Carvings and Countdowns

11 RL

Remus followed in suit toward the corridor, where his house prefect would lead him to the dormitories. After seven floors on twisty, magic moving stairs, they finally made it outside the common room. Fat Lady. Remus chuckled to himself at the name of the portrait. She didn't seem to mind. She cracked jokes and then became stern when telling the rules. A password change each day. Remus hoped he would remember with his mediocre memory.

Once inside the common room, Remus looked around at the coziness of it all. Couches, a few bookcases, desks, and a fireplace. The rugs even looked homey.

"This is it. Time to get settled in. Go find a room, unpack what you wish, and please...no fighting over who gets what bed", the prefect sighed, "There'll be no more events for tonight, so get some rest for classes tomorrow."

Remus walked up the few stairs leading to the dorms and began searching for a room. He wasn't looking forward to this part. He barely knew anyone besides the two outgoing boys on the train, and he figured they already had plenty of friends lined up to room with.

He peeked into some rooms as he walked by, four first years had already claimed one, another room taken by seventh years, and one room with just two third years in it. Remus sighed, he would rather find an empty room and let fate decide the people he'd have to share with. Finally, after a few more paces down, he looked to the left and saw an empty room. He walked in and set his burlap sack down, and finally took the cover off of Octavia's cage. He approached the window to see the view. It wasn't much. The room looked out right onto another part of the castle, a tall stone clock tower blocking where the sunset would've been.

A suitcase rolled in and Remus turned to see who it belonged to.

You're kidding me, he thought.

None other than the Sirius Black and James Potter walked in with smiles on their faces.

"Well, I'll be damned", Potter said, "Looks like we keep bumping into you, huh?"

"Looks like it", Remus smiled a fake smile.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to room with them. They seemed the posh type, and incredibly loud. He also saw how open and comfortable they were with everyone, and he'd rather have someone who respected boundaries.

Remus looked back to the window with a sigh before turning on his heel and picking up his burlap sack, "I'm gonna see if I can't find a room with a better view", he spoke and then exited, leaving the two boys behind.

He made a left and then walked down toward the end of the hall. He figured if the tower was what was blocking the view, maybe the back end of the castle was shorter and he could at least see the sunrise tomorrow morning. He worried he might've given up that room and not be able to go back if the others were worse, but he didn't fret when he saw a glimmer of moonlight shooting through the window and onto the hallway floor. He walked in the room to find one boy already in there. The boy looked up at Remus and didn't say anything. Rather, he just glanced back down.

Good, a quiet Gryffindor I hope, if they even exist.

Remus walked to the window and nodded his head in approval. The tower was no longer blocking the view, and the shorter end of the castle allowed him to see the stretches of land that pushed past it, just as he presumed. He could even see the courtyard at an angle, which would be a nice background noise if he opened the window slightly.

"I snagged this room because of the view, too", the boy spoke softly, "Figured it'd be a good escape from all the chaos."

Remus turned to the boy and nodded, "It is nice, init?"