Fluttering my eyes open, the first thing I see are bright purple eyes staring right at me. As soon as he realized I was looking back at him, he straightened up and backed away a little. His hair had turned pink, purple and blue while his eyes stayed purple. Giving me a smirk, he pointed to my face.
"Nice face, darling." His eyes darted back to the piano, where I had fell asleep on with my face resting on the keys. "You've got keys imprinted all over you. But the again, you are a KEY-PER -- like keeper. Get it?" He laughed at his own joke, resting his elbow on the piano surface. After a giggling fit from his own humor, he turned completely serious. "You know how to play the piano?"
My face hurts. My back hurts. Sleeping on the piano is not the best idea I've had. I glanced at the window and saw that it's a little dark outside. "What time is it?" I asked, turning to Lupin confused. "How long have we been here?"
Lupin scratched the back of his head. "I wish I know. I don't have a watch. You don't have a watch. There isn't a clock here. But I'm guessing it's around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. It's dark because it's still raining hard." I got up from the piano's seat and ran towards the window. I looked outside and there it was, rain pouring down Hogsmeade like there's no tomorrow.
"Second question. Why are your eyes purple?"
"Is it purple? That's weird." He blinked a couple of times and his eyes are instantly green again. "It doesn't matter."
"What does purple even mean?"
"No idea." He shrugs, though his face says otherwise. He just doesn't want to tell me.
"I'll find out someday." I sigh, taking the seat by the piano once again. "When I'm not feeling lazy to look it up." My fingers brushed over the piano keys and started to play a nursery rhyme.
Lupin sat next to me, on the same seat I'm sitting at since it's big enough for at least three people. "When you're not feeling lazy? That's like the 30th of February."
"Shut up Edward."
"So will you teach me?"
"Teach you what? To be lazy?"
He rolled his eyes. "To play the piano of course!"
"Okay but mind you, I'm not the best teacher."
***
"Edward! That's not what I taught you!"
"You said the note C was like that!"
"No, that was G. Let's try it again."
After the second try, he's got it perfect. Once he learned all the basic notes, we started to play songs. First, Lupin practiced with nursery rhymes just like I did in the beginning. He had messed up a few times and I had to help him, but apparently he's an easy learner because every time he tries for the second time, he gets it perfect.
Lupin then wanted to play an actual song. This whole time I'm teaching him, I'm thinking of my mum because she is the one who taught me how to play the piano, so when he wanted to play a song, Hey Jude by The Beatles came to my mind first. That's the song that I first played on the piano because mum loves that song.
And so that's the first song we played. Then together we played the piano keys from , The Scientist by Coldplay his choice of song and then Karma Police by Radiohead. At some point, he wanted a quick break so I just played myself. I played Before You Start Your Day by Twenty One Pilots. When I played, my mind just completely focused on the piano and ignored everything around me, including Lupin. I don't know if he was paying attention to me or not, but I just got to lost in that moment.
After that, he wanted to play by himself so I just sat next to him, watching and listening in amazement. Either I am a better teacher than I thought or he lied to me about not knowing how to play the piano because he plays just as good as me, if not even better. Lupin played This Is Gospel by Panic! At the Disco and this time, he was quietly singing along.
As he sings, I couldn't tear my attention away from him. It's the way he looked and sounds. He had his eyes closed as he sings softly and plays beautifully. At that moment, I felt like all of a sudden I'm seeing a new side of Edward Lupin. I felt like he's so much more than he reveals and I want to get to know him more. I feel like there's so much more of him than just the boy who has been getting on my nerves for years.
When he stopped playing, he turned to me with a cheeky smile. "What's with the face, darling?"
I don't even know what to say.
"Oh I get it. You're speechless because of my amazing performance." That cheeky smile grows even bigger.
I want to pinch him but at the same time I want to cheer for him.
I get it now.
"You knew how to play the piano all along." It wasn't a question. It's an angry statement. "You pretended to mess up and acted as if you don't know how to play but really, you already know how to play the piano. That explains why you've went from messing up nursery rhymes to perfecting full songs."
"Or I'm just an easy learner."
"Or you're about to get smacked for being a git." Right after I said that, I pushed him off the seat. He fell to the floor and landed on his butt. "I think it's time we head back to the castle."
"But we're having so much fun here." He pouted, brushing himself as he stands up.
"So where did you learn how to play the piano?" I asked with my arms and legs crossed, facing him with a glare.
Lupin chuckled. "From you."
"Okay...That sounds fake but okay."
Lupin only gave me a smirk in return before going back to the couch and playing with Gypsy, who has been laying there this whole time. As he talks to the little wolf, I walked towards the window and sat down on the old wooden chair by it. Listening to the rain is probably one of my favorite things ever. It's so relaxing and it is a fact that it enhances creativity. If only I had my sketchbook or something to draw on. And if there's food and a hot sweet drink.
***
We stayed at the Shrieking Shack for another hour just sitting there doing nothing. Lupin played with Gypsy while I stared out the window and listened to the rain. When it starts to get colder, up to the point where we're shivering even with layers of clothing, we decided to finally go back to the castle. We went through the Whomping Willow since it's the shortcut to the castle.
Lupin and I had slipped and fell on each other several times since water has gotten inside the secret narrowed passage, so we came back to the castle all wet and muddy. We made it just a few minutes before dinner. On our way to the common room, we've received stares from a lot of people and some were even laughing at us.
Arriving to the common room and seeing our friends is another story. We were greeted by Roxanne and Seth and let's just say we got an earful lecture of 'We were so worried!' speech from the two of them. Nobody even minded the fact that Lupin and I literally just spent the whole day together alone. They were just worried about us and how they were looking for us thinking of the worst case scenarios.
Before dinner starts, I made a quick run to my dorm and changed my clothes into something warm. I wore black leggings and an oversize sweater, which used to be Seth's sweater until he left it in my room.
During dinner, I couldn't be more happy at the fact that there is hot chocolate for everyone. McGonagall had warned that there is a storm, as we can see, and it'll last for a while so it's best to keep warm and that the classes will all be indoors for the next few days, until the storm is over.
"I forgot to ask. Sam, where were you today?" Nina questioned, holding her hot chocolate drink near her face so the steam would warm her up. "I thought you stayed inside the common room but when I went to give you a drink, you weren't there."
"I was with a dork." Enough said.
Lupin heard what I said and gasped as if he was offended. "A talented handsome dork, you mean." He corrected, looking quite pleased with himself.
Nina narrowed her eyes at us. "So you two were together? Like on a date?"
"No."
"Yes."
I glared at Lupin. "No."
"Okay." Nina smiled. "As long as you two had fun, that's cool I guess."
I had fun, actually. But I'm not telling anyone that.
***
Seth
It's 11 at night and I am wide awake. Lowell, Fred and Francis have knocked out an hour ago but Teddy and I are completely awake. I can't sleep because I've been having bad dreams recently it's harder for me to fall asleep because of it. Teddy, on the other hand, I don't know what is keeping him up but he's smiling while staring at the ceiling.
I was just about to ask him what he is so happy about until the door opens and in came my sister. I sat up immediately as soon as I caught a glimpse of her frightened face. "Sam."
"Do you mind if I stay here tonight? It's just -- " Her words were interrupted with a loud thunder booming throughout the castle. "That... Um... "
"You can stay with me. It's okay." I whispered, pulling her into a hug.
"What's wrong?" Teddy asked, looking at Sam worriedly.
This is one of the things we do. Sam has always been scared of thunder and lightening ever since we were little. When we were younger, when there are thunderstorms, mum would take Sam and I with her and we'd all sleep together in one room. Sometimes when mum is gone or if she's busy, Sam would just go to me and stay with me for the night because it makes her feel safe to be with someone.
And as we grow older, it's always stayed that way. She'd go to me every time there's thunder and lightening. This is the first time she's done this in 2 years however. She's done it in 1st year but Teddy and I weren't roommates so he doesn't know about it. She's done it in 3rd year as well, but Teddy was already asleep so he didn't see her come in the middle of the night.
And it's ironic because mum likes to compare us with rain and thunder. She's the rain and I'm the thunder, according to her. Sam is the more gentle, quiet and soft one, though at the same time strong and can be loud at times. I am the much louder, more destructive and intimidating one.
I waited about 10 to 15 minutes until Sam fell asleep. She had Nina's music player to block out the sound of thunder and her head rests on my arm. "She's scared of thunderstorms." I said to Teddy, who's still awake and worried.
"Oh."
"When we were little, 6 years old, there was a storm and there were thunder. Sam and I were playing and all of a sudden we just heard this loud noise and this little lightning so close to us. That's when she started to get scared. Mum slept with us so we wouldn't feel scared."
"I didn't know... It's just Sam is so ... " Teddy took a long pause but failed to finish his sentence. "Never mind."
I feel like he has so much things to say but he's keeping it all to himself. I feel like Teddy has so much more to reveal but he's keeping it all to himself, in general. I'm one of his best friends but I feel like there's so much more of him. All these unfinished thoughts, all these hidden talents, and all these secrets he's keeping to himself.
There's so much things I'd like to know.
***
Samantha Avery
Waking up at the sound of pouring rain, I felt Seth's head on my shoulder which was starting to get uncomfortable. I lightly pushed him away so he was on his pillow before I sat up on his bed, turning off Nina's music player. It's 3 in the morning, Sunday. There's no more thunder but it's still raining.
I was planning to return to my own dorm since I'm now calm and feeling much better than earlier. But then I saw a small light by Lupin's bed. I can see him hiding underneath his blanket reading a bloody book, using his wand as a light. So that's his secret of being Hogwart's top student. Reading at 3 am.
Tiptoeing over to his bed, I lifted up the blanket and screamed "Boo!"
The boy dropped his book and wand in shock and put a hand over his heart. "Merlin's beard Sam!"
"You stay up at 3 in the morning to read a book?" I snorted, sitting down at the end of his bed.
"Yes. You've caught me. That's my secret." He said somewhat sarcastically. "So are you feeling better?"
"What?"
"You came in here looking panicked. I didn't know you're scared of thunderstorms."
"Right. Well, yeah... I'm feeling better." I was expecting him to make fun of me for having a silly fear but instead of laughing, he just gives me a smile. There was something different about that smile.
Ever since we left the Shrieking Shack, I feel like I'm seeing a different version of him. I mean, he is still annoying and obnoxious, but I just see him on a different perspective now. It's like I'm suddenly seeing more of him.
"I can't sleep so I'm reading. It's what I do." He shares, picking up his book. The famous Edward Lupin is reading a novel by Nicholas Sparks. "Don't laugh, darling. It's a guilty pleasure." He defends, seeing the look I'm giving to his book.
"That's cute, Lupin." I chuckled, getting up. "Now I'm going to leave you alone with that book because I'm pretty sure you're going to cry at the ending." Colleen has read the book and she spoiled everything to me so I know it's a sad ending. I gave him a small smile before heading towards the door. "Have fun crying to sleep. Good night."
"Wait did you just call me cute????"