A Dance Through Thyme (Harry Potter)

Abgelenkt

Chapter 7: Abgelenkt

Side-tracked

Remus was alone for the first time that day, and he relished the calm that solitude had brought him. Whilst all his peers were enjoying each other's company, he had chosen to take refuge in the library at Hogwarts. He enjoyed books and reading, not to mention studying in general. It was the one place where he could truly shine and be equal, if not better than those around him.

Fingers reaching out, he was almost caressing the well-worn leather spines. His fingers traced the titles, gold lettering almost invisible against the deep burgundy, through decades, if not centuries of use in some cases. Picking out what he guessed would be the most relevant; he quickly jogged over to where Madam Pince was waiting at the main desk. He did not want to have to face her wrath, as his presence in the library was perilously close to the time of curfew, and he didn't have anything that would save him in this situation. He also simply wanted to get to Hermione as quickly as possible. James and Sirius had said that they would be visiting her later this evening, but Remus seemed to have a burning need to be there before them. He enjoyed it when it was just Hermione and him, without the others there to interject jokes or whatever tomfoolery had taken their fancy at the time.

Although he had yet to do anything wrong, Remus was still subject to the beady glare of Madam Pince as she checked out his books. Polite as ever, he thanked the librarian and made his way out the library as quickly as was possible without running. As soon as he was out of the earshot of any teachers, he broke off into a sprint, running up the various staircases two at a time where possible, all the way to the seventh floor.

Arriving considerably short of breath, he walked slowly in circles in an attempt to feed his oxygen-starved muscles, and prevent them from cramping. When he finally felt like he would be able to make a presentable appearance, he walked past the bare patch of wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy three times in quick succession.

After a few brief raps on the door with his knuckles, he heard her clear voice speak from within, and turning the knob he propelled himself forward into her sitting room.

"Hermione? He called out to the empty room. "Are you in here?"

Edging his body past the door, he walked over the small kitchen area only to find that it was empty as well. Swivelling his eyes across the vacant area, he wondered where Hermione could be, given the fact that she was not allowed out of the Room of Requirement.

"Hermione?" he called out again, uncertainty pervading his being, internally wondering whether anything had happened to her.

"Hermione, are you in here?"

Fear clutched at his heart for a few brief moments before he finally saw Hermione emerge from her bedroom, vigorously towelling her hair.

"Oh, Remus! How long have you been waiting there? Goodness, you look as white as a sheet! Is anything the matter?"

All of this was said very quickly, with very minimal pause for breath as she stared at Remus, brown eyes wide with concern, a stark contrast against the pale colour of his face.

Swallowing his previous apprehension, Remus finally found his tongue, and was able to respond.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"If you say so," replied Hermione, still slightly disbelieving despite the colour that was now flooding Remus' face.

"I just brought you some books from the library that I thought might help your research," he said, holding out said books in an awkward manner.