- Eternal Curse -

0.1 Chapter Six

Six

Annie felt transfiguration had been an excellent first lesson at Hogwarts, especially with her saviour of a professor and her very endearing seat mate.. Sirius and Annie had constantly kept up the conversation for the whole hour, causing Lynn and Marie to repeatedly exchange glances from each other then back to the pair again. Despite Mcgonagall's repeated silencing towards the very chatty boy, his carefree attitude continued to shine through as he became enraptured in the moment and more to the point Annie herself. As he went on suddenly he shifted the topic of conversation entirely, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"So, Earlier, when you were walking with your friends, and I'm just curious here," He paused as her brow furrowed, "That Remus fellow shares a dorm with us and we've been hanging around together but he seemed, well, off. He's a great lad, just off. You seemed to know him and I was just wondering if he was alright?" She frowned. It was going to come up sooner or later, but Annie was hoping it would be sometime never.

"I was going to ask you the same question, actually." His eyes flashed with intrigue, "You see, I bumped into him on the platform and I've been trying to get a word in edgeways towards him ever since."

"Interesting." He pondered. "How the plot thickens, hm?"

"Indeed it does." Is all she had to say on the matter before turning back to her work as the conversation once again switched over to something more light. She couldn't agree with Sirius more, she thought, the plot did seem to thicken further as Remus Lupin still remained a mystery. The hour in transfiguration seemed to pass painfully quickly, so much so she dreaded having to relocate somewhere else, especially when that place was with Ravenclaws in Herbology, she had just settled nicely into class and didn't feel like doing it all over again, without the company of a certain someone.

After a hasty goodbye to Sirius, again Annie had reunited with her Hufflepuff comrades once they had made their way out the door and they instantly flushed tight against her, with an array of questions. What did they talk about? Was he truly charming? Did he mention Remus? Was she nervous? Was he nervous? It all began to blur into one gigantic interrogation as Annie jabbed Lynn, the especially chatty one of the pair, in the ribs. She yelped before ceasing her hurricane of questions.

"Bloody hell, you guys. What happened to 'Hi', 'How are you?', 'What did you get for question five?' You know, normal things!"

"Sorry."

"Sorry." The two quipped as Annie sighed, trying to clear her head. She already had a multitude of worries on her mind, she didn't need more. A sinking feeling began to form in her gut as she wondered if Sirius was being kind to her just so he could find out what they were saying about Lupin, or if he was genuinely friendly. Would a class full of Ravenclaws be a nightmare? Perhaps they would mock her for being a blood traitor, just as her brother had done. Would they spite her for hanging out with half-bloods and muggle-borns? When would her father's letter arrive, stating she was disassociated from the family name? How would her brother get to her next? It was all rather daunting for her first day and the constant bickering her friends had on an hourly basis was driving her mad, as much as she loved them to bits.

"Do you think he sat there to be nice, Annie? I'm sure he only sat there to be nice!" They had started again.

"Oh, listen to yourself, Marie! He did it to get information about why Annie is being all creepy over Lupin. Don't be so naive!" Annie groaned.

"Why do you assume the worst of everyone, what are you the harbinger of doom?" Next a sigh rolled off her tongue.

"Don't be a prick!" She'd had enough.

"For Godric's sake you two! Stop the relentless squabbling for once. He was perfectly pleasant. I don't know what to think of it, but I certainly don't think it is something to argue about!" Annie cried, fed up. Then a wave of guilt crashed over her, an apology about to follow suit until she felt something light hit her square in the back of the head. She turned on her heel abruptly to see the weapon being a crumpled up piece of parchment then only to come face to face with Sirius, James and Remus, again.

"Anyone else getting deja vu?" Lynn softly remarked with a grin slapped across her face. Marie hushed her.

"You should come sit at the Gryffindor table at lunch today, get to know us better." Sirius exclaimed, pushing back the unruly hair that kept hitting him in the face with every move he made. James too seemed to have a problem with keeping his hands out his hair as he once again was seen running his fingers through his ruffled locks and Remus stood slightly behind, partly covered, lacking the obvious ego of the other two beside him. Annie felt herself stand up straighter, appearing more confident than she felt.

"I'll keep the invitation in mind, Sirius, thank you." She beamed at him as Sirius returned the same smile. Talking to new people wasn't her strong point but a wave of confidence struck her, and she felt as if she could conquer the world.

"Alright cool, I'll catch you later, Ann." Sirius responded before heading down the hall with his friends to whatever lesson they had in store for them. Annie turned to her friends who gave her the same dumbfounded look she had on her face.

"See? He's being nice!"

"If you say so."

As the the groups went their separate ways, James continued to jest at Sirius' expense, making their way to potions.

"'Catch you later, Ann?' Very smooth, mate." Sirius continued by giving his friend a clip around the ear.

"What? I'd like to see you do better, Jamsie boy." He retorted.

"You're underestimating my moves, you know." The others scoffed at James, Remus included.

"And what moves are those?" Remus then quizzed the boy, taunting him subtly. James stuttered.

"Well, I haven't used them, yet. But trust me! I have them."

The boys laughed off James' comment before Sirius switched the focus over the quietest of the group. "You got any moves on hand, Lupin? I think you might need them." Remus raised his brow in response to Sirius' sly comment.

"And why would I need moves?"

"Well a little bird told me Dean's got an eye on you. That little bird being me, of course." Remus scoffed.

"Yeah, alright, mate."

"No I'm serious, name and all! She's been trying to chat you up since she saw you on the platform and she thinks you haven't given her the light of day!" James perked up at this.

"Merlin, Annie Dean after my boy, you're growing up so fast." He pouted.

"I hope I haven't grown too much in the day you've known me, and she is not trying to chat me up nor is she after me. Very unlikely story." Unbeknownst to him, his attempt to keep the heat rising to his cheeks had failed as a blush spread across his scarred cheeks.

Sirius grinned, "If you say so."

(Edited as of 16/10/22)