The rest of the day didn't go
well, either.

When I was dressed and had my
books, I went down to the common room to get my schedule off the
bulletin board. There was 46 schedules, and there were 47
Gryffindors. Of course, with my luck, I was the one without a
schedule. I sighed and went to the Great Hall for breakfast.

I sat with Remus Lupin on my
left, and Frank Longbottom on my right. Remus smiled warmly at me,
and I couldn't help but smile back. I grabbed eggs and bacon and dug
in.

“You sleep good?” Molly
asked, sitting across from me. I nodded.

“Yeah, I really needed it.”
She looked at me strangely. “You were crying in your sleep at 2
AM,” she argued. “Did you have a bad dream or something?” I
searched my mind for an excuse. Finally, I decided I'd have to tell
the truth. “Yeah, I have nightmares all the time.” I answered. I
looked over to see Remus staring at me with a look I couldn't quite
read. Pity? Understanding? Sadness? I didn't know.

Molly glanced at her watch.
“We should better go,” she said, “we have five minutes until
Transfiguration.”

The whole day was pretty much
a review. We transfigured toads into sponges, trash bins into
rabbits, all sorts of things we learned last year, plus a few more. I
enjoyed Transfiguration. Though it wasn't my favorite subject, I
found it interesting.

My next class was Charms with
Hufflepuff. I enjoyed classes with Hufflepuff. They were quite -
entertaining. Today, Susan Billian dropped her wand while saying a
spell. The spell bounced off of the desk beside her and hit her
friend, Maggie Winters, in the face, causing red welts to grow on her
face, and a rift between the two of them. James and Sirius wouldn't
stop giggling every time Maggie sent an angry look to Susan, who
would shrug innocently and turn away.

The Marauders and I had a
break until lunch after Charms. I sat in the library, trying to stay
as far away from them as possible, but of course Sirius wanted to
study by me. He kept on scooting closer to me and trying to put his
arm around me until I told him to find another table to sit at. I got
a few moments of peace with me and my Transfiguration book until
Remus walked up to me.

I looked up, trying to look
frustrated, but it was hard with Remus looking so guilty, his
shoulders hunched over and his blue eyes wide. “Hey,” he said
awkwardly.

“Hey,” I answered, “you
wanna sit with me?”

He shrugged. “Kinda, yeah.”
He slipped into the seat across from me and dove into his
Transfiguration book. He would keep stealing sideways glances at me,
like I was going to jump out and attack him with my book or
something.

After about half an hour,
Remus looked up. “If you want, we could quiz each other for the
test next week.”

“Sure, I said, “but I bet
you're gonna be better than me. I haven't studied nearly as much as I
normally do.” Remus blushed a little. He pulled his book from his
lap onto the table and looked at me. “You want to go first?”

“Yeah, sure.” I answered,
closing my book and pushing it away.

Remus flipped the pages
around in his book. “Uh... What's the difference between a normal
squirrel and a transfigured squirrel?”

I racked my head for the
answer. “Er – the transfigured squirrel will bite you if you try
to scratch its ears. Oh, and it squeaks when you talk. Unless it's a
human that's transfigured.” I said finally.

“Good,” Remus said. “What
is the spell to change a doorknob into a rat?”

“Creaturae ostium.”
I said after a moment. Remus looked at me.

“That wasn't even in the
chapter,” he said in awe. “We learn about it in our seventh
year.”

I blushed a little. “Oh,
well I read my course books for next term a few times last summer.”
Remus smiled.

“I did too,” he said. “I
thought I was the only one.” The corners of my mouth pulled upwards
as I blushed more.

“Well, I guess you're not.”
Remus blushed a little when I said it. Then his smile faded and his
brows furrowed. He looked down and opened his book. He flipped
through the pages rapidly, and I didn't even think he was reading. I
turned to my book and turned to the first lesson.

“Uh, do you want me to quiz
you now?” I asked. He didn't respond for a few seconds. He stared
at his book, hands shaking. I heard him muttering something about
someone being a monster and staying away.

Then, he snapped out of it.
He looked up into my eyes, and back down again. He stood and picked
up his books and began to walk away. Then, he must have realized how
awkward I felt, and turned around.

“I'm done studying. Thanks,
though.” Remus said, and walked away briskly. I sat there for a
moment and tried to remember what just happened. Remus quizzed me, I
got the answer right, he praised me, then started muttering about
staying away from a monster?

After a while, I figured if
he didn't want to be around me, then there wasn't anything I could do
about it. I was about to leave when Sirius slipped into the seat
beside me and grinned flirtatiously.

“Well, hello, love, what
are you doing here alone?” he asked. I wrinkled my nose.

“Actually, I was going to
leave.” I stood and started for the door. Sirius grabbed me by the
waist and turned me around.

“I really need some help
with Charms,” he said. “Could you – I don't know – tutor me?”
I shook myself out of his grasp and straightened my skirt.

“I'm real sorry and
all, but I didn't bring my Charms book with me. I'll see you in
class, though!” I sprinted out of the library and into the Great
Hall for lunch.