`Home is where the heart is || Remus&OPEN

[Wilhelmina Rose White]

My heart is far far away,

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Wilhelmina had always been told that she had inherited her mother's strange sleeping habits. She couldn't count all of the times her father told stories about how he would wake in the middle of the night to see her mother sitting at the window staring up at the star-filled night sky or possibly reading one of her many books.

"You're just like her, you know that?" her father's voice broke the thick silence that surrounded Mina, causing her to turn away from the large window in their living room. It was late, very late. "Hm? What do you mean?" Mina answered quietly, the exhaustion in her voice muffling her words a bit. George shook his head, laughing softly before moving to take a seat on their sofa. "It's three in the morning, Mina. You should be in bed." he said with a yawn, running his large hand through his thick, dark curls. She yawned with him, turning back toward the window and leaning her forehead against the cold glass. "I know what time it is. I just can't sleep," Mina shook her head, another small yawn passing her lips and fogging the glass in front of her. "And no, I'm not upset about anything. I..I'd just rather be awake now instead of when the sun is out. I know it sounds silly, but I don't know any other way to explain it." Wilhelmina turned curiously back toward her father when she heard him continue to laugh. She shook her identical dark curls before speaking a bit harshly at him. "Why are you laughing? I didn't say anything fun.." Her father's voice was soft and deep, nothing new, but there was much more meaning behind this statement compared to the other things he had said. "You're mother, Mina. You are just like her."

A smile tugged gently at the corner of her mouth as the young gryffindor sat on the ground of the astronomy tower, her legs crossed in front of her as she leaned back on her hands and stared at the sparkling navy sky. Just like any other night Mina couldn't sleep with the stars floating up above her like a million tiny fireflies. It was too enjoyable to pass up, really. She was beginning to wonder why there weren't a lot more people like her. How could these students sleep when nature was putting on such a spectacle just for them? It seemed that people took advantage of the night sky much too often, and she wished that they would take the time to realize what was hidden within it. Although, there weren't a lot of people who thought like her. To Miss White each of those little stars was just a wish waiting to explode and sprinkle down upon the earth, sending happiness into the lives of those who needed it the most. Of course, a majority of people didn't see them more than a flicker of light off in the distance.

Mina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I wish that she would come back to me," she muttered out loud before the slight smile started to fade. Unfortunately Mina's star hadn't made it's way back to the earth yet, and she was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to. Maybe that kind of wish was meant to be just that, a simple wish that was meant to hang around up in the glowing sky until the end of time. With a loud sigh, Mina got to her feet and moved to the balcony of the astronomy tower, leaning casually over the railing. "Maybe not. Maybe I'm just being impatient." Mina giggled softly, staring dreamily up at the eerily bright stars. "That was something else I got from you, isn't it? We both know that father is anything but impatient." The girl grinned up at the sky, letting the silence surround her once again as a strong wind blew at her wild curls. With a shake of her head, the large grin was quickly replaced with a slight frown. "I miss you."

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[Xanthe Lynnette Murder]

Xanthe stood in the shadows witnessing Wilhelmina’s reminiscence of someone of close importance, but she expected it to be her mother. She gazed at her for once without a hostile thought in her cunning Slytherin mind. For once, she viewed Mina as a person and not as an annoying Gryffindor that had something smart to say every time they met. Of course, it was Xanthe who always started the miniscule bickering at her.
Her body felt lighter than a feather as her head tilted towards the stars. It was a beautiful late summer night out. She could clearly see a few consolations in the distance: Aquarius was the only one she could make out however, considering she never paid very much attention to Astrology class that took place here.
“I miss you.”
A warm, comforting breeze ruffled Xanthe’s brown hair, and she placed a hand over her right side to keep her hair from blowing into her eyes. She didn’t enjoy the outdoors for such a reason of the wind, the rain, the dirt… but as she blinked away the slow air, she could see the beauty in the distance. The changing leaves turned to blue by the night, the comforting white moon overhead, the way the creatures in the Forbidden Forest cried from miles away; it was all unique in it’s infinitesimal existence, yet, so important to the beat of the world’s drum. Without one of those creatures the world could very well collapse under it’s own unstable creation.
It was so… trippy.
Xanthe abandoned her philosophical thoughts and returned her green eyes to the small Gryffindor just a few feet away.
Maybe… I wonder…
She walked over to Mina soundlessly. The only thing that gave her away was her oncoming shadow, and the slight vibration of the floor from her stealthy steps. Once she reached Mina, she sat down beside her merely twenty centimeters apart from hitting the Gryffindor’s arm with her own. Xanthe pulled her legs to her flat chest, and wrapped her arms protectively around them.
The only light that penetrated the darkness around the two girls was the natural light from nature, which shone on only half of Xanthe’s face, the side not visible to Mina. The Slytherin was just a faint form next to her, an outline.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, “you know, for being such a bitch to you.”

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[Remus John Lupin]

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A long day alone, emptiness is so real
Never having peace of mind
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Remus wandered the corridors, he had offered to take the night patrol as he knew sleep would not come to him. He was rather irritable for the next night would be the transformation, he shook his head. The stress was immense, it would be a bit easier if being a half-breed was not so taboo... but after all with werewolves like Fenrir Greyback running around who could blame them? The brunette felt rather sick, leaning up against the stone wall of the corridor. That man... that monster. It made him so sick to even think about how he stole his very life from him, forcing to live this awful scorned and stigmatized existence. Something like hatred rose within him though as he slid down to the floor, eyes staring straight in front of him it was snuffed out.

Remus wasn't one for hating, even after the world showed him their true feelings he remained true, it was taxing. He let his legs out in front of him, lazily arranged, his head back against the cool stones. What a sight he would look if anyone happened upon him, a prefect simply looking worn sitting legs stretched out. He let his eyes open once more, it simply was not fair though he knew that that was how life was. Though Remus truly wished to have 'normal' problems like oversleeping for a class or something of the sort and to go without being thought of as a monster. He drew his legs up, closer to him, though that was selfish thinking. He was just so worked up from the transformation which was now less than twenty four hours away.

He bit his lip, still feeling sick.

"I'm sorry Mr. Lupin," the men spoke in lowered voices though young Remus was sitting at the top of the stairs, listening. "I can't allow our children to... uh mingle anymore, you can understand, after all there has been talk about your Remus," the other continued and the amber eyed boy frowned a little. "You have our condolences, such a shame, he seemed like such a nice boy."

"Seemed? Arnold! You can't be saying that, he is a bright, good boy. He didn't choose being- what happened to him, that was not his fault!" He recognized his father's voice raising a little.

"I'm sorry but I can't allow my boy to run around with... a .. a monster!" with that there was an exchange of ill words before a door slamming. His father cursed, kicking a few things and the boy returned to his room, tears streaming. Monster.

A heavy sigh hitched in his chest, he never did tell his father he had heard that conversation, after all what would be the point? He had been scorned straight to his face as young as eight from parents, even other children. Though the adults seemed even more cruel if possible. Remus was beginning to feel really restless, fresh air would surely help him clear his mind, calm his nerves. The irritability seemed to be replaced with a hollowness that only brought on the sort of sadness that made him long for company of any kind.

It took a bit until Remus rose to his feet and the dizziness subsided and he was then on his way, he decided the Astronomy Tower would be beautiful at this time and why would he want to see the grounds when he would be walking them tomorrow anyway to the Shrieking Shack? He began to loose track of the stairs he climbed and allowed his body to be carried thoughtlessly to the Tower, flicking in and out of awareness. The boy soon breathed in the fresh summer air. Though he could hear voices and he stopped for a moment before going the full way up, his presence was quiet.

Through the starlit night he could make out the forms of Wilhelmina White and Xanthe Murder, two that were beside each other in a calm manner. Remus almost smiled, they had only been fighting a day or two ago, maybe they were secretly friends?

"Am I interrupting something? I can surely leave if you'd like," the soft kind voice of Remus Lupin rang out.

OUTFIT:: HERE!
TAGS:: Mina/Xanthe/Open
LISTENING TO:: BENJI MADDEN`` Always Love (Nada Surf cover)
WORDS:: 700 even. w/o codes
NOTES:: o.o Awwws
CREDIT:: Banner is credit to THE LUCY SOUND ?! of caution 2.0
this template is credit to Trinity Darling at CAUTION 2.0.

[Wilhelmina Rose White]

My heart is far far away,

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Mina squealed and stumbled to the opposite end of the astronomy tower balcony. Her nose wrinkled in confusion and slight frustration as she stared down at the silhouette she quickly recognized. It did take her a moment longer to realize who she was recognizing, though. But that voice was one that was definitely not mistakable, at least not for Mina. "Xanthe?" her eyebrows furrowed as she stared on at the silhouetted slytherin before her. "You're what?" Mina immediately shook her head, laughing and rolling her eyes. "You'll have to forgive me, Miss Murder, but I can't exactly believe you." As she continued to speak, Mina moved back over to the railing and leaned over it, staring down at the barely visible ground below. "I think I can deal with the name calling, and the occasionally physical harassment that I get from you. But sneaking around me like that and seeing what I assumed you saw, then faking an apology? That's uncalled for."

She shook her head again, letting her hair fall and create a curled curtain against her face. Mina sighed, supporting herself against the railing. For a moment Wilhelmina was feeling a bit..bad about what she had just said to what she considered her biggest enemy. If Xanthe had come here to hurt Mina's feelings why would she have been quiet for so long? "Wait.." she muttered as she stood straight and turned back toward Xanthe, tilting her head to the side curiously. "How long have you been here? I mean, what all..did you hear?" As Mina went back over everything that she had said, her heart started to pound against her chest. The large death within her family had been a very well kept secret for Mina.

She had not told a soul here at Hogwarts about the loss of her mother and two brothers, the only way someone could have found out previously was if they somehow got ahold of the small journal that she kept. Pity wasn't something that Mina wanted at all, and she knew that if the people who had met her when she first arrived at Hogwarts knew that only months earlier she had last more than half of her family that was exactly what she was going to get. She didn't want pity friends, she wanted friends who honestly cared about her, and if that meant no friends at all then so be it. The purpose of Hogwarts wasn't friendship, after all, it was to further her abilities to become an amazing witch.

A sudden shiver was sent down her spine as another voice joined them. His voice was almost unbelievable, the way it could sooth almost any kind of situation nearly immediately. It was strange to see someone like him, someone so incredibly nice and sweet, hang around people like James Potter and Sirius Black. Her eyes quickly left the form of Xanthe and traveled over toward the dimly lit figure that was Remus Lupin. Her heart continued to race within her chest, only with a slightly different emotion now, one that she couldn't exactly explain. "Mr. Lupin? Er..you don't have to leave. You aren't interrupting anything at all, I was just up here thinking and ran into..Miss Murder." Gestures down to Xanthe, a small smile returning to her face as she spoke to the fellow Gryffindor. "You're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

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[Xanthe Lynnette Murder]

Xanthe understood why Mina’s word choice was laced in utter disbelief, considering Xanthe herself wasn’t even sure why she was conveying her emotions in the first place. Xanthe, in all aspects, was a very bad person. She believed in her heart Muggles and Mudbloods deserved to die, and that the Dark Lord would rise again. And when he did, she’d be there to serve him- it’s been a goal for her since she first heard of such an evil.
Somehow through all the years of torture Mina has had to withstand from her, verbal taunts, mental abuse, and physical torment, Murder didn’t view this as fair. What had Mina really done to deserve that? Live?
Yes, that was exactly it. Miss White was a walking example of a contamination that never should’ve happened. It was against all nature as far as the magical population goes. But, Xanthe wasn’t much different from Mina; her own parents were half-bloods, which made her grandmother a Mudblood on one side of the family, and the other side was made of half-bloods by a Muggle parent. In reality, she and Mina were alike and different in countless ways that go even beyond bloodlines. Still, blood was what Xanthe craved the most. Purity is what she strived for, a dream she would never live to fulfill.
This is why the Slytherin acted the way she did. She was ashamed by her family, and the only one who had been able to spark a thought of value for herself was Lord Voldemort. This way, she could exterminate what has made her angry, miserable in her own skin, and most of all, gave her dirtied blood.
If she wasn’t a pureblood, she wasn’t worth anything.
Truth was, her apology wasn’t a fake. All Xanthe could do was allow her eyes to follow Mina through all of her motions, looking to her face to study her expressions. She blinked at her vaguely, watching the Gryffindor move about the Astronomy Tower while she just kept in her place.
“Wait…. How long have you been here? I mean, what all..did you hear?"
A blank grimace made up Xanthe’s lips, and she twisted her bottom clockwise to directly face Mina.
“I heard enough to know not to tell anyone.”
Mina’s gaze adverted past the Slytherin and she mirrored her action. There near the entrance stood Remus Lupin, another Gryffindor. Until lately Xanthe had had the uttermost hatred for the boy and his little group of pranksters, but ever since that time at the library, she couldn’t help but blush a little every time she saw him walk past. It wasn’t a secret; yeah, she was on the edge of falling for a Gryffindor, a House she had repeatedly denounced since her first year here. Lupin was just to kind… Xanthe wasn’t used to that from people.
Why is this happening to me?
Before Murder would speak, Mina’s voice directed her back to the other member of the red and gold House.
"You're welcome to join us, if you'd like."
The grin on Mina’s face was undeniable.
She’s falling for Remus too.
Xanthe placed her quivering hands on the cool concrete floor of the Astronomy Tower and pushed upwards, lifting herself off of the dusty ground.
“You‘re fine, Remus,” she said, a hint of sadness to her voice as she brushed away the dirt from her Slytherin robes. “I think I’ll leave, anyway.”
She stopped fussing with her clothes and looked away from both of them.
“You know, to let you two have your privacy.”

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