Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 59

Diana stared back at the letter in her mother's hand, recognizing it immediately. It was the one she was writing to send to Remus, but had thrown it in the rubbish bin.

     "The real question is why you've been looking in the bin, Mother," said Diana wittily, folding her arms as she desperately tried to change the subject.

     "I was trying to see if you had thrown away your flower crown in here — and yes, I did notice that you had taken it off a few hours into the ceremony. Now, who is this Lupin boy?"

     "It's not a boy. It's just Layla," Diana said the first thing that came to her mind. "It's our inside joke. It's my nickname for her."

     Diana had always been sly and cunning when came to thinking of excuses on the spot, as though having strict parents all her life had made her a practiced liar.

     Mrs. Greengrass raised a brow at her. "And you refer to Layla as Mr? What part of that is sensible?"

     "So? What part of calling someone chocolate is sensible? It's just a joke between us, Mum. Nothing more," said Diana firmly, walking toward her mother quickly and snatching the letter out of her hand.

     Mrs. Greengrass sighed, her face softening. "I'm sorry, Diana. You must know that I love you, which is why I worry about you."

     "Sometimes you worry too much," Diana said in a small voice, looking away from her.

     "I'm a mother after all. I only want what's best for you," said Mrs. Greengrass, finally smiling as she placed a hand over Diana's cheek.

     You only want what's best for your own, Diana thought to herself as she always did, though she never said it out loud.

    Diana might've been smart, cunning, and sly when it came to it. But she wasn't like Sirius. She could never find enough courage to stand up to her family like him, let alone leave everything behind and run away.

***

It was near the end of summer. Diana had given up writing to Remus, knowing that her mother would get suspicious. But mostly because he still hadn't written back to her.

     One morning Diana was sitting in the dining room with her parents for breakfast. Darwin had moved out with his new bride for a few weeks now, so the meals were more quiet than ever.

      Mr. Greengrass had that day's copy of the Daily Prophet in hand as he occasionally took a sip of his black coffee, placing it down on the table afterward. Mrs. Greengrass was going through that day's mail which had arrived with different owls. They were still getting many congratulation letters from family members after the wedding.

      Diana was just about to take a bite of her toast that her heart suddenly sank when Mrs. Greengrass said, "Diana, this one's for you."

     Her head snapped up. She quickly put down her toast, though she didn't dare to move. Was it from Remus? Diana knew she would be in so much trouble if her mother saw who the letter was from.

    So, in a quick motion, Diana got to her feet and snatched the letter out of her mother's hand.

     "Manners, please," said Mrs. Greengrass scoldingly, but Diana was barely listening.

      She was still standing on her feet, her heart hammering in her chest. She looked down at the letter, but disappointment washed over her.

     It was just her Hogwarts letter.