Symphony || Remus Lupin

XIII

Warning: reference to abuse

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The next morning, Myra choked on her piece of toast as James sprinted into the Great Hall and crashed into her. He had slid into the spot next to her, narrowly avoiding hitting a pair of girls on her other side. Marlene cackled on the other side of the table while Alice nervously hit Myra on the back, trying to dislodge the piece stuck in her throat

"I GOT IT!" James bellowed in her ear. She winced and turned to him.

"What did you get?" She asked, irritated as she brushed the crumbs off her lap.

"My parents' reaction." Myra could feel the other girls watching intently.

"To what?"

"I told them about you and asked them if you could come over for Christmas."

Myra blinked.

"They responded that quickly? I doubt that." She stated, turning back to her eggs.

"Well, we have a fast owl." There was a beat of silence.

"What did they say?" She wasn't hoping for much. Who would invite a girl they only heard about that claimed to be some lost niece? They would be mad.

"They're really looking forward to meeting you." Myra looked at him, shock clearly evident on her face.

"Really? You're, you're not joking?" She asked. She could distantly hear Lily and Alice congratulating her and Marlene saying that Myra's life was more interesting than she thought.

"Of course not. They said that you could come over and stay for the break and come back to Hogwarts with me. It'll be fun. I'll teach you Quidditch, dad will tell you about our family. Did I tell you we have a lot of money? Dad made this thing called Sleakeezy's Hair Potion. It basically makes your hair really smooth and stuff." James looked expectantly at Myra, "So, what do you say?"

"I'm- I'm really excited." She said.

Myra honestly didn't know what to say. This scenario hadn't come to her in her thoughts at all. She didn't know what to do, to say, how to act, how to react. She never expected to find her long-lost family. She only just found out that she was adopted in the first place. Then she found out that she wasn't really adopted, more kidnapped.

Then she found out that she had been going to school with her cousin for five years and his best friend had bullied her for years.

Who knew her life would turn out this complicated?

∞-∞-∞

Myra nervously fiddled with the label of her trunk, pulling it and wrinkling it. She stared at the figure of the scarlet train in the station, watched the students climb in with their trunks, cats hissing in their jostled cages, owls soaring around and hooting pleasantly around their owners.

She was having an off day and she knew it. She woke up much too early for even her. She couldn't even see the haze of light signaling the approach of dawn. Myra had been unnecessarily antsy and fidgety like she had a shot of pure espresso directly into her bloodstream.

Myra had gotten ready early and had her trunk packed before the other girls woke up. She had worked on the Christmas presents she hadn't finished, wrapped them, and carefully placed them in her trunk on top of her other things. She had brought her wand out and worked on more complicated non-verbal spells, such as making a small tea kettle quietly dance across her bed.