Chapter Three
It had been a week since they'd bought their school supplies- a week that had been filled with flying and studying. Kathleen had practiced her Quidditch skills in the field near the Morgan's home, and had decided to try for Beater; she'd briefly considered Chaser, but decided against it. Everyone went for Chaser, deciding that would be the easiest way to obtain a bit of sports-related glory.
The passing week had also brought them to the morning of September first, meaning it was time for them to return to Hogwarts. Neither had said it, but they both longed to once again be within the old castle, and its aura of magic.
"Kathleen." Laurie whispered this, trying to wake her friend up gently, as she had been doing for the past few minutes. This strategy was not working- it never did- and she was growing desperate.
The lights suddenly came on, and the comforter was pulled away. Kathleen's eyes blinked open, and she slowly sat up.
"Oui?" She had a tendency to speak only in French, a language the other girl was painfully limited in, when she was annoyed. Laurie glared.
"It's seven in the morning."
"Your point?" Kathleen had decided to switch back to English after making her point, realizing her friend had a reason for waking her.
"On September first." Kathleen's eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh!"
It took less than fifteen minutes for her to drag herself from the comfort of her bed, dress comfortably in an old sweater and jeans, and begin going through her trunk, checking for the umpteenth time that she had packed everything.
When the prefect was satisfied she had all of her robes, muggle clothing, textbooks, and various other school supplies, she took a sip from the mug of coffee her friend had brought her, allowing herself to relax. She had no reason to worry- all of her belongings were neatly packed, with her new Nimbus 1500 broom on top. She slung her school bag, which contained a change of clothes and one of her new Animagi textbooks over her shoulder, and went downstairs. Laurie followed suit.
The girls lounged around the house for the next couple of hours, preparing some snacks to eat on the train, eating a small breakfast, and reading, waiting until it was a decent hour to arrive at the train station. Kathleen ended up going back to her trunk to retrieve three more books, placing all of them in her bag to read on the way.
They left at nine, Laurie's mother accompanying them. There was next to no travel time, Side-Along Apparition being a rather speedy process. They quickly found an empty compartment and placed their items inside. Kathleen bid Laurie goodbye, and went to wait for Remus on the platform.
"Oi! Lupin!" The boy had just appeared, looking tired, yet cheerful.
"Oh, so we're referring to each other by our surnames now, are we, Gray?" His eyes were alight with silent laughter.
"Obviously." She said this in a tone that caused the boy to grin, which in turn led to a bout of silent laughter on Kathleen's part. "Would you like to put your trunk in our compartment?"
"Depends on who 'we' is."
"Laurie and myself- who else?" The question was entirely rhetorical, though Remus's suspicion did confuse her. It's not as though I have many friends I would be comfortable sharing a compartment with, after all.
"I'd love to, but I'll probably have to go sit with James and Sirius eventually." He looked genuinely disappointed that he would have to leave. "If only to keep them from blowing the train to bits."
This was met with a smile. "Of course. I personally would like to arrive at school in one piece, and I'm sure the other students will appreciate your noble actions." Kathleen spoke in a tone that was dripping with sarcasm.
"If they don't, I can take points from their house." The girl glared at her friend, tempted to hit him. She heavily disapproved of anyone who abused their power, having fallen victim to prefects in her younger years. "I'm only joking," Remus added hastily.
"Good."
After dragging Remus's beat-up trunk into the compartment, Laurie exchanged greetings with the boy, raising her eyebrows when she learned she'd be sitting with him for a fair portion of the journey, glancing at Kathleen. The two girls had a short, silent argument which resulted in the agreement to discuss it later. Kathleen knew that Laurie hated sitting with people she didn't know, that being the trait that had drawn them to sit together in their first year, but didn't want to mention it in front of her fellow prefect, lest he decide to move elsewhere.
Despite this quiet agreement, Kathleen decided that to remain much longer in the space would not be beneficial. Fortunately, as neither knew their way to the prefect's compartment, they had a good excuse to leave the faintly tense environment quickly. Their departure left them to wander the train confusedly, eventually locating what they thought might be it. They sat in comfortable silence for a good hour, the peace being broken at 10:30.
"Kathleen?"
"Hmm?" The girl was engrossed in her textbook again, all but blind to the world around her.
"Do you still want me to help you with Defense?" Kathleen glanced up, surprised at the question.
"Of course. Do you want me to help you with Arithmancy?"
Remus nodded, looking sheepish. "Yeah. I just wanted to make sure. You, er, won't mention our deal to Sirius, will you?" His face was a faint shade of crimson now,
"Why shouldn't I?"
"I was talking to James, and when he found out he wouldn't quit laughing about how hysterical it was that 'the great genius Moony needs a tutor'." His tone was bitter. "And I know if Sirius finds out he'll be ten times worse."
Kathleen considered. "You don't want them to know you have to study for some of your classes." He nodded. "I can respect that. I sometimes try to keep Laurie from seeing me do any extra studying." This was a small lie- she was proud of her studious habits, and made no effort to hide them. She sighed. "I won't say a word, though if he asks I will be honest."
Remus looked grateful. "Thanks."
"It's no trouble.
They lapsed into a companionable quiet again. Kathleen suddenly realized something that hadn't stood out to her before.
"'Moony' is a rather unusual nickname," she observed.
The boy's eyes widened as though he'd accidentally given away the secrets of the universe. He hadn't noticed his slip until after the conversation was over, and had been hoping she hadn't caught it.
The girl persisted. "Do I want to know why, or…?"
Remus shook his head. "No."
His tone had a small ring of finality to it, and they dropped all conversation, returning to their activities, and waiting for the other prefects to arrive.