Thanks to Magenta Stone for reviewing. Thanks darling. You're great. Thanks to the rest of you for reading.
Betas for this chapter are: LittleDrummerGirl2010 and Literatifan4eva. You guys are great.
Also thanks to Prongs Smitch for looking over this even though you didn't find anything wrong.
Chapter 3: First Classes
The next morning at breakfast they found out that they would have Professor Hunter bright and early Tuesday morning for N.E.W.T.s Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mandy was glad she wouldn't have to see him first thing every week but also knew that it meant spending all day Monday thinking about it. However, as Mandy knew it would, Tuesday arrived. Mandy followed the Marauders from breakfast to the Defense classroom and took her seat in the middle row nearly dead center of the classroom. The Marauders on the other hand took the two tables in the very back and Mandy's biological sister, Parker, sat with Lily at the table up front. The rest of the class filtered in around them. Mandy looked up when someone sat down next to her then flashed them a half smile. The brown hair, blue eyes and soft smile belonged to the one and only Michael Smithheart.
"If it isn't the so-called amazing Gryffindor seeker, little Miss Amanda Hunter," he said.
"You don't have to sit here, Mike. You can go sit with the rest of your Slytherin friends. After all, fighting or not, my best friend is still a Marauder," Mandy answered.
Mandy had met Michael Smithheart at the same ball where she had met Sirius but they hadn't grown close until their second year when Mandy helped Michael with a Potions project in exchange for his help with Herbology. Though their houses disliked each other, the pair respected each other and had somewhat bonded over their shared interests of Quidditch seeking, Charms, and parental control.
"I would go sit with them but that would leave you open and exposed to dangerous people," Mike answered.
"In Hogwarts?" Mandy asked. "You do know that just because I broke up with Sirius doesn't mean I'm getting back together with you."
"I know. I just wanted to sit here," Mike said.
Mandy shrugged but didn't protest any further.
"My name," a loud voice cut off all of the talking in the room and causing all eyes to turn towards the front where Jason was standing, "is Jason Hunter. You may call me Professor Hunt or Professor Hunter. Yes, Amanda Hunter is my kid sister as my parents adopted her. I expect as much out of her as I expect out of all of you."
It was true, when Mandy was a baby Jason's parents adopted her then when she was 16 her dad told her that the people she had called her aunt and uncle–Parker's parents–were also Mandy's biological parents. At first Mandy had been hurt by that but eventually she realized that she was blessed to have two sets of parents that loved her.
Jason continued, "This is your N.E.W.T.s year. I know how tough they are and it will be my job to prepare you for this. Everything I hope to teach you will prepare you not only for these tests but also for the world out there. I've been there, and I know what it's like. You may not believe me but I know enough to at the very least help you pass your end of term exams. I also have Dumbledore's permission to teach you things that the Ministry would frown upon but I know you need to know this," Jason explained. He could see a few intrigued faces, a few horrified girls, and one bored face. "Am I boring you Miss Hunter?" Jason asked, leaning back against his desk.
"Little bit," Mandy said, holding her thumb and finger up just a few centimeters apart. "I mean I want to know what the Ministry's going to frown upon you teaching us but I believe introduction to theory is unnecessary. It's a scapegoat for teachers who don't want to put in the effort to explain things. Toss students a book, or assigning them book work, just means that they don't want to teach that particular topic."
"You'll understand one day, baby sister," Jason rolled his eyes, "Can I continue?"
Mandy nodded.
"Miss Evans, why don't you catch me up on the subjects you learned last year?" Jason said. They spent the rest of the class period talking about previous subjects and at the end of class Jason asked them to write a six inch report on their weakest spells and subjects within Defense for next time.
After that class Remus caught up with Mandy who was walking by herself. "James wants me to ask you about Smithheart, but I know you trust him to an extent. I want to ask you, on the other hand, about your reaction to your brother."
"I'm always going to get away with more because he's my brother and I just wanted to see how far I could push him. I didn't really mean for you to take that as a sign of disrespect," she said.
"No, I wanted to know how you felt about him being here," Remus said.
"He's my brother. I feel a little betrayed that he didn't tell me he was coming but he's really good, he's been teaching me Occulmency for years and—"
"I thought you hadn't seen your brother from the time you were eight or nine until last year," Remus said. At least that's what she had told them before they had returned home for Christmas the previous year.
"He comes home every other Christmas, after all it's expected that he'd be all the Hunter Ball, he teaches me when he gets the chance, says it's safer that way, and he's the one that taught me the Patronus charm. He doesn't know, however, that I can form a corporeal Patronus," Mandy said.
"So it's not going to bother you that he's here?"
"Not really. As long as he keeps it professional," Mandy said. Remus nodded and went to catch up with the other Marauders.
One day in late September Jason held his sister back after his class. They went into his office and Jason sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk and offered the other to his sister. She didn't take it. "How are you holding up?" Jason asked.
"Jason, I'm fine," Mandy said.
"Our parents died six months ago," Jason said gently.
"Our parents were murdered six months ago. When Voldemort wants you dead because you get to close, bad things happen. I've known they've been in danger for years. I was hurt but you have to move on. You can't dwell on the past."
"Do your friends know you're adopted?" Jason asked.
"If they didn't you told them in our first class."
Jason raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, they know I was adopted and that Parker is my twin sister," Mandy answered.
"Then tell me what happened between you and Sirius," Jason said.
Mandy sat down and sighed. "You told me that you're only here as a professor and not my big brother."
"Either you tell me about it or I will just have to believe all the rumors going around. And don't give me that line about it being a long story, we have time. You and I both have a free period."
"Ok then. Lily has been my best and closest girlfriend since I met her on the train and more so since Christmas first year. She's one of the few I have. Throughout the past three years, since Sirius has been interested in girls, we've watched as girl after girl was swept off her feet by his charm. They had either dated, snogged, crushed on, or slept with him. Then one by one they all got their hearts broken. Lily got tired of it since it happened to a couple of her friends. She knew how I felt about Sirius and the way he treated his girls so last Christmas she came up with this plan."
"How you felt about him?"
"I'm not—I wasn't his biggest fan. In fact I would have preferred it if he dropped off the face of the planet. Anyway we were dancing and bumming around at the Potters' New Year's Eve party and Lily told me all about it. Sirius would ask me out and I'd get him to fall madly in love with me, then I would publicly dump him and he'd get a taste of his own medicine."
"You figured he'd stop after that."
"Yes. At the time I thought it was a brilliant idea. He gets a taste of what he did and I don't have to worry about other girls getting hurt anymore. The one hitch in our plan was that it wasn't until after Mum and Dad died that Sirius asked me out. We didn't plan on it taking that long."
"You started dating him after Mum and Da died?" Jason exclaimed looking more intent.
"Not right after. They died April 10th and we were officially a couple by the 22nd. I know it's only 12 days but it didn't feel like I was just using him to get over our parents' death. It's more like he was helping me get over their deaths. Throughout our entire relationship he was sweet and kind and romantic but also himself."
"So where did it go wrong?" Jason asked.
"Early June," Mandy said. "Lily found out how well things were going. She saw how much Sirius fancied me and how I seemed to have control over him," Mandy swallowed. "She also found out that I slept with him."
"You slept with him?" Jason roared.
"I was 16 not nine," Mandy answered. "I'm not a little girl anymore. That is beside the point here. And if you want to hear what else happened you'll stop treating me like that."
"Go on," Jason sighed.
"Anyway she told me that it was time to finish the plan and humiliate him in front of everyone. I tried to explain how much I loved him and how I couldn't go through with it. Lily wouldn't listen to me. She said I was being stubborn and that I feared everyone would think of me like all the rest his exes: Dumped after sleeping with him, even if I dumped him."
"That doesn't make any sense," Jason said.
"She was grasping at straws, trying to make me angry enough at him and at myself to dump him. Two days after that, not long after curfew, Sirius pulled me aside in the Common Room and broke up with me."
"Quietly I hope."
"Not really. He spoke in a normal tone. I know he wasn't trying to broadcast it, but he also wasn't trying to keep it quiet. It didn't matter if he was going to anyway. By the end of the next day the entire school knew."
"So that's it? You gave him everything and he let you go like that?" Jason snapped his fingers.
"Not quite." Mandy bit her lip and looked away from her brother's piercing blue eyes.
"Good, because that doesn't explain why the Marauders are still sorta awkward, yes I know they're called the Marauders," Jason added when Mandy looked at him panicked, "you forget I had McGonagall too, nor does that explain why James doesn't seem quite as protective of you as I remember him being last year." Jason and James had met when Mandy had been in St. Mungo's the summer of 1976.
"A couple days before we left Hogwarts last summer I was outside under my favorite willow tree when someone I didn't expect came up and sat down next to me. Turns out Mike and Regulus have something in common besides me," Mandy said.
"Mike?" Jason questioned.
"Mike Smithheart. Kid that sits next to me in your class. They both aren't quite sure they believe what their parents believe. Anyway Regulus Black, you know Sirius's younger brother, he said that he had heard rumors about Sirius dumping me and as much as he loved to see a Gryffindor in pain and suffering, he didn't feel like I deserved it. Especially not from his older brother. He thought what Sirius and I had was different from what Sirius did to other girls and he couldn't believe it. I explained everything that had happened from the plan to my feelings for his brother to how he dumped me. Instead of taking the piss like I thought he'd do, he told me that deep down his brother was a reasonable guy and that if I explained things, Sirius wouldn't be so angry with me and that he might reconsider what had happened between us. I just had to get him to sit down and talk to me." Mandy sighed wishing she could cut the story short but she knew her brother was too inquisitive for that to work.
"Did it work?" Jason asked, barely believing Mandy was having civil conversations with Blacks.
"I pulled Sirius aside later that afternoon and told him all about the plan and how I felt. I told him that I deeply loved him and that I never would have dumped him after sleeping with him. I asked if he actually believed that I would sleep with a guy that I didn't deeply care about. He told me he realized that it wasn't something I would have done and how he may have acted rashly. He also spilled to me that he had a reason why he dumped me. He told me he had been pressured to. That when I had been talking to Lily about the final stages of the plan, back when she had been trying to convince me to publically dump him, James had heard the whole thing.
Jason stared at his sister in shock.
"Yep. James proceeded to cajole Sirius into breaking it off with me; to end things before he got humiliated. I know James has been deeply hurt by me. It's almost as if I've gone and betrayed him. It's like he thinks I came up with the plan all by myself and his perfect angel Lily, had nothing to do with it."
"Perfect angel?"
"James fancies Lily a lot; you know what that can do to a person. Since James realized, in his mind, that me dating Sirius was a big trick, he knew just how to manipulate Sirius into dropping me like a hot potato. The Marauders, mainly Remus and Peter don't want to believe that I'm some cruel beast that has hurt Sirius but they also know that James would never be at odds with me unless it was something major." Mandy sighed looking away from her brother's prying eyes and went on. "After we talked about it, me explaining everything and Sirius telling me about what James had convinced him to do; he said he needed time to consider my side of the story. The day before we left Sirius told me he believed me that it was Lily's idea but he was cautious to trust me so openly after everything as being in cahoots with Lily put me directly against James and that was hard for him to understand how I could do that to the boy who had kept me under his wing for nearly 12 years."
"Where'd you go from there?"
"We spent the summer trying to fix his trust in me and trying to fix our relationship. It's been a long road and a very long summer."
"Are you two back together?" Jason asked softly. This was more than he had managed to drag out of Sirius's mind when he had questioned the boy. Sirius hadn't even noticed Jason performing Legilimency on him. Since his sister was refusing to look him in the eye he could only get a general feeling off her and nothing more concrete.
"Publicly no. Privately, sorta. We're on the edge of becoming something but trust is still a big issue." Mandy shook her head still not meeting her brother's eyes.
"He doesn't think he can trust you?"
"He knows he can but he's iffy on how much and I think going behind his best friend's back still hurts him a little. Don't get me wrong, there are awkward moments but there are also times when I just look at him and if there's no one around I will pounce on him and snog the daylights out of him." Mandy finally looked up at her brother and saw him watching her carefully.
"I think that it's going to come down to the point where you're going to have to sit down with James and Lily both and talk about this. Until the entire plan and your feelings are out in the open I don't think everything will be ok between you and Sirius."
"Thanks for the advice but now I have homework to do. And by the way, this is more than I have ever wanted to share with you about my love life."
"Don't you have class?" Jason asked. He knew she did, he just wanted to see if she'd admit to skiving off.
"Yes. The great History of Magic, not till after lunch though," Mandy answered.
"Get some lunch. Then get to class," Jason said.
"Yes sir," Mandy smirked but went to lunch.
"What did your brother want?" James asked as she sat down between him and Sirius.
"To talk about what was between me and Sirius," Mandy answered softly. She stared at her plate hoping James wouldn't push. She wasn't that lucky.
"And what is between you and Sirius?" James asked.
"What's with the questions? You wanted me to have nothing to do with him." Mandy grabbed a roll, stood, and left.
"Nice going, Prongs," Remus said gently. "Make up your mind or you'll never be able to get back in her good graces. I know it's hard on you being in the middle but you have to let them sort things out."
Sirius clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "I love that you're trying to protect me, Prongsie, but I've got two feet. I can handle things on my own. Not everything's what it seems." Sirius stood and left.
James sighed and stood up. "We've got class," James said.
Meanwhile Sirius had caught up with Mandy. "What do you want?" Mandy asked when he caught her arm. She turned and looked up at him.
"I want you to tell me the truth. Are you alright?" Sirius asked.
"I'm fine. Well, not completely. I've known James since I was five. He's been my best friend for years. I hate fighting with him but at the same time I have to grow up, right?" Mandy asked.
"I know it's hard," Sirius said pulling her into his arms, "I know you've never fought this long with him but trust me one day he will listen."
"You better be right," Mandy answered wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned up to kiss him but he shook his head.
"Later." Sirius kissed Mandy's nose then headed for his class. Mandy sighed and went to class.
"Hey Mandy," Lily said when Mandy sat down near her.
"What Lily?" Mandy asked.
"I'm sorry, all right?" Lily said.
"For what? And if this is about Sirius we're not doing it here," Mandy said.
"Mandy," Lily started.
"No, I'm not going into how wrong you were about everything in front of a room full of nosey seventh years."
"Come on, Mandy. You can't still be mad at me," Lily hissed as Binns started talking.
"Yes, I can. I loved him and you buggered everything up," Mandy answered not bothering to keep her voice down.
"Come on, Mandy, please," Lily replied.
"No. Until you realize how wrong you were about the situation between Sirius and me, I'm not going to talk about it with you."
"Be that way then."
"I will."
Later that night in the Common Room as Mandy was lounging in her chair, Remus sat down on the arm and looked at her probingly. "Explain this all to me," Remus said.
"Explain what?"
"How you and Sirius got back together, how you split up, why you split up, and why you still aren't talking to James."
"Remus, you know all that," Mandy answered.
"Really? I may know the whens, I can smell him on you from a meter away, but I don't know the whys," Remus said.
"You watched our relationship. You know sometimes things go wrong."
"Not between you two. I know when you ..." Remus looked around then wedged himself down beside her in the chair. "I know when you slept with him, I could smell it on you, on him, but after you two broke up, how did you get back together?"
"Why do you care so much?" Mandy asked. She shifted slightly in her chair trying to get comfortable. It wasn't easy with how tall Remus was. The chair was only meant for one.
"Because it's hurting both you and James and I don't like this fighting in my pack," Remus nearly growled.
Mandy sighed but explained it again. "Sirius and I split up before school ended because James overheard Lily detailing the plan to break Sirius's heart and give him a taste of his own medicine. I told him everything two days before school ended and he said we'd have to work on trusting each other again. We spent the summer doing that and even though there's still that bit of mistrust between us, he and I are sorta back together. As for me and Potter—James. I love that boy, he's been my friend for ages but he is mad at me for hurting Sirius and he's upset with Sirius for making me hurt him."
"James always did say if we hurt you, he'd kill us. It didn't matter what we were to him," Remus smirked, "you were blood. You were more important. There's something deeper between you and James than you two let on and though I know you two have never slept together, Sirius was your first, I know there's something more there," Remus finished.
"I'm not going to tell you," Mandy said, "you'll have to figure that one out for yourself."
"Fine. Please talk to James. I don't care what you say just talk to him. It's killing you both and I don't want that to happen."
"Thanks Remy. We'll be okay, I promise. And tell Peter, I don't want to explain this again."
"Sure." Remus nodded then stood and left Mandy alone with her cat who was now curled up in her lap.
"At least you still love me Cyrus," Mandy sighed. Her cat meow-ed and Mandy smiled.
So I hope you liked it. Please let me know. Thanks. Also just a reminder that anyone can review. Just type a name into the name box then say something. You don't even have to have an account.
Tune in next time.