The Collision Theory | Remus Lupin

72. The Pure Brilliance of Miriam Novak

I have no idea how I get to the tower's base so quickly, but when I do, my heart is pounding and my breaths are laboured as I pull myself up the steps. "Sirius?! Sirius!"

"Lin?" My response echoes down the stairwell, and the floorboards creak above my head, letting me know that I'm not crazy in thinking that he'd be up here. I pull myself up the last few steps, almost collapsing when I reach the top. Sirius is leaning against the railings when I get there, "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," I nod, cautiously making my way towards him, "what are you doing here?"

"I just came here to..." He inhales deeply, before sighing, "to think."

"You scared the Hell out of me." I sit  down on the floor, taking in the view of the slowly lightening sky, "A tower of all places? Really? You really do have a flare for dramatics."

"I like high places," He sits down too, and bumps his knee into mine, "you can see the stars."

"You're also pretentious, apparently," I laugh, rubbing my eyes, realizing how tired I am. "You know that moping around up in the parapets won't do you any good. Please just go and talk to Remus."

"He won't want to talk to me." Sirius replies quickly.

I try my best not to wack him around the head, "How would you know?"

He doesn't answer. There's a moment of silence, heavy and tense, before Sirius squeezes my hand, "We never asked you. What happened? I mean you swept into the scene dressed all smart and then all Hell broke loose..."

"I got-" I begin, but stop myself, "let's just say that I told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"What?"

"They just asked some questions while I was under the effects of Veritaserum." I shrug, but when he responds with a mortified expression, I quickly add, "It was quite fun, really."

"Right..." He stares out at the castle grounds, "you're a weirdo, Novak."

"You too, Sirius."

*

Sirius pulls me along by my wrist all the way up to the common room, insisting that I get some sleep before classes start. I have no idea how I manage to climb into bed.

"She's back?"

"No, idiot," A voice whispers, "we're just imagining her."

I roll off of my face and onto my back to find the faces of Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Emmeline hovering above me, "Merlin's balls!"

"She's alive!" Alice whoops, jumping onto me, and the others follow suit. Despite being seriously winded, I laugh, but it quickly turns into coughing. Alice squeezes me tighter, "You just disappeared! What the Hell? Everyone was worried sick."

"I was fine," I lie as I try to scrambled out from under them.

Marlene clings to my leg, whining, "Please, Linnie-roo, stay."

"Grades before chicks," I wink.

"I'm hurt, Aylin." She puts her hands over her chest, pouting.

Lily pulls herself up and yanks Alice up as well. "I've got to say that I agree. The end of year exams won't pass by themselves."

Emmeline sighs dramatically, pointing at the two of us, "I live with nerds. You two spoil the fun out of everything. And here I was thinking that we could skip classes and have pillow fights."

"Not happening." I pull my school blouse on, then reach for my tie. "Though, a pillow fight can be arranged for the evening."

"Now that's more like it."

*

The Great Hall is practically buzzing with noise, and shouts of students can be heard even from the staircase. I'm busy rolling up the sleeves of my robes when someone almost rugby tackles me to the floor.

"Merlin Almighty!" I just about  keep my balance, finding myself being squeezed by a pair of surprisingly strong arms. "Mim?!"

"You idiot!" Miriam lets go of me, then proceeds to slap my arm, much to the amusement of passersby. "Sumasshedshaya zhenshchina! Do you know how much you scared me?!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" I try to evade her hits, and end up backing into another student. 

"Slughorn said you'd gone to give some sort of testimony and there was nothing to worry about, but he's an old bat and I know for a fact that you always get into some sort of trouble because you're an absolute idiot."

"Thanks Miriam, I'm glad you trust me so much," I respond dryly. When she continues to frown at me, I add, "and it really was just a testimony, nothing to worry about. You should actually listen to that old bat sometimes."

"Maybe." She rolls her eyes, blowing a strand of her wild curls out of her face. "What's wrong with Sirius and your husband?"

"He's not my husband," I sigh, trying not to wack her around the head. "They... had a fight."

Miriam taps her chin thoughtfully, cocking her head to one side. Just as I'm about to shake her out of her daydream, she turns back to me, "I have just the plan."

*

The plan is pure genious really. Force Sirius and Remus to talk out their problems and not let them leave until they're sorted again. There's only one thing that we didn't anticipate: Remus' inability to overcome his post-full moon laziness.

"Perhaps a short walk will do you good," I say for what feels like the millionth time this hour. He shakes his head, proceeding to bury his face in the pillow he's been hugging. "Oh come on, Remus, please."

"But why?" He moans, his voice muffled by the pillow. "The bed is warm and I'm comfy and there's chocolate here."

"Fine," I huff, and flick my hair over my shoulder in an overly dramatic manner, "I'll just go for a walk on my own... and flirt with every student I pass by."

There's a moment of silence before he lifts his head up, curls falling into his eyes. "Even the scary Ravenclaw from Potions class?"

"Yeah," I nod, trying not to break into laughter, "even the scary Ravenclaw from Potions class. And we'll fall in love and buy a cottage and have scary children-"

"Alright, I'm coming with you," He sighs, pulling on a jumper over his pyjamas. I grin, helping him up as he awkwardly gets to his feet. "So, where are you taking me?"

"We'll see, dear," I pat his arm, leading him out of the hospital wing, towards the greenhouses. "Nice day for a walk, isn't it?"

"Lin, I'm deeply unnerved by your positivity." I smile at Remus widely, to which he raises an eyebrow, probably having expected a sarcastic or dark remark. "Actually, unnerved is an understatement."