The Marauders: Moony

Remus And His Girlfriend

"Mr Lupin! Detention!" She grumbled, rolling her eyes with a tired expression on her face. 

Remus threw his hands up in the air.

"Professor!" He began to object, but she gave him an icy glare, silencing him.

Later that evening, Remus trudged through the castle on his way to detention. It wasn't the first time Remus had been in detention, although it was the first time in detention without his friends. Usually the four of them would be in detention together for some form of trouble making, or a prank that they had been caught doing.

Remus spent an hour writing lines. Once he was allowed to go, his fingers ached, and he had a headache. He felt in a bad mood, and didn't want to return to his dorm and see his friends feeling like this.

He checked his watch and saw that it was 7pm. It was cold and dark outside, but Remus craved fresh air. He needed to get out of the castle.

The icy wind made his lungs sting, but it was refreshing. He hadn't brought a coat, but pulled his long sleeves over his hands, and wrapped his arms around his torso. Remus strolled through the darkness, with only the light on the tip of his wand to guide him. He was relieved that it wasn't snowing, but even so, he only spent about twenty minutes outside before he could no longer feel his fingers, and had to return to the warmth of the castle.

After returning to the castle, Remus decided to head to the library. He quietly strolled along the long rows of books, breathing in their earthy scent. He closed his eyes, taking it all in and allowing the library to rid his mind of his detention.

As he turned the corner into a new row of shelves, Remus saw a familiar head of brown hair in front of him. It was Freya. She was on her tip toes, fingers outstretched as she aimed for a book just out of reach. Remus smiled as he watched her. She jumped, but was still unable to reach the book that she wanted. She frowned and jumped again, but her fingers merely brushed the bottom of the spine.

Remus quietly walked up behind her and lifted the book from its shelf. She turned around to scold whoever had taken the book which she was obviously trying to reach, but upon noticing Remus and his closeness, the words disappeared from her mouth.

Remus towered over her. He took a few seconds to appreciate her close up, his eyes scanned over every freckle, before landing on her eyes. He then gently put the book in her hands, and gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you." She whispered, the edges of her lips turning up in response.

Remus glanced to his left, and then to his right, ensuring that there was nobody nearby, before bending down slightly to plant a light kiss on her forehead. Freya blushed a little, before taking his hand and leading him to their usual table. Remus felt warm inside, his bad mood from earlier was now a distant memory, almost entirely erased.

The library was very quiet that evening. There were only a hand full of students in there. February was one of the quietest times of the year. In September, the library would be full of newly motivated students, eager to get good grades on their first assignments of the year, and in the Summer, the library would be full of students preparing for exams, but January to March was always very quiet, sometimes there wouldn't be another soul in the library. Remus liked it best this way.

The pair sat in comfortable silence, both reading their own books, only occasionally looking up and giving the other a quick glance to ensure that they were still there. Remus had become so engrossed in his book that he had forgotten where he was, and who he was with. He was awoken from his trance when he heard a soft thud as Freya closed her book and put it down on the large wooden table between them.

Remus looked around and realised that the library was now completely empty. He checked his watch and realised that it was getting late, and it would probably be a good idea for them both to head off to bed. They had lessons to attend in the morning. Freya must have been thinking the same because she quietly got to her feet and slid her chair underneath the table out of the way.

Remus followed, standing up and heading back to the rows of bookshelves to put his book away.

"I'll walk you back to your dorm room." Remus said to Freya as they left the library.

"I can walk back on my own, you know?" Freya said, but when he turned to her, he could see the hope in her eyes.

"I know. I just want to spend a little longer with you... If you also want that?" Remus asked, feeling a little uncertain. He didn't want to bother her if she just wanted her own company.

"I'd like that." She responded reassuringly lacing her fingers with his as they strolled through the empty corridors of the castle.

On the walk through the castle, Remus told Freya all about the B he received for his werewolf assignment, and the detention that he had received for enchanting his parchment to fly like a bird through the classroom. She was shocked at him receiving a B, giggled at the story about the bird, and rolled her eyes at him for getting detention.

Remus learned that Freya had never received detention, which didn't surprise him as she had only been at Hogwarts a few months, but she also didn't seem like the type of person to get detention.  She didn't seem like a rulebreaker. Remus was a bit of a rulebreaker. He usually blamed his friends, but this time it was entirely his fault.

When they were nearing the Ravenclaw tower, Remus realised that he didn't quite want their evening together to end. He sat on the edge of a windowsill and gestured for her to do the same. Freya sat next to him, their legs touching, and her head resting on his shoulder.

Remus put his arm around her shoulders and they sat together in silence, just enjoying each others company. He breathed deeply, and could smell the clean scent of her shampoo, and something else entirely, almost pine-like, like the forest.

Remus almost couldn't believe that it was now February. Valentines day would soon be upon them. He had never had a valentine before. Would she even want to be his valentine?

"Freya?" He asked, his voice coming out barely in a whisper.

"Hmm?" She responded, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning to face him.

For the second time that evening, Remus took a moment to look over her face and take in her beauty. His eyes landed on her plump pink lips. He wanted to kiss them so badly.

It was if Freya had read his mind. Her eyes left his, her gaze travelling down to look at his lips for a moment, before returning back up to his eyes. She moved closer and Remus closed his eyes before feeling her lips land on his. It only lasted a second, and then she was gone. Remus opened his eyes, feeling disappointed that it was over so quickly. He wanted to kiss her again, but then his mind came back to his question.

"I've been thinking about this a bit lately, and there is something that I'd like to ask you." Remus began nervously.

Freya nodded, her expression unreadable.

Remus felt thrown off. What was he supposed to say next?

"Umm... I really... Uhh... I really enjoy spending time with you." He continued.

Remus began nervously pulling at the threads on the sleeves of his jumper.

"I haven't felt like this for a long long time... Well... I've never felt like this really... Not that I can remember anyway." He mumbled, looking down, unable to meet her eye.

Silence filled the gap between them.

"I really like you, you know?" Remus said, his eyes fixed on her shoes. He hadn't noticed her shoes before.

He was overcome with nerves. He didn't know what to say next. He didn't know how to ask her.

Freya reached out, her hand cupping the side of his face. Her touch surprised him, and he looked up, finally meeting her gaze.

"I really like you too, Remus." She whispered.

He knew it was now or never.

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?"