Lupa | Teddy Lupin

Chapter 21 - The Slytherin Common Room

O.W.Ls.

O.W.Ls.

O.W.Ls, O.W.Ls, O.W.Ls, O.W.Ls, O.W.Ls.

That was all the fifth years were hearing and they were all on a verge of a mental breakdown before the year had properly began. Maddie had survived another full moon. Well just about.

Naturally, the first day she was spotted out of the hospital wing, whispers and pointed fingers followed her around, but she was too tired to care. It was no different to how it'd been the final couple of months in fourth year and it cost more energy than it was worth to actually care too much.

She knew that the recent Ruth Gilmour article would have flared up some whisperings, but she felt that this was only a spark before the flame that would turn into a wildfire.

She was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, at a desk with Meelee and Victoire as they started on their first transfiguration essay of the year. It was on the uses of making objects disappear, as they'd been doing so to snails earlier that week. It was definitely harder than the previous years work, but nothing they couldn't handle. Maddie gazed absentmindedly out of the already darkening window beside their desk and noticed an abundance of people flying around the Quidditch pitches before remembering Teddy mentioning that he had the Hufflepuff team tryouts tonight. The blue silhouettes zoomed around the pitches, their canary coloured robes occasionally catching the light and flashing the vivid colour across the early Autumn sky. With a jerk, she returned to her essay.

Night came without heed, being so far up north. The black ink seemed to seep through the sky while the stars shone out like bright lights from millions of miles away. The night was clear and crisp, and when the three girls finally went upstairs, the rest of their  dorm were already tucked up in bed. With a quick goodnight, all three changed and lay in their crimson four poster beds. 

Soon the room was filled with restful silence, but despite her overwhelming exhaustion, Maddie couldn't sleep. She wasn't experiencing particular thoughts, simply a white buzzing noise that kept her brain whirring. It was well past one in the morning, and still without a wink though her eyes burnt and watered when she blinked, Maddie couldn't sleep. With a sigh she rolled over in her bed and peeked through the curtains on her bed. The night was still clear and she could see the reflection of the near full moon on the glassy surface of the lake. Making a decision, Maddie hoisted herself up and ever so carefully opened the drawer of her bedside table. 

Inside was a small bag of pot. Maddie certainly wasn't proud of brining it with her to school, but she really was stressed, and had promised herself she'd only use it when really desperate to relax. Just to calm down and forget her thoughts, she told herself as she opened the window and artfully lifted herself onto the ledge of a small window on the dorm below her. She rolled a joint and with her wand she lit it.

The effect was almost instantaneous. She felt her shoulders lose a lot of tension and widen and as she gazed into the night, she felt like she'd been walking around for days with her eyes shut and she'd finally opened them again. Taking another puff, she appreciated how beautiful the Black Lake was with the dapples of moonlight and how clear and bright the sky was. The stars were further away up north, but the coolness of the air brought clarity to the sky as it did to her mind. All her worries ebbed away slowly, and she could ignore the new scars that she felt stretch her skin.

She noticed a small fawn approach the lake with his mother and jump back in fright as the water gave a splash. She smiled as the fawn stepped forward again on shaking legs, curiosity getting the better of him. She held still and listened to the rustle of the evergreen trees and the birds that flew within them. She sighed and took another puff. She was so calm, so still, so present, so happy.