It had started near the end of fifth year.
Scratching quills and the soft fluttering of book pages accented the quiet of the library, but today it was punctuated by other noises. A quiet snicker, intense mutterings, and the soft glow of spell-work... all out of place in the library, all disrupting my concentration.
I didn't have to sit at this table, off in the back, mostly hidden away from the rest of the seating, but I had. It was my table. I always sat here. The interruptions to the quiet of my sanctuary had been going on for over a week and were getting rather ridiculous.
Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus... four boys, all in my year, all in my house... only Remus frequented the library with any regularity, and the fact that the four of them were now haunting the place was driving me mad. Why were they in here? What were they working on so intently?
Curiosity ate away at me, enough so that last night I'd tried to discretely peek at their little project, only to glimpse a large expanse of blank parchment settled in the middle of nearly ten or more open books. 'Can I help you?' Remus had asked stiffly, his usual politeness absent. To cover, I had asked him a question on that days transfiguration homework, and he'd answered me much more nicely than before.
I was trying to ignore them, today. It was proving difficult, because as I ran down the list of assignments we had, I could not think of any that honestly required the library to complete... those boys did not study, not for any reason, let alone voluntarily.
"Why are they here?" I asked, staring disbelievingly at Sirius Blacks' bent form. He was reading – quite intently, by the looks of it. It was uncharacteristic. It was abnormal. It was bothering me. "Well?" I cut a look at the girl who had joined me today, Lily Evans.
Lily rolled her eyes and didn't spare the boys even a glance. "I don't know, Ophelia, and I don't care."
"They never come here," I commented suspiciously, now watching as Peter Pettigrew held out a book and pointed to a line, showing the rest of them something written there. Whatever it was, it spurred them into an intense, muttered discussion.
"Why do you care? They're being quiet, even Potter, I'd say it's a step up," Lily said evenly.
Lily Evans was well-known, for a fifth year. Despite her rare, fiery-red hair, she was most known around school for having a volatile temper. Screaming matches had taken place between her and James Potter on several occasions and their "feud," however one-sided, had become so well-known that even upperclassmen caught up on the latest gossip about it.
I hadn't really expected her to voluntarily pay any attention to the boys, no matter how unusual they were acting. Really, I didn't know why I was letting myself be so bothered with them... except that it was just like me to read something interesting and mysterious into something that probably was boring and silly. Life was more exciting that way – risks and drama, mystery and intrigue, there was never enough of it.
"It's a bit unusual, that's all," I defended weakly. She was never going to care, it was probably best I keep my interest in this to myself. I was a little disappointed not to be able to talk it over with someone and prepared myself to forget about it. If no one else cares, then why should I?
Remus Lupin guffawed loudly, then exclaimed "Aha!"
My eyes narrowed.
Who was I kidding? I had to know what those boys were up to.