Chapter 8 – Shifting

Disclaimer: Yes, of course I own Harry Potter. Just like I'm the inventor of Toaster Strudel…

A/N: It's been a long time since the last chapter, so I thought I'd post the last bit here to remind y'all.

I looked over my shoulder to see Lupin.

"Bla-Miss Knightly, may I speak to you?"

"Right now, Professor?"

His eyes darted around, and he answered shakily, "Yes, I think so. It's rather…urgent

(And now, the story begins!)

Sam was looking at me and back to Professor Lupin with a questioning face.

"Come on, Professor! It's Sunday morning, and Blake just sat down to breakfast. Can't it wait?" she said.

"Well, Miss Callahan, it pertains to a topic that we discussed last night. I found…more information for her," Lupin said, trying to put it delicately.

"School will just have to wait," Sam said. "Poor Blake needs a little bit of rest. Always out late with her prefect duties and waking up early to get her work done. It's no wonder that that her bad mood has lasted for a month!"

At this, I kicked Sam lightly on the shin, trying to get her to stop talking. "It's okay, Professor," I said, "I can come now."

"No, perhaps Miss Callahan is right, Bla-Miss Knightly. It can wait until later," he said. Realizing that his hand was still placed on my shoulder, he removed it quickly. Not before, however, stroking it ever so slightly, whether on purpose or by accident, but it was just enough to send shivers down my spine. He turned on his heel, and walked away, attracting many curious glances, for teachers do not often come to the house tables.

I turned back to the table, letting out a small and involuntary sigh. I hoped everything was okay…he looked so worried. I also thought about how those small worry lines on his face made him even more attractive. I can't believe that only an hour before, I was kissing those perfectly crooked cupid's bow lips that were now formed into a nervous frown.

While I was lost in my dreams, Sam said quietly, "It's Lupin."

"The man who was just here? I do believe that was Lupin…on the tall side, kind of graying hair, yeah?"

"That's not what I meant, Blake," she said through her teeth.

"Well, what do you mean, then?"

"You have a crush on Professor Lupin!"

"Sam!" I cried out, causing a few people to look over. I lowered my voice quickly and continued. "Sure, just like you have a crush on Snape!"

"Jeesh, you don't have to get so defensive. What's with you this morning?" Sam grumbled. "Okay, I got it. You don't have a crush on anyone, especially not Lupin…even though you never take your eyes off the man," she added in a barely audible mutter. I chose to ignore this.

"Thank you," I said. "I think I'm done with boys for now." I've moved on to men.

Wait – did I honestly just think that? I'm not dating Professor Lupin. It was just…the heat of the moment. Nothing more.

I looked up at the enchanted ceiling and found nothing but a gray mass of sky. The days had grown colder, and you could tell that it was nearing winter time. A permanent frost had settled over the grounds, and the giant squid would soon be trapped under the frozen lake. The air affected the people within the castle, as well. Students were beginning to feel the pressure of their classes, and the holidays seemed unbearably far away. Friends were snapping at each other, and half of the new schools year's couples had broken up. We were stuck in the deli grind, desperately trying to find a way out. Most were unsuccessful.

Am I still waiting?

After breakfast, Sam and Eddie decided to take their brooms out to the quidditch pitch. Eddie was a chaser for the Ravenclaw house team, and Sam was rather good from playing with her older brother, who was a Healer-in-training at St. Mungo's. Being boyfriend-less, I tagged along.

If Quidditch were a game of kickball that I played at my muggle elementary school, I would probably be chosen second to last. Chosen right before the kid with the crutches.

Eddie went to the Ravenclaw locker rooms and found an old broom for me to ride, a Cleansweep 7. The happy couple played a one-on-one game while I drifted right above the ground, skimming my sneakers along the semi-frozen grass. Absentmindedly, I rose higher up until I saw a clear view of the grounds. There was little life to be seen, save for a dark shape near the Forbidden Forest. Drifting to the mass of now bare trees, I saw that the dark shape was in fact a black dog, much larger than ordinary. Now, I never took Divination, but if my memory serves me correct, that is a common form of the Grim. A death omen. Of course, I don't believe in that rubbish, but perhaps I could ask Professor Lupin about it…

With that I remembered the "something urgent" that he told me about this morning.

I flew closer to Sam and Eddie and shouted about something important that I had forgotten to do. Sam looked skeptical, but Eddie yelled that he would put the broom away for me. I nodded in thanks and left the broom on the ground, then raced to the castle.

I was thoroughly out of breath and still pink-nosed from the bitter outside when I finally ran up the stairs to Professor Lupin's office. He was sitting at his desk, mulling over papers, but he burst out laughing when he looked up.

"What?! What's so funny?!" I asked, a little irritated,

"Nothing," he chuckled. "You should just see how you look right now." I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the window and saw that my hair was half out of its ponytail, my face was bright red, the Ravenclaw scarf I was wearing was lopsided, and I had seemed to have lost one of my gloves while running. I groaned at the sight.

"It's alright," he said, cheeks nearly matching my own. "I think it's cute."

We both looked to the floor. "So, er, you said something was urgent," I said, breaking the silence.

His head snapped up. "Right, right. Of course. I have something to show you. It's in one of the broom cupboards on the second floor."

We made our way down in an apprehensive muteness, walking side by side. When we reached the door, he stopped and faced me. "Soon after you left this morning, Professor Sinistra came by my office. She said that she thought she heard what sounded like a boggart in this cupboard. She thought I'd like to know, in case I wanted to use it in class. Well, since we finished with boggarts, I thought that I'd just tackle it myself. But…it didn't turn into what it normally does – a full moon."

"What did it turn into?" I asked, not sure what he was getting at.

"Let me show you."

He put his arm in front of me and gently moved me to the side. He flicked his wand at the door and it sprung open.

It was a mirror. No, that's not right, because I wasn't in front of it. It was an exact replica of me. The imitation Blake was dressed exactly as I was this morning, and a stony expression on her face. She stood, blank eyes staring up at Lupin.

"Wh-what?" I gasped, shocked and feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience.

"I was wondering," Lupin said, peeling his eyes away from the boggart, "if you would… see me." He stepped aside and nudged me forward. My body twisted away and the boggart churned and squirmed, exactly as it did last time. I waited. So sick of waiting. I waited. The demon remained a shapeless whip of gray. I looked over my shoulder at Lupin, who merely shook his head. I stepped back and the boggart popped into me again. Lupin held up his wand and whispered, "Ridikulus." I burst into a cloud of smoke.

We stood there for a moment, staring into the nearly empty closet.

"What does it mean?" I finally asked.

"I have no idea."

"…You're afraid of me?" I said.

"I don't think I am," he said. "No, definitely not afraid of you."

"Hey!" I said, getting an idea, "You can ask Dumbledore!"

The sudden intensity in his voice was startled, and I gave a little jump. "And tell him what, Blake? Tell him that I'm afraid of a sudden that I should have no connection with whatsoever? What would he think about that, huh? Damn, Blake, I thought you had some common sense!"

I quickly looked down, trying to hide my flushed face. He's right, that was so stupid. I'm ignorant and –

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I said that. You're brilliant. It's just…I don't know how to deal with this."

"Do what you did last time," I said quietly, "I'll just be one of your students."

"I can't do that again," he insisted. "Not again. I couldn't live like that. Couldn't ignore you."

We stepped away quickly as a group of students appeared, climbing the staircase. Thankfully, they passed the floor we were on.

"This is probably not the best place to do this," I said, nearly laughing at the idea of a professor and a student fighting about a broom cupboard.

"Right," he said, "right."

"So what do we do now," I asked.

"I don't know," he said, "but let's find out together."

A/N: Agh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry (teehee) for the long wait. I've had half this chapter written for about two months, and the other half for two weeks. I know it's not a good excuse, but I've been wicked busy (going on vacation, being in two plays, science projects, midyear exams…). Please bear with me, because I've still got a whole lot of story left in me! Please review, and tell people about it.

P.S. Happy full moon, everyone (It's the 22nd). I know I'll be listening for those midnight howls. ; )