Into the Shelves (Open)

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan smiled as she gazed around at the library. The bookshelves were everywhere, top-to-bottom and wall-to-wall. It was amazing the amount of knowledge that she knew to be contained here. And it wasn't just any knowledge. It was everything to do with the magical world she lived in. Even though she was a Pureblood and therefore knew a lot about the magical world, there was just some information one could only find in a library as extensive as this one.

She loved to read. One might say that she was a "typical" Ravenclaw in this respect but she didn't mind. Teagan had always loved to read and explore knew worlds. History wasn't a dry subject that was about a lot of dead people from centuries ago to her (even though she was failing miserably at History of Magic. Or, at least, staying awake in class.) She loved to hear the deeds of people years gone by.

Books had always provided her with a way of escape when she so desperately needed it. Life wasn't nearly as entertaining or interesting in reality as it was in books. Hers least of all.

Moving toward a shelf, Teagan scanned the titles and selected on that she needed for her homework. She went to a remote table, one that was obviously last choice but there were no other tables open and she didn't really mind beside, and sat down to begin. Unfortunately, the rows of books once again caught her attention and she was practically salivating over them soon enough.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus was seldom separated from his friends, but sometimes, their antics just became too much and he needed a break. Right now was one of those times. Sirius and James had said something about going down to the lake and Remus just wasn't in the mood. He actually had a lot of work to catch up on and since he was not like James or Sirius and lacked the ability to throw something together at the very last minute and have it be perfect, he figured now was a good time to catch up on his studying.

He was sitting hunched over in an aisle between bookshelves, looking through about half a dozen potions books, trying to find the information he needed. Yes, he could have brought the books back to a table, especially as there was one not far from where he was sitting, but it just seemed easier to find what he needed and just bring that specific book back with him.

As he opened a particularly old-looking book, a cloud of dust flew into his face. His sensitive nose didn't cope very well with large amounts of dust, and so he sneezed loudly.

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan blinked, coming out of her daze, and looked up upon hearing the sneeze coming from the direction of the shelves. It was Remus Lupin, a second year in Gryffindor. She was a litle surprised by seeing him alone as he was usually always with his friends: James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

Out of the four of them, she actually thought Remus was the nicest. Potter and Black were funny and intelligent but to her, they seemed arrogant and full of themselves. Pettigrew was... Well, he was different than the others. He frankly gave her the creeps.

Impulsively, she stood up and walked the few steps it took to reach him. She didn't want to startle him so when she spoke, she did so quietly.

"Bless you. Why are you sitting on the floor?" she asked, head cocked to the side in curiosity.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus took a handkerchief out of his robe pocket and was wiping at his nose when she came up to him and began to speak. He looked up at her, his expression sort of sheepish. “Oh, hey,” he said. “Thanks. I didn’t see you there.”

He recognized the girl from some of his classes, but he couldn’t quite remember her name. What he did remember was the fact that she had enormous blue eyes that seemed to light up her whole face.

“I was just trying to find something in one of these books and I didn’t want to have to bring them all over to a table. I thought it would be easier, but then, that’s how everything to do with Potions is for me. It sounds simple until I actually try to do it… then everything goes horribly wrong. How come you’re sitting alone back here?”

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan smiled at him, her eyes shining in happiness at the thought that maybe he was actually interested in what she was doing and not just being nice because he was too polite to ask her to leave him alone. She leaned back against the bookshelf and looked at the book he was holding in his hands.

"Don't you like potions? It's actually not that bad, in my opinion. Finding this in books aren't really too hard but I myself find it easier to sit at a table. I guess everyone works differently, though," she said in a sweet voice and paused a moment before continuing.

"All of the better tables were either taken or had someone older or.... well, someone I didn't like at the table... You're sitting by yourself, too, you know," she pointed out, teasing him gently.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus looked a little embarrassed. He prided himself on his studies and worked very hard to do well in his classes. But it didn't seem to do him any good when it came to potions. He was terrible at it, no matter how hard he tried. Of course, there had once been someone who had been able to help him... but she was gone now, never to return.

"It's not that I don't like it, exactly. Well, OK, I don't, but the real problem is just that I'm terrible at it. I just... I don't know... I study, I read everything carefully, I do what it tells me, and somehow I still manage to mess up. I think I just have no talent for it."

He felt a little pathetic for admitting that, but it was the truth. It wasn't even as if he wasn't trying, which was the problem with Sirius. And yet, Sirius got his potions right at least half of the time. They weren't perfect, but they were good enough to get credit. Remus somehow always managed to make a potion that resembled thick brown sludge.

"Anyway, I don't mind sitting on the floor. I... I kind of don't like being confined... sometimes I just need to spread out on the floor."

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan regarded him quietly for a moment. She, of course, couldn't know that he had been thinking about the person that had once helped him in Potions or the fact that Sirius did well without even trying. She was thinking about that fact that she knew that he was a wonderful student and wondered, not for the first time and probably not the last, why he wasn't in Ravenclaw. There was obviously something about him that made him a Gryffindor and she found herself pondering just what that could be.

Then she thought of something and it seemed brilliant to her but she wasn't sure how he would react to it.

" You know, could help you with Potions if you want... I'm real good at it, it just seems natural.... But I actually could do with some help in History of Magic.... It's just too boring to me," she admitted sheepishly.

She knew he was a year older than her but she hoped he would help her. She really didn't want to fail it as her father would probably be furious...

[Remus Lupin]

Remus hesitated. It was a fair offer. He was actually doing fairly well in History of Magic. James, Sirius, and Peter all copied his notes in that class, because he was the only one who seemed able to stay awake. It wasn’t exactly easy for him, either. On the days before the full moon, and the few days after, he was usually exhausted. And of course, he usually missed a day or two during the full moon. Yet he still had one of the highest grades in the class.

And of course, if she was good in potions, then he could probably use her help. But Sabrina had helped him last year… and now she was gone. It almost felt like a betrayal to let someone else help him. On the other hand, if someone didn’t help him, he was going to fail and take Remedial Potions.

“Um, OK,” he said. “I really do need all the help I can get…”

[Teagan Kelly]

She grinned, her face lighting up, and she felt relief wash through her. Teagan absolutely hated History of Magic because it made her bored. Something on his face seemed hesitant, still and the smile slowly fell from her face. She studied him, wondering what could have happened to put such a sad look on a face that should be smiling. There was a twisting in her stomach, hoping that something she had said hadn't done that.

"Same here. Don't worry though... I won't tell anyone I'm helping you in a class if you don't..." she trailed off, thinking that this was maybe why he seemed sad.

Teagan was a year younger after all....

[Remus Lupin]

It was strange, really. There had been a time when he had been unable to get Sabrina off his mind. Now, the time had passed and he sometimes was able to forget about her for a while. It seemed somehow wrong that you could just forget a person or what they had meant to you, just because they were gone. But now, as he was talking to Teagan, he felt this pang of sadness that he couldn’t quite explain. It was nice of her to offer to help him with his potions, but, yes, he still felt sad.

“Oh, I don’t really care if anyone knows,” he said softly. “It’s just… Well, I used to have someone else helping me. She died last year…. She was killed by a death eater. You… kind of remind me of her, actually. She had long hair and blue eyes like yours.”

[Teagan Kelly]

She blinked once more, which seemed to be an annoying habit that she was taking up. The thing was is that she hadn't expected that in the least. Somehow this boy knew had died, she couldn't help but think. It was shocking to her and it made her look at him with compassion and sadness shining in her eyes.


"Wow, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that... I suppose there are a lot of things that I don't know about yet. It must be really hard for you. I don't even know what to say. Sorry won't cut it, that much I know," she said softly and without hesitation gave him a quick hug, feeling slightly embarrassed as she did so.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus was taken aback by the hug, but it didn't bother him exactly. He just hadn't expected it. And it was strange, since he hadn't really even thought of Sabrina in a while, and now he couldn't seem to get her out of his mind.

"Thanks," he said when she had pulled away. "It's... well, it was really hard for a while... But I know she wouldn't want me to be sad. We were friends... and if she had lived, maybe we could have been more than that one day. But you probably know her sister. Natalie St. Clare... Sabrina was her older sister."

[Teagan Kelly]

She cocked her head to the side, regarding him with a soft smile on her face. So he hadn't minded it. Well, that was good. And then he started speaking and she knew that his mind was now firmly planted on that girl, the one who had died. Her gasp at what he had said was enough to let anyone know her shock at hearing this new information.

Natalie St. Clare had an older sister. And she was dead. Her heart broke for the other girl, who was just the same age as she. It was probably extremely hard for her to cope with that. No wonder she enjoyed that tree so much...

"Yes, yes I know her. We've met, anyways. Is she a friend of yours?" she wondered aloud.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus actually wished he was beter friends with Natalie. She was pretty much his only connection to Sabrina, and he missed that. But she had inexplicably chosen to be friends with a certain someone who was not well liked among his friends. He knew about her powers; she had told him about them a long time ago. And if she saw something in Severus, then he was sure that the Slytherin boy couldn't be all bad. But it sort of prevented him from being much of a friend to her. The most he could do was to tell James and Sirius that Severus Snape was off limits whenever he was with Natalie.

"We talk sometimes," he replied. "But... well, she has her own friends. I think I remind her too much of Sabrina."

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan frowned at this. It was sort of sad actually. She thought that the boy shouldn't have that view on people. To her, it didn't matter who was friends with whom. But apparently not everyone felt that way. Maybe there was something more there then what she thought. She wasn't going to push it, though.

"That's really sad. I'm sorry that you don't have her there. She's a sweet girl. I didn't mean to remind you of something painful, either," she said sounding extremely eager to get this across.

"What do you like to do when you aren't sitting on the floor with a pile of old books?" Teagan asked in a teasing voice, trying to ease the tension.

[Remus Lupin]

"It's OK," he said. "It's not your fault. Actually, it's kind of nice to think about her. I haven't thought about her in a while. And I hate that, because I feel like I'm forgetting her... I wouldn't want to do that."

He did feel badly that he and Natalie weren't close, but he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't close to many people. And if she saw something in Severus Snape, who was he to doubt her choice? She probably knew better than anyone that outward appearances could be deceiving.

Remus was one of the few students who knew about Natalie's power. And she, in turn, was one of the few people who knew his secret. Of course James and Sirius and Peter knew now, as well as a few others, but Natalie had known it from the first moment they met.

Remus was glad for the change of subject, though, and he gave an embarrassed sort of smile. "Well... actually, I feel like I spend most of my time keeping my friends out of trouble." He laughed lightly at that.

[Teagan Kelly]

Teagan grinned, feeling slightly pleased with herself that she had gotten the boy to laugh even in the least bit. She knew that he was just as glad with the change of topic as she was. There was just too much sadness lingering in the air for her, though, and she wasn't about to bring the subject back up even if he didn't mind it.

"Well, it's a good thing they have you, then," she said lightly, "But maybe they shouldn't do what they do in the first place if it gets them into trouble."

She wasn't sure about what she had just said but it was true, she thought. They were probably going to drag him down with them and she thought secretly that he was too nice for that. Of course, she didn't know his friends but she didn't like how they acted. It was a bit too much for her.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus smiled softly. Teagan was not the first person to comment about James and the others. Lily, in particular, had asked him more than once how he could be friends with such jerks. But Remus knew them better than a lot of people did. Sure, they could be loud and obnoxious and arrogant. But they were also really good friends. They were loyal and caring and compassionate. They had figured out Remus's secret all on their own, and instead of turning against him, they embraced him, swearing their loyalty to him and promising to help him find a way to ease some of the suffering he went through each month. The fact that they could not only accept him, but promise to help him meant more to Remus than they could have even imagined. He'd had "friends" in the past who had dropped him just based on rumors.

"I know they seem a bit obnoxious at times. And I don't like everything that they do. But the mere fact that they let me tell them so and still want to be my friend just proves that there's more to them than it seems. We all really balance each other out. They taught me how to have fun and laugh more... and believe me, I needed it. They might drive me crazy sometimes, but I'd lay my life down for them, just as I know they would do for me."

[Teagan Kelly]

"Wow, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel a need to explain yourself. I don't really care who you're friends are. You're really nice, you know? It doesn't matter who you surround yourself with or for what reason. I mean, you obviously care for them a lot. That's wonderful. I'm happy for you. I believe that everyone needs friends no matter who or what they are," she said gently, feeling the need to let this boy know that it didn't matter to her.

Remus seemed to genuine and nice. There was something about him that told her that he had been hurt in the past and her heart went out to him. She really did believe everything she said.

[Remus Lupin]

Maybe Remus was just used to defending his friends. James and Sirius were popular with some people, but others--particularly those who had been on the receiving end of their pranks--found them annoying.

There was an unusual dynamic between the four friends. Either James or Sirius would instigate something, with the other egging him on. Peter usually didn't take part, and just sat back and watched eagerly. And Remus was the conscience of the group, trying to gently remind them what they should and shouldn't be doing. But he also didn't usually succeed in stopping them.

"No, it's OK. I'm sort of used to people asking me why I hang out with them. But the truth is, they're the best friends I've ever had. They drive me crazy sometimes, but I'm glad to have them. I... where I came from, before here... I didn't have a lot of friends."