Marauders reader insert: Chapter 9

You woke up with the worst feeling ever: the feeling that it was weekend. Of course, this is a rather nice feeling, except when it’s Friday and you have two periods of potions with the Slytherins to look forward to. Needless to say, you weren’t exactly in a good mood when you were getting your robes on.

“So, how did it go last night? No detentions?” Lily asked out of the blue.

“Uh, no. It went rather well, actually. You should have seen the look on her face” you said, snickering at the memory. However, seeing the look on her face, you quickly stifled them.

“No, I should not have, and neither should you” she snapped. “(Y/n), what were you thinking?! You could have gotten into serious trouble! Besides, that prank was totally uncalled for.”

“Wh- uncalled for? Lily, she had it coming!” you objected.

Mary quickly stepped in, saying: “I understand that you were angry, I really do, but don’t you think that hexing her maybe went, I don’t know, a bit too far?”

“It was not like she got hurt or anything…” you muttered.

Lily sighed. “Look, I understand that you were pissed, but I don’t think you had to take it this far. Then again, she really did say some nasty things.”

“Exactly, and it’s not like it’ll happen again” you said with a sheepish smile. “Let’s just go downstairs to eat something, ‘kay?”

They both nodded, and not much later you were all seated at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. Save the few whispers and students pointing towards both you and Parkinson, dinner was calm. That was, until-

“(YYYY/NNNNN)!!!” two voices yelled at the same time, followed by two boys squeezing you between them. James had crammed himself between you and Lily – “Hi Lily” he smirked – and Sirius sat on your other side.

“Sleep well?” the latter asked.

“Not long enough” you said with a pout.

He was going to respond, if he weren’t interrupted by Remus. “You’re in my seat.”

Sirius grumbled and got up while Peter arrived as well. “Hey (y/n)” he said while sitting down.

“Morning” you greeted. “And morning to you too, Remus.”

Placing himself on the bench with a content smile on his face, he said: “Good morning.”

Noticing the constant wiggling on your left, you turned to the source of said wiggling. “Are you going to stay here, or are you actually going to move?”

“I don’t know, I’m actually very comfortable here” he grinned while slinging his arms over your and Lily’s shoulders. Remus casually slid his arm behind you and slapped James on the back on his head. “Leaving, leaving!” James said, making you all laugh. He walked over to sit next to Sirius, and they ate peacefully – that is, as peaceful as they were physically possible.

“So” a boy a bit further on your left started, “I heard you gave Parkinson quite the payback yesterday?”

“Yeah” you grinned.

“Shame I didn’t see it. It sounded glorious.”

“Thanks, …”

“Frank Longbottom, and this is Alice Macmillan. We’re in our second year now.”

“Nice to meet you” the girl said.

“Likewise” you smiled. “And believe me, it was. Oh, the bats… They were everywhere…” You sighed dreamily, making them laugh.

“So we’ve heard. The story is really making its way around the school.”

“I just hope people make sure the teachers don’t hear them” you muttered, sipping your pumpkin juice.

“They won’t, don’t worry” he laughed. “Everybody likes seeing a Slytherin like Parkinson getting hexed – that is of course if she’s anything like her brother. And the Slytherins won’t talk either, given that Parnell drew his wand on you. Did he really try the Mutatio Skullus hex? I heard that one’s illegal” he rambled.

“I’m glad to hear that” you sighed in relief. “But now I have to face two hours of Potions with the Slytherins. Not exactly my idea of a good morning.”

“Well, at least they know not to mess with you now” Alice said. “But we’ve got to go, or we’ll be late. And so should you, if you’re having potions. See you!”

They left, and you all made your way to the dungeon a bit later. You arrived at the same time as the Slytherins, with the professor waiting for you.

“Come in, come in!” he greeted you.

“Hi Severus” you whispered to him. He hummed in response when Lily came to stand next to you as well.

“Well, let’s start with introductions, shall we?” the professor said. “I am professor Horace Slughorn, and will be teaching you potions – obviously. Now, you will all go in pairs and go to a table and write down as much as you know about the objects on your table. Meanwhile I will come around asking you about your names and some other things. Now, off you go!”

Lily paired with Severus again and Peter immediately went to Mary, never wanting to work with James again – “Aww, come on! It was fun!” – so you went over to Remus. You both thought it was a good idea, until you heard James and Sirius snicker behind you.

“The damage those two could do…” you both sighed at the same time.

Thus, Remus dragged Sirius away and left James with you. The confused look on the latter’s face was quickly replaced with a grin when you explained: “You’d both be dangerous if you’d have brains, so no, we’re not letting you work together.”

“Aww, shame. Not that I mind working with you, however.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled, before dragging him off towards the nearest unoccupied table. “All right, let’s do this” you grinned.

“That’s a bezoar” he pointed out immediately. You started to scribble down on a piece of parchment right away. “It’s basically a stone that came out of the stomach of a goat, and can be used to save you from a lot of potions.” Next he pointed to a plant with blue flowers. “That’s aconite, also known as monkshood or wolfsbane, and has toxic leaves-”

“Very good” professor Slughorn interrupted him. “What’s your name?”

“James Potter, sir” he answered.

“Ah, yes, a Potter. And you, dear?”

“(Y/n) (l/n).”

“Hmm, that name doesn’t ring a bell. Were your parents wizards?”

“I don’t know, professor. I never knew them.”

“Ah, well, no problem there. You’re not the only one who doesn’t know anything about these classes yet. Don’t worry, I’ll go slow enough. Just make sure to stay close to someone like mister Potter here.”

‘Yeah, sure, go boost his ego some more’ you thought, but just said: “Thank you, sir.”

When the professor turned away, you felt James hug you. “What. Are. You. Doing.”

“He just told you to stay close to people like me.”

“Let go before I hurt you” you stated calmly.

“Aww, you’re no fu-”

BANG.

The flasks and vials on your desk exploded, making you pull up your coat as protection out of reflex. Many students jumped, but you were fine. James however wasn’t as lucky, as two shards hurt him badly; one cut across his cheek and another left a nasty gash across his arm.

“SON OF A MERLIN” he cursed loudly, and stumbled backwards.

The professor turned around startled, demanding both you and other students what had happened. You didn’t have to guess, it was rather obvious that Parkinson had blown up your stuff, but you didn’t pay him any attention. Instead you turned to James, and directed him to sit on the table behind you. Pulling out your wand, you tried to remember the spells you had read the night before.

Stroking the tip of your wand over his arm, you uttered the spell quietly but clearly. “Vulnera Sanentur.” The wound sealed immediately, so you did the same to his cheek. Holding his chin in your one hand so that he wouldn’t move, you healed him with the other. Noticing the streaks of blood left on him, you took a bit more distance. “Tergeo.” The blood was cleansed off in no time. It was only then that you noticed the absolute silence in the classroom.

Turning around, you found everyone – including professor Slughorn – staring at you. Most in awe, others *ahemParkinsoncough* in disgust.

“Twenty five- no, thirty points to Gryffindor” the professor said. “My dear, that is some complex sorcery what you just did. How did you learn those spells?”

“Uh, library?” you managed to say sheepishly and everything but intelligent-sounding.

“Very well done, I shall make sure to inform professor McGonagall of the young talent in her house. But the question remains, why did you have to use those spells?”

All the Gryffindors’ heads shot to Petronilla immediately.

“Miss Parkinson, is there something you have to tell me?” he asked, barely containing his anger.

“N-no, professor” she squeaked.

“Hand over your wand, please.”

“But-“

“Your. Wand.”

Reluctantly she handed it over, and he inspected it closely before pulling out his own. “Priori Incantatem.” A red flash shot out of her wand, blowing up some books lying in the corner of the classroom.

He looked at her, anger clear in his eyes. “Forty-five points form Slytherin, plus two weeks of detention, to be decided by professor McGonagall, given that you injured one of her students.” Several Slytherins started to object, before he silenced them. “I would have taken as much as I had given to Gryffindor, would she not have lied to me. I will not tolerate this behaviour, especially in my own house. Now clean up.”

She grumbled, and started to clean the mess she had made.

“Are you okay?” I asked James.

“I am now” he said while touching his cheek. “Merlin, how did you do that? Just by reading a book?”

You shrugged.

“Could you be any more nonchalant?” Sirius said coming to stand next to you.

You shrugged again.

“Hey, since your stuff is basically, y’know, blown up, do you want to come work with us?” Remus proposed.

“Sounds good to me” James said, and you followed them to their table, leaving Parkinson to clean up her mess.

~ Time skip, brought to you by me, so that you don’t have to take too much classes. We’ve all had enough of school, haven’t we? ~

That night you couldn’t help but feel good about yourself. As you laid in bed you thought back to the look on Petronilla’s face during potions. A smile covered your features as you looked out of the window, at the beautiful almost full moon shining its light across the grounds. You quickly dozed off into  a careless sleep, constantly thinking about the books in the library.

Your first thought the next morning was: Saturday. Finally. The day went by quietly, not all that much happening. The only thing that was a bit strange was that Remus was feeling tired all day, and wasn’t all that talkative. You didn’t think all that much of it, until he didn’t show up for breakfast the next morning.

“Said he wasn’t feeling well” Sirius said when you asked where he was.

“He’s going to stay in bed all day” James added. “So we’re going to spend the day outside and exploring the castle. You know, to make sure we don’t bother him. You want to join us?”

You were about to say yes, when a thought suddenly popped up in your head. “Maybe later. There’s something I’ve got to do first.”

They just shrugged in response, and you finished your breakfast quickly. You got up, yelled a short ‘bye’ over your shoulder, and made your way out of the Great Hall. But instead of going up to the Gryffindor tower, you went down the stairs to the hallway that lead to the Hufflepuff common room. As you expected the walls were filled with paintings of food. One fruit bowl caught your attention, and you made a beeline towards it. Seeing the pear, you started to tickle it. It squirmed, laughed a little, and next thing you knew there was a door handle in its place.

You opened the door, and walked into a huge kitchen, with four tables in the middle. Now and then, plates appeared and were taken away by funny little creatures. Elves.

They all stared at you, until one of them stepped forward with a big smile on her face. “Miss (l/n)! It is so good to see you, miss!”

“It’s good to see you too, Pommy. How are you?”

“Oh, very well, miss! Very well indeed!”

“I’m glad to hear that” you smiled. “I was wondering, a friend of mine’s ill in bed, and I’d like to bring him something to eat. Do you think you could maybe-” Before you had even finished your sentence, ten elves were already hustling around. Not much later Pommy was holding a tray with a bit of everything on it.

“Will this do, miss?”

“Oh, yes! Thank you so much!” you smiled, and they all smiled back.

“It was no problem” she said. “Feel free to come by any time, miss.”

“I will, bye!”

They waved after you as you made your way out of the kitchen, and closed the door behind you. You went over to the Gryffindor common room, glad that most people were outside so that you didn’t pass anyone on the way – and very relieved that you didn’t pass Peeves on the way. You had heard enough of the poltergeist from Frank to know that you’d better avoid him.

It was a bit hard to crawl through the portrait hole, but you managed to get yourself and the food in front of the boys’ dormitories in one piece. Balancing the tray on one hand, you lightly knocked on the door.

No answer. Oh well.

You opened the door and walked into a similar room to yours. Four beds instead of three, and in the one on your far right laid your friend.

“Remus?” you called. A groan sounded in response.

“What are you doing here?” came from under the covers.

“I got you breakfast.” You walked towards his bed. You set the tray down on his nightstand, and sat down carefully on the edge of his bed. “Do you want me to go call madam Pomfrey?”

“Hmm, no…”

Your eyes landed on a smudge of red on his pillow. “Remus, are you… bleeding?”

Even though he was covered by blankets, you could see him stiffen. “… No.”

“Remus, please show me your face?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Remus” you said sternly.

You could basically feel him hesitate, before the covers slowly slid down. His eyes were bloodshot, didn’t meet yours, and a long cut covered his temple.

Just like you had done the day before, you pulled out your wand and healed the cut without hesitation. When it was gone, you both sat quietly for a minute.

“Can you tell me?”

He sighed, clearly not wanting to. He didn’t have to however, because it didn’t take long for you to start putting things together.

 The books in the library.

 Mindless beasts.

 Almost full moon.

 He doesn’t want me to know.

 Remus.

 He doesn’t want me to know.

 Lupin.

 He doesn’t want me to know.

 Full moon.

 “Werewolf.”

You didn’t know you had actually spoken the word until his eyes shot up to meet yours. Tears filled them, and he started to crawl back a little. Your hand closed around his arm.

“I won’t tell anyone” you promised. A tear fell from his eye, and you slung hour arms around him. He sobbed in your shoulder as you patted the back of his head. “It’s okay, Remus. It’s okay” you repeated.

And you’d keep repeating it until he’d believe it himself.