maple syrup | remus lupin [1]

7. an insufferable stroll

REMUS LUPIN was a werewolf. This was something that plagued him for more days a month than just the day of the full moon. He had to deal with being ill a few days before the full moon, as well as a few days after.

So, naturally Remus told his three friends no when they asked him if he wanted to come along and pull a prank on Filch on a Tuesday night, two days after the full moon.

The rest of the Marauders had also been a bit more tired than normally after the full moon, due to the fact that all three of them were Animagi in order to help Remus out during his transformations - James a stag, Sirius a dog and Peter a rat.

But, staying up a bit longer than normally and getting some small scratches didn't stop the mischievous boys from pulling pranks.

"You sure you don't wanna come Moony?" Sirius asked his friend one last time. Remus shook his head from where he was sat in his bed reading "Dracula", the book that Claudia had just finished a few days ago.

Remus had stolen that book pretty much as soon as Claudia had left it back on the shelf. He had seen her read it during meals and in the hallways, so he knew just the book to read next.

When Remus was putting back "Rebecca", he had seen a first year Hufflepuff return his book to Madame Pince, who was checking it with magic. That's when he figured that he shouldn't risk it and loan the books, so instead he did just like Claudia; he stole them.

He didn't understand why no one had caught her before until he realised that no one read muggle books in that castle anymore.

If you did, you would get treated poorly by all the Slytherins. The ones who did read muggle books read their own, and not the ones from the library. Or they read the books the Muggle Studies teacher gifted them in secret, something that had happened to Remus.

"Don't get caught," he weakly smiled at his friends as he opened up the book - only for his smile to grow wider at the sight of one of Claudia's funny remarks about page 278.

•••

"I have prefect rounds, see you soon," Claudia sighed as she stood up from her bed.

"With who?" Betty asked.

"Rosier," she sighed again. "If I don't come back when I'm supposed to you better go get McGonagall." She said, aware of the fact that it wouldn't be unlikely for Evan to try something with her. And if he did, McGonagall was the person you'd want to find you. She was good with things like that, being a woman and all.

"Sure thing," her friends chorused.

Claudia left the Ravenclaw tower only to find Evan leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. She frowned at the sight.

"Fancy seeing you here, Sunshine," he said as he had that old familiar menacing smirk on his face.

"Smoking kills, you know," she said coldly as she started walking, not caring if he followed her or not.