Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) - Book One (Marauder Era)

Chapter Sixteen - A New Teacher

Myrtle floated around watching as Remus kicked and punched the walls and cursed in a way that made her feel quite happy. The small boy raged in her bathroom for some time and then collapsed down, crying. She settled down next to him and stroked his quivering back.

"It's okay, bullies get their own," she promised.

Remus sat up, her arm going through his body. "They better," he said darkly and then pulled his wand out. "Verdimillious!" It wasn't anywhere near as impressive as the one he had done out of anger but there were still at least half a dozen sparks that rained down.

"Ooh, how pretty!" Myrtle said. "I was never very good at those sorts of spells. I was always better with changing things. Charms that make things dance, and transfiguration sort of spells."

"Verdimillious," he said again and watched the sparks land on the stone floor. "Verdimillious. Verdimillious."

"If you're going to do a show you should at least switch it up," she said.

Remus finally looked at her and then nodded. "Vermillious," he said even though the red one was a more advanced version of the sparking spell and nothing happened. "Caerullious," he said, no idea if that was even a spell but figuring if something produced blue sparks that would be it. "Verdimillious," he said again and the green sparks shot out.

Remus flicked his wand over and over, green sparks going everywhere. Then he finally put his wand away and curled up on the floor, listening to Myrtle talk about the girl who used to bully her and how she tried haunting her for a while. Wish you could go haunt Dedenne, he thought bitterly. The others that know don't seem to take points away from me just because I'm a monster. But Dedenne... she teaches this stuff. She knows better. She probably has a better understanding of what I am, and that's why she does it. But singling me out like that shouldn't happen. I do deserve it though. I'm just a wolf in human clothing, really. She should be commended for putting up with me as much as she does. Merlin, I talked back to a teacher...!

Remus stayed in Myrtle's bathroom until supper when he finally said goodbye to her and went to the Great Hall. As soon as he went in he saw his classmates looking at him and whispering. Black and Potter started to get up but Evans got there first. Remus's face flushed as she took hold of his arm and knew this would probably just cause more teasing from his dorm.

"Please d-d-don't," Remus said before she could even open her mouth, shaking her hand off of him. "I d-deserved wh--what I got."

"She shouldn't have yelled at you like that, you only did what she asked and she never once said the person had to be facing you," Evans said hesitantly.

Remus just shook his head. "I w-w-was wr-wrong t-to--to--to do that." He looked up towards the table and thought perhaps he should go apologize to Dedenne however he could never do that in front of the entire room. So he shuffled to the table and took a seat. Black, Potter, and Pettigrew swiftly joined him before Evans could sit down and Remus just ate in silence as they went on about how awesome it was that he had talked back to a teacher like that, and had been the first to do the spell, and how it wasn't right Dedenne just took points away, and blah-blah-blah. Remus focused on his food until he couldn't eat another bite then mumbled a goodbye before leaving them, ignoring their gazes. For a split second he felt bad for being rude to them then remembered their teasing the night before and was glad he was rude.

*

Dear Mum and Dad 22/9/71

I want to come home. I've changed my mind about being at Hogwarts. I don't like it anymore. It's not worth it.