CHAPTER NINE

TOO WILLY-NILLY

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          HER MIND CLUNG ONTO GREER'S WORDS EVEN THOUGH IT HAD BEEN A FEW DAYS, NOT LETTING GO AS IT SUNK ITS CLAWS DEEPER INTO THE PHRASE AND ITS POSSIBLE MEANING. Her never-ending curiosity was so infatuated with the little bit of information that was changing everything, opening up a large can of worms that she wasn't exactly liking open because everything was just getting a little bit more complicated and that bad feeling she had when she first laid eyes on Alistair was gaining some credibility and this was getting a lot bigger than him not liking flowers and living in a cold castle.

Something was going on, that was obvious, even more so than it had been before, because it wasn't like that part was ever subtle, but that something was getting a whole lot scarier and she wasn't sure if breaking up the marriage when there were bad intentions on Alistair's part sort of confirmed now which could hurt her aunt. And, well, during this whole process, trying to find the perfect plan to break up her marriage, Morgan never actually wanted to hurt her Aunt Helen.

Just a little heartbreak like she had been through before, but nothing other than that. The heartbreak wouldn't hurt much and Morgan was old enough to really understand everything now and could properly be there and look after her aunt during that time of hurting, and it would be fine because she had bounced back better than ever after her other two marriages, so why did this have to be any different?

But now, there was a little bit of hesitation, because something dark was going on and she wasn't sure if it was safe anymore. Still, if it was bad and dangerous, that was even more reason to get her aunt and herself away from Alistair and the Ainsley family claws and ideals he had. So, the plan was not called off, and she was still going to end that marriage even if it killed her, because her aunt deserved it.

Out of anyone that Morgan knew, Helen Lee deserved a happy ending. She deserved a good ending and a sweeter place to live and the best goddamn life that life could give her, not these endless heartbreaks and uses as a ploy in a bigger game with a dangerous man. She deserved something good and happy, so Morgan was going to give that to her, no matter what.

After all, it was the least she could do after Helen Lee – who did not under any circumstance want kids – took in her very young niece after the death of her parents. To hell with her feelings about children and her desire never to raise one, Morgan needed her so she became a mother, raising her with the best morals she could and always keeping her happy, laying down her life and her wishes because Morgan needed her more.

She respected her aunt so much because she knew that she was stubborn, she knew that she didn't do anything she didn't want, and Helen most definitely did not want to raise her, but she did it anyway. Morgan was selfish, and Helen was selfless, and she loved her aunt so much for the trait and wished that she had it and maybe this was just her attempt to be like her aunt while also repaying her. If she could just get Helen out of this sketchy marriage and with someone who actually deserved her, Morgan would feel better for all the sacrifices Helen had made for her.

She already felt ticked off because she had the infortune of running into Anderson and hearing his awful pickup lines mixed with arrogance that yes, this would definitely make her fall in love with me – as if! Morgan would never fall in love with him, or at all. She didn't need love; she needed to break up her aunt's marriage, find her a new man, and then become the best Potions Master the world had ever seen. Simple, and with no time for love at all.

Besides, it wasn't like there was anyone who she would actually want to date anyone. All the boys at Hogwarts were absolutely disgusting and nothing could change her mind about that.

But even though she was picked off and, yes, Remus and his friends tended to make her more annoyed, she had to talk to him. It wasn't hard to find him, the Marauders were always annoyingly loud and in your face, so it didn't take long after the Anderson instance in the corridor for her to see them, Lily Evans with them with blush pink cheeks as she looked down. Morgan didn't care to look further than that.

Morgan huffed. The last thing she wanted to do was make a spectacle like she had done before, because even though it was almost worth it to hear that Greer and Ainsley were very displeased with her display, she also had to suffer through inappropriate comments coming from Black and Potter. So, no, it wasn't worth it at all. But she didn't see how she would grab his attention otherwise, so she could suck it up for a moment to help her aunt. She had a great amount of pride, it was just a part of her nature and culture in which she had grown up in at Hogwarts, but nothing was above her aunt – not even that very pride.

Helen Lee was worth the inappropriate comments, worth seeing Lily Evans, and worth the spectacle of it all because she deserved the best. And if that was what Morgan had to get through to give her the best, so be it.

Morgan raised her head up, almost as if she was looking down on everyone else, feeling confident in her stride as she went up beside to Remus and cleared her throat when he didn't seem to notice her arrival. Even though she didn't mean to come in with an annoyed attitude, it was already in her eyes, which he could see when he connected his with hers, and she ignored how kind and startled they were. They were just eyes, after all.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked, an underlining impression that he was going to talk to her and the question was just a phrasing of making her sound nicer but it wasn't really a suggestion at all. She hated that she sounded like Alistair when it came out, because that was exactly something he had done during summer and she absolutely hated it, but, well, it was time for drastic measures.

Remus didn't look annoyed or like he was going to defy her, like she had done when Alistair had done this to her and that aggravated her because he shouldn't just be so willy-nilly and letting her control everything, and instead just nodded. Potter and Black, of course, snickered to themselves, and she turned to glare at them.

"Yes?" she inquired, a cold tone as she addressed them which was different from the one who used with Remus. While it was clear that her question wasn't really a question, it was almost kinder and softer, almost as if she was speaking to a friend, but it was completely cold with regards to people she didn't like and her tone made that quite clear.

"Nothing," Black raised his hands up as if waving a white flag, though he still looked incredibly amused by the whole situation, "It's just, well, what do you need Moony here for? Going to snog with him in the bathroom again?"

Morgan rolled her eyes, giving a reaction when she knew that it was only spur him on, but she couldn't help it because the idea was so ridiculous and inappropriate for him to say. "Shove off, the last person I would want to kiss is Remus," she snapped at him before correcting herself, "Actually, I think the last person I'd want to kiss is you."

Sirius made a wounded noise, though he laughed after, bringing his hand to his heart as if she had shot him through it. Morgan huffed at the whole display. This was exactly why she didn't want to come over here in the first place after seeing them all gathered together.

"Come on, let's just go," Remus suggested, tugging at her arm and dragging her away. If it was any other scenario, she would have yelled at him for the action and torn herself away quickly, probably spewing a hex at him to make it completely clear how she felt about that, but instead she just glared at him and when they were a good distance away, harshly took her hand back.

"You shouldn't have touched me. I don't like it," she warned him, though that wasn't necessarily true. She liked to be touched, like hugging her friends and sharing simple touches, but she most definitely didn't like it when he or another person she disliked touched her.

"I was just trying to help," Remus defended himself, "But it won't happen again. I'm sorry."

She refused to show what the apology did to her, because it sent something through her heart and that reminded her of all the ways that Remus had helped her and she shouldn't be so cruel to him or label him as someone she didn't like, but she shoved that down in favor of continuing to glare at it. That was much easier to do and it didn't make her assess everything in her head.

"Whatever," Morgan shrugged it off, shaking her head before looking at him again, trying to get rid of the excess anger and frustration from her day, "I just wanted to tell you something Greer told me."

"Oh?" Remus leaned in, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity. "What? That Alistair is like this evil mob boss and that there's no getting out of the marriage for your aunt?"

"Don't even joke about that," she pointed at him, making it very clear that she didn't find the joke funny. This was her aunt they were talking about, and anything concerning her aunt wasn't a laughing manner at all.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to lighten the mood," he gave her a sheepish smile, and she had to look away from it because it just annoyed her even more.

"You apologize too much," she commented, "Stop it."

"You know, most people don't have a problem when people apologize to them, or if someone apologizes at all. They like it, actually," Remus told her.

"Well, I don't. I've found that you should live your life without apologies. If someone doesn't like something you do, you quietly take it under consideration and decide whether or not that's something you need to change. You don't apologize," Morgan told him her philosophy, very much influenced from her upbringing. Not Helen, bless her heart, but the atmosphere of the clean and crisp Slytherin chambers.

No one apologized in that house – ever. They had their own behaviors and they didn't call each other out on it, and if someone did, no one apologized for their actions. It was frustrating to see someone like Remus who didn't understand that and didn't practice it, but instead lost every argument by apologizing.

Remus shrugged. "It's just easier to say sorry and move on, but let's just agree to disagree," he smiled at her, "So, what did Greer say?"

Right, she had forgotten about that because Remus had distracted her with his sorry excuse for a joke. Morgan nodded, "Yeah, well, we were arguing because she didn't like that I was seen talking to you and your...friends and she let it slip that my attitude about everything would change when I learned about the real reason Alistair and my aunt got married," Morgan explained to him, "So, you know, whatever that means..."

Remus frowned. "The real reason?" he repeated.

"Yep," Morgan nodded, "The real reason? And then she ran away because she wasn't supposed to tell me that or whatever and now, of course, I'm interested. I just wanna know what she means by that. Of course, Adeline thinks this is where I should hang up my hat and let it go because the real reason could be very dangerous and dark, but I can't. I have to find out."

"Maybe Adeline's right," Remus suggested, "It could be dangerous to do anything."

She glared at him. "Are you kidding me? You are not getting out of this so easily. I'm not giving up and neither are you. I want to break up their marriage so that's what I'm gonna do."

"You're very determined," Remus noted.

"I know, and I've already made up my mind about this, so it's absolutely going to happen," Morgan agreed, "So, any ideas on what I can do?"