Summary: In the introductory chapter, we are introduced to Brede Kearney, a student at Hogwarts with some unnamed emotional problems. Her grief interrupted by a concerned Remus Lupin.
Disclaimer: I own nothing excepting an unwilling Brede. It's all Rowling's.
A preoccupied Remus Lupin meandered a lonely stretch of Hogwarts hallway. A rather serious and subdued youth, barring his less than legal escapades with his partners in crime, the "Marauders," as they were often referred to by a certain stern and often hassled black haired professor and head of Griffindor House, Remus found carefully sorting through the jumbled logic of a problem always led to a solution.
The aforementioned Transfiguration expert was the second person on his mind at the moment.
The first was the subtly sarcastic Irish-American who had just...done something. He thought it possible that his wisest course of action would be to report the events that had just transpired between this first person and himself to the second person. Remus floundered in his uncertainty. He had been deep in thought, pensively pondering the ramifications of the looming success of the most taxing project ever undertaken by any Marauder: becoming Animagi. Although ecstatic beyond expression at the possibility of concluding his forced solitude every full moon, Remus was not ignorant of the risk being undertaken by his only true friends.
His troubled revelry was cut short by a low wailing that steadily grew louder. Quite alarmed, the chivalrous Griffindor galloped towards the source of the troubling sound. He soon found himself before a classroom door, and, while yelling inquiries as to their condition to whomever was raising the sound, the young wizard tried the knob. He found it locked, and became quite concerned when the door refused to budge, even after a muttered "Alohomora."
A moment after a hurried rustling was audible from within, a familiar voice called out "Where's the fire?" The door opened and the shocked youth rushed in. A jumbled mass of words poured forth from Remus's mouth, as his anxiety had increased with each passing second, and he was, by this time, more than bit worried.
Brede stood before him, looking disheveled and depressed. She plastered a highly artificial-looking grin upon her otherwise pallid features, and attempted the nonchalant route. After a muttered, noncommittal response, she slipped past him through the door and awkwardly sauntered away, leaving an embarrassed, yet puzzled Remus in her wake.
He now mulled over the scene repeatedly in his head. Had he simply interrupted a romantic interlude? If so, where did Prince Charming disappear to? Perhaps, in his alarmed state, he had simply overlooked her "friend." Remus shook his head. Why were his thoughts so disparaging of Brede's significant other? He quickly answered himself, Look at the state the poor girl was in... He snorted internally, he never thought he'd refer to Brede as "poor girl," even in his own head. She was always so cheerful, so witty, so...in control.
Remus frowned thoughtfully. Maybe therein lies the problem. She rarely even showed anger towards others. She'd just casually toss a put-down and there it would end. She held little enmity with anyone in the entire school. Even Snape had trouble remaining snide and cool towards her.
He also realized, with a jolt, that it was impossible to name her best friend. There was no student she would be seen with on a regular basis, doing homework together, laughing with on a Hogsmeade trip, walking to classes even. She was a loner, a drifter. Well-liked, but always alone.
He would keep silent for know. Remus vowed to himself, however, while on that pensieve-worthy stroll, that he would uncover this enigma's solution.
Hopefully, I've answered the question of Remus's thoughts. I am pleading and begging with anyone who made it this far, PLEASE review. One word is acceptable. More is stupendous. Tell me what I screwed up, tell me what I did right. I love you all anyway, but if you respond, I'll feel special. Thank you for reading, and return next time, for the adventures of Remus Lupin, the seventies' answer to Sherlock Holmes.
Special Thanks go out to:
ArthurX, my first reviewer for any writing on ff.n, Twilight and Silence, my first reviewer for this story, AnimeGirl, All's Well that Ends Well, Asterix, and Black Goddess, who suggested the shift to Remus's perspective: you people are all fantastic, and I promise, more is coming soon.