PROMPT: you and remus both like each other, but youâre too scared to admit it to one another, Soon enough, youâre forced to confront your feelings once and for all. no warnings.
âRemus will like the one on the leftâLily calls from across the Gryffindor seventh year girlâs dormitory. Thereâs to be a party tonight, held in the forbidden forest after curfew by a Ravenclaw student who neither you, or your red-headed friend, are familiar with. The pair of you had been invited by none other than James Potter - your best friendâs pining boyfriend - and with the end of your time at Hogwarts closing in fast, nobody is prepared to miss out on the nightâs rule breaking celebrations, least of all your friends.
You sigh, knitting your brows together with an expression of annoyance - it makes Lily laugh, though this only further adds to your frustration as you stare hopelessly between two of the outfits youâve picked out as potential candidates for the evening. âIâm not trying to impress Remus, Evans. He doesnât like me that way, and iâll probably never see him again once we leave school. Thereâs hardly any point in getting my hopes upâyour words taste sour on your tongue, but you know theyâre true, and that youâve got to be harsh on yourself now to avoid embarrassment later. Remus is bookish and quiet, but heâs quick lipped when he needs to be, and just as troublesome as James Potter, and Sirius Black (only, he is much better at getting away with it). There isnât a reason in the world why heâd choose to like you. Besides, if he did like you, youâd know by now - what with his loud mouthed friend group.
Lily lowers her gaze, clasping a small gold pendant around her neck as she edges quietly toward your bed, frowning slightly at your fallen expression âdonât say that, why wouldnât he like you?â. Her words do nothing to console you, sheâs got to say that - thatâs what best friendâs are for, after all - but her sudden presence at your bedside pushes you into some sort of movement, youâve been staring stupidly at your outfit options for the night for far too long now, and with a single drop of your hand, one falls to your bed, the other remaining at your side. âitâll doâyou speak quietly, forcing a smile to show that you arenât completely pathetic âiâll meet you and the others in the common room in five minutesâ. The rest of the dormitory is empty other than you once Lily leaves, Dorcas and Marlene, and your other roommates have already gone on ahead of you and the boys, and it leaves you completely alone to shake off the unwelcome thoughts of Remus Lupin.
Though they return soon enough, a mere half hour later when Lily leaves you alone in the midst of the forest get together, a bottle of fire whiskey clutched in your hands. A group of Slytherinâs had banded together to sneak five crates from the stock room of the Three Broomsticks last weekend, especially for tonight, and a particularly popular Ravenclaw girl has somehow used her notable charms talent to allow music to waver on throughout the bustles of seventh year pupils. Itâs all so grand, and you know that you should be enjoying it with your friends, but thereâs a thought glued to your mind that never seems to leave, and his name is Remus Lupin. You seem to catch him everywhere you look, over by a shady tree talking to Peter Pettigrew, collecting a fresh bottle of butterbeer from one of the smaller crates brought by Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows, dancing with Frank Longbottom and his new girlfriend, one of your own friends, Alice Fortescue.
For a moment, you ponder joining a group of Gryffindor girls that youâve known since first year in their circle of shrieked laughter, but then with a fuzzy afterthought, decide against it. Your head is aching, and your vision is going blurry. You wouldnât call yourself a light weight by any means, but glancing down at the bottle in your hands, it slips your mind just how many youâve managed to have since arriving. Fire whiskey is strong, two alone would be enough to knock you flat, and youâve got an idea that you may just have passed that unknowingly in your wallowing gloom for a boy who doesnât like you back. Trouble is an understatement, youâll be on the floor soon enough if you arenât careful, but thereâs nobody to stop you, and your mind has already blurred the line between whatâs good for you and whatâs bad, so you neck the remainder of the fiery liquid and wince at the burn that travels down your throat. Itâs time for you to actually have fun, no more Remus Lupin.
It all seems like a good idea, and for a while it is, just you and hazy faces you canât quite distinguish from one another. You think you find Lily at one point, dancing with her, though it ends up being a quiet girl from Hufflepuff, who leaves you a few moments later, a look of concern clear on her expression. It seems you arenât exactly blending into the party well, not that it matters to you by this point, swaying along to the music until, all of a sudden, you feel a throb at your temples, and an acidic burning in your throat. Thatâs when your feet stop, and you suddenly pause to rethink everything leading up until now, only with little capability of doing so in your drunken manner. You feel hot bile burn, and then you slump over toward the ground and release the contents of your stomach into a pile of leaves.Â
You donât have any time to think about the repercussions of your abrupt and unpleasant actions, because before you can even lift your head, a nearby shoe steps forward, and a hand pulls gently at your shoulder to turn you, helping you rest up against a tree trunk. ây/n?âthe voice that calls your name is quiet and tender, and almost soothing as you open your eyes and rub the cusp of your palm against your cheek with a discontent groan, though you fall silent when your eyes finally focus in on the soft spoken student, a sloppy grin breaking out across your lips as you slip further into drunken obliviousness âRemus!âyou shout it a little too loudly, and some nearby pupils glance over to you with judging stares. Remus notices this, and shifts, propping himself onto his knees to reach your level more comfortably, nodding with a gentle shushing sound âits meâhe confirms, humouring your childlike display âyouâre absolutely pissed, come on, get upâhe raises his eyebrows, still smiling, voice tentative as he attempts to pull you to your feet.Â
He holds onto both of your hands, stepping up to his own feet as he tries to keep you steady, much to your excitement âare we going on a walk?âyou ask, eyes lighting up âi think thatâs a good ideaâyou slur your words, tone pitchy and unbalanced as you finally manage to rise up, stumbling, but not particularly taking note of this as Remus puts in the effort to catch hold of your arms when you threaten to topple straight back to the ground. âiâve always wanted to go on a walk with you, Remusâyou sing out, loudly, uncaring about who hears âbut you donât like walking with meâyour lip curls up at that, eyebrows furrowing animatedly âwhy donât you want to walk with me?â
Your senseless rambling makes Remus laugh quietly as he leads you out of the bustling clearing, and back toward the castle, nodding along to all the rubbish you manage to pull from your mind. âYâknow, Rem...âyou glance up through your lashes clumsily, flinging yourself at the boyâs chest like a child, or a madwoman of some sort, tugging at the collar of his knitted jumper as you grin messily and slur out a sentence you regret, both instantly, and for days after the words leave your foolish lips âI really like you lots. I just think youâre wonderful...so funny....fit.....and fit....and nice... i just like youâyou barely even pronounce the words, youâre so far gone, though both of you are well aware that Remus hears them loud and abrupt, because he stiffens, breezy smile slipping into a sudden frown of confusion as he becomes aware of his hands supporting your back, he raises them further up hurriedly, and swallows thickly as heat rushes at his cheeks âyou...you like me?â
There is a sudden bout of shattering silence, and you almost feel sobered to the core as your mind catches up to your actions, but youâre too wasted to do much about it, and soon the concerns seem to vanish into a flurry of drunken hysterics. You laugh manically, still stumbled against Remus as he looks at you intently and works out what on earth heâs to do with the sudden confession heâs been confronted with, and the drunk girl falling into his side. Though, instead of saying anything, he steps inward, chest to chest with you once more, and lands a well aimed kiss against your lips. It ends quickly, the Gryffindor boyâs eyes running wild as he clears his throat, glancing away. Neither of you move, or speak, until voices sound out close behind you, and you peer over your shoulder with sudden curiosity, stepping away from Remus, though keeping tight hold of one of his hands, swinging it between the large gap separating the two of you âLily!âyou exclaim loudly, to which James Potter hisses for you to be quiet, and Sirius restrains a shout of laughter at.
You remember nothing of how you eventually made it into the castle without being caught when you wake up the next day, and nothing of how you changed for bed, or how you even got into bed, and for a blissful moment, you remember nothing of what happened between you and Remus Lupin. That is until you open your eyes and feel the woozy sensation of nausea rush though your body, Lily across the room making a similar expression of hungover agony to your own, only she doesnât have any titanic sized regrets or problems like you do. You wonder if Remus can remember what happened, though it feels apparent that he does, for if you remember correctly, he was absolutely nowhere as drunk as you had been - and much to your humiliation, youâll have to face him at breakfast soon enough, and then possibly in Hogsmeade if Lily insists you accompany her out with James and the boys (which she no doubt will) on one of the final Saturday trips you and your fellow seventh years will get to have into the small, wizarding village.Â
However, youâre wrong in your suspicions, because Remus doesnât appear at breakfast, and when Lily asks where he is - sending you a knowing look of confusion at his absence - Peter replies only with âhaving a sleep in. Hungoverâ between mouthfuls of scrambled egg. Later in the day, he fails to join you and the rest of your group in visiting the Three Broomsticks, and Honeydukes, this time with no excuse other than that he has to finish a potions essay due on Monday, and that heâd rather not leave it until tomorrow to do. His failure to make any sort of conversation or effort in regards of the previous night fills you with dread - though he had kissed you, and he had been nowhere near as drunk, so that must be a good thing...mustnât it? You confide in Lily about this when the dormitory is empty, heart pounding as you try not to stress yourself out about Remus, though to no such avail.Â
âyou should talk to himâLily tells you on Monday evening before dinner, sat cross legged on her bed as she signs off a letter for her parents and sister back home. Remus had stayed away all weekend, not showing for dinner on Saturday, and leaving early to walk the grounds of Hogwarts with Sirius on Sunday, only returning to sleep and eat food smuggled by James in his dormitory that night. It was rather pathetic, and it was evident that the other three boys had been informed of the dreaded Friday evening disaster, much to your embarrassment. Though, Lily had managed to stop James from being such a pain about it all, which you were grateful for. âno, you need to talk to him about it - heâs being a recluse. Itâs silly, both of you are sillyâ
And so, you find yourself sat in the Gryffindor common room after everybody has begun making their way to dinner, having James somehow convince Remus to finally show his face. The fire is lit, and youâre more nervous than ever before as the sound of low voices erupt out behind you. James falls into view, then with an amused smile, he raises an eyebrow at his friend, who is paused behind the chair you sit at, and rolls his eyes behind the frames of his wired glasses âyou are a joke, Moonyâhe announces flatly, quirking a dark brow âshe doesnât bite. Itâs embarrassing watching you two gits. Especially you, Remus - not going to the great hall for three days? Bloody hell, youâll never live this one downâhe blinks, shaking his head, then lets slip a humoured smirk and turns on his heels to leave, ignoring Remusâ retorts.
The two of you remain silent as you turn in your chair to face the boy, a hot flush apparent on your cheeks âwhy would you avoid me for that long, Remus?âyou manage to ask, quietly, voice threatening to wobble âwhat did you think I was going to do?â. He doesnât answer right away, eyes focused in on the nearby fire place as he keeps his head low, messy curls the colour of honey as he shakes his head, at a loss for his own actions âI donât know. I was embarrassed, I kissed youâhe shrugs, swallowing back a lump in his throat as he finally glances up and meets your questioning gaze. The reply surprises you, laugh of disbelief slipping out from your mouth as you raise both of your brows at his explanation âyeah, after I admitted my feelings for you!â
Remus narrows his eyes, shrugging, half puzzled, half pitiful for himself âyou were drunk, y/n. It doesnât countâhe speaks plainly, like heâs accepted it as a fact, though his expression breaks, startled, when you rise to your feet abruptly, eyes wide âit does count! What are you talking about?âyou narrow your eyes, brows lowered âRemus, iâve liked you for ages. I wasnât supposed to tell you, at least not like that. because...I donât know - I didnât think you liked me like that, or that you ever wouldâ your reply seems to shock him, sending quiet across the room as he mulls your words over and attempts to understand what youâve just told him, for the second time in the past three days. âso...you like me?âhis lips break out into a boyish grin, features lightening as you nod your head, still in disbelief at how completely oblivious someone could be.
âyes, Remus. I like youâ