SEA, SWALLOW ME, remus lupin

naoi, cove commits crime

CHAPTER NINE
cove commits crime

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  THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK TICKS patronisingly in front of them, the insufferable sound of their quills scratching against parchment invading the quiet. A spider expertly weaves his cobweb in the corner, the silk knitting together in defined rows and pulling taught around his claw tufts. The radiator next to her desk is turned up far too high just to make the experience all the more unbearable. Wind taps against the glass restlessly to set them even more at unease, making it seem as though Rigby has managed to get the elements on her side as well.

  Cove's wrist is beginning to ache from the fifty lines she's had to write and in anticipation of the thirty more she has to go. Her parchment glares up her, the loopy lettering of 'I will not shout out in class' ridiculing her as if she's still a wean in primary school. The clock hands tick past another long, long minute.

  A chair squeals against the floorboards, leaving her ears ringing from her burden of amplified hearing. She desperately wants to bring her hands up and cover them, reeling from all the noises bombarding her. Recently her senses have been amplified to the point that it's overwhelming and she suspects that it's the medication Madam Pomfrey has her on. At the front of the classroom, Professor Rigby stands with a magisterial air about herself, nose in the air as she looks between them both accusatorially.

  "I'll be back in a moment," Rigby announces. "Don't move an inch."

  Her boots click out of the classroom, followed by a long breath of silence. Outside, Cove can hear the lock mechanisms shudder to a close and Rigby's scent disappears down the corridor. The silence only lasts so long.

  "Fuck this," Remus breathes, leaning over his desk to tap her on the shoulder with his quill. "Psst, Cove!"

  She spins around in her chair. "What?"

  "Look at her desk," he tells her. She obliges. "That old bint's gone and left her spare keys out in the open."

  "What's your point?"

  "I say we take them and leave."

  "What?" she exclaims. "We can't just leave. She's not the brightest but I reckon she'd notice if we went missing."

  "What's she really gonna do, though?" Remus counters. "She's only a supply teacher, she can't do anything properly serious." He can tell that Cove's starting to come around to the idea and keeps pressing. "Kettleburn will understand where we're coming from when he's back and knock off all our detentions. You're one of his favourites, mind."

  It doesn't take much more convincing.

  Cove takes a deep breath. "Gods, you sound just like your mates. Fine, yes, I'll do it."

  He grins wolfishly. "Come on then. Let's hurry up before she comes back."

Remus gets out of his chair and saunters in between the desks until he's at the front. He turns over the keys in his palm, whistling in approval. "Tidy," he says, pocketing them.

  "Fast as you can," Cove calls, wrapping her arms around herself. "Anytime between now and tomorrow would be grand."

He rounds the table, coming to a stop in front of her. "So, where to first?"