Queen of Disaster | 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑛

Chapter 51

Diana barely got any sleep that night, as though waiting for something bad to happen. She tossed and turned in her bed, but her racked up thoughts had simply banished sleep from her that night.

     After long hours, she finally gave up and went down into the Slytherin common room to sit on the couch by the fireplace. She had taken a book down with herself to read, but she couldn't focus on the words.

     Just then, she heard footsteps rushing down the dormitory staircase. Her head jerking around automatically at the sound — as though still waiting for that bad thing to happen — she saw Severus Snape sneaking out of the boys' dormitory and into the common room.

    He hadn't noticed Diana yet as he tried to walk quietly across the large room and toward the entrance stone door, his greasy black hair falling around his face.

    "Where do you think you're going, Snape?" Diana suddenly called out.

     Everything had started to seem suspiciously to her ever since realizing about the mysterious three numbers that had turned out to be a date. Something was going to happen tonight.

     Startled at the sound, Snape's foot got stuck by the rug and he nearly fell down, though he was quick to hold his balance and remain standing. He sent a dark glare at Diana's direction, who was sitting on the couch, looking at him from over her shoulder.

     "None of your damn business, Greengrass," he grumbled, before leaving the common room without another word.

    "Stupid bitch," Diana mumbled under her breath before turning back on her seat and facing the fireplace again.

    She closed her book with a long sigh and placed it on the floor by the couch before laying down there, staring up at the high ceiling of the common room.

     For a second, she thought about following after Snape. What if he had something to do with the prediction Diana had made?

     It wasn't a prediction. They were just some random numbers. The fact that they matched today's date was a coincidence. Nothing more, she told herself for the hundredth time, though it was against her better judgment. It was as though she wanted to stay in denial, because the weight of the truth was too much for her to carry.

     Eventually, Diana fell asleep right there on the couch before the green flames of the fireplace, though she was woken up the following morning at the sound of rapid whispers and murmurs around her.

Yawning, Diana raised her head from the couch to look around at what was going on, seeing that everyone was gathered in small groups, talking in hushed yet excited tones.

Right at that moment, the door to the girls' dormitory opened and Layla walked out of it.

"Oh, good. You're finally awake," she said as she walked down the stairs, her eyes falling on Diana. "I came down early this morning to see where you were and found you here. Thought I would let you sleep a little longer. Anyway, we should better go down to breakfast soon if we want to get good seats in the stands."

"What?" Diana mumbled with a frown, still not fully awake.

"You know? For the Quidditch match. It's today," Layla explained, walking toward where Diana was now sitting on the black-leather couch.

     She then took Diana's hands, pulling her up to her feet and dragging her up the stairs and into their dorm. Diana got dressed quickly and got ready to leave with Layla, her mind bearing a thousand questions.

"What's going on? What was everyone whispering about?" Diana muttered to Layla curiously as they left the common room, walking up the dungeons.

    "Maybe they were making fun of the fact that you had fallen asleep on the couch?" Layla grinned playfully.

     "No, that can't be it. They're too scared of me to be making fun of it right in front of me."

     "Good point." Layla nodded earnestly, thinking back at how Diana had punched a Gryffindor boy in her second year for laughing at her messy blonde hair.

    "Did — did something happen last night?" Diana asked again, worried.

"Nothing worth this much gossip, believe me," said Layla, rolling her eyes. "It's Snape."

Diana gulped. "What about him?"

"Last night he sneaked out of the castle — and Merlin knows what for — and apparently he had tried to get through the Whomping Willow that he was attacked."

"Attacked? By what?" Diana's heart sank. Could this be the thing that was supposed to happen last night?

"No one knows." Layla shrugged. "Besides, they're just rumors. We can't be sure if he had actually been attacked. But whatever it was, they say that James Potter was there to save Snape from whatever was down in the Whomping Willow."

This was certainly surprising to Diana, but the rumors began to grow wider when the Gryffindor Seeker failed to show up for their match, resulting in the opposing team's victory. Some said that she was injured and was staying in the hospital wing, and some believed that it had something to do with the attack on Snape. Just as Layla had said, no one could be sure of what had truly happened.

But what Diana paid attention to the most was the fact that during the Quidditch match, Remus was nowhere to be seen in the crowd, no matter how much she looked for him. Diana had been sure that he would show up to cheer on two of his best friends who were both on the Gryffindor team, but he never came.

***

The next few days passed on, and still there was no sign of Remus. For the first time in five years, the professors started to ask Remus's friends where he was and why he hadn't showed up for class for too long. To its answer, the Gryffindor boys only shrugged each time, looking at each other uncomfortably.

Diana did notice that Snape's usual hateful glare at them had become much worse than ever, as though there was a grudging flame burning in his heart each time he caught sight of James Potter or Sirius Black.

No matter how many times the students tried to ask Snape what had truly happened that night, he never answered them. Even James Potter, who was known for loving attention, made no comment of his heroic act of saving Severus Snape.

A new week came and then went by. It was another Monday morning and Diana was sitting alone at Ancient Runes' class.

Spring had brought with itself sombre clouds that rained day and night, casting a shadow over the castle. It was near the end of the term, and so all the teachers were done teaching and giving homework, so the fifth years could have more time to study for their approaching O.W.Ls.

Professor Kumar, just like the rest of the teachers, had finished the lesson and now in class she had started to review the important parts that she guessed would be more likely to show up in their exam.

Diana could barely listen to what the professor was saying that day as her eyes was fixed on the empty spot on the bench beside her. All voices had faded to her ears except for the pouring rain outside, hitting the classroom's windows mercilessly as it went.

She didn't know why, but Diana had a feeling that the Snape incident had something to do with Remus and his long disappearance this time. She needed to know what was going on.

At last, feeling like she couldn't take it anymore, Diana raised her hand, catching Professor Kumar's attention.

"Yes, Miss Greengrass?" the professor smiled at her gently.

"Um... can I go out? I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh... yes. Yes, of course." Professor Kumar nodded, and so Diana got to her feet and quickly left the classroom, leaving all her books on the desk.

With her heart pounding against her chest, Diana made her way up to the Gryffindor tower. She needed to see Remus.