she takes the knight bus home

Remus had always made a fairly valiant effort not to let many people in, with James, Sirius and Peter already in his confidence, and Lily very closely nudging in as well, he was sure he’d reached some kind of critical mass of ability to form any kind of solid relationship.  He was friendly with everyone of course, and planned to remain so, but he just didn’t have it in him to put in the work keeping things semi-permeable, letting them in close but not too close to guess his secrets.

But Mary was such a nice presence, reasonable and responsible like Lily was, and with an internal toughness that didn’t make her unapproachable.  Truth be told, Remus rather thought she had some qualities like his mother, or how Remus imagined she’d be if she’d never been bitten.

“No, no,” Remus said waving her off with one hand.  "I can sleep after this year.  It’s the last one, I might as well get as most out if it as I can.“  He gave her a good-natured grin.  "Though you’ve got one up on me, I walked out without my books this morning.  And I was going to get cracking on that Ancient Runes reading too.”  He gave a what-can-you-do shrug and poured himself a cup of tea.  "And I do enjoy how quiet it is down here nice and early.  When the other get up, there’ll be no hope of a quiet think.“

Mary came from a large family. In one way, it didn’t make sense that she treated her friends like they were her kin. Often, people who had no family or who weren't close with them adopted their friends in such a manner. But it was all Mary knew, from such a young age. It was surprising how easy, too, she shifted from being like a sibling into a maternal role. She found herself assuming this quality a lot with Remus. There were certain people who brought it out in her, those who seemed like they needed that kind of support the most. Mary herself acted that way both intentionally and subconsciously.

Besides caring for and feeling somewhat responsible for Remus, she simply enjoyed his company. But Mary couldn't separate just chatting with someone and connecting with them. Once a person had earned her care and attention, there was no such thing as in between. "Do you reckon all the hard work stops after school? Have a nap once in a while, Lupin, you might need it." She closed her organizer. Time to take her own advice. Everyone could do with a break occasionally, even Mary.

 Early mornings and Sirius Black went hand in hand. He was always up with the sun, before his friends had even stirred. A before breakfast smoking, a cup of coffee and the paper, then he’d go to the Great Hall. Sometimes his friends would be down for breakfast, but today didn’t seem to be one of those days. He was hungry, so he decided to go ahead and get a plate for himself. There were many familiar faces to sit beside, but he decided on what that he hadn’t been able to catch on the train. 

His relationship with Mary was pretty straight forward. Among all the confusion as of late it was something he desperately needed; a good friend who was a solid presence in his life. Sirius plopped himself down besides Mary, a lazy smirk tugging on his face as he watched her scrawl into the beloved notebook of hers. He made himself a plate and another cup of coffee, taking a few sips before starting on his breakfast. 

When she spoke an amused snort left him. “You’d think not, but the professors always manage.” He nudged her with his elbow lightly. “I looked for you on the train you know. It’s been awhile.” Sirius had been awfully hard to pin down over the summer, if she’d tried to send a letter to him it likely hadn’t reached him. “I was thinking, if you so happen to be interested, in making a little arrangement. See I know Remus won’t say anything, and James is Head and Lily will be easy enough, but it’s you that I’m worried about. I’ll supply you with all the sweets you want for a promise of looking the other way when my lovely friends and I get up to our uh, activities.” He grinned charmingly at her, turning to face her properly. “What do you say, Mary?” 

She was on edge, as of late. Jumping at noises and eyes shifting around rooms repeatedly. Especially considering she was usually a calm and collected person. However, Mary wasn't prone to that kind of behaviour here. The Gryffindor table was a safe space, a haven as much as the dorms were. Her house was warm, both the physical building and the very idea of Gryffindor. It was the fire in the common room to her, crackling and licking flames. She didn't notice Sirius sitting down when he did, being too engrossed in her book, of course -- having the comfort to be that way. But Mary simply smiled upon hearing his snort and looking up to find her housemate sitting beside her. "I suppose that's their job, isn't it?" She laughed, falling back into their easy way.

It's been awhile. Mary studied Sirius' face, his words. Over the summer she had tried to write to him but received no reply. She simply assumed he was too busy enjoying his holidays, probably abroad and drunk. Why would she have worried? She didn’t want to worry, but it was in her nature and it seemed strange. "It's been a Summer. How was yours?" She wasn't sure what Sirius would tell her, if anything, but Mary hoped he knew he could confide in her if he wanted to.

So he’d taken to leaving for breakfast far before everyone else in the dorm room had, and told himself over and over again that it had nothing to do with avoiding his friends, and everything to do with catching up.  NEWTs would come eventually and he was determined to be ready for them.  That was all.  It wasn’t, he tried to convince himself, because the others wouldn’t want to sit with him, and waiting for them to show up and come to him was much less horrifying than trailing after them and being shut out.  

He thought of grabbing a seat off by himself, but as others were enjoying breakfast, it seemed a bad move to isolate himself even further.  After a moment’s consideration, he slipped into a seat next to Mary and reached for a breakfast roll, nodding in a quiet ‘good morning’.  "Oh of course we do,“ he replied when she spoke, a ghost of a smile lifting one corner of his mouth before disappearing.  "I think they’re trying to bully us into buckling down into studying right off the bat, so we don’t make too poor a showing at the end of the year.”

Prioritizing. She did a lot of this, so as to maximize the efficiency of her schedule but Mary did it subconsciously, too. Without realizing it, she always prioritized others, their needs and wishes, over her own. It started with her own family, from a young age, wherein she didn’t exactly have a choice. That moulded her into the person she was today, so that now Mary put all her friends first. That’s what her friendship meant -- her time, whenever.

Remus earned her friendship over the past six years easily. Mary pushed the book away from her, though she didn’t shut it. She smiled up at him as he sat down, but couldn’t say she liked what she saw. “You look like you could have done with another half hour in bed. The magical endless supply of food wouldn’t have went anywhere, Remus.” It was only half a tease, she incapable of restraining her tongue once her mind engaged itself.