NOTHING GIRL || Remus Lupin

-Twelve: These Little Things-

"Shut up!"

Jade threw a pillow at Helia as the other girl moved around the dormitory, trying to make her bed look lived in, as she did every inspection, despite the fact everyone knew she never slept in the dormitory. We must always present the proper face to the world, no matter what the occasion. Quoting even in her own self-monologue. Could Helia get any sadder?

Helia was humming a tune under her breath, one that had been trapped in her head for days. It was one of her brother's that he kept on a CD in his room and blasted through the house whenever he had the opportunity.

"You just don't understand fine music." Helia said. She hadn't even realised that she had been humming.

Jade scoffed. "I know it, I think. The Flies, or whatever?"

Helia stared. "The Beatles? How do you forget the name of the Beatles?"

Jade shrugged. "Only half muggle, remember?"

"That is no excuse."

Helia resumed humming, this time even louder. Eleanor Rigby was such a sad song, or she assumed it was sad. The lyrics were so confusing, it was difficult to tell. Still 'All the Lonely People' wasn't that promising.

Jade pushed her way out of bed. "Okay, fine. I'm up. Now cease that infernal racket."

.................................................

"What constellation is that?"

"That's the Big Dipper. It has another, more sciencey name, but I can never be bothered to remember it."

"And what's that?"

"That's the giant waffle in the sky, who watches over all of us and makes sure we eat our breakfast."

Helia and Remus were lying on the stone roof of the Astronomy Tower, looking up at the stars. Their heads were almost touching, and their feet were just grazing the opposite ends of the tower. Helia's Ravenclaw robe had been given up as sacrifice for a pillow to rest their heads on. As with most encounters with Helia, Remus wasn't quite sure how it happened, but he wasn't going to complain. He twisted his neck to look at her now.

"Are you sure that's not just something your parents invented to convince you to eat healthy?" Remus asked, smiling lightly.

He could feel Helia shrug. "You may be right, Moon Boy, but the lesson of The Great Waffle can be passed down to us all."

Remus laughed lightly. "I will remember it always."

A chill breeze rushed the stone barricade, making Remus shiver. The Christmas holidays were fast approaching, and with the descent into the winter months, a sudden cool snap had overtaken the castle. It was nowhere near the freezing temperatures required for snow, but it still managed that awkward kind of cold, where you think it's warm enough to escape wearing gloves, and then immediately regret your decision but feel too awkwardly out of place to make an excuse to go and get them.

Maybe that was just Remus.

"Are you going to Hogsmead next weekend?" Remus asked, casually.

Helia stared straight up into the clouds. "I don't know. It depends on whether Jade and Lin drag me. I have so much work to do and the school will be mostly empty..."

 Remus frowned. "It's just one day off from homework."

"I'm not talking about homework." Helia said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm talking about The List."

The List, Remus was beginning to understand, was a record of all the people at Hogwarts whom Helia had decided deserved 'punishment'. Whether they be friends, or teachers, or prefects, it seemed no one was safe from The List. It only discriminated based on individual action, instead of title.