Disclaimer – All I want for Christmas is world peace, the legalization of
gay marriage, harsher punishments for parole violators, and ownership of
Harry Potter. However, world leadership isn't cooperating, and it's a good
bet J.K. Rowling won't either.
Author's Note – things start happening in this chapter! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers – especially you, TPoR, and you, Sulwyn – wait, you're the only reviews I've gotten! No one loves me. Anywho, chapter seven will be up as soon as I figure out how to compensate for the fact that the italics won't show up.
Chapter Six Lessons
"Hello my friend we meet again It's been a while where should we begin Feels like forever."
—Creed
That Monday in class, Remus spent the first few minutes reviewing the previous week's lessons. "Come, now," he said patiently. "Someone must know. Anyone? ... Anyone at all. Nicky, put your book away, please."
The boy looked up, startled. "Why did you call me that?"
"Sorry," Remus apologized.
"I don't mind," said Dominic. "You can call me that."
Remus returned to the lesson. After class, he stopped Dominic. "I'm sorry for using the nickname," he said. "I knew a Dominic once who went by Nicky, so it seemed appropriate." The lie came smoothly.
Dominic gave him an odd smile. "My mum calls me Nicky. I don't mind, as long as it's not another student calling me that." He lied even better than Remus did.
The year passed as school years do, jumping from one minor crisis to the next, and staff and students all unconsciously marking the end of each month as the calendar marches toward June. This year, of course, was an eventful one, with the excitement of Sirius Black, sighted closer and closer to the school, but somehow or other, normal life went on. Remus didn't let the excitement affect his classes; he taught what he'd always wanted to teach, taught as he loved teaching. His students liked him, and he was finally getting used to the taste of the Wolfsbane Potion. He remembered no more forgotten friends. He even managed to put Sirius's escape out of his mind for days at a time. So it went until May came along.
On a Wednesday in May, Hermione Granger's ferret came to class.
Remus gathered that she'd originally intended to get an owl, then considered a cat, but Persia the ferret had captured her heart. He'd heard all this because of the ongoing drama between Hermione and Ron Weasley. Persia, it seemed, loved to torture Ron's fat and shabby rat, and this was a constant source of tension between Harry's two friends. Remus had never seen the rat or the ferret until today.
On the day in question, they were discussing the vampire essay when Miss Lavender Brown screeched. A little creature scuttled past her and took refuge under Remus's desk. Lavender leaped onto her chair, and a very red- faced Hermione rushed to front of the room to coax her pet from under the teacher's desk. "I'm sorry," she wailed. "I didn't know – she must have been in my bag, I thought she was still sleeping in my drawer – "
"Perfectly all right," said Remus, wondering how on earth the creature could fit into Hermione's book-laden bag. He paused, then asked, "What – is it?" The tiny beast had looked something like an elongated rat – no doubt explaining Lavender's reaction.
"My ferret," Hermione said miserably, now positively ruby, as she scooped her pet from the shelter of Remus's desk. Remus nodded, understanding immediately. She – the ferret, not Hermione – was scrabbling for purchase underneath. "Persia," Hermione scolded, "you disturbed the whole class."
"It's all right, Hermione," Remus said firmly. He reached out to stroke the little animal, which fixed him with a stony green-hued glare. Hermione returned to her seat and the lesson resumed.
Remus was a little shaken. He'd managed not to think about Cambri for a bit, to put her out of his mind, along with all her strange connections, but this encounter had jarred loose something more. Cambri had been an Animagus. And the form she'd taken?
That of a ferret, of course.
So, when a woman opened his door that night, Remus was not surprised. "I've been waiting for you to notice me," she said. "Really, it's about time."
"Cambri," said Remus.
Author's Note – things start happening in this chapter! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers – especially you, TPoR, and you, Sulwyn – wait, you're the only reviews I've gotten! No one loves me. Anywho, chapter seven will be up as soon as I figure out how to compensate for the fact that the italics won't show up.
Chapter Six Lessons
"Hello my friend we meet again It's been a while where should we begin Feels like forever."
—Creed
That Monday in class, Remus spent the first few minutes reviewing the previous week's lessons. "Come, now," he said patiently. "Someone must know. Anyone? ... Anyone at all. Nicky, put your book away, please."
The boy looked up, startled. "Why did you call me that?"
"Sorry," Remus apologized.
"I don't mind," said Dominic. "You can call me that."
Remus returned to the lesson. After class, he stopped Dominic. "I'm sorry for using the nickname," he said. "I knew a Dominic once who went by Nicky, so it seemed appropriate." The lie came smoothly.
Dominic gave him an odd smile. "My mum calls me Nicky. I don't mind, as long as it's not another student calling me that." He lied even better than Remus did.
The year passed as school years do, jumping from one minor crisis to the next, and staff and students all unconsciously marking the end of each month as the calendar marches toward June. This year, of course, was an eventful one, with the excitement of Sirius Black, sighted closer and closer to the school, but somehow or other, normal life went on. Remus didn't let the excitement affect his classes; he taught what he'd always wanted to teach, taught as he loved teaching. His students liked him, and he was finally getting used to the taste of the Wolfsbane Potion. He remembered no more forgotten friends. He even managed to put Sirius's escape out of his mind for days at a time. So it went until May came along.
On a Wednesday in May, Hermione Granger's ferret came to class.
Remus gathered that she'd originally intended to get an owl, then considered a cat, but Persia the ferret had captured her heart. He'd heard all this because of the ongoing drama between Hermione and Ron Weasley. Persia, it seemed, loved to torture Ron's fat and shabby rat, and this was a constant source of tension between Harry's two friends. Remus had never seen the rat or the ferret until today.
On the day in question, they were discussing the vampire essay when Miss Lavender Brown screeched. A little creature scuttled past her and took refuge under Remus's desk. Lavender leaped onto her chair, and a very red- faced Hermione rushed to front of the room to coax her pet from under the teacher's desk. "I'm sorry," she wailed. "I didn't know – she must have been in my bag, I thought she was still sleeping in my drawer – "
"Perfectly all right," said Remus, wondering how on earth the creature could fit into Hermione's book-laden bag. He paused, then asked, "What – is it?" The tiny beast had looked something like an elongated rat – no doubt explaining Lavender's reaction.
"My ferret," Hermione said miserably, now positively ruby, as she scooped her pet from the shelter of Remus's desk. Remus nodded, understanding immediately. She – the ferret, not Hermione – was scrabbling for purchase underneath. "Persia," Hermione scolded, "you disturbed the whole class."
"It's all right, Hermione," Remus said firmly. He reached out to stroke the little animal, which fixed him with a stony green-hued glare. Hermione returned to her seat and the lesson resumed.
Remus was a little shaken. He'd managed not to think about Cambri for a bit, to put her out of his mind, along with all her strange connections, but this encounter had jarred loose something more. Cambri had been an Animagus. And the form she'd taken?
That of a ferret, of course.
So, when a woman opened his door that night, Remus was not surprised. "I've been waiting for you to notice me," she said. "Really, it's about time."
"Cambri," said Remus.