Fan Fiction ❯ Fall From Grace ❯ Meetings and Matchmakers ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Check chaps 1-4 for Disclaimer.

---S/O/C/5---

CHAPTER 5: Meetings and Match Makers

Nothing was worth sleepless nights, not even James Potter. Those were Lilly's thoughts, as she walked slowly towards the Great Hall, yawning as she entered the large room.

Looking down the Gryffindor table, she saw all four of the Marauders. With the exception of Remus, they looked as though they had had a peaceful night's sleep

"Bastards," she muttered walking over and sat down next to James, slouching.

"Morning Lil'!" he said cheerfully, snaking his arm around her shoulders, which she promptly pushed away with a glare. James blinked his brown eyes and looked at his girlfriend confused.

"What have I done now Lil'?" he asked, giving her his best 'I'm innocent' expression.

"Oh nothing." she said hotly, casting her green eyes over to Remus. He looked quite worried today. She sent him a smile as he sighed heavily.

However, it was Sirius who asked the question that seemed to be on everyone's mind, including Lily.

"You alright Moony? You look worried about something?" asked Sirius, leaning past Peter. Sirius looked the werewolf directly in the eyes.

"Nothing," replied Remus, sighing in annoyance, as he placed the book he had on his lap on the table. "It's just that these tutoring sessions, are getting a bit tedious, considering Bella has boycotted speaking to me in them, except for what we're learning about. even then, whatever is said is brief."

"Why don't you ask her what's wrong?" suggested Peter helpfully, thinking it was the most obvious idea.

"Don't you think I've tried that?" replied Remus, giving Peter an odd look, flicking quickly through the pages of his book. "I know it's all over that incident in the library."

"Then shouldn't it be Padfoot that she has a problem with?" asked James, giving Lilly one more confused look. What did I do to make Lily angry with me? James wondered. Then he turned to look at Remus.

"And why is it bothering you, Moony?" inquired Sirius, throwing something at James as he snorted in annoyance, seeing how Sirius interrupted Remus before he could reply to his question, "It's not like she's your friend or anything,"

Remus looked at Sirius, and said a bit harsher then he had originally intended,

"Well, any chance of that happening was thrown out of the astronomy tower last week, wasn't it, Padfoot?"

Sirius moved back around Peter, and sighed in annoyance, but said nothing, after all he had been in the wrong, but was going to be damned before he admitted it.

"What library incident?" asked Lilly, looking at the four boys, then quickly turning to greet Jordie and Nancy as they sat down next to her.

"The Slytherin that Remus is tutoring came over to us in the library last week to apologize for what she had said about Gryffindors, and Padfoot here- " said James indicating towards Sirius, who was glaring at him angrily, "decided to interrupt her, and then say that all Slytherins were going to turn out as dark witches and wizards. You can imagine how well that went down, considering Snape also heard!"

Lilly, Nancy, and Jordie, all turned and looked at Sirius, their eyes wide. It was apparent that they couldn't believe what they just heard.

"So is Kai going to turn out evil, Sirius?" asked Jordie, referring to her Slytherin boyfriend "And if he does, does that mean I will become evil?"

"No," said Sirius, looking up and meeting her eyes "I just didn't think, that's all."

"Your mouth was working quicker then your brain again Sirius," put in Lily, as Nancy shook her head slowly; sometimes Sirius should engage his brain before speaking.

Picking up the book, Remus looked at the people around him, and smiled before speaking, "I've got to go to a session now. You aren't all going to murder Padfoot while I'm gone, are you?"

The three girls and James grinned at him. Turning, they all glared at Sirius, who quickly moved from his place and grabbed Remus' arm.

"Well, that means I'm going with you Moony." he said quickly, pulling Remus out the hall, waving bye to the Gryffindor table. Stopping and sighing heavily as they reached half way down the hall "Glad I'm out of there, I swear they were going to feed me to the giant squid if I'd stayed,"

"It's more than you deserve Padfoot," replied Remus, stopping Sirius as he was about to defend himself. "I know you didn't think, but you know how Lily is about inter-house relations. She just hates the fact that we can't get on with the Slytherins, even though she doesn't like Narcissa at all. Not to mention the fact that Jordie is going out with a Slytherin, so you can't expect her to agree with what you said."

"Look Moony, all I was going to say was, that it happened a week ago, I'm sure what's-her-name has moved on by now and forgotten what I said. Why can't you lot do the same?" Sirius questioned the werewolf.

Remus was about to reply, when a cool silky voice from behind them answered instead, "She hasn't forgotten, Black." said the owner. Turning around, the two Gryffindors came face to face with Severus Snape, who was once again in the wrong place and the wrong time "Do you think what you said about Slytherins is going to be that easily forgotten? We're not all as senile as you, Black."

Remus couldn't help but notice that the many cuts and bruises on Snape's sallow face looked like they were increasing in number, or getting infected. For the first time, Remus wondered how the Slytherin obtained them. After all, Severus Snape wasn't stupid or clumsy, so it wasn't likely these abrasions were results of a beating from a member of another house, as they would have heard or it would likely been a Gryffindor. Nor could the wounds possibly be from a fall down the stairs or something of the like.

"I know you love us and everything, Snape, but would you stop stalking us?" exclaimed Sirius, storming over to the slightly taller raven-haired boy, and looking him in the eyes, his own glittering with anger.

"Don't flatter yourself, Black." hissed Snape "I would rather cut off my own hand then follow you, we just happen to be heading in the same direction."

Severus never seemed to lose his composure, of thinking he was superior to the two Gryffindors. Then, his glittering black eyes fell on Lupin with a look of disgust.

"Also, why would I follow a monster like Lupin around? He's already tried to kill me once. I certainly wouldn't want to provide him with another chance."

Remus swallowed hard, his mouth dry. Severus was the only student outside the Marauders that knew about his secret, and the day that Snape found out still haunted him.

"I didn't have anything to do with that Severus, I've already tried to explain that too you." Remus said calmly.

Sirius growled as he listened to Remus attempt to reason with the obnoxious Slytherin, who, in Sirius's opinion, wouldn't listen, he never had, and he never would.

"What are you doing along here anyway?" Sirius snapped.

"Waiting for Bella," replied Snape, in a 'Is it any of your business?' tone, "I said I would accompany her to her next session with Lupin."

Not removing his eyes from Remus, he continued, "Somehow, she knew he'd bring you with him, Black." Then he started to address Remus, "It's rather sad that your that predictable, Lupin."

Before Severus could continued his assault of words on the Gryffindors, Bella appeared next to him, avoiding all eye contact with the two Gryffindors. Her brown eyes travelled all over Snape's face, and narrowed with concern when they fell on the cuts and bruises

"Severus, you've got to go see Madame Pompfery about those cuts on your face. They might get infected, and then that'll be another few weeks in the hospital wing. Though, I think Christine would enjoy visiting you." She smiled slightly at the last part of her sentence and poked him in the side playfully.

Sirius snorted. Why would any girl like Snape? he thought. Especially Christine, who was a sweet and caring Hufflepuff.

Severus glared at Sirius dangerously. Bella didn't even look in his direction. She simply looked past Severus before continuing, "Come on, Severus, or I'll be late for this tutoring session."

Nodding, he walked swiftly passed the pair of Gryffindors, making sure she followed him closely. He didn't want to give Lupin or Black the chance to talk to her, and upset her again.

Glowering at the tall boy's back, Sirius and Remus followed.

Things were going to get much worse.

~

"They want us to what?!?" exclaimed Jordie, as her boyfriend Kai explained to her what Narcissa and Jade had been discussing the night before. It was shocking, but at the same time rather intriguing. Kai thought the plan was near impossible.

"They want you and I to help set Bella and Remus up. I told them it was a stupid idea." he replied, looking at the shocked faces of his girlfriend, Lily Evans, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. He hadn't meant for all of them to be there, but it seemed that he wasn't going to be able to tell her without them present.

"It's absurd!" replied James, looking at all the people involved in the conversation. "I mean, how on earth did they come to that conclusion?"

"You know girls," muttered Kai, earning himself a double slap round the head, one from Jordie and the other from Lily.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed loudly, as they hit him, giving him stern looks, which could rival McGonagall's.

"Actually, I think it's a wonderful idea! With the right encouragement, they would be perfect for each other!" said Lily excitedly, "Remus is so sweet and caring, and Bella's.well."

"Stubborn, headstrong, somewhat devious, rude and can be a little bit snobby," offered Kai, grinning at all the strange looks he was getting. He continued with, "I do like her, and she is probably one of the nicer Slytherins. Most of how she acts is a defence mechanism, anyway. But can you really see them together? Would Remus be able to handle a girl like her? And most importantly, is there any chance that he will actually like her, or does now?"

"I think he already likes her." piped up Peter in his squeaky voice, going slightly red when they all turned and looked at him, with 'say that again' expressions on their faces.

"Well, you were there! Didn't you see how he was worried when she wasn't talking to him?" Peter asked sensibly.

Lily, Jordie and James nodded, as Peter smiled. Finally, someone had listened to his ideas and they actually been acknowledged as good. Kai looked around a bit before responding, "So what are you all in on this? Because, I can't get out of it or Narcissa will have me doing her homework for the rest of the year."

"I'm in!" chimed Lily and Jordie together, giggling afterwards at the fact that they had started saying things simultaneously, like twins would, usually.

"I suppose I'm in, too." said James, after a bit of thought.

"Yes, I'm in." replied Peter cheerfully. It was great being in on things like this. Plus, he did want to see Remus happy. After all, even though he never let his Lycanthropy get him down, he would sometimes distance himself from others, for fear of hurting them.

Looking at each other quickly, they all leaned in close to figure out a plan.

~

Remus and Sirius reached the DADA classroom a few minutes after Severus and Bella. Sirius shot Remus a concerned look as the werewolf sighed heavily.

"Remus," he said, getting slightly nervous as his friend looked at him with those strange amber eyes of his, "I didn't mean what I said in the library about Slytherins, it was stupid."

Remus looked at his friend as he spoke, wanting to be angry at him, wanting to tell him that these sessions where unbearable because of what he had said, but the sheer fact that he cared for Sirius like a brother and that Padfoot was always there when he transformed and was the closet thing the wolf had to a pack mate, he couldn't truly get angry with Sirius.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Padfoot," explained Remus.

"I am not apologizing to all of the Slytherins!" exclaimed Sirius, cringing at the sheer thought of all the Slytherins looking at him while he made a public arse of himself.

"Not to all the Slytherins," said Remus chuckling merrily at the image in his own mind, of Sirius confronted by all of Slytherin house, "just Bella. She seemed really hurt by what you said."

Sirius nodded in agreement to Remus' statement, but said nothing about actually apologizing. In his head, however, he made a mental note to somewhere along the course of the year to apologize anyway. Remus pushed the door open slightly, and was about to walk in, when Sirius grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, indicating for him to be quiet.

"I'll be fine Severus." the voice of Bella hit both of the Gryffindors ears. It clearly indicated that she wanted the other occupant of the room to leave, and it sounded like he was pacing.

"I saw the way you wouldn't meet Black and Lupin's eyes," growled Severus.

Sirius got a funny image of the lanky Slytherin in his head, and for some reason it had vampire teeth in it.

"It's a sign of weakness, and those Gryffindors' will pick up on it, especially Black, and will use it against you," Severus continued.

"Yes, Severus, because Black and his little friends are that clever so they'd pick up on body language." sighed Bella. Remus and Sirius both knew she was probably be rolling her eyes at the taller Slytherin. Bella continued with, "I swear, Sev, you're paranoid. Black and Potter are not out to get you all the time. You're just easier to wind up than anyone else, that's all."

Severus sneered "Yes, but I'm not the one obsessing over what that moron said in the library, am I?"

"I am not obsessing over it!" snapped Bella in reply, moving from where she was sitting to come face to face with the tall Slytherin. Though with her height against his, she barely reached his chest "It just upset me, that's all. and you know why!"

"Fine!" snapped Severus in reply, pausing a bit before asking his next question. "So why avoiding eye contact with Lupin?" he sneered, and Bella felt a lurch in her stomach, as she knew what he was going to ask next. "Afraid you might blush or something? You know, Lupin can tell when someone is attracted to him, so you better watch out." the cockiness in Severus's voice angered Bella. He'd obviously been listening to her, Narcissa and Jade's conversation.

"I am not attracted to Remus Lupin! Why does everyone keep thinking that?" she yelled at Severus, who simply gave her a stern look.

"Just watch yourself around him." he told her firmly "I don't want you to get hurt, and trust me, Lupin will hurt you, he's a monster."

This comment made Bella snap, "What do you mean by that, Severus?" Anger was boiling up inside her. "You've said that several times since this whole thing started a few weeks ago! Now, please explain what you mean by it."

The words of the truth were on the tip of his tongue. He could tell her everything. He could tell her exactly what Lupin was, that there was a monster behind that good-looking, intelligent, well-mannered and calm mask. But he remembered the oath Dumbledore had made him swear. the threat of expulsion hung over his head. A few times he'd actually thought about doing it. Maybe slipping himself a truth potion, and then blaming it on someone else, so that they would get expelled and Remus would probably be stoned to death by the other students. If Severus had been born without the slightest bit of conscious, he certainly would have. However, he wasn't as much of a bastard as Potter and the rest of the school believed. If people found out about Lupin's secret, it would be through another source, not him.

"Just watch him, Bella, soon you'll see what I mean." With that said, he turned and exited the room, knocking past Sirius and Remus as they chose their moment to enter.

They watched the brown-haired girl see Severus exit, and then turn away from the pair and move over to her seat, facing the board. She pulled her book out, and placed it in front of her and began to wait.

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks and silently agreed to talk about what they overheard later. Remus started to walk over to the desk to start the lesson when Sirius briskly walked past him and down to the desk. Leaning on an elbow, he looked the Slytherin girl in the face.

He couldn't help but grin with satisfaction when she looked away. Severus was right, it was a sign of weakness, and it proved he had power over her.

"Bella," he said gently. She looked up and met his eyes with a firm glare. He grinned at her with a grin that sent most girls to mush. Even the majority of Slytherin girls mellowed after he grinned like that, but her glare was firm set and flirty tricks weren't going to work.

"We need to have a talk," he calmly told her, not expecting an answer. "How about after the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. Wait outside the Slytherin changing rooms, I'll meet you there."

She was about to argue with him, when he said, "This isn't open for an argument, I've got a few things to say, and I am sure you do, too."

Remus watched Sirius talk to her, and the conversation seemed rather one- sided at the moment. That was probably because Sirius wasn't letting her get a word in edgewise. Before she could respond to what he was saying, Sirius stood up straight and walked past Remus, gripping his elbow.

"I'll apologize to her, and only to her." With that Sirius left, leaving Remus with a puzzled look on his face.

What was that all about? Remus wondered.

---E/O/C/5---

OK, SO HERE IS WHERE THE PLOT STARTS TO KICK IN, CHAP 6 IS GOING TO BE MORE INTERESTING OFF, COURSE.

REVIEW PLEASE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, I AM OPEN FOR IDEAS, SO IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN THE FIC PLEASE RIGHT IT IN A REVIEW OR E-MAIL, BECAUSE I LOVE GETTING IDEAS.