Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 66

With her mind still blurry over the thought of Remus's mysterious disappearances throughout the years, Diana made her way to the North Tower, where the Divination class was being held. Although there was something that troubled her mind more.

      She was worried that Remus had heard her talk about Amortenia and naming the smells that attracted her the most.

All she could hope for was that he had only heard Slughorn ask Diana wether she was a chocolate lover or not, to which Remus had replied that he was one, before entering the Potions classroom. This thought calmed her a bit.

     Just then, she reached the Divination class, which Layla had dropped this year to focus on more important subjects. But when Diana entered the room, she found the dim place empty of any students.

She checked her watch, making sure that she wasn't too late or too early, but she appeared to be right on time.

"Please enter," a dark voice came from the shadowy corner of the class.

Gulping, Diana walked inside hesitantly. She halted when Professor Tennebris walked closer into the light, his golden eyes piercing into hers.

Diana hadn't been thrilled about the idea of taking Divination for her sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts, and only did so because of Professor Dumbledore's insisting. But the fact that she was the only student in class made it even worse.

"Aren't the others going to join the class?" Diana asked awkwardly, feeling extremely uncomfortable under his blazing gaze.

"The sixth year Divination class is held on Fridays. This is advanced Divination," said Professor Tenebris, moving toward the fireplace to add more wood into it as he watched it burn. "I was asked by Professor Dumbledore to personally train you."

He's not looking. Run while you have the chance, she thought to herself, looking back at the door sneakily.

      "You're nervous. I can see it in your aura," said Professor Tenebris, his eyes fixed on the blazing flames with his hands laced together behind his back.

"My... what, sorry?" Diana looked around her for the aura that was supposedly visible to him, growing even more nervous.

      By each second that passed, she came to doubt her abilities more. How could she be sure that she was an actual Seer? She was nothing like Tenebris. She couldn't see someone's aura, and she could barley make sense of her day-to-day studies, let alone the future or the meaning behind her so-called visions.

"Please, sit," Professor Tenebris spoke slowly in a chilling tone, sending shivers down her spine.

Not sure what he was planning on teaching her or what he meant by training, Diana sat behind the closest table to her, placing her bag on the floor beside her as she remained there in silence.

"Look into the orb. Tell me what you see," he said, taking out his wand to lower the lights of the candles in the room, making the place even dimmer than it was.

"What orb—" Diana began to ask, but just then a crystal orb appeared before her on the table. She was sure it hadn't been there before.

Letting out a small breath, Diana looked into the orb and tried to focus, but it was pointless. All she could see was fog, and nothing more.

"I don't see anything," said Diana, exhausted from her last two classes of the day.

"That's because you're only seeing with your eyes," said the professor, shutting all the drapes with a small flick of his wand.

Are people seeing stuff with their noses and ears nowadays? Diana thought to herself sarcastically, but she forced herself to focus back on the Crystal orb.

      "More fog," she mumbled under her breath.

      "Open your eyes, Diana," said Professor Tenebris, finally walking toward her in slow steps. "You're the one holding yourself back. As long as you don't believe in it, it's going to be locked up inside you. Set it free."

      Each word that left his mouth was another mystery for her to unravel. She didn't know what was locked inside her, or how she was supposed to set it free, whatever the thing was, whatever he was talking about.

      Maybe it was fear.

     Ever since last year, when she had seen the dead bodies laying lifelessly on the floor in seven different visions, Diana had become terrified. She had then forced herself to forget all about it, preventing her thoughts to go anywhere near that memory. But perhaps it was time to face her fears. This was who she was now.

      "Don't try to battle your demons, Diana. They are survivors. They always find a way to win." She could hear Professor Tenebris whisper as she gazed into the crystal orb before her, starting to feel slightly dizzy. "Tame them. Use them. But whatever you do, never fight them."

      Diana suddenly felt the air run out, finding it hard to breathe. The fog started to clear away in the orb. For a moment, she was afraid to see the hooded man again, whom she had seen right before witnessing those dead people in her vision. But instead, a moon came to view from beneath the grey clouds inside the orb.

     The full moon was illuminating, but for some reason, she couldn't find it in herself to enjoy its beauty. All it did was to bring a sense of terror in her heart. She had seen it before in the orb, last year.

     The room grew darker and the world became black to her eyes. She started to hear whispered words. Someone was speaking. Whimpering. Sobbing.

      I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...

     The voice kept whispering, growing clearer with each time. It sounded familiar. Too familiar.

      "Remus," Diana muttered under her breath without even realizing it.

     But as she spoke his name, she heard a howl, and then suddenly a sharp pain ran through her body in a single moment, filling her up with nothing but emptiness. Loneliness. Darkness.

      It was the exact feeling she'r gotten the first time she had accidentally touched Remus's hand in Diagon Alley.

     Diana's eyes suddenly shot open. She started panting heavily, taking in the air as though she had stopped breathing for a minute.

      "I — I have to go," she mumbled under her breath, her mind racing. Without waiting for Professor Tenebris's response, Diana took her bag off the floor and ran out of the class.

      Her heart was pounding in her chest as her feet carried her up to the library. She didn't even realize that she had bumped into someone on the way. All that she could think about was that she needed to see the lunar charts for this year.

      She ran through different aisles in the library, looking through different shelves, in search for the book. Once she found it, she took it out with trembling hands and opened it up, looking through the charts.

     First of September. Second of September. All the way to —

      And there she saw it.

      The next full moon was on Wednesday. On the exact day Remus had claimed that he was going to be out of the castle. Again.

      For years, he went missing once a month, looking ill and exhausted each time. It all made sense now. The secrecy. The disappearances. The old scars that ran across his face. And with that thought, the realization finally hit Diana in a surge of horror.

     Remus Lupin was a werewolf.