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Immersion did not come easily to Genevieve when studying about something she did not find interesting, but immersion was a crucial thing for Genevieve's education. Without interest in a subject, Genevieve became slothful when it came to lessons. She saw no point in learning about something she didn't care for, an unwise mindset she had grown too used to even before she was at Hogwarts.
But she was trying, and that was what counted. Genevieve was putting an effort into all subjects, dedicating herself to handing in homework on time (so extremely rare that Flitwick nearly died of shock when she handed in a Charms paper) and scolding herself when she became distracted.
With Transfiguration, she struggled more to stay focused. Nothing about the subject appealed to her. Every now and then she would feel herself slip back into her old habits in that class - making paper airplanes, doodling on desks, passing notes to Sirius - but Lily would always shake her back into discipline.
Oh, yes - Lily was her brand new Transfiguration tutor. When McGonagall had proposed getting Genevieve a tutor, she had been hoping to be paired with Remus. He was understanding, patient and explained things in a way that made sense. Lily was these things as well - she just liked to be a lot more scarier about it. The redhead made Genevieve revise with her three times a week in the library, skimming over books and casting various spells on different objects. Sometimes Toby joined them as his intelligence when it came to Transfiguration was almost genius-like.
Lily was so insistent about getting things things perfect that it made Genevieve want to get things right first try. She never did, but she was able to cast enchantments a lot quicker than she had ever before. Lily was strict and taught fast, so you had to pay attention and listen to her - keeping up was the only option. Perhaps this was also why Genevieve was improving - she was too scared to fall behind.
So swept away in pursuing academic excellence, Genevieve hadn't realised that a trip to Hogsmeade was at the weekend. Usually she would count down the days and lay awake at night thinking about all the treats she could by from Honeydukes or the sweet Butterbeer she would drink at The Three Broomsticks.
"You and Remus don't have to come with us to Hogsmeade, you know," James said to Genevieve as they walked together to Quidditch practice, his wild hair being battered by the wind. "You two are together now."
Genevieve raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you want to get rid of us."
"Not at all," James replied. "I just thought you might enjoy a date or whatever." He paused and then said, "Padfoot has a date, too."
Genevieve glanced at him, noticing his thoughtful look. He had more to say and she could too. "You're surprised?" she asked, amused. "It's Sirius."
"Of course I'm not surprised he has a date, that boy bats his eyes and girls go nuts," James said, snickering. "I'm surprised who it is."
"Who is it?"
"Benny Moore."
Unlike James, Genevieve didn't seem surprised in the slightest. Benny Moore was a tall Ravenclaw in the same year as them who was Keeper for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. He had ginger hair so bright it competed against Lily's firey red hair and an upturned nose that gave him a sense of natural elegance. He was witty, kind and famous for his tendency to never back down from a dare.
"You're not... shocked?" James asked, noticing her unbothered look.
She shrugged. "He has a thing for Keepers," she said, a grin tugging at her lips. "Pun intended." It took her a moment to register James's confusion before she realised. "You never noticed?"
"Noticed what?" he said, oblivious.
"Marcus," she hinted. When he didn't catch on, she sighed frustratedly. "He and Marcus used to eye each other up and flirt all the time."
James eyes went wide with marvel. "They did?"
"Yes?" Genevieve replied.
Hand slapped over his hand, memories of scolding Marcus and Sirius during Quidditch practice for talking too much burst back into mind. "My word," he cried, "I had no idea. I thought he ran out of girls at this school so he wanted to try boys!"
"Prongs," Genevieve laughed, "Sirius has been 'trying boys' since fifth year." James's jaw dropped lower, almost trailing along the ground. "That's not a problem, is it?"
"No, not at all," James assured, more in his own mind than present in the conversation now. "That's why him and Marcus would talk all the time! And in the changing rooms... a Merlin, my poor changing rooms. Godric, I'm clueless," he muttered.
"You always have been."
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Snowflakes twinkled in Genevieve's dark hair as she walked hand in hand with Remus around Hogsmeade, her eyes shining brightly at the white canvas. The sweet smell of butterbeer coming from The Three Broomsticks lingered in the street, warming their insides at just the scent. People had dressed up in any knitted item they could - sweaters, hat, scarf, gloves. Most people wore their house-embellished scarves, especially the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Their quidditch match was coming up soon.
While watching some third years run out of Honeydukes with gleaming eyes and bags of sweets, she turned to Remus with a look of seriousness. "Let's rob Honeydukes," she said.
Remus turned to her, his nose red from the bitter cold. "What?" he said, confused.
"Let's rob Honeydukes."
"We can't rob Honeydukes, love," he protested, but a smile was on his face.
"Yes we can," she nodded, a scheme already plotting itself out in her mind. "All we need to get is a mask to cover our faces. We have a wand that can do the rest of it."
"Does a wand cover up the fact that robbing a shop is morally wrong?" he replied breezily.
"No, but I'm sure there's a spell that could make it morally right."
Remus rolled his eyes deep brown eyes playfully. "We're not robbing Honeydukes," he said, bringing her plan to a terminal. "However, we can go there again."
Genevieve groaned and buried her face into his coat. "Merlin, please, no. I can't go in there again," she complained, her voice muffled.
Remus's lip quirked upwards. "Why not?"
"Because you spent nearly a whole hour in there, Remus! Everytime a minute went by, so did a day from my lifespan. I could feel the life practically draining from me."
"If you stop complaining about how tragic your Honeyduke trips with me are—"
"—Very."
"Then I'll give you some of the chocolate I bought," he finished.
Genevieve looked at Remus knowingly, a blank look in her bright green eyes. "What, bigger than the measly portions you give me already?"
"I have to ration in order to make it last."
"So that means starving me of sugar?"
"Well, considering how unusually energetic you are all the time I wouldn't say it's a bad thing."
"You're just jealous you can't keep up with the spontaneous life I live," Genevieve replied breezily, a sigh in her voice. "You're too used to planning things out."
Remus's brown formed a confused arch. "I don't plan things out," he said.
Genevieve couldn't help but let a scheming grin reach her lips. "Then let's rob Honeydukes," she insisted.
"No," Remus said, lightheartedly but stubborn. He carried on walking, unaware that Genevieve had rooted herself firmly to the snow-covered ground. When he did realise he frowned and looked over his shoulder. Taking him by surprise, the soft sting of a snowball hit his face followed by an eruption of laughter.
Remus swept the snow from his eyes to see Genevieve already gathering more snow into her hand, moving quickly to form another snowball before he got his revenge. Briskly he set into moulding his own snowball, compacting it into his hands tightly before launching it at her left arm.
They ended up in a wild snowball fight, taunting each other with playful threats and ignoring how numb their hands became. It was evident Genevieve was winning as she was a lot more speedy in making the snowballs than Remus. She also had immaculate accuracy after all the years of playing quidditch as a Beater. He was clumsy and dropped large clumps of snow while picking it up.
Becoming tired of losing, Remus abandoned his post and started running at her. Wide eyed, Genevieve broke off into a sprint and forced her legs to go as fast they could. He was quicker, though, because of his long legs and eventually caught up. With unexpected strength, he wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisted her into his arms bridesmaid-style despite her protests and carried her over to a heap of snow.
Genevieve knew what was happening the second she saw the direction they were heading. "No!" she yelped, writhing in his arms to set herself free. "Don't do it, Remus!"
"You started this," Remus laughed.
"I know I did but I take it back!"
"Too late," Remus smiled, and with that he dumped her into the bitingly cold heap of snow. Instead of yelling at him, as he expected she would, she burst into a fit of breathless laughter.
"Did you plan that?" she asked. "Did you scheme to throw me into a snow heap by the end of this date?"
"No, I didn't," he admitted, catching his own breath. He couldn't help but smile. "It was fun, though."
"Merlin, it's cold down here," Genevieve said. She stretched out her hand for him to take. "Help me up, my legs are too numb to do it myself."
Taking her hand in his, he didn't expect to be dragged down with her. It came as a shock when one moment he was stood upright, and the next he was lying in a mass of snow.
Now it was Genevieve's turn to laugh at his face. "Spontaneous," he noted with chattering teeth, nodding to her.
"Opposites attract, I suppose," Genevieve replied with a winning grin.
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A/N: 500K READS IM GOING BLOODY MENTAL. you lot are absolutely brilliant. im so sorry for the late updates, being back at school has been rough. as always, i send hugs and kisses to everyone who reads <3
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