ᴅɪsᴘᴇʟ ᴍʏ ʙᴏʀᴇᴅᴏᴍ | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴅᴇᴜʀs' ᴇʀᴀ

Chapter 5: Business offer

"Then I could've kicked him with my feet while he rubbed himself off the floor," Black snorted.

"That's exactly what Beata told her. Emily said that if it wasn't for McGonagall, she would've tried."

"Who would've expect it," James yawned. "So quiet and always balanced."

"It's the quiet ones you got to watch, James," Sirius shrugged. "Hey, what's this?"

Friends turned towards the direction where Sirius was looking and narrowed their eyes. Someone was zigzagging among the bushes like a frightened rabbit, moving toward school gate. For a moment, unnaturally blonde hair flashed and thin naked back of the running man.

"Guys, was it Malfoy?" Black asked with a completely stunned expression on his face. "And he seems to be – "

"– without clothes on," no less surprised Potter finished for him.

"C'mon. What did naked Malfoy do at four in the morning in the middle of the forest after the full moon?"

"Maybe he's a werewolf too? Moony, you didn't accidentally bite him during your last race in the Forbidden Forest, did you?"

Lupin gulped. 

"What are you talking about, Prongs! Moony would've choke if he tasted such a carrion," Sirius protested, scratching his nose thoughtfully. "I have no strength to pursue him. Let's take this sufferer to Pomfrey and go to beds, eh?"

Groaning, creaking and quietly swearing friends rose from damp ground and, taking Remus under arms, dragged him to the Hospital Wing. Wormtail closed the procession, busily looking around in case someone else, except them, couldn't wait to walk in the open air early in the morning.

✨✨✨

Shivering, Remus descended into dungeons. Inexorable Professor McGonagall said that they would scrub Slytherin's estate under alert (to which Remus only grunted) supervision of Professor Slughorn, until good manners would be absorbed into their skin and bad thoughts won't come out with sweat.

Remus felt disgusting. His bones and back ached and muscles continually foreshadowed an imminent cramp. But Professor, looking gravely at prefect of her house, said that "Mr. Malfoy too wasn't very pleased to sprinkle his blood on the floor of the Main Hall; and a nose cannot always fully heal, even with help of magic."

Therefore, Lupin was looking forward to a painful evening in the company of Beata, Emily and Peter, that, in fact, may not be so terrible if the first two wouldn't start pestering him with questions.

"Remus!" Beata jumped off the table as soon as Moony entered Potions class. "You look worse than Parker feels," she laughed and, rubbing her hands, began to walk around the room, carefully examining the walls for some reason.

"What is she looking for?" Lupin asked, appealing to Parker who gloomily looked at her friend. "And why do you feel bad?"

"She's looking for her brains," Emily grumbled.

"Exactly! Because Parker has eaten all those that I had by saying that she's certainly to blame for what happened, that we didn't need to wave our wands and someone his fists," Beata winked at Remus. "And then we wouldn't have been imprisoned in the cold Slytherin dungeons. She can be cowardly and boring sometimes. Oh! Found it!"

"Actually," Emily said, wincing, "she's looking for creations of her sick mind. She was completely inadequate in her fifth year."

"But, nevertheless, excellent student and prefect!" the Slytherin cheerfully responded. "I painted the walls with dirty pictures during detentions, but they don't always show up."