CHAPTER TWO; FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL.
-
"Fix my soul so
I don't lose in love again."
-
Preacher Man The Driver Era
-
In books, Remus found a solace. They were an escape, his secret getaway. The best part about it was that no one would know where that was. Not even the map. He'd be right in the Gryffindor common room when really he was somewhere else. A small village in Paris, a mansion atop a giant hill, a muggle high school in America. Books took Remus's often cluttered mind somewhere and dispersed his worries like knick-knacks to multiple pawn shops.
Therefore, if Remus wasn't found in the common room, he was in the library. The first place his friends often looked was the library anyway. Of course, there he would be found, a pile of books surrounding him. It was no wonder he was one of the top students in his year, almost the whole school. Remus was one of those 'freaks' (as Sirius called him) who enjoyed school. He enjoyed learning new things and opening up his mind. The Sorting Hat spent a rather long time debating over Ravenclaw or Gryffindor in his first year.
If he really wanted alone time, which was quite often, he would ask to use the map so his friends couldn't track him down. He loved his friends but at times he often felt out of place, like when you jam a puzzle piece in that nearly fits but not quite. They were loud and boisterous, it was no secret James and Sirius had probably nearly 200 detentions under their belts. Remus had a handful too, usually only because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ophiuchus had a rather different relationship with books. She didn't hate them, she could quite often be found engrossed in a book too. The girl used them for information, they were a resource to be used instead of something purely for enjoyment. You could often find her in the restricted section of the library, brushing up a little on what tended to be darker subjects.
So when the book of jinxes and hexes she'd been meaning to read for weeks was just out of her reach, you can bet she wasn't happy. There a strict no magic rule in the library, even pulling out a wand could result in a detention. While Ophiuchus could care less about rules, she had better things to do than polish trophies for hours.
She was about to pull a chair over when a tan arm reacher over her head, bringing the fragile book down to her level. Taking the book from the strangers grasp she sighed in relief, looking up at them. "Thank yo- oh," a scowl stretched across her face. "it's you."
"Thank you, Remus." He said in a mocking, high pitched voice before returning to his normal pitch. "Why you're ever so welcome, Ophiucus."
"Yeah whatever, Lupin. Thanks."
Peering over her shoulder at the title on the front of the book, he snickered. He grabbed the book and pulled it out of her hands to examine it closer, flicking through the pages and causing dust to fly up. "Looking for new and ancient ways to piss people off are we?"
"Yeah, you specifically." She scoffed and ripped the book from him.
"Oh, I'm honoured."
"What are you even doing here?"
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I like, practically live here."
She scanned him up and down. He wasn't wearing his robes or jumper, leaving him in just a white dress shirt. His tie hung loosely around his neck and his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. Smudges of ink covered his hands and even a bit on his shirt. The only thing on his feet were socks and she could see that not too far away, a pair of shoes were kicked of carelessly under a table. He really did appear to be living in the library. "Not the library dipshit, this section."
"I saw you were having issues with getting a book down so I came to help. I never noticed how short you were."
"I could've got it myself."
"I watched you jump up and down for about five minutes."
It wasn't often that Ophiuchus was embarrassed, she'd usually brush it off with a snarky remark and walk away. This was a different situation. She didn't have anything to say back but she couldn't walk away without having the last say. The past fifteen minutes had now made its way onto her rare moments of weakness. Never in her life did she think she'd be grateful for her brother's appearance but she thanked Merlin when he raced around the corner of the shelves with James. Peter Pettigrew was skulking along behind them, like always.
"Oh thank Merlin, Moony, we saw you with her and came to rescue you before she tried to eat you." Sirius exclaimed, his hands in the air dramatically and a glare on his face when he looked at his twin sister.
"Wait a minute how did you see-"
Remus quickly cut her off, clapping his hands together. "Well, you found me, uneaten, thanks, guys. I was actually just having a lovely chat with her after I got a book off a shelf for her."
"I could've got it myself."
"I believe you."
"Well, Moony," James slapped a hand down on his shoulder. "We have work to do, let's leave Black her to- whatever she does, murder first years or something."
The blonde girl rolled her eyes and brushed past the group. "By the way, use Tergeo and then Scourgify to get that ink out of your shirt. It's what works the best." Ophiuchus didn't look back as she left the library with the book in her hand, leaving behind a group of boys stunned by the fact she said something that wasn't halfway insulting.
-
Ophiuchus stormed into the Slytherin dungeons and collapsed onto a couch in front of the fire. She let out a huff and folded her arms over her chest, her brows knitted together.
"Jeez, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Fernley questioned looking up from her and Alverdine's game of wizard chess.
"Lupin." She grumbled.
"Why are you so bothered about him recently, I swear his name never left your lips more than twice before a week ago." Fernley didn't really sound at all interested in her friend's problems, her voice monotone as she told her knight where to go.
"I don't he just keeps popping up all over the place." She blew at a piece of hair that fell in front of her face; watching it lift up before falling back down exactly where it started, rendering the whole action useless. It was true, the boy seemed to be everywhere she looked recently, making (attempting) small talk every time he saw her. Nothing frustrated her more than when she tried to annoy him or make him go away and he would just ignore whatever remark she'd just made.
"Who gives." A deep voice spoke from behind her. The couch dipped slightly under the weight of the boy jumping over and landing on the soft cushioning. A toned arm wrapped around her shoulders and a pair of lips met the crook of her neck.
"Not in the mood, Cassian." Ophiuchus grumbled and pushed his face away from her.
"Oh come on, get your mind off that git and put it on me."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Yeah, it does."
"No, it genuinely does not."
Rolling her eyes, she kissed him quickly. "Happy?"
"For now." He smiled teasingly.
Alverdine 'awed' as Fernley scowled, "You guys are gross."
"No, what's gross is you wanting to get with Sirius."
"He's good looking!" The pretty girl defended while Ophiuchus laughed and made a gagging noise.
"You being grossed out by it only makes me want to get with him more because it's funny."
"I mean," Alverdine said as her queen smashed Fernley's king. "If Albert got with one of my friends, I don't know if I'd talk to my brother whoever he smacked face with ever again."
Ophiucus smirked and everyone knew what was happening. The cogs in her head were turning. this could mean brilliant news or disastrous consequences, depending on your point of view. A wide, lopsided smile cracked over her face. Her friends looked at each other with concern before all their eyes landed on Ophiuchus, who was sitting up straighter and scrawling on a piece of parchment.
How to get the guy who is your brothers best friend and then rub it in your brothers face.
"Surely you can come up with a better title than that."
"Fuck off."