Who I Really Am (A Remus Lupin Love Story)

Chapter Seventeen

Lily had dinner with the Slug Club, so after dinner I sat by the Whomping Willow alone. I didn't go to our tree because James and his gang claimed it.
I pull grass out of the ground automatically, throwing it to the side. Isn't it weird that everyone does this? I smile a bit as I pull out more grass.
I could work on my Potions essay, but I'm too lazy. And I hate Potions.
I hear someone walking over to me, but I don't turn around. It's probably Lily coming back from her dinner. I glance at my watch. Her dinner should be over soon, so maybe she got let out early.
"Lily?" I say, pulling out some more grass.
"No, not Lily." he says, sitting next to me on the grass.
"Remus? What are you doing here again?" I ask him. I've stopped pulling out grass.
He shrugs. "I was bored. And I found something of yours." He says, pulling something out of the bad he brought with him.
I gasp. "Remus! My book! Where did you find it?" I take the book from his hands, stroking the cover.
"One of the girls in your dormitory took it, and James took it from her. Then I took it from him."
"Thank you! I was so worried..."
"Why? It's just a book."
"It was my sister's book." I whisper.
Remus frowns, looking confused. "What do you mean?" He asks.
"Why should I tell you, Remus?" I ask, throwing those words at him again.
"Because I stole the book back for it, and you owe me."
He has a point. Ugh... I don't want to tell him. But I don't want to lie...
"It was my sister's. Before she-before she died." I whisper.
Remus says nothing. "It's one of the few things I have left of her. Of my family."
Remus stays silent. "But why," I continue, still using the same soft whisper, "should I tell you about my sister? Or my family? It'll just come back to bite me. They'll find out somehow. They could be here right now, listening. You could tell them. I don't want to lose the little confidence I've gained, Remus. You're not tricking me." I tell him, standing up.
"I'm not trying to trick you, Bria. I'm not, I swear." Remus says, standing up with me.
"You may not be trying, Remus. But they are. They always are, and they always will. You don't know if they're here right now. Well, maybe you do. But like I said Remus, you're not tricking me. And they aren't either." I tell him, walking away.
"Bria! Wait!" Remus yells, running after me.
"No!" I yell back. I yelled back. I haven't yelled in ten years.
"Please!" He pleads.
"No!"
"Wait!"
"Go away!"
"No!"
Finally, I get really tired of this. We're at the doors to the castle. I turn around and see Remus jogging over to me. "Stupefy!" I say, pulling my wand out of my pocket. He dodges it.
"What the hell, Bria?" He yells.
"I told you to go away!" I yell back.
"Fine!"
"Good!" I huff, and I walk to find Lily.