CHAPTER NINE
Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes had been found in a broom closet together on Tuesday, and by Friday that, and the Howler Dorcas's father had sent on Wednesday, disowning her for her 'disgraceful decorum' was still all anyone could talk about.
Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were walking towards the school library after dinner Friday evening when they stumbled upon Ambrosia Harkins and Thomas Nott. Despite the fact, the older Slytherin had a foot and eighty pounds on her she had her sleeves rolled up and her wand pointed at the tip of his nose.
She was also frowning, something that didn't look right. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her eyes were narrowed. Nott looked amused though; like he was silently calling a bluff, like he didn't believe she would curse him. And honestly Remus, and Peter, were with him, none of them believing that smiley Ambrosia Harkins could hurt a fly.
"Ambrosia?" Remus asked. The brown girl jumped a foot in the air. She turned to Remus with darkening cheeks and flashed him an innocent looking smile. Remus felt his brain go fuzzy as his heart thudded loudly against his ribcage. If Sirius had been there to see his eyes momentary glaze over Remus knew his friend would joke about how if it were up to him, all 'Harkins' would have to do to get away with murder is flash him a quick smile; and thought he would tell his friend to shut up Remus would know he's right.
"Remus," she greeted, slowly putting her wand back in her pocket, though she kept her hand on it; like at any moment, she'd pull it back out. "Peter. Hey."
"What're you doing?" Peter squeaked, shuffling around, using his pudgy suausge fingers to pull the sleeves of his robes over his knuckles.
"Nothing," she said with a strained smile. Remus noted that she was a terrible liar. "Nott and I were just, uh... talking." Remus raised an eyebrow. Talking? Sure.
It was silent for a moment. The quite was tense as Ambrosia's gaze, with a tight smile that still didn't look quite right, kept flittering from Nott to them.
"Do you want to come to the library with me and Remus?" Peter asked sweetly, though as Peter peered at him from the corner of his eye Remus could see a familiar, slightly smug look in the smaller boys apple green eyes. Ambrosia looked at Nott through the corner of her eyes for a long minutes before sighing, "Sure."
Though she didn't move right away, instead, she continued to look at Nott with a tense smile and slightly murderoussmile look in her eyes.
It had taken a whole two minutes before Ambrosia moved to stand next to Remus, situating the werewolf between herself and Peter. The three fourth years passed Nott, Remus caught Ambrosia still starring at the older boy as they walked by and wondered how a look that mean could come from Ambrosia Harkins, the sweetest, most kindest girl in the world.
They'd only gotten a few feet away when Nott called out loudly to Ambrosia. She turned to him, "Make sure to tell those two Bulldykes I said hi."
It'd happened so fast, Peter would later tell James and Sirius, Remus and Ambrosia both simultaneously pulled out their wands and hexed Nott. Remus had fired a Jellylegs Jinx and Ambrosia a Bat-Boogey Hex, leaving the older boy to be attacked by winged balls of mucus while he laid helplessly in a heap on the floor.
Ambrosia turned to Remus, who was already looking at her shocked; she, Miss. Perfect, had perfectly hexed an older boy-almost like she'd done it a dozen times before. Peter stood to the side akwardly cheering his friend on as Ambrosia, with a wide smile, lifted her head to meet Remus's eyes.
Remus felt his blood turn to fire as Ambrosia looked at him proudly. Her eyes burning and teeth sparking. She'd never looked at him that way before, the look was somewhere between he'd just don't the most incredible thing in the world and he was the most incredible person in the world-no one had ever looked at him that way.
And as he look back at her he didn't just see the sweet herbology need he'd come to fancy, but instead a fiesta Herbology need ready to defend her friends honor, all the while looking perfect.