Till Forever Falls Apart

Third Year: Your Chance of Being Struck

November 3, 1993

Val had not expected the meeting to happen so suddenly. She thought she would have at least a week or so to let the events of her D.A.D.A class register, perhaps coming to a level-headed conclusion in which she could compromise with such an obscene man.

    But the process had been sped up, and she was ushered there herself by Flitwick.

    "I expected this out of Potter and Weasley," the Charms professor muttered. "But I thought we had discussed this, Miss Lupin-Black! Never has a Ravenclaw been in this amount of trouble!"

    "You know what they say, Professor," she smiled sourly. "There's a first time for everything."

    Flitwick returned her sulking expression, shaking his head as he spoke under his breath. "This girl, I say. This clever child who is using her talents for all the wrong reasons..."

    "If you heard my side of the story, you would see why I'm right," Val said defensively. "Snape was the one who started it."

    She felt five years old blaming another person for her outburst, but how else was she to get her point across without sharing a blatant truth? "Valentina," Flitwick went back to shaking his head disappointedly. "There are more to disagreements than who ought to be right or wrong. It is about seeing yourself from the other's perspective. Understanding their motives in response to how they fueled yours."

    It made no sense to Val, but perfect clarity to the Head of Ravenclaw. She walked the rest of the way in silence until they had reached Dumbledore's corners of the school. She had been here more than three times now, yet still, she felt queasy each time she approached its steps.

    "Salt-"

    "That won't be necessary, Filius."

    There was the same serene yet authoritative voice Val had not wished to hear so early that very morning. The large door separating his office from the rest of the castle opened ominously, taking its time on its hinges to come to a full opening.

    Remus was already seated in one of the plush red chairs that appeared and disappeared depending on the amount of visitors that were present. The last time she had been seated, she had received the awful news that she was to be hunted by Greyback like a lamb escaping a slaughter.

    How was this any different?

    Professor Flitwick shared a few curt words with Dumbledore before scuttling down the steps with heavy breaths. She had only managed to catch the last bit of their conversation, where Dumbledore promised to handle the matter with a grain of salt.

    Taking the chair next to her father, she smiled cautiously, as though she were afraid he would not return the gesture. When he did, she felt at ease, looking for the same relief on her other side where she expected Sirius to be sitting.

    There was no other chair present, besides a dark-cloaked man scowling near the shadows of a dusty bookshelf.

    Remus followed her line of sight and ran a weary hand through his light hair, clearly already having discussed the situation at length with no future compromise between them. "I think it's best we keep this between us for now," Remus suggested gently. "We don't need your father getting worked up about this. Especially on his birthday."

    His birthday, Val's heart dropped. She had meant to go into Hogsmeade and buy something for him during their school visit, but had gotten so preoccupied with Harry's form that she had forgotten all about it. Yesterday's situation had also entirely preoccupied her thoughts, meaning she would be empty-handed upon seeing her father later.