"Hey guys Mary wanted me— AAAAAAAAAH!"
The shriek of Peter Pettigrew filled the compartment, as if he just say someone being murdered. Pure bloody murder ringing through the hallways, as his shrill voice caused Remus and Aveline to jump apart as if they had been electrocuted.
Hastily, Aveline fixed her skirt that had been pushed up, straightening out her hair as Remus quickly and unsuccessfully tried to brush the lipstick that was on his lips off with the back of his hand.
And for a moment they just froze, Peter staring at the duo with his jaw dropped as they stared back— equally horrified.
"Peter," Remus spoke gently as if talking to a deer he wasn't to spook. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say in this situation.
"Peter," Aveline spoke, staring at the boy intensely with her finger held out infront of her. "Do not say a word to anyone. You didn't see anything. And if I hear that you told anyone about this little situation
I will skin you alive and make you eat your own flesh. Understood?"
"Y-y-yes ma'am," Peter stumbled, though his eyes were still wide.
The boy looked genuinely traumatized, his eyes flickering between Aveline and Remus in pure disgust.
"So uh, what were you gonna ask us?" Remus started, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
Peter merely kept staring at them, his face frozen in a permanent I'm -going - to - throw - up expression.
"Peter? What did you need?" Remus asked again, getting a tiny bit annoyed.
"Your hands," Peter mummbled, "Were up her skirt."
"Okay!" Remus snapped, patting Peter on the back. "That's enough, run back to Mary why don't you?"
Peter turned around, quite literally sprinting away as fast as possible, stumbling on his own feet. As he did Remus let out a sigh of relief, turning back
to Aveline who was sitting biting her lip, concern in her eyes. Her wild curls were even more wild, falling around her face as if they had a mind of their own.
What Aveline wasn't expecting was for things to be so awkward, the small train carriage suddenly feeling like it was suffocating them with the tension of teenage hormones and wandering eyes. Remus coughed, clearing his throat as he sat back down, not a word said between them.
He knew that he probably should've said something, or at least attempted to make a joke at their own expense, but he couldn't.
Instead he muttered something about being exhausted, and leaned his head against the window, closing his heavy eyes.
For a moment all Aveline could do was stare at him, his shoulders hunched and closed off as if he was trying to take himself out of reality.
Was he embarrassed? She wondered, as she watched his closed eyes not even make a movement to open. Certainly kissing her wasn't that bad, that he felt the need to bury himself into the window like some sulking school child.
Remus confused her on no end, it was true. She liked to think she was fairly good at reading people, but when it came to him she sometimes felt like he was worlds away — like his mind was up in the stars well hers was ten feet underground.
"I'll be back, just going to the loo," She muttered, hoping to get some response out of the boy.
She got nothing, not even a subtle nod of his head or flicker of his nose.
She clenched her jaw, lingering in the doorway waiting for him to do anything but pretend she wasn't there.
But he didn't, and so she left with Princess under her arm not even daring to look back.
____________
Peter Pettigrew was about to burst with perhaps the most interesting bit of drama he ever had the pleasure of knowing. He knew for a fact if he told James and Sirius about what he saw in the train cart they'd go insane, and it was eating him up inside that he had to keep it to himself.
The boys were sprawled out in there dorm room— Remus brooding in his bed flicking through a book, Sirius staring at the window (most likely contemplating life) as he smoked a cigarette, James sprawling on top of his comforter throwing a ball up and down to himself like he was some sort of dog, and Peter was stress eating a bag of sweets and pumpkin pasties to the point he was about to be sick.
"Merlin Pete," James said, pausing his bal toss to the glance over at the boy. "Are you alright? You look red as a tomato."
At the mention of Peter, Remus snapped his head up, giving the boy a don't you dare look with stern eyes.
Peter gulped, shoving another pumkin pastie in his mouth like his life depended on it.
He wasn't good with stress, or secrets, and he was the type who couldn't keep anything to himself even if his life depended on it. He also very well knew that if James and Sirius ever found out he saw what he saw and he didn't tell them, they'd certainly be mad at him.
Peter couldn't handle others being mad at him, but thankfully he was scared of Aveline enough to attempt to keep his mouth shut.
"It's awfully hot in here, isn't it?" Peter scrambled, glancing around at the boys— all eyes on him.
Sirius titled his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "Do you want me to open the window? It's rather cold out though."
"No it's alright," Peter said, whipping his sweaty palms on his pants as he stood up from his bed. "I'm just going to snog— I mean SHOWER. I'm going just going to shower."
With his face red and head down, Peter scrambled towards the bathroom without another word, Sirius and James both looking at him like he had two heads.
Once the bathroom door was shut and they could hear the shower going, they shared looks of extreme confusion.
"What was that all about?" Sirius asked, putting out his cigarette on the window ceil. "You don't reckon something happened with Mary?"
"We'll they've snogged before have they not? He wouldn't be that worked up by it. I think something is going on, we should talk to him—
"That's probably not necessary," Remus interjected, letting his open book fall onto his chest. "He's probably just stressed, you know the war, exams, we've got Mcgonagall's essay coming up.."
He tried to reason but it didn't like like either James nor Sirius were confused.
"Yeah maybe," James said. "I don't know though."
They fell into silence after that, the room with an invisible tension that they all felt but didn't understand why.
Remus was internally freaking out— not because he really cared about the boys finding out, but more so he knew Aveline wouldn't want them knowing.
And honestly it broke his heart.
He wasn't expecting her reaction to Peter to be so fierce. It almost seemed as if she was embarrassed for people to find out about it. He understood he was a werewolf, had scars running down his face and was probably not the prettiest of boys she could've gotten with, but he really didn't figure she would've been that horrified by the whole situation.
He would respect it though, and if she wanted to keep things secretive he would do what needed to be done, even if it ate him alive.
"I'll be back," Remus told the boys, pocketing a couple of muggle joints and leaving the room without a word.
He needed something to take his mind of the stinging in his heart and the confusion in his mind.
____
A little while later Peter emerged from the bathroom, beady eyes scanning the room to see Remus was now where to be seen. He let out a sigh of relief, walking over to his bed feeling much better then before.
"Hey Pete, I just wanted to check again, is everything okay— "
"IWALKEDINONAVELINEANDREMUSSNOGGINGONTHETRAINLAYINGONTOPOFONEANOTHERANDTHEYTOLDMETONOTELLANYONE!" The boy practically screeched, in an out of breath haste.
Sirius and James were frozen, staring at Peter with jaws slightly dropped, not a clue what he was saying.
"Sorry wormy, come again?" Sirius asked, tilting his head.
"I saw Aveline and Remus snogging on the train—
"WHAT!" James exclaimed at the same time Sirius exclaimed—
"I KNEW IT!"
"They told me to not to tell you guys, made me promise but I just couldn't keep it in!" Peter spewed, taking a deep breath full of relief.
The look on James's and Sirius's face were both priceless, and it only signalled to Peter he had done the right thing.
No one was particular surprised, but at the same time this wasn't exactly what they expected!
James always expected that when they finally got together it would be romantic and full of sweeping gestures, not a train ride snog that peter walked in on.
Sirius more so just didn't think Aveline had it in her. He had seen Remus in action— the boy was a bloody whore— but Aveline? There was no way. But either way he was proud, a slight smirk tracing his features.
"Moony that sly dog," Sirius said in praise, shaking his head. "Man has got game— OW!" He winced as James smacked him on the arm.
"Don't talk like that! It's weird! This is Aveline and Remus they shouldn't be snogging in train compartments they should be going on proper dates— like to hogsmead and picnics and painting and—
"Not everyone likes to do the boring things you and Lily do," Sirius pointed out. "Some people just like to get down and dirt—"
"SIRIUS STOP!" James shrieked, throwing a pillow at the boys head to shut him up. His face suddenly turned, nose scrunching up in disgust. "You don't think they are actually... shagging?"
"Well his hand was up her skirt," Peter said, twiddling with his thumbs.
To this Sirius let out a loud holler and James yelped as if he had been shot in the chest.
"This just can't be right," James muttered, more to himself then anything. "Remus needs to be taking her out on proper dates—"
"This isn't the 40s douche, if all both of them wants is sex, power to them!" Sirius cheered.
James shook his head profusely, "You don't get it. Moony is in love with her, and it's not going to work if he's shagging her in the train compartment like some common whore!"
"Well," Sirius snorted, walking over to his desk and taking a sip out of some random bottle he pulled off his shelf, "what if she wants to be shagged like some common whore?"
"Enough! I'm done with this conversation you have the maturity of a fruit fly—
"Your so uptight," Sirius complained, dramatically flopping down on his bed. "Your beginning to sound exactly like Evans."
"That's it!" James sighed , standing up and dusting himself off. "I'm going to talk to Remus, man to man—"
"No!" Peter shrieked, running to the door and blocking it with his body.
Now he really was panicked. As much as he couldn't help but spilling the secret, he didn't exactly think about what would happen if Remus and Aveline found out he blabbered. Certainly she would have his eyes pecked out by birds and Remus would have him thrown through a wall.
After ten minutes of Peter practically begging James and Sirius not to say a single thing about it, the two boys grudgingly agreed (though James did spend the rest of the night angrily staring at the wall).
Sirius, as much as he seemed to be thrilled by the idea was slightly bothered by it for one reason, which he summarized simply by what he was thinking to himself as he was falling asleep that very night,
"Everyone really is finding love except me."