Unrelenting Fate: A Marauders Era AU

Chapter 41

Harriette Brighter tapped the tip of her quill against her chin as she contemplated the Muggle Studies essay laid out on the table before her.

The school year was flying by faster than she had anticipated, and it was just now sinking in that this was her last time at Hogwarts as a student.

Sighing, Harriette read through what she had written and decided that it was almost finished.

"Brighter!" Royan greeted as he dropped a stack of books on the table across from where she was sitting.

"Shh! You are going to get kicked out again, Chase!" Harriette warned, giving him a pointed look.

The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes and plopped down in his seat. "I'm Head Boy, and the librarian only has a few months left to deal with me."

"That's always your excuse!"

"If it ain't broken, why fix it?"

"I don't believe that saying applies here."

"Whatever!"

Harriette chuckled and went back to her essay.

********

James was miserable.

The world was falling apart as he knew it.

There was no hope for him now.

Pre-level N.E.W.T. classes were becoming more difficult, and he was struggling with Transfigurations to the point where Professor McGonagall had assigned him a tutor.

And at that moment, he was reluctantly making his way to one of the classrooms reserved for studying.

McGonagall hadn't told him who he was meeting, and it would be just his luck to end up with a bossy Seventh Year.

Coming to a stop at the door and taking a deep breath to steady himself, James pushed on the heavy wood and cautiously peered inside.

The sight that met him caused a gasp to escape his mouth and made his heart clench up desperately.

"Adelaide?"

The strawberry-blonde glanced up at the sound of his voice and gave him a stunning smile.

"Hello, James! McGonagall said you needed some help with a few Transfigurations," She said while laying out a set of teacups and a couple of feather dusters.

"Um, y-yeah. Yes. Right, you are my tutor?" James muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"One's heart should not beat this fast!" He thought to himself, fighting the grin that threatened to break out on his face.

Adelaide nodded her head, and a few strands of hair fell from her messy bun and into her face.

"If that's alright with you?" She asked, blushing lightly.

"YES!" James all but shouted, then cleared his throat and murmmered, "Yes, that perfectly fine with me."

A chuckle left her, and the Gryffindor could feel his face reddening.

Sitting down across from her, James eyed the objects on the table. "What are these for?" He asked, motioning to the dusters and cups.

"I thought we could go over some of the easier Transfigurations, like Teacup to Girble and Featherduster to Ferret."

James nodded and listened as she explained the wand movements and incantations with perfect ease.

Though truth be told, she could be telling him utter nonsense, and he would still listen in awe to her sweet voice.

Adelaide flicked her wand and looked up at the messy-haired boy, only to find him resting his chin on a propped-up hand, with a dazed look in his hazel eyes.

He looked adorable.

"James? Did you get that?" She asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Huh? What? Yeah, yeah, I got it!" He said, bolting upright and pushing his glasses back to the ridge of his nose.

"What did I say?" Adelaide questioned, copying the pose he was in seconds ago, a smirk playing on her lips.

James blinked. "What, uh, oh. You said something brilliant." He finally answered, waving his hand absentmindedly.

"And how would you know that?" The strawberry-blonde asked, arching a brow at him.

"Because you always say something brilliant!" James smiled at her.

"Oh." Adelaide blushed.

They stared at each other for several seconds before looking away at the same time, both their faces deep red.

"Let's keep trying the wand movements," Adelaide finally said, clearing her throat.

James nodded and watched as she started again.

*******

Wren sighed as she watched Sirus playing Wizard's Chess with Remus.

As much as she'd fought against his charm in the beginning, she had to admit that Sirius had grown on her; not that she would ever let him know that.

That boy had a big enough ego as it was.

"Curses! How did you do that?" An annoyed Sirius pouted as he watched Remus's queen land blow to his defense.

The shy brunette shrugged and leaned back in his chair, waiting for his friend to move.

Sirius huffed and glanced over to Wren with a pleading look.

"Rook to F4," Was all she said, going back to the book she was reading.

The curly-haired Gryffindor beamed at her and did as she had said.

Remus rolled his eyes and peered over at the girl as she lounged on the couch next to them.

"You could play if you wanted, Gerrwick," He said kindly.

"No," Wren said, without looking up from the copy of Advanced Potions: A Brief History.

The book was easily ten pounds, and judging by the color of its pages and the rough binding holding it together, Remus figured that it was at least several decades old.

"Whatever." He said, focusing again on the chessboard.

******

Albus Dumbledore chuckled as he flipped through the newest edition of The Daily Prophet while sitting at his desk.

The headline on the front page read - "Minister of Magic race to be a landslide victory!"

The Headmaster watched as the two pictures beneath showed the political opponents.

One was a decent-looking middle-aged gentleman waving to a crowd. The other was a man Albus knew well.

Tom Riddle's face may have grown older, but the scowl depicted in the photograph was the same as it had been in his time at Hogwarts as a student.

The paper wrote that Harold Minchum was ahead in the vote and would most likely win the election in three weeks by a huge number.

"Poor boy never did find peace," Dumbledore sighed with a shake of his head. "If only he had listened to me when I said he should get a Kneazel for company."