Sarah Potter and the Mauraders

Part 40

The class was dead silent. So silent that you could have heard a pint drop. Sarah and Jack waited anxiously for a reaction. Any reaction.
Slowly, the class started to murmur, and the murmurs increased until Marlene raised her hand. Then, the murmurs stopped completely all waiting for her comment. Sarah looked at Jack, both of them inwardly steeling themselves against some negative comments and Jack said: "Yes?" "I won't lie, I hated werewolves since childhood. I thought that they were monsters killing innocent people..." She hesistated for a moment and Sarah closed her eyes expecting the worst to come, and Marlene continued: "But now that I see, I actually see, that Jack is so nice and caring I think that not all werewolves can be bad."
"Well, that was unexpected but it's better than expected", Sarah throught wryly, "it sounds like Marlene has a crush on Jack." There were approving murmurs from the others and a Gryffindor girl also added: "And werewolves can't be that bad when he is able to produce a patronus." "Please", Malfoy scoffed, "werewolves are beneath us. They're animals who can't control themselves. How many people did you kill, Jack?" Sarah could kill Malfoy right here and now but she took a deep breath and calmed herself. Before Jack answered, she shot back: "How many people did you kill, Malfoy?" Malfoy's eyebrows shot up and before he said anything, there was a knock on the door. "Enter", Lukos said.
Dumbledore came in. Lukos' reaction was priceless. If the situation wasn't so serious, Sarah would surely laugh at his facial expression. Lukos and she both knew that the bet was now over now with Dumbledore's entrance. The winner was now set as they both know which side Dumbledore will take. "Hello class", he greeted them cheerily, "I heard that you learned the patronus charm today so I dropped by." "He is a werewolf", Malfoy shouted accusingly as if Dumbledore hasn't realised that yet. "Idiot", Sarah murmured silently to Jack but Jack was too busy to stare at Dumbledore in awe. Sarah then realised that Jack once mentioned that Dumbledore was his big idol and he always wanted to meet the headmaster of Hogwarts. It never occured to Sarah that meeting Dumbledore was not a daily occurance. "On the other side maybe I was too often in his office", Sarah thought dryly.
"I'm aware of that fact, Mr Malfoy. And I also know that Miss Porter here was trying to open your eyes to the fact that fear of the unknown can be overcome by getting to know these unknown matters. I know that you cannot turn off your fear from one day to another but you live now with the knowledge that werewolves aren't bad. You cannot jump to conclusions from one bad experience and generalise it to all people. I hope you all realised that", Dumbledore addressed the class, "well, time is almost over, class dismissed." 
"I hope that you and Professor Lukos have a moment left", Dumbledore turned to them. Sarah only nodded not really comprehending what he wanted. "Well, then I'm going first", a dejected Jack said to her, "I'll wait for you outside." However, before he could leave, Sarah grabbed his hand and said: "Stay. I know that you wanted to meet Dumbledore so here's your chance." "But...", Jack protested softly but was cut off when the last student left the classroom and closed the door. "I think that Miss Porter here won the bet, don't you think, Professor Lukos?", Dumbledore asked him with twinkling eyes. Lukos looked like he would rather kill himself than admitting that and only grunted in response. "I believe that according to the bet it would be 100 points to Gryffindor, isn't that so, Miss Porter?" Sarah nodded in response and Dumbledore continued with a twinkle in his eyes: "From my side, I'd like to add an additional 50 points to Gryffindor for trying to make people more understanding towards werewolves and another 50 points for an outstanding patronus." Lukos made a choked sound behind them and Sarah also couldn't really believe what she just heard. "200 points?", she thought unbelievingly. She could only manage a "thank you".
Dumbledore then turned his glance to Jack: "Mr Thompson, I suppose?" "Yes sir", Jack said and straighted out his posture, "may I say that it is a huge honour to meet you, sir". "Relax, Mr Thompson", Dumbledore laughed slightly, "I'm not that strict. You have my thanks." "Jack was a really big help", Sarah added and continued: "He said that he really wanted to meet you since you're his role model." "Sarah", Jack hissed embarrassed about the revelation. "Is that so?", Dumbledore asked with his teinkling eyes, "well, I do believe that you still have lessons to attend to, Miss Porter. If Mr Thompson wants to, we could continue our conversation in my office." "Yes, sir", Jack said with shining eyes. Sarah surpressed her giggle. He looked like a nine year old boy getting his favorite toy. "How is your mother, Mr Thompson?", was the last thing Sarah heard when they slowly walked away.
Then, it was only Lukos and her in the classroom. He looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face. "This isn't over", he suddenly hissed at her and his face changed into an ugly shade of red.