Chapter Forty-One and A Half: Valentine's Day

Patricia had woken late for breakfast, as always. She groaned loudly and stretched sore from her late-night trip into the forbidden forest. She knew she hadn't been keeping up with her 'mentoring' of the first year swats but she had been working with the Care of Magical Creatures Professor Kettleburn, and occasionally Hagrid to document all the living creatures inside the forbidden forest. If she was being entirely honest she had become quite addicted to flying into the forbidden forest undetected. She knew most of her time, besides studying and keeping on top of her classes, had been spent among the dark damp forest that seemed to call to her in a way she couldn't explain.

Her best friends found her fascination with magical creatures, especially the beasts to be foolish, dangerous, or a waste of time. Even the Prewitt's who had taken her under their wing when she had been an angry first year, found her fascination with the Forbidden Forest rather strange. But she refused to stop going, she didn't have to think about anything or anyone in the forest. Even if the Prewitt's and Longbottom said it was "avoidant" and "she shouldn't be pushing her friends away," she was determined to figure out the Forbidden Forest.

Because it wasn't just the creatures that drew her, it was something else. But she still couldn't figure it out. Luckily she had four first years, two of which were eager to get into the forest and the other two who if she was careful would follow suit. She was sure with their help she could figure out what was hidden in that forest because she was confident there was something there. However, she had to be careful because of two reasons.

One, while she didn't care for the rules at Hogwarts, and had been working her way on breaking them all just because she could, she knew endangering younger students would earn her more than detentions. And two, other than Pettigrew who she found slow and a waste of her time, she had reluctantly grown to care about the first-year boys she had come to know. Sirius, James, and Remus were all as witty as her and had a tendency to get into trouble which is what she wanted in her protegees, even if Remus didn't consider himself one.

She quite enjoyed teasing them and training them, even if at times she found them annoying and beneath her. But she couldn't deny they were all interesting in their own ways. Like Sirius, who had a darkness in his heart, a bitter dislike for certain people that she could certainly respect and reminded her of herself. Plus, a Black in Gryffindor had certainly intrigued her from day one.

James, well he was rather simple to figure out and she may have written him off like she had Peter if she didn't find his little crush amusing and flying skills useful. Then there was Remus, she wasn't sure how to feel about Remus. Mostly she liked him a lot, but he wasn't as easily used as the others. She wasn't used to not having people bend to her will and or charm. She had manipulated at some time or other all of her friends, but something about Remus told her that would be different. His overall distrust of everyone, and of course the many secrets she could tell he was hiding, resonated with her as well, once more reminding her of herself.

It had all been a game at first. See how far she could push them. As a small child, she would bend her toys until they broke and while she had, after a few incidents, learned she couldn't behave that way with people. She still liked to figure out how they worked and what made them tick. For example, Frank was a people pleaser to a fault and his growing fascination with Alice who was several years younger than him was the perfect way to drive him nuts if he ever annoyed or upset her, and the perfect thing to hold over his head if she needed to. It's not like she was malicious, or didn't care about anyone, unlike what her mother kept telling her, she just liked knowing.

If she said anything, she needed to know how each person would respond. If she let something slip who would spread rumors and who would keep her secrets. Then, and most importantly, how she could use each and every person to her advantage because Patricia always had and always would consider herself number one. Which was why Remus getting hurt had bothered her so much. She was worried about him, of course, she was, but more than that she didn't know what happened. What on earth had the sickly little boy done to gain so many enemies? It took her a long time to realize that Remus wasn't more like her than she initially thought. He hadn't actually sent those letters, he had no desire to manipulate anyone, and was upset at the mere thought of getting revenge on those who hurt him.

She didn't buy it though. She had been hanging out with Remus, as much as the skittish boy would allow her too, trying to figure him out. She could appreciate Sirius' frustration at the boys' secret nature and knew that if she twisted and turned Sirius the right way he could assist her in finding out what Remus Lupin was hiding. But like most things it required patience, skill, and calculation.

"Patricia I've already been to breakfast and back again. Get up someone is waiting for you downstairs." Came Ameelia's laugh. Patricia stuck a finger up at her which just got another laugh and forced herself out of bed.

"Are the boys in the Great Hall?" Ameelia gave her a disapproving look then nodded.

"Honestly Pat you're going to get them in trouble teaching them all those awful pranks you pull." She scolded with the tone of one who had become accustomed after four years to her roommates' antics.

"Life isn't fun without a little trouble Ameelia!" She shot back. It took two years before she realized she couldn't drag her roommate into her antics, and she had tried. However, they got along as well as two people who were completely opposite could. It helped Ameelia wasn't the brightest but what she lacked in the brain, she certainly made up for in heart. She was the only person Patricia could be completely honest with, both about her motivations and her desires.

"Oh please, Pat! You already told me you plan to use those boys to help you find whatever it is you are looking for in the forest." Patricia felt herself color in anger, up until this year Ameelia had never bothered to call her out on anything, and her recent disapproval especially considering the forest had been causing a gap between the two as of late.

"Then report me why don't you!" She snapped eyes blazing as she glared at the dark-skinned, dark-haired girl whose green eyes stared back with amusement rather than defiance.

"Because silly you aren't a bad person no matter how much you try to be." Patricia didn't bother to listen to the rest of the nonsense her roommate spewed. Back in the first year, Patricia had done a terribly cruel thing to Ameelia, to get her to admit she was as bad as her mother constantly reminded her she was. But Ameelia never had and Patricia both hated her and loved her for it, torn between annoyance at her roommate's naivety and hope that she was right. She slammed the door behind her cutting off Ameelia's soft voice and reassurance she wouldn't do anything to hurt those boys. She shook off the old impulse to do just that out of sheer spite and to prove Ameelia wrong and headed down to breakfast.

"Oi Patricia!" She stopped having forgotten Ameelia telling her someone was waiting, not one person but two.

"She can't possibly think she'll get away ignoring us the cheeky brat."

"Surely not, our little Patricia is much smarter than that." She rolled her eyes as the Prewett brothers fell into step beside her, sandwiching her.

"Piss off." She replied casually grinning at them.

"Piss off she says!" Gideon chortled, the sixth year boy whacking her head lightly. Patricia had always been an only child, much to her parents' disappointment. However, if she had brothers she imagined Gideon and Fabian would have been them.

"She's grown awfully arrogant Gideon."

"Someone ought to teach her a lesson."

"Teach whittle Patricia her place." She waved them off as they play attacked her laughing.

"Your both chipper today!" She regarded the twins, both of them with hair as fiery red as hers. Beaters for the Gryffindor Quidditch team they were muscular and handsome, already their arms full of Valentine's cards. Similar in some aspects Fabian was certainly the more chaotic of the two, who dragged along Gideon the sixth year prefect, into mischief they never ever got caught at.

If Patricia was a legend it was all thanks to the two boys linking their arms in hers and preceding to explain excitedly their older sister Molly had sent them a long letter about their nephew William (also known as Bill). He was a few months old and Patricia was subjected to the two sixth years gushing about him as if he was their baby. Patricia envied the Prewetts and how close they were, especially Molly and her brothers.

She had met Molly on several occasions and found her nice though was secretly envious of her for her siblings, even if the young woman often complained about her mischievous little brothers.

"Oi Gideon she's not even listening!"

"Let's hex her then she'd pay attention."

"I am paying attention. It's just my bloody ears are bleeding from all the talk about Bill." She sighed pulling away from them and their mock offended looks.

"Just wait till you ave one of your own Patricia!"

"Absolutely not I hate kids!"

"Well, you've been spending an awful lot of time with James and his lot."

"That's because she's passing down our legacy Fabian."

"Oi, you better be giving us credit you hear! If not we'll haunt you long after we've graduated."

"No, wait until we are graduated then spread are legacy."

"Then we won't be adored by icky firsties, Gideon!"

"I'm not risking getting detention, Fabian. We've had our fun I'm a prefect now."

"Bollocks! You Knobhead Tosser!" Patricia sighed heavily, she liked the twins but they had a tendency to forget others when they were together, and it was hard-pressed to find them apart from one another even if their interests had been diverging all year.

"You thumb sucking wanker!"

"Oi! Boys enough!" She bellowed, one of the few people capable of splitting apart the Prewetts when they started having a go at one another. The older boys shot glares over her head, a good three inches taller than her then crossed their arms and turned away from one another.

She rolled her eyes at them and was about to tell them what she thought of their bickering when they entered the great hall and several girls, and one or two daring boys crowded around the Prewetts forcing her to walk away quickly before her own admirers could attempt to give her Valentine's gifts, a practice she hated.

Irritated at the Prewetts and avoiding Frank who had been supportive about Remus' coma but kept trying to get her to discuss her 'feelings' which she loathed, she had to reassess who she'd sit with for the last half of breakfast. Ameelia left breakfast early like usual and even if she had been there Patricia doubted she would have sat with her. She was about to resign herself to sit amongst her fellow fourth years, most who were paired off or soon to be what with it being Valentines and all, when she caught Remus fending off three boys' desperate attempts to no doubt get him involved in mischief.

"Oh come on Remus." James pleaded his hair messed up as if he'd just rolled out of bed. She caught Lily giving him a dirty look and laughed to herself. She was sure the two would end up together in the future but for now their blatant frustration yet hypervigilance and competition with one another were far too amusing not to stir the pot.

"No James." She was glad Remus sounded amused, it meant that it wouldn't take too much effort to get him to partake in whatever the four were planning if the right strings were pulled.

"But…" Came Peter's annoying simper. How that jittery coward got into Gryffindor was a mystery to her, he still couldn't even meet her eyes with his little beady ones. Which was fine by her since his stare gave her the willies.

"No Peter." Remus sighed his tone taking on the usual edge of stubbornness which meant the three would need help convincing him after all.

"Oh come on Lupin don't be such a wet blanket." Remus looked up from his book surprised, his amber eyes quickly filling with a wariness. She laughed and ruffled his hair, much like the Prewetts often did to her when she had been a grumpy kid way back when. His look of annoyance was predictable and she glanced around at the other three. Peter quickly looking away and biting into his muffin with a nervousness that was only dimmed by his desperate attempts to keep up with the other three who were by far superior to him.

James looked jealous, a slight pout on his childish features. Sirius looked amused but there was a slight edge of jealousy in his gaze, different from James' who was jealous of Remus, but rather as if he was jealous of her. She grinned and sat down, yes the boys certainly were amusing. As she grabbed a muffin from the table she couldn't shake Ameelia's assurance that she wouldn't do anything to get them hurt, she guessed they'd just have to see about that.