Silent Screams | J. POTTER

7 | colossal mistakes

"Oh, Merlin," Romi muttered as she stared at her brother's bed. In it, Remus slept - thankfully covered by his blanket - with his arm wrapped around Mary.

James peeked in over her shoulder and grinned, "Go, Moony."

Romi brought her elbow back and nailed him in the stomach, causing him to groan. Drawing attention to this would not make the situation better.

"What are you lot staring at?" Sirius spoke up from behind them and Remus covered his face with his hands. Sirius managed to squeeze his way between James and Romi to get a better view and his face dropped. He quickly recovered and masked it with a grin, "I knew you had it in you, Lupin."

James looked at the boy sideways, one eyebrow raised curiously but he said nothing. Mary shifted and her eyes fluttered open. She sat up quickly upon seeing the three people staring at her, "Have you ever heard of privacy?"

"If you wanted privacy, you would have used a spell to keep us out," Romi said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I did," Remus replied.

"Then you would have put up a stronger one," she countered as she stepped into the area. "Get up and get changed," she told them - Mary in particular - grabbing her clothes off the ground and handing them to her. "We have class in thirty minutes."

She shot her brother a pointed look before she turned around and ushered the other boys away and closed the curtain swiftly. Romi turned to look at Sirius who appeared as though he wanted to say something but instead, he clamped his mouth shut. She shook her head slightly before she turned and left the room without another word.

James opened his mouth to ask Sirius a question but he entered his area and closed the curtain before he could. Romi was ready in no time, making her way down the stairs after a rather awkward run in with Mary.

James, Sirius and Peter descended the stairs first and Romi addressed them, "Where's my brother?"

"He's still upstairs, a little hungover," James explained. He still appeared confused and seemed to have questions but instead went for, "Go easy on him, would you? He's allowed to be...well, a teenage boy."

"I, of all people, am the last to judge him for that," she pointed out, her gaze flickering over to Sirius for the briefest moment. He averted his gaze quickly, his shoes suddenly the most interesting thing in the room. "That's not what I need to talk to him about."

"We'll see you in History of Magic," Peter spoke up and Romi nodded in agreement.

The three boys left a moment later and Romi waited for her brother to emerge. He descended the stairs a moment later, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I know exactly what you're going to say."

"Do you?" she inquired. She was certain that he knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Can we not do this right now?" he requested. "We have a class to get to."

"We're not going to class."

He huffed, "Romi-"

"Remus," she interrupted. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

He narrowed his eyes slightly and she raised an eyebrow. The siblings stared at each other as though daring the other to break. Remus shook his head slightly, falling prey to his sister's gaze as he always did.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But not here."

"I know the perfect place," she informed him before the two made their way through the school in silence. Romi paced back and forth for a moment until a door appeared. She entered immediately, waiting for Remus to follow her in.