Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 72

The weather was colder than any other year when October proceeded. Everyone wore on their warmest clothes on the day of their first Hogsmeade trip of the year, glad to have the day off.

"Ah, I see you've decided to wear something more colorful today," Diana said sarcastically as Regulus walked down into the common room. His coat was a slightly lighter shade of black than what he usually wore.

"Haha. Very funny," Regulus said blankly, walking toward where Diana was standing by the entrance door of the Slytherin common room. "Where's Layla?"

"She decided to go to Hogsmeade with McBrady," said Diana, before wrapping a hand around his arm with a grin. "Guess it's just you and me today, Pretty Boy."

Regulus groaned, rolling his eyes.

The weather was too cold that day for a detour around the village, so Diana and Regulus went straight into the Three Broomsticks, where they were welcomed by the sweet smell of Butterbeer and the warmth of the fireplace in the corner of the pub.

Regulus had brought his books and notes with himself so he could catch up with his studies, seeing as the teachers were giving him and the other fifth years loads of homework and essays because of their upcoming O.W.Ls that year.

"I don't get this!" Regulus rasped as he frowned down at his book, looking as though he was ready to slam his head against the table.

"What are you reading?" Diana asked after she took a large sip of her butterbeer and wiped her mouth with her sleeve — if her mother had been here to see this behavior, she would've probably disowned Diana.

"History of Magic. Binns explained it so bad that it actually lost all sense. Why should even I care what happened in the Giant Wars?" Regulus complained.

"Oh, yeah. I love history, but Professor Binns sucks. Don't even try listening to what he says. It only makes understanding the lesson harder. That's how boring he is."

"Do you remember any of these from last year?"

"I think so. From what I remember, the Giant wars were a series of bellicose conflicts between wizards and giants that had historical significance, having taken place in, or earlier to, the end of the nineteenth century."

Regulus gaped at her for long seconds. "That's literally the exact thing written in the book. You didn't even miss a single word."

"I suppose I'm better at memorizing stuff." Diana shrugged.

"I'd rather stick with Potions and Astronomy. There's no memorizing as long as you understand them."

"Well, I can help you write your essay right now, if you want. We have all day, and there's no way I'm going out of this pub in this cold weather."

"Agreed." Regulus grinned appreciatively.

They spent the next hour and a half sitting close together, surrounded by History notes, books, parchments, and quills. Diana was surprisingly great at explaining the lesson to Regulus; certainly way better than Professor Binns himself. She had a way of speaking about the subject that made it more interesting, as though she were talking about a tragic story.

Nearly two hours had passed since the two of them had arrived at the Three Broomsticks when Layla entered the pub with a strange smile across her face. She scanned the place to find her friends before walking toward them with a strange glee about her.

"What are you all giddy about?" Diana asked suspiciously the moment Layla took the seat in front of them at the table.

"Nothing. But let's just say, McBrady knows exactly what he's doing." Layla smirked. She then leaned in toward them, continuing in a quiet tone, "Spoiler alert; we rented a room in the inn nearby, and, well... things got very interesting."

"Ew!" Diana grimaced in disgust. "You two shagged?"

"Maybe." Layla shrugged coolly as she leaned back against her chair, winking at them.

Regulus groaned, wishing he was anywhere but here because he had to hear this conversation.

"So what have you two innocent little angels been up to?" Layla asked, taking off her gloves and rubbing her hands together to warm herself.

"Not being disgusting, that's for sure." Regulus sent Layla another look.

"You don't have to be so jealous, Black," said Layla, grinning at him teasingly. "I'm sure you won't die a virgin — or at least, it's nice to have hope."

"Oh, shut up." Regulus rolled his eyes again.

"No, but seriously; what were you doing? Why's there so many books on the table? This is supposed to be our day off! Studying is illegal on Hogsmeade trips!"

"I was just helping Regulus write his History of Magic essay. It's done now," Diana explained while Regulus collected all the parchments on the table neatly and placed them back in his backpack.

"You helped Regulus with studying?" Layla repeated with surprise, staring at Diana in disbelief. "You? The Diana Greengrass?"

"Why's that so hard to believe?" Regulus mused after gesturing the bartender to bring them another Butterbeer.

"Because this same person told me to shove the essay up my arse when I asked her to help me with it two years ago," said Layla, raising a brow at Diana. "What happened to saying I barely have the mood to write my own essays, let alone help someone else with it?"

"I've been saying that she's changed a lot since the last year, too." Regulus nodded in agreement. "She's freaking me out."

"What's wrong with being nice for once!?" Diana threw her hands up in defense.

"Nothing. It's just so unlike you." Layla sniggered. "What went wrong?"

"Oh, shove it," Diana retorted jokingly, taking the last sip of her butterbeer.

Although she knew exactly what had went wrong, and it definitely had something to do with a certain Gryffindor boy with brown eyes.

***

The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin finally arrived, but the weather couldn't have been worse. A storm was raging on and the rain poured mercilessly as the students wore on their raincoats and took their seats in the stands, waiting for the game to begin.

The Slytherin team changed into their green robes and took their brooms, walking onto the field as the crowd chanted, although their voices were faded due to the sound of the heavy storm. The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field.

Within five minutes they were all soaked to their skin and frozen, hardly able to see their own teammates. Diana didn't know how on earth Regulus was supposed to see the Snitch in this weather, let alone catch it.

Diana couldn't hear the commentary over the howling wind as she followed the Bludgers through the rain with her Beater's bat in hand, worried that she would accidentally hit her own teammates instead.

The crowd was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas. Diana managed to hear the score at some point, which seemed to be forty to ten, but she couldn't tell which team had scored better. Only when the loud whistle of Madam Hooch came did they realize that the Gryffindor Seeker had caught the Snitch at last, brining an end to the game.