Chapter Sixteen---
Sorry this is so late! I rewrote this on a bit and still don't have it all up. Then we started school, and have been school shopping like crazy. So things might be a little slow so I can find my classes and get my feet wet. Ugh…I have Pre AP Geometry and Honors English in the same effing trimester…WAH! I don't like Honors English! Anyways, on with the story…R&R!
I glanced up from eating momentarily. "Eh? Oh, that's Frog." Obviously I was the only person to have a pigeon as my mail carrier. But hey, I thought birds in general were a weird source of mail service…
A look of bewilderment flashed across Erin's face as Frog landed right in my scrambled eggs. "Frog? That's no frog, nor is it an owl."
"Well duh. It's quite obvious that is in fact not a frog nor owl, but a pigeon. I don't like owls; they tend to creep me out. Plus, he was cheap. It was a win-win situation for all."
Slight understanding yet hesitation shone through her eyes as she nodded and went back to eating; ignoring the odd stares Frog was attracting. I think it was weird to see a pigeon hop from the rafters and down the support beams to our table; I'll have to teach him how to fly later, but not right now.
I picked the letter out of my goblet of juice that he had dropped off so kindly there.
Alexsis Ignysia
Gryffindor House,
Hogwarts
'Who would I be getting mail from?' I opened the letter and tried to decipher the words that were smeared by my juice.
My dear Alexsis,
I'm sorry our last meeting was cut so abruptly, I would've liked to be able to talk to you. I must caution you to NOT show this letter to Dumbledore, nor speak of it to him; for he is a very wretched man with a mind of sadistic thoughts and ideas. So it would be best if we kept these letters to ourselves.
I am deeply sorry to hear of my sister, your mother's, death; as well as the rest of your family members. Your mother and I had been so close. Since you no longer have living quarters, I propose that you live with me at my house. I live alone, and since I will be no longer getting frequent calls from your mother, I will be alone for a very long time until I die. I would be ever so pleased if you could come to stay with me, I think we would be as close as your mother and I were.
If Dumbledore asks you where you are going to stay over the summer holiday, just reply that you are staying at a friend's house. No need to tell him more than he needs to know.
Enclosed is my address just incase you ever want to Floo by anytime.
Thinking of you,
Auntie Jenus 1367 Scartew Road
I closed my mouth that had been open from the start. Did I know an 'Auntie Jenus'? I racked my brain for some kind of remembrance of her but found none. 'Oh wait…'
"Dumbledore! She is supposed to be with ME! Alexsis should go live with ME! I'm her only living relative left! So what if Jane didn't actually appoint me as Alexsis's godmother! I'm the closest she's got!"
"I will do no such thing Jenus. Jane and Marivian appointed Alexsis under my care. Now leave here Jenus, I do not want Alexsis to be awoken. She has gone through to much lately and needs her rest."
"Don't tell me when to leave! I'll leave whenever I damn well please!"
Oh yeah, I remember her. Crazy Lady. Dumbledore had said that she was jealous of the money my parents had stashed away in the bank.
I followed Erin and Andy through the halls to Charms. I kept pondering the letter over and over in my head trying to see who was right or who was wrong. 'Dumbldore or 'Auntie Jenus?'
Eventually, I had forgotten all about the letter. 'Thank you short attention span.' We were now currently in Potions and it smelled awful due to the many wrong potions in the room.
I found out that Potions isn't much different from Chemistry. You just follow the instructions and you're done.
Mine was a purplish pink right now just like it should be while it simmered. So I took this time to take in my surroundings.
Dark room, cold, many shelves of jars that held weird contents, cabinet full of ingredients, and some guy staring at me.
Wait, some guy staring at me?
I whipped my head back around to see I wasn't mistaken. A tall, skinny guy with hair darker than the ceiling in this room and very shiny like he had put oil in it had his gaze upon me. His dark eyes were illuminated by the pinkish glow of his potion, and looked like they were staring straight into my soul. There was a look of curiousness in his eyes, and his lips were slightly curled into a tiny smile.
He looked as if he would be one to be the very shy, or dark and mysterious type. He must have also noticed that I had been catching him gazing at me and swiftly turned his head around to tend to his potion.
I noticed that my potion was ready to bottle and cap, so I worked on that as well. After capping it I walked briskly up to Professor Bodinsdale's desk. "Another well concocted potion Alexsis. Where did you last learn Potions?" I stared at her with her wavy blonde hair pulled into a loose bun as her thick glasses rested on her long nose as I pondered an excuse.
"Er…I was home…schooled. Yeah, home-schooled. At home." I mentally patted myself on the back for that one. Go me. Bodinsdale nodded in understanding as I turned to leave.
That's what I loved about this class. As soon as you finished your potion and she approved of it, you got to leave early, to do as you please. Awesome. Especially since I was good at Potions. Heck yes.
I made my way up to my desk and on my way I saw Sirius and James pointing and laughing at the guy with the long locks of greasy hair. I slowed my pace to take in the situation. Obviously they had planned a prank on the poor boy. 'Well, I suppose I'll help him out. Ah…the life of a super hero is never done…'
I turned on my heel and walked back to him, fully aware of Sirius and James's eyes on my back. "Are you done with your potion? 'Cause if so, I could take it up there for you. No need for an unnecessary trip eh?" He looked shocked to say the least, hasn't he ever seen a person talk?
He looked wary of me before answering. "S-Sure…" He cautiously filled and capped his potion and delicately handed it over to my awaiting hands. I nodded and walked towards the desk. All of the Marauders' jaws were dropped as I walked by; Sirius's in shock, James's also in shock, Peter's in amazement, and Remus's in horror.
I raised one eyebrow at him as he shook his head quickly. 'what's that about—'
Boom!
'Today is not my day…' I whipped the sticky black mess from my face as the class laughed at my humiliation.
"Nicely done Ignysia!" and "Smooth. Real smooth." Was just about all I heard while cleaning the ink from myself.
Professor Bodinsdale looked at me exasperated. "Miss Ignysia, please leave my class room." 'Ugh,…bad day man. Bad day.' I grabbed my stuff and gave a short wave of good-bye before taking my leave. Off to see Professor Dumbledore…
Remus's P.O.V. (0.o)
I punched Sirius and James in the arm. "Ow! Bloody hell Remus! What was that for?" James rubbed his arm as Sirius gaped at me.
"I told you to stop pranking Snape. Gah! Honestly, you guys really need to mature." I capped my potion and gave it to Professor Bodinsdale before exiting through the door Al had previously left through.
'Where did she get to now?' I abandoned my search for her and left to read under my favorite oak tree by the lake.
"Hello…Lupin."
Alexsis P.O.V. (T.T")
"Good afternoon Alexsis." I seemed to have forgotten why I was here. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
I…just…don't remember… Was it even important?
"Alexsis, are you alright?" I sprung my head back up to face him only to realize that I hadn't answered.
"Oh, yeah, I'm…fine. Just came to see how you were…?" Ugh, I really need to start to stop and think about what I say.
He gave me a knowing look. "Alexsis, you know that if you ever need to tell me anything you can right?" I lowered my head but nodded anyway.
I cleared my throat that seemed to have gone dry. "Um actually, I wanted to know when my, er…, next transformation is."
"Ah, understandable. I believe it's," Dumbledore checked a little instrument on his desk. "The Thursday after next." I nodded once again as I made a mental note of the date. 'Way to put a damper on the visit, go me…'
"Anything else I can do for you?"
"Yeah, could you tell me more about being Erian? What happens after this time?" I took a seat in front of him in the plush velvet chair.
"Yes, Alexsis, I can. After the Thursday after next, you will have the abilities regular Erians have; heightened hearing, sight, and taste."
"What did you mean by 'They are Keepers of the Sky'?" I was asking questions I didn't realize that I wanted to ask.
"Well I believe I'll let you read up on that yourself. Better for you to find out than have I tell you."
What the hell?
Tell me when I ask you. God dang it, I hate when people string you along, you get all this anticipation building up, then… 'I think you should read up on it YOURSELF…' Uh…what?
"Urm, okay. I've got to go now, er g'bye." I got up fuming and left through the oak door leading me to the winding staircase.
Just who the hell did he think he was? The information he's with-holding from me may very well be vital.
Lost in my own thoughts of anger, I stumbled outside for some fresh air to clear my mind. I didn't happen to notice two figures, wands at the ready, about to jinx each other into oblivion.
"You Marauders better watch your back! You've all had your fun humiliating me for the last time."
"I told them not to do it, plus it didn't even work. I told them to mature."
I turned my head towards the noise ready to kick ass and take names later, when I noticed that the two figures were non other than Remus and…that one guy. 'I really need to figure out his name…'
"Hey hey! What the hell are you guys doing?" I stepped in between them causing them to lower their wands to their sides.
"I don't need this…" The other boy turned abruptly on his heel and stalked away. 'Er…' Remus and I stood there in silence as we both watched his retreating back practically power walk towards the entrance of the castle. After a while, Remus turned towards me with an expression of regret.
"Al, I'm really sorry about what happened—"
"It's okay. It happens."
Remus looked like he had been hit by a truck. "What? B-but your clothes they're covered in ink…" I looked down to see that my clothes were indeed dyed a faded black in big blotches.
"Eh, I have more." Remus's face changed from shock to amazement, then to admiration. He looked down at his feet.
"How can you be so laid-back? You just go along with the flow…" That was unexpected. He had said it just a bit above a whisper, but I still heard him.
"Oh, uh. I just don't sweat the small stuff; the stuff that in thirty years or even thirty minutes I won't remember or care about. Just doing what life throws at me one at a time."
Go me for the cool speech. Pulled that off the top of my head.
Remus lifted his head. "Wow, nice speech."
"I thought so."
"Was that your pigeon I seen this morning?" I took a seat on the dried grass.
"Yeah it was." A harmonious laugh came from him as he took the seat beside me.
"Why d'you buy a pigeon? Of all things…a pigeon?" He tilted his head towards me in a questioning manner.
"I really don't like owls." He chuckled a bit before answering that he too shared the hatred of owls.
"I don't even own one of my own; I always use James's." I leaned my head back to laugh. We sat in silence and I noticed through his and my lame attempts at conversation that he seemed to have spaced out. 'Well, this is awkward…'
Remus P.O.V.----
"Hello…Lupin." I turned round to see Snape glaring at me, wand in hand, looking venomous. I quickly pulled my wand from my belt loop.
"Hello Severus. What can I do for you today?" Snape hissed and narrowed his eyes at me.
"I know very well that that prank was meant for me, and if that stupid girl hadn't intercepted it, I would have been the one covered in ink, I would have been the one who was humiliated, I would have been the one who was once again at the but of the Marauders' jokes!" Snape's voice had risen with every angry confession. "You Marauders better watch your back! You've all had your fun humiliating me for the last time." I glared right back at him.
"She's not a 'stupid girl' Snape. She took that prank for you. You should be grateful." Snape smirked and lowered his voice above a whisper.
"I'd behave if I were you, unless you want your hairy secret revealed to your little girlfriend."
I sighed in annoyance. I knew this was coming, it was inevitable. "I told them not to do it, plus it didn't even work. I told them to mature." Snape's remark was his trademark sneer.
"Hey hey! What the hell are you guys doing?" My head whipped around so fast I got a crick in it. Al came striding over to us looking livid. I turned to face Snape once more only to see his face pale slightly then returned to his angered face, lip curled in a snarl.
"I don't need this." With a swish of his cloak, he stalked off rather quickly back to the castle.
"Hey Rem, you okay over there? Anyone home?" I withdrew myself from that previous memory and faced Al.
"Oh, oops sorry." Al gave me wide smile.
"Well, if you want, I can leave you to your thoughts." She made to get up, brushing off her skirt. I grabbed her wrist.
"Wait, we'll just go to dinner together. Shall we?" She was about to reply before her stomach growled embarrassingly loud, causing her face to fill with redness.
She laughed loudly. "I guess that's a yes then." We made our way towards the castle.