robes." **HIC** "What was that?" Tonks pulled out her wand. **HIC**
"Oh, dear. That's not necessary, Nymphadora, it's just Remus." McGonagall called out, "Remus? How are you dear?"
Remus stepped into the hallway from the Hospital wing, clutching his stomach. Looking sheepishly at the ladies, "Still have the HICcups. I've tried drinking water. I've tried holding my breath. I've tried a spoonful of sugar, I even tried a handful of lemon drops! Nothing has helped. **HIC** Madam Pomfrey thinks all the chocolate I ate with dinner might have interacted with the antidote that restored me today. My stomach hurts from all the hiccups." **HIC**
McGonagall looked at her watch, then hooked Lupin's elbow with her own. "Come, dear. Let's go see if Severus might be able to help. I'm sure he's still awake." Tonks hooked Lupin's other elbow and helped walk him down to the dungeons.
"Thank you, Minerva. You too, Tonks. You know, Madam Pomfrey had me turned on my head in midair. I thought I was cured, until she turned me over and I started up again," Lupin shook his head at the thought. **HIC**
~ ~ ~
A/N: Poor Remus, eh? I hated giving him the hiccups, but he was the most logical one to catch it.