Till Forever Falls Apart

One Last Hurrah

June 11, 1993

Valentina Lupin-Black knew she could not let the Marauders ancestry in her blood be put to waste.

    Defense Against the Dark Arts classes had been cancelled, freeing up some time for Val to let her thoughts run free. It had been an eventful year, to say the least, and she wanted it to end with one, final note of triumph for all they had accomplished. She was at peace with Draco, perhaps even Snape, who seemed to be correcting Pansy subtly in class, and reducing his comments towards Val to withering looks instead. It was progress to Val, who had come to rest in her own perfect world inside the castle.

    And even her period of rest needed disrupting.

    Professor Flitwick decided that after all that had happened over the course of the school year that he was going to teach some entertainment charms to add to the lightened mood that had spread throughout the castle. Even Filch had a bounce in his steps those days.

    "Ready, class?" The Charms professor called for their attention, lifting his wand and doing a small flourish. "Colovaria!"

    The tapestries behind him with various Latin inscriptions changed from blue to pink, making the students murmur in a ripple of "oohs" that filled the atrium where they were being taught. Another flash of light, and the tapestries began to disintegrate into flames. The children screamed, running for the doorway to avoid the tongues of fire that devoured the blue cloth. Flitwick shouted for their attention by casting another spark of bright white light.

    "Children! Return to your seats!"

    The group of second-years crept back to their original places, cowering as they watched the flames ripple. Another wave of their professor's wand, and the fire died, turning into a brush of cool air that tickled their senses.

    "These charms can incite chaos," Flitwick wiped his head. "As well as fun. Your job for the weekend is to find a charm of your interest and perform it for the rest of the class the  Monday after next for our final day of work! So long! Be prepared!"

    Val had been waiting for an assignment such as this. She could pick anything to suit her desires, and she knew the perfect place to start looking.

    Dear Diary, Sirius wrote.

    You will not believe what Remus showed me today! He says he's been using his usual late nights reserved for reading and schoolwork to think of a prank for us. I have to hand it to him, really. He's special.

    Forget it. I didn't mean it... never mind. Here's a list of possibilities. He's done so much that we get to choose! He's brilliant! I'll keep them here in case I ever want to get more ideas. Where would I be without Moony? Us, I mean. We.

    Meteolojinx Recanto

    Mobiliarbus

    Piertotum Locomotor

    Carpe Retractum

    They had made so many notes that Val could not believe the luck she had found again within her father's things. Certainly, this would keep her occupied till the end of the year. And she knew just the person she would like involved.

    That is, until he declined the offer.

    "I'll be there as support," Harry suggested instead. "If I'm being honest, those things are more you. Like how quidditch is for me. You know?"

    Val thought over his words. She would have liked them to do one last thing as a final goodbye to the school year that left them slightly traumatized. She had discovered he had other things on his plate that needed attending to, such as scrimmages and games of Gobstones. In the short period of time that had passed between the Chamber of Secrets and now, Harry had taken to himself and become more attentive. He was more at ease than he had been for ages, and yet she was the one trying to incite chaos. So, Valentina backed away, refusing to bother him any longer.