Magnificoooooooo Distractions

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Over the next week, Lily tried very hard to meet with Professor Slughorn about the missing vial of Wolfsbane potion, but for the first time Slughorn seemed to have a full schedule. He rushed from the classroom following lessons, hurrying to his office in a most distracted manner, and he regretfully declined Lily's request for a tea, citing a "very busy schedule" and requesting that they talk in one month's time about another possible date to have one of their "delightful chats". The one time that Lily went down to the dungeons to visit the professor unannounced, she was welcomed into his office, only to find that he was there brewing with Severus Snape already. "Extra-curriculars," he said stand-offishly, shielding the lavender potion's recipe from her carefully as Severus stirred the cauldron, his eyes staring quite piercingly at Lily, even as she backed out of the office, saying she would come back at another time when Slughorn was less busy. 

"You ought to have outed him right there!" Sirius announced, "I bloody would like to see the look on his face if you had!"

Lily shook her head, "I didn't think it wise. Merlin knows what he'd have done if he thought that we had anything to do with him being caught at stealing that potion!" She looked sagely at Remus.

"True enough," James said, nodding. "Good call, Evans."

Sirius sighed, sinking over the arm of the couch in the Trophy Room Passageway. "I'm so tired of walking on eggshells around that greasy twat." He rubbed his eyes. "Deserves a good boot up the arse is what he deserves."

"Might enjoy that too much," Peter muttered, concentrating on his Tarot cards and divination stones, trying to divine something more about the danger that the werewolves were in because of Fenrir Greyback's access to the Wolfsbane Potion, but there was no forthcoming answers coming from the universe.

Remus looked down at the half-eaten bar of chocolate he was working on and dejectedly wrapped the foil about it and shoved it into his pocket, his anxiety over the whole situation stealing even the joy from his chocolate. He leaned his back against Sirius's legs as Sirius sat up, his back against the arm of the couch. 

"Don't worry, Moony," Sirius said, rubbing his shoulders.

"It's awfully hard not to, isn't it, though?" Remus questioned, "I mean, it's right frustrating."

"What frustrates me most is that Dumbledore's got access to all this wolfsbane and isn't helping you," Sirius said, his eyes narrowed. "Seeing as you ought to be his priority to help, seeing as you're in his school and his care and everything..."

Lily nodded, "That rather upsets me, too. I mean, obviously at least one or two bottles are slipping through the cracks, even if the Ministry is regulating Slughorn and Snape's brewing, or else Severus wouldn't have had that vial for Greyback. Dumbledore could easily obtain one himself for you..."

Remus shrugged, hopelessly.

"And," James said pragmatically, "He doesn't know that we're all animagi and making his furry little problem a bit less horrible, does he? For all he knows, it's absolute torture for you every month. I mean, of course, it isn't a party or anything, but --"

"It could be worse," Remus supplied. "I know. But like you said, Dumbledore doesn't know that."

"Arsehole," muttered Sirius.

"I think it's time we floo up Professor Veigler and see what he has to say on the subject," Lily said.

And so they started forming their plans for when and how they would go about getting some time alone with one of the professors' floo network connections in order for Remus to go and have a chat with Ned Veigler.

The Marauders: Year Seven Part OneWhere stories live. Discover now