Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 87

It was as though the moment had frozen in time, stretching on and on as Remus held Diana in his arms, her head resting against his chest. It seemed like they had both forgotten they were still in the middle of the Great Hall, as if the two of them were the only people left in the world.

     But the moment was bound to come to an when they heard someone clearing their throat. Remus and Diana pulled away briskly and turned around, seeing that Professor McGonagall was standing behind them sternly.

     "Enjoying yourselves?" she said, giving them a look. Remus and Diana blushed as they threw their gaze away from each other, trying to suppress their goofy grins. "I hope you know this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Now move along, you two, or I'd have to ask Mr. Filch to give you detention for public moral offense."

     "Sorry, Professor," Remus and Diana murmured together.

     "Off you go." Professor McGonagall sighed as she watched them leave, shaking her head at them lightly.

     Sending a quick wave at each other, Diana left the Great Hall with Regulus and Layla who were both grinning at her teasingly, and Remus made a move toward the Gryffindor table.

     He would've much rather follow Diana away, or even escape the castle altogether if he could. He even wished that the earth could split open and swallow him in from embarrassment. This was the boldest thing he had ever dared to do in his life, and that is saying something considering the fact that he'd been part of the Marauders for the past six years.

     Taking in a deep breath as though preparing himself for battle, Remus turned around and walked back toward the Gryffindor table, where James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting and awaiting him, all of them staring at him with wide eyes.

     Remus sat down beside James, letting out the breath he'd been holding. "Go ahead," he told them wearily. "Let it all out."

     But none of the three boys said anything. They only shared sneaky glances, remaining silent.

   "Oh, come on." Remus rolled his eyes. "I know you're dying to ask questions and bombard me with your judging remarks. Let it all out and be done with it. But just so you know, I don't care what you think. You can tell me how stupid I am for liking a Slytherin. You can be mad at me for dating a Pureblood like her. But I don't care. I like Diana, and that's all that matters."

      "Are you done?" James asked casually, his tone as calm as ever.

      "Yes," Remus said firmly, crossing his arms.

      "Good." James smiled, but then he smacked Remus harshly at the back of his head.

     "OUCH!" Remus winced in pain, turning to face James with a glare. "What the hell was that for!?"

"For not telling us!" James retorted angrily. "How long has this been going for? Months? Years? Decades?"

      "Don't be dramatic, Prongs," Remus said sharply. "It's only been a few months."

      "What were you thinking, Moony?" said Sirius. "That we would abandon you or something? Is that what you thought again? Because we've been through this at least a hundred times with you."

"It wasn't just about me, okay?" Remus snapped. "I didn't want you three to treat Diana badly just because she's a Slytherin and a Pureblood."

"Moony, for a smart person, you can be really dense sometimes." James shook his head at him. "We had no problem with your furry problem. Didn't it occur to you that we would accept her, too? Why should it matter what family she comes from? I mean, look at Padfoot here. The Greengrass family can't be anywhere near as awful as the Blacks — no offense, Padfoot."