Infamous | Fred Weasley x OC |

Chapter Twenty One

The rest of the summer term flew by and, as Maddie pointed out because the school year was flying by and Professor Lupin wasn't going anyway, I should focus on my end of year exams and not hatch a complicated scheme to get Lupin to fess up about being my dad, which was Emmy's suggestion.

Potions was our last exam and I was sure glad for it to be over. Needless to say, I hated every last second of it. There was a whole page on ageing potions and, for once in my life, I'm glad the twins had interfered in my business because, without their help, I would never have understood that question.

Maddie was beaming as we came out of the potions exam. She was practically glowing as she eagerly told us how easy she found the exam. After all the revision she did, I would be surprised if she found it hard. Emmy was also grinning as we came out of the exam but, unlike Maddie, she was smiling because she had no more exams left.

"Well thank fuck that's over!" Emmy sighed and linked arms with both me and Maddie.

"You can say that again," I chorused, happy to leave the exams behind us and glad to have Emmy and Maddie around to take my mind off the possibility of suddenly gaining a father. But of course, my happiness was not to last.

"Allie," I heard someone call out. It wasn't Emmy or Maddie and it didn't sound like the twins or Lee. Was there another Allie at Hogwarts? "Allie Caswell." Nope, they were definitely trying to get my attention. I turned around.

"Neville?"

Neville Longbottom had come running down the corridor to intercept me as I left the great hall. He stopped short of me, Emmy and Maddie and stooped over to catch his breath.

"I was..." He panted, "Sent to get you...by Professor Lupin."

"Lupin?" I said, repeating in my confusion. Why did Lupin want to see me?

"That can't be good," Emmy mumbled. Maddie nodded, pulling a sympathetic face at me.

"Good luck," Maddie said as I followed Neville, who had toddled off back up the corridor and stopped, turning to look at me and beckoning me to follow.

"Yeah...I'm gonna need it."

*

Although he definitely didn't have to, Neville had escorted me up to Lupin's classroom. He left me at the closed door and smiled awkwardly at me before leaving. I smiled back at him. He was a nice boy. I took a deep breath before I knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lupin called from inside the classroom. I opened the door gently. It creaked open painfully loudly as if to announce my presence.

Lupin was sat on the edge of his desk, looking closely at a large piece of parchment that, from where I was standing in the doorway, seemed to have folds and flaps coming of it. He was staring at it intensely and shaking his head. Was it a poorly made piece of homework? Why did he look so confused?

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" I announced and Lupin snapped his head up, looking almost guilty like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have. But that can't be right, he's a professor.

"Ah, Allie," Lupin called out as he saw me and tucked whatever it was he was reading under a pile of half graded exam papers, "Yes," He said, taking a while to answer my question, "I...I was wondering if you would like to continue our conversation."

"Erm," I said before my mind could work out something to say, "I'd love to hear more about my mum," I said. Although I'd much rather hear about my dad... Just ask about your dad! "My mum sounds like she was great." Stop talking Allie. You'll make an idiot of yourself.

Lupin smiled and folded his arms casually.

"She was," He said, wistfully staring across the classroom. I shuffled inside, closing the classroom door behind me and taking a seat across from Lupin. "But that's not actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I actually wanted to talk to you about your father. I think it's high time you knew."

I could feel my chest tighten as I involuntarily held my breath. He was going to say it. He was going to say he was my dad. Has my heart stopped? I knew he was my dad since Christmas, why am I so scared about this?

"Your father and I were friends during school."

What?

"During the war he-" Lupin continued but stopped abruptly mid-sentence. His face was screwed up and he had diverted his eyes to stare down at his desk as if he were unable to look me in the eye. He was glancing down at his desk, staring at the parchment he was looking at before and had failed to hide very well. It was sticking out from under the pile of papers. Lupin froze, just staring at the parchment.

Now I was closer to him, I could see the parchment clearer. It wasn't parchment, exactly, it was much bigger and did indeed have separate flaps that unfolded to reveal more parchment. I peered over to read it but it didn't have many words. In fact, it mostly had carefully ruled lines. It wasn't parchment, but a map. And the only words it had written on it were... names.

"Wow, there are names on that map! Shit..." I said, undoubtedly seeing what Lupin had seen, "Sirius Black..." I breathed, "And Ron...and who's Peter Pettigrew?"

"I'm very sorry Alison but I'm going to have to cut this short." Lupin interrupted, quickly folding up the map and tucking it inside his robes. He jumped off his perch on his desk and strode swiftly down the classroom, heading straight for the door.

"Professor, please," I called after him, jumping up from where I was sat and following after him, "I've been waiting nearly fifteen years to find out who my dad is. Can't I at least have a name?" I called down, sounding more desperate than I care to admit. But Lupin didn't even hesitate. He carried on walking down through the classroom and straight out the door, "Professor!" I called out, loitering in the doorway and watching him walk off through the castle.

My mind was racing. Lupin wasn't my dad. But the photo... He had to be my dad! Who else could it be? And why did Lupin refuse to tell me after reading those names on the map? I mean, sure, Sirius Black was a pretty big threat but there were hoards of dementors taking care of it. Why did he have to leave without even telling me who my dad was? And when was he actually going to tell me...

And then, a plan sprang, fully-formed, to mind. It was a terrible plan. A terrible, terrible plan. But it was the only plan my stupid brain could think off.

So I ran right after Lupin.