"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin, I was – " Emily stopped shortly after seeing Severus Snape in place of their Dark Arts professor, her eyes moved over to her brother's who had been staring at her, looking just as oblivious as she was, "Sorry. I must have gotten the wrong room, erm – have I?" Emily awkwardly looked around and noted the various instruments on the shelves and the usual stacks of interesting artefacts scattered around the windows that were now shut and the glass cabinets that decorated the walls.
"Sit down, Miss Potter, before I deduct ten points for your tardiness."
"Right. Sorry." Emily sat down next to Daphne, still feeling unsettled by the fact that their real professor was not there with them. "Sorry – Where's Professor Lupin, sir?"
"Ill." Professor Snape quickly answered, not bothering to waste any time further on a useless discussion. "Nothing life-threatening, I assure you. Do you have any more detours to share with the class before I start my lesson, Miss Potter?"
"No, sir."
"Good." He spun on his heel and began to write with an enchanted piece of chalk that wrote for him while he prepared the projector. "As I was saying before being interrupted, today we shall discuss – " He tapped his wand on the contraption and on the blackboard glowed an image of a dark-furred creature that bared a set of canine teeth, "Werewolves."
From the desk over, Emily caught wind of Pansy whispering to Millicent, "I'd bet you anything that this is because of the howl from the other day – "
"Despite what you children may have heard," Snape crudely snapped, "There are no werewolves that reside within the Forbidden Forest, at least not ones that I will be discussing today, and with that being said I'd like for all of you to discard these foolish whispers that will no doubt just make anyone lose what little brain cells they have left." His dark eyes settled on Emily, "Am I being clear?"
"Yes, sir." The class said in glum unison. Emily remained quiet and carried on to focus on the lesson. At the table behind her, she heard the familiar sound of Hermione's sleeve ruffling down to her arm whenever she raised her hand to be noticed by the professor. "But, Professor Snape, we're not yet supposed to discuss werewolves today – we're due to study Hinkypunks this week." She told him, utterly confused by the sudden change in syllabus.
Professor Snape paid no attention to her while he flipped through the pages of the textbook. "Fortunately for me, Miss Granger, I am teaching the class today, therefore I have free reign of which direction your studies go. If you have no more questions to disrupt my class, then I urge everyone to turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four."
Emily swiped out her book from her bag and flipped to the right page, her nerves going on edge by the imagery of a wolf and a werewolf set side by side to be used in the comparison. She looked up and grimaced when she saw Snape had been watching her reaction.
"Can anyone tell me how to distinguish between a werewolf from a grey wolf?" Professor Snape asked the class, slowly walking around the room, his presence mildly making their anxiety jump off the edge. Emily looked back at her book and quickly noted the size and shape of the snout, the thickness of fur, the shape and overall appearance of the eyes, and most noticeably the size of each creature.
Emily looked behind her and guessed correctly that Hermione had raised her hand to answer. Usually, she would love to compete with her, though today seemed not to be the time for a game of wits. Professor Snape intentionally ignored the Gryffindor and proceeded to flicker through the slides of the presentation he showed on the board, "Anyone?"
Don't do it, Granger, don't – "Sir, a true werewolf differs from a common wolf by the length of their snout," Emily heard her say quite defeatedly, "They have shorted snouts and much more human-like eyes along with a bigger, longer build that makes them able to walk on their hindlegs – "
"This is the second time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Granger." Snape rudely warned her, "Maybe you can also share with the class how you take pride in being an insufferable know it all." A deafening silence ruled the air. Emily clenched her fist at how Snape was treating a student, her tongue begging to be allowed to say something in retaliation. Daphne had planted her hand on Emily's wrist, her brow raised at her while she mouthed a little plea for her to keep quiet and not get herself in trouble.
Begrudgingly, Emily followed her suit and kept quiet. Ron Weasley, however, had better plans in mind. "You asked us a question that no one but Hermione knew the answer to, but seeing that you intentionally disrupted your own class, maybe you should just tell us what we need to know instead of shaming your students when they know the same information that you do. Sir." His voice was steady and clear, loud enough to be heard and admired by his classmates.
Emily had to bite her lips together to prevent her from sharing the same fate as Ron. Professor Snape stared cruelly at the Gryffindors before sneering at them, "Congratulations, Mr. Weasley, you've earned yourself a night's worth of detention. I believe the bedpans in the hospital wing need polishing; best be done without magic. Does anyone else want their schedule to be busy? No? That's what I thought. Focus on the presentation and be quiet."
Over the course of the werewolf presentation, Emily had snuck a look behind her and met Ron's angry gaze that still blazed with loathing for their professor. She sneakily raised her palm upwards to him to give him a high-five to which he laughingly reciprocated, the sound of their hands colliding gathering the attention of some students and, unfortunately, Severus Snape.
He had clicked the projector off and flicked his wand over to the windows to allow the light to seep in, "Miss Potter, is there a reason for you to disturb my class?" She straightened her posture and dusted off her palm, "Erm, sorry – there was a mosquito, but if you could tell me, how do we differ a housefly from a mosquito? Is there a difference in the snouts? Do both insects do that thing with their twiggy little hands – "
Emily's mindless rambling was cut short by the ringing of the bell, signalling the end of class. Professor Snape, thoroughly unamused, presented everyone with homework. "Prepare an essay on the physical and psychological differences between the common wolf and a werewolf, how to kill and recognize them. Two rolls of parchment. And for Miss Potter, prepare four rolls of parchment."
They were then dismissed and let out of the room after he had taken the first leave. Daphne shook her head, a smile gracing her face, "You couldn't just leave him alone, hm?" She asked her. "Fair enough, I probably would have done the same. Do you want to the Great Hall for the free period or do you have other plans?" Daphne asked, eyeing the three Gryffindors that waited for Emily.
She nodded towards them and excused herself, promising to join her and the others for dinner instead. Emily waved Daphne, Draco, and Blaise goodbye while she remained in the classroom with her brother and his friends. She grabbed her bag and joined Harry's side, "That was cheerful, wasn't it?"
"Did you have to mock him?" Hermione asked, looking quite entertained by Emily's earlier question. The Slytherin shrugged, acting nonchalant over the whole incident, "He seemed like an insufferable know it all. I thought he would know the answer." I mean, he is a know it all. And he's insufferable. He's taught me long enough for me to correctly make these assumptions.
Harry nudged her elbow to tear her away from the conversation Ron and Hermione were having about Snape. "What do you reckon happened to Professor Lupin?"
"I honestly don't know." Emily answered, sneaking a peep at her watch, taking note of the date, "I do hope he feels better soon." Hermione nodded, frowning towards the projector that was perched on the teacher's table, "I second that."
"Me too." Ron added, leading the way out of the room. Before the group could go any further away, Harry had excused himself and his sister to another route, letting Ron and Hermione proceed to study hall for their free period. Emily wanted to question this abrupt change however, she eventually got the idea when they returned to the classroom. Harry nodded towards the farthest door, his smile crooked, "How about we pay him a visit? Couldn't hurt, right?"
Might as well do something exciting before Ancient Runes starts next period. Emily wholeheartedly agreed, leading the way into the small hallway past the door, knocking gently on the last door that led to Professor Lupin's private office.
They spotted the shadows of his feet growing closer towards them, eventually coming to open the door and welcome them inside. Whatever Snape had meant by the term ill, he was not lying nor exaggerating. Describing their beloved professor to be pale would be an understatement since his complexion nearly grazed the bridge between white and grey while dark circles hovered below his kind eyes. And in the short time, he had gone from teaching, he had lost enough weight to show for it due to the robes that hung loosely over his frame.
If he hadn't been smiling, the twins would worry even more than they already were.
"Emily, Harry," The professor bellowed, greeting them like they were his own favoured niece and nephew, "What brings you two here?
"We wanted to make sure that you were alright," She said to him, holding back the urge to ask if he wanted them to bring him soup from the kitchens, or maybe a Pepper-Up potion, "Are you alright?"
Remus Lupin smiled sweetly over the two. He grabbed a cloak and a wooden cane from the corner of his office, "Why don't we go outside for a walk? I reckon it's a nice day for fresh air." The three of them made it out of the castle and roamed the rolling green hills of the campus, eventually resting on the rocks of the Black Lake, letting the sweet, fragrant breeze blowing along their necks.
"Concerning my condition," The professor said, resting his cane against the boulder, "I assure you that I am very well, and will continue to become even more so in the passing hours. It's nothing to be worried about, I promise." Emily felt him to be honest, seeing that it seemed to be a chronic condition, he would no doubt bounce back. Harry, however, was not entirely convinced.
"You don't look well, professor."
This made Remus laugh to himself, his eyes briefly meeting the twins', "Your mother said the same thing when she first saw me in recovery." Harry felt his spirits lift upon hearing this comparison. "You have to come back, you're the best teacher we've had – "
"- I will." Remus promptly said, his focus still maintained on both of them, "I appreciate the flattery, but I trust Professor Snape will do some justice to the subject in his own... fashion. But enough about me, I've heard what happened to your brooms." His tone deepened to show concern over their incident.
When Emily and Harry had woken up, they were informed by Hermione that their brooms had been blown out of the course and met their splintered demise, courtesy of the Whomping Willow. At the moment, it was the least of their worries seeing that they were hospitalized, but now that they were walking and talking with no worries on their shoulders, the weight of their destroyed broomsticks plagued them constantly.
"Madam Hooch said it would take a miracle for them to be fixed." Emily said, remembering what she had said to them, "She did tell us that we could use the school brooms in the meantime. I don't know how useful they can be in a match against the Hufflepuffs, though." She looked up at the professor and quickly saw the look of worry he had for them. "If you heard about the brooms, then you've probably heard about the dementors."
"I did." Professor Lupin confirmed. "And I want you both to know that it isn't a sign of weakness. It never is with dementors. They are...the foulest creatures born to the earth, and having to sprout from death and decay, there's no wonder why that is."
"But why is it that they seem to affect us differently? It's almost as if they're drawn to me and Emily." Harry asked. The professor frowned, his eyes falling to the black waters of the lake, "It is likely because of the true horrors that lurk in your pasts. Dementors are leeches for sorrow and grief, and I suppose they find you two to be at a surplus for their needs."
Lovely. "Good for them, rubbish for us." Emily jokingly noted the grin she had forced quickly diminishing when she remembered the voices that whispered in her head when they had been attacked. "Harry and I... We think we hear our parents each time a dementor gets close to us. Is that normal?"
Lupin became tight-lipped over the matter, making it unknown to the twins whether he had no answer for them or if they had triggered a terrible amount of grief to resurface. Harry looked over to Emily who nudged him to say something in turn. "You could teach us, professor." He blurted, "Teach us how to defend ourselves, like how you did on the train – "
"Harry, I'm no expert in the field."
Emily scoffed, "They're dark creatures. And you know how to defend yourself against them. If we put two and two together, that makes you the most qualified professor for defence against the dark arts that Hogwarts will ever have." Her little comment made Remus laugh jovially, his eyes crinkling at the heart-warming level of familiarity in the girl's words. "I often forget how strongly you resemble your father, Emily. A dangerous combination when paired with your mother's temper."
"We don't need to talk about that." She quickly dismissed, wincing at the attempt at discussing her incident with Astoria Greengrass. "Will you teach us?"
The twins looked at them with pleading eyes, equally desperate to end once and for all the suffocating hold dementors had over them. Professor Lupin sighed when he saw the unyielding determination both Harry and Emily had to proceed with their extra-curricular work. "Very well. I will do my best to teach you two what you need to know, I'll send an owl once I've recovered fully. I'm afraid my illness has chosen a very inconvenient time."
~
The Great Hall, Christmas Break.
Harry was alone at the beginning of the holiday. The majority of Hogwarts had either packed up to return to their homes for Christmas or, like his friends, had gone for their Hogsmeade weekend which he was not permitted to go.
Restless and bored out of his mind, he pulled out the marauder's map from his jeans pocket and unwound it over the table in the empty common room. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry whispered, tapping the tip of his wand onto the aged parchment, feeling positively giddy to see swirls of charcoal black ink appearing on the paper.
Harry remembered and took to his memory the instructions Fred and George had given him in order to successfully sneak into Hogsmeade Village without a trace, and now was the perfect opportunity to test the madness of their genius.
After fastening his boots and securing the invisibility cloak over his person, he left Gryffindor tower and proceeded to the third floor in search of the One-Eyed Witch statue which he seamlessly located thanks to the map. Harry tapped the witch's hump thrice before whispering the spell, "Dissendium." Revealing a passageway from the floor below it, proving to be narrow and earthy much like a hand-dug tunnel. Harry began to wonder if anyone had ever been trapped in the tunnels.
I'll probably be just fine.
He smiled to himself before descending into the path, activating the light from the tip of his wand to guide his way to Hogsmeade. Harry decided to lock the map away and let the tunnel do its job, "Mischief managed."
Throughout his walk, he wondered how exactly was he able to walk in an underground tunnel that was sourced on the third-floor of the school, leading all the way to the village. But then again, it's Hogwarts. Magic finds a way, I suppose.
Ten minutes later, the earthen pathway began to smell heavily of confectioner's sugar and treacle. Harry confirmed that he was now below the cellar of Honeydukes. He made sure to check the secureness of his cloak before surfacing from the tunnel, the last thing I need is to be escorted back to Hogwarts and explain how I got here in the first place without anyone finding me.
Harry pushed the wooden trapdoor and climbed upwards, accidentally knocking over a few empty crates. As he stood in the sugary aroma of the cellar, he dusted himself off and navigated his way out of the room and into the shop of which he was instantly bewitched.
He was greeted by shelves upon shelves of toffees that varied in shades of honey, coffee, caramel, and chocolate; cubes of luscious, shimmering coconut and fruit jellies sat in glass jars; cages filled with peppermint toads, caramel salamanders, and chocolate frogs hopped away happily in their territories; and chocolate bars of mouth-salivating sizes lined the walls, appearing to be in variations of milk, dark, and white chocolate with fillings of praline, nougat, caramel, marzipan, strawberry jam, and other variants that made Harry overwhelmed.
I can't believe Emily chose to go with Malfoy instead of enjoying Hogsmeade. She must be out of her mind. Harry then remembered just how wealthy Malfoy's family was, and how he loved to spoil Emily, if anything, he'd probably buy Emily her own candy store.
The centre table of the shop contained a curious assortment of odd sweets that Harry spotted to have attracted Ron and Hermione. He approached them and quietly listened to their conversation while they browsed items like acid pops, tooth-tickling treacle, cockroach clusters, squirming sour worms, and blood-flavoured lollipops.
"D'you reckon Harry will like these?" Ron asked, picking up a tin of the blood-flavoured lollipops to which Hermione immediately stared blankly, "Those are for vampires, Ronald – "
"Ah, so better for Emily, then?"
Hermione held back a laugh and decided to pick up the jar of cockroach clusters. "Hush, her friends might overhear us. Maybe these for Harry?"
I don't think so. "Please not that one." Harry finally spoke, making Ron jump in surprise, dropping the lollipops on the table while Hermione merely winced and looked over her shoulder. She cautiously stretched out her hand, "Harry? Are you here?"
He stuck out a finger and poked her gloved hand. "Hi." Hermione laughed and looked over at Ron who glowed beet red. The three of them left the shop and walked around the village to enjoy the winter scenery. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Harry revealed himself and tucked the invisibility cloak into his jacket pocket.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, clearly worried for his safety.
"I was bored?"
"Sounds about right," Ron snorted, amused, "Come on, let's go back – Wait, Emily's not with you, is she?" He asked, eyeing the empty space next to his best friend, momentarily fearing for his own safety if Emily had heard him insinuating her to be of vampiric origin.
"No, she left yesterday."
Hermione's brows furrowed, utterly confused, "Left? Left for where? Professor McGonagall chaperoned us today, she couldn't have gone home." Harry explained that his sister joined Malfoy's family for the holidays. This did not lessen the confusion Hermione had over the matter, he continued to stare at her oddly until she explained herself. "Well, Emily's always spent Christmas with us. I mean, not really, but we always see her during the holidays."
"What do you mean always?" Ron guffawed, "During our first year, you went home. It was only last year that we were all together. But even then, Emily was sort of not herself, so really, you haven't really spent Christmas with her. Why do you even care?"
"I don't!" Hermione defended rather hotly. "I just think it's rude that she didn't say goodbye before she left! It's common courtesy."
Ron and Harry shared a look. "She said goodbye to us." The boys said in unison, making her even more flustered. "But you were busy returning books at the library – she would have said goodbye to you too!"
"Whatever, let's just go back to Honeydukes." Hermione flatly said, leading the way after making sure Harry remained invisible between her and Ron. They ended up purchasing a good amount for themselves and as Christmas presents for their friends. Harry had spotted Hermione and Ron holding a gift box of blood-flavoured lollipops, deducing that it was their joint present for his sister.
Good luck to both of you.
~
Edited 05/02/2022