Chapter Seven
Revenge Is Sweet
Meanwhile, Remus was only a few feet away from the Great Hall when he heard the only too familiar voice of his cousin. She was just around a corner talking with a group of Slytherin girls. They were whispering swiftly and laughing hysterically, Remus could only guess about whom.
"Anyway," his cousin, Bertha whispered, "Remus has a very bad allergic reaction to silver, why don't we slip it in his morning pumpkin juice!"
"Brilliant idea," said a girl with a face like a pig.
"Thank you Britannia, trust me Remus won't know what hit him." Remus decided to make him noticed, since he would have to walk past them anyway and casually strode by. The girls looked at him nervously and he cracked a smile and waved merrily. Then when they turned back to his huddle he dashed up the stairs to the Transfiguration classroom, where Professor McGonagall was sitting. She looked up when she saw him walk in and out of breath.
"What is it Mr. Lupin?" Professor McGonagall asked while marking a paper, "if it's about your homework, you can already know you did perfectly well!"
"No its not that Professor," Remus said, holding his side and gasping for breath.
"What is it then?"
"My-my- my cousin is going to do something really, really bad to me! I just heard her talking!"
"What's she going to do?"
"You know how silver kills werewolves, right? Well she's going to try and feed me some tomorrow!" Professor McGonagall dropped her quill and accidentally knocked over her inkbottle, splattering ink all over to papers, when she heard this. She just looked at the terrified Remus open mouthed. She gestured for Remus to sit down and she got up and left the room. Remus just sat there looking at the classroom and then occasionally looking down at the homework seeing who got what. Ten minutes later Professor McGonagall returned with Professor Dumbledore, Professor Rebori (head of Slytherin) and Bertha trailing behind them. They walked up to Professor McGonagall's desk and Professor McGonagall told Bertha to sit in the extra chair she conjured up next to Remus. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Rebori concocted seats for themselves.
"Tell me Miss Lupin," said Professor McGonagall sternly, "what exactly are you and your friends planning for tomorrow?"
"Nothing," Bertha lied quickly.
"Oh tell me another lie! Your cousin distinctly heard you planning to harm him tomorrow and I think that gives him perfect reason to be suspicious don't you think?"
"No, as a matter of fact I think the werewolf in him might be causing him to hear things. Remus you really should visit Madam Pomfrey. If that's all Professor McGonagall I'll be leaving." Bertha stood up and turned to leave but Professor Dumbledore strode over to the door and blocked it so she could not leave. She tried to go around him but Dumbledore made it so he covered the whole doorway. Bertha groaned and went back to her seat Dumbledore followed smiling pleasantly.
"You do realise," said Dumbledore calmly, "the seriousness of what you were going to do? Poisoning your cousin with silver!"
"He's has it coming to him," Bertha protested. "He's been really mean to me!"
"What are you talking about?" Remus interjected, "I haven't seen you since the day we got here!"
"That's enough Remus," Dumbledore said holding out a hand, "feeding your cousin silver will kill him! Which you probably already know so, I have no choice, but to expel you." Bertha looked stunned, she glanced to the ever so calm Dumbledore, to Professor McGonagall, who was keeping a stern eye on her to Professor Rebori, whom had the same look as McGonagall, to Remus, who looked like Christmas had come early. Bertha glared at him and then turned back to the Headmaster.
"You can't expel me!" she argued, "you just can't!"
"Don't you tell the Headmaster what he can and cannot do!" Professor Rebori yelled. "He has every right to expel you! Of course you should have been expecting that!"
"Miss Lupin tomorrow The Minister of Magic will be reporting here tomorrow to snap your wand in half and you will never be coming back," said Professor Dumbledore sternly, "both of you go back to your common rooms!" Bertha and Remus stood up and walked to the door. As Remus was turning to go to the Gryffindor common room his cousin grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. She had her wand pointing right between his eyes and was staring menacingly at him. Obviously, Remus thought, expulsion didn't go well with her.
"You think you're going to get away with this?" she said maliciously.
"Well if you're being expelled than obviously I just have," Remus answered slyly.
"Well you're going to be the next one kicked out once I tell everyone what you are!" Remus started to argue but Bertha punched him in the stomach knocking all the air out of him. He grabbed his wand from his pocket and pointed it at his cousin's heart, careful to show no fear which he had none. As Bertha was about to shout an incantation he heard a voice from his right shout Obliviate! Bertha fell sideways and was out cold. Remus looked up and saw Sirius, James and Peter running forward, James held his wand in the air; obviously it was him who shouted the spell. It took Remus a minute to remember why they were there but then he remembered that they had detention. Remus's friends walked over and James held out a hand to help Remus up.
"What happened?" James asked as Remus straightened his robes.
"My idiot cousin that's what!" Remus answered irritably. "Moron of a girl she is!"
"She must've really got you mad," said an impressed Sirius, "I've never heard you talk like that before. Oh darn!" Sirius looked at his watch, "detention time fellas! See you later Remus." Sirius turned and walked into Professor McGonagall's classroom with James and Peter following. Remus shrugged and turned to go up to Gryffindor tower. When he arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady and gave the password "Floo Powder," the portrait swung open and revealed the luminous common room. There was only one other occupant in the room, Lily Evans. She was deeply immersed in a book and didn't notice him come in. Not wanting to disturb her he tried to go as quietly as possible up the staircase but she spotted him.
"Hullo Remus," she said quietly, not taking her eyes off the book.
"Oh!" said Remus, pretending to be surprised, "didn't notice you, Lily."
"I'm sure you didn't," she looked up from her book and surveyed pale Remus. "Do you feel alright?"
"Yes! I always look like this!" He gestured at his appearance and grinned sheepishly.
"I don't know how a boy as nice as you hangs out with troublemakers like Black and Potter!"
"They have first names you know, James and Sirius." Remus tried to stifle a yawn, "I'm tired, I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night."
"'Night Remus." Lily returned to her book, which Remus saw was about Charms and he left for the boys' dormitory. He switched on the light and fell down on his bed. He looked up at the ceiling and thinking to himself that he should be pleased that he got his cousin kicked out of school because she was plotting his death. Quite the contrary he felt really guilty. He didn't want her kicked out, just taught a lesson, now he couldn't live with himself. Remus tried to stay awake longer so he could hear about his friends' detentions but tiredness overwhelmed him and he fell into a deep, uneasy sleep.
He awoke the next morning to several cheers of excitement. Curious, Remus lifted himself out of bed and staggered over, finding it very hard to walk since his legs were still asleep. He saw Frank, Sirius, James and Peter all looking out the window and down onto the grounds. Remus pushed his way through Peter and Frank and peered out the window. Out on the grounds he saw a squat witch with frizzy gray hair and square glasses hanging on the bridge of her nose. She was holding a wand in her hands and staring at someone who looked oddly familiar. Remus pushed his face closer to the glass, knocking a now disgruntled looking James out of the way. He saw the person the witch was looking at was Bertha.
"Wow!" James exclaimed, "I think the Minister's going to snap her wand!"
"Awesome!" said Sirius grinning evilly. "Wonder what she did?"
"I don't know," Frank said, "but whatever it was, it had to be bad!"
"Maybe she snuck into Filch's office or something and vandalized it," suggested Peter, "Remus she's your cousin, do you know?" Being asked that question startled Remus whom had been deciding whether to stay and watch or to run down to the grounds and stop them.
"What?" he said, "oh-no I don't- I have to go... um... to Flitwick's office... I'll be back later!" He grabbed his cloak threw it over his pyjamas threw some shoes on and dashed out of the room. Down in the common room one of the seventh years had said good morning to him but Remus had barely heard them. As he was nearing the portrait hole he banged his toe on the leg of a wooden table and stopped for a split second to hop up and down grabbing his toe. With pain still searing through his foot he made it to the portrait hole and shoved it open.
"What's your hurry Lupin!" an annoyed Fat Lady yelled at him, but he paid no attention. He ran down the steps, down a long corridor and found himself in the Entrance Hall. He ran down the large staircase and through the enormous double doors and was out on the wet grass on the grounds. He looked around and saw his cousin. Running, and slipping on the grass he made it there just when the Minister was about to snap his cousin's wand.
"Wait!" Remus called. The Minister jumped and turned around and Bertha looked at him curiously, "you can't snap her wand! You just can't!"
"And why not?" the Minister snapped.
"Because I could never live with myself! It would be my fault! Just let her stay in school!"
"We will have to discuss this with the Headmaster... Ah here he is now! Albus a word please!" Professor Dumbledore hurried over and the Minister engaged him in deep conversation. Bertha shuffled over to where her cousin was and Remus just stood looking at Professor Dumbledore and the Minister.
"Remus?" his cousin said quietly.
"Oh you've finally realised I've got a first name?" he said slyly, "not calling me Wolfy or Dog Boy?"
"No!" Bertha yelled. "Why did you stop her? Wouldn't you want her to expel me?"
"I would have thought it was a good idea, but unfortunately I realised that I have a heart, unlike you. I didn't want them to expel you, I just wanted you taught a lesson for all the misery you put me through."
"Oh well. If that's the only reason then I have nothing to say to you."
"Fine! You know what? I hope Dumbledore makes you be expelled its not more then you deserve!" Remus turned around sharply and marched back into the castle. As he was walking through the Entrance Hall he kept muttering things about his cousin such as "jerk," "moron," "good for nothing, filthy stinking..." He went back up to Gryffindor Tower to find an empty common room and the boys' dormitory had cleared out. He changed into his robes and saw the toe he had stubbed was turning purple but he didn't care because he was still angry with his lousy cousin. Fully dressed he went down to breakfast to meet up with his friends.
As he entered the Great Hall he expected to see Snape or the rest of the Slytherins in some kind of humiliating torture but saw no signs of anything. Remus shrugged and took a seat next to James. They were looking thoroughly disgruntled about something.
"What's up?" Remus asked as he began piling sausages on his plate.
"McGonagall said that we can't play a prank until Monday!" Sirius muttered.
"But today's Thursday, its not like you have to wait that long."
"Its long for us!" James exclaimed, "anyway... what were you doing this morning? We saw you go out onto the grounds where your cousin was."
"I tried to stop the Minister from destroying her wand. You'd think my cousin be the least bit grateful? But no... its 'then I have nothing more to say to you!' Sometimes I just wish I could put her through the torture she put me through!" James and Sirius turned to each and grinned manically, each of them wearing a mischievous grin in their eyes. Sirius turned to Remus and saw in his most casual voice.
"Well why don't we?"
"I thought you couldn't play pranks?" Remus asked.
"Well yeah we can't play pranks," James said, holding back his laughter, "but who said you couldn't?"
"Besides," said Peter, "we can help plan them."
"Well..." Remus began considering the consequences. He had never been in on one of their pranks before so he couldn't get in much trouble just a detention and a bit of detention might do him some good. He smiled evilly and turned back to his friends.
"Normally I don't like anything that could hurt someone but..." he saw his cousin sitting at the Slytherin table, "as the old folk say revenge is sweet!"