➥COMPLETED
Nova Black hadn't thought she would ever set a toe behind those thick castle walls she had fought to forget about during the past thirteen years, but here she was at Plattform 9¾, staring at the scarlet train in front of her with wobbly k...
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SEARCHING THE castle had been a pointless procedure, just as Nova had predicted it to be. Sirius, though in a dangerous way, was way to brilliant to keep hanging around in this castle for a second longer, after the Fat Lady had denied him the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.
The students kept sleeping in the Great Hall for tonight, patrolled by the teachers. Nova had hoped she could return to her room, but Dumbledore had other plans.
"For tonight, I don't think it is a wise decision for you to be alone, Nova", he whispered to not wake the students to their feet. "Find yourself a sleeping bag and try to get some rest."
Opening her mouth for a protest, Nova was cut off by a snarling voice, her unspoken words still on her tongue.
"Maybe the students will be safer, if Miss Black isn't around", Snape hissed into the semi-darkness under the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, and Nova felt a cold shiver rush over her, just as if the cold winds outside had made it through the thick walls.
"We have discussed this, Severus", said Dumbledore, his voice calm.
"The end of this discussion, however, was based on a disagreement", Snape replied. "At least I can't remember to have seen Miss Black during the Halloween feast in the Great Hall."
"I've been working in the library and went to bed early", Nova snapped at the potions master, while her face was heating up.
"Of course you have", snorted Snape. "What a fortunate circumstance that tonight, no one had been in the library to proof the evidence of your words."
Remus stepped into the faint light of an almost full moon, looking more tired than Nova had ever seen him since the beginning of the year, and somehow this caused an even deeper discomfort growing in Nova's guts.
"Sir", she said directed at Dumbledore, trying to ignore Remus' appearance the best she could. "I swear, I haven't — I would have never —"
"I know, Nova", Dumbledore replied, smiling encouraging at her, before he turned to Snape. "I'm sure that nobody in this castle has anything to do with the intrusion of Sirius Black tonight. We should all try to find some rest now."
Though still his words were calm, not even Snape dared to disagree with the old headmaster for now.
"Remus", Dumbledore again spoke, "please stay with Nova, I think some company would be no harm to anyone tonight."
Nova's head jerked around to Remus so fast, she even heard a small crack in her neck, hoping that no one else had noticed it, just to see the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher nod slowly.
"I don't need a babysitter", she a moment later hissed at Remus, as they walked down the Great Hall. "I didn't intend to sleep anyway."
"I see", Remus retorted. "But still Sirius is somewhere out there, I can understand if this is scaring y—"
"I'm not scared!"
"Nevertheless, I will stay with you tonight", he said, stopping next to an empty sleeping back. "Try to sleep, Nova."
But even if she wanted to, Nova wouldn't. All her tiny flasks of little helpers for a peaceful sleep were locked inside her nightstand, and she didn't dare to allow her dreams to run free and haunt her. Not after she had just learned to live without the ghosts of her past.
•✧•
THE UPCOMING days, of course the whole castle wasn't talking about anything else than Sirius' try to get into the Gryffindor Tower, and while most of them had not a clue why, Nova couldn't but watch every step Harry Potter was taking, though she wasn't even part of the guardians team. The poor boy could no longer even cross a corridor without a teacher glued to his heels, and as Nova watched him and his two best friends sit in a quiet corner of the library, noses stuck in books about dangerous magical creatures, she couldn't hind to roll her eyes, as she saw Professor McGonagall not so casually pass their spot every five minutes for an hour now.
After a while, Nova sighed and walked over to the trio.
"You seem to struggle to find the right books", she said and three heads jerked up, staring at her out of blinking eyes. "May I help you?"
The girl was the first to catch her countenance, as she said, "Oh, I fear we've found the right books, but unfortunately what we read in there wasn't that helpful as we wished it to be."
Nova looked down at the book, the moving picture of a beheaded Hippogriff had her crinkling her nose.
"That doesn't seem like something you'd need for your homework", she said, lifting up the book. "Oh no ... Hagrid ...", she muttered, as she watched the picture all over again, then looked back at the three Gryffindors. "They're going for his Hippogriff's head, are they?"
Harry briefly nodded. "Malfoy's father had accused Hagrid and Buckbeak."
"Malfoy?", Nova echoed. "Oh, I knew I had seen this rat head before ..." Shaking her head by the thought of the bleach blonde boy, there no longer was a reason for questioning where his arrogance had its offspring. She hadn't predicted her cousin Narcissa and her husband Lucius to give birth to something that wasn't vile and stuck-up.
"I'll help you", finally Nova said, a grim look appearing on her face. "Take whatever books you need and keep them for as long as it takes, I'll settle things with Madame Pince. If you need access to the restricted section, just tell me."
"T-thank you", Hermione stuttered, flabbergasted.
"Oh, not for this", said Nova, cracking a smile. "You know, for Hagrid I'd do anything."
As she walked away, the three pairs of eyes followed her as she did, hearing the ginger guy whispering, "I don't know about you, but she's definitely an upgrade for this library."
What Nova didn't know, was that behind the high shelf she was passing by, Remus Lupin nodded in agreement with a smile on his lips, before he returned the book in his hands to its place and left as well.
