Between Coffee And Cigarettes

-28-

Dinner at Hogwarts was as always a feast and everybody, as always, quite enjoyed it. They all talked and talked about every little thing that happened while the group was not together. Everybody told something, besides Lenny. She didn't know what to tell them. The things she had done with Sirius and James, they already had told them, and the things she did alone or had done with Remus, she wasn't sure if she wanted or was allowed to talk about them.

So she just stuffed food down her throat, so it would look like she was just very hungry. And it felt good. Eating food after food after sweets. Maybe it was the sugar in the pudding or the deliciousness of the sauce, but it warmed her insides and made her feel not so empty. At least for some time.

The whole time, Remus sat next to her but didn't say a word. Their knees would eventually bump together or their thighs would accidentally graze the other, but both pulled away quickly as if the simple touch already burned them, leaving their skin stinging. When she took a peek at him from the corner of her eye, she could see, that he was happily talking with their friends and stuffing down mashed potatoes as if it would be the last time he could eat them. It looked quite silly actually...

Lenny stood up before the rest of them did, claiming that she had to bring back a book to the library. She saw in Lily's face that this didn't convince her, but before the redhead could say anything else, Lenny quickly walked out of the Great Hall. She needed a cigarette, immediately. But instead of walking towards the kitchen, she took the route to the Astronomy tower.

Her heels clicked sharply on the marble floor as she strode down the corridors. And for a short time, it was the only pair of heels that were heard. But then the sound of rushing footsteps made Lenny turn around to see Florence jogging towards her, her hair swinging godly in the air.

She wanted to run away, but it was too late now and besides, it wouldn't be fair. Florence never did something wrong or treated her badly, Lenny had to admit. There was absolutely no point in not liking the girl, so Lenny painted a smile on her face, hoping that it would look more convincing than it felt. It was not like she wanted to hate Florence, she assumed that they could be friends even, but something, deep down, refused her from doing so.

"Lenny! Funny to meet you here, I actually wanted to talk to you", Florence said, when she caught up. They still stood a few feet apart as if neither one of them wanted to close the distance between them. With her thumb pointing behind her, Lenny said honestly: "Yeah, I wanted to go up the Astronomy tower, so...", but Florence interrupted her. "How amazing!", she exclaimed excitedly, "That's my way too."

Lenny had to fight hard against shutting her eyes and cussing out loud. Of course, the Ravenclaw common room was near the astronomy tower, how could she forget. "Yeah, right", she answered shortly, pulling her lips between her teeth. Turning sharply on her heel she began to walk and Florence caught up quickly and began walking beside her. A scent like flowers and sugary fruits suddenly surrounded her and for a second she let herself be lulled into the cloud of sweetness. But then the initially pleasant scent turned into something heavy. It didn't have any freshness in it now and it smelled more like a rose, which was forced to continue to bloom even beyond its prime. It was almost choking.

Wiping her finger under her nose as if the smell would go away from it, Lenny asked: "So, what did you want to talk about?" Florence glanced at her from the side but didn't seem to notice how much her perfume was bothering Lenny. "You know", the brunette began, "you never seem to talk a lot, which seems weird to me, because first of all, your styling and that all", she pointed to Lenny's whole appearance, "doesn't exactly scream shy and quiet and second of all, you are the sister of the infamous Sirius Black".

Lenny had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. Florence made assumptions about her and she didn't like that and she couldn't exactly figure out where she was going with this. She shrugged. "And?", she asked to push the brunette further. "And I just wanted to know why", Florence pulled up her shoulders, acting all innocent. Lenny halted her steps and Florence did too.