Belladonna

Retribution

Belladonna 23

Retribution

11 November 1993

Somewhere between wrangling the water demon into its transport case, draining the old murky water, scrubbing the slime-encrusted tank, and refilling it, Ana found the distraction she was looking for. She had hoped that Professor Lupin might have something else for her to do. She was not yet ready to face Flora, and hear her praises for being wicked towards a Professor. But Professor Lupin claimed he did not.

Then he offered to let her stay and work on her homework. So Ana went to her desk, which was neither up front with the suck-ups, nor in the back with the rebel-rousers, but rather along the fourth row. She took out her defense book and worked first on that day's homework. When that was complete she moved to the assignment that she missed.

She lost all track of time as she worked. As it turned out, doing homework was a good distraction too. She had completed all her defense and history assignments, and she'd taken a few preliminary notes for her charms essay when Professor Lupin announced it was time to leave.

"It's nearly curfew," he said. "And I don't imagine you'd find my company more enjoyable than that of your friends."

"You might be surprised," Ana said as she began packing up. "Flora would have interrupted the silence every ten minutes to share the latest gossip, or simply because it became too quiet. Sadie would have pinned for one of her French boys. Hestia would have chastised them both and insist that they let me get back to work, while she enjoyed her magazine. So, without all the interruptions, I got quite a bit done.

"Speaking of," Ana reached in her book and pulled out a stack of papers. "Here are the assignments I missed. I have no expectation of you actually grading them, in fact, there's the bin if you wish, but that does not excuse me from having to do the work."

Lupin smiled. Definitely, like her mother; he supposed that could have been Snape's influence as well, but he chose to believe otherwise.

"Thank you, Ana. I will look over these."

"You will?"

"Sure. We all have our rough weeks. I certainly had my fair share in school. Bunked off a few times too."

"You? Really? But you're so...I don't know, Professor like."

Lupin laughed. "Believe it or not, but I wasn't always a professor."

Ana considered it for a moment. "Nope. I'm not buying it."

"Pardon?"

"I'm sorry, Professor. The title may not always have been official, but I bet you schooled all your friends. The subject didn't matter. I bet you were even a Prefect."

Lupin's cheeks reddened slightly.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"How did you know?"

Ana shrugged a shoulder. "I'm very good at reading people; it comes with the legilimency."

"Then I bet you'd make a fair Prefect yourself."

Ana scoffed. "I'd very politely hand the badge back and say, 'find another.'"

Lupin smiled even wider; now that sounded more like her father, and definitely not like Snape.