TEACHER'S PET ━ 𝓡. Lupin

11. The black dog

N/A – this chapter contains slight mature content

—IN 1994, HOGWARTS' surrounding territories weren't exactly the safest place where you could find yourself wander.

Most notably, there was a serial killer on the loose -and Natalia, apparently, seemed to always forget about it-.
Further more, Hogwarts' surrounding grounds teemed with dementors.

Now, although dementors were employed by the Ministry, with the permission of the school itself, to favor the capture of the fugitive Sirius Black, those dreadful creatures -among the most obscure beings of the whole wizarding world- would have never distinguished any unlucky person, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, from an actual wanted murderer.
Dementors lacked of any sort of feeling, they had no actual conscience, their only purpose was that of stealing all the happiness away from anyone who dared stumble upon their path.

When a dementor was near, realizing it could be pretty easy.

For example, when Natalia Zabini first found herself in a dementor's near proximity, she had suddenly felt weaker, in fact, all of her senses had weakened.
The sounds of the forest suddenly appeared muffled, her vision had gotten blurry. Then, there had been that deep feeling of drowning.

It wasn't a physical perception, it was psychological.
She felt like drowning inside of herself, in her own intrusive thoughts, in her sudden distress, in that oppressive sadness.

Taking a step back, that Saturday morning Natalia had woken up earlier than usual.
She had lazily wore a pair of cream-colored leg warmers and a green pleated skirt, which rested delightfully on her hips.

She reached the freshly cleaned laundry basket and picked her favorite blouse, bringing it closer to her nostrils so she could inhale the fresh scent of bergamot and hawthorn. She absentmindedly started buttoning it up, as her eyes traveled along the dorm's walls, some beds were already empty, other roommates were still fast asleep, enjoying the weekend's peace and quiet.

She lazily brushed her hair, shooting herself one last glance in the mirror before grabbing the book she had been reading that week -Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka- and exiting at a brisk pace the Ravenclaw common room.

On Saturday mornings, Natalia especially enjoyed go reading nearby the Black Lake, close to the garden houses.
In the afternoon, she would have met up with JJ -whom was starting to spend more and more of his free time with Thea, they had rarely seen each other during those past weeks, which was starting to get on Natalia's nerves- to play chess before attending the Slytherin weekend party (actually, no Gryffindor was allowed to come, but being a Slytherin prefect's boyfriend -as Jonah was- had its perks, and JJ absolutely loved attending parties to which he clearly wasn't welcome, just for the sake of stirring things up a bit, drive a wedge, cause some trouble)

Once she had seated under a massive, dark tree, being able to observe the lake that was right in front of her, Natalia deeply inhaled, closing her eyes, filling up her lungs to their full capacity with the fresh morning air. She then exhaled through her mouth.

A tiny, pleased and relaxed smile appeared on her lips as she opened her eyes again, reaching for the book she had brought that, up until that moment, had been laying on the grass nearby.

She had recently realized that writing on her books, taking notes and marking the pages, really helped her focusing on what she was reading -as her mind often wandered freely- without getting bored and, most importantly, it prevented her from almost immediately forgetting her thoughts and opinions on the most crucial matters in the book.