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The table continued to creak as her quill sped across parchment after parchment, all of the words blurring into one. She had been there for hours, but she hadn't looked at the time since around eight pm when she had sat down in her favourite seat in the library.
It wasn't unusual for y/n y/l/n to be found in the library late at night. It was actually one of her biggest hobbies, to study late at night when it was quiet and she had no chance of being disturbed. However, her study session tonight was not one for fun, it was necessary. Her entire year had their NEWT examinations in less than a month and y/n was stressed, to say the least. She had been walking around Hogwarts like a zombie for weeks, a combination of endless sleepless nights and the amount of caffeine she was consuming just to stay awake during classes.
She didn't even hear the sound of the chair across from her being pulled away from the desk, far less noticing the person who lowered into it.
"Y/n/n, you need to go to bed." The voice of Remus Lupin was gentle but firm. Y/n looked up with an expression of surprise. Remus Lupin was the last person she expected to see here, this late at night, or early morning, she guessed without looking at her watch.
She pushed her messy ponytail out of her eyes and pushed her glasses further up her nose. Even with them on, her vision was blurry and all of her work seemed to merge into one. She couldn't remember the last time she had even been in her dormitory.
"No, no, Remus, I have to finish this essay, it's due next week and-" He firmly slapped his hand down on top of the pile of books she was trying to arrange. How she had managed to carry them all there without an accident was a miracle.
Y/n met Remus' eyes with an irritated look. She was surprised to see that he met hers with an equally annoyed one. His hands stayed firmly in place.
"No, this has gone one for too long, it's not important," She tried to argue with him. "No, y/n, I don't want to hear it, you're being ridiculous. You need to sleep, that's what important, okay?"
She sunk back down into her chair and tossed her glasses onto the table. It might have been her lack of sleep, or pure frustration, but she started to silently cry.
"Ridiculous, Remus?! Ridiculous? What, that I'm trying to actually do well in my NEWTs? Do you understand how important they are, do you?" She declared with an air of exasperation. Remus sat opposite her, as still as a statue, waiting for the outburst that was likely to come.
"Of course I understand y/n/n, but other things are more important," He didn't like having arguments, especially with her, and he was trying to avoid one.
"You're clearly not listening to me Remus, I have to do well, I have to. There's no other option for me, none," She angrily sobbed, her whole body racked against the wooden chair. She was becoming hysterical.
Remus moved around to y/n's side of the table and pulled out the chair beside her. He put his arm around her and held her tightly. She continued to sob.
"This is it for me, Remus. Fail these exams and I'm as good as dead. You're so lucky, you've got James, and Sirius, and your parents...they're so lovely Remus, they love you so much. I mean...obviously they do, they've met you," She huffed out an attempt of a laugh. Her words filled him with so much love, but pained him at the same time. He knew that her parents always expected the very best from her.
"You're wrong, you know, you've got me. I mean, and Sirius and James, but I often forget about those twats," His efforts to make her feel better seemed to be working. She leaned into the side of him and he wiped away her tears.
