Can You Love Me Most? | 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘯

22| Monica's Discovery

When we entered thr Great Hall, the sunlight was brushing against my skin and the room was filled with buzzing chatter of the students, the clatter of plates and other tableware and the savory aroma of the food that were placed on the platters on the table.

The other students that sat with us in our table stared at me but I managed to keep my poise and shrugged their stares and said hello to Ollie and Luke, and nodding my head at Hermione, Harry and Ron. Hermione gave me a slightly disgruntled glimpse.

"You were gone again, where have you been again, Selene?" Luke asked, swallowing a spoonful of the cereal he was eating.

"I got dizzy, spent the night at the Hospital Wing." I said stiffly, but the others still looked at me, disappointed and suspicious.

"I went to the Hospital Wing, along with Luke here, earlier this morning. You weren't there, Selene." Ollie pouted, who sat opposite me. And they all turned to look at me at the same time, their eyes burning with mild apprehension. I rolled my eyes and took it upon myself to scoop a spoonful of porridge and put it on my bowl.

"Well," I said grimly, forcing myself to act innocent and sound as honest as I could be. "I was probably out of the Hospital Wing when you came there, but I swear to fucking Merlin, I was there." Luke scrunched his eyebrows together in suspicion but I avoided his suspecting eyes.

"Reckon she's not in the mood, Georgie?" I heard Fred whisper to his brother's ear from across me and saw George nod his head in agreement.

"Hey, anyone fancy a trip to Hogsmeade?" Ollie piped up, changing the topic as Luke nodded his head excitedly. "Sure, and I'll be going with Selene today." Monica muttered under her breath, as I glanced towards at her.

~oOo~

"Hurry up, you two!" Luke groaned, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket as Monica and I slowly walked behind him and Ollie. "We're coming, señor!" I laughed, fixing my beanie as Monica grabbed my arm, and pulled me down the numerous steps to the courtyard, a little smile was now gracing her lips. She didn't look as bothered earlier this morning.

There was still a layer of snow on the ground, but luckily, it was decreasing and descreasing but still, it was freezing cold. When we arrived at Hogsmeade Village by a quick carriage ride, Ollie and Luke had already planned to head to almost every shop there.

"Alright, we've been to every shop here and we're going to Honeydukes for a few sweets and Zonko's. You two, coming?" Ollie asked, fidgeting his pocket to find some money.

"Oh, Selene and I will be going to the Three Broomsticks, we'll be waiting for you there. Fancy Firewhiskey blokes?" Monica piped up. "Sure!" Luke and Ollie said in a chorus.

"Oh, I'd like a butterbeer!" said Luke as Ollie nodded in agreement before entering Honeydukes. Monica and I quickly went inside the Three Broomsticks, the inn was crowded yet it was clean and warm, very welcoming for every customer that visited the inn.

"Ahh, my frequent customers! What would you like, dearie?" Madam Rosmerta (the owner and the one who operated the Three Broomsticks) exclaimed, seeing Monica and I.
"Four bottles of Firewhiskey, please. And also four Butterbeers!" said Monica as she approached the counter and Madam Rosmerta immediately whisked away.

The two of us sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the atmosphere of the inn while waiting for Luke and Ollie.

"You don't have to hide anything, Selene," said Monica gently, grabbing my hand tightly, her face so imploring. "Please, we're best friends. We're like sisters, I'm right here for you when you need me or not. So, if there's anything that's troubling you right now, please tell me. You know it'll make it worse if you don't tell anyone immediately."

I looked at her, hesitated and stayed in silence and sighed heavily. "Just the two of us?" I asked, as she nodded in response.

"Alright, I wasn't at the Hospital Wing last night. And the reason I've been missing lately is that – I was at – I was spending time with Remus." I blurted out, but silently.
"Professor Lupin?" Monica said in disbelief. "Hold on, he's a werewolf, isn't he?"

"How'd you know? Did someone tell you?" I asked, a bit scared. "Please, just between us. He doesn't like to talk about it to others."
"I've known since September, it's quite obvious for me. And everytime you went missing, it was on a full moon and he was missing too." she whispered as I slowly began to accept the fact that Monica was the second student to discover my boyfriend's deep, dark secret.

"He was sick, and I – spent the night with him." I admitted. Monica's eyes widened in disbelief and surprise, and looked around to make sure nobody heard us.

"You're knocked up?!" she exclaimed quietly.
"Oh, no, no! I'm not!" I shrieked as Monica chuckled slightly and stated that she was just kidding.

"So, how did it all start?"

I took a deep breath and began to tell her every detail of all the moments I spent with Remus. "I met him, before the school year even started. In Diagon Alley. We bumped into each other while I was getting my books and the two of us talked for a while. And the dementor incident in the train, he was the one that made the dementor go away." I said, the feeling of dread slowly vanishing as I continued my story.

"And during the ball, before Christmas, the reason why I was feeling down and left George, I wanted to be with him. And when we did, we danced, and we became official that night," I said, small tears streaming past my eyes but I immediately wiped them with a napkin. "I know, it's odd. He's twice my age and he's our teacher but I couldn't help it okay? I love him, and he loves me. So please, do NOT tell anyone about it."

"I won't. Your secret's safe with me." Monica assured me, smiling.

A few moments later, Ollie and Luke burst in, bringing heavy packages of sweets and other products of Honeydukes and Zonko's Jokeshop and sat with us, putting the things they bought down the floor, just as Madam Rosmerta had arrived to serve our drinks.

"Sorry, we're late, Luke forgot to bring his money, and we had to go back to the castle." Ollie sighed, removing his beanie.

"Anyways, did we miss anything?" Luke asked.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Monica insisted.