It was a Thursday night, or should I say it was probably in the middle of the night. And rain was gushing heavily outside, since the Dementors were still patrolling the Hogwarts grounds. It was a bit a chilly whenever we felt their near presence.
Nothing was really happening much at Hogwarts. The only latest news so far was that Sirius was spotted in towns near Hogwarts, which caused further worry in the school. I was further bullied lately by many students, suspecting that I was helping my brother enter the castle and I was his accomplice.
It was really bloody annoying, but I tried to ignore their taunts as much as possible.
A few hours ago, we just had a meeting — Quidditch, specifically. Of course, Ollie was usually explaining his expectations and new plans for this upcoming match. I understood his worries and frustation.
"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now."
I recalled what he had said in the meeting, it's been seven years since our house has won the Quidditch cup. So, I was motivated that I will do my best to make Gryffindor proud.
Aside from Quidditch, my other priority was N.E.W.T.S, it was really stressful. I spent many sleepless nights reviewing, sometimes not even sleeping at all. Monica said so many times before that I needed to stop my unhealthy routine, and that the circles under my eyes were already making me look like Sirius, which made me laugh out loud.
I checked my watch. Thirty minutes before two o'clock, but I didn't feel sleepy or tired at all. I was mindlessly wandering the dark corriders of Hogwarts. Many memories flashed through my mind. Such as pushing Monica in the fountain at the courtyard which I got detention for, and when Fred and George gave me threw snowballs at my head during winter in my third year.
Time was flying fast. I'll be graduating from Hogwarts soon. My home. I was a hundred percent sure that I will miss it terribly.
The cold breeze of the wind brushed against my exposed arms. I should have brought along my sweater, I thought to myself and I felt the goosebumps to rise. I was thinking about heading back to the common room, it was much warmer there, and I was longing to sit by the fireplace.
Suddenly, I felt my shivering left foot tripping over my right and fell. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain of hitting the hard stone floor until a pair of rough and familiar hands clasped my waist and pulled me up. I was shivering when I smelled the familiar smell of old books and faint chocolate.
"Sorry, sorry I didn't mean —" I said, then paused. My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped as I saw the person who prevented me from falling. None other than Remus.
"Selene, it's half one in the morning what on earth are you wandering around the —" his soft whisper then stopped, his green eyes meeting mine as he heard me shiver.
"Are you drunk, Selene?" he asked me, his voice was quite serious.
"No, Re- I mean, sir. I was heading back to the common room. But, I'm not feeling tired at all, would that cause you to think less of me, eh?" I said.
He chuckled slightly, his cheeks flushing red and he shook his head. It was such an adorable sight to see.
"I catch you out of bed past curfew, and you would dare to ask me if I think less of you?" he asked, a small sly smile on his face.
"Yes." she said.
He nearly laughed, but I saw in his eyes that he was trying to keep his poise as a professor.
"You know I could get you in very serious trouble, Selene for wandering around the castle past curfew unprotected with a killer on the loose." he said sternly, but he held my cold hands which gave me a sense of comfort and warmth.
"Remus," I said bravely. "I'm very good at avoiding getting caught. And I know that even though he may have never met me, but I am sure that my brother would never hurt me."
Remus bit his lower lip. He was trembling and seemed to cry, I wasn't sure what to do. Have I hurt or offended him? Whatever had come into his mind, I really regretted mentioning my brother in front of me.
"Selene, you're cold," he said finally. "Would you like some tea?"
"Sure." I said. He then took my hand, which overwhelmed me. I was sure that he was taking me to his office. I've been to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office a dozen times before. But going there with him, I was really excited. Along the way, he kept looking at each direction with cautiousness, as though if someone was watching us.
Once we had arrived, he quickly ushered me inside. I felt my jaw drop, the office was much more fascinating and beautiful compared to last year. I remember visiting the office last year when Lockhart was our teacher, it was filled with portraits of him, his books and almost every possession he owned, it didn't really look like a teacher's office.
But it was different with Remus. It was filled with portraits of dark creatures his other belongings. A shelf was also there, with numerous books and a Grindylow was sitting inside a tank on the corner of the office. It was really beautiful.
I heard Remus placing a chair in front of the fireplace and he signalled me to take a seat. Once I sat down, he removed his cloak and placed it around me. "Thank you." I muttered as he told me that he was going to make me some tea. Once he left, I rubbed my hands, finally feeling warm. My eye spotted a picture that sat on top of the fireplace.
With curiousity, I took it. There were four boys in the picture. One of them had messy black hair
with rectangular glasses, his arm was holding a Golden Snitch. I immediately guessed that it was James Potter, Harry's dad. Then to his left was a much taller boy, with black, shoulder-length hair and was wearing sly grin as he rumpled James's already messy hair.
Sirius.
Around James's right was a small, chubby boy with light brown hair. He looked very timid but was smiling anyway. I knew that it was Peter Pettigrew, whom Sirius had killed before he was imprisoned in Azkaban.
And on Sirius's right was Remus, it was pretty obvious by the scars on his face and he was holding a slab of chocolate and a book. Around the bottom of the picture was signed 'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, 1975'.
"I see you've found the picture." I turned around, Remus had already come with a mug of hot tea in his hand. He handed it to me with a soft smile on his face and seated beside me. "Thank you." I mumbled, taking a sip.
"Remus," I said. "You knew my brother? You're friends at school aren't you?"
"Yes, more likely he was my friend." he said sadly, I felt sympathetic, and didn't dare to ask why, since I already knew the story.
"You know, Selene I see so much of Sirius in you. So, so much." he said softly, as I smile whilst he was tucking a strand of my hair at the back of my hair. His eyes met the picture, as I did the same.
"I was so happy back then," he continued. "I found solace in them, they were my family."
I stroked his back, hoping to comfort him, which did.
"Selene, I've never got to ask. Did you ever meet your brother? I haven't learned that he had a sister until recently. In fact, he never told us about you." he said.
"No," I replied. "I was born sometime after he ran away. I've only heard him in my family's stories, they called him a mutt. And after my mum died when I was ten, my cousin Andromeda Tonks and her husband Ted took me in."
"Ah yes, Andromeda. What a sweet lady, I've met her during my first year at Hogwarts. She was Sirius's cousin." he said. The two of us chatted for while, he told me more about his friendship with Sirius, James and Pettigrew and how he missed them. And his friendship with Lily, Harry's mum. I found it very interesting, if only I had attended Hogwarts during that time.
At around 2:30, I went back to the common room. Thank God, Filch wasn't around. Once I had gone inside, the whole common room was quiet. It was dark, and faint snores were echoing from the dormitories. Monica was sleeping soundly once I had gone to our dorm. I quickly changed into pyjamas and crawled over to my bed.
I smiled, recollecting my conversation with Remus. I thought of him again, his smile, his eyes, his voice, I couldn't get it out of my head.
Goodnight, Remus, I thought to myself before drifting off to sleep.