Infamous | Fred Weasley x OC |

Chapter Twelve

I can't pretend that hearing Allie talk of her family of muggles didn't play on my mind. I tried to let it go, along with everything else from my past, but it was hard to ignore considering it wasn't the only thing about Allie Caswell that didn't add up.

It was hard not to think about them all. Being back at Hogwarts without them didn't feel right. Sitting alone now in the compartment at the back of the train where we would always sit felt emptier than I could have imagined. And knowing that a boy who looked just like James and a girl who looked just like Gemma were sitting somewhere on the same train would have been comforting had they both lived. If I was able to joke with James about how Harry was doing so well, clearly following in Lily's footsteps rather than his, and tell Gemma how Allie was the spitting image of her, perhaps everything would have been alright. But that was the thing. I'd never thought I would see how Allie was the spitting image of her mother.

The train ride back for Christmas was one I looked forward to as a student but now, I would have rather stayed at the castle over the holidays. I would have done had I not had... some things to attend to.

I lingered on the train a while after it had pulled up at the platform, hoping to avoid as many students as possible. I dare say they wouldn't appreciate seeing their professor in such close proximity to their parents. The things I could tell them...

I sighed as I stepped off the train and onto the platform. I had hoped everyone would have been gone by now but no. And of course, it had to be her that was still on the platform. She really did look just like her mother...She was the living embodiment of her. But how? It shouldn't have been possible...

*

"Girls," Sarah sighed, placing a hand to her forehead as Amy burst out laughing and I spluttered saltwater out of my mouth and onto the platform, "Girls really..." She sighed, "Could we have just one day where you don't cause a scene, Amy, I thought I'd-"

Amy and I shared a look as Sarah just stopped talking mid-sentence. She seemed to freeze completely. Her eyes widened but nothing else had changed. She just wasn't moving anymore.

"Is she okay?" I whispered to Amy. She furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"Er, Earth to mum, you there?" Amy asked, laughing nervously as Sarah just stared straight at us. It took me a while to work out that Sarah wasn't looking at us, she was looking past us. Amy and I turned around at the same time to follow Sarah's eye line.

It was impossible to miss what Sarah was staring at. Most people had already left by this point. The only person left standing on the platform was Professor Lupin. I smiled warmly and waved politely but he didn't seem to see. He cast his eyes to the ground and started to walk off.

"Come on girls," Sarah said lowly and held out a hand to us, opening and closing her palm to usher us along. I didn't argue with her, not even Amy argued with her. She was being so weird it was probably best we didn't argue.

Sarah walked all the way through King's Cross without saying a word. She looked paler than she had before and kept glancing sharply over her shoulder like she was worried about being followed. Something weird was definitely going on. Why had she looked so weird after seeing Professor Lupin of all people?

"Urm, Sarah?" I said, finally mustering up the courage to ask her about it once we'd reached the car. Sarah had slid into the driver's seat and buckled her seat belt quicker than the rest of us. Amy had taken her time getting into the car, having called shotgun on the platform she didn't have to worry about losing the front seat to me and I was taking my time, to sum up the courage to ask Sarah why she being so weird. She kept tapping her hands impatiently on her steering wheel and glancing in the side mirrors.

"How do you Professor Lupin?" I asked innocently. Sarah caught my eye by looking in the rearview mirror. Her eyes looked dark.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered and tore her eyes away from the mirror almost as soon as the words 'Professor Lupin' had left my mouth. Amy frowned and scoffed lightly.

"Allie means that guy on the platform," She said, "The one you were staring at," Amy said, leaning closer to her mum. Sarah turned around sharply to face her daughter and flashed her a look that we had both seen so many times that we knew meant 'back off'. Amy had received many of those looks during her lifetime.

"I wasn't staring at any man, Amy, don't be cheeky." Sarah snapped and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, "I've told you, I don't know what you mean. Now put your seat belts on so I can go." She added as an afterthought, her voice softening but her grip on the wheel never slacking.