- Chapter Twenty-Six -
"I'm fine, sorry, just...proceed, please."

HAVING AMBER, Oliver and Louis back was better than Sherry had expected. As soon as she had seen them come out of the carriage pulled by what looked like nothing, her heart had skipped a beat and the smile on her face was out of genuine happiness. Same could be said for Marlene when the blonde beauty tumbled out of the wooden vehicle with Oliver in tow and attacked Sherry in a large hug of greeting; it was also funny to see the drop in both Potter's and Snape's faces when she had thrown an arm around Lily and  lead her back up to the castle before they could ambush her.

Plus the fury on Potter's face when she had winked at him and Snape was the fuel of her amusement.

Amber had also told her, later in the dorm when all the girls had returned and plopped down on their beds after not sleeping in their usual covers for two weeks, that they had talked about Snape on Sherry's first day when they were back in the Common Room and Sherry was beating Oliver in Wizards Chess. Snape was the piece of slimy dishcloth that was obsessed with Lily which Sherry didn't find to be surprising after the life-draining conversation she had with him in the Entrance Hall. The fact that it only lasted about 2 minutes and Sherry felt like it lasted for hours told her all she needed to know.

The first week of school after the holidays came with familiar glory and Sherry found herself enjoying it more than she had, especially after the two weeks she had spent practically alone. One thing new was the the fleeting glances between her and Matt which her friends had noticed and after her very vivid description of their first encounter, had teased her. He often hung around with his sixth-year Gryffindor friends since he was a year older but he locked eyes with her every time they were in the hallway with no failure.

Blushing was not a new thing to Sherry but it was something that had not happened in a while, after her first kiss with her best friend and the weeks following, it had been harder not to blush than to blush but after she had gotten over it, blushing was not something she did very often. Unlike Amber who blushed after every compliment she ever got from anyone and unlike Lily Evans who blushed so much under any positive attention that it was a surprise she had not gone permanently red to match her hair.

Matt made her blush and her stomach flipped slightly whenever they locked eyes from across the Great Hall or when walking past her in the hallway and she hated but loved it at the same time; he was definitely attractive, she knew that from the first time they met but his ability to make his eyes glint in her direction which caused her stomach to do somersaults was something even she had never encountered despite her many flirting techniques.

Her friends had not been the only ones to pick up on the eye contact it seemed as when Sherry had gone to the first weekly lesson with Potter (annoyed she had to go back after Dumbledore had given them a two week reprieve), he had mentioned it and just received a full view of her middle finger whilst she flipped through the pages of Witch Weekly that she used after one of her dorm mates had ordered it since she still had no British Wizarding Currency.

The lesson was mostly spent in silence, glares and scowls still delivered but it seemed that after the first full week of lessons in the New Year, both were too tired to engage in any sort of argument with one another. Dumbledore returned and they left in silence again, Sherry scaring Remus once more as he walked his prefect rounds now certainly starting to regret taking the Friday evening shift as Sherry surprised him every time; he made mental notes to look out for her but he always forgot.

First period on Monday granted Sherry the pleasure of having to sit next to Potter in Defence Against The Dark Arts where Mrs. Greene had eyed the two warily after their first lesson sat next to each other where they had physically assaulted each other by pulling each other's hair and she had immediately knew that they would be trouble. But she had nowhere to move either of them, they'd get distracted by their friends so she resorted to just keeping an eye on them which seemed easier in their first lesson as Potter seemed more shifty and nervous than last time whereas Sherry was the same unbothered girl.

"Werewolves." Mrs. Greene spoke as she scribbled it on the chalkboard at the front of the class, the chalk making a loud noise as it hit the board and her beautifully cursive handwriting flicked the  top of the S before she turned around to face them. "Who can tell me what a werewolf is? Uh, yes Miss Rogers?"

"A werewolf," Mandy Rogers lowered her hand, smiling slightly at her chance to show off her knowledge in front of the class. "Also known as a lycanthrope, is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, becomes an uncontrollable, fearsome and deadly wolf."

Potter clenched his fist from next to Sherry and she glanced at the sudden movement before looking up at his face and seeing his clenched jaw, he looked at her and she looked away with a small raising of her hands in defence. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat slightly.

"Correct, Miss Rogers, 5 points to Hufflepuff." Mrs. Greene pointed at her with a sweet smile and Mandy smiled proudly whilst all the Hufflepuff's grinned cockily. "A werewolf could not choose whether or not to transform and would no longer remember who they were, and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed-"

Sherry's eyes snapped to Potter again as he cleared his throat in a much more aggressive way and she furrowed her eyebrows at his behaviour before following his apologetic eyeline which was pointed towards Remus who had his shoulders hunched over much more than usual and seemed to be fidgeting.

"- Despite this, they were able to recall everything they had experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting to their human form." Mrs. Greene said and Sherry watched Remus move his head slightly as if wincing at some sort of pain and slowly, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Now, werewolves are generally regarded with fear and disgust by our society. People seemed to think even when in human form, the werewolf could pose a danger which is not correct. In fact, some werewolves could be one of the most kindest people you'll ever meet and are often ashamed of who they are-"

Sherry let out a sharp and loud gasp, her hand flying to her mouth as everybody turned around to face her and Mrs. Greene raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Miss Opal?"

"Fine," She chuckled slightly, shaking her head before she realised she must look crazy; not everyone will have figured out what she had. "I'm fine, sorry, just...proceed, please."

"I was going to." Greene smiled and Sherry nodded, waving a hand for her to continue whilst she sunk back into her seat with her hand over her mouth. "It is not uncommon for people known to be werewolves to be shunned by society and discriminated against within the wizarding world. It is very difficult for a werewolf to get a job in the wizarding community, especially after the passing of restrictive legislations which you can all read about on page 394-396 of your books."

A lot of the class groaned as they opened their books to said pages, taking out parchment to write down notes on what it said in the books. Sherry took her parchment and quill out of her bag and flipped to the pages, shaking her head in amusement to herself. It all made sense; Potters fidgeting on the full moon they spent together, Remus getting sick every month and missing some classes on the excuse of his mother, his scars...now that she thinks of it, it is rather obvious especially with his name.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

"What are you smirking at?" Potter murmured from next to her and she turned to face him, he was scowling down at the book as he traced a finger over the words. He looked at her when she only stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing." She hummed with a small shrug, turning around and he sat up slightly, now slightly scared of what she was smirking at. "Just wondering why you were so angry at the book is all."

"Well...werewolves aren't monsters."

"Agreed."

"See, you should think- wait, agreed?" Potter stopped halfway through his sentence that had an angry tone to it and he faced her with a look of incredulity on his face, eyes wide and mouth agape that she had actually agreed with something he had said. "You agree?"

"Should I not?" She asked him and he shook his head, stammering over his words but she said something else before he could even get anything out. "When it comes to prejudice, I don't care who I agree with but if I ever agree with you on something that's not about prejudice or discrimination, shoot me."

"Shoot?" He said, eyebrows furrowing and she rolled her eyes at his pureblood cluelessness. "What is that?"

"Like a gun?" She said to him and he stared at her cluelessly before shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. "Oh my god, you are so stupid."

"You're so rude." He scoffed, turning away from her. "Just because I don't understand muggle things doesn't mean I'm stupid. Have you seen our pranks? Would a stupid person be able to come up with those?"

"Don't kid yourself, Potter, we all know Pettigrew comes up with them all." She shook her head and he spluttered for a moment, trying to find something to say but it was harder than it seemed. "He told me, actually. He apologised for the ideas that were used against me after I put a slipping charm on his shoes so I know that he gives you the ideas and you carry them out."

"Pete." He seethed, looking ahead of him at the back of Peter Pettigrews head which had ducked down probably when he had heard Sherry speak his name. "Pete, how could you?"

"I'm sorry!" He said, not bothering to turn around as Potter shook his head and slumped back against his seat. "I'm sorry, she scares me!"

"Awesome." Sherry smiled to herself, looking in between the two boys; Peter ducked his head down further and Potter scowled at her. "Stop scowling, you'll get worry lines."

He quickly raised his hand to his forehead, frowning as he felt around the skin there before yanking his hand down when she started laughing. Greene looked at them from across the classroom, shaking her head before returning to the student she was helping. What a pair, she thought.

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A/N: shorter chapter than usual because i'm on a train and have a headache.

have a good day x