The Understudy
Remus and April watched in silence as Sirius slowly approached them.
"Padfoot…"
"I don't want to talk about it," Sirius cut in coldly. Turning to April, his glance softened. "April," he said in a low gentle voice, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you."
April kept her eyes glued to the ground.
Sirius tried again, "I want you to think about what I said before we…well, started throwing bricks at one another." He licked his lips and added, "I want you to know that I mean every word I said."
As April finally raised her eyes to his face, an idea struck Sirius. "Come with me," he commanded, grabbing her hand and started to depart.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll find out."
"Wait!" she glanced back over her shoulder at Remus. "Are you coming?"
Remus took one look at Sirius' flashing eyes and knew what his reply should be. He shook his head.
Before April could say anything, Sirius roughly pulled her behind him and made his way purposefully into the direction of the headmaster's office.
*
"Come in!" Dumbledore's voice rang out warmly as the door swung open by itself.
They were surprised that the elderly man was not alone.
Sirius immediately dropped April's hand and went to his godson. "Harry! What are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did you have another nightmare? Your scar hurts?"
Harry flashed a grin at Sirius, "I'm fine. My scar's fine. It hurts every now and then but it's not burning, so that's bearable."
Sirius frowned.
"Nothing to worry about, Sirius. I only invited Harry here to see Fawkes. My phoenix misses him," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "So what can I do for the two of you today. Surely you're not here to see Fawkes too?"
Sirius wasted no time. "I was trying to persuade April to stay and I thought you can help me convince her."
Dumbledore smiled knowingly.
"She said she's just a visitor and there's no role for her at Hogwarts," Sirius added, causing April to colour in embarrassment. This was not something she wanted Dumbledore to hear.
"Perhaps I can offer you a position at Hogwarts?" the headmaster asked the young woman.
"Albus, you know fully well that I don't know how to teach. I mean…introducing creatures to students for a few weeks is one thing. I'll not be able to handle a full year's syllabus!"
"Why is that so?" Harry asked.
"Because I've never attended a wizardry school myself!"
Harry's eyes widened. So did Sirius'.
"Voldemort was not the only one eyeing the Sorcerer's Stone," she explained impatiently. "Lots of powerful wizards and witches were dying to lay their filthy hands on a Flamel to get to the Stone. It just wasn't safe for us to leave the Flamel Fortress."
"Where did you learn all that stuff from?" Sirius asked.
"Flamels are taught by the elders in the family." She smiled and added, "I must say that Albus was one of my teachers too."
"I only gave you a few pointers, my dear," Dumbledore said modestly.
"I used to follow Albus all over the Fortress whenever he visited in the summers, to squeeze some knowledge from him. And of course, to know more about the world outside," she shot Dumbledore a warm appreciative look.
"Actually, you know your magic, April. You just need to understudy some professors to familiarise yourself to teaching. How about assisting one of the professors for a while and see if it helps?" suggested Dumbledore.
"That's an excellent idea!" Harry cried.
"Sure, that may work," she replied brightly.
Sirius cleared his throat loudly to draw his companions' attention to himself. "I'll be nice and offer to let you observe my class."
April looked from Sirius to Dumbledore, and then back to Sirius again. "No, I have another more suitable professor in mind," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.
"And he is?" Sirius challenged.
"The Potions Master, of course!" she replied and Sirius almost choked. "It'll be fun to know what's brewing. Potion is a subject I've always been interested in."
"But Snape is the Potions Master! He is always after the Defence Against Dark Arts position. How can you choose Potions over my subject?" Sirius bellowed.
"I happen to think Professor Snape is quite cool," April said evenly. "May I, Albus?"
Dumbledore gave her an amused smile, before replying, "If Professor Snape agrees, I see no reason to object."
"That's great! When can I begin?"
"When would you like to begin, my child?" Dumbledore asked.
"Remus and Sirius are beginning their lessons in two days' time. I'd like to start on the same day!"
Dumbledore nodded, "I'll see what can be done."
"Thanks, Albus!" she said happily before turning to Sirius, "So I'm staying!"
Sirius grinned at her in spite of himself. "I can't say I agreed with your choice of professors to understudy, but I can't argue with your decision to stay."
*
Sirius had his first taste of teaching two days later.
Five minutes into his lesson, he had already decided that teaching was not as fun as he thought.
The first and second years were pretty dull, he observed privately. He had not prepared much for his lessons, but found no trouble getting through them. All he had to do was to show his classes a few complicated spells and make them in awe of him. Of course, he had no intention of teaching them how to perform these spells. The right time would probably be their sixth and seventh years, so he could leave the task to Remus.
Sirius quickly became aware that his female students, which made up more than half his students, were looking at him with unmistakable admiration and interest. They hung on his every word, and giggled hysterically at every joke Sirius cracked – even those he himself did not find funny. The girls were obviously swooning for him and each time he asked for a volunteer, there was not a girl who did not raise her hand up high.
Sirius was enjoying the attention at first. He was flattered, and it brought back memories that had long been forgotten. He had not lost his touch in sending female hearts racing. But after the first hour, he grew a little irritated by the giggles and silly wide grins. He couldn't wait for the lunch hour to have his first break of the day, and to find out how Remus and April's day went.
Sirius had intended to reach the Great Hall much earlier, but he was delayed by a bunch of persistent girls who kept holding him back with foolish questions. By the time he reached the Great Hall, Remus and April were already seated together at the staff table, which was filled with food.
Sirius took the seat next to April and settled down quickly, filling his plate. Teaching those young ones must have used up a lot of his energy as he felt hungrier than usual. He was already into his second helping when he noticed that April was still poking her fork at the same few items that were on her plate when he first joined the table.
"Not eating?" Sirius asked, forgetting about his half-empty stomach temporarily.
"I'm not hungry." April continued to push around her food, looking glum.
"How did your day go?" Remus asked from the other side of April.
"It's alright," she mumbled.
"You're lying," Sirius decided. His eyes narrowed as he asked her, "Did Snape give you a hard time?"
April shook her head. "Everything's fine," she replied. She finally gave up trying to eat and pushed her plate away.
"Tell me! What did he do?" Sirius demanded.
She pursed her lips and remained silent.
Sirius grew impatient. "I'll have a word with that slimy freak," he growled and started to get up from his chair.
"Stop it, Sirius!" April told him irritably. "It's nothing I can't handle myself."
"Snape was nasty to you?" Remus asked quietly.
"I don't want either of you to interfere. I can take care of myself!" April snapped and stormed out of the Great Hall.
*
April was as glum the next day, and the day after. She had ceased to be her bubbly self, and instead wore a perpetual frown on her face. Neither Sirius nor Remus could get anything out of her. In fact, both men were now hesitant to broach the subject of Snape's lessons as she would become almost angry whenever they did.
Sirius decided he had to use his last resort. He pulled aside Harry at breakfast on the fourth day.
"What is it you want to tell me, Sirius?"
"You'll be having Potions today?"
"Yes," Harry replied, puzzled.
"April will be there," Sirius stated needlessly.
"That's right," Harry grinned. "And I have Defence Against Dark Arts tomorrow. My first class with you!"
Sirius was too distracted to register most of what Harry had just said. "Harry, I want you to do something for me," he told his godson in a serious tone. "I want you to keep your eyes open at Potions, and observe how Snape treats April. Report your observations to me immediately after that."
Harry frowned. "Is there something wrong?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out. This is important. Do not forget. Thanks, Harry." Sirius gave Harry a slap on his back and departed.
*
Harry arrived early for his Potions lesson and quickly settled down with Ron and Hermione. Remembering his promise to Sirius, Harry kept his eyes glued to the door, watching out for Snape and April.
As soon as all students had taken their seats, Snape burst into the room with April following close behind.
The lesson began without much event. Snape was as usual picking on the Gryffindors and chose to remain oblivious to mistakes by the Slytherins.
Harry, Ron and Hermione kept trying to catch April's eyes, but she was making an obvious effort not to meet their gaze, choosing instead to observe Snape. Harry thought April looked a little tense and guarded. Somehow, he had the impression that she was gritting her teeth and braving for some attack throughout the lesson.
Harry soon paid the price for being distracted. He knew that something was wrong when his potions sizzled and turned blue as he added the final ingredient. He also knew what was coming.
True enough, Snape quickly made his way to Harry's table, his sneer in place. "Our famous Potter has proven yet again that he is completely incapable of following simple instructions."
Hary did not answer. He would not give the satisfaction of getting to him.
Snape tried harder to get a reaction from Harry. "Don't you agree that you're talentless in Potions?" he snarled. "Your fans should see you right now and they'll realise that the boy-who-lived is no better than…"
"I think that's enough, Professor Snape!" April's raised voice rang out behind Snape.
Snape turned around to face April, "Why! Miss Flamel has finally decided to speak! I was just wondering what happened to your colourful opinions today."
April was trying hard to control her temper. "Harry did not do that bad a job. At least he got a blue mixture, which is at least closer to your shade of green than Crabbe's red concoction," she pointed out, making a noticeable effort to sound calm and collected.
"My, my! Does a few lessons suddenly make you an expert in Potions, Miss Flamel? Potions is different from fashion. Colours alone do not tell everything." Snape said mockingly. "You forget who is the Potions Master here."
April clenched her fists till her knuckles turned white.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for Mr Potter holding up the class with his incompetence," Snape announced, making his way back to the front of the room.
"Then you should deduct ten points from Slytherin too, since Crabbe and his fellow housemates can't get it right either," April told Snape coldly.
"It is not for you to tell me what to do, Miss Flamel. Only I have the authority to add or take away points in this class and I want you to bear that in mind."
A few Slytherins, including Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, laughed loudly.
Harry felt the need to protest but Hermione beat him to it. "Professor Flamel is just trying to point out a fact. She did not do anything wrong!" she said loyally.
"Another ten points from Gryffindor! I've told Professor Flamel several times that she is better suited to hang around the two other questionable professors than to express her uneducated views in my class."
April glared at Snape with hatred in her eyes, but Snape remained unperturbed and carried on with his lesson as though she wasn't there.
* * *
Ms. Padfoot : There you have it – no fist fight! And Umbridge'll not be able to come near Sirius and April ever, so they're quite safe from her. You'll read about some progress between Sirius and April in the next chapter. It'll be a short one though!
Star06 : Are you quoting Sirius from my last chapter? LOL
Diosa Alexia : You like love triangles? :)
lildarkkitty : Your review left me a little confused! Can I play dead?
peachgirl1608 : No lah, I'm not making Sirius suffer. And…why do you want to know my birthday? Actually, it's the same as April's birthday (you'll read about that in the next chapter). Hmm…if you really have to know first, it's on 11th September. Really! I know this date is not exactly everyone's favourite (thanks to the terrorists), but I was really born on this date.
Annoriel : Thanks! Please don't ever remove me from your list, ok? I'll be heartbroken if you do that! And just to give you a clue, Remus may not be able to undo what you mentioned so easily.
Summerkins : Yay! I was about to include a "Summerkins: where are you?" message on this page, but I'm glad I don't have to do that now! I try to update twice a week, but if work gets too busy, it may be longer. Anyhow, there'll be no cliffie in my next chapter, so you don't have to die of suspense if I take too long! :)
Fire'N'Ice : Hmm…good question…why does she keep talking about Remus? *evil grin*
padfoot1979 : Yes, you've heard right! And I fully agree with you that they can be so lovable and irritating at the same time!
black-cat-on-the-wall : There's no fight. Sirius has (slightly) better self-control than that! And I don't want to see them get into a physical fight either.
an-angel36 : Was it innocent? I'm not telling! LOL. But I guarantee you'll like the next chapter :)
nunnya buiznes : The next time, look around before you call him names. Or better still, kick that football into his face. Oh no…I'm being a bad influence! LOL
Someone Reading : Yay! You're back!!! WHEE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS WHILE?! I missed your cute reviews! Hmm…why are you bullying my April Flamel? She's worth it!
OutofAzkaban : Luv ya too!
Ainsley Sloan : Ains, you've broken your review record!!! WOW!!! Yes, April is a spoilt brat! But Sirius doesn't really mind…he'll just pamper her more ;)
SjabRox : I like to think that Sirius is quick-tempered. The Harry we know in Book Five is another story altogether – he's angry with the whole world and behaves as though everyone owes him a living. But our dear Sirius is much sweeter than that! And it's true that everytime someone reviews, I'll receive the "review alert" email. However, since August, I notice that there's something wrong with the service as I do not get email alerts for all reviews. The number of reviews on my "Stats" page and Profile & Story pages do not tally anymore. There's always a difference of three reviews.
dogcollar : Thanks for returning to my fic :) Actually, I try to write once and twice each week, usually at night, just before going to bed. I usually write 2-3 chapters ahead of my updates. So that in weeks when I'm extremely busy, all I have to do is some minor editing before posting the chapter.
So who wants to be my 500th reviewer? ; )
