Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) Book Three (Marauders Era)

Chapter Fifty-Nine - I Want To Ride My Bicycle

Author's Note: Hey guys! So good to be back, decided to post a little early to celebrate! Thank you all so much for your patience, my hiatus was much needed and I feel a lot better now. I'm still struggling with some things of course but I am definitely ready to get back to posting chapters! Thank you ALL for all the lovely messages of love and support <3

-x-

"Today we are taking a small field trip."

It was Tuesday morning in Muggle Studies, and those words made everyone sit up a little and pay more attention than usual. Professor Lewis was sitting on her desk with a beehive hairdo the color of oranges, a bright orange swirled blouse, and matching orange trousers. They were a little tight across her rather large bottom, but despite the vivid colors that should have been too bold... it fit her.

"If everyone will please follow me?"

She hopped down off the desk and left the room without even looking backwards to make sure they were following. Everyone hurried out of their spots to follow her, none of them knowing where they were going. Lewis's long, dangly gold earrings chimed as she walked, and her high-heeled boots clicked along the stone floor, producing a sort of music. Remus soon realized everyone had unconsciously followed her stepping rhythm, that tap tap tap tap.

At least Remus was well-rested. He skipped all his lessons the day before, except for Astronomy at midnight, and had slept through dinner too, although the Marauders brought him food. While he was still tired... he felt better than he typically did after a full moon.

Professor Lewis led them to the sixth floor, to a very long corridor that had no doors anywhere except for one. She opened the door which was labeled Muggle Studies Storeroom and stood in front of the open door, blocking any light from falling into the darkness.

"Today we will be learning about various modes of Muggle transportation. We have seen cars, we have seen aeroplanes, and we know about trains." She dragged something out of the storeroom. "Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Four hands shot up. Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Celeste Falkfeather of Hufflepuff. Lewis called on Falkfeather who correctly identified it as a bicycle.

"Correct!" Professor Lewis swung her leg over the seat and put one foot on a pedal. "This is a very popular mode of transportation. You don't need to pay for petrol. All you need are your own legs." With that she pushed off, her legs pumping as the bicycle raced down the corridor. She wheeled it in a U-turn and came back, putting the brakes on, tapping the little spike that kept it upright (Remus thought it was called a footstand maybe?), and got off. She began explaining loosely the history of bicycles and said she would be showing films later. For now...

She pulled another bicycle out of the storage.

"Two at a time can ride down the corridor and back, and if anyone wishes to go again they may. Here is how you do it."

She showed them how to sit, pedal, maneuver the front wheel, and everything else they might need. When she asked for volunteers of course James and Sirius had their hands up immediately. She chose James and Kioko Tanaka who also had her hand up and, after much explaining, had them seated properly on the bicycles.

"These are not fully Muggle bicycles," she explained. "These are enchanted not to fall over. They will wobble and you may feel like you'll fall, but you won't. If you wish to attempt a truly Muggle bicycle... I do have one in the storeroom. However, you may not try it until I've seen you go back and forth without incident."

Tanaka did vaguely all right. She was slow and wobbly, and would have fallen a few times. James was not all right at all. He would have fallen every other second it seemed, but that didn't deter him. He kept trying and kept wobbling to one side or the other. By the time he finally reached the end of the corridor, Tanaka had made her somewhat smooth return back and Sirius was getting on the bicycle.