It seemed as though Messalina had what muggles called 'tunnel vision'. However instead of her driving a vehicle, all her attention had become focused on Quidditch and schoolwork. Her grades were beginning to skyrocket, going from nearly all E's to all O's in a matter of two and a half weeks. Her A's in Astronomy stunned her as much as it did the professor, and she had even begun to notice that she was getting better grades that Remus. That gave her sort of satisfaction that she had never known, and with a sinking feeling one night in the Common Room she realized that she becoming less and less of a Gryffindor and more into a hatstall of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. She had noticed but did nothing about it.
At meals she sat with the Quidditch team minus the two Marauders. The news of Messalina fleeing their room had become school news in a matter of one night but Remus found that he was the only one who seemed to mind. Messalina appeared to be happier than she had recently, her brunette head always ducked into her and Benjy's shared Quidditch playbook.
The Marauders were surprised that Benjy hadn't given up his position as captain yet, Messalina was constantly talking to him about it and when they were making up plays her eyes glistened while his remained the same. They would be perfectly okay if Benjy remained into captain, in fact they were hoping that the now fanatical Messalina would not become the captain. It seemed like her life was now school and Quidditch.
Theteachers were now noticing, Professor Slughorn was beaming at her with not as much love as he gave to Lily Evans or Snivellus but it was there. McGonagall had actually given her twenty points the other day for getting an O on her past two tests. She had pulled zero pranks since the school year began and even Dumbledore seemed to notice.
"See Benjy, if I become the-" She was huddled with the captain on October 1st and she didn't even notice that Benjy sighed and nodded wearily.
"Lina, I'm going to talk to Professor McGonagall." He blurted out and she looked up from the book with a wary look in her eyes.
"About what exactly?" She asked cautiously, scooting back in her chair a little bit. Not a lot but a noticeable amount.
"I don't think that I can keep working on school and Quidditch as a captain should. This doesn't come as easily to me as it does to you and the twins. I don't think that I deserve to just take all of your plays and have the team and the rest of the school think that it was me. I couldn't live with myself so I'm going to ask that you get the captain spot. You're the most dedicated of everyone on the team maybe even in the school. You deserve it Lucien, you deserve the captainship." He got up quickly and walked out of the Common Room before she could reply, if he had waited though he would have seen her blink a few times before she fully understood.
"Benjy! You don't have to do that you know!" She called after him but he just shook his head at her before exiting, still not turning around.
"And you want what exactly Mr. Fenwick?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking at her captain over her glasses.
"Professor, between schoolwork and friends I'm afraid I won't be able to put as much effort into Quidditch as someone like Messalina Lucien will be able to. She's got a gift for the sport, professor, and some of her ideas are just...professor I would never have been able to think of them." Benjy looked down, half expecting McGonagall to tell him to suck it up since he had agreed to the position.
"Alright Mr. Fenwick, I will give Ms. Lucien the position. I trust that you can, however, tell her the duties of being in that spot along with the badge?"
"Yes professor, of course I will. Thank you," He stood up and went to go to the door when she stopped him.
"Mr. Fenwick?"
"Yes professor?"
"You did the right thing, not taking advantage of her in whatever odd state she is in." He nodded before hurrying down the hallway towards the Common Room like You-Know-Who himself was chasing him.
"You got it Lina, I just have to get you the badge from my room and-" Messalina cut him off by hugging him tightly.
"Thank you Benjy thank you so much! We could have been co-captains by the way," She stated as she let go of him. "I'd be good with it. Really Benjy, that might even be better-"
"Just shut up Lucien and take it," He said with a good natured grin. "So when is practice captain?"
"Um tomorrow at 2? Is that good?"
"You're the cap now, Lucien. It's up to you, if it's good for you make it work for them or quit." He said as he sat down on the chair, pulling out his Transfiguration homework. Across the Common Room, Remus Lupin began to stew in jealousy. He wished he could take it all back, every single aspect of what he had done. In the beginning he had blamed his friends along with himself but now he knew that it was all his fault. He had had her and then allowed her to slip through his fingers because he couldn't get himself to tell her everything. At first he had thought she was being extremely dramatic about it but then he had noticed just how many secrets he had kept from her in such a short amount of time. Him being a werewolf had been very painful to hear and then his friends making it seem like she couldn't keep the secret and then him not trusting her with this. She must have thought that he was using him.
Why he hadn't run after her when she left he didn't know. When he was sure she was gone he had taken an hour long shower, not even feeling the scalding water on him. When he had emerged he had been bright pink, starving since he had missed dinner and his entire body ached. When he had written his parents later that week it seemed almost as though they were slightly relieved that it was over, Remus knew his father was afraid that the relationship was actually going to go somewhere and then they would have to learn how to deal with his ailment in the real world.
But clearly that wasn't going to happen anymore. He had seen to that himself.
His heart leapt up in his throat when he saw her moving quickly over to them, a determined look in her eyes. For a second he thought she was coming to see him but she walked past him as though he wasn't there. "Black, Potter try-outs tomorrow at 2. Be there on time or don't expect a spot on the team."
"Lucien, we don't even need to try out, you know how good we are!" Sirius yelled after her making her spin around, her eyes glistening.
"Everyone is replaceable Black." She didn't wait for a response, merely gliding away back to Fenwick and picking up her things before disappearing up the stairs.
As Messalina sank into bed she felt tears beginning to form but she ordered them to go away before rolling over and falling asleep. She dreamt terrifying dreams that night, of the terrible day that she had been hexed on the pitch and the horrible agonizing pain. It was like the Cruciatus Curse that she had been subject to numerous times in her childhood. One for merely sneezing at supper when she was ill with the wizarding disease Scrofungulus. She had been plagued with it as a child and her parents seemed to think the torturing curse would get rid of it. Yeah right.
She woke up from her memories and at first she had thought she had wet the bed. She had not, though, she was soaked with sweat instead as well as the covers. Messalina kicked them all down and forced her breathing to go down as she began to make herself think of happy things. Of summer and how the twins always made her laugh. Merlin she missed them so badly.
Across the Gryffindor Tower, Remus found himself staring at the wall. He couldn't sleep, his body ached too badly to even concentrate. The full moon was the next week and he found that he hadn't had the pain this bad in a few years. His entire body hurt from his head to his toes and then some. His dreams were plagued with seeing the hurt look in Messalina's eyes when she had found out about his friends, when she had been hit with the curse, when he had been attacked by Greyback and the horrible trip to the Ministry that followed. His worst memories.
Thankfully the next day was Saturday and so Messalina slept for a long time, longer than she normally did. After taking a freezing shower to awaken her, Lina found herself in the Great Hall, telling everyone in Gryffindor apart from first years that try-outs were at 2. All spots were available to be taken apart for keeper, which made the two other sixth years very anxious suddenly about their positions.
For once they actually arrived on the pitch on time, complaining the whole walk about how none of the other teams had begun try-outs yet. They failed to complain about how they were already a month into school and that it was going to be winter soon enough. Their hearts just about stopped when they saw Messalina wearing the captains pin on the side of her t-shirt.
"I am Messalina Lucien, sixth year and captain of the team this year. Now I know that you are both first years," She gestured to a boy and girl pair holding broomsticks. "You know you can't be here so do come back next year, I appreciate your eagerness but whoever the captain is next year is will acknowledge that. But in the meantime, sod off."
She got the majority of the group to laugh at that and most of them became more relaxed. Not James and Sirius however. "Now, can the potential chasers go over there, the seekers over there and the beaters you come over here. If you were going out for keeper, come back next year."
There were three chasers (all males), four potential seekers (these were more even, two girls and two boys) and two beaters, one of whom probably weighed fifty pounds soaking wet. Great.
Messalina had everyone put their last names on a paper and tape it to their back, including Fenwick, Black and Potter. She made them do basic drills, starting out with everyone including herself running around the pitch a few times. Just that made two of the seekers leave, mumbling about how running had nothing to do with Quidditch.
Messalina released a snitch and let the two seekers race around on their brooms trying to find it. It looked like it would take a while before they did. The beaters were hitting a training bludger to one another, it just whirled and flew on its own, only going slightly out of its original path but enough that they saw what a small bit of being a beater would be like.
One of them was a fifth year, Edgar Bones was practically crushing the bludger but the third year girl could barely even hit the bludger back to him. She broke the four chasers into groups of two, Potter and a fit second year named Kingsley Shacklebolt versus Black and fourth year Hestia Jones. It was a fair fight and it became hard to tell which of them would have to go.
She watched for a solid two hours, noting that the chaser game score was Potter-Shacklebolt 30 to Black-Jones' 50. They were playing half-pitch against Benjy who was keeping nearly everything out.
"Alright everybody come down!" She yelled and the already tired group hurried to the ground. "Great job today everyone and remember that even if I don't chose you for the regular Quidditch team, none of you are seventh years so just practice a lot and maybe you'll be here next year. Now the team is such; Fenwick, keeper; chasers, Black, Shacklebolt and Jones; beaters-"
"What the hell Lucien!" James yelled and she merely blinked at him.
"Get back in line Potter." She stated before continuing. "Beaters, Bones and I; seeker-"
"You're a girl you can't be a beater!" James yelled and she turned to face him.
"Shut up Potter or I'll kick you off the team. Seeker, Potter." She barked and grabbed a beater's bat from Edgar. Messalina gestured for everyone to step back and she let loose a real beater. It hovered in the air for a moment before flying at Messalina. She drew the bat back and hit it as hard as she could, sending vibrations up her entire arm.
The bludger however flew all the way to the other side of the pitch before returning at high speeds. It barreled straight into her and with some effort she managed to wrestle it back into its holder.
"How's that for a beater Potter?"
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