carry me home ‣ r. j. lupin

four

(a/n: I decided that from now on, carry me home will be written in third pov because it's easier. and being the lazy asshole i am, i was too lazy to edit the other chapters. anyways, happy reading!)

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Obviously, having a secret kept from you by your friends hurt; it was as if they didn't trust you. For Valerie, she tried not to show the hurt when they kept on hiding secrets from her. She respected their privacy. In fact, she valued their privacy.

When they told her nothing every time she'd ask what they were talking about, they'd all quickly say nothing; it bothered Valerie, really, because naturally, she was a curious person ever since she was young. And now she had to control that curiosity.

Valerie found herself walking towards the courtyard, her legs dragging her there instead of the library like she had told earlier. She sat by the bench, opened her book on her lap, and began reading.

Meanwhile, with his chin on his palm, Remus tried listening to his friends' conversation on the upcoming full moon tomorrow. He appreciated their help, but he always found himself why they always did this for him.

And then he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and thought about Valerie Sommers. Oh, that girl. She never failed to impress him no matter what she did. She was just remarkable, no doubt; always catching everyone's attention where she went.

But he wondered if there was someone in her attention; Remus hoped it was him, but that seemed silly because why would she notice him? A boy whose face was covered by three, long scars wasn't attractive.

Perhaps it was Sirius. After all, he was — as Muggles had called it — a chick magnet. Girls would throw themselves at him, changing their style and looks, hell even their personalities just to get his attention.

But he knew Valerie wouldn't do that; she always stayed true to herself. Even if people told her they didn't like her optimistic, happy-go-lucky personality, she'd stay the same, flipping people off and tell them to go fuck themselves and mind their own problems.

Remus liked her confidence; he loved it.

"So, 'd you think we should tell her?" James asked, hands clasped in front of him with his elbows pressed onto the table. "She knows something's up. Val would know sooner or later."

"Don't you think it's Moony's decision if we should tell Sommers or not?" Sirius raised a brow, crossing his arms at Prongs with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, yeah, but —"

"Then I say we should let Moony decide." He sternly stated. Sirius looked at Remus, tilting his head sideways. "What'd you say, Remy? Should we tell her?"

You see, there are a few advantages of telling Valerie Sommers the truth. Like, he'd know she'd forgive him easily because they were good friends (and also because no matter how bad you've done to her, she'd always forgive people), and that being the smart person that she is, she'll always come up with a plan on how to help him.

So by few, he meant two advantages. The disadvantages, however;

Valerie would, at some point, sneak into the middle of the night and follow them to see what would happen. And if she did do that, Remus would probably end up hurting her. She could also fear him after exposing himself, therefore ruining their friendship. And although he's never heard of Valerie talk about werewolves, there's a possibility she might hate them; with her Muggle family being hunters and all.

There were more, actually, Remus just stopped himself from thinking that.

He suddenly felt suffocated, finding it hard to swallow a hard lump on his throat as he felt himself sweat a little. Remus shook his head, loosening his tie a little as he eyes his friends. "I'm not telling her," he answered. "No one will tell her."

James, Sirius, and Peter nodded obediently before they went back to their previous discussion — the evolution of Dungbombs seemed to be more important than the Studies of Nifflers.

Valerie remained seated in the Courtyard. Lily was currently in one of her extracurricular classes while Marlene was with Mary McDonald in the Kitchens — either cleaning or eating.

Alice was with Frank Longbottom as they were apparently studying the History of Aurors. So she was alone once more; she didn't mind though, because it gave her the chance to smoke.

With one hand placed gently on the Muggle book she read, she used her vacant hand to reach for the pack of cigarettes in her pocket and pulled the box out. She opened the pack and took one cigarette out and placed it between her lips before she returned the pack into her pockets.

The funny thing about Hogwarts was that you can't Apparate out of their grounds and that you can't walk around alone at night, but you were allowed to smoke.

She pulled her lighter out and bent over slightly while her hand covered over the cigarette that hung over her lips as she flipped the cap open and let her lighter ignite the top of her cigarette. Then, with her middle finger and forefinger, she placed them on either side of the smoke and inhaled slightly.

Then Valerie pulled the cigarette off her lips which was followed by the smoke she inhaled. Her lips tasted like metal and tobacco, the smoke gently caressing her plump lips.

"A smoker, huh?"

Valerie yelped, almost dropping the cigarette on the book she held. She spun around to see a tall, broad boy that was probably in her year. He had amazing bone features, no doubt, from the prominent cheekbones and jawline. The boy had a thin upper lip and a thick lower lip, and he held this attractive lopsided smile.

She eyed him; big biceps. But she couldn't see him properly underneath all those thick layers of sweaters. The boy was in Hufflepuff.

"Hi," she breathed out. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" the stranger chuckled. Then he offered his hand. "I'm Galton Scamander. A fifth-year Hufflepuff. And addicted to Beasts just like my father."

"A Scamander, huh?" She smirked, taking his hand in between hers. "Valerie Sommers. The fifth-year in Gryffindor. And addicted to reading and smoking just like my mother."

Galton sat beside her, glancing at the book she was reading, and looked at her curiously. "Is that a Muggle book?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Valerie smiled, showing him the book while she took a quick puff. "Mother gave that to me before Fifth-year began."

"I'm guessing you're a Muggleborn, yes?"

"Yep." She answered.

Galton ran a finger alongside the pages, which left her surprised that he didn't have a paper cut as he did so. Galton's eyes scanned the pages before he shoved the book back to her lap and smiled. "It's a nice book. I should read it someday."

"You should." Valeria hummed. "Do you — do you smoke? Because I can give you one."

"Oh, no thank you." He politely declined. "Y'know, I always see you with those rowdy boys. How come you aren't with them right now?"

"Oh, they..." she paused, debated on whether or not she'd tell the boy that they had been keeping secrets from her which caused her to drift away a bit. "They're doing boy stuff. What about you? I see — I always see you with that Slytherin girl. Was it Phelia James?"

"Ah, yes. Phelia. But she's with Octavius Parkinson. They're not my only friends, though..." Galton sighed. "It's difficult to look for a real friend, these days. Being a Scamander and all. I didn't actually realize I'd be a bit famous here. Aside from Lucius Malfoy, of course."

"Well, I can be a real friend." The corners of Valerie's lips tugged downwards and shrugged.

"I know you are." Galton smiled at her. "So, friends then?"

Valerie smiled. "Yeah. Friends."

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