Author's Notes: Edited 23/07/2009. Thanks to Peggy (Medieval Mystic: USER ID: 796384) for getting the beta'ed chapter back to me, which is now in place of the previously unedited chapter.
Chapter Eleven: 'Aguamenti' Issues.
That Monday morning, and the start of a new week, was probably the strangest I'd ever experienced at Hogwarts. Somehow, already, news that Remus and I were 'dating' had spread through the castle like wildfire.
I didn't know for certain where the rumors had began; but I had a suspicion all the same. After all, I'd told Heather, Michelle and Stephanie what had happened between Remus and I down at the lake the instant I'd gotten back to Ravenclaw tower that evening. Then, when I was studying with my friends in the library on Sunday afternoon, Sirius confirmed the hunch I had that Remus had told his own friends what had transpired between us, when he whispered to me, "Now, don't you go taking up all Remus' time with snogging and stuff. We'd still like to see him too, thanks."
I let out a laugh as Sirius walked away with a smirk on his face, knowing I had the approval of at least one of the Marauders. Not that what Sirius had said would be much of an issue; even though I liked Remus a lot and was looking forwards to spending more time with him, I had no intention of neglecting my school work or friends and I expected he'd feel the same too. In all actuality, I suspected our relationship would stay pretty much the same as it had been before our conversation by the lake, with the added exception that'd we'd be kissing a little more than when we were 'just friends'.
Therefore, I was slightly surprised when I left Ravenclaw tower that morning to find Remus waiting for me, insisting he would carry my book-bag down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Honestly, Remus. It's fine," I told him, trying to snatch back my satchel from his grasp.
"And what sort of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't carry your books?"
The sound of him referring to himself as my 'boyfriend' filled my heart with warmth and a grin broke out over my face, causing me to let go of my bag and concede to letting him carry it.
Along with Heather, Michelle and Stephanie, we made our way down to the Great Hall; meeting up with the other Marauders at the doorway.
"Good morning, Sirius," Stephanie said, turning her attention to the object of her affecting and grinning at him.
"Morning, Steph," Sirius replied, slinging his arm over her shoulder as they strode into the Hall together.
"Merlin, if this is what they're like now, imagine how bad it'll be after he invites her to Hogsmeade," I whispered to Remus.
"Yeah, and if James gets his wish, Lily will be joining them, too. So then it'll only be Peter who isn't dating anyone."
"Oh, now that's no fun. Poor Peter," I said with a small sigh. "Are there any girls he's interested in? Maybe we could help him out a little?"
"No, since Elizabeth Johnson turned him down last year, he hasn't really shown an interest in girls," Remus informed me.
I bit back a wince, remembering how Peter had invited the Hufflepuff prefect to Hogsmeade with him last year, and she'd publicly humiliated him in front of half the school by saying no.
"Well, I can't say I blame him," I returned empathetically as we reached the Ravenclaw table and Remus handed me back my book-bag. "Thanks for carrying that for me. But honestly, you don't have to do it all the time."
"I like to though," Remus insisted. "A gentleman should treat a lady with the respect she deserves."
"Well then, it's a shame I see no gentleman here. Nor a lady for that matter," a mocking voice from behind us said.
Remus and I span around to find Snape glaring at us, a sneer curling his lips and distorting his sallow features.
"I'm quite sure no one asked for your opinion, Snape," Remus spat back. "And if you don't mind, I was saying goodbye to Jenn."
"I'll leave you to it then," Snape agreed, and I was surprised by his civility until he turned to me and said, "I'd watch yourself though, Knightly. Hanging around with the likes of him, you're bound to catch fleas."
Not willing to rise to his taunts, I turned my back on Snape and took Remus' hands.
"Have a good breakfast," I said, stroking my thumb across his palm. "And I'll see you later in Arithmancy."
"You too, Jenn," Remus returned, our run-in with Snape forgotten as he gazed into my eyes. Then, as I was about to turn and take a seat, Remus cupped my cheek with his hands and softly pressed his lips against mine.
For an instant, I heard the sound of wolf-whistles break out from the direction of the Gryffindor table, but then all thoughts were forgotten as Remus' hands trailed up my jawline and into my hair.
Just like on Saturday at the lake – and the numerous times since then – the feel of Remus' lips on mine sent waves of energy coursing through my body and my knees became weak. Each kiss was sweeter than the last, but today, they were also filled with an animalistic passion that hadn't been there before. As Remus gently nipped on my bottom lip, I swooned in his arms, and everything around us ceased to exist.
An hour later, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I was having trouble concentrating on our assignment about the characteristics of Inferi. My mind kept drifting back to how Remus and I had parted that morning at breakfast.
"Jenn, you're daydreaming again," Heather said with a smirk on her face, as she nudged me in the ribs with her quill.
"Sorry, I was just …"
"Thinking about Remus kissing you?" suggested Michelle. "Yeah, we guessed that from the fact you've made no notes, and instead written down his name surrounded by little love hearts on your parchment."
"Oh, Merlin," I sighed, balling up the page I'd doodled on and taking out another from my bag.
"Don't worry, you can just copy mine to catch up on what you've missed," Stephanie reassured, sliding her notes over to me, with an understanding grin on her face.
Thankfully, the rest of the lesson passed with less distractions, and by the end of it, I felt confident I'd been able to complete the essay on Inferi that'd been set as homework.
After that, we had a quick break, during which Michelle checked with Philip Oliver about what time Quidditch practice was scheduled for that night, and we checked out a few books from the library for our Defence homework.
The four of us then made our way to the third floor for Charms, which was with our head of house, Professor Flitwick.
As always, he was pleased to see students from his own house and greeted us cheerily as we entered the class room, taking seats at the front; just opposite his desk.
The lesson itself was particularly taxing, as we were asked to non-verbally conjure water from our wands using the spell 'Aguamenti'. Despite the fact I'd already mastered non-verbal spells, this specific one was giving me some difficulty, due the the wand movement needed to successfully create the jet of clear water. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the flourishing arm movement right, so by the end of the class I still hadn't made any real progress with it.
Feeling tired, hungry and frustrated, I trailed behind my friends as we made our way to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Stupid spell," I muttered under my breath. "If I ever need water, I'm just going to find a tap or transfigure it from something else."
"That's not the point, and you know it, Jenn," Heather insisted. "Besides, what if you're somewhere without any taps, nothing to transfigure and all you've got is your wand."
"Then I'll just go thirsty, won't I?" I replied with a pout, as I flopped down onto my seat and poured myself a goblet of pumpkin juice.
"Aguaevanesco," Michelle said, pointing her wand at my goblet and speaking the counter incantation for 'Aguamenti', which had the opposite effect of the spell we'd been learning in Charms, and made liquid disappear.
"That's not fair," I complained, reaching out to pick up the jug of pumpkin juice again. However, I wasn't quite fast enough, and before I had a chance to grab the handle, Heather had said "Accio juice jug," and the very thing I'd been reaching for flew into her hand.
"It's the only way you'll learn," Stephanie insisted with a reassuring smile.
Pouting again, I drew my wand from my pocket, pointed it at my now empty goblet and said 'Aguamenti'. However, still nothing happened.
By my fourth attempt, I was growing increasingly annoyed. My soup had gone cold, my arm ached and my throat was dry from speaking the incantation so much.
"Please, can't I just have a drink and finish my lunch in peace?" I begged my friends. "I promise, I'll practice again tonight, but right now all I want to do is eat."
"Alright then," Stephanie conceded, obviously the kinder of the three, and served me a fresh bowl of soup, one that was still warm. "Just make sure you do, okay?"
Nodding vigorously, I gulped down the goblet of pumpkin juice Michelle had allowed me to have, and then greedily began spooning soup into my mouth.
*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time I'd finished eating, it was just about time for classes again and that meant Michelle, Heather, Stephanie and I would be parting company, as two of us had Arithmancy and the other two had Herbology.
Looking over at the Gryffindor table, I saw the Marauders and Lily stand up, then she and Remus made their way over to us as James, Peter and Sirius headed for the doorway.
"I'll see you at dinnertime," Stephanie called, dragging Heather behind her as she ran to catch up with Sirius.
Letting out a small laugh, I waved my hand at her, and then turned to Remus and Lily.
"Have you two had a good morning?"
"Yes thanks," Lily replied. "Remus here helped me out in Transfiguration, so that I wasn't subjected to James' version of 'tutoring'."
"Let me guess, it involved hardly any work and a lot of him asking you out?"
"Got it in one," Lily replied with a lop-sided grin, before turning to Michelle.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say she's warming to him," I told Remus.
"You wouldn't think that if you'd heard what she said to him in Transfiguration. I distinctly heard the words 'Not even if you paid me a hundred Galleons',"
"She'll change her mind eventually, you mark my words."
"You're starting to sound like Professor Vablatsky, you know," Remus chuckled, referring to the Hogwarts Divination teacher, who was distantly related to Cassandra Vablatsky; author of Unfogging the Future.
Compared to how disastrous that morning's classes had gone, Arithmancy flew by in a breeze. Professor Vector asked us all to continue with the assignment she'd set for us last week on the magical properties of the number seven.
Taking out my quill, ink pot and a roll of parchment, I turned to Remus, Lily and Michelle; who were already exchanging ideas on the task.
By the end of the lesson, my frustration with how badly I was getting along in Charms was all but forgotten, and I made my way down to the Great Hall for dinner in a cheery mood.
"Are you doing anything later?" Remus asked as we reached the doorway to the Great Hall.
"I've got a bit of homework to do, but that's all really," I replied.
"Fancy meeting up in the library and doing it together, then?"
"Yeah, I could do that. I know Michelle will be at Quidditch practice, and I'm sure Heather and Stephanie won't mind if I don't work with them for one night."
"Well, we can all work together, if it makes things easier. I doubt either Sirius or Stephanie will object to spending a few hours with each other."
"Good point," I agreed. "Just as long as you all don't distract me from my Charms homework. I'm still having trouble getting to grasps with the 'Aguamenti' incantation."
"I heard. Michelle told me how she, Heather and Stephanie wouldn't let you have anything to drink at lunch time, so you'd be forced to use the spell."
"Isn't it mean of them?" I insisted with a chuckle. Even though I found it frustrating, I still appreciated the fact that my friends were trying to help me out.
"It won't be if it helps you learn the spell," Remus pointed out, but then he grinned as though he'd just gotten an idea. "But why don't I give you a hand with it later. As Lily said earlier, I'm a much nice teacher."
"Sounds good to me," I returned, beaming at him.
Remus and I then parted ways, with a long drawn out kiss, before heading off to our respective house tables for dinner.
With a dopey smile on my face, I sat down next to Michelle, hoping tonight I'd finally get to grips with 'Aguamenti', and a lot more too, if I was lucky.