Chapter 4
"What are you reading?" Alexia exclaimed.
It was Thursday evening and she had arrived at Professor Lupin's office; as per usual his door was open, in expectation of her arrival. She found Professor Lupin stretched out behind his desk, a paperback book in his hands.
"Oh, um, it's called The River of the Dancing Gods," Professor Lupin answered, scurrying to bookmark his page.
"I read that book a couple of years ago, I don't remember much about it, but I do remember enjoying it," Alexia smiled, "How are you liking it so far?"
"I'm not too far into the book, so I haven't decided quite yet, but it's nice to hear a good review," Professor Lupin replied, "Do you read much muggle literature?"
"I'll read just about any fiction book that holds my attention for more than a couple chapters, regardless of who wrote it," Alexia said.
"Any particular favorites?"
"It's between Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; but if I'm being perfectly honest, I do read The Hobbit more often. What about you Professor?"
"I can't say I have a particular favorite. I guess it's whatever I am currently reading," Professor Lupin said.
"Oh, no, you don't get away with that one, that's such a cop-out answer," Alexia teased.
Despite having been out sick for a week the young Professor certainly had not slacked on his work, what little grading he did have left the pair had gotten through rather quickly, as they discussed literature.
Professor Lupin brought out a spot of tea as their conversations evolved from discussing favorite books and muggle films to childhood memories.
The pair laughed well into the night, Alexia enjoying the undercurrents of mischief in Professor Lupin's normally calm sweet nature more than she cared to admit.
Something about the way he watched her as she told one of her stories made a flush of heat crawl up her neck and into her cheeks.
Both she and Professor Lupin had long since lost track of time when the clock chimed half-past ten.
"Oh, good grief, is that the time? I do apologize for keeping you so late, Miss Scholl," Professor Lupin exclaimed, straightening up, "I'll walk you back to your dorm room."
"It's quite alright, Professor. You don't need to walk me back."
"Given current events, I would feel more at ease ensuring you got to your dorm room."
"Are you more worried about my safety or Black's?" Alexia teased.
Professor Lupin chuckled, "Would you blame me if I said a little of both?"
"I'd say you've heard far too many anecdotes about Puma from Maddy."
Amusement played across professor Lupin's face a moment before asking, "So, what is the Hufflepuff common room like?" no doubt noticing her leading the way down several floors.
"After all your tall tails about adventures around Hogwarts with those friends of yours, I'd imagine you would already know," Alexia said.
"I never actually been myself," Professor Lupin replied.
"It's very cozy and plenty of pseudo-natural light for being so low in the castle and plenty of interesting plants," Alexia said, "Sometimes it's a bit disappointing not being able to open windows to get fresh air in the dorm room when it's nice out, but it's nice being near the kitchen to grab a snack."
"What?" Alexia questioned the look she received from Professor Lupin.
"I just did not imagine you to be the type to break the rules to sneak into the kitchen of all things," he smirked.
"Says the man overseeing my second detention in a row," Alexia quipped, earning a chuckle.
"I don't imagine Professor Snape would quite agree that tonight was a proper detention," Professor Lupin replied, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"Oh, ouch!" Alexia replied, hand over her heart, playing up a hurt expression, "Touche Professor, touche!" just as the pair rounded the first-floor landing, the sound of something crashing just below them.
Alexia's expression shifted from jovial hurt to genuine concern looking to her companion who mirrored her concerned look. The pair rounded the next staircase to find Peeves, howling with glee, pelting a variety of classroom supplies including several large, heavy-looking books after a very unhappy-looking Mrs. Norris.
"Peeves, that is quite enough!" Professor Lupin chided the poltergeist, his tone gentle but authoritative never the less.
"Why loony, loopy Lupin out late with an ickle student, up to no good," he cackled in response.
"Leave Mrs. Norris alone Peeves, you've tormented her enough for one night," Professor Lupin insisted, as the cat in question streaked off to find Filch.
Professor Lupin added, "Unless you want me to inform The Bloody Barron of your antics tonight," when the poltergeist showed signs of hesitation.
He answered with a big wet raspberry, chucking the assorted school supplies he had been using as ammunition at the pair and racing off with a cackle.
Professor Lupin, seeming to expect the retaliation, grabbed Alexia's elbow pulling her against his chest, turning to put himself between her and the incoming objects, deflecting them with a shielding charm before she could even draw her wand.
"You alright Alexia?" Professor Lupin asked as the last of the items clattered down the stairs loudly.
Professor Lupin still had his arm around her, holding her against him, her hands still gripping his lapels for balance.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she somehow managed to reply, heart still beating a mile a minute.
"I've forgotten how much of a terror that Peeves is," Alexia said letting out a dry laugh.
She let go of Professor Lupin and took a step back; not failing to notice the way his hand lingered a hair too long as he withdrew it or the way he looked at her, sending shivers of impossible warmth up her back and into her already burning cheeks.
"So, when were you thinking about starting dueling again?" Alexia asked after a considerably awkward moment.
The question seeming to diffuse at least some of the tension, as they continued to her common room.
"I think we will start next week," Professor Lupin said, only mild notes of pink still coloring his face as they made their way across the great hall, "Most of the class seems to have a handle on the Patronus charm."
"Maddy will be thrilled," Alexia replied.
Both Maddy and Alexia had long since mastered the charm years prior and had spent the past couple of weeks alternating between assisting fellow students with the charm and racing their fully corporeal Patronus' around the room, using fellow students and desks as an obstacle course. Maddy was currently up three and getting increasingly impatient in class, having a bit more trouble than Alexia connecting with fellow students in a way conducive to teaching the difficult spell.
An airy laugh passed the young professor's lips, "I don't doubt that. I dare say she has been running short on ways to entertain herself."
"Just do me a favor and make sure whomever you pair her with can hold their own," Alexia requested, earning one of Professor Lupin's signature curious looks. "The girl may be a Hufflepuff, but when it comes down to dueling she fights dirty."
"I'll keep that in mind," he nodded, as the pair rounded the corner, arriving at the portrait protecting the kitchen.
"I do appreciate you walking me back Professor," Alexia said.
"I would much prefer seeing you safely enter the dorm room as well," he replied, recognizing the dismissal.
"Oh, no you don't," Alexia laughed, waving a disapproving finger at him, "I may not care for the inner-house competition anymore, but my house pride has not stooped so low as to show a Gryffindor how to enter the Hufflepuff common room."
Professor Lupin laughed, "Good night, Alexia."
"Good night, Professor," Alexia replied.
Alexia watched him retreat down the hall a bit before leaning over the proper barrel to tap the rhythm needed to open the portrait. Just before climbing in, Alexia looked back to see Professor Lupin watching her, as some invisible tether connecting the two attempting to draw them together like a magnet, almost succeeding before Maddy's exclamation of excitement at Alexia's return broke the moment.
"How was detention?" Maddy asked, cautiously.
"Oh, um it was ok," she replied, feeling herself bump unpleasantly back to Earth.
Maddy gave Alexia a curious, analyzing look for a long moment before poking her head out of the portrait hole, returning with a smug look on her face.
"I don't quite believe you," Maddy replied, "Something happened in that detention of yours and I'm going to find out what."
Despite Maddy's near-constant interrogation about detention, Alexia never hinted at what she was fishing for. Maddy only seemed to finally let it go when Defense Against the Dark Arts rolled around the following week.
Much to Alexia's chagrin, Maddy appeared intent on getting the full story, or at least what she thought it was, regardless of who she had to interrogate. She insisted on showing up early to class to interrogate Professor Lupin, but fortunately enough for Alexia, the pair were held up by Peeves antagonizing first years along the way to class, causing a hold up in the hall.
By the time the girls made it through the door Professor Lupin was already starting class.
"Alright settle down everyone," Professor Lupin called over the noise as the last few stragglers followed Alexia and Maddy through the door.
"After all your hard work the past week, I think it is only fair we move on to dueling."
No sooner had professor Lupin finished his sentence than the class broke into whoops and hollers of approval.
Professor Lupin held up his hand for silence before continuing, "We will periodically revisit the Patronus spell, so keep practicing. Now, what can you tell me about proper wizard dueling?"
Professor Lupin lectured about proper form and dueling styles before saying, "Miss Scholl, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have been in a dual before."
"A fair few," Alexia nodded.
"Do you mind joining me for a moment?"
A collective "Ohhh!" from the class followed Alexia to the front of the classroom.
"Ground rules?" Alexia asked, when she reached the front, her wand twirl between her fingers.
"No injury or permanent damage," he replied, pulling his own wand from his coat pocket.
"Cutting me a wide check there, you sure?"
Professor Lupin didn't respond, rather clearing the classroom of desks with a quick flick of the wand, as students grouped to the side, giving the pair a wide birth.
"Ready?" he simply asked, looking nonplussed.
"More than you know," Alexia replied, smiling.
It had been a while since she dueled anyone, even just in practice, and was more than happy to shake off the cobwebs.
There was a long pause where neither struck first seemingly waiting on the other to make the first move. When it became obvious Professor Lupin was too "gentlemanly" to strike first, Alexia cast the first spell. The spell never connected with her target but had the intended effect all the same; Professor Lupin promptly followed his shield charm with an offensive spell of his own.
The duel only picked up pace from there; spells were flying back and forth rapid-fire, Alexia barely having seconds to cast an offensive spell before being thrown back on defense. Eventually, Alexia was sent sailing across the room by a spell she wasn't expecting, her wand ripping out her hand before she could even sit up.
Alexia could see Professor Lupin turn to face the class, seeming to think the duel was finished before she shouted, "Fumos!", instantly the room filled with smoke at a flick of her hand.
Taking advantage of the temporary blindness of her opponent, Alexia turned into the white-tailed kit she called Kate, taking to the air just moments before the smoke cleared. Alexia flew around the room once or twice deciding her best tactic, as she dodged spells, before swooping low heading straight for Professor Lupin.
Alexia waited until the absolute last moment before transforming yet again, this time into Puma, hitting him square in the chest with the full weight of a black panther, toppling him to the ground.
Alexia was back on her feet in human form, snatching both her own and Professor Lupin's wand out of his slack grip and locking him in a full-body bind before he could comprehend or react to what happened.
"Good fight Professor," Alexia exclaimed before releasing him from the full body bind.
Once upright again he held his hand out for his wand.
"Truce?" Alexia asked, keeping his wand out of reach.
"Truce," he agreed, before pocketing his returned wand and turning his attention back to the class, "Now as Alexia skillfully demonstrated, even though you've managed to disarm your opponent they can still be dangerous, and don't discount a muggle fist fight either, in some cases it will come to that. Now I want you all to pair off and practice, and no audible incantations please."
Alexia and Maddy took the first few duals seriously, but after Professor Lupin observed the pair a few times with barely a comment they began to take themselves less seriously.
Their latest dual came to an unceremonious end when Maddy was hit by a combination of Alexia's Tarantallegra Jinx and a rogue Jelly Leg Jinx; causing Alexia, who was still feeling the aftereffect of a well-placed tickling charm, was double over in laughter.
Out of the corner of her tear streamed eyes, Alexia could see Professor Lupin cast Finite Incantatem. The spell mercifully allowing her uncontrollable laughter to subside some, only to threaten to return, upon Maddy's failed attempt to stay upright as she regained control of her limbs.
"Are you okay, Miss Blackwater?" Professor Lupin asked as he pulled Maddy to her feet.
"I've had worse falls," Maddy smiled.
"Do you mind partnering with Miss Clearwater for the rest of the class?" he asked.
"Sure," she replied, going to join the seventeen-year-old Ravenclaw, but not before shooting Alexia, a quick confused look.
"You alright, Alexia?" Professor Lupin asked once the class turned back to what they were doing.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Alexia smiled, a little winded but no longer laughing.
"Good," he replied, "We have an odd number of students so I hope you don't mind sitting out a bit while I walk around."
Alexia perched herself on one of the students' desks at the side of the room watching the class periodically deflecting or dodging a stray spell, noticing a disproportionate number coming from the back corner of the room. Huddled in the corner were Marcus Flint and his fellow cronies. None of their spells were connecting with the person they were supposed to be dueling, instead, they were hitting other students, causing the group to laugh.
Deciding to give the group a taste of their own medicine, Alexia discreetly sent a few choices spells their way.
Alexia was currently making the belt she had transfigured into a large tarantula hop from student to student snapping its pincers at them when a voice made her jump.
"Amusing yourself?" Professor Lupin asked, having just finished a lap of the room.
Alexia quickly released the spider from her control, where it transformed back into an unassuming belt, flopping limply onto the ground.
"I have positively no idea what you are talking about, Professor," she replied, flashing him what she hoped was an innocent enough smile.
"So I suppose that the belt transfigured itself?"
"Oh, no, that would be ridiculous. I'm simply implying one of the Slytherin boys thought it would be a funny prank."
"Mhm," he replied, looking amused but thoroughly unconvinced, before moving on.
Alexia could see Maddy in the corner barely containing her laughter, flashing a thumbs up across the room, eyes watering in mirth.
Professor Lupin called an end to the dueling just before the bell rang, assigning a short essay on historic duels and an analysis on the best tactics and spells, due next week, alluding to it becoming important later.
A/N:
Sorry for the long delay, this story is more of a pet project, graduate school keeps me busy and I had serious writer's block for a bit.
I promise I have not forgotten this story.
I will do my best to keep updating when I can and give this story a proper ending.
Any plot ideas you might want to see, feel free to send my way. I can't promise everything making it into the story but I will take any suggestion into consideration.