DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ67: ANTONIOϟ

"Oi, no dying. Come up here." she let the ant climb onto her finger and set it down on the table. "Yes, now, shoo!"

It did not 'shoo' away. Instead, it made a beeline for the nearest soup bowl on the table.

"Not again!" Rhea tutted disapprovingly, snatching the soup bowl and holding it above the table. In fact, she didn't know why she herself hadn't squashed it yet. Maybe she was feeling merciful today.

"Look here, ant, I thoroughly agree with your views on death—why d'you have to live when you're gonna die one day? But here's life's policy: death will find you one day, but you aren't supposed to look for death. If you disagree with this policy, life will whack you left and right until you're black and blue."

Rhea fancied that the ant gave her an unimpressed look. Well, it seemed like it was looking at her, anyway.

"Don't look at me like that, Antonio, I can't sit still and watch while you're about to end your life. Remember, life will push you to your limits. It will test your endurance. But guess what? Such heights of struggles create depths of character—yes, I modified Nelson Mandela's quote. Not that he's quoted this just yet," she added suddenly.

Then, sighing irritably, she said, "Go on, now. Go, live your life! Find love! Make the most out of it! And visit me again, Antonio, I enjoy our visits."

She gave the ant a few crumbles of her biscuit and flicked it to the floor, where it continued its journey of life.

"Did you just give the ant a pep talk?"

Rhea turned in her seat to find none other than Remus Lupin standing behind her, looking thoroughly amused.

"I might have," Rhea said, dignified. "Got a problem?"

"Nah," he grinned at Rhea and took a seat next to her. "I'm just hungry."

"'Course you are," Rhea returned the grin. "You missed the kitchen detour yesterday."

"Because you went with Lils," he huffed in reply. "I chose to stay in the dorms."

"Aw, is that a hint of jealousy I sense?" Rhea cooed teasingly, laughing when Remus rolled his eyes.

"You wish, Cadieux."

Rhea burst out laughing. "Then why're you red?"

Shit. "That's a temporary problem of my blood vessels flooding my skin with blood." Remus said smoothly, masking his flush into a smirk. "You're idiocy, on the other hand, is...a permanent malfunction."

Instead of getting stunned into silence, Rhea just laughed again and gave him an impressed look. "Nice one, Moony."

"I try."

They lapsed into silence. The rest of the Marauders were still in bed, seeing as it was a Sunday. Lily refused to get up since she'd spent the previous night cuddling with James, and Mary and Marlene just wanted to sleep in for a few more hours.

Regulus, Amy, Dorcas, Luna, Timothy and Severus were still in their respective dorms, having had enough of the exam stress. While the sixth years were overloaded with homework, Severus had been through the hassle of preparing for the N.E.W.Ts, like all of them. Except, he was under a lot more pressure since he wanted the best grades to get a decent job.

Like all of them, actually. But he was the most worried of them all.

Speaking of everyone's well being... the school was in chaos.

Lily and James, the most popular students at school, caused an uproar of excitement when their news of dating spread. Dumbledore became rich within 24 hours.