Serendipity (S. Black)

THIRTY-FOUR

"i mean, sure, i have my bad days, but then i remember what a cute smile i have"

*

Remus gripped his books to his chest as he wove his way through the crowded hallway, trying to simultaneously block out the noise and not pass out. Just a few more minutes until you make it to the common room. Just a few more. Distracted, he bumped into a pair of Slytherins and dropped his books.

"Watch where you're going, Lupin!" One of them jeered while the other laughed. Remus ignored their teasing and bent down to collect his textbooks. A slim hand appeared on his, and he looked up at Eva's kind smile. She didn't say anything, just helped him with the books and took some to carry herself.

"I could still hex them if you like," she offered, shooting a terrifying glare at the boys now behind them. "I know a few nonverbal spells that would send them running."

Remus gave her a small shake of his head. Even the simplest movement ached. "No. It's the last day before summer. Don't do that. They're not worth it."

Eva somehow managed to tuck a curl behind her ear while balancing all of her books and most of Remus' in her arms. "If you're sure."

"I am," he said tiredly. "Where are you headed?"

She turned the question around. "Where are you headed?"

"The common room," he answered.

"Me too," she said automatically. Truth be told, she actually intended to stop by and say goodbye to Professor McGonagall for the summer, but he was more important. "Lucky we ran into each other, huh?"

Lucky.

It wasn't a word Remus Lupin usually associated with himself. His splitting headache certainly didn't feel lucky. Looking in the mirror, his scars didn't look lucky. Tonight in the Shrieking Shack, his howling wouldn't sound lucky.

But when he noticed that Eva carried the majority of his schoolbooks and had also switched the direction she was walking before running into him, he realized that maybe he was lucky.

"Yeah. It was."

The two walked in relative silence, her peppering the quiet with occasional comments. Eva knew from her reading that his senses all heightened near the full moon and didn't want to be too loud or irritating. When they came upon the portrait hole, she quickly gave the password and hurried in to drop the heavy load of books on a table, almost tripping on Alice Fortesque's cat as she did so.

Remus collapsed on the long red couch, rubbing his forehead as if the movement would banish the pain. Eva sat on the edge of the couch and tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.

"Anything I can get you?" She whispered, guilty that she couldn't really do anything for him. He shook his head. "I'll go, then."

"No, wait." He turned to face her, his barely open eyes pleading. "Stay."