Turning Saints Into the Sea
Chapter Twelve: Ringo and Paul: Reluctant Rabbits
Melanie pushed a long, blue lock of hair out of her face irritably. She had been practicing for three nonstop hours on Memory Charms (Obliviate!) but all she'd been able to do to the couple of rabbits sitting in front of her was make them hop into things. She wasn't sure whether or not they did this from lack of memory, since they didn't strike her as particularly intelligent creatures.
Okay, focus, Owen!
Assuming the correct stance, Melanie summoned all the anger and frustration in her body before leaping forward and shrieking, "Obliviate!"
The rabbit on the left was thrown back from the spell and hit the wall, where it fell to the ground, squeaking piercingly.
Gasping, Melanie ran over to the rabbit, calming it down. It regained its composure in a matter of seconds, bounding over to its mate and resumed eating the lettuce.
Why are we practicing Memory Charms on rabbits? It's not like their attention span is more than a couple minutes.
A knock on the door caused her to whirl around. It was after midnight in an empty classroom; who else would be awake at this hour?
"It's open," she called.
Remus Lupin tentatively stepped inside the room.
Her body jolted as if she had just touched a bare wire, but pleasantly so, and she felt her face heat. "Hey! What are you doing here?" she babbled, incredibly aware of how his eyes flew over her body, taking in her disheveled appearance with slight humor.
"I was patrolling the halls and heard you scream. What are you doing up so late?" he questioned, walking towards her.
Melanie edged away. "I can't get the Memory Charm right and the test is tomorrow. I can't manage to fail another assignment in Charms."
Remus pulled out his wand. "Okay, since we're practicing on animals instead of people, the effects will be slightly different. For example, an Obliviated animal will tend to just slump over, aimlessly staring into space, but that's what most animals do. You can truly tell when you shine a light in their eyes and their pupils don't dilate."
Melanie looked confused. "What does the dilation of pupils have to do with Memory Charms?"
Remus thought for a moment. "Animals don't really retain very much information. At least not in comparison to humans. The charm on their brains knocks out common bodily functions, such as the ability to move major muscles or breathe very well, or as I said, the dilation of pupils."
Melanie was shocked. "That's horrible! We're basically taking away the will to live of these poor creatures."
Remus shrugged. "If you want to pass the class, you do the work. That's how I see it."
He turned to face the parchment, a grimly concentrated look on his face. Melanie watched him intently.
Damn, he's tall.
Indeed, Remus towered over her 5'9" frame. To Melanie, this was a novelty. Sirius was taller than her by a mere two inches, while Remus had a good five or six over her. She felt a smile work its way on her face as she imagined having to actually reach to kiss him.
"Obliviate!" he cried, twirling his wand around in a complicated manner. The rabbit on the right looked stunned for a second then slouched over.
He turned back to her, a proud smile on his face, and said, "See? You just have to focus."
Like I'll be able to focus with you in the room.
"Thanks," Mel said, grinning at him. He fidgeted awkwardly, shrugging off her words and backing up before hitting a desk, which tilted dangerously.
Fixing it, Remus stammered, "It's no big deal. You try."
Melanie turned to the rabbits and, picturing the impressed look on Remus' face, performed the spell.
The remaining rabbit jumped out of the way as the spell flew past it. Melanie groaned, stamping her foot and throwing her braid over her shoulder.
"I was so close! Why did it have to move?"
Remus looked at her curiously, walking over. "Well, you don't seem to be very intent on hitting the rabbit. Are you okay?"
I'd be one hell of a lot better if you'd stop standing to damn close.
"I don't want to hurt the rabbit," Melanie said, glad her excuse was half true.
Remus nodded. "Ah. Well, I suppose for this spell emotional detachment is crucial. You can't think of the rabbit as a creature with a soul or memory, more of an object."
Melanie looked at the rabbit gloomily.
A smile started at the corner of Remus' mouth. "You didn't name them, did you?"
Um. . .
Reluctantly, Melanie revealed, "The one on the right is Ringo, and the one on the left is Paul."
Remus' smile broadened. "Ringo and Paul? You mean like the Beatles?"
Melanie smiled too. "Yeah. My dad's a huuuge Beatles fan. I grew up listening to them. I have an emotional connection to the band members, so whenever I name stuff they usually jump to mind."
Remus rolled his eyes, laughing. He leaned against a desk casually and took off his robes, pushing up the sleeves on his shirt. His lower arms were thin but muscular, with veins running all up and down them. She wasn't sure why, but Melanie found his arms extremely arousing.
"So try to think of Ringo and Paul as objects number one and two, instead of their names. Don't think about anything else but obliviating all their memories," Remus instructed her. "Now assume the position."
Melanie obediently sank into an odd stance, sticking her arm out and watching Paul — or object number two.
"Okay, here's where your problem is," Remus said, coming over to her and adjusting her body. "Your elbow is too straight. Why are you so stiff?"
Melanie stared at Remus, his statement ringing through her head. She took a deep breath, trying not to laugh.
Remus thought about what he'd said, then sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, can I say anything without it being interpreted as a sexual innuendo?"
Melanie burst out laughing, her knees buckling. She leaned onto him slightly, pressing her head against his shoulder as she tried to regain composure.
She eventually raised her head, realizing at that moment how close they were. Her hands were on his shoulders, her body almost pressed up against his and her face a mere four inches from his.
He was looking down at her. She couldn't look away. His eyes were just so . . . hypnotizing.
Hypnotizing . . .
A memory of that night flashed in her mind in fraction-of-a-second segments.
"Happy Valentine's Day!"
Welcoming embraces.
Tender kisses.
Everlasting love.
"There's someone else."
Sudden change.
"Someone else?"
Heartbreaking agony.
All-consuming hatred.
Bitter rejection.
End of relationship.
Melanie broke away from Remus quickly. "It's late. I should be getting some sleep," she muttered, fighting tears.
"Mel?" he asked, coming towards her. She pushed him away gently.
"No. Thanks for your help," she said, her voice breaking as she packed up all her books and sprinted to the Common Room.
As she climbed the steps frantically to her dorm room, the tears starting falling down her face defiantly and she felt her throat close.
Flinging open the door to her room, Mel put all her stuff away and collapsed on her bed. She drew the curtains, pulled her comforter around tightly, and cried quietly, the hurt from that night still etched in her heart.
The next morning, Lily was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. She spooned a scoop of oatmeal into her mouth, before gagging and spitting it out; much too hot for her taste.
"Hey, Lily," Remus said, sitting down next to her and toasting a slice of bread with his wand.
"Good morning," she greeted, handing him a pat of butter, which she knew he liked on his toast.
"Thanks," he said. "I wanted to talk to you about Mel."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Mel? Not Sam?"
"Yeah. I know it sounds weird, but . . ."
"No questions asked," Lily agreed. "What's the problem?"
"Yesterday I walked in on her practicing the Memory Charm during rounds. I helped her with it and we were having a pretty good time, but out of the blue she basically closed up and ran out of the room as fast as possible. I don't think I did anything wrong, but I'd hate to have done something unintentionally that would make her hate me," Remus confessed unevenly.
Lily thought for a moment. "What exactly were you doing when she started acting weird?"
Remus groaned inwardly. What had happened wasn't something he had wanted to divulge to anyone, even Lily. "She'd been laughing at this thing I said and kind of hugged/fell on top of me and then she looked up and then she got this weird look on her face and ran out," he said quietly and in a rush.
Lily looked confused, before a knowing expression dawned on her. "What color are your eyes?"
Remus, caught off-guard, stuttered, "I-I don't know. Hazel? Brown?"
"Brown," Lily said sadly. "And they'd probably look very dark in the dim lighting last night. Ah, Remus, it wasn't anything you did that bothered Mel. You just reminded her of Mitchell."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Mitchell?"
Lily glanced around the table before leaning in, her voice lowered. "Mitchell Bradslain. Her ex-boyfriend. He had really dark eyes that she just absolutely adored and . . . well . . . every time she sees them they still remind her of him."
"Mitchell Bradslain . . . Isn't he that 7th year she was dating last year? I thought they broke up a while ago," Remus asked.
"They did," Lily explained, "Mel just never really got over it. He really, really hurt her."
Remus felt the chill in Lily's voice as she talked. It was as if the topic was forbidden, and it pained her to mention it out of courtesy of Melanie.
"What did he do?" Remus probed. "I knew it was really bad but all I heard were rumors. Really wild ones."
Lily's face clouded. It was evident she had never forgiven Mitchell for what he did to Melanie. "Mitchell was incredibly nice to Melanie during their relationship. Sweet and attentive; everything a boyfriend should be. She truly fell head-over-heels in love with him, and they dated for a little over eight months. On St. Valentine's Day he broke up with her. He told her there was someone else and that was the end of it. No explanation, no 'I'm sorry,'."
Remus was silent, shocked that any person would do something like that, especially to Melanie. "And he never said who the other girl was?"
"No," Lily sighed, "He didn't. I wish he had though. They would have been so dead-"
"Hey, guys," Sam said, sitting down next to Remus-who gave her a quick peck on the cheek-and started eating a bowl of corn flakes. "What were you talking about so passionately, Lily?"
"About Mel and Mitchell's breakup," she said sadly, grabbing an orange.
Sam visibly stiffened. "What about it?" she asked shakily.
"Just how the bastard never even told Mel who he cheated on her with," Lily said, lazily peeling the fruit with her wand. "I wonder who it was . . ."
"Probably someone who already graduated," Sam said quickly. "How did this come up in conversation?"
Remus scrambled up. "I really need to be finishing up my homework," he said loudly, hurrying away. "See you guys later."
Lily and Sam sat in a stunned silence as they watched Remus depart. ". . . That was weird," Sam drawled suspiciously. "How did it come up in conversation, anyway?"
Lily shrugged. "He said that Melanie had started acting weird around him and wondered if he'd offended her in any way. I told him she'd probably been thinking of Mitchell and the breakup." Lily chewed her orange thoughtfully. "I can't believe it still bothers her."
Sam shrugged. "Breakups can really scar a person."
"Yeah." Lily finished up her orange and smiled. "We should be getting to class. It's almost nine." Sam nodded in agreement and the friends walked out of the Great Hall, to the Charms test no one was prepared for.
