The assistant | Remus Lupin (on pause)

Prank

The walk to Hogsmeade was quite calm. Most of the children stayed with their group in the cold weather. It hadn't started snowing yet although it seemed like the sky wanted to.

Fred and George ran around everyone as we walked, with some sort of sticks. It almost looked like they were trying to sword fight with the frail things. And they didn't seem to be hurting anyone with their escapades.

And I seemed to be the only teacher chaperoning.

George jumped onto a rock beside a trail and tumbled onto the dirt in front of me. He looked up and burst into laughter when he saw my expression.

"Are you alright?" I asked, extending a hand for him to get up. He pushed my hand away and got up easily, although he did stumble a bit.

"Perfect." He smirked. The boy looked around for his brother, who was up ahead waiting for him.

"Just both of you be careful, it'll be on my head if you're hurt." I shouted after them, as they both ran ahead after each other.

"I'm surprised they're listening to you." Ron shrugged when he fell into a step beside me. Harry, who was walking a ways away with Hermione, gave him a glare. I couldn't figure out why.

"Really? I guess I'm just an amazing authority figure." I smiled. The boy chuckled and looked up, in a way that I saw Lupin do once.

I wished he was the one I was talking to instead of Ron. While Ron was nice, much nicer than his friend Harry, there was someone else I wished I was walking and talking with.

"Does your friend Harry dislike me?" I asked spontaneously. It had been bugging me how much he seemed to glare. Was it because of my house? Or did he truly hate my guts for existing?

Ron looked at me, suddenly red. His eyes were red and his mind seemed to fog over.

"I ... uh .... I don't know how to answer that, Ms. Reeves." He looked away, mostly digging his feet into the ground as he walked.

"You don't have too. I just noticed he seemed to glare, a lot, a me. I didn't know if I said something to offend him or anything." I replied.

Ron turned back to me and sighed, "Well Harry has some prejudice against Slytherins, really against any house that isn't his."

"Oh." I said blankly.

"It's not you, Ms. Reeves," Ron continued, "he just doesn't like Slytherins." Ron looked truly sorry for his friends ignorance, however it didn't quite have an impact on me as he thought.

I knew house divides were common, I didn't expect it to happen between a teacher and a student. That fact caught me off guard. 

"That's fine. Not everyone will adore you in life, as you can see. I just hope it won't effect his performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts." I smiled, unbothered. I couldn't get consumed in that teenage drama of hating others for simply being different.

"Now go, go to your friends. I should find the twins." I laughed, waving Ron away. He nodded, with a hint of 'I'm sorry' in his movements. But I forced my whole being to ignore it and find the twins.

They had ran up ahead and I hadn't seen them come back.

After a bit of walking down the trail that led to Hogsmeade, I could see the two boys talking to some other man in long black robes.

Shit. No, no, no, no.

I fastened my pace into a bit of a jog until I reached them.

Snape. Of course.

"... If I catch you two doing some unadulterated childish play like this again I will be forced to hand out lengthy detentions. And I am not lenient ... am I Ms. Reeves?" Snape turned around to me, my legs felt frozen in the dirt road, and he furrowed his eye brows. He looked at me with more hate then Harry did towards me.