Fire Whiskey in the Moonlight (Remus Lupin)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Powdered Silver and Dittany

Katie interloped our arms as we walked to our first class of the day, "Where did you disappear to after the feast last night? I fell asleep before I heard you come into the dorm."

"I just went to the library for a bit."

"For what? It's the first day back!"

"I wanted to do some research on different jobs in the wizarding world, I got a little freaked with our conversation yesterday."

"You'll figure it out, don't worry."

"If you don't though, you know you have a standing invitation to be my trophy wife." Tyler smirked, next to us.

"Don't hold your breath." I said, rolling my eyes and dragging Katie away.

---

Getting time to see Remus was harder then it was before break. My friends knew that Annie and I weren't speaking so I couldn't use that as an excuse anymore, and Tyler was still clinging to me like a puppy to avoid being a third wheel to Eric and Katie. Tyler's constant company had not gone unnoticed by Remus, and though he hadn't said anything, I knew that it was bothering him; especially since we sat next to each other in his class (and every other).  We had been sitting together before break too, but it seemed to bother Remus more now that he and I were officially dating. Maybe he had assumed that I was doing it to get a rise out of him, and it would stop after break.

Besides that things were going really well between Remus and I. Most days after dinner I would tell my friends I was going to the library, and on the days where they didn't offer to come with me, I spent the evenings with Remus.

"Interesting," Remus mused one night as I walked into his office.

"What?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you, I figured Eric would offer to accompany you to the library tonight."

"Why's that?" I asked, sitting down in front of his desk as he finished some grading.

"I gave him the chance to make corrections on his last essay, I was really hoping he'd take the opportunity to improve his grade."

"I didn't get a chance to make corrections!" I said, slightly peeved.

"Very few students did, only the ones who failed."

"Eric failed!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "I shouldn't have told you that."

"Who else failed?"

"Vivian." He said in a stern voice, warning me that I was crossing a line.

"Whatever," I sighed, "What are you grading now?"

"First years."

"Gross, what was their topic?"

"Curing werewolf bites."

"I remember that, although my professor never used the word 'curing'."

"Why's that?"

"Well you can't really cure a werewolf bite, all you can do is stop the person from dying but they'll still turn every month, so it's not really a cure."

"Some might argue that saving someone from death counts as a cure."

"Some might argue that death is better than becoming a werewolf."

Remus set his quill down and looked up at me, "What would you argue?"

"I wouldn't say there is a cure for a werewolf bite, but I think people who would rather die than become afflicted are bonkers, especially now with the Wolfsbane potion."