arcane | j.potter

chapter five

The Hogwarts library was a sanctuary of sorts for Cassiopeia. It was a little pocket, hidden away from the madness that was her friends and her brother - and the aspiring dark wizards. The towering shelves, stacked high with dusty tomes from hundreds of years ago, provided a solace from the chaos that was her life. Like a wall hiding her from reality.

Cassiopeia found herself tucked away in a dark corner as the sun slowly set, surrounded by a small fortress of opened books as she meticulously read the text and wrote out her Potions assignment simultaneously. It wasn't a particularly hard assignment, just a rather long one that was slowly draining the life out of her. At least it got her mind off the first studying session with James which was later that evening.

Cassiopeia was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice someone approaching till their presence cast a shadow over her books.

"Careful, you might drown in all that ink." The warm voice called out.

Cassiopeia looked up, her quill pausing mid-sentence. Remus Lupin stood a few feet away, a shy and hesitant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His hair was slightly tousled and he held a thick book under one arm, its spine cracked from frequent use.

"Remus Lupin," Cassiopeia replied, a polite smile breaking through her initial surprise. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked. It wasn't that she didn't like him - she did, after all he was kind to her when she was nervous about walking through the wall - it was just that he was evidently very close to Sirius, so she knew she had to be on guard.

"Potions assignment. I can see you're doing the same?" He replied, chuckling softly, his hazel eyes warm despite the weariness in them as he pulled out a chair and sat next to the girl who looked up at him curiously.

"Yes," she answered, "Though I seem to have accumulated a larger amount of books than necessary. The potion itself is simple but I'm doing a bit of extra research."

"For fun?" Remus asked, smiling when she nodded, "Don't suppose you mind if I join you? Like you said the potion is simple, but I fell asleep halfway through the lesson and would appreciate it if you'd help?" He tested, nervously. He knew that Cassiopeia was important to Sirius despite his claims and wanted to make an effort with the girl - he also just wanted to befriend her, she seemed kind under the harsh exterior.

"Of course, here's my notes. I must say though, it is rather odd to see you without your gang of hooligans." She mused, her tone light, but the words carried an edge as she handed over her notes.

Remus hesitated, shifting in his seat awkwardly, his smile faltering ever so slightly. "Yeah, uh well Thursdays are the only real time I get to study in peace. Sirius and James have Quidditch and Peter likes to watch."

Cassiopeia hummed in acknowledgment before returning to her notes, a silence not entirely uncomfortable nor comfortable settled between them. Remus flipped through his book, hoping there would be something amongst the text that would help him find something to say. He'd always been a little awkward in these sorts of situations and Cassiopeia's intimidating presence did not help him.

Sighing softly, Cassiopeia put her quill down, drawing the older boy's attention, "Remus, you don't have to be uncomfortable around me mentioning your friends. They're your friends. I don't have to like them. But you, I don't quite mind." She offered a teasing smile as he let out a sigh of relief.

Remus flicked a page of his book absentmindedly, "Good. I know you don't exactly see eye to eye with Sirius-"

"That's one way of putting it. The boy cares more about being right than anything else. Except it is not a matter of what is or isn't right - it's what he thinks is right. He doesn't even look at the bigger picture. And that's fine. But it's not how I choose to live my life. And because of that we aren't in each other's lives anymore. I can live with that." She ranted, not in a harsh tone but in an honest one. The honesty shocked Remus, it was perplexing to see just how twisted the relationship between the two siblings was.