Chapter 12
Crime and Punishment

Jamie walked into the Gryffindor Common Room with Richie and James, and found Jane and Alice still working on their homework. Jane looked up from her homework and noticed Jamie had returned.

"How did practice go?" she asked Jamie.

"It went... well," said Jamie.

"Hey... where is Joseph," Jane asked, "Wasn't he with you?"

"He hasn't come back?" Jamie asked.

"No," Jane said, "Why... what is wrong?"

"He had to talk to his father," Jamie said, "So I sent him off early."

"Something wrong with him?" Jane asked.

"Well..." Jamie began.

Jamie was trying to think about how she should answer Jane, but a noise behind her interrupted her thoughts.

"Joseph!" Jane said, standing up from her chair.

Jamie turned around and saw Joseph standing behind her.

"Oh, practice over already?" Joseph said, looking at Jamie.

"Yeah... yeah, it is," Jamie said.

"Jamie said you left practice early, Joey," Jane said, walking over to Joseph, "Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is all right," said Joseph, "Listen, Jane, can I talk to you? Um... in private?"

"Oh... sure, Joseph," Jane said.

Jane followed Joseph up the stairs toward the boy's dormitory.

Jamie looked at Richie and James. James had a worried look on his face. Richie, though, looked like he had just thought of something.

"Hey, can I speak to you two?" Richie said to Jamie and James.

"About?" Jamie said.

"A hunch," Richie said, "Follow me..."

Richie headed back to the portrait hole and Jamie, as well as James, followed him.

"Oh, and I suppose you woke me up just to annoy me, didn't you?" the Fat Lady said as she closed the hole with her portrait, "You kids need to learn to stay in one place!"

Jamie ignored her and followed Richie, who was walking pretty fast.

"Richie?" Jamie said, "I thought you wanted to talk to us! Where are you going?"

"Just follow me!" Richie said, about ten steps ahead of them, "I know what I am doing! And hurry up!"

Jamie and James followed Richie down the hall. They turned a corner and were about to reach the stairwell when they heard a voice.

"Whoa!" the voice said, "Where do three Gryffindors like yourselves think you are going?"

Jamie looked down the hall and saw Professor Lupin heading in her direction.

"Professor Lupin!" Richie said, "I was just going downstairs to look for you."

"I was talking to Professor McGonagall," said Lupin, "Do you need something?"

"Talking to Professor McGonagall?" Richie said, "So he did tell you..."

"Who told me what?" Lupin said.

Jamie, Richie, and James took turns staring at each other.

"Didn't... didn't Joseph talk to you?" Jamie asked, "I told him to talk to you."

"No, I haven't talked to Joseph all day," Lupin said, "Is something wrong?"

Jamie heard Richie mutter "that little git..." and turned back to Professor Lupin.

"Professor," said Jamie, "Joseph said that he might have been a victim of the Imperius Curse and he didn't know it."

"Imperius Curse?" said Lupin, "When... how?"

"Joseph didn't tell you anything," James said.

"No... he didn't," Lupin said, "Are you sure he told you that he was under the Imperius Curse?"

"Yeah," said Jamie, "Well... remember the night of the meeting we had in McGonagall's office?"

"Of course?" Lupin said, "But what does that have to do with Joey?"

"I was walking back to the Gryffindor Common Room," Jamie said, "And I saw Richie and James talking. Well... they told me to follow them. We walked over to the Room of Requirement and we witnessed Joseph with Jasmine Nott."

"What?" Lupin said, before he changed his expression from confused to a sign of understanding, "Oh... you mean..."

"Yeah," said Jamie, "Well, I confronted him about it... and he told me that he had been under the Imperius Curse and didn't remember anything about it..."

"I think I need to talk to him," Lupin said, "Where is he?"

"Last time we saw him," Jamie said, "He went up to the boy's dormitory with Jane to talk to her."

"Well, let's go back to the Common Room," said Lupin, "I want to talk to him."

Lupin led the way and Jamie, Richie, and James followed him.

"And I suppose you want back in!" the Fat Lady said, groggily, "Oh... hello Professor Lupin."

"Thestral," Jamie said.

"Whatever," The fat lady said, and opened the portrait hole.

When Professor Lupin, Jamie, Richie and James walked in, they spotted Joseph walking back down the stairs. He spotted his father and walked past him toward the portrait hole.

"Joseph," said Lupin, "I want to talk to you..."

Joseph continued to walk toward the portrait hole.

"Joseph Lupin!" Lupin said, "Get over here or you get a detention!"

Joseph stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Now...," Professor Lupin said, "What is this about you and the Imperius Curse."

Joseph looked past his father to Jamie and narrowed his eyes.

"Joseph?" Lupin said.

"I wasn't under no bloody Imperius Curse!" Joseph said, "I lied to Jamie! Just... leave me alone!"

Joseph turned around and walked to the portrait hole, pushed the painting open and disappeared. Jamie looked at Richie and James, both of whom who had angry looks on their faces. Jamie then looked at Professor Lupin.

"I... I am going to go talk to him," Professor Lupin said, "You guys just stay here."

Jamie and the others nodded.

Professor Lupin left the common room.

"I do not believe this!" Richie said, "This is unreal!"

"Can you tell me what is going on?" Alice said.

Jamie was about to answer Alice, but the sound of crying stopped her. Jane appeared at the stair well. She saw everyone staring at her and ran up the other stair well to the Girl's Dormitory.

"I'd better go talk to her," Jamie said.

And without a word, Jamie walked up to to her dormitory. When she opened the door, she heard Jane crying.

"Jane?" Jamie asked, looking at the the curtains around Jane's bed.

"Leave me alone!" Jane said through tears, "Please..."

"I want to talk... please?" Jamie asked, walking into the room.

"I don't feel like talking," Jane said.

"Is it... Joseph?" Jamie asked before she could stop herself.

"Don't you even mention that creep's name!" Jane yelled.

"Jane, please talk to me," Jamie said, "You know you can always talk to me."

"I-I thought he loved me, Jamie," Jane said, opening the curtains, "Then he wants to talk to me and tells me he wants to break up with me!"

"Did... did he tell you why he wanted to break up with you?" Jamie said, walking over to her own bed and sitting down.

"No," said Jane, "But I could tell that he was seeing someone else."

Jamie looked away from Jane.

"He is, isn't he?" Jane asked, "I knew it. All those times that he was volunteering to do his shift early."

"I can't believe him," Jamie said.

"You can't believe him?" Jane asked, "Jamie, he was my boyfriend!"

"You don't understand, Jane," said Jamie, "He lied to me."

"What?" Jane said, "What did he tell you?"

Jamie sighed but decided this was for the best. She told Jane about the night she found Joseph near the Room of Requirement.

"He is seeing Jasmine Nott!" Jane said, nearly on the verge of tears again, "He chose her over me?"

"That's not all," Jamie said, "I confronted him to see what was going on and all he did was lie to me."

"What did he say?" Jane asked.

"He said he was under the Imperius Curse," Jamie said, "I told him to go talk to his father... and it turned out he didn't go talk to him. Before I came up here, Professor Lupin confronted him... and Joseph said that he had lied to me..."

"I can't believe he would do something like this," Jane said, "And with that... scarlet woman!"

"I couldn't believe it either..." Jamie said, "I mean... how long have we know him?"

"Since we were little kids," said Jane, smiling a bit, "I always thought he was a brat... but that was before I knew any better. Now I know he is a git!"

"Well, I am going to go back down to the Common Room," Jamie said.

Jamie stood up and walked to the door.

"Hey Jamie?" Jane said.

"Yeah," Jamie asked.

"Thanks for coming up here..." Jane said.

"What are cousins for?" Jamie said, smiling.

Jane smiled and Jamie walked out of the room.

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Sorry if the chapter is a little shorter than you expected. I know some of you might not like the outcome, or the fact that I broke up the Head Couple... I made some hard choices with this chapter...

Would love feedback! Next Chapter is the Hogsmeade Chapter... and this is the one I have been waiting so long to write... it should be good!