3
Quality Time
"Now come on," Professor McGonagall said, "You are fifth years, this should be review".
It was their third Transfiguration lesson of the year and they were having trouble changing chairs into tables.
" Curifurius" Doe said pointing her wand at the chair in front of her. It wobbled feebly and one of the legs fell off. She frowned at it.
Lily tried it again and all hers did was shake violently. She crossed her arms in frustration.
" Curifurius" James said from across the room, His armchair folded itself into a small circular table. He was the first one to master it all day.
" 10 points to Gryffindor, Potter" McGonagall said observing the table, with a proud look on her face.
" How is he so good at that?" Lily demanded staring at her chair. She looked at James with a look of pure contempt.
" Everyone's got to be good at something. Transfiguration, is James' thing" Doe said, following her gaze to where James was grinning at the table fondly.
Lily tried the spell again and to no avail, the chair remained.
" Maybe James could tutor you" Doe suggested with a giggle.
" Oh, be quiet" Lily snapped.
Doe tried the spell three more times and nothing happened. She bit her lip in frustration. She was used to getting spells very quickly. She rarely needed help with magic. She didn't like to admit when any kind of magic was difficult for her.
" Do you need some help, Doe?" Remus asked. He had just transformed his into a nightstand, and had looked over to see her fail miserably.
" If you can," Doe said sheepishly. "I just can't seem to get this spell to work"
" I think it's your wand movement" Remus said coming beside her.
" May I?" he asked gesturing to her wand. She nodded. He placed his hand in front of hers and moved the wand up and to the right, rather than the left where she had previously been moving it.
" ou just have to move it this way" Remus said and his hand brushed over the top of hers.
She could feel herself blushing, as Remus' hand stayed on hers. It felt like there was an electric shock pulsing through her hand.
Remus pulled his hand back after a moment, "So try that, and see if it helps".
She lifted her wand the correct way and the chair in front of her transformed into a small coffee table.
" It worked" she said gleefully, amazed that it had been such an easy mistake.
" Thank you so much" she told Remus.
He smiled brightly at her, " Anytime".
The rest of the class was still struggling with the spell, and Professor McGonagall was clearly disappointed.
" Your homework for tonight is to master this spell" McGonagall said sternly, " and I do not want a single broken chair in the common room!"
The Gryffindors packed up their things and headed back to the common room. Doe sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table and pulled out some History of Magic work from her bag.
" Dorcas, that isn't due until next week" Marlene said rolling her eyes and taking a seat in the armchair opposite me.
" That name" Doe said cringing at her given name. It didn't matter how many times she heard it, it still caused the same shiver of disgust whenever anyone used it.
She opened the History of Magic textbook and began flipping through the textbook, searching out Goblin names and dates of rebellions.
" Well write mine while you're at it" Marlene said throwing her legs over the arm of the chair and flipping through an abandoned copy of Witch Weekly.
She flipped through the pages quickly and stopped at a particular page, her eyes widening with delight.
" Oh look, they've invented a potion to make it easier to talk to boys, interested Doe?" Marlene asked holding out the ad from the magazine.
Doe pushed it away from her face, pouting slightly at Marlene.
" By the looks of it today, she doesn't need it" Lily said grinning from her own armchair.
" What do you mean?" Doe asked looking up at her, an eyebrow raised.
" Well, you and Lupin looked pretty cozy in Transfiguration today" she said.
" He was helping me with the spell" Doe said shaking her head adamantly.
She turned back to her composition.
" I happened to notice his hand lingering on yours a bit when showing you the wand movements" Mary commented.
" He did not" Doe said sternly, as the portrait hole opened and the Marauders walked in.
" Now shut it, you three" She said warningly.
The last thing she needed was for any of the Marauders to hear what herfriends bothering her about Remus.
Mary rolled her eyes, " You sound pretty nervous about it"
" Mary if you don't shut it, I swear to Merlin, I will hex you-"
" Careful Doe," James said walking over and plopping down on the chair next to Lily, " Evans here is a prefect and she may just have to dock points"
"I'm a prefect too" Doe said, and James ignored her looking directly at Lily.
" What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked scooting further away from him.
Remus and Peter occupied the other couch, while Sirius leaned on the arm of Marlene's chair.
" Just to see you, Lily" James winked at her.
Lily crossed her arms, " Find someone else to bother"
" Nah" James grinned, " I've chosen you"
"Lucky me" Lily snapped darkly, elicting a wider smile from James.
" But seriously" Mary said, " What are you doing here?"
Sirius grinned widely and pulled a bottle of firewhiskey out of his bag, " We were thinking of a fun game of 'Never have I ever' and figured you birds would be game"
Marlene clapped happily and turned to Mary with a look of excitement. Doe looked at the bottle apprehensively, she had been warned against Firewhiskey. Lily however was looking at the bottle with utmost disgust.
" So you want all of us, all underage, might I add, to drink?" Lily asked angrily.
Sirius smiled, " Well it's a Friday night and you birds doing homework so yeah we figured you would want to. Plus you only have to drink if you've done what someone says, so you should be fine, Evans"
" Sounds fun" Marlene said leaning against Sirius in a very suggestive way.
" I don't know" Remus said warily.
" What about McGonagall?" Doe asked.
" Oh come down, She's in a staff meeting" James assured them.
" Let's play" Marlene said sternly eyeing Doe and Lily.
" I'll play" Mary said.
" Me too," Peter said.
" And the prefects?" Sirius asked.
" I guess," Remus said with a tone of disappointment.
" Fine" Doe said softly.
" Lily?" Marlene practically begged.
Lily crossed her arms tightly, " whatever".
Marlene clapped happily and began distributing the plastic cups that Sirius had brought, while James filled each one with a little bit of firewhiskey.
Doe threw an anxious glance back at the Portrait Hole. If McGonagall came in and busted them, Doe swore she would kill Sirius.
" I'll start" James said grinning, " Never have I ever had green eyes"
" You did that on purpose" Lily said narrowing her emerald colored eyes.
" You have to take a sip, Lily. " Marlene said.
Lily scowled and took a tiny sip from her cup. It was obvious that she hadn't wanted to and she was blaming James even further for this.
" Never have I ever played quidditch" Lily snapped looking directly at James.
Everyone took a sip. The firewhiskey burned Doe's throat on the way down.
" Never have I ever snogged a girl" Mary said proudly.
James, Sirius, and Marlene all took a sip from their cup.
" Marlene?" Lily asked.
Marlene smiled, " I was a wee bit drunk at James' last birthday party"
"Curious, Mckinnon" Sirius said.
Marlene smiled and wiggled her shoulders.
Doe was pretty sure Marlene had made that last one up, but if she wanted to impress Sirius, Doe wasn't going to stop her.
" Your turn Remus" Marlene said.
Remus sighed, "Alright, never have I ever had a detention"
Everyone apart from Remus took a sip from their cup. Doe couldn't help but notice the burn in her throat was getting worse rather than better.
" You've had a detention?" Remus asked Doe, full of surprise.
" Once in third year" she said choking slightly on the firewhiskey, " and it was all Sirius' fault"
" I didn't tell you to be out of bed after hours" Sirius said sternly.
" You told me there was an urgent owl waiting for me," she said incredulously, " and lied to McGonagall afterwards"
" Guess you shouldn't have ratted on me" Sirius said with a smile.
" You were planning on turning Marlene's hair blue!" Doe shouted in exasperation.
" I forgot about that" Marlene said shoving Sirius hard in the shoulder.
Sirius grinned at Marlene and the slight frown fell from her face almost immediately.
" Never have I ever lost points from Gryffindor" Doe said proudly. It was one of the things that made her most proud. She had a tremendous amount of pride for her house, and she never wanted to be the cause of them losing points.
The game began continued for another hour until Marlene, James and Sirius were far too gone to continue.
Peter had gone upstairs after only two rounds and both Lily and Marlene had given up to go watch Ludo Bagman flex his muscles while tossing a quaffle in the air.
James and Sirius had gotten so drunk they were laughing at everything and making incoherent jokes while the other laughed.
Marlene had gotten to the stage where she just giggled loudly.
It had left only a sober Doe and Remus to take care of their inebriated friends.
" looks like they lose" Remus said, both his cup and Doe's had only a few sips gone.
" Shocking, huh?" Doe said sarcastically.
Remus laughed, helping her clean up the cups " They always lose, it's a wonder why they play"
" Maybe that's why" Doe told him wrapping her arm around Marlene's waist, she was practically passed out.
" You may be right" Remus said helping get James and Sirius to their feet.
" So what's your favorite book?" Remus asked her a few nights later when they were patrolling.
" Muggle or Magical?" Doe asked running her hands through the ends of her hair.
" Magical" Remus said.
" Hogwarts; A History" she said without pausing.
" Really?" Remus said and blinked a few times, " May I ask why?"
She smiled, " I don't know. I just find Hogwarts very fascinating. It's the first place that some people get to experience magic" She stopped when she realized she was babbling.
" No I agree, that's why I read it too" Remus said.
She smiled. Remus always knew exactly what to say. She was really glad he was interested in the same things she was. Usually the only person who listen to Doe go on about books was Lily, and even she grew bored of the topic quickly.
" What about you?" Doe asked him.
He thought for a moment, " A History of Magic"
" By Bathilda Bagshot?" She asked excitedly.
" You've read it?" Remus asked, his expression appearing shocked.
" Of course I've read it" she told him.
His smile widened, " Most people find it a boring read"
" I find it intriguing. It's all of our history" She said.
Remus flashed her a strange expression. It was a look he had never given her before.
They rounded a corner and saw a group of Slytherins all sitting around a bench. It was after hours and Doe took out her wand, not fancying a late night duel.
" It's after hours" Remus called to them, " You need to go back to your common room"
" And who's going to make us?" One of them called. The group shifted a little.
Rabastan Lestrange was the one who had spoken out. Doe froze.
" Ah, Doe. Lovely to see you" He winked. His handsome face drawn out into a cruel smile.
Doe fidgeted, suddenly uncomfortable.
Rabastan Lestrange was a 6th year Slytherin that she had known for years. His father, Amycus had worked in the same department as her father, so she had seen him quite a lot when she was younger. Rabastan had taken advantage of this, and bothered her for years. When they were little it had mostly consisted of charming bugs to follow her or hiding her things but as they grew older it had turned into something that made Doe uncomfortable. She couldn't even be in the same with him, without worrying what he was thinking of doing. He was one of the Slytherins who wrongly believed his behaviors had no punishable consequences.
" Seriously go to your common room or I'll fetch Slughorn myself" Remus said harshly.
" Easy Gryffindor" Rabastan said to Remus as he walked over to Doe, " Doe and I are old friends"
" We're not friends, go to your common room" she said crossing her arms and taking a step back.
Rabastan Lestrange was one of the few people who could get under Doe's skin without fail.
" Chill it, Meadowes" Evan Rosier called.
Remus seemed to notice how uncomfortable she was.
" Shall I get Slughorn?" Remus asked again.
" No need," Rabastan said with his soothing tongue, " We were just heading there now".
Slowly, the group left and headed towards the dungeons. Rabastan threw one more glance and Doe before he rounded the corner. She shook her head, not wanting to acknowledge his actions.
" Slytherins" Remus said shaking his head.
" Rabastan Lestrange is a piece of work" she said watching the last Slytherin round the corner.
" Do you know him well?" Remus asked not looking away from her.
"Better than I'd like too" Doe said quickly, not wanting to elaborate.
They walked further down the corridor. Doe let her mind wander to the Slytherin Common Room. She had always wondered where exactly it was. Somewhere in the dungeons. Maybe Sirius knew, she would ask him if she remembered.
" So, Doe." Remus began bringing her out of her thoughts, " I was wondering if maybe you wanted to-". He was cut off by a loud cry.
In front of McGonagall's office, Gemma Fairview, a pretty fourth year Gryffindor was dressed in her dressing gown, bawling loudly. Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were standing in front of her trying desperately to console her.
Dumbledore stopped and eyed the two prefects questionably while Gemma wiped her tears on her sleeve.
" Professor is everything alright?" Doe asked.
Dumbledore nodded curtly, " You two should go back to your dormitories, enough patrolling for tonight" he said looking back to Gemma, who was still sobbing loudly.
Remus and Doe cast another glance at Gemma, and then looked back at each other.
" You heard Professor Dumbledore" Professor McGonagall said, still trying calm down Gemma, Remus and Doe quickly walked back to the common room.
" What do you think that was about?" Doe asked Remus, " She looked so upset"
" I haven't the faintest idea" Remus answered.
They approached the painting of the Fat Lady who looked as though she had fallen asleep.
" Um, Crawling Centaurs" Remus said quietly not wanting to disturb her too much.
" Ah yes, alright then" The Fat Lady said swinging open to allow the two of them to enter the common room.
" Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Remus" Doe said slightly distracted. She was still thinking about Gemma Fairview and what could have caused her to be so upset.
" Goodnight, Doe" Remus said.
They both parted ways and headed back to their dormitories.