The Love Potion, pt. 2

On their way to dinner on March 7th, Raven fell into pace with Harry. “Remus asked me to help out with his transformation tonight. Apparently James and them have to work on a project. He wouldn’t tell me what it was.” 

“Okay.” Harry angled his body to make room for a group of Ravenclaws.

“Oh—right, I brought it up because I want you to come as well. But, use some sort of spell to conceal yourself. If something happened, and I couldn’t help him…” 

“Why don’t you want him to know I’m there?” 

Raven was at once uncomfortable. “He asked me expressly. Also, I don’t want him to think I’m avoiding him or anything.” 

“No, of course.” Was it because, despite trying to convince Harry she believed otherwise, Raven thought Remus liked her? 

Raven met Remus in the Shack after dinner; he had skipped the meal to help James, Sirius, and Peter with the project they needed to work on.

Harry followed close behind the two, then retreated upstairs. He sat down by the hole in the floorboards and peered down. 

Remus crossed to one side of the room. “I have to, you know, make sure none of my clothes rip or anything, so, do you mind…?”

“Oh! Sure, yeah.” Blushing, Raven turned around. Harry leaned back so his view was obscured. He could still see Raven transform through the gap. A minute later, Remus walked toward her, form hunched, body gray and thin. Raven, in wolf form, stood her ground and waited for him to recognize her. When he did, he ran in a little excited circle and scampered to the other side of the room. Raven hesitated, paw raised, then trotted after him. 

Harry watched them for a moment, then got up, created a space to write and sleep, and settled down for the night.

“Raven?” 

Harry awoke at her name, spoken by Remus downstairs, and put on his glasses. He pulled on the Invisibility Cloak, walked to the hole, and peered down. Remus was dressed, mostly; he held his shirt in his hands, one arm reaching through a gaping rip in the fabric.

Raven stirred, then transformed back into her human form. “G’morning.” She tucked a spiral of hair behind her ear, stood, then noticed his situation. “Oh, right, you picked your shirt up and sort of tore at it, accidentally. Sorry, I couldn’t do much to…”

“It's fine.” Remus crossed the room to her. “Do you know any spell that could fix it?” 

“Maybe. I have a lot of free time over the summer so I’ve learned a few things, but I wasn’t able to practice…” Raven drifted off, uncomfortable under his gaze and by the fact that he was half-naked. She used getting out her wand as an excuse to step backward. 

“Conset confuges.”

Remus held up the shirt, which was now sealed along the tear. “Thanks.” He shot her a sheepish little half-smile before pulling it over his head. 

Harry cast a Muffling spell to silence his footsteps and moved downstairs. When he reached the doorway on the main floor, he stopped in surprise. 

Remus’ hand touched Raven’s cheek as he kissed her. She was tilted back in shock and had placed a hand on his chest, as though she’d intended to keep him from coming closer. After a moment, Remus pulled back, face hot with embarrassment. 

“I’m—I’m sorry,” Remus said, eyes wide, searching her face. 

Raven hugged him, and when she let go, she kept one hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to…don’t apologize. Please.” 

Remus nodded, his lips pressed together.

Raven dropped her hand to her side. “I really care about you, Remus, it’s just—I don’t want—I just want to be friends.”

Remus nodded, eyes locked on the floor. “Okay. I didn’t mean to, you know, do that, it just…happened. It wasn’t bad, was it? Is that why you…?”

“No! No, not at all, it was nice.” Her compliment hung in the air for too long, considering how close they still were to each other. “We should probably go. We both could use a shower.” She gave him a light smile. He tried to return the expression, but his mouth wouldn’t move properly. 

By Easter, the weather had turned from a winter gray to the the black-and-white of spring. Harry, Raven, Lily, and Severus traveled with their things by Floo Powder from the school to Violetta’s home.

“Welcome, welcome!” Violetta’s mother immediately shook their hands and took their things. “It’s so nice to have you all. Now, you’re the only ones who were able to come, which means more room! We invited Alice and Frank—possibly you know them—but with the rising number of battles and secret missions nowadays, they hardly have any time to spare. Though, you may be a little young to know about all that. Third year, Vi told me. Would you like a cuppa?” She said this all very fast. Like mother like daughter.

“Yes, please.”

“You must be Jacob. Vi told me a lot about you.” She put everything she was carrying by the stairs and continued talking from the kitchen. “She wants you to do Quidditch for a summer league after fourth year.” Mrs. Rosquit gestured for the four to sit down. “Now, what are all of your names?” 

After chatting (rather one-sidedly) for about an hour, they showered and went to bed. The boys got the guest room, the girls got Violetta’s room. 

Harry lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. He was putting off his decision of whether or not to stay another year. Severus was silent, which probably meant he was thinking, too. 

In the morning, at a more reasonable hour than the World Cup with the Weasleys, the group got up, got ready, and traveled to their site. The tent, once set up, was twice as large as the one the Weasleys borrowed. There was one bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room and living room area, one bedroom, and three bunk beds off to the side. 

“This is incredible,” Lily said, setting her rucksack on a bottom bunk. Severus and Raven took the top bunks, Harry took the one under Severus.

“I’m glad you like it. It’s a little cramped, but it’ll do.” Mrs. Rosquit smiled at her husband and the two went off to fix up the place. 

“Why don’t we learn about this kind of magic in school?” Raven sat down next to Harry. 

Harry was about to respond when he heard a familiar voice from outside. “Here’s our spot!”

Severus swore. Harry got up and looked through the front entrance. Sure enough, James had passed by, helping his dad carry a large trunk. Behind them were Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Harry went back inside and told the others, “It’s James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter.” 

The others (even Raven, who had reddened at Remus’ name) turned toward Lily. “What?” Lily said, raising an eyebrow. “He won’t find out we’re here. And I’m not the only one doesn’t like him. Why is he here, anyway? Isn’t this area just for the players’ families?” 

“And rich people. That’s what Violetta said in her letter.” 

“Oh.” Lily paused, then changed the subject from James, and everyone relaxed.

They stayed inside until after lunch, when most would not yet be filling the stadium. The Rosquits and, as it appeared, everyone else on the reserved site had a large luxury suite in the middle level of the stadium. Some stretches of the suite were sealed with glass, others were open. One half was decorated in the Wigtown Wanderers’ symbol of a cleaver along with their colors, blood red and silver. The other half was in the Ballycastle Bats’ colors, black and scarlet, along with their mascot, Barny the Fruitbat. 

There were still three hours before the game started, but most people in the suite appeared to be present—including James. He seemed just about to spot the four when cheering made him turn round. 

The Wigtown Wanderers were all visiting the suite. Families received them with hugs and quick conversations. There was also a handful of kids waiting with posters, chatting excitedly.

Violetta, at the front end of the group, crouched down, ruffled several heads of hair, and signed posters. She was tanner, more muscular, and stood straighter than she had the year before.

Violetta rose and approached Harry, ponytail bobbing, eyes bright. “Jacob! Nice to see you.” She hugged him, then held him out at arms’ length. “You’re still short.” Her attention shifted to the others. She shook their hands as they introduced themselves. “Thank you all for coming. Well, I have to get ready, but I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” Violetta clapped him on the back, smiled, and made her way back through the crowd. 

“Good luck!” Raven, Lily, and Harry called. Violetta threw a smile over her shoulder before disappearing. 

“I thought I saw you!” James said from beside them, sidling closer to Lily. His face was painted red and silver, and he had a gag meat cleaver lodged in his head. 

“Did you know that we were going to this game?” Lily demanded, backing away. 

James only skipped a beat before replying. “No, of course not; it was my birthday present.” 

“We got the tickets for Christmas. Your birthday’s in March.” 

James grinned. “So you memorized my birthday. I’m flattered.” 

Lily flushed. “Right. Of course memorizing your birthday had nothing to do with you shoving it down my throat. It’s not like you have ever asked for a birthday snog, or said something about your birthday suit, or—” 

“Okay! Okay. You are a laugh, Evans. So, moving on…I bought you all Omnioculars for the game.” He handed Lily four, and she immediately passed them on to Harry. 

“How did you know to buy these if you didn’t know we were here till just now?” 

James ignored her question and continued smiling. “Gotta run, it’s been great seeing you.” 

At the scowl on Lily’s face, Harry decided it wasn’t a good time to tell her he was the one who told Remus about the game. 

“Well, it’d be a waste to not use these,” Raven said. 

“Maybe we could sell them,” Severus suggested as Harry passed them out. 

Lily peered at him through the Omnioculars. “Who would buy them? They don’t even work.”

“Here, turn this.” Harry twisted one of dials, and Lily stifled a gasp by clearing her throat. “Er, they’re okay. Wait, what does this do—oh! It replays it. This makes it go in slow motion, or sped up…” Raven joined her in fiddling with the Omnioculars.

“What a waste of money,” Severus said. 

Harry sighed. “Lighten up. It could’ve been worse.” 

Severus snorted and stayed mostly silent for the rest of the time leading up to the game. As the sun set, everyone in the suite headed to the balcony.

Billboards lit up with advertisements, and as the sky darkened, the golden light from the heart of the stadium grew stronger. The signs changed, and neat writing appeared: Get ready for the team mascots!

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Spring Holiday match, brought to you by the Nimbus; the fastest, sleekest, best broom in the world.” The announcer paused to let the crowd cheer, then continued. “First, it is a great honor to introduce…the Wigtown Wanderers team mascot!” 

The center of the stadium, which had been kept dark, became illuminated. In the light, there was a silver ring, which contained a large creature. Harry, along with the others, pressed his Omnioculars to his face. After adjusting the view, he saw that it was a Chimaera. 

“Aren’t Chimaeras Greek, not Scottish?” Raven whispered. A fan next to her, dressed in all silver, glared in their direction. 

The Chimaera roared, sending a line of fire that, when passed through the silver ring, turned the same color. 

A line of dancers filed onto the field, forming a circle a safe distance around the beast. They began a dance that was so hypnotic, most of the people fell silent.

“How do you think they trained it?” Raven said, adjusting her lens. “Look around its…feet, or whatever you’d call them. You can kind of make out that it was hurt through the red paint…I wonder how they get it to not fight, or fly away. Its wings seem like they’re weighed down.”

No one said anything about Raven’s commentary, but they kept observing the beast. After a few minutes, the dancers cleared and the lights on the field went out. 

“Now presenting the Ballycastle Bats team mascots!” 

Out of the darkness rose a thousand glowing, flying bats. The bats flew in a long stream around the stadium, whizzing along the suite. They collected in the center of the stadium, hovering in the silhouette of a bat as fireworks boomed overhead. 

Someone tapped Lily’s arm. She started and spun around. “Potter, I told you—oh, hello, Remus.”

“Hello.”

“Did you come with a message from James? Does he want his Omnioculars back?”

“Er, no, I’m here ’cause I wanted to say hi…Did something happen?” 

“No, not really,” Harry replied as Lily said, “He’s a toerag.” 

Remus tried to exchange a smirk with Raven, who was deliberately staring at the floor. When she glanced up to return it, he’d already moved on. 

“Speaking of James, did you tell him we got tickets to this game for Christmas?” Lily crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“No. Why would you think I did?” After a few moments he caved. “Okay, yes, but I didn’t think it was a secret.” 

“Apparently not.” Lily glanced sideways at Harry.

“I know he’s…a bit forward, but you could at least acknowledge him.” 

“Just because he fancies me doesn’t mean I owe him anything.”

Remus searched for a response. “You’re right. Sorry for going off like that.” He turned to go, but Harry pulled him aside.

“If you want to join us again, you can. Lily’ll get over it, just don’t mention James.” 

Remus nodded, his expression reluctant, heavy, before walking away. 

“And now, please welcome the Ballycastle Bats and the Wigtown Wanderers!” The two teams flew out, shooting past the crowd. Harry couldn’t hear himself cheer over everyone else.

As the players got into their positions, Harry adjusted his Omnioculars. He studied Violetta, who was glaring at the other end of the field, jaw set. He then turned his lens back to the center of the field.

A whistle pierced the air, and the players he’d been able to see a moment before shot into position. There were two wizards and five witches on the Wigtown Wanderers, each with an expression ten times more aggressive than the other team. It was no wonder their uniform featured a meat cleaver. 

Harry noted a sign over each teams’ area below the action. “Here in spirit,” said each, followed by a short list of people he’d never heard of. 

The Wanderers scored, and there was a bout of shouts from the Marauders, who were close by. That would be the last goal scored between both teams for an hour. The mood in the Wanderers half of the suite changed from celebratory to tense.

The Marauders, within that hour, had slowly drifted closer to the point where the two groups were merged. 

“C’MON! WHAT KIND OF FUCKING CALL WAS THAT?” James roared, after Violetta was nearly knocked off her broom by the other teams’ Chaser. The referee did nothing.

Before the game could resume, there was a huge boom of thunder that sent vibrations through the pitch. Only…it wasn’t thunder. Clouds gathered overhead, barely visible in the night sky. Out of the mass a dozen cloaked figures dropped down, all riding brooms. There was an eerie pause as hundreds of Omnioculars zoomed in on the faces of the people.  

The figures were Death Eaters.