Harry woke up in Ron’s bedroom earlier than he intended. He dressed and went downstairs where Mrs. Weasley and Charlie were talking in the kitchen.
“…put it in my drink, Mum,” said Charlie, looking harassed. “Now I’m doing and saying random things every five seconds! Purple and orange teacups and snot!” he added with the expression of being forced to do something he did not want to do.
“Well, dear, knowing Fred and George, the effects will wear off soon,” Mrs. Weasley said reassuringly. “Harry, good morning!”
Harry walked in and sat at the large table. Mrs. Weasley dropped twelve sausages and a towering heap of scrambled eggs on to a plate in front of him. Charlie mumbled something about retractable fingernails and sat down as well.
Moments later, Monicola came in, yawning widely. “Good morning, Molly, Harry.” She turned to Charlie. “I’m sorry; I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Monicola.”
Charlie stood right up and grabbed Monicola by the waist. He swung her low and kissed her on the lips.
Harry laughed openly, seeing the bemused expression on Monicola’s face
“Charlie, and I am very sorry,” he said hastily, going red around the ears. He let her up and sat back down, covering his face with his hands.
“This is beginning to be a very nice morning,” said Monicola and she sat down next to Harry.
“Have you thought about working as the Defense professor at all?” asked Harry.
She nodded. “I have, which just gave me a better reason not to take the job.”
“Why?”
“There’s a teacher there that would not be pleased with my presence.”
***
“Ms. Hardcrow, please wake up!” Professor Benton cried. Monicola’s head popped up.
“Wassamatter?” she said, rubbing her puffy eyes.
Lupin leaned closer to her. “You fell asleep!”
“Ms. Hardcrow, if I hear you snoring one more time, I will deduct points from Gryffindor and give you a week’s detention!”
“Sorry, Professor,” Monicola mumbled, suppressing a yawn.
“Are you okay?” asked Lupin once Arithmancy was over.
She shook her head. “I have a lot of work to do. I’m not getting much sleep lately.”
“Would you like some help?” he asked.
Monicola smiled. “Actually I would. How about tonight in the common room?”
“Fine, I’ll see you then.”
Monicola went to sit with Lily on the far end of the Gryffindor table, while Lupin sat with his fellow Marauders.
“You two looked very cozy,” said Sirius, glaring at him suspiciously. “What are you up to?”
“She needs a bit of help with schoolwork so I offered to assist her,” said Lupin, shrugging and piling a mound of mashed potatoes on his plate.
Sirius still looked unsure.
“Look,” Lupin said, getting annoyed, “nothing is going on between us, alright?”
Sirius nodded and started on his own meal.
The thought of dating Monicola had crossed Remus’ mind but it swiftly was replaced by his knowledge of the feud between vampires and werewolves. They couldn’t survive together; they were exact opposites. Being with Monicola would not be an option.
Later that night, Lupin and Monicola sat in front of the fire, trying to figure out an Arithmancy problem.
“It’s really hot in here,” she said, fanning herself with her hand. She took off her sweater she normally wore in this sort of weather and placed it on and empty chair.
Lupin did think that it was quite warm in the common room but thought better of taking off his own sweater as he had nothing under it.
“Can we finish this tomorrow? My brain is beginning to hurt…”
Monicola laughed. “Sure,” she said and closed her textbook.
“Can I ask you something?” said Lupin, looking down at his hands.
“Okay.”
“Have you ever…bitten anyone?”
Monicola took a moment to reply. She had expected him to ask this sometime. “I have but I stopped about twenty years ago.”
Lupin frowned. “Twenty? You’re only sixteen.”
She smiled gently at him. “I was sixteen when I was bitten. When someone is bitten by a vampire and then turned into one, they basically die and if you’re dead, you can’t age, can you?”
“How is a person turned into a vampire?” he asked interestedly.
She thought for a moment then said, “Well, the way it happened with me, I was bitten and then I had to drink the blood of my creator, the one that bit me that is. After about two days of incredible pain in which my body adjusted to the new need of blood and having my soul ripped out of me, I became a vampire.”
Lupin frowned. “You don’t have a soul?”
“Oh, I have one it’s just not in me. I think it’s somewhere in Greece…”
“Greece?”
“Yes, with the All Father, the creator of the Clan of the Waning Wings,” she said. “I’ve never met him but I hear he’s very nice. I trust him with my soul.”
Lupin was incredibly interested. He never thought he would have the opportunity to ask Monicola such personal questions, but here he was, chatting it up like there was no problem at all.
“Why are you telling me all of this?” he asked.
Monicola shrugged. “Because I know I can trust you.”
***
Monicola rushed to the staff room, a role of parchment in her right hand. She had to get her homework to Professor Binns before it was too late to turn it in.
She knocked softly on the door. The gargoyles on either side of the door stared down at her. “What do you want?” one asked in a high-pitched tone.
“None, of your business,” she said icily and walked in. It was very dark in the room, the only light coming from the fireplace. Professor Binns was sitting in an armchair in front of it.
“Professor, I have that essay you assigned last week.” Monicola crept closer to him. He didn’t reply.
“Professor?” She tapped him on the arm; he didn’t move. She pushed his head a little and it fell on his shoulder. He was dead.
At that precise moment, Sirius and James came into the room holding several round objects. They saw Monicola standing over Professor Binns, ashen-faced.
“He’s…he’s…”
“Moni, what is it?” asked Sirius coming closer. James stepped forward as well.
“Professor Binns is dead!”
The boys’ eyes widened. James’ jaw dropped; Sirius went very white.
“C’mon,” Sirius said, taking Monicola by the hand. “We have to go tell McGonagall.”
Monicola nodded, letting Sirius lead her out of the room.
Professor McGonagall was sitting in her office, pouring over a pile of parchment. Sirius cleared his throat loudly.
“Can I help you?” she asked, looking up.
“We, um, have bad news, Professor,” Sirius mumbled.
“And what would that be, Mr. Black?” asked McGonagall, sitting up straighter.
“Professor Binns has died, ma’am, he’s in the staff room now.”
McGonagall’s cheeks lost their color. “How could this happen….”
“We don’t know.”
She came toward them, wringing her hands. “Who found him?”
James spoke up, “Monicola was there when we found the two of them.”
Suddenly, the professor’s eyes bulged and she turned toward Monicola rather quickly. “You found him?”
“I did, ma’am,” said Monicola awkwardly. She did not know why McGonagall was looking at her this way.
“Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, you may go back to your common room. Ms. Hardcrow will come with me.”
Sirius looked weary for a moment but left with James without complaint.
“Follow me, Ms. Hardcrow.”
Monicola followed her superior up many flights of stairs until they reached a stone gargoyle. “Every Flavored Beans,” McGonagall said and the gargoyle sprang to life and moved out the way, revealing a spiraling stair case. Monicola stepped on a moving step just behind the professor and they moved upward until they came to a door. McGonagall knocked twice and a calm voice said, “Enter.” They both walked in.
Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, fingertips touching.
“Ah, Professor McGonagall, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Professor Binns has died, Albus,” she said. Dumbledore frowned.
“When did this happen?”
McGonagall shook her head. “I do not know, but Ms. Hardcrow found with him at the time.” She pushed Monicola forward.
Dumbledore looked a little more aggrieved. “You could not possibly think that she….”
“I don’t know what to think.”
Realization dawned on Monicola and she was immediately hurt.
“I didn’t kill him!” she yelled, looking from Dumbledore to McGonagall. “I went in there to give him this….” She pulled her homework out of her pocket; it was quite crumpled.
“We are not accusing you, Monicola,” Dumbledore said softly.
“It’s just that, considering the circumstances―” McGonagall began.
“Oh, just because I’m a vampire you automatically think I did him in?” she shouted. “Did it occur to you that he might have died of old age? The man was extremely ―”
“That will do Ms. Hardcrow,” interrupted Dumbledore without raising his voice. “I am sure that you did not kill him.”
Suddenly, something walked right through the closed door. It was Professor Binns, transparent and shining in the light.
“I’m dead,” he croaked nervously.
“Yes, I know, Professor,” said Dumbledore. “Ms. Hardcrow was the one that found your body.”
Professor Binns rounded on Monicola. “You killed me, didn’t you?”
“Oh, dear Merlin, not again!” Monicola exclaimed and ran from the office.
Lupin was waiting for her in the common room. He brought her aside, away from the other students.
“I just heard what happened,” he said, touching her arm. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, sort of,” she replied, leaning her head on the wall.
“Sort of?”
Monicola took a deep breath. “Professor Binns thinks I killed him.”
“He ― what? That’s crazy!” Lupin exclaimed.
“I know, but Dumbledore believes I didn’t do it. Even so, Binns might hold this against me…”
Lupin looked into her eyes; tears were welling up along her eyelids. She was experiencing the pain of an accusation that had happened to her before.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?” he asked quietly.
Monicola shook her head, wiping a tear away. Lupin reached out and hugged her.
Despite the fact that she was going through a bit of a heartache, Monicola couldn’t help but realize how strong Lupin’s arms were. Lupin’s body was very skinny but his arms were quite muscular. His hands moved up and down her back; she laughed softly.
“What is it?” he asked, letting her go.
“You were tickling me,” she said, still sniggering.
Lupin snorted. “I barely touched you.”
Monicola shrugged. “C’mon, we have to work on that Arithmancy homework.”