SECURE — CHAPTER 7
[ Just when Katie stepped back, Remus' stomach dropped, finally realizing that the extent of his feelings for the girl in front of him was no longer limited to friendship. ]
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In their conversation, they hadn't noticed Lily and Sirius walk back in. They were smiling, Sirius snorting as Lily playfully punched his arm.
"Do you see what I see or have I finally gone mad?" Katie turned to Remus before turning back to Lily and Sirius with wild eyes.
Remus shook his head. "Either we've both gone mad or that's actually happening."
"Why is that so off putting?"
Remus placed his chin on his propped up palm. "Maybe because the image of Lily dunking water on Sirius' head is forever the only thing that'll come to mind when I think of them."
"Well there's no water in sight." Katie's laugh echoed quietly. She turned to Remus, a twinkle in her eyes. "Remus, what are we doing?"
Remus grinned back at her. "Spying on our friends, Kate. Nothing new."
"Stop staring," Katie hissed suddenly. "If they're not yelling at each other, I'll take anything I can get."
When all she was met with is the grinning face of the guy in front of her, she narrowed her eyes. "Remus John Lupin do not dare interrupt whatever that is."
"Katherine Demelza Atherton Hart, why would I ever do such a thing?" He listed each part of her name on his fingers, looking smug.
Katie groaned, putting her head in her hands. "How do you even remember that?"
"Well, when I first heard your mother say it, I knew it would come in handy one day. So I made sure to never forget it. Just in case I would need it for situations like this."
Her head still buried in her hands, Katie's muffled words came out. "That was a rhetorical, you twit."
He ignored her insult, still grinning. "What's the meaning behind that fancy thing anyway," Remus asked bemused, a slight twinkle in his eye.
Katie slowly peeked an eye out, making Remus chuckle before removing her hands. "Demelza was my great grandmother I believe. Demelza Deighton. Mum always said that she was one of the fiercest and most stubborn women that had ever been produced from her line of blood. Atherton was my mum's last name."
Remus smiled. "Feisty and stubborn. Definitely see it. Was she short too?"
"Shove off, Remus." Katie attempted an angry face but can't help the corners of her mouth from quirking upwards. Instead she laid her head down on the table.
Remus leaned back in his chair. "Should we actually start working or have you become too lazy to look at books?"
"Too lazy," came Katie's muffled response.
Standing up, Remus dusted his pants slightly. "Alright, up." He pulled at her elbow, earning a disgruntled groan from Katie.
"Where're you two off to?" The voice made Katie perk up, suddenly sitting up straight. It was Lily.
"We've finished what we needed tonight. Figured we might as well head out," Remus said.
Katie stood up. "If you guys are done too, you can come," she added.
Lily sighed. "I would love to get this prat off of my hands but we haven't even chosen our curse yet."
"She's just kidding. She loves me," Sirius interjected, winking at Lily. She rolled her eyes in response.
Katie and Remus exchange looks, not saying a word.
"Well, then. Best of luck to you two."
They continue toward the door, spotting Peter and James. Both were still in conversation with their partner—James and Alice pouring over some books, Peter and Dorcas having a mildly heated conversation.
"Don't think they're quite finished yet. Should we do something about that?" Katie pointed toward Peter and Dorcas, eyebrows knit in worry.
Remus looked towards where her finger was pointing, shaking his head. "I don't think there's anything we can do about that. Unless you can convince Dorcas to forgive him. But that'd be highly unlikely."
Katie sighed. "Maybe Marlene could, but she's not too fond of Peter either."
Nodding in agreement, Remus walked on, out of the library doors, waving to James before leaving.
The two walked in a comfortable silence for a while, occasionally bumping hands.
Katie's gentle voice cut the silence. "What do you think James meant by creepy?"
"About Professor Tolbert?" Remus furrowed his eyebrows as Katie nods.
After a short while, Remus shrugged. "He probably didn't mean anything by it. Maybe he was just doing that thing that distanced people do when they meet new people."
Tilting her head upward, Katie caught Remus' eyes before he looked away. "And what's that?"
"They .. well they, they spend some time trying to see what the new person is like, trying to read their personality without having to get close to them."
Katie didn't say a word, merely mulling over what he said. A grimace began to form on her face as she began to realize that Remus' description was coming from his own experience.
"Remus?" Katie stopped walking, looking up at him again. Remus turned back to her, raising his eyebrow slightly, telling her to ask what she needed.
"Did you do that? When you first met James and I?" She noticed the way he tensed up and quickly revoked her words. "You know what? Never mind that. It's only the second day back. We should enjoy whatever freedom we have left before assignments pile up."
Remus nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts elsewhere. Katie knew very little about his childhood—he always refrained from telling her in fear that he might blurt out more than he meant to, accidentally hinting at his abnormality.
The familiar feeling of guilt settled in his stomach—that was until Katie suddenly grabbed a hold of his hand. A new feeling of nervousness replaced guilt as she beamed at him, tugging slightly on his hand.
"Let's head to the kitchens. Seems like we could both use a sweet."
He recognized the expression on her face; this was always her way of cheering him up. Jokes and something fun. He wasn't sure if she did it on purpose and he doesn't think she knew whether she did either.
"Come on then. We wouldn't want to be caught by Filch on the way back," he replied softly, smiling as she drags him by the hand to the kitchens.
Panting, they finally reached the portrait that led to the kitchens, tickling the pear.
"Misses Katie! Mister Lupin! Oh Buttons is so happy to see you two again!" An excited house elf ran up to them, bowing slightly.
Katie crouched down to get a better talking point to the small elf. "Buttons! How are you?" Remus stood behind her, smiling fondly at the interaction.
"Buttons has been very happy Miss. Buttons has been making all kinds of sweets for the students to try! What would Misses Katie want?"
Katie smiled at the house elf. "Could you make us something sweet?"
"Oh! Oh! Misses Katie! Buttons has just made a new chocolate cake. Buttons has called it lava cake. Would Misses Katie and Mister Lupin like to try?"
Katie looked back at Remus, a wide smile on her face. She tilted her head towards Buttons, telling him to answer. "Yes, Buttons. We'd love to try your new cake."
Buttons beamed at him before turning and disappearing into the crowded kitchen. Katie stood up, making her way to Remus' side. "He's absolutely adorable. I wish some of the house elves at home were as energetic as him," Katie sighs.
Remus chuckled. "We should get you a dog."
"Remus! That's a wonderful idea! Come with me to Diagon Alley next year and help me pick one out," Katie said enthusiastically, a sparkle in her eyes.
Remus chuckled again, turning his head to see Buttons making his way back, a plate in his hands. On it was a delicious looking chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on it.
"Buttons wow, that looks delicious," Katie smiled gratefully at the house elf, graciously taking the plate and setting it on the counter.
"It was a pleasure Misses Katie, Mister Lupin! Buttons hopes they enjoy!" Before they can thank him any further, Buttons is already gone, leaving Katie and Remus with the cake.
Katie took a fork, taking a piece of the cake. A glossy brown liquid came out of the center as she cut into it. Carefully placing the piece into her mouth, a large smile spreads over her face. "Remus, this is absolutely delicious you have to try it."
Katie handed him the fork, and he took a bite of his own, smiling as well. It takes very little time for the cake to slowly become consumed until only one spoonful was left, as well as some ice cream on top.
"I'm feeding you this one because you took us down here. Feel like maybe you deserve something for being the best friend a Remus could ever have."
One corner of her mouth shyly quirked upward as she looked up at him. She opened her mouth so Remus could put the chocolate cake in her mouth. "This was definitely worth it. I might've just found my new favorite dessert."
Remus noticed a stray bit of ice cream near her top lip, reaching out to wipe it off before he could stop himself.
Katie sucked in a breath as her mouth suddenly went dry, both of them locking eyes. Remus felt it again, the weird feeling he got the night before that only heightened in intensity as she smiled softly at him.
Just when Katie stepped back, Remus' stomach dropped, finally realizing that the extent of his feelings for the girl in front of him was no longer limited to friendship.
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an; dorlene is canon in this bc they are girlfriends just wanted to say that since it's hard to write scenes of kate and them since they aren't close 😔 ,, if you blinked you probably missed the dorlene crumbs i'm sorry dorlene warriors