Note: I've set up a new poll! So if anybody has a spare moment feel free to go and vote! =)
This chapter is dedicated to AzaleaDatura and is complete with 2 of her favorite OCs, because her messages have made me smile!
There are spoilers for both Blood and Without a Trace in this chapter! It's a rather short update, I know, but it seemed a good place to end!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this piece of writing.
6: Freaks
"They're staring at me."
"No they're not."
"They are! They're all staring right at me!"
"They're really not..."
"Liar!"
Chester Burton turned to looking searchingly over his shoulder.
"Don't turn around, for Merlin's sake!" Teddy Lupin hissed, giving his best friend's arm a firm tug. When Chester ignored him he folded his arms moodily across his chest and muttered: "See, they are! I told you so."
As he scowled over at the crowd of first years who were awaiting the arrival of their teacher just down the corridor, Chester sucked in a thoughtful breath.
"Well..." he began somewhat reluctantly, "they might be...just a little bit..."
"They know, don't they?" Teddy muttered, gaze upon his shoes. "They know all about what's happened..."
"Nah, they don't." Chester insisted as he made a particularly rude hand gesture in the other students' direction, at last making them turn away. "I mean who's gonna tell them? You? The Freak's brother? The Freak herself?"
"Don't call her that, Ches."
"Why not? She is a freak, you said so yourself..."
"That was before I knew they were carting her off to Mungo's! She's mentally ill..."
"Totally mental!"
"Mentally ill, Ches."
Chester paused thoughtfully, eyes coming to rest upon a familiar looking first year stood just behind the little crowd of snoopers.
"Well Morgan's not gonna say anything, is he? I mean...if I were him I'd not want everybody to know my sister was a nutcase...oh look, somebody's been playing dress up with a troll again; it's wearing a wig and everything!"
Teddy looked up, grimacing at the sight of Orion Lynch making his way towards them, his flock of fellow Slytherins walking along behind him.
"It's shocking, don't you think," the two Gryffindors heard him comment loudly, "the sort of freakish psychos they let into this school."
The soft hum of murmured conversation died down until the corridor fell completely silent.
And then, to Teddy's shock, a brave voice snapped:
"My sister is not a psycho!"
As Orion Lynch rounded on Morgan Cantrall, causing the surrounding first years to back away a good few steps, Chester let out a soft groan.
"Well done Morgan," he muttered. "Now he's gonna squash you like a bug..."
"Your sister?" Orion snorted, as Morgan's glare faltered somewhat at the sight of the burly third year taking a step towards him. "She's your sister? Merlin, imagine being related to a thing like that!"
"Shut your face!" Morgan shouted, voice a pitch higher than usual, and Chester muttered:
"Uh oh..."
"What did you say?" Orion cried, taking another step forward causing Morgan to back off until his back hit the cold stone wall.
"He said shut your face!" Teddy called, reaching into his pocket and drawing out his wand, "Now back off, else we'll have to rearrange it for you!"
"We?" Chester hissed questioningly, and Teddy gave a tiny nod.
"What's wrong with that?" he whispered back. "You're the one who always wants to hex him into oblivion."
"Well yeah...but...there's like five of them..."
"Shh!"
Orion Lynch turned to regard the two Gryffindors with a sneer.
"I don't suppose we should be surprised, really." he announced to the crowd. "I mean...they're bound to let freaks in, they're already paying one of them to be here..."
"I'll tell you what's freakish, Lynch," Chester called as he too drew his wand. "You waltzing around making pathetic comments about Teddy's dad, when in reality it's your dad who's pathetic. How long did he have to spend in Akzaban after Professor Lupin kicked his arse and got the Aurors to drag him off to rot in a cell?"
Teddy fought back a smile at this question, though if he were honest the phrase kicked his arse was probably more than a small exaggeration.
The Slytherin's face contorted furiously, though with both boys stood with wands in hands he was forced to refrain from physical retaliation...
But then Morgan sniggered.
"Think it's funny, do you?" Orion bellowed, rounding on the boy and reaching to grasp hold of him by the shoulders, pinning him against the wall. "You think it's funny?"
Within moments the tip of a wand prodded the Slytherin in the side of the neck.
"Let go of him." Teddy demanded, attempting to ignore the nerves that assaulted his chest at the sight of Orion's friends stood mere steps away.
This is no big deal, he tried to convince himself, gripping the wand with all his might, I stunned a Death Eater a few weeks ago, this should be a walk in the park...
To his relief, Orion released Morgan and turned to sneer at him again. Leaning forward until their faces were mere inches apart, the taller boy whispered menacingly:
"I'm going to get you, Lupin. And when I do, I'm going to do more than just rearrange your face." And with that, Orion turned on his heel and stalked away back down the corridor, leaving Teddy to let out a sigh of relief.
As he sidled up to his best friend, Chester let out a low whistle.
"Well that was a close one!" he commented excitedly.
"Way to go and taught him, Ches," Teddy muttered irritably. "Now he wants to murder me."
"You taunted him too..."
"I threatened him, that's entirely different, he was picking on Morgan."
As he turned to regard the first year with a reassuring smile, Teddy found that Morgan appeared to be positively traumatized by the whole experience; he stared at Teddy with wide, petrified eyes.
"Are you okay?" Teddy asked, pocketing his wand. The assembled first years were still silent, watching closely.
"I...I'm fine." Morgan whimpered, and Chester sniggered at him.
"Well you don't look fine," he told the dark haired boy with a grin. "You look like you're about to piss your pants..."
"Shut up Chester." Teddy muttered, but once again he was ignored.
"...But then again that's what most of us look like when Orion Lynch tries to slam us through a solid stone wall! What are you, stupid? You're lucky Teddy had the balls to jump in and save you..."
"Just shut up, Ches!"
"I'm only saying, he should be more careful!"
Teddy shot his friend a withering look before turning back to Morgan and trying again:
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked; only for Morgan to shuffle backwards a step and insist:
"I'm fine! I'm absolutely fine! I didn't need you to...to get involved..."
"Do you have any idea who that was?" Chester cried, throwing his hands up in disbelief. "That was Orion bloody Lynch! He eats squirts like you for breakfast! In fact he eats squirts like us for breakfast too! And Teddy's gonna be dinner because he helped you, you should be grateful...what are you shaking for? We just saved you!"
Morgan drew in a deep breath and took a step forward towards Teddy, his expression far from grateful.
"Stay away from me!" he cried shakily, fingernails digging into the palms of his hands as he attempted to steady himself. "Just stay away from me, you hear?"
As Chester openly gawped at him and Teddy felt a horrible sinking sensation in his stomach, the younger boy turned to face the other first years, pointing a quivering finger at Teddy's chest.
"And you all stay away from him!" he shouted, as the other students began to whisper amongst themselves. "Like I told you, he's up to something! Something bad! Moirai said so! She knows things!"
"That's a load of rubbish!" Chester interrupted furiously, but Morgan simply shook his head.
"It isn't! I heard her! I heard what she said! It will start with flames! And the dark creature's child shall arise from the ashes, and bring terrible retribution down upon those who accepted his father not! And it shall end as it began, in the flames of the child's wrath! It will start with flames, she said! And who was it who set Gryffindor Tower on fire? He did! And who is the child of a dark creature? He is! Stay away from him, all of you! He's dangerous!"
As Teddy felt himself being consumed by pure mortification and hurt at the countless wide eyes and whispers that followed, Chester grabbed hold of him firmly by the arm.
"You're just as cracked as your sister is!" the muggle born accused, jabbing a finger into Morgan's chest, making the boy wince. "This is ridiculous! Come on, Ted, don't listen to this nutter, we're going to be late for History!"
And with that, Teddy found himself being marched away down the corridor, and as he numbly put one foot in front of the other, he was sure that he could feel every single pair of eyes watching him go.