Chapter 4: A magical technicality
The next morning came particularly soon. Too soon, in fact for Emily's liking.
She groaned as she tossed in her bed and began to sleepily open her eyes. Her leg was still throbbing above the pillow. The pain actually seemed worse today than it had the evening before.
The light behind the stained glass windows showed that it was well past sunrise, but still fairly early morning. She'd never been good at judging time by the light of day. Her father at one point had it down to an almost exact art. He said that it helped with his writing, though Emily wasn't sure exactly how.
She propped herself up on her elbows and carefully looked around the room. It seemed to be deserted. They were all at breakfast more than likely.
She blinked several more times before catching sight of two slices of bacon and toast lying on her bedside table.
Remus, she thought with a sigh.
True, he hadn't proven himself to be as bold as she had hoped for. If he could not even defend her against those friends of his, she could not see him fighting gallantly to defend her honor. But, then again, she had never been given breakfast in bed before, no matter how sick she was.
Perhaps she had the romance aspect down sooner than she thought she did.
Good. That meant three steps down. Now if only an evil villain could enter the picture...
She reached for a slice of toast when the door creaked open.
"'morning." Said Remus as he entered the room, eyes pressed to the floor. He seemed even more embarrassed at her presence than he had the previous night. Of course, Emily thought, she would too after the teasing he had endured from his three so-called-friends.
If there was a more unmannerly, uncouth group of people than the three that this sweet, gentle soul, tagged along with, they kept themselves well hidden.
Especially that Sirius Black.
What right had he to be so good looking when he had absolutely no sense of chivalry what so ever?
And, what right did he have to make her faint at the very sound of his voice?
He had planned it that way. Somehow he had bewitched her into being attracted to him. That's right, it was all a governmental conspiracy!
Finally coming to the conclusion in her mind that the Government was not likely to put so much effort into a run away, Emily turned her attention back to Remus who was still standing by her bed and looking quite uncomfortable, as if waiting for her to say something
"'morning" she said as she took a piece of toast from her plate. "Thanks very much for breakfast."
"Don't mention it." He muttered still staring at the floor.
"Is your leg any better today?" He asked. This time he simply moved his gaze to her pillow. He seemed to be avoiding physical contact with her right leg at all costs
"No it's as bad as ever." She grunted moving her elbows further up the pillow and taking her aching leg with her.
"And what ever happened to that thing you could do to fix it?" She nearly demanded.
Though, she was careful not to raise her voice too loudly, no matter how deeply her leg hurt. A lady never shouts.
"I'm not quite certain it's the best idea...I mean I only just mastered it and... of course there's-"
"Remus please! Anything is better than this!" She said impatiently. She was later appaled at herself for nearly breaking her own rule. She had only just met Remus, she did not have the right to speak to him in such a manner...yet.
Remus did not seem to mind. He looked thoughtfully at her leg and said almost to himself.
"It's true, the pain would be much less, and you would be able to move around. But then there's the question of secrecy. Still, you are my responsibility..."
For the first time, he moved his head to look at Emily in the eyes.
"Promise you won't tell any one?" He asked seriously.
"Who would I tell?" Emily wondered aloud. A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Good point. Another thing, like I said last night, this will come as a shock so..." He turned nervously to the door. No one was there. He continued in a whisper:
"Please don't be alarmed."
"I promise." Emily said eagerly as she watched him reach inside his pocked and pull out a large wooden stick that seemed to have been carved quite elegantly with a black handle
"Imendo" he said pointing it her leg. Immediately bandages flew out the end and wrapped themselves around her leg, lessening the pain considerably.
Emily's jaw dropped and she starred at him gaping. He lowered the stick looking quite apologetic.
"Ho-how did you- what happened?"
"Well, it's better isn't it?" Remus asked smiling slightly.
"Yes. But what happened?" Emily insisted still wide eyed.
"It's quite complicated." Remus muttered. But by Emily was far too excited to know not to press him further.
"Was that magic? What you just did?" She asked eagerly leaning over the side of her bed.
"Well, technically..."
"No technicalities. Was that magic or not?" She cut in impatiently
"Yes." Remus reverted his gaze to the floor once more.
"Oh how brilliant!" She exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.
"So are you a wizard or a warlock? I know they're different. And are there elves and hobbits and white magic and dark magic?"
She spoke very quickly. She knew it! She just knew it! She knew it was all true! This just proved it. Her uncle was a blind, hypocritical, idiot! He had told her none of it existed. Well he was wrong. Ha!
Remus smiled indulgently at her
"You've been reading too many books." He said.
"You can never read too many books." She said attempting to regain her dignified composure.
"Maybe. But it doesn't work quite like that." He said allowing himself to sit on the edge of her bed. He seemed to have forgotten temporarily about the last time they had been found alone together.
"How does it work?" Emily asked returning to her eagerly curious state.
"Well, first of all you sort of have to be born magical."
"How can you tell if you are?" Emily asked leaning further over on the bed. Perhaps she was magical and simply didn't know it.
"You can make odd things happen without meaning too, usually when you're very young."
He said looking slightly uncomfortable, as she was leaning a little further over than was absolutely necessary, and her shirt was quite baggy.
She didn't care at the moment. She was far too interested in this new world to worry about where she was leaning
"How young?" She asked
"Before your eleven." He shifted slightly she could tell he was attempting to keep his gaze fixed on her eyes.
"Well, I used to make odd things happen all the time. Once, I think I broke the television set when I was about six. My Uncle had told me to go to bed before I wanted to. I had just screamed, 'I WON'T' When the entire set blew out. Things like that still happen to me some times. Could I be magical?"
Again, she said all this very quickly. Suddenly she didn't quite remember all the etiquate she had prepared for such an occasion. She had very nearly found herself in a true novel. She needed to learn all she could.
"Since your not enrolled here, I highly doubt it. When you turn eleven, you get your letter to come here. To Hogwarts school of Witch craft and Wizardry."
Her face fell. Remus must have noticed because he added quickly.
"Not that that's a bad thing at all! Were not better than your lot, just different. My mother's a muggle, and there isn't a nicer woman anywhere."
"Another thing. What's a muggle?" She asked, still slightly put off by the less than endearing way Sirius had used it when they first met.
"It just means someone who isn't magical. It's far from the worst thing any one could call someone else." He said kindly, probably sensing her resentment at Sirius's use of it.
"Still it's not exactly endearing, is it?" She asked still rather pouty.
"Well, no. But, It doesn't really mean anything, it's just a word we've always used." He said quickly.
There was a moment of silence before he got up from the bed and she settled back on her pillows.
"I'd bettered get to class. I'll probably be late as it is." He said as he picked up his bag from the side of her bed.
"I'm sorry I kept you." She answered attempting to retrieve her dignified composure.
"It's all right." He said still fumbling with the fastening on his bag. Though she could see his ears turning a vague shade of pink that she was sure had spread to his face.
"Remus, you coming? We're already late." Peter Petigrew peaked his head through the door.
"Oh, I'm sure that what Moony's doing is far more interesting than going to class." Sirius's voice floated up from the hall. She could hear him and James making kissing noises from the other side of the door.
Honestly! What was wrong with men these days, she thought. Well, most men, she decided as her gaze moved back to Remus.
"Coming." He said as he stood up and nearly slipped on a light, sheer and very watery material that Emily vaguely recognized.
"What's that?" She asked her curiosity had piqued again.
"It's James's invisi- oh, er, cloak." He corrected himself hastily.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Right. By then."
Remus gave her a rather odd look before moving to the door.
"I'll bring you up something at lunch. Bye." He added before following Peter out into the hall way and closing the door behind him
Emily was definitely curious now. But she knew better than to press the matter of the er...cloak.
She had learned from her books that in circumstances like this, the hero (or heroine in her case), was meant to find out things like this by herself. The boys would be gone to classes most of the day. She could experiment with it then...
The next morning came particularly soon. Too soon, in fact for Emily's liking.
She groaned as she tossed in her bed and began to sleepily open her eyes. Her leg was still throbbing above the pillow. The pain actually seemed worse today than it had the evening before.
The light behind the stained glass windows showed that it was well past sunrise, but still fairly early morning. She'd never been good at judging time by the light of day. Her father at one point had it down to an almost exact art. He said that it helped with his writing, though Emily wasn't sure exactly how.
She propped herself up on her elbows and carefully looked around the room. It seemed to be deserted. They were all at breakfast more than likely.
She blinked several more times before catching sight of two slices of bacon and toast lying on her bedside table.
Remus, she thought with a sigh.
True, he hadn't proven himself to be as bold as she had hoped for. If he could not even defend her against those friends of his, she could not see him fighting gallantly to defend her honor. But, then again, she had never been given breakfast in bed before, no matter how sick she was.
Perhaps she had the romance aspect down sooner than she thought she did.
Good. That meant three steps down. Now if only an evil villain could enter the picture...
She reached for a slice of toast when the door creaked open.
"'morning." Said Remus as he entered the room, eyes pressed to the floor. He seemed even more embarrassed at her presence than he had the previous night. Of course, Emily thought, she would too after the teasing he had endured from his three so-called-friends.
If there was a more unmannerly, uncouth group of people than the three that this sweet, gentle soul, tagged along with, they kept themselves well hidden.
Especially that Sirius Black.
What right had he to be so good looking when he had absolutely no sense of chivalry what so ever?
And, what right did he have to make her faint at the very sound of his voice?
He had planned it that way. Somehow he had bewitched her into being attracted to him. That's right, it was all a governmental conspiracy!
Finally coming to the conclusion in her mind that the Government was not likely to put so much effort into a run away, Emily turned her attention back to Remus who was still standing by her bed and looking quite uncomfortable, as if waiting for her to say something
"'morning" she said as she took a piece of toast from her plate. "Thanks very much for breakfast."
"Don't mention it." He muttered still staring at the floor.
"Is your leg any better today?" He asked. This time he simply moved his gaze to her pillow. He seemed to be avoiding physical contact with her right leg at all costs
"No it's as bad as ever." She grunted moving her elbows further up the pillow and taking her aching leg with her.
"And what ever happened to that thing you could do to fix it?" She nearly demanded.
Though, she was careful not to raise her voice too loudly, no matter how deeply her leg hurt. A lady never shouts.
"I'm not quite certain it's the best idea...I mean I only just mastered it and... of course there's-"
"Remus please! Anything is better than this!" She said impatiently. She was later appaled at herself for nearly breaking her own rule. She had only just met Remus, she did not have the right to speak to him in such a manner...yet.
Remus did not seem to mind. He looked thoughtfully at her leg and said almost to himself.
"It's true, the pain would be much less, and you would be able to move around. But then there's the question of secrecy. Still, you are my responsibility..."
For the first time, he moved his head to look at Emily in the eyes.
"Promise you won't tell any one?" He asked seriously.
"Who would I tell?" Emily wondered aloud. A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Good point. Another thing, like I said last night, this will come as a shock so..." He turned nervously to the door. No one was there. He continued in a whisper:
"Please don't be alarmed."
"I promise." Emily said eagerly as she watched him reach inside his pocked and pull out a large wooden stick that seemed to have been carved quite elegantly with a black handle
"Imendo" he said pointing it her leg. Immediately bandages flew out the end and wrapped themselves around her leg, lessening the pain considerably.
Emily's jaw dropped and she starred at him gaping. He lowered the stick looking quite apologetic.
"Ho-how did you- what happened?"
"Well, it's better isn't it?" Remus asked smiling slightly.
"Yes. But what happened?" Emily insisted still wide eyed.
"It's quite complicated." Remus muttered. But by Emily was far too excited to know not to press him further.
"Was that magic? What you just did?" She asked eagerly leaning over the side of her bed.
"Well, technically..."
"No technicalities. Was that magic or not?" She cut in impatiently
"Yes." Remus reverted his gaze to the floor once more.
"Oh how brilliant!" She exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.
"So are you a wizard or a warlock? I know they're different. And are there elves and hobbits and white magic and dark magic?"
She spoke very quickly. She knew it! She just knew it! She knew it was all true! This just proved it. Her uncle was a blind, hypocritical, idiot! He had told her none of it existed. Well he was wrong. Ha!
Remus smiled indulgently at her
"You've been reading too many books." He said.
"You can never read too many books." She said attempting to regain her dignified composure.
"Maybe. But it doesn't work quite like that." He said allowing himself to sit on the edge of her bed. He seemed to have forgotten temporarily about the last time they had been found alone together.
"How does it work?" Emily asked returning to her eagerly curious state.
"Well, first of all you sort of have to be born magical."
"How can you tell if you are?" Emily asked leaning further over on the bed. Perhaps she was magical and simply didn't know it.
"You can make odd things happen without meaning too, usually when you're very young."
He said looking slightly uncomfortable, as she was leaning a little further over than was absolutely necessary, and her shirt was quite baggy.
She didn't care at the moment. She was far too interested in this new world to worry about where she was leaning
"How young?" She asked
"Before your eleven." He shifted slightly she could tell he was attempting to keep his gaze fixed on her eyes.
"Well, I used to make odd things happen all the time. Once, I think I broke the television set when I was about six. My Uncle had told me to go to bed before I wanted to. I had just screamed, 'I WON'T' When the entire set blew out. Things like that still happen to me some times. Could I be magical?"
Again, she said all this very quickly. Suddenly she didn't quite remember all the etiquate she had prepared for such an occasion. She had very nearly found herself in a true novel. She needed to learn all she could.
"Since your not enrolled here, I highly doubt it. When you turn eleven, you get your letter to come here. To Hogwarts school of Witch craft and Wizardry."
Her face fell. Remus must have noticed because he added quickly.
"Not that that's a bad thing at all! Were not better than your lot, just different. My mother's a muggle, and there isn't a nicer woman anywhere."
"Another thing. What's a muggle?" She asked, still slightly put off by the less than endearing way Sirius had used it when they first met.
"It just means someone who isn't magical. It's far from the worst thing any one could call someone else." He said kindly, probably sensing her resentment at Sirius's use of it.
"Still it's not exactly endearing, is it?" She asked still rather pouty.
"Well, no. But, It doesn't really mean anything, it's just a word we've always used." He said quickly.
There was a moment of silence before he got up from the bed and she settled back on her pillows.
"I'd bettered get to class. I'll probably be late as it is." He said as he picked up his bag from the side of her bed.
"I'm sorry I kept you." She answered attempting to retrieve her dignified composure.
"It's all right." He said still fumbling with the fastening on his bag. Though she could see his ears turning a vague shade of pink that she was sure had spread to his face.
"Remus, you coming? We're already late." Peter Petigrew peaked his head through the door.
"Oh, I'm sure that what Moony's doing is far more interesting than going to class." Sirius's voice floated up from the hall. She could hear him and James making kissing noises from the other side of the door.
Honestly! What was wrong with men these days, she thought. Well, most men, she decided as her gaze moved back to Remus.
"Coming." He said as he stood up and nearly slipped on a light, sheer and very watery material that Emily vaguely recognized.
"What's that?" She asked her curiosity had piqued again.
"It's James's invisi- oh, er, cloak." He corrected himself hastily.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Right. By then."
Remus gave her a rather odd look before moving to the door.
"I'll bring you up something at lunch. Bye." He added before following Peter out into the hall way and closing the door behind him
Emily was definitely curious now. But she knew better than to press the matter of the er...cloak.
She had learned from her books that in circumstances like this, the hero (or heroine in her case), was meant to find out things like this by herself. The boys would be gone to classes most of the day. She could experiment with it then...