-Remus-
On March 10th, I turned 16. One more year to the day and I will be allowed to do magic like a free man. Ellie has been spending a lot of time with sixth year Garrett Chase, so I haven't really gotten to hang out with her. It's not that she can't have other friends, but I haven't gotten to spend time with her since she started helping Garrett.
On my birthday, I spent some time with Ellie. She found me in the Common Room, and exclaimed a happy little chorus of, "Happy Birthday, Moony!" While she handed me a Honeydukes bag full of chocolate.
"Awe thank you, Ellie," I tell her and we share a quick hug. She sat next to me on the couch, smiling happily.
"One more year until you're of age. That has to be exciting."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," I admit to her.
"Well, in the meantime, how are you celebrating your 16th? What are you doing today?"
"I don't know, I think that the other guys have something planned, but they won't tell me. Do you know anything?"
I asked her this knowing the answer already. She didn't know what the guys had planned. She was too busy spending all her time with Garrett these days. In fact, this was the first time we've had a conversation more than a few minutes since she started helping him.
"No, I don't. They kept it between the three of them," she told me, like I didn't already know.
Ellie smiled again and it was then that I realized something about her that I've noticed about her before, but it never really had an effect on me before. She's very pretty. Anyone with eyes knew Eloise was pretty, so it's not really a surprise.
My heart started beating very fast. I felt blood drain from my face. My stomach felt tight. I was nervous. Why was I nervous? I was just talking to Ellie. Maybe it's because we haven't hung out one-on-one like this in nearly a month that her beauty just caught me off guard for a second. I'm not used to it anymore.
Yeah, that had to be it.
We started talking about the newest History of Magic essay that Binns assigned the other day and we started to talk about preparing for the O.W.L. exams but our conversation was cut short when Garrett Chase came running in the Common Room shouting for Ellie. When he reached us, he handed her a piece of parchment and said, "Full marks! Look!"
"Oh Merlin!" Ellie exclaims, excitedly. "I knew you could do it!"
She stood up and hugged the tall boy. I was taller than he was, but Ellie is so petite that everyone seemed to tower over her no matter how tall they were.
"I have to go show McGonagall, so she won't kick me off the team."
"Oh I will come with you! I want to see the look on her face."
She turned to me, and said, "I will see you later, Remus. Happy Birthday!" And then she took off with Garrett.
I couldn't figure out why I felt so angry about this. She didn't have to go with him. But once again Garrett Chase is more important to her. It's like everyone is nonexistent since they have become friends. It's a pretty shitty way to treat your friends. Maybe she fancied him, and they'd end up together in no time and then they'd become one of those couples that are obsessed with each other and then we would all really be invisible to her.
Why did that make me so upset? Because Garrett is taking up all her time? Probably. It was something that I never thought of. She was slowly becoming a stranger again as quickly as she became my friend. I expressed this concern to Sirius and the others, but they all just teased me that I liked Ellie, which wasn't true. I did like Ellie, but not like that.
She also missed the Full Moon in March because of a late night study session with Garrett. Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs all waited nearly an hour for her, but she never showed up. This was what I needed to know for sure we were losing her.
The next day I expressed this concern to Sirius one night when James was at Quidditch practice. He chuckled at me and said, "Goodness Moony, you really are clueless, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, my tone hard.
"We're not losing Ellie. You're not losing Ellie. She's in love with you."
"What?" I ask, shocked.
"I thought you were smart enough to figure it out for yourself by now, but obviously not. She fancies you. Not Garrett. How have you not noticed? I picked up on it right away mate."
"She told you this? Or is this one of your assumptions?"
"We've had plenty of conversations about it," he assures me, nodding. "I promised her I wouldn't tell you but since you haven't put it together by yourself I have to say something."
I felt a sudden rush of relief. Ellie fancied me. Me. Not Garrett. My heart felt so full. My stomach had butterflies in it. My cheeks felt hot. This feeling wasn't a hard one to figure out. Ellie fancied me, and I fancy her too. It suddenly all makes sense now.
"Sirius, I think I fancy her, too."
I've never seen him smile so wide and so happy. "About damn time, mate."
-Ellie-
It was the last Quidditch game of the season. Gryffindor V.S. Ravenclaw for the House cup, and I caught the snitch quickly. I was on fire out there. The entire team cheered me on. I held the snitch up high when I got back to the ground. I felt like I was on cloud nine. James and Matt lifted me up on their shoulders, and the rest of our team had crowded around us we were cheered on.
When they put me down, Marlene hugged me tight. Then we were joined by other Gryffindor students. Everyone from our year, and older and younger, were all around us. Sirius found me and he hugged me tight. Peter told me I played a good game. Then, as a shock to me, Remus cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. He kissed me straight on the mouth for a good, long moment. I could hear our friends cheering.
Whether our friends were cheering for Gryffindor winning the game or for Remus kissing me, I didn't know, but I also didn't care. I kissed him back for a good moment before he stood back and smiled at me. I kissed him quickly one more time before I hugged him closely, laying my head onto his chest. He laughed but he hugged me back tightly.
He didn't say anything, and neither did I. That kiss said it all. I saw Sirius was smiling looking over at us. He noticed me looking at him and he winked. Remus was so much taller than me my head rested on his chest perfectly.
After the crowd died down, Remus held my hand on the walk back to the locker rooms. We walked back alone, just the two of us. He came into the locker room with me, we were the first ones there. When we reached my locker, he stood next to me, smiling looking down at me.
"Sirius told you to kiss me, didn't he?" I ask, as I take off my Quidditch robes, now standing in a t-shirt and black trousers.
"He might have told me that if I ever did kiss you that you wouldn't push me off you," he admits, a sly smirk on his lips.
"Well I'll have to thank him," I say, smiling happily.
"Yeah," he says, smiling too. "I've been wanting to do that for a while. Sorry it took so long. Sirius said you've liked me since last year. I had no idea."
"It's alright," I tell him, "Now you know."
He kisses me again. My heart begins pounding in my chest. I felt like I was on cloud nine again. It was everything that I have ever wanted. It didn't last very long because we were interrupted by the captain's voice saying, "Team members only, Lupin."
That wasn't a real rule. Matt was just being a jerk for no reason.
"Sorry," Remus says as he straightens up quickly. "I'm on my way out." He turns to look at me again. "I'll meet you in the Common Room, yeah?"
"Yeah," I nod, "I'll be a moment, I want to take a quick shower and then I'll go up."
"Okay, I'll see you in a bit, bunny."
I smile at the nickname. It was our little inside secret. Only a few people know my Animagus form. I quite like the nickname, actually. He smiles at me before he exits the locker room, patting James on the shoulder as he walks past him.
"Matt is so jealous," says Marlene in a quiet voice. I hadn't even noticed that she had entered the locker rooms. I didn't care that Matt was jealous. The Quidditch season was over, I no longer owed Matt anymore of my time. He'd be replaced next year as captain, so I no longer cared what he thought.
"So what? Did you see Remus kiss me on the field? He said Sirius told him to."
She smiles at me, "The entire team saw it, Ellie. I was so happy for you."
James is at her side now, "I'm glad Remus finally did it. He's been holding in his feelings for a minute now. Sirius and I told him last week he should just tell you, but he didn't want to. I don't know how Sirius talked him into it, but I'm glad he did."
"Me too," I say, not attempting to hide my smile. I told them I was headed off for a quick shower after that. When I got back to the Common Room, everyone cheered when they saw it was me. There was a big party. I started scanning the room for Remus.
Lily and Dorcas ran up to me before I could find him and they started speaking very fast. They wanted to know what was going on with Remus and I. I told them I didn't know because we haven't really talked about it. I added that I was looking for him because I wanted to talk to him.
Marlene came up to me then, and she handed me a bottle of butterbeer and said, "Your boyfriend is in the corner over there with his friends."
"Thanks, I really need to talk to him, actually," I say and I start looking around for Remus again. Then I spotted him. It looked like he was looking for me, too. I walked over to him, and he smiled upon seeing me, and I smiled back happily.
Remus stepped over to me from the other guys, his smile vanished and then he quickly pulled himself together and he smiled again as he reached me and asked, "Do you want to go for a walk?"
"That sounds great," I tell him, smiling. He takes my hand in his and he leads us out of the Common Room. The Fat Lady shouted at us not to be late so she could go to bed. Remus assured her we wouldn't be too late.
I didn't know where we were going, but I liked being alone with him so I wasn't going to say anything. He led us to the Astronomy Tower. I know I have told him that this was my favorite place in the castle. He picked a good spot.
"So, um, like I was saying before Matt kicked me out of the locker room, I like you Ellie. I really like you. You really seem to understand me, and you don't look at me like I'm a monster."
"Because you're not a monster, Remus," I remind him, he smiled to himself.
"See, just like that. Well the truth is this: I've never felt like this about someone before, but I'm not scared of it. I want to be with you, if that's what you want, too."
"Yes," I say rather quickly, but then I pull myself together and in a calm voice, I said, "If that's what you want that's what I want, too."
"Well then I guess we're doing this, huh?"
I smile, looking up at him. "Yeah, I guess we are."
He wraps his arms around me tightly, holding me up against his chest. One of his big hands is on my head. "I have a feeling that you're going to make me very happy."
"I think you're going to make me happy, too," I tell him as we hug, he gives me a good squeeze and then I add, "Sirius is going to be so happy."
He laughed at that. I felt the vibrations on his chest. "Yes he is." He kissed me again. A long, passionate kiss.
____________________
Here's part 9!
Two chapters in one day? I'm spoiling you today.
Anyways, they're together now, finally. So you know what that means. This story is about to get romantic and cute AF.
-Emily Winchester.