Little Riddle | James Potter

One

"This duelling club will begin in October, there will be a session per week. Only fifth to seventh years are allowed to sign up," Dumbledore instructed as he gazed at the four students who stood awkwardly before the Headmaster's desk. "There's still a month left. That way you can prepare your lessons to properly teach the students instead of catching them off guard with spells they're not familiar with." He looked at James and Sirius with an amused smile as he uttered that last comment.

"Excuse me, Professor?" Remus shyly raised his hand, clearing his throat before voicing his doubt, "why didn't you assign a teacher to do this?"

Dumbledore nodded understandingly before explaining, "This is considered an extracurricular activity, Mr Lupin, and the teachers are busy enough as it is, so I figured it was time for the four of you to show off your remarkable skills. Of course, I'll completely understand if any of you declines." But he knew they wouldn't. That's why those specific four students were standing in front of him because they had the character and the will to fight, to make a move and incite change. They had a hunger to do right, all of them driven by their own personal reasonings.

"I'll do it," Alexis stepped forward with her head held high, unhesitatingly giving Dumbledore a reply. "I'm in."

"Very well," Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, a knowing look reflected in his eyes, before redirecting his gaze to the three young men. "Gentlemen?"

"We're in," answered James, speaking on behalf of all three, Sirius and Remus simply nodded in confirmation.

"Okay then, we will further discuss this matter later," he nodded politely, "now off to bed, sleep awaits you." And just like that, the Headmaster's attention shifted elsewhere, making the four students exit his office with similar quizzical expressions on their faces. An incredibly awkward and tense silence followed the group as they made their way down the stairs. Alexis could tell James and Sirius were beyond sceptical about her being included in the ordeal, but she believed Remus was far more reasonable than them and would make the entire experience a tad more pleasant.

"I'm glad they chose you as well," Remus broke the silence, looking down at her with a friendly and warm smile, "heard your duelling skills were legend," he added with a smirk plastered on his face, causing his two friends to direct a scowl his way.

"Non-verbal and wandless magic usually does the trick for me, but I'm sure you guys know a ton more spells than me," she replied. She couldn't deny how out of place she felt walking beside three of the most popular and mischievous students to ever grace Hogwarts. She wasn't particularly known for being the friendliest around, and the contrast in character she had with the three boys was simply odd.

"We can work on that," Remus said kindly, although his words were interrupted by a very curious and a tad bit disbelieving James Potter.

"You know how to use wandless magic?" He questioned, his eyebrows furrowed as he examined her. Here's a fun fact, James Potter had mostly forgotten about Alexis Riddle's existence. Their paths had rarely met and when they did he'd been far too occupied entertaining his friends' shenanigans or admiring Lily Evans' perfection to notice Alexis' presence. This right here had been the first time they ever exchanged words with one another.

"Still learning. It would be an utter lie if I claimed to master it," she confessed with a nonchalant shrug. She could feel their undivided attention on her and it was bothersome, for people tended to always notice her worst characteristics before acknowledging her redeeming qualities.

"Well, how about we meet on Wednesday to try and plan this out?" Remus asked, glancing at all three of them expecting an answer.

"Sure," she sighed. "Library?"

"Oh no, that place gives me a headache." Sirius moaned, intervening on the conversation for the first time. "Tree next to the Black Lake. 5 p.m.," he stated firmly, not asking for their approval.

"Okay, good night then." She bid them farewell, and only Remus answered back, which she didn't find rude nor did she take it personally. It took people a while to warm up to her and with good reason. At the end of the day, she had met truly unpleasant people over the course of her life and it was clear that the Marauders were not that. Big-headed and egotistical? Maybe, but well-intentioned nonetheless.

"Why her?" Sirius groaned, throwing his head back on the sofa. The boys had already made their way back to their common room and had informed Peter all about their new task.

"Why couldn't it have been Peter?" James, slouched on the sofa next to Sirius, joined in on the complaining. "Or my darling Lily?"

"Because Peter sucks at duelling," Remus interrupted their whining before briefly glancing over at Peter, "no offence, Peter." The mousy boy shrugged unfazed and kept his attention on the sweets on his lap while he sat on the ground. "And Lily - she's amazing, but she's not as good."

"Says who?" James' sudden defensive demeanour was painfully obvious to see, however, it did not startle Remus.

"Says everyone who watched their duel three years ago," the lycanthrope deadpanned, his gaze set on his book as opposed to on the lad.

James scoffed with a frown contorting his features. "That was three years ago! Lily is much better at duelling now," he claimed indignantly.

"I'm sure she is. Just like I'm sure Alexis has improved a lot in three years as well," Remus argued back, his body language also turning somewhat defensive. With a sigh, he set his book aside and faced his friends, "She was amazing with non-verbal spells back then, I'm sure she's a master at them now. And wandless magic? I mean, Merlin's beard, even I want her to teach me that!"

James turned to Sirius with an expression of utter concern. "Can you believe this? We've lost him. He's gone mad."

"Moony, mate," Sirius leaned forward and placed his hand on Remus' knee, "are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard down at the Shack?"

"Oh, sod off! And stop being such drama queens." He rolled his eyes and returned his attention back to the book, although his eyes were no longer following the words written on the pages. His hands fidgeted on his lap, a hesitant expression taking over his facial features before he mustered the courage to mutter lowly, "I got to know her a little during the prefects' meetings last year. She was the nicest one of the lot."

Sirius looked almost disgusted by his mate's words. "She's a Slytherin!"

Remus closed his book and pinched the hook of his nose, begging Merlin to give him the patience to not hex his own friends into oblivion. "Listen, she's incredibly smart, yeah? She's very very observing," he blurted out anxiously, making James and Sirius frown confused as to where this was going. Peter continued eating his sweets with a content smile as he listened to the anecdote he'd already been told.

"She noticed my scars," Remus begun, the same hesitant expression still on his face. Those four words were all that was needed to make James and Sirius panic, "and I could tell she was curious about them. She was never rude about it, but I knew she found it odd that Madam Pomfrey could never make them completely disappear. Then I guess she began noticing I was absent every month and she knew it wasn't a coincidence it always happened around the full moon." He finally looked up and, with a sigh, he confessed the little secret he'd been keeping from his friends. "She knows I'm a werewolf. I was obviously unaware of this. But one day she stopped me once the prefects' meeting was over and gave me some type of ointment and left without saying a word. She attached a letter to the jar, explaining how the ointment made werewolf scars less painful and helped heal faster. I instantly panicked, obviously, but the next time I saw her she just smiled at me and pretended nothing happened."

Discussing werewolf-matters was extremely embarrassing for Remus, so naturally, he found the entire ordeal humiliating. He was grateful, of course, but just knowing that someone out there knew of his condition was startling. "That ointment is extremely tricky to make. Not to mention it takes months for the ingredients to be ready." He added before glancing up at his friends, hoping they'd understand why they had to be nice to Alexis Riddle. "They rarely have it at St. Mungo's."

The boys had been rendered speechless. It was a commonly known fact that people always assumed the worst of Alexis because of the fear her brother inflicted on people. No one had really taken the time to get to know her and it appeared as if Remus had been the first to get a glimpse of what the youngest Riddle was genuinely like. Having mostly forgotten about her existence, it took James off guard to know that someone he, maybe subconsciously, always considered evil had been so considerate and thoughtful. Two words he thought he'd never use to describe Alexis Riddle.

When the next day came around Sirius and him had been unable to stop watching her all day, still in slight disbelief the youngest Riddle was such a complex character. And that's when they began to notice. The way she never associated with any of the annoying Slytherins, how her demeanour never appeared to be imposing but rather serene instead, how here main focus was her classes and not the blood status of her classmates.

"Okay, so maybe she's not that bad." James murmured, leaning back in his chair as Sirius continued watching Alexis, who'd been sitting two seats ahead on the row left to theirs.

Sirius was amused by the way she was furiously scribbling, detaching herself completely from the havoc around her as the Professor was yet to arrive and the students were far from being on their best behaviour. "I've never heard Regulus talk about her. That's a good thing."

"Are you two still stalking her?" Remus snickered, taking a seat on the desk behind them, with Peter following suit.

"Not stalking. Closely observing," said James.

"She's really nice," Peter added nonchalantly, getting startled when Sirius and James both abruptly turned to look at him.

"How would you know?" Questioned Sirius, looking at Peter with a raised eyebrow.

"She tutored me last year, remember?" Peter replied as if the matter was common knowledge. "History of Magic?"

"Oh, it was her? I thought Marlene had been tutoring you." Now it was James' turn to question Peter.

"She did at first, but then she said I was a hopeless case," Peter blushed as he recalled the embarrassing moment. "Alexis was at McGonagall's office at the time. She saw the whole thing and volunteered to tutor me."

"And, I don't know if you two idiots found out," Remus interrupted, leaning forward and closer to the two, "he got an 'O' for History of Magic on his O.W.L.S."

James was about to make a witty remark regarding Peter's intelligence but then Severus Snape himself walked into the classroom, and both James and Sirius were physically unable to focus elsewhere when the opportunity to annoy Snape presented itself. James managed to faintly hear Sirius muttering under his breath, and the next thing he knew, Snape's feet began making odd movements, throwing him off balance and making him run into objects and people. He then bumped into Alexis Riddle herself before landing on the ground with a thud.

She turned to glare at him with a scowl that uncannily resembled her brother's. "Watch where you're going, grease ball," she spat before turning back to her scribbling, The four boys watched on with their mouths wide open. They could see Snape trying his absolute hardest to bite his tongue before walking off, knowing better than to argue with a Riddle.

"Nah, that's it. I like her," a smug grin appeared on Sirius' lips as he continued surveying the girl with pride.