Chapter 327 - Unpredictable Episode Ⅱ

With some hesitation on her part, Quyen warily accepts Pettigrew's arm and begins to walk with him. There is an uncomfortable stretch of silence as the two don't know what to say to each other. Pettigrew finally breaks the ice and asks, "Where's your crowd, Sicca, and Fowl?"

Quyen fidgets and murmurs, "Hortense is off with her fiancé, Gil Goyle, and Gertrude with her soon to be betrothed suitor, Vern Crabbe."

"Ah, so you're the third wheel," Pettigrew wisely concluded. However, before he can stop himself, his mouth moves on its own. "Well, in that case, would you like to sit with us during the match as well or will your parents be mightily peeved, if you do so?"

"They won't even notice that I'm gone," Quyen sullenly muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Pettigrew asked as he turned his head to the side to stare at her. Unable to still believe that he had invited Crowley to sit with them during the match! What was wrong with him? Did he drink some sort of unknown draught this morning?

"No, they won't mind," Quyen grumbled.

"Right then," Pettigrew somewhat downtrodden muttered. Well, bang, there goes that idea. Now, what was he supposed to do now?

With another stretch of heavy silence between them, Pettigrew clears his throat. "Er, so, which team are you rooting for?"

"England, of course," Quyen instantly answered. "Is there any other?"

"Now, there isn't," Pettigrew said with a cheeky grin that gave Quyen a strange fluttery feeling in her stomach. They both chatted on the safe topic of Quidditch all the way until they reached the Lupin's tent.

Hearing the rustle of the tent opening, Hope Lupin without even glancing up says, "Oh, you've arrived just in time, Peter, lunch is ready to be served."

Pettigrew uneasily shifts and says, "Er, I brought a guest, Mrs. Lupin."

Hope glances up from where she was preparing sandwiches to see Peter Pettigrew with a somewhat pale, dark-haired girl with thick curls. The girl seems rather uneasy as she tries not to appear as if she is glowering.

"Oh, and who is this?" Hope asked as she wiped her hands clean on her apron.

"This is Quyen Crowley, and she's all alone," Pettigrew hurriedly mumbled.

"Oh, well, as I always say, the more the merrier," Hope said with a welcoming smile. "Please sit down, Miss Crowley. My husband, Lyall and my son, Remus will shortly be along. They went to fetch some water."

"Thank you," Quyen stiffly said as she sat down at the checkered cloth-covered table. She wrinkles her nose as she suspiciously eyed the muggle made sandwiches on the platter before her.

Hope chuckles and says, "Go on, dear, I promise they're not poisoned, and they certainly won't bite."

Quyen does not appear convinced because she does not take a sandwich until she sees Pettigrew safely chew down a mouthful or two down. With clear reluctance expressed on her face, Quyen nibbles warily on the sandwich in her hand. Her eyes widen surprise at finding that the sandwich, in fact, is rather tasty. Somewhat shocked and still conceived, she nibbled on the sandwich bit more, before slowly taking a bigger bite.

Thinking that the girl was worried about her appearance in front of Peter, Hope says, "Go on and eat, dear, there's plenty of sandwiches to go around."

Peter happily helps himself to another, while Quyen daintily eats her sandwich. She was still a pureblood lady, and she'd been taught how to properly comport herself when dining. And even if she was merely eating a sandwich, she must still maintain a carefully crafted image.

Seeing the girl's dainty manners, Hope takes a sandwich of her own and thoughtfully chews on it for a moment. "Miss Crowley, are you friends with Peter here?"

Quyen stiffens slightly, before warily shaking her head in negative. "We're merely year mates and the occasional classmate."

"I see," Hope murmured. "Then in what house are you, Miss Crowley?"

"I'm a Slytherin," Quyen proudly answered with a tilt of her head daring the muggle to say something bad about her house.

Hope smiles and says, "That must be just lovely, my dear. My son happily writes to me about all his friends in Slytherin, Terry, the twins, Rowan and Severus, and several others whose names escape me at the moment."

"Er, thank you," Quyen muttered somewhat mollified by the muggle woman's words.

Before the conversation can continue the flap of the tent can be heard opening as Lyall and Remus Lupin return with pails full of water. Lyall doesn't even blink at finding an unknown girl sitting in the kitchen table as he concentrates on setting down the water pail next to the sink. Letting out a loud grunt of relief, Lyall stretches causing his back to loudly pop.

"This is what happens when you get old children," Lyall teased, "Never get old."

Lupin rolls his eyes in obvious embarrassment as he puts down his own pails before turning towards the kitchen table. His mouth simply flops open upon noticing who was sitting at their kitchen table. Trying not to snarl or glower from nerves, Quyen primly says, "Pettigrew invited me for lunch."

"And she's staying," Hope pointedly said as if daring anyone else to state otherwise.

"What she said," Lyall good-naturedly chuckled as he placed a quick peck on his wife's lips, before sitting down.

Quyen flushes in shock never having witnessed her parents kiss in front of her much less another pureblood couple on the lips! The utter scandal! No wonder, muggleborn wizards and witches lacked any propriety! They were absolutely not taught proper social standards!

While Quyen is trying to deal with the aftermath of the kiss, Lupin numbly sits down next to Pettigrew and urgently whispers, "What's this all about?"

"She was all alone," Pettigrew reluctantly admitted.

Lupin sighs and shakes his head in frustration. "I always knew Rowan would one day rub off on one of us. I'm just surprised, it's you."

Pettigrew sniffs pointedly at the comparison and proceeds to further dig into the sandwiches. Lupin didn't bother pondering anymore on the strangeness of the situation since he was starving. The two boys ate like only teenagers can eat inhaling everything down including the crumbs.

Strangely over the course of the meal, Quyen found some of her stances changing. Mrs. Lupin was rather polite and proper if she excluded the shocking kiss. It was not something she had been expecting from a mere muggle, but then again said muggle was married to a pureblood wizard, Lyall Lupin.

Perhaps at least rearranging her position on one specific muggle, Quyen slowly continues to converse with Hope Lupin. After the meal, Quyen even finds herself being hugged by Mrs. Lupin. It was a rather startling experience, to say the least as Quyen had never been hugged in her entire life by a maternal figure. And despite the strangeness of the situation, it was a rather pleasant experience that she would not mind repeating again.