Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 53

A/N: Hi guys! Does the picture above appear for you?

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Once Remus grabbed his bag and books — making sure to pack the Marauder's Map as well this time — he left the boys' dormitory with Diana and walked down into the common room.

     The older boy who had chased after Diana only a few minutes ago was now sitting on an armchair by the fireplace, reading his Charms book. The moment he saw the two of them walking down the spiral staircase, he made sure to send a glare at the Slytherin girl with messy blonde hair.

     "See you later, Greg," Diana said with a grin. Remus snorted with laughter.

      "Do you mind if we went to the Ancient Runes class to grab my things? I reckon the lesson is over by now," said Diana after they had left the common room through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

     Remus nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Their journey to the West Tower was spent mostly in silence. Diana still couldn't look at Remus without blushing and feeling her face heat up, because she kept remembering seeing him shirtless in his dorm.

Remus always wore baggy hoodies or sweaters, so she had never expected him to look so good underneath it all. She couldn't possibly get the image out of her head.

Although for a second back then, Diana had thought that she'd seen what looked like old scars across his bare chest, but she couldn't be sure. It was only for a short moment, after all.

     Then again, there were a few scars that ran across his face as well. She always wanted to know how he had gotten them, but she never dared to ask him about them.

     As expected, the Ancient Runes' classroom was empty when they reached it, and all that was left there was Diana's bag and books which were still on her desk.

      "All right, where should we go to study? The library?" Diana asked after she packed her books in her bag and threw the backpack over her shoulder, leaving the classroom with Remus by her side.

     "No, not the library." He shook his head thoughtfully.

     Even though he knew James and Sirius would never set foot in that place, he still didn't want to risk being caught by his friends and endure a lot of teasing afterward for hanging out with a Slytherin girl.

     "Then where do you have in mind?" she mused, strolling down the hallway with him.

      "Well... there's this place that I really like," Remus started, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I sometimes go there when I... you know... When I want to be alone and read."

     She grinned. "Now I'm curious to know where it is."

     Remus's smile widened at those words, and so he grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her down the hallway without another word. Diana laughed and followed after him, trying to ignore the tingles she felt where their skins touched.

     Diana was expecting him to lead her out of the castle into a dreamy or cheesy place; maybe somewhere by the Black Lake, or even the Astronomy Tower. But instead, he led her through the castle, going up stairs after stairs, until they reached the seventh floor.

      "This way," he said with a goofy smile, walking toward a wall. Diana watched curiously as he took out his wand from his trousers' pocket and pointed it at the stone wall, saying, "Apertum!"

      On cue, Diana took a step back when the wall started quivering. Then, the stones began to move apart to create a hole in the middle of wall, growing wider and wider until a large archway was made. It reminded Diana of the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron pub.

     Diana looked through the archway as Remus put is wand back in his pocket. The stones had grew apart and had opened up into another corridor, which seemed to have been deserted for a long time.

     As soon as Diana and Remus had walked into the second corridor, the stones grumbled and the wall was closed behind them a few seconds later.

     Diana walked into what appeared to be a long and enormous corridor with a high ceiling, though both of its ends were closed by walls. The place didn't have any torches, but it was lightened by its large windows. The rain was still pouring, and the only sound that could be heard was the raindrops hitting the windows.

     "I like this place. It's peaceful," Diana whispered with a little smile, looking around her.

     "Me too." Remus smiled, watching her face brighten up.

     He then cleared his throat and walked toward one of the windows. He placed down his bag on the floor before sitting there on the windowsill, leaning his back against the column beside it. Diana joined him as well, sitting opposite him on the windowsill, which was big enough for the two of them. 

     "All right," she began, taking her Ancient Runes' book out of her bag. "Where should we start?"

***

Diana and Remus spent hours in the empty corridor. With each minute that passed, it felt more and more like the two of them were the only people left in the world. It was only them, their books, chocolate, and the pouring rain.

     From that day on, they met each other there every day after breakfast with their books, parchments, and quills, studying together for the upcoming exams.

     Remus had come up with a good excuse for his friends as to why he disappeared every day for a few hours, but he was surprised that they never asked anything about it.

     Diana had told Layla and Regulus that she rather study alone somewhere quiet. Layla knew her friend well enough to know that she wasn't fond of crowded places, so she didn't question her any further.

     The study sessions had become their secret; meeting every day at the same hour, sitting by the same windowsill, eating chocolate whenever they started to feel hungry. There even came times when they would put aside their books completely and stop studying for a while, talking and laughing.

    Diana couldn't remember the last time she looked forward to studying for exams this much. Although when their O.W.Ls finally arrived, her joy came to an end.

     A tense atmosphere had fallen upon all the fifth years, and they barely talked to each other on the morning of their first exam, which was Charms. After breakfast, the fifth and seventh years milled around in the entrance hall while the other students went off to lessons.

     "Good luck, you two," said Regulus, sending a small wave at Layla and Diana before walking off.

     The two girls stood there with their notes in hand, reviewing the important parts in the last few minutes. At half-past nine, they were called forward class by class to reenter the Great Hall for the exam.

     Diana had no trouble with answering the theoretical questions on any of the exams, but Layla certainly showed more talent in the practical exams.

     Diana's best exam so far was Ancient Runes, just as she had expected. She couldn't help but to smile at the first question on her examination paper. It had asked them to draw the symbols for earth and air. Remembering her first argument with Remus in class, she wrote down the answer.