I Dreamt Of You (Wolfstar)

Chapter 24

The removal of Monroe from the castle so early in the school year had forced Dumbledore to change his plans. Again. The headmaster was currently plotting at his desk in his room, scribbling down ideas and then crossing them out. Eventually, he ended up with a short list of acceptable plans and put down his quill, wandering off to go find some lemon drops.

On the other side of the castle, the Gryffindors were relaxing in their room. Sirius was chatting with Vanadi while Remus was trying to work on a homework assignment. He kept getting distracted by Sirius' use of the canine tongue, however, and had only managed to write two sentences so far. James and Peter were playing a game of chess.

There was a tapping at the window and Sirius looked over to see an owl poking its beak at the glass. He got up and opened the window, retrieving the letter and tossing a mouse its way. The owl let out an appreciative hoot before vanishing back into the sky above, payment clutched tightly in its talons.

The letter was in an official looking envelope and Sirius opened it to find that the Ministry was alerting him to the fact that Monroe had been arrested for illegal use of a blood quill and torturing a minor. A court date was set for his trial, however Remus and Sirius were not required to attend themselves, and instead Lord Lupin would be there as their representative. The two had already provided testimony and evidence and honestly Sirius just wanted to forget all about it, so after discussing the letter with Remus, the pair decided not to attend.

After a peaceful lunch in the common room, with sandwiches and fruit provided by happy, the group of Gryffindors made their way to their first afternoon class. Defence would be a lot more enjoyable now that Lynal was their teacher. They arrived early and were some of the first ones to gather outside the classroom. Unfortunately, Robert, Harriet, and Molly were also there.

The Slytherin boy spotted them and glared, before marching over. "You're such a filthy liar, hanging out with blood traitors and faking injuries for popularity. You've obviously gone evil and you're one of those disgusting creatures now too."

"Shove off, you ugly excuse for a tomato." Remus replied, sneering at the Prewett. "The only disgusting creature here is you, but you're probably so deluded you don't even realise you're a troglodyte. I mean, honestly, have you ever seen yourself eat? Disgraceful." Behind him, Sirius snorted. Leave it to the wolf to insult Robert with words longer than the ginger's IQ by 1000% percent. Troglodyte, that was actually pretty accurate though.

Molly and Harriet had come over now too, and were standing on either side of Robert with angry expressions. "How dare you call my brother such horrible things!" Molly screeched. Sirius winced at the high pitch, honestly the girl had only gotten worse this year. Molly made a sudden movement in Sirius' direction and Remus' wand was in his hand in an instant.

Sirius was just about to respond when gark came along the hallway, cloak whirling dramatically behind him as Lynal walked next to him with an amused expression at the vampire's antics. "What do we have here?" Felix drawled, looking gleeful. "That will be 30 points from Slytherin."

Harriet frowned at the Potions professor. "But-"

"Each." Felix stared her down, daring her to continue. Around them, the Gryffindor students and even some of the Slytherins looked on with glee.

Wisely, Harriet shut her mouth and gark nodded to Lynal before turning to go. "I'll leave you to it then, Lynal."

The students filed into the classroom and took a seat on their house's side of the room. Gryffindor claimed the area nearest Lynal's desk, which was tidy and organised, unlike the horrible decor of the previous occupant.

Lord Lupin went right into the lesson, demonstrating and explaining spells, and even the Slytherins had to admit he was one of the best Defence teachers they've had. After the class practices the spell, Lynal assigned them some reading and let them know he'd be asking questions next class on the material covered.

Remus and Sirius were required to have their assignments graded by Flitwick because of concerns raised since Lynal is family, but the elder Lupin was still able to give points and other rewards as long as it wasn't blatant favouritism. Dumbledore had gone to the school board with his 'concern' on the matter, but it was common sense and Lynal and Flitwick had already made a deal on the problem, so Dumbledore was disappointed when his suggestion that perhaps someone else should be the Defence teacher was shot down.

The rest of the day passed quickly and then everyone was settling down for the evening in the common room. Remus had arranged with Felix to be able to visit his parents through a portrait in the Head of House's office and Sirius accompanied him through the tunnel to where Lynal and Hope were waiting on the couch with some tea and biscuits. The two rose from their seat and Hope gave them each a hug.

"I presume you have heard about the trial?" Lynal asked as he sat back down.

Sirius nodded and opened his mouth to elaborate but hope gave him and her husband stern looks. "This evening will not be about business. I want us to relax and enjoy time as a family tonight."

No one was brave enough to go against hope when she took a side on something and so the evening was spent with casual conversation about school, quidditch scores, and the like. Lynal even dug out a magical jigsaw that morphed pictures to make it more difficult to complete, though the pieces stayed in the same place for each image. Sirius found it fascinating and wondered if the twins had been inspired by it for some of their pranks.

Later, when it had become dark and the teens found themselves yawning, hope ushered them back through the hall and to their room. Remus and Sirius curled up together in Sirius' bed and fell asleep as soon as they closed their eyes.