WHOOOOPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE, I'M BACK AT LAST, AND DESPITE THE JETLAG I'M UPDATING BECAUSE I JUST CAN'T WAIT...HAVE FUN, I'VE WRITTEN SEVEN CHAPTERS, BUT I WON'T UPDATE ALL ON THE SAME DAY. AT THE END OF THE CHAPTERS ARE NOTES THAT I WROTE DURING MY TRAVELS. BYE.
Sitting On The Baby By HPOD sufferer
Date: Thursday, 14th June, 9:00PM
Rating: K+ (Scary and Supernatural themes may scare young children, includes character death), sexual implications (very minor), religeous references (minor, non suggestive)
Summary: Sirius bounded into the compartment, making to sink into the seat next to Lily. The seat in which a sleeping baby...well, slept. Eyes popping, James grabbed his friend's wrists, stopping him from sitting. Sirius Black was frozen in a strange, half-sitting, half-standing position. Lily grabbed the baby quickly, and James released his friend. "You know," said Lily " Baby sitting doesn't usually consist of actually sitting on the baby."
A baby has appeared. Where from? Why? Who does the baby belong to? Harry travels to Marauder Era. AS A BABY! Something went seriously wrong on that Halloween night.
Chapter 11: The Unforgivable Professor
He walked like a spider, with a scuttling grace,
Long of limb and a fearsome face.
He glared like a hawk and when he would call,
The bravest of men would forget to stand tall.
But friends, and even my foes, please,
Don't let him unnerve you, ignor his tease.
Remember: not all is as it seems,
And he might just end up on one of our teams.
It was the last day of the week. Friday. Lily stifled a yawn, wiped the slobber off her cheek and followed her friends to their next lesson-Defence against the Dark Arts.
For Lily, the subject was quite intriguing. She had been told a few years back that ever since the year before she started Hogwarts Dumbledore had not been able to keep a Professor secure in the post for more than a year- that for some reason, it was cursed. Lily may be a witch, but she didn't believe such codswallop...obviously, the job was so boring or annoying or at least uncomfortable in some way, enough to make any person unable to stand being in the post more than a year.
Obviously.
She stumbled as her bag slipped down her shoulder and Lily paused a moment to juggle through Harry, a thick book and a hawks' tail quill to pull the strap up again. Harry-wisely- stayed still and silent as she cursed colourfully in her futile attempts. Finally, with a giant heave, the strap grudgingly resumed its original placement. She gave a snort, and Lily stomped after her wary looking mates. They lined outside the classroom, not particularly eager to see their teacher again.
Professor Glimby was, to be plain, a joke. Short and going to seed, his dirt coloured hair had been styled in a bowl cut (ever so fashionable) , with a bald spot dead centre. He looked like a monk, walking around in his brown robes.
Plus, he didn't know his subject matter at all. It was always "read chapter five, students!" or "Miss Evans, do you know the answer?"
He said these things because he didn't know himself. Lily, along with her classmates, despaired of passing their NEWTS with this teacher.
Her heart sank as the door slid open to reveal...
The whole class gasped. It was not Professor Glimby at all. This man was unnaturally tall and thin. His hair was the colour of black shingles, eyes pale, almost lilac in colour. His face was long and gaunt, pale skin pulled over high cheek bones. His hands were the owners of the longest fingers Lily had ever seen, knobbly at the knuckles and calloused all over. Over the top of his right eyebrow was a thin scar, which ran down the side of his eye and down his cheek like a thin, white vine.
"Good day, class," he said softly in a raspy yet deep voice. "You may-" he gestured to the door "-come in."
The class, like frightened cockroaches, scuttled past him and soundlessly took their seats. Lily sat up the front, Harry on the desk in front of her.
Eyes protruding, the man came in, and sat on top of his desk, facing them. "I see you are wary of me. Good."
He stood up, and he locked eyes with, perhaps, every student in the class. "Last year, you had a teacher by the name of Professor Glimby, am I correct?"
The class nodded mutely.
"This teacher was incompetent. He did not teach you anything. And so, he is here no longer. It was only this morning that your headmaster managed to get hold of me. I am Professor Isaac Samuel Oucirus, and I am here to teach you what you need to know."
He glared at them all.
"Now, it is my belief that you are aware of recent events..."
The class, as a group, looked confused.
"YOU-KNOW-WHO, you incompetents!" He yelled, and they flinched. He took some cleansing breaths. "You-Know-Who happens to be the present dark lord," he drawled in a 'well duh' voice. "He is very powerful, and VERY immersed in the dark arts. Today I am going to be teaching you some of the darker forms of offence he uses...the Unforgivables. You should have learnt about them last year, but as I have said, you did not. So we learn them today."
He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace to Lily. "Now, can any of you name one of the Unforgivables?"
People raised their hands. Lily looked back at the class...and noticed all of the Marauders, for probably the first time in their school career, with their hands straight in the air. Oucirus noticed this too, and settled his eyes on Sirius Black. "Black, is it?"
Lily let a small frown appear on her face at the hidden sneer.
Sirius was not deterred however. "Yes, the Imperius curse."
There was no doubt- Oucirus was definitely smirking in a 'I know something' manner. "And..."
Sirius stared defiantly back at the man. "The Imperius curse gives the caster complete control over their victim. They can make them sing, dance, clean...or murder their loved ones. It's total control, but it can be fought."
Remus glanced at his friend, surprised at the depth of information. Oucirus was grinning cruelly now. "Impressive, what you know, Mr Black. Did some studying before coming to class, did we?"
Lily could see Sirius start to glare- evidently there was some veiled meaning behind the sneering.
"No, it's just stuff that we- and I need to know, during these times." Sirius answered.
"Yes, yes, quite. You need to know, Mr Black?" Oucirus taunted.
Sirius jumped to his feet, fists curling tight and a stormy expression of rage on his face. "How dare you!" He shouted.
"How dare I what, Mr Black?" Lily gazed at the Professor, finally understanding the drawling contempt the man spoke with to Sirius. Lily knew of the Black family reputation.
Sirius was being judged by his name.
Sirius walked tot he front, right up to the Professor. Discreetly, the Professor fingered the entrance to his pocket. "How dare you," Sirius lowered his voice, so that only people like Lily who were in the front row could catch what he said next. "Think you know me. How dare you think I know any more about the Dark Arts than my friends. Just because my family's dark, doesn't mean I am. I, Sirius Black of Gryffindor, am better than the snivelling low life of my family and Slytherins. I will never, I repeat, never get down on my knees in front of that monster. How dare you even let it cross your mind that I could."
And with that, Sirius turned around and stalked back to his seat. Oucirus eyed the dark haired young man. Slowly he turned to the rest of the class. "There are two Unforgivables left. Surely all those people didn't have the same information as Mr Black here."
Hands raised again.
"Yes..." Oucirus raised an eyebrow a dirty blond girl in the third row with large blue eyes and straggly hair.
"Crucio." She said simply. Oucirus waited for her to elaborate, but she did not.
Oucirus sighed in an exasperated fashion and faced the rest of the class. "Another one of You-Know-Who's favourites. The Cruciatus curse causes unfathomable pain, which can make the strongest of men start to either cry for his mother of beg for the release of death. If left under the curse's influence for to long, a person will be driven to insanity, but unfortunately for any bugger, the curse does not cause death," Oucirus ended this matter-of-fact recital with a tone of-Lily wasn't sure if she was delusional or not-sorrow.
A moment of silence ensued.
Then, Oucirus's head snapped up. "Well?" he snapped impatiently. "There's still one curse left!"
Hands raised, one of those shaky hands belonging to James Potter.
"Potter?" Oucirus called. "Do you know the last Unforgivable?"
"Y-yes," James stammered. "The killing curse; Avada Kedavra. When cast, it produces a bright green light and it sounds as if...as if something is flying towards the victim, like wings." James shuddered. "There's no way of blocking it."
For a few tense moments, student and Professor kept their eyes locked. Finally Oucirus looked down. "Very good Potter. Ten points."
The Professor got up from his desk, moving like a long legged spider around the desk to open a drawer. He pulled out a fat, grey rat and placed it where the whole class could see it, on the front of his desk.
James and Sirius snickered, elbowing Remus and Peter (who was quite pink in the face) winking conspiratorially. People glared at them- this was not some kind of joke!
Oucirus pulled out his dark mahogany wand and pointed it at the rat. "Imperio!"
The rat perked up, sniffing the air. It turned and took a bouncing leap of the edge of the desk, landing in front of Lily. She shank back in disgust. It squeaked, and ran up Harry's arm and into his hair.
Then it started to dance.
Hop, step, hop. Twirl, step, step. Duck down, jump. The class started to giggle as it tap danced and did the salsa with a lock of Harry's black hair. Oucirus, however, was grim faced as he watched the mouse begin to break dance, spinning on its head. He reached into his drawer, wand still on the rat. People turned at a loud intake of breath from the Head Girl, some giving small shrieks as they saw what had made Lily gasp.
The cobra reared up, hissing agitatedly.
With the impact of a ship being hit by a iceberg, Lily remembered the events in the bathroom, when Harry had been revealed to be...her heart thumped painfully as if shouting "NO,NO!" She turned into her seat to see James's stiff-backed stance.
Harry turned to look at the snake, the thoughtful expression taking over his soft features. It was quite unnerving to watch, because babies are not usually able to be so concentrated and understanding, so the vision was unnatural. Lily wondered whether people would be offended if she started to pray.
She put her hands together. "Dear holy father in heaven, Budda, Ganeesh and Homer Simpson..."
Alice stared at Lily outright, alarmed.
The rat jumped off Harry's head, running to the edge of the desk and pirouetting across the gap onto Oucirus's desk, landing in front of the cobra. The snake opened its mouth, ready to strike.
"I am praying to you today, begging for forgiveness for all those times I said I didn't believe in you and begging you to save me from the horrible situation I happen to be in..."
Alice shifted across her seat, as if to get away from Lily. Lily seemed to have caught some weird new disease.
Lily opened her eyes to see if Harry had miraculously lost that look-but alas, he had opened his mouth. Lily, under the pretence of fear of the snake (ha, what a laughable thought, Lily afraid of rotten, dirty, slimy, hooked nosed-ahem- snakes), grabbed the havoc-causing infant and buried his head (and consequently his evil, problem causing parsel tongue speaking mouth) in the front of her robes. The rat, in a final suicidal act of defiance, raised onto its hind legs in mockery of the swaying snake.
The snake swayed back, about to strike, fans glistening.
Oucirus flicked his wand and the cursed rat jumped, straight into the jaws of the reptile. The cobra stopped swaying, dumbfounded at the stupidity of its prey, then upon the realising the moment might be lost, started to swallow.
Students gasped, shuddered and looked away from the engorged serpent. Oucirus ushered it back into his drawer and pulled out another rat, white this time. "That was what the effects of the Imperious curse looks like," he said clearly, eyeing the room in a sinisterly fashion. "I shall-" he held his wand aloft, "-continue."
Oucirus focused on the mouse. "Crucio."
The creature started to shake. It trembled, keeling over, twitching and curling up, as if trying to escape from something.
But it was the screaming that horrified Lily the most.
She had never known rats to scream, or any other animal for that matter, but this rodents was - without doubt - screaming. The high pitched cry was grating on her ears and nerves. She held Harry tighter, treating him like an over-sized stress ball. She couldn't stand it. What had the rat ever done to deserve this?
"STOP IT! STOP IT! CAN"T YOU SEE YOU'RE HURTING IT!" She yelled at Oucirus.
The Professor looked up, somewhat surprised, the curse being lifted in his distraction. The mammal twitched feebly, struggling to get to its feet. It looked up dazedly, almost surveying Lily in a thankful way. Surely not.
Oucirus looked away from Lily, across to the back of the room to share a look with James Potter. James nodded discreetly, understanding in some weird way what the pale eyes were searching for.
Oucirus pointed his wand at the quivering rat, eyes narrowing. "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light, so familiar to at least three of the class and the swooping sound, like a bird taking flight and gracefully flying was experienced...then the rat, with a surprised squeak, collapsed.
Dead.
Lily couldn't help but feel stupid as she managed to wipe away her tears without being seen on Harry's head.
Oucirus glared at them all, back to his original stance. "Homework, ten inches on what you saw today, due next lesson on Monday. Good day." He waved his hand in dismissal and people scrambled to pack and leave. Lily clutched Harry and slipped out the door, right after Remus Lupin, walking on the opposite side of the corridor to the foursome towards Gryffindor Tower.
Sirius thumped Peter on the back. "Don't worry mate, I bet no one would even want to bother doing that to you! But did you see it jump? Right into the mouth! Idiot!" Sirius gave a barking laugh.
Lily puffed herself up indignantly and turned to them, ready to chastise.
James however did not look impressed with his friend either. "It's not funny Sirius. Besides, who was all mad at Oucirus?"
Sirius went red, halting. "Why you..."
James made a cutting motion with his hand. "Mate, I know. But joking about it- anything like that really...well, sometimes it just doesn't fit, you know?"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Why so deep James? You've changed a lot over the holidays."
"I'm not being deep," James snarled scornfully. "But I've grown up." James looked away. The group started moving again.
Sirius put a hand on James's shoulder. "What is it? Something's happened, James. I know you. Is it home? Family? Lily? Hell, is it that baby, Harry? You're not still on about him being an orphan are you? You know nothing can change that."
Lily decided to lay low, making sure not to make any noises.
A slight pink tinge appeared on James's cheeks. "It's just- it was difficult. Standing there. Guys...I saw it happen. Me and Lily-We watched Harry's memory of them...getting killed. And Voldemort he-he-" James looked up, as if to escape facing his friends, and saw Lily standing.
He knew she had heard what they had said.
"Lily..."
A/n: I wrote this chapter on the car ride to my aunts' so be happy. I've already spent two days with the demented grandmother (she talks to herself) and am not keen to go back. I attempted to write on the 22 hours of flight Sydney-Hong Kong-London, but alas I cannot hear myself think (or imagine wonderfully creative plots) over the sounds of four engines roaring. I await eagerly for a time when I get internet access. Oh yeah, this is partly a Lily James romance (um, duh? They get married, and Harry's there!)
Sorry for the praying part for anyone who is sensitive to that matter-I don't mean anything about it and know it is not really my place to use it but...send me to hell, forget to reincarnate me and deprive me of Krispy Kreme donuts.
Please note Professor Isaac Samuel Oucirus's name very closely. The bible references in his name might be important, they might not. His initals are important and one of the names scrambled makes a word that...I'll leave you kiddies to have fun. As always, theories are welcome. AND SUGGESTIONS AND REVIEWS!