#sub hogwarts

Professor Binns droned on endlessly about goblin wars. Or was it giant wars? You'd stopped listening ages ago, and judging by the glazed expressions around the classroom, so had basically everyone else. Gryffindors shared History of Magic with the Ravenclaws, and for all their erudite, none of them were paying attention, either.

The only exceptions were Lily and Remus. This was convenient for you because Lily was one of your best friends, and while she heavily disapproved of your complete lack of academic focus during class, she always helped you figure things out once exam season rolled around.

So really, you weren't too concerned.

Sirius, your desk mate, had initiated a game of hangman to keep the two of you entertained. James, stuck behind him and offended at being excluded, resorted to repeatedly kicking Sirius's chair. This distracted Sirius from the game, who retaliated by folding the hangman paper into a projectile and launching it at his best friend. Within seconds, the two of them had started their own miniature war—maybe Binns could lecture about that instead.

Bored again, you let your gaze drift around the classroom. Most students were asleep, some were secretly finishing homework for other classes. Other people were whispering quietly to each other.

Then, your eyes landed on Remus. He sat upright, completely focused on the lecture, scribbling neat notes as though what Binns was discussing was genuinely fascinating. His tongue peeked out slightly in concentration. He wrote with his left hand, you noticed. You couldn't make out his handwriting from where you sat, but from the elegant movement of his wrist and the long strikes of his pen, you figured it was pretty.

His hand was pretty, too, you thought to yourself. Long fingers, slim and deft, faintly scarred—you knew he was a werewolf, being quite close to his friends who were absolutely not subtle.

For a brief, dangerous moment, you wondered what else his fingers could do. A smirk tugged at your mouth before you quickly shook the thought away.

Lily, sitting next to him, looked up from her notes and caught your expression immediately. One eyebrow lifted in silent judgment at your obvious lack of attention. Then, she wiggled her brows knowingly, hinting she’d caught you staring at Remus.

Truthfully, you did that a lot. And she had noticed it a lot. Lily could be way too perceptive sometimes, seriously.

You stuck your tongue out at her, earning an eye roll before she turned back to her parchment.

The second class finally ended, you let out a loud sigh of relief. You packed your things in record time and made your way over to Lily, already knowing exactly what she was about to say before she even opened her mouth.

“You need to pay more attention in class,” you said in an exaggerated imitation of her voice at the exact same moment she said it normally.

Lily rolled her eyes, though there was no real annoyance behind it. "Seriously, it’s NEWT year. Exams are in a month."

"A very long month, Lily," you argued. "You’re being a bit dramatic with your sense of time there."

She shrugged. "Better safe than sorry."

"Fine," you sighed dramatically, "I concede. Tonight, I will catch up on History of Magic."

"Really?" Lily turned fully toward you, suspicion written all over her face. "You're studying History tonight? Voluntarily? Alone?"

"Well..." You dragged the word out, shooting her a pointed look. "I was kind of, maybe, perhaps, slightly hoping you'd take pity on me and turn it into more of a tutoring situation."

Lily smiled, almost sadly, as if she really wished she could study that evening, before she said, "I promised Marlene I'd help her with the Charms essay tonight."

You sighed, this time less theatrically. Lily really had no obligation to help you fix your own academic failures. "No problem, Lils. Maybe if I struggle through it myself, the information will actually stay in my brain?"

"Or..." Lily said slowly, eyebrows wiggling suggestively again, "you could ask Remus to help you."

Immediately, you scoffed. "Yes, and have him realise what a hopeless idiot I am? No, thanks."

"He wouldn't think you're hopeless," Lily replied softly. "First of all, you are not an idiot. Just a procrastinator with the attention span of a goldfish. He's already friends with two of those." She paused meaningfully. "Second of all, I know you fancy him."

Heat rushed to your face. "I do not."

"You do."

"I really don't."

"You're in looove," Lily sang, skipping backward down the corridor.

"Am not!" You called after her. You heard a singy "are too!" before she dissappeared in the next corridor, to her Ancient Runes class.

You shook your head, scoffing slightly but unable to stop a smile from tugging at your mouth, before heading off toward Alchemy.

Later that evening, Lily’s words kept circling around your head while you sat in the Gryffindor common room, your textbook spread open on the small couch table beside the notes she’d lent you. Should you ask Remus for help?

Lily had definitely exaggerated by saying you were in love with him—seriously, you barely knew him—but you couldn't deny you might fancy him a tiny bit. Studying together would give you an excuse to actually talk to him without sounding ridiculous.

Apparently, the decision had already been made for you. The portrait hole swung open and Lily climbed through, Remus right behind her. The second she spotted you, her face lit up with entirely too much satisfaction. She shoved Remus lightly towards your table, shot you a sly wink, and disappeared in the girls’ dormitories.

Remus shuffled closer, awkwardly, like everything he did, hands shoved into his pockets. You looked up at him expectantly.

"Uh—" he started quietly, glancing toward the staircase Lily had vanished up, "Lily, she said you wanted help on History of Magic?" he sounded unsure, as if you were going to send him away, or maybe laugh at him and tell him he'd been mistaken.

You mentally cursed Lily, giving Remus a warm, inviting smile. "Yeah! I’m terrible at paying attention in that class, and you always seem like you know exactly what he's talking about."

You shrugged a little helplessly, silently asking if he’d mind helping. Remus nodded immediately. "Sure, I can help, if you want."

He stayed standing there awkwardly for another second until you patted the empty spot beside you on the sofa. He took the hint to sit down, knees brushing the edge of the table.

"Where are you up to in the course material?" Remus questioned softly. You answered, flipping to the chapter on the witch hunts.

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "Oh." he said. "That's... not very far."

The moment the words left his mouth, horror crossed his face.

"I mean, not that that’s bad," he added quickly. "Or unusual. Well, maybe a little unusual, but- but not in a bad way! At least you’ve started?"

He somehow managed to turn the last sentence into a question, unsure whether he was recovering or making things worse for himself. Luckily, you just snorted at him.

"Relax, Remus. I'm not offended. If anything, now you understand why I need tutoring."

A laugh escaped him then, quiet and warm.

"Well," he said, visibly relaxing, "James and Sirius haven’t even opened their textbooks yet, and they’ll probably still pass with flying colors. You’re already ahead of them, you'll probably be fine."

You smiled warmly at him, and something suspiciously like butterflies stirred in your stomach at his words.

Not long after, the two of you settled into an easy rhythm. You’d explain the bits you thought you understood, usually losing the thread halfway through, and Remus would gently fill in the gaps without making you feel stupid for missing them in the first place.

Somehow, hours slipped by unnoticed.

By the time you glanced at the clock again, midnight had already come and gone, and the two of you were still hunched over parchment and textbooks, having long since moved on from witch hunts to the origins of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

You quickly discovered that Remus was very easy to talk to. You’d spoken to him before, of course—small conversations in passing, questions about where Sirius or Lily had disappeared to, complaints about homework, comments about the next Hogsmeade weekend—but this was different.

Now, the conversation wandered naturally between topics whenever your studying lost momentum. One minute you were discussing magical treaties, the next you were telling him about your favorite Muggle album. You’d been surprised when he immediately recognized it.

"I didn’t know you listened to Muggle music," you admitted.

Remus shrugged lightly, smiling a little. "My mum’s a Muggle."

Something softened in his expression as he continued, "Though honestly, my dad's the one responsible for my music taste. He's obsessed with records."

When he'd dissappeared upstairs at some point to retrieve snacks, you found out Remus was a chocolate lover. Big time. He returned with an absurd amount of chocolate in his arms. Plain chocolate, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with hazelnuts, chocolate with toffee—honestly, it looked less like snack time and more like he'd raided Honeydukes in preparation for a natural disaster.

You stared at the pile in disbelief. "Remus."

"What?"

"You have a problem."

He looked genuinely offended. "Chocolate is not a problem."

"You brought six different kinds."

"That's called variety."

You laughed, expecting him to duck his head shyly the way he usually did when teased. Instead, he simply unwrapped one of the bars with complete confidence, clearly far too devoted to chocolate to feel embarrassed about it.

It probably helped that he'd gained some confidence in talking to you since the beginning of the study session, relaxing as you spent more time together. Now, sitting beside you in the dim glow of the common room fire, he looked comfortable.

Comfortable with you.

The realization sent another wave of warmth fluttering through your chest.

As the clock crept toward one in the morning, the two of you finally decided to call it a night. Even without classes the next day—a Saturday, thankfully—you were both exhausted, and after several hours of History of Magic, even Remus looked thoroughly sick of it.

Silently, too exhausted to keep up the conversation, Remus and you packed up your things before heading toward the dormitories.

At the split between your staircases, you paused.

"G'night, Remus," you said softly, offering him a tired smile.

He returned it instantly, something almost shy flickering across his face again. "Goodnight."

Then, you stumbled upstairs and collapsed face-first onto your bed, asleep within seconds.

After that, it somehow became a routine. To your surprise, Remus had initiated your next study session. Then another followed. And another one after that.

Apart from the obvious academic improvement (you were no longer catastrophically behind on History of Magic), you also felt yourself growing closer to him.

Eventually, the two of you started spending time together outside of studying too. Once, Remus joined Lily and you in Hogsmeade as you made your ways to the Three Broomsticks, where they spent most of the afternoon making fun of your inability to drink butterbeer without getting foam on your nose.

Another time, you'd been pestering Sirius relentlessly about their 'Marauders Map' when Remus wandered into the dormitory. Sirius, dramatic as ever, had immediately declared the explanation "too complicated" and abandoned you entirely. Remus had stayed, though, patiently walking you through how the map worked and answering every single one of your questions.

Merlin, he was smart.

Your tiny crush strengthened every time he laughed at one of your jokes, every time he absentmindedly handed you chocolate during study sessions, every time he looked at you like he genuinely wanted to hear whatever nonsense you were about to say.

Eventually, it became impossible to ignore.

One evening, during yet another late-night study session—or rather, tutoring session, considering you still didn't pay attention in Binns' class—Remus was explaining Goblin rebellions to you for what felt like the fifth time. Frankly, your focus had once again abandoned you completely, so at this point, maybe Professor Binns wasn't the problem.

Remus paused mid-sentence after realizing you hadn't responded in a while. When he looked up, he found you staring blankly into space, completely zoned out.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he snapped his fingers lightly in front of your face.

You blinked hard. "Oh, Remus. Sorry. I was just…"

"Not paying attention?" he offered, amused.

You groaned, dropping your forehead dramatically against the table. "I swear I'm trying."

He laughed softly. "I believe you."

After a short pause, he suggested, "We could do something else, if you want. Save goblin rebellions for when you're less tired." His lips twitched slightly. "Or less bored."

"Yeah," you said distractedly, your gaze lingering on his lips without meaning to. Truthfully, you had been thinking about Remus while you were zoned out. Somewhere during his explanation, your attention had drifted entirely to him instead. Seeing him in his element, talking passionately about goblin rebellions, of all topics—seriously, who was interested in that?—had you imagining him under you, unable to bring out any coherent thought, brain leaking from his cock as you rode him.

When this happened, you always felt bad; Remus was so cute and so sweet as he helped you out. But then again, that's exactly what inspired these kinds of thoughts in the first place, so really, whose fault was it?

You only realized you were still staring when Remus cleared his throat quietly. His cheeks had turned faintly pink under your attention, and at his shy demeanor, you felt a flicker of boldness spark in your chest.

"You know," you said slowly, raising an eyebrow as you turned fully toward him, your knees brushing his beneath the table, "I've got something else in mind we can do, if you want to take a break."

This was either going to break your friendship or turn it into something more. For one terrifying second, you wondered if you'd just ruined everything between you.

"Wh- what do you mean?" Remus asked, voice almost a whisper, visibly flustered, as the blush on his cheeks deepened. The common room was almost completely silent around you, the fire crackling softly somewhere behind him.

You smiled and he seemed to shrink under your gaze. You leaned in slightly, lowering your voice, "I think you know what I mean."

His breath caught softly as you leaned even closer so your noses practically touched, until there was barely any space left between you and you could feel the warmth radiating from his skin.

"Remus," you murmured, "do you want me to kiss you?"

His eyes widened. "D- do you want to?"

"Yes," you answered simply, and for a moment, he just stared at you. Then, he nodded in response. You closed the remaining distance carefully, your lips meeting his in a soft, tentative kiss. Remus made a quiet, surprised sound before relaxing into it, his nervousness melting away little by little as he kissed you back. Your lips moulded together as you slotted one of your legs in between his.

When you finally pulled away, the two of you stayed close enough that your breaths still mingled between you. Remus' eyes remained shut for a second longer, as though he was trying to process what had just happened.

You smiled at the sight before leaning in to kiss him again, unable to help yourself.

This time, he answered with more vigor, jaw nudging forward almost desperately. Cute, you thought to yourself, smiling against his lips.

Remus' hands settled on your hips as you shifted closer, letting him pull you into his lap. A quiet groan escaped him at the friction of you simply sitting on him.

You pulled back just enough to murmur against his lips, "Shhh, Remus. We don't want anyone coming down here and finding us like this, do we?"

He shook his head immediately, eyes glazed over as he tried to recapture your lips. You dodged him at the last second just to tease him, laughing softly at the look on his face.

Without either of you realizing, a tent had formed in Remus' pants. When you softly grinded on him, providing just the softest bit of friction, Remus tipped his head back for a moment, breathing unevenly, clearly overwhelmed already. The room felt impossibly warm.

You grinned. "Does it feel good?"

His ears turned pink as he gasped out, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to—"

"What?" You cut in, a teasing lilt to your voice. "You didn't mean to get hard just from a few kisses?"

His blush deepened at the embarrassment he felt, but there was no denying the jump of his cock under you, hopelessly fond of you and everything you said.

Suddenly, his expression softened as he whispered your name quietly, almost shyly. "I really like you."

You heart just about melted. "I really like you, too, Remus," you replied, smiling softly.

Remus grinned at that, finally regaining some of his confidence as he kissed you again, softer this time but no less eager, and you melted into him easily. You continued to shift back and forth on his clothed cock. Breathless sighs escaped his mouth as you broke apart once again, eyes shut tightly. You couldn't help panting, either, the stimulation on your clit making you dizzy.

You were lucky the common room had emptied out hours ago. A mischievous smile crept up your face as a devious idea formed in your mind.

"Remus," you murmered softly, fingers slipping through his soft locks as you continued the stimulation on his dick, "Do you think you could come like this?"

Remus' eyes snapped open immediately, a stutter tearing through his breathing. "Wh—what?" His voice jumped higher by just an octave, clearly taken off guard.

"I think you could," you continued, taking note of the twitching of his cock as you spoke. "And I think you'd like it."

Remus threw his head back, not daring to look at the dangerous glint in your eyes. A quiet moan escaped him, high and trembling, as he shifted his hips to match your rhythm.

"I—I'm—" he stammered, eyes opening again as you tugged his hair.

"You're what, Remy? Talk to me," you asked with a grin, continuously grinding against his cock. You felt his precum through his pants, mixing with your own wetness seeping through your underwear. "Are you going to come?"

Remus nodded hurriedly, taking note of the mocking tone in your voice but too out of it to care if he came across as desperate, clinging to your waist like you were the only thing grounding him.

"Yes, yes, I'm gonna—please—" his voice broke, and you took pity on him just a little, brushing kisses all across his pretty jaw and cheek while your nails scratched lightly across his scalp. Remus let out a shaky gasp, eyes widening slightly at the attention.

His hands tightened on your hips instinctively, pulling you against him with force—had he always been this strong?—as he let out a loud, wanton moan. You laughed quietly, covering his mouth with your hand before he got too loud, pushing his head against the sofa as he reached his high.

You stopped grinding as Remus held your hips in place, eyes shut tightly as he cried out under your palm. His hips bucked against you in short spurts as he soiled his underwear with his cum. He rode out his orgasm, and you let him, staying still in place as he used you to stimulate his cock.

When it finally subdued, Remus sagged back against the couch, completely dazed.

"Had fun?" you teased.

Remus looked up at you, eyes still slightly unfocused, mouth parted. "Did you, you know..."

He trailed off awkwardly. You knew what he meant, though.

You shook your head. "Nope. But it's okay. Maybe you can repay me in another way."

At the confident smirk on your face, Remus perked up, becoming alert again. "Sure, I can—I mean, I've never done that before, but, but I can try, and you can teach me—"

As he clambered to a more comfortable position, with every intention to try and please you, you laughed softly. Pushing him back slightly, you answered, "Remus, I'm not getting undressed in the middle of the common room. Maybe you can repay me some other time, if we manage to find an empty bedroom for once."

Remus let out a breath, realisation settling in. "Right. Yeah, that makes sense."

You smiled, climbing to your feet and tugging him up with you. "Come on," you said. "We should probably get ourselves together before someone finds us."

He nodded, then hesitated before stopping you.

"What, uh, what exactly does this mean?" Remus asked quietly. "For... for us?"

You smiled at him softly. "Well, considering I like you, and you like me, and I just made you come in your pants, I was hoping you're not completely opposed to the idea of a relationship with me?"

"Yeah?" Remus exclaimed, almost in disbelief, before he ducked his head slightly, lowering his voice. "I mean, yeah, I'd like that."

Then his expression faltered a little.

"But you should know," he continued carefully, "I'm not exactly easy to be with. There's still a lot you don't know about me."

"Like you being a werewolf?" you tilted your head, aware of the bomb you'd just dropped.

Remus went completely still.

"What?" he sputtered, genuine panic crossing his face. "Who told you?"

"Shh, Remus, let me explain," you said quickly. "Nobody told me. James and Sirius are about as subtle as fireworks, and I've always paid very close attention to you anyway, so I figured it out myself." You raised a hand before he could interrupt, "Before you start worrying—I don't care."

Remus stared at you, stunned.

"I like you for who you are, and the fact that you transform into a howling beast every month doesn't change that," you continued. "If anything, it just makes me worry for you, because none of it is your fault and I don't want to see you in pain."

Remus was quiet for a moment, dazed at your blunt explanation. Then, he asked very quietly, "Do you really mean that?"

You rolled your eyes affectionately. "No, I completely lied to you just for the fun of it."

Despite himself, Remus snorted.

"Of course I mean that, Remus," you said, more softly. "You're a wonderful person, one of the kindest people I know. Nothing about this changes that."

You flushed suddenly, realising just how rawfully honest you were being with your feelings for him. But when you looked back at him and saw the disbelief and emotion written so clearly across his expression, you knew it was worth it.

Remus reached for you then, pulling you closer before pressing a quick, almost hesitant kiss to your lips. "I think I'm in love with you," he admitted quietly, almost unintentionally.

Your heart skipped embarrassingly hard, before you grinned, nudging him toward the stairs. "Sleep it off."

The next morning, you were at breakfast unusually early, still unable to stop smiling into your tea. Lily had only joined you at the table for about three minutes before she made a comment on it.

"You look happy," she observed, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing," you shrugged innocently, taking another bite of toast. Then your grin widened. "Apart from Remus and me kissing."

"WHAT?"