Seven
Needless to say, after the boggart fiasco, Dumbledore was furious. The next morning at breakfast, he let it all out.
"Whoever was foolish enough to let the boggarts out of the coffins, we have ways of identifying you. It was an extremely idiotic thing to do – the many First-Year Students were completely horrified, having no knowledge of what a boggart was and how to deal with them. If we find out who you are, you will be given a month's worth of detention, or worse. And we will be contacting your parents. So pray that you are not caught."
"Wow, I've never seen Dumbledore so mad," Remus said to her that day.
Lina chuckled ironically and murmured, "I have."
He looked back to her, his mouth full of food, and asked "What was that?"
"Nothing," Lina said quickly. He shrugged and turned back to his plate. Lina sighed with relief.
One by one, the people responsible for the incident began to be caught and condemned to detention with Filch. October faded into November. The orange sun hung over the bare trees, casting an eerie glow on the grass. Leaves littered the ground, as though they had fallen from the sky. With the promise of the Christmas holidays only a month away, the students had high hopes for being able to get out this place and go home. For Lina, this was the only home she had. She hoped that Remus and the Marauders would stay with her, but that she doubted.
What she did know was that Snape was still after her. She felt like she could never really be alone, as though he were always watching her. He was in almost every one of her classes, and he always sat behind her, watching her like a hawk. But she didn't dare mention him to Remus. She knew that even before the dance, they had hated each other. Now, every time they passed, Lina had to grab his hand to stop him from socking him, or flipping him off. Snape would smirk at him and walk away, a look of triumph on his face. If anyone even mentioned the name, Remus would give them a look, like if they said it again, he would sever their nape.
Defense Against the Dark Arts continued normally, but John was no longer showing any sign of emotion beyond that of how he would feel about any student. Of course, every so often, he would want to talk to her, but he never said anything like he had that first night. Lina had high hopes that perhaps it had all been fake, and he didn't really love her anymore. But at the same time, she felt horrible for not continuing to love him after he left. How did he feel about her, in reality? And didn't he know about Remus?
Remus noticed something was wrong. She would walk out of the class and more of a run, biting her lower lip, avoiding the eye of Professor Martin and himself. And Lina noticed that whenever Professor Martin mentioned changing topics, Remus would tightly grip the sides of his chair, as if praying that he wouldn't change it to a certain topic. Neither of them could help being worried about the other.
Finally, after the fourteenth consecutive time of this behavior, Remus sprinted up to Lina after class to speak with her.
"Leen, what's up? You haven't looked me in the eye whole class, or Professor Martin. And then you run away after it's over. You've been doing this every week. What's wrong, is it me, or is it Professor Martin, or what?" he asked, panting to try and keep up with her fast pace.
It's both of you, she thought in her mind. But Remus couldn't know that.
"It's nothing, I'm alright. Don't worry about me," she murmured, trying to cover up the subject.
"Obviously, something's wrong. Is he checking you out or something?" he continued.
Lina threw him a look of horror.
"Of course not, Remus! What made you think that? That's disgusting!" she cried.
"Actually, it's completely logical. Here's this handsome man, early twenties, teaching a class full of students. And then there's a beautiful girl with a hot body right in his classroom. It's not like he can help it, Leen," Remus said innocently. Lina smiled.
"Okay, maybe I am beautiful with a hot body. But still, he's a respected man who won't check out his students!" she exclaimed.
"I suppose so . . ." he muttered. Then he turned to her and grinned, adding, "So modest."
She kissed him. Up until then, she had seen wondering why she loved Remus so much. That confirmed it – the fact that he cared enough to ask, the fact that he was brave, the fact that he was awesome at complimenting, and of course, the fact that he was an incredible kisser.
But still, she was worried about him. She tried to say something, in hopes of not getting rejected.
"But what about you, Remus? You have been acting weird as well. Every time he mentions changing topics, you get all tense. It's kind of strange."
"Oh, that's nothing, I just get overly excited, that's all." He smiled weakly, trying to hide his feelings. He had said that was all. He was just excited, that was all.
But Lina wasn't so sure.
That evening, Remus came up to her, a piece of parchment in his hand. He was reading it interestedly and repeatedly, his eyes scanning the page back and forth like a metronome.
"What's that?" Lina asked nosily.
"This?" he responded, motioning to the paper. "It's a note I got from someone, asking me to meet them by the lake tomorrow."
"What for?" she questioned suspiciously.
"They say they want me to help them study for Ancient Runes. They must be in my class, then – he has no other seventh-year classes . . ." he muttered.
"Who's it from?" she pursued.
"I don't know, there's no name."
A knot formed in Lina's stomach. This wasn't right – she knew it.
"It seems innocent enough. I'm the only person in my class who understands anything the Professor says," Remus added.
But Lina wasn't so sure.
"Can I come along? I took Ancient Runes in Durmstrang – maybe I could help, too."
"Well, I suppose you could accompany me along the way, but the person says they want to meet me alone – they're embarrassed by the fact that they suck at it so badly."
This confirmed Lina's fears. The person wanted them alone? Maybe it was Snape, and he wanted to beat Remus up or something. Or perhaps it was someone else.
"Remus, I don't think you should go. It seems suspicious."
"How so?" he asked, his hands on his hips.
"Well, for one thing, it wasn't signed."
"Come on, Leen. They probably were embarrassed or afraid that someone would find it."
Lina was quick to jump on another reason. "Well, they want you alone. Doesn't that seem suspicious?"
"Not really. If they were going to do something, they would do it somewhere more private. After all, tons of people hang out by the lake. We go there almost every week, after all. What does that say?"
But Lina wasn't so sure.
Against her wishes, Remus insisted that he go. He allowed her to walk with him, but agreed that they'd part by the Stone Circle, where the rest of the Marauders would keep her company.
The next morning, she awoke late. Her hair was a rat's nest on her head – she had had a restless night. She had tossed and turned, visions of Remus coming back with his clothes torn and his nose bleeding from a fight with Snape. Once in her dreams, he even came back with his head hanging off, held on only by a flap of skin like Sir Nicholas, who came up to him and said, "Forget about the Headless Hunt. We could start our own nearly-headless club!"
When she awoke, Lily was standing over her, showered, dressed, and holding her wand.
"Remus left already. He didn't have time. The person wanted to meet him about an hour ago, and he was already late as it was. He said to tell you that he left and he would meet you by the Stone Circle."
"He left already?" Lina cried, sitting bolt upright, her hair sticking up at all angles. "I told him I wanted to go with him!"
"Don't worry about it, Leen, he'll be back soon. For now, let's just go to the Stone Circle and wait for him," Lily said calmly.
"No, I've got to go now!" Lina grabbed her wand and tapped her shoulder with it. She was instantly dressed. Then she tapped her head, and her hair flattened and crimped itself. She put her wand in her back pocket and flew out the Girl's Dormitory Door.
Lily stared after her, shouting, "Hey, how'd you do that?"
Celina ignored her. She had to get to Remus. Even though he was a smart guy, sometimes he could be so dense. The picture of him with his head falling off was embedded in her mind – she couldn't get it out of her head. Of course, Snape couldn't rip his head off. But Remus had said himself that Snape was gifted in the Dark Arts. He could curse him and hurt him. What if she got there, and he was already badly wounded?
She flew past the prefects guarding the Staircase. She got to the Entrance Hall and sprinted down the staircase. She was running so fast that she almost bumped into a tall man in front of her. She screeched to a halt.
"Whoa, slow down, Celina," said Professor Dumbledore.
"Hi, Professor. I can't talk now," she said quickly.
"Why are you calling me Professor? I am your father, after all, Celina."
"Not so loud!" she hissed. "I told you, I can't talk now. I've got to get outside. Now. Excuse me."
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked, stopping her with his hand.
"I have to go find Remus!" she cried indignantly.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about him," Dumbledore said, staring deep into her. "How's your relationship with him been?"
At first, she flinched, hoping he wasn't hinting at what she thought he was. But then she said, gritting her teeth, "It's fine, now move!"
Dumbledore frowned and said, "Don't you take that tone with me!"
"Dad! You're being fatherly! I called you Dad, are you happy now?"
"I suppose, but I still wanted to talk to you about Remus . . ."
But again, Celina wasn't listening. She had broken away from his grasp and continued dashing outside, despite the crowd of people trying to do the same.
She finally broke free and got outside. People around her were chatting gaily, holding hands with their lovers and taking strolls by the lake, or just showing off their magic for their friends. She even saw one couple next to the lake, locked in an intimate kiss.
But the closer she looked at the couple, the more her heart twisted into knots. They weren't a couple. But perhaps they would be after Lina was done with them.
She stomped over to the couple, tears in her eyes, to see if it was really who she thought it was. They were rolling on the ground, the male on the bottom.
"Remus, how could you?" she shouted, so everyone nearby could hear.
His eyes, which had been shut tight, opened wide. He looked as though he had just been let out of a curse – he was dazed and confused. When he looked up and saw Celina standing over him, he rolled over on top of the girl and hastily stood up.
"Lina, it's not hat you think!" Remus exclaimed.
"Is something the matter?" the girl asked, breathing heavily from all of her excitement.
"Carolina, why were you kissing me?" he cried. His eyes were wild, like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Oh, don't try and cover up now! I saw you – you were making out like . . . like . . . I don't know! But you certainly wanted to be there! This is the second time this has happened, Remus! I don't think I can trust you anymore!"
"Lina, wait!" Remus called.
But for him, it was too late. Lina was already halfway up the path back to the Stone Circle.
What Lina didn't know was what happened after she left.
"Come on, Remus. Don't worry about her – she was unimportant," Carolina said soothingly.
"What are you saying? Of course she's important!" he yelled.
Carolina laughed greedily, flouncing her long, honey-blond curls. "Oh, let me guess. She told you she loved you, didn't she?"
All Remus could do was stand there, his mouth hanging open, watching Lina flee back to the castle. Once, she turned back to him, but only for a second. The next moment, she was running back to the castle again. Remus buried his face in his hands and fell on the hard ground. He knew he had lost her. She hadn't even had enough time to get to know him yet. If she really knew him, she would know that he would never do something like what she had accused him of.
"Yes, she did," he said. "And I believe her, one hundred percent. And you know what, Carolina? I love her, too," he whispered, still staring after her.
She grabbed his hand and said, "Oh, Remus, stop thinking about her. She doesn't really love you. I do, Remus. I really love you."
"Oh, yeah?" he retorted, turning to face her. "You love me? Then why did you cheat on me like that?" He sighed and continued, "I felt like my world was collapsing around me when I saw you kissing that other guy. And now she feels what I felt. I can't believe I caused her that kind of pain. No one deserves that, Carolina. Except maybe you."
And with that, he ripped away from her and ran after Lina.
By the time that Remus had left the lakeside, Lina was already in her bedroom. Not her dormitory, that wasn't private enough. She went to the bedroom she used to occupy when she didn't attend the school. She hadn't been there many times since the school year started. She had stayed n her dormitory, so as to be close to Remus if she needed him. Now, she wanted to alone.
No one came to bother her. No one knocked on her door. No sounds could be heard besides her sobs.
How could he do such a thing to her? After she had forgiven him the first time? She had thought they would be different – the kind of couple that would be together all through their school year and then would marry a couple years later. After all those tender moments – when they had first confessed their love to one another, cuddling by the Common Room fire, slow dancing at the Halloween Ball. Of all people, Remus would know what it felt like to be cheated on. How could he do it to another person if it had been so horrible for him?
Suddenly, a knock came on the portrait that guarded her room. She magically fixed her tear-streaked face and fixed her mascara, which had been running down her face. She went to the wooden door and opened it, then continued to the portrait and opened that with the password. One of the last people she wanted to see stood there.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"You left before I could talk to you earlier, with a very nasty tone, I might add . . . are you alright? You keep sniffling. Do you have a cold, honey?" he said.
She hadn't realized that she had been sniffling so much. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the weather, that's all."
"Oh," Dumbledore said, inviting himself in. He conjured up a chair and sat down.
"I've been noticing some things, Celina," he said.
"Things? What kinds of things?" she asked. She knew exactly what kinds of things, but he couldn't know that.
"Well, first off, how's Remus been of late?"
Her back straightened a bit. "He's fine," she replied stiffly.
"Have you two been spending a lot of time together recently?" he pursued. She knew where this was going, and she wasn't going to give in.
"Yes, but I have a feeling that might come to an end soon," she said.
"What have you been doing with him?"
Lina jumped indignantly to her feet and shouted, "Dad! What are you suggesting? I'm not going out with Remus, if that's what you mean!"
"Well, it's just that at the Ball on Halloween, I saw him put his arm around your waist . . ."
"Dad! It was just between friends! It was, like, a joke! He doesn't really like me!"
"Alright, Celina, I trust you. It's just that I don't want you getting into a romantic relationship. You know that because of your Special-ness, it would be very difficult for you to have such a relationship. Anyone you get serious about will not be able to stay with you forever, and you will eventually end up heartbroken. Do you understand why I don't want you to get into something like that?" Dumbledore asked. Lina knew that he had never been more serious about anything in his life. She shivered. She felt him bearing into her, searching through her heart and her soul for any sort of hesitation. He looked for some sort of emotion in her face. She tried as hard as she could to keep it impassive as she nodded.
"Alright, Celina. I suppose I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."
He turned to go. Once he got beyond the portrait, she breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to believe her. But that was the least of her worries.
