Sanctuary

Chapter 13

Friday, 10th September 1971, 9:30 am

Remus breathed a sigh of relief as he left the Defence classroom. Emhio's imitation of banshee screeching had been unbearable to his sensitive ears. She had stopped ten minutes ago, but his ears were still ringing.

'We're going to grab some food. Pete's hungry again,' Sirius said. Remus turned his attention to him. 'I know you don't like the hall. Will you be alright on your own for a bit?'

'Of course. I need to go to the library and finish some homework, anyway,' Remus lied. He'd finished all his homework the night before, but he did need to be alone to find an opportunity to leave his message in the Great Hall, and they hadn't left his side since Potions the day before.

'Oh. Okay. We'll see you in History then?'

'Sure, and then you can all fall asleep while I take notes,' Remus said.

Sirius barked a laugh. 'Exactly.'

The three boys strolled off towards the Great Hall, and Remus acted like he was heading towards the stairs, but as soon as they were out of sight, he turned around and went outside. He would wait until break was over and the hall was empty, and then sneak in to leave his message. It would only take a minute.

Sitting down on a bench, Remus pulled a book from his bag and settled down to wait. It was nice to get some peace. The company of his dorm mates was pleasant, but he wasn't used to it, and it sometimes grated on him. He was soon engrossed in his book, and the time passed quickly. It wasn't until he noticed a distinct drop in the noise level around him, that he tore himself from the fictional world, looked up and realised that second period had begun.

Remus put away his book and hurried into the entrance hall. The place was deserted, and he approached the doors to the Great Hall, trying to look casual, and cracked them open. Seeing no one inside, he slipped through and closed them behind him with a quiet click.

He decided to leave his message on the wall behind the teacher's table, thinking everyone would be looking in that direction when it all kicked off. So, he climbed up onto the raised stage area and took out his wand.

After setting the timing charm for one minute later than the transfiguration was due to occur, he cast flagrate and moved his wand with precision to form the letters for his message. Satisfied with his work, he watched them fade out of existence to return at the specified time, before sneaking back out into the entrance hall.

When he emerged, he spotted a small group of students congregated around the notice board. They were talking amongst themselves in loud, excited voices and took no notice of him. He waited for them to disperse and then wandered over to take a look. It was a notice about extra-curricular clubs, and Remus read through the list with interest. As much as he despised Potions, he was struggling in the class, and maybe extra practise would help. The Potions club was held on Tuesdays after dinner in the Potions classroom. He decided to check it out the following week. The other club that caught his interest was art. He'd always wanted to learn how to draw. That one was held on Thursday's, after dinner again. He had nothing better to do, so he might as well go.

Decision made, he left the entrance hall and took a slow, meandering walk to History of Magic.

-o-o-o-o-

That evening, Sirius was sitting up in his bed with the curtains drawn, writing an essay on fluxweed for Herbology class.

'Bugger it,' he muttered when he pressed too hard and his quill snapped. Reaching around the edge of his bed curtain, he grabbed his bag, pulled it onto the bed and began rummaging around for a replacement. Unable to find one, he pulled all the books and loose bits of parchment out so he could see better and found a lone quill sitting at the bottom.