Chapter 1
“You, my boy, are failing potions.”
“Er- yeah, I am….” Remus replied glumly.
“And frankly, I cannot have that! I have checked with the other professors, and it seems your grades are flourishing everywhere else but here! So, Loopy-“
“Lupin.”
“I have assigned you a tutor.” Finished Slughorn, seemingly not hearing the younger boys correction, “It will be two nights a week. I would do it myself, but I don’t have the time to be frolicking with students now do I!”
‘Okay Mister Slug Club,’ Remus thought bitterly.
He pushed the back of his head into the wall, hoping somehow he could sink into and disappear. He drowned out the rest of the older man’s speech, not really caring for his theatrics. Slughorn had always been his least favorite Professor.
“-And Lyra Black is just a gem, isn’t she!”
Remus sat up, “What?”
“Now, now. Don’t worry my boy! She may be in the year below you, but she has perfected many N.E.W.T potions on her own! Honestly, I couldn’t think of anyone better.” Slughorn said, flashing a proud smile.
Now, Remus had no problem with the witch. In fact, he had never even spoken a word to her. But that was Sirius’s sister, twin to Regulus Black! And Sirius never had anything good to say about Regulus! And nothing to say at all about Lyra! But, Regulus was a traditional, pureblooded maniac so she couldn’t be much different, could she?
“Sir- couldn’t one of my friends tutor me? James and Sirius do quite well in potions-“
Slughorn cut him off, “No… that won’t work. James and Sirius are fine students, yes, but I fear they would only be a distraction.”
“But-“
“No buts! I truly believe that working with Lyra will have you become a potions master in no time!” Slughorn waved his hand at him like he was an irritating fly, “The both of you will
meet in the library every Tuesday and Friday night. I will speak with her about these arrangements. And do take this seriously, your grade is counting on it!”
Remus breathed out a heavy sigh, merely nodding his head at Slughorn. His grade in Potions was truly dreadful, and he did need extra help, but why her?
“Go on, boy. I have many essays to grade.” Slughorn said, ushering him out and closing the heavy wooden door with a thud.
Remus stood there for a moment, staring at the ground with a blank look on his face. Academics were the only thing in his life that truly mattered to him, something that he could use to prove himself. And he was ashamed, ashamed that he was failing Potions. If he couldn’t excel in every class, then why was he even at Hogwarts? Dumbledore had endangered many students by allowing him in, and he couldn’t even pay him back by taking extra care of his studies.
Oh and how embarrassing it is to be tutored by a younger student, a Slytherin. He’s sure the snakes will have a fine time taunting him about it.
Remus dragged his feet across the castle, slowly making his way to the Great Hall for dinner. Tomorrow was Tuesday. His first tutoring session. Merlin, he would almost take a full moon over that.
He slipped inside the large, double doors, spotting his friends already sitting down and chatting away. He kept his head down the whole way there, deciding he wanted to sulk for the rest of the night. Reaching the table, he slumped into his seat and instantly laid his head down onto the cool surface.
“Alright there Moony?” Asked Peter.
Remus gave a grunt in response, ignoring how Sirius poked him in the side.
“I think he’s lost it.” Sirius muttered, looking back at James with a frown. “He usually throws a fit when I poke him.”
James reached over Sirius and swatted Remus in the head, causing the boy to sit up with a jolt. “Ay!”
The three boys snickered, ignoring the fierce glare that was now being thrown their way. Remus thought about hexing them with one of Snivellus’s famous spells.
“Well? What did ol’ Sluggy want?” James asked, smirking wider as Remus’s scowl deepened.
Remus grumbled, “He assigned me a tutor.”
“Is it dear old Snape?”
“Nah.”
“Then who?” Sirius chimed in, wondering who it could be to make his friend so grumpy.
Remus sighed. Saying her name would cause a negative reaction. “Er- right… your sister?”
Sirius’s face fell. The three boys had always heard him ranting about his family, but Lyra was never mentioned. Ever. They didn’t ask about her either.
James rubbed the back of his neck, kicking Peter, who was chewing loudly, under the table.
Peter swallowed quickly, “That’s not bad, right?”
James kicked him again. “Ow…”
Sirius frowned, casting a quick glance at the Slytherin table. Remus followed his gaze, finding the witch right away. She was staring into the distance with the same frown Sirius was wearing.
Sirius averted his gaze back to Remus, “But.. you’re a seventh year and..”
“Yeah, well. She’s a potion prodigy apparently.” Remus replied, raking a hand over his face. “Honestly, I’m more embarrassed than worried.”
“Right.” Sirius said, taking a large gulp of his pumpkin juice. It got caught in his throat and James hit him on the back hard, causing the liquid to spew all over Peter.
It was silent for a beat, before the three of them doubled over, clutching their stomachs.
“That’s foul…” Peter whined, grabbing his wand and casting a lousy drying charm. His nose wrinkled before he stood up with a sigh. “Yeah, yeah. Very funny. I’m going to go change…”
Remus wiped his eyes with his robes, laughing even harder when Sirius and James started to shove each other in their laughing fit. He was just glad the topic on Lyra being his tutor didn’t last all that long. Merlin knows he couldn’t deal with a brooding Sirius all night.
Once everyone calmed down, James leaned around Sirius, raising a brow at Remus.
Remus shook his head, willing the boy to save his questions for later. His attempt was futile, however, because Sirius started talking.
“It might help. Lyra was always good at everything she did. I’m sure you’ll be amazing at Potions by the end of the year.”
Both James and Remus started at him, while Sirius just went back to eating his treacle tart. That was probably the most they have ever heard him speak about his sister. And, honestly, James was curious to see what else he had to say. It was rare to get Sirius to speak about his family without him getting all worked up.
“Oh?” James murmured, hoping the small question would push out more information.
“Yeah. I think her magic showed at a younger age then all of us. She used to grow all types of flowers around the house, they would sprout through the floorboards. Mum would get so irritated.” Sirius let out a little chuckle, taking another bite and continuing with a full mouth, “Me and Regulus used to fight over who got to keep them- we’d have to hide them from our parents, of course. They never wilted, always stayed perfect even without water or soil.”
“Wonder where mine went…” Sirius then trailed off, his brows furrowing. He didn’t say anything else as he placed the unfinished tart back onto his plate.
Remus winced at the change of mood, “Shall we head back to the common room..?”
Sirius mumbled a small agreement while James nodded, pushing his plate away from him and standing up.
The three of them walked back in silence, but Remus could see James’s mind searching for a way to ease the tension. Merlin knows the boy was never good at dealing with heavier emotions.
“How are we going to prank Aubrey?”
Remus groaned.