"I've always loved looking at the stars." Michael said dreamily, as the two sat in the astronomy tower.
Michael had brought the small blue and bronze blanket he had lent snuffles long ago, Along with a small basket filled with sandwiches and pastries. Undoubtedly, he'd made a visit to the kitchens before his lunch date with Sarai. They looked up at the bright blue sky, as the sun shone brightly down on them. The cool winter breeze was still in the air, and the sun was a rare sight to see in january. Sarai definitely appreciated it beating down upon them.
"My dad and I used to track the constellations every night on the boat, when I was just a lad." He explained to Sarai, before biting into a crumpet.
Sarai smiled as she looked up at the clouds. She hummed softly as a fairy flew by, attracted by the smell of sweets from their basket.
"You guys own a boat?" She asked before laying down on the soft blanket, fiddling with a peanut butter sandwich.
"We used to," Michael said, leaning back into the blanket to join her. He turned his head to the left to face her. "It was a sailboat. We had on the lake next to our house. But it got destroyed back in first-year."
Sarai frowned, looking into his shining lime eyes. "What happened to it?"
Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as a pained expression fell upon his face. "Fenrir Greyback. " He said before opening his eyes again. "He had gone on a rampage near my family's village. Wreaked all sorts of havoc during the full-moon."
Fenrir Greyback. Sarai had heard of him before, he was the reason Uncle Remus got turned into a werewolf himself. She scowled at the thought of the monster. "He should have been locked up a long time ago." She said bitterly, as one of her curls fell onto her face.
"Forget it," Michael said giving her a smile, before quickly moving to brush the strand of hair from her face. Her face tingled from where his hands brushed against her cheek. Sarai blushed and looked at the sky, "What about you? You and your uncle do anything special growing up?"
She shrugged, "Honestly, not too much." She admitted sheepishly. "We didn't really have much growing up. Uncle Rem always tried to make ends meet, but it was hard." She said before looking back into michael's eyes again. "He refused to use any of the money my mum left before she died. He said it was for my school supplies and for when I was older and such."
Michael paused, carefully listening to Sarai. "I tried really hard, but he wouldn't let me pay for anything. Even when we barely had anything to eat. He'd always use mum's money to pay for my food, my clothes, my books. But he'd rather starve than take anything for himself. It was a miracle he let me buy him new robes this christmas from the money I randomly got in the post."
"One time," Sarai said before looking back up at sky again, "He sent me to live with my grandad, for a summer. We spent the entire time trying to learn how to cook." She giggled at the thought. "Apparently Hope, Uncle Rem's mom was the only one who had a knack for it in our family."
Michael chuckled softly, "I'm actually really good at cooking." He said. "I can teach you if you'd like."
Sarai smiled and nodded, "Please." She said before giggling again, "Though it might be a lost cause. Us Lupin's aren't exactly known for our culinary arts."
"It'll be our next date." Michael promised while sliding an arm underneath her head, causing her smile to widen. She snuggled in closer to him, while fighting the butterflies in her stomach.
"Deal."
The rest of the week was seeming to breeze by for Sarai, as she enjoyed the cheery mood she had from her date with Michael. He'd taken to walking her to her classes, after their shared ones together, and they'd often find time to meet in between classes themselves. Thursday evening, she had taken the evening after classes, however, to go visit Snuffles. She had spent the entire time, talking about Michael and how well their situationship was forming.
"And you better be nice to him, Snuffles." Sarai warned him, as she ran her hand through Snuffles fur. "He's been nothing but a downright gentleman, and has been keen on keeping you happy to." She said pointedly raising an eyebrow at her dog.
Snuffles let out a mix between a growl and a whine. He definitely wasn't a fan of anyone else getting Sarai's attention. "I'm serious." She said, earning a snort-like noise from him. "Play nice."
The weeks went by quickly, and the first Quidditch match since the start of the new term was played by Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Dean this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. Michael, was a bit more focused on quidditch, so she hardly got to see him outside of class. But when they saw each other, they made it count. Holding hands, and passing notes back and forth in class. Sarai could hardly keep the smile off of her face as she roamed through the the halls of the castle. Even Remus noticed his niece's unusually cheerful outlook in life, and decided to ask for himself. To confirm if the rumours were true. With giving extra lessons to Harry on dementors, and his lycanthropy affecting him more often than not, he'd hardly been able to spend time with her.
"So," Remus said, a mischievous smile on his face as he graded yet another endless stack of papers on his desk, "I heard from a little birdie, there's been a rumour or two about you and Mr. Corner, from Ravenclaw."
Sarai couldn't help the smile that formed on her face, as she turned the same shade of the red ink he was using to grade papers. She kept her eyes focused on the puzzle-box as she pretended to focus on unlocking its mechanism.
"Idunnowhatyou'retalkingabout." She mumbled quickly.
"Pardon?" Remus said unable to hold back the laugh the fell out. "Did you forget to breathe during that sentence?" He teased her lightly.
Sarai tried to scowl but it turned into a beam instead, "It's just been dates." She admitted sheepishly. "But I think I really like him."
Remus nodded approvingly, "He's a nice boy." He observed carefully, "Top marks, and a fair chaser too." Remus's love for quidditch shining through, "Unfortunate, that Gryffindor will beat him next match though." He chortled.
Sarai rolled her eyes at her Uncle's antics. "He might have a shot at beating us this match," She admitted to her uncle, "He's been practicing nonstop the past few weeks."
Remus smiled, as he pulled two bottles of butterbeer from his desk cupboard,
"Well cheers to this next interesting match."
--
The outcome of the match was definitely going to be interesting. News of Harry Potter receiving a firebolt for Christmas had spread like wildfire among the castle. And with his extra lessons on defense against the dementors, Sarai was very confident in Gryffindors ability to win the match.
Unfortunately, for her relationship, Michael seemingly became more and more stressed as he obsessed over the upcoming match. The morning of the match was no joke, as she sat with Dean and Seamus for breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Sarai watched the moment all the boys from the Gryffindor dormitory entered the Great Hall. It had appeared that they had deemed Harry and his Firebolt worth of a guard of honor. She gleefully had savoured the expressions of the Slytherin team who had all looked thunderstruck. A crowd had begun to form around Harry and the Gryffindor table, all of the other students from the castle wanting to take a closer look at the broomstick.
"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" A cold drawling voice called out.
Sarai lifted her head to see Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had arrived on the scene to take a closer look. She rolled her eyes before muttering,
"Anything must be easier to manage that that fat head rested on his neck."
Dean whom was sitting next to Sarai, sniggered at the comment, as they waited for Harry to respond.
"Yeah, reckon so," Said Harry casually.
"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" said Malfoy, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute -- in case you get too near a dementor."
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," said Harry. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."
Sarai choked on her orange juice, as the rest of the Gryffindor team laughed loudly.
"---Merlin's beard," Sarai exclaimed through coughs, "Blokes' got a sharper tongue than McGonagall!"
Dean patted her back firmly as she tried to clear her airways of any orange juice that had slipped down the wrong pipe.
Once she had finally recovered her breath, she looked up at the Ravenclaw table to see Michael staring at her puzzled. His eyes flitted from her, to the entryway of the Great Hall. She'd gotten the message. She stood up quietly, causing Seamus and Dean to both raise eyebrows at her.
"I'll see you lot at the match. Save me a seat will you?" She said, before glancing up at Michael. He had already been making his way down the Hall and towards the exit.
"Yeah, yeah," Seamus said waving her off, "Go wish your boyfriend good luck. He'll need it."
Sarai blused, but heeded his advice, as she turned on her heel to meet Michael in the corridor.
When she entered the corridor leading to the Great Hall, she spotted Michael further down sitting at a windowsill. He flashed her a nervous smile. His beautiful porcelain skin, had dark circles under his eyes, which reminded her a little too much of Remus, during a full-moon. As she quickly made her way over, he reached his arms out for a hug as a greeting.
"Today's the day," He said nervously, as he pulled back from her embrace.
Sarai gave him an encouraging smile as she sat down on the sill next to him, "You'll do great Michael, you always do." She said, giving his hand a light squeeze. Michael opened his hand up, allowing Sarai to interlace her fingers with his own. "Even Uncle Remus says you're a fair chaser." She added.
Despite her efforts, Michael didn't look convinced, as he stared down at his hands.
"There's no bloody way we can beat Potter and his Firebolt though." He said in a melancholy voice, "Also Davies and Burrow are much better chasers than I am." He mumbled the last statement quietly.
Sarai sat silently with Michael for a moment, before inhaling sharply. Michael snapped his head up at her, just in time for her to give him a quick peck on the cheek. She watched as Michael's face turned red, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks as well. A proper smile this time graced his features, and Sarai proudly said,
"There's more where that came from, when you win." She winked at him before firmly saying,
"So you better win."
"Yes Ma'am."
--