Robyn Morrow was a legilimens and when it came to Remus Lupin's big secret...she didn't have to be told.
Reading was Robyn's only escape from the countless thoughts running through her head, that was until a certain lanky, scarred, chocolate-loving...
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The train pulled up at the familiar cobbled stations and the doors slid open. Robyn watched from the window with a smile as a stream of robe-clad students pointed from the inconveniently narrow doors. Robyn, Rory and Arabella always waiter a while before exiting the train due to Arabella's inexplicable hatred for children. Robyn had to admit she found them cute and nothing but sweet whenever she engaged in conversation with them but, she was more than happy to observe their eager, shining faces from the comfort of the compartment - especially if it meant not having to listen to Arabella's incessant moaning during the whole carriage ride.
"Can we go yet?" Rory moaned from his (once again) reclined position on the seat, though this time his head lay in Robyn's lap.
"No! There are still little urchins meandering around out there." Arabella curled her lip as she peeled out of the window. Rory let out another annoyed groan and Robyn bit back a smile at his dramatics.
"You know, for a Hufflepuff, you're not very Hufflepuff-y, Ara." Rory opened one eye and turned his head slightly on Robyn's legs.
"Hufflepuff-y isn't a word, Rory, for starters," the blonde picked up the end of her yellow and black-striped tie, her finger softly stroking the fabric, "and besides, your house is about the traits you value." she spoke matter-of-factly and Robyn and Rory shared a look. "I may not be unnaturally kind and caring, but I value highly those that are. Like Robyn."
Arabella lifted her head and smiled at her friend who furrowed her brow in confusion. "Despite being very sarcastic at times-"
Rory scoffed, "she constantly puts others before herself and treats everyone the same. Hence, I love her."
"What about me?" Rory sat up from Robyn's lap and tilted his head with a smirk, "Why do you love me, Bella?" he fluttered his eyelashes and Robyn giggled.
"Oh, would you look at that." Arabella stood up and straightened her robes, "Time to go." she winked at Rory before sashaying out of the compartment.
Rory looked at Robyn who just shrugged with a smile and she shook his head, chuckling,
"What are we gonna do with her?" he asked as he stood up and stretched. Robyn soon followed suit, picking up her book and mumbling,
"I do not want to know." as she followed after Arabella.
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Robyn couldn't help the smile that rose on her face as she set eyes on the Great Hall once more. The noise of people chatting and catching up was so loud that she couldn't even pick out the people's voices in her head which made for a confusingly peaceful hum in Robyn's mind. She and Rory made their way to the Hufflepuff table, occasionally greeting people before reaching where Arabella was sat.
"Have a pleasant carriage ride, Arabella?" Rory asked smugly as he sat down opposite her.
"Yes, very pleasant thank you, Lawson." Arabella responded with a smirk as she used his full name. Robyn sat down beside Rory and smiled gently at the back and forth conversation between her two friends, hoping to hear Ara's voice drift into her head when, instead:
'Look at Potter, harassing Lily again, when will he understand that she hates him?'
Snape...Again. Robyn internally rolled her eyes but then something caught her eye...ear?...mind?
'And Eloise isn't doing anything about it. Lily is supposed to be her best friend since she stupidly stopped being mine yet she's too preoccupied with her blood traitor boyfriend and the mangy mutt, Lupin.'
Robyn frowned, mangy mutt? Why was Snape referring to Remus as a mutt? Robyn didn't have time to ponder the strange thought any longer as Dumbledore had clapped his hands for silence. Robyn only half-listened to what the Headmaster was saying and it took Rory passing her an already filled plate for her to even register that the feast had begun.
"You okay, Ro?" Arabella asked as she filled her friend a goblet with pumpkin juice for her.
"Hmm? Yeah, just tired I think." Robyn smiled and picked up her knife and fork. She carried on as normal, laughing with Rory and Ara about McGonagall's reaction to Dumbledore's magenta robes and reading people's minds upon her friends' command. Initially, Robyn had argued that it wasn't fair to disregard their privacy but they had agreed that she would only repeat the funny and not-so-serious ones and it had since become a yearly tradition.
"Louise Castell thinks that Sirius Black's hair is nice."
"Boring!"
"Bobby Shaw thinks the chicken is a bit dry."
"Robyn! We need some saucy ones."
"Okay, okay, how about this? Lola Valentine thinks that Rory got hot over the Summer."
"Now that's more like it." Rory looked over his shoulder at Lola, who was sat at the Gryffindor Table, staring wistfully at him. He winked at her and her cheeks went pink as she dropped her head down to face her plate, occasionally lifting her eyes for a split second at a time with a shy smile.
"Nope! That's still dull." Arabella pursed her lips, "Do someone interesting, Ro, like..." her forest green eyes searched around the grand room, "James Potter."
"No, he'll just be thinking about Lily Evans." Rory shook his head, "Do Eloise."
"What about Remus?" Robyn asked quietly, taking a sip of her juice.
"Remus Lupin?" Arabella frowned and looked in the direction of the Marauders. Eloise, James, Sirius and Peter were all laughing hysterically whilst Remus sat there with a smug look on his face as he popped a square of, what looked like, chocolate in his mouth.
"Why not?" Rory shrugged and Robyn smiled to herself as she focused all of her efforts towards the scarred boy and, for the first time in four years, she managed to get through the barrier he had put up in front of his own mind...and she knew why it was there.
