Chapter 11
The Semester of Homework and Coincidence
The mood in the castle had grown especially dark since the start of new semester, news of more Death Eater attacks and recruitment of even more followers for Voldemort getting published in the Daily Prophet almost daily.
Even within Hogwarts, serious rumors had begun to spread about a number of older years, particularly from Slytherin, having meetings inside the castle walls and students have vehemently avoided anyone from Slytherin house even more so during this time. Interhouse unity had pretty much turned impossible and Slytherin house was outcast and stereotyped by nearly everyone around them.
Nonetheless, Quidditch season was still on, offering a rare surge of excitement within the student body. There was an upcoming Hogsmeade trip soon too, which was another thing the students looked forward to. Dumbledore gave his assurance during his welcome speech on our first dinner back that they would be putting extra precautions around the castle and Hogsmeade to ease our worries.
The worst part was probably the professors, who were undeterred from giving heaps of workload to their students for the start of the year. By the time our first week ended, Lacey and I were already packed with schoolwork and spent our entire Saturday in the library to work on three essays, each for different classes, to be submitted on the coming Monday. When I wrapped up my last finished essay, Lacey was only starting on her third.
"You work fast, don't you?" Lacey said, eyeing me as I cleaned up my side of the table.
"Well, I started two days before you," I said pointedly.
"I thought I'd have enough time if I did them all in one free day," she grumbled.
"You always do," I said, patting her hand.
"Shut up, Mon," she said under her breath.
I laughed and stood from my seat, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Lacey looked up in alarm.
"You can't leave me!" she said desperately. "What about my Potions essay?"
"Research, Lace," I said. "I'm actually curious how you managed to pass Slughorn's OWL."
"Probably for the sole reason of giving me more detentions when he feels like it," she said, bitterly scribbling through her essay. "Fine, go ahead. Leave me to die."
"And you say I'm the dramatic one." I rolled my eyes. "I'm starving, Lace. And seeing the rate you're going, you're set to have dinner in the kitchens at eleven."
With that, I ignored her pouts and walked to the Great Hall alone. In her defence, the professors were particularly harsh with the homework that was given as if they were trying to rush a year worth of lessons into our second semester. I had a hunch it was due to talks of various students almost getting pulled out of school during the holidays, with the increasing worry of the war.
When I arrived for dinner, the atmosphere was unusually light. My questions were quickly answered by the bursting mini fireworks across the tables. Seemingly random students were victims of a shooting ball of light that turned into colorful sparks right before their faces, but seeing a particularly nasty one blowing up on Severus Snape's face by the Slytherin table (and the entire Gryffindor table clutching their sides in laughter), I didn't think the targets were a coincidence at all.
I spotted the four Marauders seated in their usual area, Black with his wand drawn and Potter pointing merrily at Snape's reaction, who abruptly got up and left with a foul look on his face. Only they could have the energy to introduce fun and pranks into such a hardened mood of the general castle.
I hadn't gotten the chance to run into them yet since the start of term, given I spent most of my free time studying these days and sixth years didn't normally have coincidental run-ins with the seventh years. Our timetables were completely different and I only ever got the chance to see them during meals. A strange part of me actually hoped to engage with them somehow, but it still didn't feel natural to go up to them and chat. Not in Hogwarts at least. Definitely wasn't ready to get that sort of attention here yet.
What I did notice differently was the dark-haired girl seated next to Black, who seemed to be in conversation with him and his mates. I recognized her as Mary from the party and the memory of her passed out next to Black resurfaced in my head. I briefly wondered if they'd gotten back together that night, given Black mentioned he would bring her home to her parents. But I couldn't help remembering how little he wanted to do with her when Pettigrew told him she was vomiting her brains out in the loo.
Because life thoroughly enjoyed torturing me, Black caught my eye when he turned his head, and that was pretty much my cue to stop my creepy staring and eat dinner. Once I seated myself in the area closest to the door, I filled my bowl with tonight's special fish stew, but I was rudely interrupted by a tall boy who took the empty seat next to me.
"You're Monica Dyer, right?"
It took a second for me to recognize the tousled light hair and freckles, and an immediate frown appeared on my face when I connected the dots to his name.
"Will Anderson?" I said.
"One and only," he said with a smile that didn't seem genuine at all. "Glad you remember me."
"Don't think I could forget," I mumbled.
"Did I leave a lasting impression on you?" He smirked.
"Well, 'suppose getting shown up by my French cousin could classify as a lasting impression." I snorted.
He grimaced. "Yeah, about that… Appreciate if you could give me an address. Thought I could explain to your cousin myself. Don't think we got on the right foot."
"Can't tell me what to do, Anderson," I said, showing him a tight-lipped smile.
He raised an eyebrow and scooted closer. "Tell you what. If you agree to help me contact Clara, I'll tell everyone I'm taking you to Hogsmeade."
I genuinely laughed, appalled by his misplaced self-confidence.
"Are you actually serious right now?" I said breathlessly. "What makes you think that's even remotely beneficial for me? You're a bloody creep."
"I don't know, you seem to get around nowadays," he said, looking a bit shocked by my reaction. "I mean, if you asked Carter Robins to tell everyone he'd take you to Slughorn's party, I thought you might want a little bit more clout."
"You're an arsehole," I spat. "And I didn't ask him to do that. He decided that on his own."
"Certainly not what everyone's saying," Anderson said.
"I don't give a rat's arse about what everyone's saying. And I'd rather you tell I went to Hogsmeade with Nearly Headless Nick than yourself. Just leave me alone, Anderson."
Anderson laughed but he didn't seem amused at all.
"You and your cousin are both bloody mental, you know that?" he said with a slight frown. "Bat shit crazy, both of you. Difference is, she's actually quite fit so at least she's got an excuse."
"Crazy or not, you couldn't reach ten feet of her standards even if you tried," I snapped, feeling nauseated by his presence alone.
"Anderson!" a booming voice rang in our vicinity.
I spotted the four Gryffindor seventh years making their way towards my end of the table. They seemed to be on their way out, bags slung over their shoulders and clutching their school robes in one hand. Black, who was a few steps ahead of the group, stopped next to Anderson, slight frown on his face with a condescending grin.
"Are you lost?" he asked.
"Hufflepuff table's that way, mate," Potter said when he caught on.
"Dumbledore would be awfully disappointed in you, Potter." Anderson stood, matching them eye to eye. "Are you saying other houses aren't welcome here?"
"Don't think house is the problem, Anderson," Black drawled. "Generally we don't fancy creepy bastards in our way."
"I was sitting down having a chat with Dyer." Anderson stood his ground. "Hardly think I was in your way at all."
"So you admit you're a creepy bastard?" Lupin spoke up, eyebrows raised.
"I really don't see the issue here," Anderson laughed. "Since when have you been friendly with her anyway? I was politely asking her about her cousin but the bitch wouldn't budge."
"What did you call her?" Black snapped, pulling out his wand and his three mates following instantly.
I shot up from my seat and tried to push them back.
"This really isn't necessary," I muttered.
"You really don't want to get on our bad side, Anderson," Potter said with a provoking chuckle, ignoring my attempts to ease the situation.
"I suggest you just leave, yeah?" Lupin said as Pettigrew nodded silently next to him.
Anderson raised his hands in defense and took a few steps back to exit the scene.
"Fine, I'm going," he muttered before skirting back to his table.
Meanwhile, I stood there, ears intensely aware of the whispers from the students who sat near us. I crossed my arms and looked firmly at the boys, who were tucking their wands in their pockets looking satisfied.
"I was handling that," I said weakly.
"No need to thank us, Dyer," Black said with a large grin.
I rolled my eyes but smiled back.
"It really wasn't necessary," I said. "I've handled far worse people than Anderson."
"I believe that, knowing the type of girls you've lived with for six years," Lupin said.
"Thanks Lupin."
"And I get no thanks?" Black said incredulously. "I just defended you from someone who called you a bitch! Surely that merits some form of gratitude for my respect for women."
"You're not still worked up about Carter Robins showing you up about Slughorn's party, are you?" Pettigrew asked.
"Wormtail," Black said, patting him condescendingly on the head. "People don't work me up. I'm surprised you'd even think of such an impossible thing. I'm just a simple man who can't stand the thought of bastards disrespecting the value of women."
"Yeah, you've saved feminism," I said, sarcasm dripping and picking up my bag. "Anyway I'm heading out. Anderson ruined my appetite."
"To the common room, is it?" Black asked. "Come on, we're heading there too."
Before I could respond, another girl squeezed her way into the group and tugged at Black's sleeve. He turned to find Mary looking up at him, doe-eyed.
"Let's walk back together?" she asked a bit aggressively. "I just finished my dinner."
"Oh, where are your friends?" Black asked her, looking confused.
Mary shook her head. "They're still chatting. I wanna start on my Charms essay. Come help me?"
"Oh, er…" Black hesitated. "Sure, okay."
Mary grinned and pulled him from the group, setting off to the common room with her arm hooked around his. His mates and I watched them leave with matching looks of wide-eyed surprise. Then Potter tapped my arm and beckoned me to follow the three of them instead.
"Come on, let's go," he said.
I followed them out without hesitation, leaving my untouched stew that didn't look appetizing at all anymore. I had to quicken my steps to keep up with the boys who seemed to walk with a sense of urgency all the time. Probably part of the cool factor they liked to portray that they didn't have time or care for anyone other than the few they surrounded themselves with. I nearly rolled my eyes at the thought.
"So Black and Mary are back then, eh?" I started the conversation, admittedly not my best in breaking silence but the first thought that jumped to mind.
"I'm not sure actually," Potter said, deep frown on his face as we basically jogged up a staircase.
They effortlessly walked while I panted. I was probably set to get strains in my thighs at the rate we were going. When was the last time I exerted this much physical effort in anything anyway?
"What do you think, Moony?" Potter redirected the question to Lupin.
"He hasn't told me anything," Lupin said. "Wormtail?"
"None." Pettigrew shook his head.
"So we're in the dark as much as you are, it seems," Potter said to me as we briskly turned another corner.
"I mean, obviously I would be in the dark," I said with a scoff. "Strange you guys don't know though."
"Nah, Sirius never really tells us when he decides to go back with her," Potter said after a thought. "One day, they're not then the next day, they're snogging by the fireplace."
"Two Galleons we'll see them doing it again when we get to the common room," Pettigrew snickered.
"I'll actually take you up on that," Lupin said. "It feels different this time. Usually we can tell they've been hanging out but this time Mary just seems all over him while he's uninterested."
"You're really the perceptive one, Moony, because I don't notice a thing," Potter said with a light laugh.
"Probably has something to do with Dyer," Pettigrew said offhandedly and I almost choked on my spit.
We slowed to a stop in front of the Fat Lady who looked boredly at us, expecting the password. But Potter turned to Pettigrew looking flabbergasted as Lupin frowned in thought.
"What's this got to do with Dyer?" Potter asked.
"Er…" Peter responded incoherently, but stood his ground to continue. "Can't you tell? Mary's been trying so hard since we started talking to her." He looked pointedly at me.
"Huh," Potter said, a look of revelation crossing his face.
"That's… probably right, Wormtail," Lupin said in shocked agreement.
"I really don't like where this is going," I said, increasingly uncomfortable. "She's probably just miffed about the whole Slughorn's party thing. I mean, everyone saw that. She can have a go at Black all she wants. I really don't care."
Yet as I said the words, I felt defensive. I pursed my lips, hoping to Merlin they'd let it go.
"Mary's always been a bit aggressive," Potter said with a shrug. "She used to hate it when other girls would go up and talk to him."
"Yeah, she's a bit loopy," Lupin agreed.
I mentally sighed in relief.
"How'd you notice anyway?" Potter asked Pettigrew.
"Well, it didn't take much," Pettigrew admitted. "During your party, she got hammered, right? She kept asking me to get Sirius because he was outside talking to Dyer."
Potter blinked twice. "Well, can't get anymore straight forward than that, eh?" Then he turned to look at me. "Don't worry about it, Dyer. You're innocent."
"Don't need you to remind me," I said, laughing with discomfort.
Potter wasted no more time in relaying the password to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open immediately. When we stepped in, we immediately spotted Black sitting on the couch, staring thoughtfully at the fireplace, while Mary sat next to him with her book out, often glancing at him in quick intervals as if expecting him to say something.
"Two Galleons, Wormtail." Lupin held out his hand.
Pettigrew groaned in defeat, pulling out the coins in his pocket and slapping them on Lupin's open palm.
I politely excused myself, not really in the mood to talk to Black after that conversation. But as Lupin and Pettigrew waved me goodbye and joined Black by the fireplace, Potter grabbed the sleeve of my robes to stop my exit.
"Wait, Dyer," he said, looking warily around the common room which was mostly empty.
"Yeah?" I said, looking at him expectedly.
"Er… sorry, but this is actually the first time I'd gotten to talk to you since the New Year," he began slowly. "I just wanted to ask how Clara's been? Don't get me wrong. I don't see her that way, really. I'm just worried she's still… er…"
"Angry?" I finished with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah…"
"She's fine, Potter," I assured him. "Thanks for asking. Think she was mostly angry with herself, really. She doesn't fancy the feeling of being a potential third party."
"Well, tell her it was nothing, please," he said. "It wasn't her fault. I guess I should've told her there was something weird going on with me and Evans but honestly I didn't really know that until I saw her react that way to seeing us kiss. It's just… mind-boggling."
"I'm sure it was," I chuckled. "Lily hasn't talked to you about it?"
He shook his head, looking a bit sad.
"She avoids me like the plague now. Only really talks to me when we have to do our Head duties. I don't… really know how to ask her."
"Think it's pretty obvious how she feels," I said daringly.
"I think she's anything but obvious," Potter said, frustrated. "One day she's completely disgusted by me, then she tries to be friends, then she's angry with me again! I can never get a good read on her. It's… tiring, to be honest."
"You've chased her for so long though," I pointed out.
"Yeah, well." He ran his fingers through his hair, looking uncertain. "I don't know, guess I'm getting a bit tired of it all? I mean, it's hard to believe she'd actually be into me now after hating me for six years. Like if she doesn't want me, gotta respect that, yeah? Like what Sirius said about respecting women and whatnot."
"Honestly seems like it's possible she'd be into you now that you acknowledge that," I said truthfully. "Maybe you shouldn't give up just yet."
"Yeah…" He said, deep in thought. "Anyway, thanks. Tell Clara I'm sorry too, yeah?"
"Sure, Potter," I said with a smile.
"And you really should drop the last names," he added. "Think we've crossed that line of friendship now, haven't we?"
He winked then walked off to join his friends by the fireplace. I shook my head at his antics and proceeded to the dormitory to get some much needed time to myself.
Two days later I found myself in the owlery to set off my barn owl, Tallie, for her first trip of the year. I usually left her in Hogwarts over winter and Easter breaks because it was maddening to bring her cage around. Determined to give Potter's message to Clara, I used my free period on Tuesday for the opportunity to send the letter off.
I'd scribbled a few things too about how things were currently going at Hogwarts, but realized nothing much was interesting enough to put in a letter. Crazy how boring a magical school could get sometimes.
"Hey, girl," I murmured to Tallie who hooted as soon as I walked in.
She stuck her leg out instantly and I tied the letter quickly. I couldn't spend more than ten minutes in the owlery because the smell of bird droppings were enough to keep me away for an entire lifetime.
Another pair of footsteps entered behind me and I turned to see Carter Robins walking in. He stopped by the entrance when he noticed me and an awkward smile appeared on his face.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," I replied, turning my attention back to Tallie and gave her a few treats before she flew out the window.
"Sending a letter back home?" Carter tried to initiate small talk and he approached one of the school barn owls next to where I stood.
I grimaced to myself. He could have literally chosen one of the hundred others scattered around the place.
"Not exactly," I answered, but made a mental note to write to my dad soon.
"I am," he said, tying his own letter on the owl. "Must think I'm clingy, eh? Been less than two weeks. The war in the city's been giving me anxiety though. Feels weird being here while everyone else is so far away."
"Yeah," I said, surprised at his efforts to start an actual conversation in a place full of bird crap. "I… er… know what you mean."
"Off you go," he muttered to the owl who followed his orders and flew off.
"You don't have your own?" I asked.
It probably wouldn't hurt to contribute something to our chat.
"No," he said with a charming laugh.
Charming, Monica? Really?
"Why not?" I pushed, despite being utterly uninterested in his pet choices.
"I got a cat instead when I turned eleven," he said fondly. "My mum wouldn't let me get two animals."
My eyebrows shot up.
"Why do you look so surprised?" he laughed lightly.
"I don't know…" I said slowly, a bit embarrassed I couldn't hide my reaction on time. "Thought you would choose something more… practical."
"Well, that's true," Carter admitted. "Don't think I'd seem like the type to like cats over owls. Cats are practically useless and owls deliver letters."
"Well, if that's your thing, then that's fine, isn't it?" I offered nicely.
He chuckled then rested his elbows on the window sill, serenely watching his borrowed school owl in the distance. The light of the lowering sun practically made his hair look like gold and it didn't help that his face looked much nicer under a sunset, high cheekbones and all.
"I wouldn't do that," I said meekly, grinding my teeth while looking at his robes that touched the stone surface covered in dried droppings.
He frowned then removed his arms from the windowsill, sleeves of his robes stained with white powder. Without thinking, a high-pitched laugh escaped my mouth.
He furiously tried to dust off the white stains but to no result, and I tried to stop the giggles threatening to escape but to no avail either. At first, his face was blank as he watched me cover my mouth in an attempt to stop laughing, but then his face broke out in a grin and joined me.
"This is really embarrassing for me," he said in between chuckles, resuming the useless dusting of his sleeves. "This is what I get for trying to look cool, isn't it?"
"Trying to look cool never really achieves good results," I said, calming down a bit. "Coolness is a bit of a natural factor."
"I'll take note of that," he said, still grinning but stopped the ridiculous attempts to clean his robes. "The houselves will probably be serving me spoiled food tonight when they find out they have to clean owl shit off my robes."
I laughed again, but stepped forward to lift his sleeves. I pulled out my wand and muttered, "Scourgify." The white stains disappeared instantly as Carter stared wide-eyed at his newly cleaned robes.
"I didn't think of that," he admitted, rotating his arms side to side to check if I'd gotten all of it.
"I know," I said, smiling. "I was beginning to wonder how you managed to get top marks in every class."
"Don't know myself," he muttered humbly, lifting his eyes up to meet mine. "Thanks… er… Monica. Can I call you that?"
I blinked at the question.
"Sure," I said, face blank.
"Cool." He smiled then held out his palm for a handshake. "Carter."
Feeling a bit ridiculous, I shook his hand anyway.
"I'm sorry again," he said sincerely. "About the party, I mean. I told everyone the truth."
"Really?" I said a bit suspiciously. "You know Will Anderson from Hufflepuff offered to tell everyone he asked me to Hogsmeade in exchange for my cousin's contact details. Apparently word's going around that I asked you to tell people you were taking me to Slughorn's party for attention."
His face contorted in evident disgust then shook his head furiously.
"I swear I've said the truth," he said in panic. "I've never even told anyone about that nonsense about attention. They've got it twisted. I'm really sorry it came this far. I'll even tell them off if I hear anyone talking about it like that."
I chuckled darkly but I strangely didn't feel much malice towards him. Hogwarts did have a way of twisting rumors to something more interesting and I wasn't surprised word was spreading around I was an attention seeking whore. It didn't particularly bother me though. People could say whatever they wanted and I only cared about the integrity of the people I surrounded myself with. Holding a grudge against Carter wasn't going to help either.
"Well, it's fine now," I said, waving my hand to show how little it mattered to me at this point. "No hard feelings really. I mean, I had some before but you hadn't apologized yet."
"I wanted to," he said quickly. "I didn't know you'd be at Potter's party so when I saw you I chickened out. Then I met your cousin and I was so sure you'd told her about it that I could barely even show her my face."
"She mentioned you were a bit strange." I chuckled at the memory. "I didn't know how to approach you at the party either. Well, more like I avoided you the entire time."
"Deserved it," Carter said, looking ashamed. "I hoped we could start over. I mean, I'd love to be more than just another sixth year Gryffindor. I think I could count the number of times we've actually had a conversation like this in one hand."
My heart skipped and I damned it. He definitely wasn't the knight in shining armor I daydreamed about for six years. He was a cat-loving, overly polite, and gullible boy with probably half the confidence and charm guys like James Potter and Sirius Black had, yet I didn't have a glass shattering perspective of him. He exuded a different kind of charm and it almost felt wrong of me to think of him through rose-colored glasses all these years.
"I guess we could be friends?" I offered after a moment's thought.
"Yeah, definitely," he said with another grin.
"But you can't tell lies about me anymore," I added.
"I swear on my cat's life," he said, a serious look on his face and nervously ruffling his hair.
I laughed, boggled at how ridiculous this guy was.
"I'm not sure if I can take a swear like that seriously."
He smiled widely, but before he could voice out a reply, the owlery door swung open and a pair walked in. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw Potter and Black, who both abruptly stopped after recognizing me.
"Dyer," Black said, looking at the pair of me and Carter in surprise.
"How's it going, Carter?" Potter said, but hazel eyes darting from him to me.
"Hey, James," Carter greeted politely back. "I'm actually heading to the pitch in a bit to get changed."
"Sure," Potter said, still looking a bit disturbed. "Yeah, I'll meet you there."
"Cool," Carter said with a smile then turned back to me. "See you around, Monica."
"Yeah, sure, see you," I said, trying not to seem too uncomfortable with the current situation brewing.
Carter shot me one last smile before slipping between Potter and Black and heading out the door. The seventh years still stood in place, both giving me identical wary eyes.
"Monica, is it?" Black said, a slight frown on his face. "You do know that's the same guy who told everyone he dumped you when you were never actually together right?"
"My memory's intact, Black," I said.
"Suppose he's told you a heartwarming apology and all is well, is it?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"He has told me everything he said before was a lie," Potter said thoughtfully.
"How redeeming," Black deadpanned.
"Well, it's good enough for me," I said with a shrug. "He also got bird shit all over his robes before you came so I think I had my satisfaction."
"Fantastic," Black said, face unreadable.
He approached one of the school barn owls and Potter mirrored him. I made a move to leave the owlery but a clipped "Dyer!" came from Black that made me stop and look back. Their owls had quickly flown out of the window and the pair of them joined me in leaving, Black gesturing sarcastically at the door when I didn't move.
As we left and the scent of fresh air redeemed my sense of smell, I kept up with Potter and Black walking down the winding stone staircase in their usual pace. Students began to fill the corridors outside when we reached the bottom, signaling the end of classes for the day. We stopped by the entrance of the owlery and Potter nudged his head towards the path that led to the Quidditch pitch.
"I'm off to practice," he said, taking steps back. "See you later."
He swiftly turned and walked away, leaving me with Black who made my chest contract in frightened surprise when I turned and found his eyes narrowed directly at me.
"Why do you look so tired?" he asked innocently.
"Maybe because you two walk like you're half an hour late to McGonagall's class all the time," I snapped back, trying to catch my breath.
"Huh… Are you sure it wasn't because you were doing funny business in the owlery with Robins?"
"You absolutely disgust me, you know that?" I grumbled, tightening the hold on my bag and made my way towards the castle.
"You remind me frequently," Black said with a smile as he caught up to walk next to me.
"Why are you here?" I asked in a mix of curiosity and exasperation. "Pettigrew and Lupin taking a nap or something?"
"No," he said, tilting his head in thought. "Actually Peter could be. Last class is Potions."
"And you don't have Potions?"
"Of course, I do. But I'm feeling a bit under the weather."
I shot him a glare. "Tell me, what suspicious disease have you concocted that still allows you to take trips to the owlery?"
"Whatever disease Madam Pomfrey's gonna write in her slip when I visit her after dinner." He winked.
"Have I called you disgusting?"
"Yes, in fact. You have."
We continued to walk down the hall towards dinner and students quickly filled the space as they left their classrooms. Black and I sidestepped groups of people chatting and comparing notes.
"So why are you skiving class?" I asked after squeezing through a group of girls who couldn't grasp the concept of 'excuse me'.
"Because I can mostly," Black said, walking through the same group who immediately separated to give him a free path.
"I assume becoming a Potions master isn't in your career plans then?" I said conversationally, frowning at the runway the other students practically made for him behind my shoulder.
"Don't think anything's in my career plans really." He caught up next to me, unaware of the clear special treatment he received from the younger years.
We entered the doors of the Great Hall and the vibrant chatter of the students filled my ears.
"What, you're not planning to fight Voldemort full time are you?" I asked jokingly, settling down in Lacey and I's usual area on the Gryffindor table closest to the doors.
To my surprise, Black sat across me, immediately filling his plate with shepherd's pie.
"That's exactly my plan," he said without hesitation then proudly looking at me. "Well, look at her, saying the name! Good on you, Dyer."
"Just a name, isn't it?" I muttered, following his lead and reaching for the pie. A bit louder, I followed with, "But you can't just fight, right? Don't you want to get a job?"
"Haven't I heard that before," Black said, looking a bit more serious.
"What about an Auror?" I suggested offhandedly. "That's pretty much like fighting him, isn't it?"
"The Ministry is full of bastards and liars," he replied shortly, mouth half full.
"Okay, then." I widened my eyes. "What about Gringotts?"
He wrinkled his nose. "Goblins freak me out."
"Professor?" I said halfheartedly.
"No."
"Well, then I guess you've made your point," I chuckled. "No regular job after Hogwarts. What about after you take down the crazy bastard?"
"Probably spend half my time dancing on his grave and the other half riding around my motorcycle," he said with a shrug.
I raised an eyebrow. "You have a motorcycle?"
"Not yet." He smirked and pointed his spoon. "But I will."
"You know in the muggle world, you need a license for that."
"I'm aware. That's why I'll charm it to fly."
"A flying motorcycle?" I said incredulously but smiling despite myself. "Merlin, your ambitions blow my mind."
"As they should," he said with a loose nod. "What about you then? You can't grill me like this and expect not to share."
I paused, suddenly a bit too focused on chewing. Avoiding his eyes, I mumbled something incoherently then chugged my water down.
"Sorry, didn't catch that," he said, scrunching his forehead.
"I—I don't know yet," I stuttered pathetically, placing the goblet back on the table.
"So you haven't got plans either." A glint appeared in his eye. "Interesting."
"I do!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms. "I just… haven't decided yet."
"A classic excuse, Dyer," he teased. "Though to be completely honest, don't think I can get a read on what you'd be fit for. Definitely not Auror, Gringotts, or professor, Merlin knows why you even thought of that last one. I'm eighteen, not a hundred and fifty."
"I just— I mean, I don't want to end up somewhere I have to do something boring, you know?" I tried to explain, irritated at the smirk on his face. "Like I want to do something worthwhile and… keeps me happy, I guess."
"You've still got a year to decide," he said while taking his seconds of shepherd's pie. "No one ever really thinks about specifics until you're on the verge of graduating, right?"
"I suppose." I nodded slowly, watching him shoving food into his mouth like it was his last meal.
A familiar redhead and her friends suddenly took the empty seats to my right and Black raised his head to acknowledge them, cheeks full. Lily immediately shot him a glare from across the table but stayed put, fixing her plate for dinner.
"Before you say anything, I'm only here because you're alone and I need to speak with you," she spoke as if making a business deal.
"What d'you mean?" Black said, still chewing and pointing his spoon at me again. "I'm with Dyer."
Lily's head snapped towards me, followed by Marlene and Dorcas'. She gave me an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Monica, hello," she said. "Forgive me, I didn't see you."
"S'okay," I said awkwardly. "Er… I can go if you need to talk to—"
"That's not necessary," Lily said hurriedly. "I don't mind that you're here."
She turned back to Black who blankly returned her stare and finally swallowed his food.
"What do you need me for, Evans?" he asked lightly.
"Potter," she began, looking more and more haggard by the second. "Has he said anything? About that night?"
"No, think he prefers not to say anything about that night actually."
"I was drunk," Lily said, wide-eyed. "Absolutely pissed. I didn't even know why I—"
"If you're gonna try telling me you don't know why you reacted that way, Evans, then I'm really not in the mood for this conversation," Black said, surprisingly cold with his words.
Lily pursed her lips. Marlene and Dorcas' eyes pointedly avoided the direction of the two. I followed their lead and stared fixedly at my goblet.
"Fine," Lily conceded. "Then let's not have the conversation."
Black let out a mocking laugh. "You astound me, Evans. You really do."
I peaked to check her reaction and she was red in the face, hands closed into fists on the table.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Honestly just admit you fancy the guy," Black said, sounding frustrated. "He's yours if you can just admit it to yourself and him. At this point, you're just leading him on."
"Leading him on?" she hissed.
"It's cruel, really," Black continued, unfazed by her building rage. "Acting like friends, going to his Quidditch games, can't handle seeing him with another girl. Can you imagine how confused he is right now?"
I recalled my conversation with Potter in the common room and he expressed he was getting tired of it all. Black seemed to understand completely, probably without Potter even telling him straight up.
"That's rich, coming from you," Lily said in her defense. "What's going on between you and Mary then? Why are you entertaining her when you know she still fancies you?"
"Now that's different," Black shot back. "Mary knows we can't work out and I told her myself she can ask me for help or company if she needs it. At least I told her. You can't even admit to yourself that you and Prongs have this weird thing going on. So both of you are running around like headless chickens waiting for something to happen."
"Headless chickens," Marlene suddenly repeated with a muffled snort.
Lily paused, bit her lower lip and frowned deeply at Black. Then after a few seconds of tense silence, she groaned and dropped her head on the table.
She stayed like that for a while and Black casually returned to eating his dinner as if he hadn't just called out a girl. I felt another presence to my left and found Lacey quickly taking the empty space next to me on the bench, eyes darting between Black and Lily.
"What's going on?" she tried to whisper in my ear, but she spoke louder than she thought she did that it snapped something in Lily to lift her head up again.
"Fine," Lily finally said, looking exhausted. "I'm pathetic. I… may fancy James."
Marlene and Dorcas looked at her, wide-eyed. Black slammed the table with his palm, grinning ear to ear.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he said.
"Shut up," Lily said grumpily. "Now help me out, will you? Is he into that girl from the party?"
"No," I said before I caught myself, and all five heads including Lacey turned to look at me. I hurriedly followed with, "She's my cousin. She was so embarrassed when she saw you 'cause she thought you were his girlfriend."
"That girl was your cousin?" Dorcas breathed.
"But she's like French, right?" Marlene spoke after, utterly confused. "That's what everyone's saying."
"My mum's side," I said shortly, not really in the mood to go into details.
"No wonder she was there," Lily said, and I could almost see the dots in her head connecting at this new revelation. Then she turned back to Black and asked, "Did you know?"
"Yeah, but it's not like I would tell you," he answered. "These two would have pestered her with unwanted questions."
Marlene and Dorcas exclaimed matching indignant responses when Black gestured his head towards them.
"Clara's quite sweet actually," Lacey piped up, probably in an effort to be on my side. "She ran after you guys when you left but you'd already disapparated."
"Oh." Lily blinked twice.
"Monica, you're not a Legilimens or something, right?" Marlene asked me, uncertain.
I frowned. "Er, no."
"Okay, because you do not wanna know what we've been calling your cousin the past few days," she said in relief.
"She doesn't need to be a Legilimens if you're gonna tell her, Mar," Dorcas snapped.
Cutting off their bickering, Lupin and Pettigrew arrived and took the seats on either side of Black. Lacey perked up at the sight of Lupin and immediately began conversation about the dreadful Arithmancy class she just had.
"Have I ever told you how weird you look without your entourage?" Marlene said to Black.
"I know I may seem like the leader of the group, Marlene, but we run in equality," Black said humorously then addressing Lily again. "So here's the plan, Evans. You tell James how you feel. Simple as that."
She shook her head rapidly as Lupin and Pettigrew carried on with dinner as if no news had broken out.
"She finally admitted it?" Lupin asked casually.
"Yeah," Black said. "Think with a handy spell I can get her to say it again."
"Don't you dare," Lily said murderously.
"So what do you say?" he pressed, impervious by her glares. "Tell James how you feel?"
Lily paused, seemingly thinking over his words. Then an almost manic smile appeared on her face.
"Fine."
My eyebrows shot up, knowing she still had something up her sleeve.
"But only if you tell Mary you're not interested in her anymore."
Our side of the table hushed completely and each one of us was either looking at Black for his response or Lily's menacing staredown.
"I told you—"
"Don't give me that," Lily cut him off. "You know well she still fancies you and I know for a fact she thinks she's still got a chance."
She finally rendered Black speechless for a few seconds who took time to structure his thoughts.
"You're clever, Evans, I'll give you that," he said. "But fine. If that's what you need."
"Lily, what are you doing?" Marlene said in panic, leaning forward. "Mary's gonna freak out."
"I don't take advice from hypocrites," Lily huffed. "Anyway, doesn't it bother you how she's throwing herself at a boy who doesn't even give her a second thought?"
"I give her thought," Black said in defense.
"Likely thought from your pants than your heart," Lily snapped.
"Gross, Lily," Dorcas said, face scrunched.
"Whatever," Black conceded, raising his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Good," Lily said then took the first bite of her meal.
Black proceeded to get his third serving of pie. I observed Black for a bit who looked thoroughly unbothered by the deal he just made and I felt for Mary, despite her clear dislike towards me.
Lacey continued to converse with Lupin about the mountain of work she needed to accomplish for Arithmancy and Lupin gave sound advice on balancing her time. I bitterly watched her hang on to his every word. I'd probably given her the same advice a hundred times since we became friends, but apparently I had to be a fit popular boy to get her to really listen.
Speaking of work, I needed to catch up on this week's homework after dinner since I spent my free period in the owlery. Politely excusing myself from the group and whispering to Lacey where I was heading, I gulped down the last of my water and exited the Great Hall.
What was most unexpected to come out of this strange friendship with Sirius Black was the self-reflection he somehow coerced within me without even trying that hard. Just being himself, it was enough to make me really think about my own future. I ran through our conversation about career plans in my head, before Lily came with her amusing display of jealousy.
I've had discussions with Lacey about our plans after graduating, but none in-depth enough that made us decide on an actual plan. In fifth year, we were required to have meetings with our Head of House to reflect on our plans and decide which O.W.L.s we needed to pass to pursue our dreams.
My chat with Professor McGonagall turned out more unproductive than Lacey's work ethic. She ran through a couple of potential career paths and while some of them seemed enticing, I couldn't quite figure out what fit me best. Most of the people in my year were determined to get stable jobs at the Ministry, become Healers, start their own passion businesses, or play professional Quidditch.
I used to believe landing a stable job anywhere would be fine, but since meeting Black and the Marauders, it was difficult to imagine doing something I wasn't passionate about and I had to find a sense of purpose somewhere.
My mind calmed as I entered the serenity of the library and a couple of students already occupied the tables after dinner. I headed straight into the aisles to get some reference books for my Charms essay due at the end of the week. I found a useful book in the first shelf I checked, reaching up on my tiptoes to take it. Next to me was a boy who I could see was watching me in amusement from the corner of my eye.
Once I'd taken the book, I glanced at him to get a better look and was surprised to find Regulus Black with his back against the shelves and an open book in one hand. A shiver ran up my spine at the deja vu I felt from our first meeting for the Potions project before Christmas. Since partnering up, I'd avoided him during every class when we returned after the holidays.
"Hi," he greeted simply.
"Er… hello," I said, meaning to leave with that but he spoke again before I could take a step.
"Doing your essay for Charms?"
"Yeah, haven't started," I answered shortly.
"I just finished mine," he said, glancing at the book he held. "But I found this book and there's a chapter I think would be useful. Might revise."
Overachievers didn't usually bother me but somehow his ability to finish an essay the day after it was given pricked me with irritation.
"Good for you," I said. "Any reason why you're initiating small talk? Did we miss something in our Potions project?"
"No, we got full marks on that actually," he replied smoothly. "Have you got a problem with me?"
I raised up to the bait, shrillfully answering, "Yes. In fact, I do."
He smirked at me, not unfamiliar given the uncanny resemblance he had with his brother when he made that face. His gray eyes glinted as if he knew something I didn't and I got a whiff of the Black confidence his brother often exuded, but his way of executing didn't exactly seem friendly. It felt more demeaning and I hated it.
"I was wrong about you," he said. "You're not a Mudblood."
"Yeah, I said so, didn't I?" I said irately.
"Didn't believe it," he admitted, tilting his head. "But you've got blood as pure as mine. Pity half of you is Muggle."
My anger was through the roof of the astronomy tower and my eyes could practically burn holes through his face. The guy just ruined the solitary comfort of the library for me and I've had enough of the conversation, vaguely wondering how he could know my heritage in the first place. Creepy much?
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," I spat, randomly retrieving books from the shelves just to keep my hands from wringing his neck. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to check these out and do my essay somewhere I won't be bothered by prejudiced gits."
He regarded me calmly still, as if my words hadn't registered in his brain at all. It took all my willpower to keep myself from slapping the damn book from his hand out of spite and I stormed out of the library, not unlike our first exchange before the holidays.
If Regulus Black was going to be in the library that often, I might as well find another spot in the castle for peace and comfort. I carried my ill mood all the way up to Gryffindor tower, within that period completely ignoring Lacey who called me over to the fireplace with Potter and Lupin.
Becca and Polly were already in the dormitory when I barged in, but I mentally concluded they were a million times better company than the bloody Slytherin in the library. I threw myself into my four poster, lowered the curtains, and furiously began my essay.
A/N - This chapter is a bit longer and it's a holiday today so please enjoy this for the weekend! Hope you can share your thoughts. I really appreciate some of the reviews I'm getting and never apologize for them being too long! It's so awesome to hear your thoughts about the story. I'll try to update again soon so really hope you enjoy this ya :)