Frames » Remus Lupin

seven

The days were counting down in her head until Saturday, and it was driving Ophelia crazy. The prank had gone well, as to be expected. On the way back to the common room, all Ophelia and Remus had done was stare into each other's eyes until Sirius said that he was going to puke if they got anymore lovey-dovey.

Ophelia, in stead of that, had retreated, as she typically did, to the library. She found the play that Emmarline, the sweet Ravenclaw Ophelia had been doing a transfiguration project with, told her had a character with her name. The story was fitting in a way. The Ophelia in Hamlet and the Ophelia at Hogwarts had their similarities in character and background. However, Ophelia at Hogwarts did not have a boyfriend and the Ophelia in the play was only there because of her boyfriend. It was a good story, and Ophelia staved off all social interaction just to read the book.

Friday night arrived, and Ophelia had finally finished her book. At last the reality dawned upon her- she had a date with Remus Lupin! While a voice inside her head scolded her thoroughly for both forgetting and then getting excited about it, another part of her wanted to jump on her four poster bed and do a happy dance.

The harsh truth hit her hard and fast though. Ophelia didn't know what to wear in a date, or even what to expect. She supposed that she could speak with the other girls in the dorm about it, as she really had no girl friends and wasn't about to ask Sirius what to do on a date.

So that night, Ophelia approached the other girls in her dorm. They were all sitting in their beds in silence, each of them doing their own thing when Ophelia spoke up. "I realize that I don't even know your names, and now that I suppose I'm doing the friend thing, it would be rude to not include my dorm mates. That is, should you want to," Ophelia said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible to be perceived as suave by her peers but not too much to be a try- hard. She hoped.

"Sure," the redhead in the bed next to hers said, shrugging. Though they had never spoken, Ophelia had known James long enough to recognize Lily Evans when she saw her. "I'd really like to get to know you too. I mean, I barely know most of this dorm!" She chuckled half heartedly and the rest of them followed.

"I agree," said a pretty, tan- skinned girl with a wild mass of hair that could rival Sirius'. "I'm Marlene, Marlene McKinnon."

"Ophelia," Ophelia replied, scooting her glasses up. "Ophelia Edwards."

The other three girls in the dorm, as Ophelia soon learned, wanted for the dorm to be friends as well. Alice Fortescue was as sweet as the ice cream in the shop that her brother had started in Diagon Alley. She was dating Frank Longbottom, a Gryffindor a year older than them. Alice herself was quite shy, but when she was with Frank (as she admitted to the other girls as they chatted) she got a huge confidence boost.

Mary McDonald was loud and proud of it. She had choppy blonde hair that she had dyed the tops of red (for Gryffindor, she had said), but everyone suspected that it was to go against her strictly, proud Ravenclaw parents. She smiled with all of her teeth and only flirted with people to make them jealous.

Dorcas Meadows was the last girl in the dorm, and she had pretty yellow curly hair and braces that she tried to hide to save her life. Her muggle mother had forced Dorcas to get them, despite the fact that they could have been fixed in an instant by magic. She was obsessed with the Beatles, and almost cried when the muggle studies teacher put a spell on her vinyl player so that it would work at Hogwarts.

"So..." Marlene said, now lying in her bed, fully engaged in class conversation. "What made scary ol Ophelia come out of her shell?"

"To tell you the truth," Ophelia said, blushing slightly, "I've got a date tomorrow." Everyone squealed and clapped for Ophelia and it only made her blush harder.

"Who?" Mary asked leaning in very close as she chewed her Droobles. Alice gasped and Lily clicked her tongue.

"Which one is it?" Lily asked.

"What?" Dorcas asked.

"The Marauders!" Lily cried, turning to Ophelia. "I've only ever seen you speaking with them in a friendly way."

"Oooo!" Mary said, seeming to lean in even closer. "A date with a Marauder."

"Tell us, Lia!" Marlene cried, clutching her heart with her hand.

"Remus," Ophelia said, blushing a brilliant shade of red and smiling slightly. The girls all let out out another squeal.

"Awww!" Alice said.

"Remus is so sweet!" Dorcas said. "I'd love to go on a date with one of the Marauders." Lily snorted.

"I've had Potter asking me out since first year. He's awful, I don't know why he thinks that I will go on a date with him."

"James is persistent," Ophelia said thoughtfully as she pushed up her glasses, "and quite egotistical. I can see where you're coming from."

"Well, Ophelia, you're friends with James, what are some of his redeeming qualities?" Marlene asked. Ophelia paused for a moment.

"He would do anything for his friends. He won't judge you by your past or where you came from, but by your character. He's determined, and is actually quite smart. He's got a fun side, and is rather amusing," Ophelia said after a moment of thought. Marlene glanced at her watched.

"Crickey! It's nine theory's already. We best go to bed so that we can wake up early tomorrow and help Lia with her da-ate," Marlene sang the last word before waving her wand to turn out the light, plunging the room into darkness.

"Night."

"G'night."

"Good night."

"Night, sleep well."

"Dream of sweet things," Ophelia whispered into the cold, dark silence. And for the first time since she had been cursed, Ophelia fell asleep with a bright smile on her face, not caring that she was the weapon that would decide the fate of the next war.