Some would say that the Marauders were incapable of being serious. That everything was all fun and jokes to them, and that pranks, to them, was the key to life.
Then again, some people were wrong; terribly wrong.
If you knew the Marauders, not knew of, knew, then you'd know well enough that with the power of dedication and determination, the Marauders could be as serious as the topic of life and death...
Just kidding.
Anyways, that week, the Marauders defied the thoughts of everyone, and set their mind to one thing, which was, of course, Naomi Serdeys. They had devoted all of their free time to finding out if she was a trustworthy person, due to the fact that she knew a well hidden secret of theirs, and they needed to know if they could trust her with it.
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were so serious about the situation, that they had spent a whole hour deciding who would take on morning, afternoon, and evening shifts spent keeping an eye on the girl. To some, that'd seem a little weird—more than weird in fact—but after much contemplating, the Marauders were able to convince themselves that they were being perfectly reasonable.
Which, in turn, lead Remus and Naomi to the following moment: As Naomi travelled to the Hospital Wing, Remus was following her, keeping a distance not too far, but far enough that she would not take notice of him. He made sure to only take the initiative to make another step once she had turned the corner, and would not, in any way, catch him.
He did not have the Marauders Map in his hand, nor did he have James' Invisibility Cloak atop his head, because if he was caught, he could simply pretend that he was taking a small stroll or something of the other.
Anyways, by the time Remus was hidden behind a wall, Naomi had reached the Hospital Wing and was inside it, having an overly casual conversation with the nurse, Madam Pomfrey.
He tried to blend in with the shadows, but he knew that without even trying, Naomi could simply look in his direction and he'd be caught. However, Remus was too preoccupied with the question of, 'Why did Naomi come to the Hospital Wing?' to fret, and do anything but rely on luck and hope.
The question was a very well dwelled upon one by him. Naomi didn't appear as hurt; no bruise, no scar, no limp, no nothing. Then again, her reason to visit the Wing could've been something along the lines of stress, or a headache. But, if so, why did Naomi seem so bubbly? In fact, on her journey to the Hospital Wing, she'd been skipping, while humming the melody of a song, a lollipop stuffed in her mouth. And, as she spoke to Madam Pomfrey, she seemed to be perfectly content and happy.
With whatever reason Remus thought up, there was always something to contradict his statement. With that being said, Remus decided that if he wanted to know, it would do best to eavesdrop in on the conversation taking place between the two. Maybe then he'd discover some useful information.
Little did he know...
Little did he know that what he was about to hear, well, it was better left unsaid.
"Hello, Madam Pomfrey." He heard Naomi politely greet the nurse.
"Why, hello dear," She greeted back. "Another potion, I presume?"
Potion? Remus furrowed his eyebrows; why did Madam Pomfrey throw in the word 'another' as if Naomi seeking for a potion was a normal thing?
"You know it!" Naomi cheekily said, disrupting Remus' train of thoughts and forcing him to listen.
"Okay, let me just go in the back and grab it," said Madame Pomfrey.
He heard the woman's distancing footsteps and her rummaging through one thing or the other. While the woman was preoccupied, Remus dared to peek in. There, in the centre of the room, and amidst the Hospital beds, stood Naomi, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, and subconsciously bobbing her head up and down as if listening to imaginary music.
Remus would've looked longer, but before he knew it, the woman was making her way back, and at the first sound of her footsteps, he hastily retreated.
"Here it is," the nurse spoke. Remus presumed she had just retrieved the so-called potion and was handing it to her. "The batch is running out. Ask Professor Slughorn to whip up a couple more vials for me in your free time, please."
"Right on it," Naomi obeyed. "Well, I better be off,"
He heard the sound of Naomi's approaching footsteps and internally panicked, suddenly coming to the realization that there was not a place in sight to hide. However, in the middle of his frenzy, he heard Madam Pomfrey stop the girl from taking a further step.
"Wait! Before you go, I must warn you—"
"Yes, I know. No running, no jogging, no sprinting, no sudden movements, and, let's not forget, no physical activities that'll drain my energy. So basically, no having fun."
Remus raised his eyebrows. He could most definitely sense the underlying bitterness behind her voice, and it seemed Madam Pomfrey could too, for, she let out a pitiful chuckle and said, "You know the rules. There are precautions, and if you want to be safe, you have to be careful,"
"I know," Naomi let out a meaningful sigh. "I just hate it, that's all."
Madam Pomfrey chuckled again but didn't answer this time. "Have a good day, dear. I expect you in a week,"
"Bye."
With that, Naomi exited the Hospital Wing, but, just as Remus began to panic over getting caught, the girl turned around and headed in the opposite direction. He wondered why she didn't leave the way she'd come, but with relief, he recalled that dinner was starting in just a minute, and the Great Hall was probably her destination.
Realizing that he was not, in fact, going to be caught anytime soon, Remus stood up from his uncomfortable crouch position and began to make his way to the Great Hall. As he was passing the entrance to the Hospital Wing, however, Madam Pomfrey caught him.
"Mr. Lupin!"
He froze, but in a manner of seconds, regained his composure and threw on a friendly smile as he swerved around.
"Yes, Madam?"
"Were you not coming in?" She confusedly asked, sounding dejected almost.
"No," he paused. "Just making my way to dinner,"
"Oh, well, have a good one," She threw on a sincere smile.
"You too."
Without further ado, Remus hurriedly ran to the Great Hall. When he got there, he discovered that his friends were expectantly waiting for him at the Gryffindor table, an empty seat beside Sirius reserved for him.
"Well?" James impatiently asked the moment he sat down, Sirius and Peter eagerly waiting for his response.
"Well what?" Remus said in a slightly irked tone as he gathered a vegetable roll off of a plate.
"Did you discover anything?" Peter butted in.
"About what?"
"Her! Who else?" Sirius gave him an incredulous look as though he was dumb for asking such a question. Remus looked up to follow Sirius' gaze, which led directly to Naomi Serdeys at the Ravenclaw table, who was boredly picking at her food, unknowing to their stares.
Of course, Remus knew who they were speaking of, but he wasn't so sure if he wanted to let them in on the curious conversation he was aware of that took place between Naomi and the school nurse.
"Um," he stalled. "Nope. Nada. I discovered nothing." His mouth seemed to have made the decision for him.
Remus falsely smiled, and Sirius narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his friend's behaviour. "Are you sure?"
Remus nervously licked his lips, anxious under Sirius' stare. He tried not to let it show. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
Sirius said nothing, leaving the boys to a silence that had hopelessness to the situation hanging in the air. James groaned, shoving his head into the palms of his hands. "This is hopeless. We're not getting anything accomplished."
Peter hesitantly spoke up after a moment's worth of silence. "C'mon, don't be like that. I'm sure that in a couple of days we'll figure something out,"
"I think Peter is right," Remus said casually. "We'll figure something out."
The other two sighed but nonetheless nodded and dug in, a declaration that the topic was done with. Though, Remus couldn't help but snidely add on to his sentence in his head, "Or at least, I'll figure something out."
Remus felt guilty for thinking that, but a part of him was much too curious to ignore the conversation he'd overheard. While he and his friends ate, them oblivious to his betraying thoughts, he concluded that, if he was going to figure out what they—Madam Pomfrey and Naomi—were speaking of, he'd have to dig in through some research.
Because, there was something Remus didn't know, and he was going to find out.
————–
It's 4:00.
In the morning.
So basically the night.
I'm so tired.
But anyways, guess who didn't get her Hogwarts letter? I am so let down, but like, maybe the owl got lost. Right?
Anyways...
QOTD: Cats or Dogs?
AOTD: Cats.
Vote and comment!
Love,
Manny