The Best of Friends (Sirius Love Story)

Part 17

A/N: Question. Does anyone want swearing in this fic.

Charisse led Arianwen back to the library, where she resumed her duty of being her tutor whilst also being a friend by telling her it was important that she get caught up but that staying cooped up in a library for fifteen hours wasn't an option. 

And so, Arianwen grabbed a few more books from the shelves, some of which were about astronomy, muggles, and basic wizard events that happened in the past. 

After collecting a good amount of books, Arianwen followed Charisse, who had insisted on helping carry and was struggling to balance one rather large book on her coral-colored back. After wondering briefly where could possibly be better to study than the library, Charisse led Arianwen outside and towards none other than the Black Lake. 

After they had arrived and could see no one around, Charisse transformed back into a human and conjured a pale blue blanket from her wand and laid it out in front of the lake. It was chilly out with a faint breeze that blew the stray hairs hanging out of Arianwen's tied hair as she held her cloak tightly around her.

Struck for the first time since her transformation by the time she had spent in the lake and indeed how much she missed it, she was brought back to reality by Charisse, who had sat down and was conjuring a small yellow fire and writing something on a bit of parchment.

"Okay, well, you seem to have gotten most of the basics but now we need to get you caught up for this year. You'll have important exams in the fifth year here at Hogwarts. O.W.L.S they're called."

But before Arianwen could ask Charisse what exactly that was, she heard a slight rustle in a small circle of trees a good thirty feet away. Both of the girls looked up to see the source of the disturbance; it was a boy-- a rather tall  boy-- who was wearing a maroon and gold sweater, and who had not yet seen Arianwen or Charisse. Charisse, though slightly startled, gave Ari a reassuring glance, then turned immediately back into a cat as Arianwen watched the boy glance toward her and eventually, stroll over.

When he had gotten to her, Arianwen recognized him as Remus. She knew but little about him but took note of his quiet nature  held out a shaking hand.

"Remus! L-lovely to see you again."

Remus shook Arianwen's hand, smiling at her kindness and doing his best not to pity her apparent shyness, for he knew what being pitied was like. Truthfully though, he did feel rather sorry for Arianwen, who appeared to be studying outside, alone, during Christmas with only her cat for company.

"It's good to see you too, you're looking well." He added noting at her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
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Arianwen thanked him but felt too awkward to return the compliment as Remus truly, though handsome in a delicate sort of way, looked extremely tired and also possessed an occasional scrape across each of his cheeks.

Arianwen invited him to sit down, saying that she had only been studying.

Remus was the sort of person that Arianwen immediately felt comfortable around but also anxiously desiring for him to like her. He just had that sort of aura. Respectable but also tinged with, if she was not mistaken, sass.

He sat across from Arianwen, who was shifting a papers with charts she had copied from a book of astronomy into a neat pile while also being glad that they looked roughly the same height while sitting. Merlin, she hated being so short. After glancing worriedly at her trembling hands, Remus asked the name of her cat and if he could pet him.

"Her." Arianwen corrected, and then added, "sure, you can pet her. As for her name, well--" she paused, not thinking it safe to give away her actual name. "its -Paisley."