"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
I rolled my eyes at the concerned look Remus shot me.
"I'm fine, Moony! Madam Pomfrey said I just had to rest-"
"Maybe we should go back to the Common Room, the-"
"The library is fine," I said, a sense of finality in my voice that I hoped would shut him up. The two of us were seated at a table in the library working on our Charms project, but Remus insisted on asking me about my post-concussion side effects every couple of minutes. "It's very... restful," I smirked, and Remus let out a small laugh. He was in a bit of a strange mood today. I'd noticed he wasn't only irritable on the full moon, but sometimes different phases of the moon would play with his emotions. Today he was showing little feeling other than the concern he'd shown before. A flat day. A group of students bustled in, snickering, and I rolled my eyes again.
"Remus, pass the book on summoning charms, will you? I can't seem to find anything on this question." I held my hand out for the book, not shifting my gaze from the hastily scribbled notes I had made a few classes ago. After a few moments of waiting, I looked up. "Are you listening to m-"
My eyes widened slightly at the small crowd of people standing in front of our table. A couple of tall and broad Slytherin boys- Yaxley and Dolohov- with another few girls behind them, one of which I recognised as Bellatrix Black. They were all sniggering lightly as Dolohov flicked casually through the book I had just been asking for.
"Having a little romantic study session, are we?" I sighed, turning back to the work. I'll just skip to the next question.
"Piss off, Dolohov," Remus snapped. I shot him a look that clearly told him to leave it alone.
"No need to be so rude, Lupin," Yaxley smirked, folding his arms across his chest. He flicked his head over his shoulder towards Bellatrix. "I thought she was into your cousin, Bella, not this one."
Bellatrix sneered. "Like I would know. I don't associate with blood traitors like him." The group sniggered, and I rolled my eyes again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that today.
"Is there something you want? I am trying to work, you know." Bellatrix sneered at me again, but before she could say anything, Dolohov spoke up again.
"No, Black may be a traitor, but he's still Pureblood. He's too good for her." I glared at him, digging my nails into my palms. Don't let them get to you. Don't let them get to you. "She's far better suited to a halfblood. Although, Andrews, aren't both your parents mudbloods?" I opened my mouth to say something, anger coursing through me in a sudden rush. Both my parents were Muggleborn, but they weren't... that. Before I could act, Remus slammed his hands down onto the table, getting to his feet. I laid a hand on his arm in surprise. I didn't want to cause a scene.
"Remus," I warned, but he shook me off.
"Back off," he growled. I kept my hand on his arm defiantly. I wasn't going to let him get into a fight because for me. Dolohov took a step forward, the smirk on his face showing his delight at Remus' reaction.
"I would've thought even a halfblood like you could settle for better than a mudblood like her." That was it. My hand jumped to my wand, but not before Remus' arm swung back, and his fist made direct contact with Dolohov's face. The Slytherin boy stumbled back, landing on his behind and sending all the Slytherins hurrying off before Madam Pince made an appearance.
Remus lowered himself back into his seat, fuming. I stared at him with my jaw agape.
"You... you punched him."
"Yep," he growled, tapping his fingers on the table rapidly.
"You shouldn't have punched him," I reprimanded.
"He shouldn't have called you a mudblood." I smiled, laughing slightly.
"You're crazy," I shook my head, resting my head on his shoulder, "but thank you." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, holding me close to him until Madam Pince poked her head around the corner and we hurriedly returned to our work. I smiled slightly to myself at the light blush creeping up his cheeks.
---
It seemed only fitting after the incident in the library that there was to be a Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch game the next day. Remus and I had both been on edge, seeing as Remus had severely broken a school rule, but we assumed Dolohov had been too scared to rat on us since McGonagall made no appearance. So, Lily and I arranged to meet Peter and Remus in the Common Room just before the game started, to go and find the seats that Marlene, Alice and Olivia had promised to save for us.
"Hello!" I grinned excitedly at the two boys waiting for us. "Am I supportive enough?" I spun around, and the other three laughed as they took in my Gryffindor scarf, beanie, gloves (courtesy of Remus), jumper, and face paint.
"At least the gloves are being put to use," Remus smiled and I jumped up into my toes to mess up his hair with my gloved hand. He yelled and batted my hands away. "I take it back! I wish I'd never bought you those damn thi-"
"Let's go, you two," Lily nudged my arm and I giggled as we walked out into the corridor, watching Remus pull a red beanie over his hair. I bounced in excitement as we strolled through the chilly weather to the Quidditch pitch. I know I said I hated the sport, but I was excited to see James and Sirius play and to know what all the fuss about them was really about. I hadn't been to a game in... a while. We filed into the Gryffindor section of the crowd, spotting the other three girls waving violently to us from the very front of front row seats. I grinned, hurrying down to them and hugging each in turn.
"Are you excited?" I called over the bubbling crowd. A few people from both opposing houses had begun changing war cries and cheers.
"Of course!" Olivia shouted back, grinning, and began to join in with the cheering Gryffindors anticipating the start of the game. Before I knew it, the two teams appeared on the grass below, striding towards each other. I spotted James and Sirius in the small group and cheered wildly. James raised his hand in a wave in our direction, and Sirius raised his fingers to his temple in a sort of salute with a wide grin. With the blow of a whistle, the teams swung their legs over their brooms and kicked off the ground.
The game was incredible. With front row seats, we saw everything that went on, and often had the players flying by so close and so fast my scarf whipped the face of the poor second-year girl behind me. James and Sirius flew by too; I think Sirius flew by a few more times than necessary just to see the surprised looks on our faces.
"The score remains at 50-180, to Slytherin." I bit down on my thumbnail. Our seeker needed to catch the Snitch now, or we needed to score a few more goals very quickly. "The ball is intercepted by Potter and passed to Dawes- this could be another much-needed goal for Gryffindor-" The crowd froze in anticipation. "- and it's intercepted by the Slytherin chasers. Better luck next time." I let out a groan of frustration as the Quaffle was thrown from green-clad player to player and flew straight through the unguarded ring, scoring them another goal. 50-190. One more goal to Slytherin and catching the Snitch would be pointless. Come on, come on, come on.
My eyes trailed up to the Gryffindor Seeker hovering mid-air. She was a small, lean girl, meaning she was fast. She adjusted her tight ponytail with one hand, her eyes scanning the pitch patiently. Then, she froze, both hands gripping the handle of her broom tightly and dipping into a dive straight towards the ground.
"She's seen it!" Lily shouted from next to me as the commentator announced the same thing. "She's seen the Snitch!" The Gryffindors around me cheered louder and louder as she neared the ground, all of us trying to focus on the golden blur racing away from her. She reached out, and leaning forward, scraped the grass with the handle of her broom...
At the last moment, she pulled up and shot back into the sky. All eyes were on her; the rest of the players had stopped to watch, and the crowd was paying attention to nothing else. She steadied her broom, and shot her hand into the sky, a small golden ball fluttering feebly. We won.
I vaguely remember the commentator screaming out our victory as the scarlet-clad people around me erupted in cheers, shaking me around as they raised their arms and pumped their fists in the air. I let out a shout, watching James and the team captain hoist the beaming Seeker onto their shoulders, the rest of the team crowding around her. More of the house began pouring out onto the field, running towards the exhausted and gleeful team. I sprinted down the wooden stairs nearby, running across the grassy field towards the dark-haired boy on the edge of the crowd. He turned and grinned when he saw me, his hair messy from the wind, and when I reached him I threw my arms around him, still screaming.
"You won, you won! We won! I can't believe we won!"
"It's not that unbelievable," he chuckled, pulling away, but I shook my head.
"You played horribly! I thought we were going to lose, but we didn't! We won! We actually won!" He shook his head, laughing and hugged me again, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around. The others caught up to us, and I threw myself onto Lily, both of us screaming and cheering in the mess of red and gold. We followed the entirety of Gryffindor up the castle, chanting a jumble of war cries and the name of our legendary Seeker, all the while grinning like idiots.
---
A few hours later, I sat on the edge of the Common Room with an empty Butterbeer in hand, watching as the Seeker- Simone, her name was- relayed the story yet again to a group of very interested boys and a few excited first-years. A loud laugh exploded from the other side of the room, as Lily beat James at wizard chess for the third time; he'd bet he could beat her earlier, and something told me they'd both had a few too many Butterbeers. First, because James thought it was a good idea to challenge Lily at chess (she's rather good and very competitive) and because Lily actually agreed, and wasn't hurrying the younger students off to bed. Remus was wrapped in a red and gold banner, standing on a table and talking animatedly to Olivia, Peter, and Alice and occasionally glancing at the portrait hole in case McGonagall made her way over from the staff quarters. Sirius was nowhere in sight. I had gone to the bathroom a moment before, needing a break from the festivities and the crowded room, and was satisfied just watching for now. It seemed as though I wasn't going to be allowed that satisfaction, however.
"Butterbeer?" Sirius asked, offering a bottle to me. He was wearing a leather jacket over his Quidditch jersey. Somehow, he made it work. I raised an eyebrow.
"It's firewhiskey, isn't it?"
"You know me too well," he grinned, sitting down next to me. I took the bottle anyway, taking a sip and wincing slightly. I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
"Well done today," I smiled. "I know I said you were awful-"
"Admittedly, we kind of were."
"-but you played well. You all did, and..." I bit my lip to hide my smile, and he gasped in anticipation. "...Quidditch may not be so bad after all."
"Yes! We have progress!" he shouted, slapping me on the back. I snorted and took another sip of firewhiskey. It immediately made my head hurt, so I put it down. I looked up at him and found his grey eyes staring straight back. He seemed to be thinking through something.
"I'm sorry for the other day," he said after a moment. It took me a moment to realise what he was talking about.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault," I waved him off.
"Yeah, it was actually," he chuckled slightly.
"Okay, it was, but it's alright. I forgive you."
"Yeah?" He ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah," I smiled.
"Good," he grinned, showing his perfectly straight white teeth. "The guilt has been eating away at my soul," he sighed dramatically. I laughed, shaking my head. "I didn't think I'd be able to survive without your eternal forgiveness!" I shushed him as people began to look over at us.
"Shut up, you," I laughed, shoving his leather-clad arm.
"Make me, Violet Andrews," he smirked, shoving me back and almost spilling his drink.
I decided to make a list. I called it the List of Inevitable Change. One, because change is inevitable. Two, because I'm losing count of how many things are changing at the moment. Today, I added a few more changes to the list.
• My views on Quidditch (that Quidditch is actually very entertaining and I'm starting to love it more than I am willing to allow).
• The Marauders' friend status (Lily may have to share the title of 'best friend' from now on because I have a few more people trying to fit into that spot).
• My opinion on Sirius Black (again).
Because in that moment I would've quite liked to have kissed him again.
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Hello friends! Sorry for an update delay...
It's my birthday tomorrow!! Woohoo!
- signing off -
fruity44