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Chapter 13

I Would Rather Be Spider Food

Remus stood in front of the stone gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's office, mentally kicking himself. With his thoughts solely on what had happened to Lila, he had forgotten that he would need a password in order to see Dumbledore. Having no other choice, Remus turned and began to walk away, hoping that he would find a teacher who might know the password. He felt that Dumbledore needed to know what happened, and was determined to tell him.

"Mr. Lupin?" a voice stopped Remus in his tracks, and he turned around to face, or rather, look down at, Professor Flitwick.

"Professor." Remus greeted him politely, silently thanking both God and Merlin. "I was wondering if you knew the password to Dum-I mean Professor Dumbledore's office. It's an emergency and I need to see him."

"I do know it, but it won't do you any good, now. Professor Dumbledore isn't here."

Remus' expression fell. "Not here? Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I cannot divulge that information. Why do you need to see him?"

Remus briefly toyed with the hem of his argyle sweater-vest, nervously. Should he tell Flitwick? Or should he, perhaps, wait until Dumbledore returned? Maybe Flitwick would relay the message back to the Headmaster.

"It's Dolohov and Rosier, sir. I witnessed them attacking a first year, Lila Mendez. She's in Ravenclaw."

Flitwick studied Remus. Unlike McGonagall, the Charms teacher did not have the stern aura that the Transfiguration teacher possessed. "What proof do you have of this?" he asked.

"Proof? They attacked Lila, just ask her!" Realizing that he was yelling at a teacher, Remus spoke more quietly. "They could have really hurt her."

"I believe you. You've always been honest before. If it is indeed true, then I think that an owl to Dumbledore is in order. Merlin knows he should be informed of this, especially if there is a chance of there being some of them on the inside. There needs to be solid proof. Where are Mr. Dolohov and Mr. Rosier?"

"I'm not sure." Remus knew he could check the map when he got back to the common room. After he had seen Lila safely back to the Ravenclaw Tower, he'd reversed the Stunning Spell on the two of them, then had quickly disappeared before they could realize he was there, for he didn't want to get into another confrontation with them. One a day was enough for him. "Professor, what do you mean by 'some of them'?"

Flitwick shook his head. "Never mind, Mr. Lupin. Off to bed with you."

Remus turned hesitantly and began walking back to the Gryffindor common room, thoroughly confused now. Did Flitwick know something about Dumbledore's whereabouts? Who were 'they'? If there was one thing Remus hated, it was when someone spoke nonsensical cryptic jargon. Why couldn't Flitwick just be straightforward with him? And why would he not reveal Dumbledore's location? Thoroughly frustrated, he muttered the password and climbed through the portrait hole, and into the Gryffindor common room.

James, Peter, and Lily were in there, along with a few other Gryffindors, including Marlene and two of her friends, who were twins named Charlotte and Natalie. Lily was helping a first year with his Charms homework. Sirius and Sophia were nowhere to be found. Remus assumed that they were most likely in their respective dormitories, still mad at each other. Or rather, Sophia was still mad at Sirius.

"I need to talk to you guys," he said as he sat down in an empty chair.

James stopped transfiguring the flames into different colors and lowered his wand. "What happened, Moony?"

"Er..." Remus looked at the first year who Lily was helping, feeling that this was not meant for his ears. Also, Remus didn't want to frighten him. James followed Remus' gaze.

"Why don't we talk upstairs?" James nodded towards the boys' dormitory. The three Marauders, and Lily, who also seemed curious, walked upstairs. As they came to the door, and peeked inside in unison with their chins atop each other's heads. (It sounds funnier in my head.) In one of the beds was Sirius and Sophia, who appeared to be engrossed in a very heavy snogging session.

"What the..." Remus pushed the door open. The two of them immediately stopped and sat up. Sophia's hair definitely rivaled Jessica's right now in turns of unruliness.

"I thought you two were mad at each other." Lily frowned in confusion.

Sophia slipped her top on and began buttoning it. "I'm not mad enough to not snog him." She ran her fingers through her tresses, attempting to straighten them.

"I don't get it." Remus scratched his head. "First you two are fighting, then you're snogging. I don't understand your relationship at all."

Sirius winked. "Don't be jealous Remy," he smirked. "There's room on this bed for you too. You know the ladies would love to see some Remus-Sirius action."

Remus made a face. "I'm really flattered," he muttered in a dry tone. It wasn't the first time that Sirius had made a gay joke. "But I really need to talk about something serious."

Believe it or not, Sirius knew when it was time to stop messing around, especially when it came to his friends. He sat up after having slipped on his shirt, but left it unbuttoned and ran his fingers through his tousseled hair. "What's going on, Moony?"

Remus leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. James, Lily, and Peter sat on one of the other beds. Once they were all comfortable, Remus told them what had happened.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sirius said after Remus was finished. "Dolohov and Rosier attacked this girl just because she was a muggle-born?"

Remus nodded. "They said that she didn't belong in this school for that reason."

"This is really getting serious," Lily said. "They could've really hurt her if you hadn't come along."

"We should really tell Dumbledore," James said, his eyes flashing with anger. "If they tried to hurt one muggle-born, chances are they'll attempt to hurt many more. Who knows, they might try to hurt half-bloods next."

"Dumbledore isn't here," Remus said with a sigh. "There's no telling when he'll return, and Flitwick wouldn't give me any straight answers as to his whereabouts, either."

"It's disgusting, the way they attack someone much weaker than them. It only proves what cowards they are. I doubt they'd be as cocky as to go after one of us in a full frontal assault," Sophia spat angrily.

Remus nodded in agreement, but in the back of his mind, he was thinking about Jessica. What if they decided to attack her at one point? Would she be able to defend herself? Or would she freeze up like she always mentioned she was afraid of doing? He shook his head. No, he had to believe that she could take care of herself if it was a matter of survival. After all, sometimes the will to survive often outweighed a person's most intense fears.

"So, Lupin managed to stop you, did he?" Snape asked in his usual cold monotone voice as he looked up from the thick book he was reading.

"Unfortunately," Dolohov said. "Evan and I tried stunning him, but the spell bounced off of his shield and hit us both."

"Sorry to say that the girl only got away with a few minor burns," Rosier added.

Snape slammed his book and threw it down onto the floor in disgust. "I'm sorry, too, for now, Lupin will have told someone. You two should have immobilized her and taken her somewhere hidden where you couldn't be seen, but you decided to do it out in the open."

"We didn't think anyone would still be out and about! There was no one down the corridor when we cornered her!" Dolohov argued before smirking in realization. "You're afraid that Lupin will tell his two blood traitor friends, aren't you?"

"I've never been afraid of those sods! No, the person we should really worry about is Dumbledore. If he finds out, then the entire plan will be ruined!"

"But the only proof he has is the girl! Maybe she'll be too afraid to talk!" Rosier protested.

"We don't know that!" Snape hissed furiously before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, struggling not to let his temper get the best of him.

"Couldn't we erase that portion of her memory?" Dolohov suggested.

Snape shook his head. "There might be a chance that someone already knows. It wouldn't do us any good, now. You two will have to be more discreet next time."

"What are you doing in the meantime?" Rosier demanded.

Snape narrowed his dark eyes at the Slytherin. "You know that Rodolphus gave me the task of recruiting. I'm doing my job to the best of my ability. Why can't you two do the same?"

"We only messed up one time!" Dolohov cried.

"Sometimes, one time is all it takes," Snape reminded him as he knelt down to pick up his book and brushed it off.

Throughout Snape, Dolohov, and Rosier's conversation, another person was listening in very closely. Penelope had been busy sitting at a small table, which held a wizarding radio, pretending to work on her Defense Against The Dark Arts essay while she heard every word that they said. While her parents were not among Voldemort's followers, they believed that he had the right idea in that the wizarding world should be purged of half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and blood traitors. These three were the type of people her parents wanted her to become friends with. She grimaced in disgust, and would rather suffer the worst torture imaginable than join them.

She finished her essay, then headed to the seventh year girls' dormitory. Her fellow seventh year females were there, as well. Some of them were already asleep, their emerald green curtains drawn around their beds. Dawn, one of Penelope's friends, was still awake, but in the process of getting dressed for bed.

"I can't understand how Snape and his friends could be so bigoted to the point where they would start attacking students just because of their blood status." Penelope plopped down onto her bed.

Dawn straightened up, pulling a large t-shirt over her head, and moving her thick ginger hair out of the way in the process. "Why are you surprised? You know what they're like."

"I never said I was surprised." She stood up from her bed to put her pajamas on. "I just hate the fact that it's people like them that give Slytherin its bad reputation. Not all of us are bigoted sods who believe that the only worthy wizard is a pure-blood."

"So, I take it you would never join them?"

Penelope grimaced in disgust, her wand gave off angry red sparks as she gripped it tightly in her right hand. "I would rather be spider food for the Acromantulas than join them," she said bitterly as she sat down again and stashed her wand underneath her pillow and lay back, preparing to go to sleep. "What about you?" She grew worried when Dawn hesitated for a moment before answering. "No way."

Dawn's parents were also blood purists. Penelope and she hadn't really started hanging out until around their fifth year. Before that, Dawn had dated Dolohov briefly, but they had broken up. Dawn had claimed it was because of their differing beliefs. Still, sometimes Penelope wondered just what was going through her friend's head. She started to ask her, but decided against it, not wanting to create any conflicts between the two of them, turned on her side, and fell asleep.

By the end of October, Jessica had managed to master The Shield Charm, along with a few other defensive spells, such as Impedimenta, the Stickfast Hex known as Colloshoo, the Conjunctivitis Curse, and the Smoke-screen Spell. When she wasn't practicing in the Room of Requirement with Remus and his friends, she was practicing with Amos and Dorcas, who were more than willing to help her.

That afternoon after class, Jessica and Amos sat near the lake across from each other with the spellbook open between them. She was attempting the spell Levicorpus, but wasn't having much luck with it. Finally, Amos suggested that she take a break, and Jessica agreed. She leaned back against the palms of her hands with her legs out straight in front of her.

"I don't know why I can't get it. I'm performing the right wand movements and even picturing it in my head. This is why I hate non-verbal spells."

"Don't worry about it too much and stop trying too hard," Amos said casually as he lay back on the grass, propping his hands behind his head.

"I'm a Hufflepuff, it's in my nature. We're unafraid to toil, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you have to stress yourself out over it. Just let it come to you."

Jessica looked towards the lake. "Maybe. It's just that I've managed to master some of the other spells quite easily, but this one stumps me."

"Maybe you need an incentive, like pretending one of your friends is someone you hate," Amos opened his left eye and grinned at her teasingly.

Jessica laughed dryly. "I think I should give Sirius a break. He's been my guinea pig this whole time. I'm not sure he would appreciate me magically dangling him by his ankles while pretending that he's Snape." James had told her what the spell did, so that was why she knew its effects. Not wanting to talk about her failures anymore, right now, she chose to talk about something else.

"What time is Slughorn's Halloween Dinner?" she asked curiously as she played with a blade of grass.

"It's not for another few hours. It doesn't start until around seven. I have plenty of time," Amos replied.

Jessica was happy when she heard that Dorcas had agreed to go. There was even a second Hogsmeade Trip last week where she had accompanied Dorcas to the robes shop in order to help her find some dress robes to wear.

"Did anyone invite you?" Amos asked as he sat up and brushed a few blades of grass from his hair.

"No, but it's all right, though. I heard the dinners are pretty dull."

Amos chuckled. "They definitely are, but the food is really good, plus Slughorn always has some interesting stories to tell."

After talking for a little while longer, Jessica tried (and failed) to perform the Levicorpus spell again along with a few other spells that seemed to stump her. By the time they decided to call it quits, the sun had begun to set over the horizon. The two Hufflpuffs had a few grass stains on their clothes as they walked back to the castle, going their separate ways. Amos went to get ready for Slughorn's dinner and Jessica went to the Great Hall.