Their Seventh Year

And now, a short chapter about everyone’s favorite werewolf.  Being as reserved as he is, it’s hard to see Remus putting the moves on any girl, but we’ll see how it goes.

Chapter 27- Keeping in Line

Remus had always been aware of his rather unique position among the Marauders.  Specifically, his position as the only one who wasn’t insane.  While he didn’t generally have much success in keeping them out of trouble- Sirius and James often managed to shout down his better instincts- he usually managed to keep them from doing anything too stupid.  He kept everyone in line.  He was the problem-solver.  For about three years, the biggest “problem” among them had been James dealing with the agony and the ecstasy of being in love with Lily Evans.  Now that James and Lily had made the transition from arch-enemies to Gryffindor’s cutest couple, Remus had the time to notice that his other friends were falling apart in front of his eyes.

Most noticeably Sirius.  He been strangely withdrawn and quiet since the night of the McKinnons’ party, and now that they were back at school he seemed more tightly wound than ever.  Since Sirius was not forthcoming, Remus had to guess what the problem was, and his best guess was the girl, the Malfoy girl who Sirius seemed so fascinated with.  Given their encounter with Malfoy at the party, Remus was more sure than ever that that was a family Sirius should not get mixed up with.  There was nothing to do but bring it up and risk getting his head bitten off.

“Padfoot, what’s going on with you and the Malfoy girl?”

“Nothing is “going on” with her.  I’ve barely said ten words to her.”

Since Sirius was not the kind of guy who usually dated girls for their conversational skills, this was hardly a convincing denial.

“Well, for someone who has absolutely no interest in her, you spend a lot of time talking to her and even more time staring at her.  What do you want from her?  Do you want to date her?  Do you want to be friends with her?”

Sirius snapped his book shut.  “I don’t know, all right?  Why does it matter?”

“Because you haven’t been yourself lately and so you’ll excuse me if I’m wondering what’s going on.  Wormtail’s going to have a nervous breakdown if you don’t stop snapping at him, and you’re not exactly easy to live with lately.”

He sighed and tossed the book aside.  “I know, and I’m sorry about it Mate.  It’s really nothing to do with Arianna.”

Remus barely restrained himself from raising an eyebrow.  They were on a first name basis?

“…at least not directly.”

“Wormtail mentioned at the McKinnons’ party you were muttering about having overheard something.  Is that it?  Did you hear something about the attack?”

Sirius’s head snapped up.  “No!  How can you even ask me that!  I would have told someone if I had known an attack was coming.  Merlin, what do you take me for?”

“That is not what I meant Sirius.”  He raised his voice just enough to make his friend listen.  “I was only asking if you overheard something that didn’t make sense at the time but might have afterwards.”

Sirius shook his head, faintly.  “No, nothing like that.  I’d tell you that, but I don’t understand it myself.  When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”  He reached for another book.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.  Do you ever feel like you’re losing control of the whole world all at once?”

Considering this, Remus realized he’d never felt like he had control of the whole world to begin with.

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Sirius was not the only one out of sorts, but Flora’s reasons for acting withdrawn were far more obvious.  While everyone else felt more or less like life was getting back to normal with the usual round of classes and activities, she had stayed very much on the sidelines.  Hardly unusual, but rather noticeable for someone who had always been in the center of things before.  Still, no one questioned it.  Lily and Alice were being the best of friends, but it was one of those things that even your friends can’t help.  Remus didn’t presume to say anything, he had never lost a parent and didn’t imagine he could have any idea what she was going through.

And so like everyone else he didn’t say anything, until he came back from the library one night at almost half-past twelve.  Their NEWTS were fast approaching, and Remus was realistic enough to know he was going to have enough trouble getting and keeping a job without mediocre exam scores.  As it happened, Flora was the only one still in the common room, sitting low on the couch with a book that did not appear to be one of their class texts.

“It’s very late.”  He remarked, for lack of anything better to say.

“Lucky for me our formidable head girl is so wrapped up in our significantly less formidable head boy that she has neglected to come down here and give me her Head Girl Glare of Death.”

“I can try to resurrect my Prefect Glare of Death for you.”  He suggested.

“That won’t be necessary.”  She did manage a small smile.

“What are you reading?”

She held up the book so he could get a look at the title.  Hogwarts, A History.

“I thought I was the only one who read that.”  He admitted.

Her mouth twitched.  “I assure you, you are.  I was hoping it would put me to sleep.”

So it was that she was having trouble sleeping.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”  She said sharply.  “I can handle it.  I just want everything to go back to normal.  I’m sick of people asking if I’m all right and feeling sorry for me.”  Before he could say anything else she went on.  “Don’t bother telling me that they’re just trying to be nice.  I know that.”  She drew a sharp breath, like she was hyperventilating.  Or crying.

Remus was as uncomfortable with crying girls as any seventeen year old male, but this was not like a girl crying over boys or a row with her friends, this was something more real and terrifying.  Wonderful, thought Remus.  First, he pissed off Sirius, now he’d made Flora cry.  He really ought to go kick some puppies to finish off the night properly.  Instead, he sat down and put an arm around her shoulders. 

“All right then.  We don’t have to talk about it at all.”

“The thing is-“ She mumbled, burying her face in his shoulder.  “- I thought my family was immune.  I mean, my family is pureblood, and it’s not like I think that makes me better than everyone else like some people, but I thought You-Know-Who was only killing muggles and muggle-borns.”

“I think Voldemort will kill anyone who gets in his way.”  He felt her shudder at the name. 

“That doesn’t look very good for us then does it?”  She whispered.  “Because I’m going to get in his way every chance I get.”

She sounded completely serious, he didn’t argue with her, he just tightened his arms slightly.  She was still, and he began to wonder if she’d fallen asleep, until she spoke.

“Remus?”

“Hm?”

“You still owe me ten galleons.”

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The first thing Remus realized was that his arm was asleep.  The second was that sunlight was streaming in the windows of , so it was morning.  The third was the person who was actually cutting off circulation to his arm.  He shook her gently.

“Flora?”

“Go away.”  She muttered, not waking up.

He smiled, but shook her a little harder.  “Flora, hey, it’s morning.”

She blinked at him, at the common room, and then sat up slowly.  Her eyes widened slightly as the reality of where she was set in.

“Don’t worry, it’s still early, I don’t think anyone has come down yet.”  He said quickly.

“Oh, right.”  She made rather a show of straightening her skirt.  “I guess we’d better…I mean…classes, and…”

“Right.”  He agreed.

She started for the stairs to the girls’ rooms, and the stopped and turned back.  “Thanks.”

He shrugged.  “I didn’t really do anything.”

“You stayed.”

Before he knew what was happening, she kissed him quickly, and was gone up the girls’ staircase.

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Remus had fully prepared himself to have some questions to answer to his roommates as to where he had been all night, and he was right, as he stepped into the room and saw three expectant grins and raised eyebrows.

“Good morning.”  Said Sirius pleasantly, in a voice he knew well enough to dread.  He wondered if they would buy that he’d fallen asleep in the library, that wasn’t so out of the question.

“I don’t know what you’re grinning at, you prat.”  He replied.

“Well, we have all noticed the fact that you did not spend last night in your bed.  So the question we must ask ourselves is, whose bed did you spend it in?”

“I didn’t spend it in anyone’s bed.”  He snapped.

“Oh, that’s kinky.”  Sirius was not at all deterred.  “If not in someone else’s bed, then where?  I’ve always thought those tables in the Great Hall…”

“Padfoot, I swear to Merlin if you finish that sentence I will curse you.”  James interrupted.  “We have to eat on those tables and I do not need the mental picture of whatever else you might think they’d be useful for.”

“I fell asleep in the common room.”  He said, hoping that was boring enough that Sirius would not be interested and would continue with the more interesting line of thought regarding alternative uses for Hogwarts furniture.

“Alone?”

Damn Peter, sometimes he just stumbled his way onto the right question.  Remus cleared his throat.  “Now, look, she’s got enough going on without the three of you and your comments.  Furthermore, nothing happened.”

Sirius shook his head sadly.  “Denial is not just a river in Egypt my friend.”

“The only thing that hasn’t happened Mate, is you getting a clue.”  James chided.  “All of us, probably including Miss McKinnon, were wondering when you were going to stop being so thick.”

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