𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞 | 𝐇.𝐏.

𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟑 - 𝟖

It was the last week of my third year. I was bruised, injured, and my side hurt when I turned just the wrong way, but I was possibly the happiest I'd been all year.

We'd saved an innocent man's life, not from death, but from getting his soul sucked out of his mouth, which was plenty worse. We saved an innocent hippogriff's life, and this time it was from death, and I was still fighting tirelessly against the possibility that I, Alexandra Malfoy, could have taken a fancy to Harry Potter.

He was obnoxious, insufferable, and sarcastic. He also made my stomach flip every time he laughed, and my palms got sweaty when I talked to him. Which was completely illogical, since I had known him for three years now.

Not to mention, he was The Boy Who Lived, which came with challenges in itself. 

But it was also the last week of term, and I was forcefully reminded that I wouldn't see him until next September. Or Hermione and Weasley for that matter. The only company I would have was Draco and my parents, which was not the best situation.

I was thinking these miserable thoughts as Potter and I walked to Professor Lupin's office to see him after the night before. When we got there he was in the middle of emptying his bookshelves, and music was tinkling softly out of turntable.

"Hello, Harry. Alexandra," Lupin said before he even turned around. "I saw you coming," he pointed to the Marauders Map, laying fully extended on his desk. 

When neither of us said anything, Lupin leaned closer. "I've looked worse, believe me."

"You've been sacked," Potter said in disbelief, taking a step further into the room. 

"No, no. I've resigned, actually," Lupin corrected. 

"Resigned? Why?" I asked.

"Well, it seems that somebody let slip the nature of my condition. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving, and parents will not want a, ah... well, someone like me teaching their children anymore."

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" I exclaimed.

"You're one of the very few people who thinks that, I'm afraid," Lupin smiled.  

"But Dumbledore..." Potter began.

"Dumbledore has already risked enough on my behalf," Lupin interrupted. "Besides, people like me are... let's just say I'm used to it by now."

Potter stared into black space for a moment before Lupin asked, "Why do you look so miserable, Harry?" 

"None of it made any difference," he answered. "Pettigrew escaped."

"Didn't make any difference?" Lupin repeated. "Harry, it made all the difference in the world. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate. It made a great deal of difference."

He grunted as he lifted an evidently heavy leather bag. "If I'm proud of anything, it's of how much you've learned this year. Now, since I am no longer your teacher, I feel no guilt, whatsoever, about giving this back to you."

He tapped the map, causing it to fold itself up, and he handed it to Potter. 

"Now I'll say goodbye to the two of you," Lupin sighed. "I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Alexandra, remember what I said to you. Harry, try not to get into too much trouble. Until then, mischief managed." 

And he walked out, taking my upbeat mood with him. 

"I was really looking forward to having him next year," I said, dejected.