CHAPTER TWELVE
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-: sixth year :-
── IN WHICH SHE STRESSES
. . .
Erin had been rather quiet throughout the rest of the night and into the next day, not saying much to any of her friends during any of it. They were rather worried, but when Theo told them what had happened, they seemed to understand.
With Flint jeering at her at breakfast the next morning, and then lunch, Erin's silence seemed to be over as she walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, the sound of Marcus Flint's laughter echoing in the hallway, having followed her from the hall.
"Is he set on making my life a misery?" The girl erupted as she sat down beside Cynthia, voice echoing slightly and the Ravenclaw hitting her on the shoulder. "No, I'm being serious. I would be absolutely over the moon if I could see him try and deal with this."
"I hate to say it, Erin, I really do, but you sort of brought this upon yourself." Daniel said, turning around in his seat in front of Cynthia. "Flint wouldn't have such a hard time dealling with this, because he wouldn't want to completely re-arrange the team."
"Montgomery if you don't shut up I swear to Merlin I will hex you into oblivion." Erin pulled her wand out of her pocket, pointing it in the direction of the Hufflepuff boy. "I don't care how crazy people think my idea of re-arranging the team is, Flint never cared about actually having a good team. They were all mediocre at best, because there is no way that Montague and Warrington could actually do anything but fly into each other.
"Miss Tonks, I must ask you to calm down." A rather calm voice above Erin's head said, and the girl looked up, seeing Lupin stood there, robes as shabby as they were at the feast.
"Sorry professor, Marcus Flint is just a complete and utter ar-" Cynthia promptly clamped a hand over Erin's mouth, Lupin nodding at her and heading towards the front.
"I understand that Quidditch is a rather competitive game, Miss Tonks, however violence towards your friends-" He gestured at Daniel, who grinned, "-and those who aren't, isn't tolerated." Lupin said, walking towards the front.
"Sorry sir." Erin had clawed Cynthia's hand away from her mouth and she rather meekly pulled the list of those wanting to attend Quidditch tryouts out of her bag, Lupin sitting on the edge of his desk.
"You see, Professor." Daniel took the silence as an invitation to talk, and glanced back smirking at his friend. "Erin here takes Quidditch very seriously. However her idiot of a cousin found himself rather hurt by a Hippogriff on Monday. And it's safe to say she's not taking it well."
"Daniel I don't care what he says I will throw you off the Astronomy tower." Erin whispered to her friend, before straightening up and clearing her throat. "I apologise, Professor. It just doesn't help when every seeker who wants to try out is an absolute numb-"
And once again, Cynthia had clamped her hand over her friend's mouth, Lupin shaking his head slowly before turning a blackboard around, one word written across the middle.
Instantly, quiet chatter broke out across the classroom, and shivers seemed to run up everyone's back. Dementors, they were learning about the horrible creatures that had invaded their castle to look for an escaped convict.
"That's enough, thank you." Lupin said, as Erin's mind wandered back to the train, the scene painted in dark red and blue, remembering as Oliver Wood had pulled her onto his seat. And remembering just how much she had wanted to wipe that look off of his face by beating them in the first Quidditch match.
But without Draco, it seemed that wouldn't be happening, and Erin slumped against the desk, head in her arms. "Miss Tonks?" She sat up, nodding, and Lupin continued. "The topic of dementors is usually covered later on in the year, however, as many of you are aware, the school is currently surrounded by said creatures, and considering their nature, I believe that it is a greeat importance that you understand these vile creatures and how to deal with them when it comes to it. Please open your books to page 263."
The class did as he said, and were promptly greeted by a moving picture a dementor on their pages, moving towards them. Usually, Erin was rather good at Defense Against the Dark Arts - her 'O' in her OWLs proving it perfectly well.
But with dementors, it just seemed so hard to concentrate. And not even the promise of several practical lessons in the future seemed to cheer any of them up.
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