3- (Young) Remus Lupin
"Who can tell me what we are brewing today?" Slughorn asks his class with a kind smile looking particularly at his smartest pupils in hopes that one of them would answer. As expected, Lily Evans and Remus Lupin raise their hands from the Gryffindor side of the room while Severus Snaps raises his from the other, Slytherin, side, but to Slughorn's surprise Y/n L/n also raises her hand.
Y/n, a Slytherin student notorious for slacking in her classroom efforts, gains a few curious looks from her housemates, but she doesn't seem to care at all.
"Yes, Miss L/n." The professor calls.
Lily and Remus snap their heads over to the girl, both giving her a suspicious look.
"By the hideously seductive smell wafting around the room, I believe I'm correct in assuming we're going to brew amortentia."
"That is correct. Can you explain this potion for us?" She rolls her eyes at this, lets out an exasperated sigh and leans back in her seat casually, a few boys around the room eyeing her with small smirks.
"Isn't that your job, professor?" She shrugs, she hears a snicker from her desk partner, Rabastan Lestrange, and she sends him a playful wink, however, Slughorn looks at her expectantly, brushing off her sarcasm. "If I must." She rolls her eyes once more "It's the most powerful love potion in the world and an incredibly difficult potion to make. Though it is called a love potion, it does not produce love, but simply an obsession or an irritatingly great infatuation. It is rumoured to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them. If one were to consume it, they would fawn over the creator as long as it is done properly. There are cases where people are slipped the potion but fall for someone else due to the brewer's ignorance and lack of skill. It usually lasts around twenty-four hours up to a year give or take the success of the potion and brewer's attractiveness as well as the doses administered throughout the course."
At this point, the other students are staring at her shocked at her detailed answer.
"Read up on that one, L/n?" Sirius asks from the other side of the classroom earning laughs from most of the Gryffindors, and regrettable chuckles from a few Slytherins.
"For your information, Black, I've read up on quite a lot of things, for example, hexes that will send someone straight to St. Mungo's. Care for a demonstration? I'd be more than willing to practice on the likes of yourself."
"That's enough," Slughorn gently scolds. "Ten points to Slytherin for Miss L/n's perfect explanation. Would you like to share what you smell to the class?"
"Not particularly." She crosses her arms defiantly. Once again Slughorn looks at her expectantly. With a sharp inhale she thinks then responds as casually as she possibly can, "Cinnamon, cedar, sandalwood, pine, and chocolate."
"Thank you for sharing. For this assignment, you will be partnered with the person of my choosing. You will be partners for the full nine days of brewing and at least one of you must come in every day to stir the potion." Groans fill the room, but he goes on anyways calling out the partners, one being from Slytherin, the other from Gryffindor. Y/n is relieved when she gets paired with Remus instead of some incompetent idiot such as Peter Pettigrew. "Alright, go to your partner and turn to page twenty-eight of your textbook for the recipe and begin immediately."
Y/n looks over at Remus and after a moment of brief eye contact, he gets the hint and packs up his things.
"Move it, Lestrange." Y/n shoves him slightly to go to his partner.
"Fine." He too picks up his school supplies and makes his way over to Marlene McKinnon.
Quickly, Remus comes up to her and places his things carefully under the shared desk while Y/n flips to the correct page in her textbook.
"Lupin, be a dear and get a golden cauldron, will you?"
"Sure."
"Perfect. I'll come with you and gather the ingredients."
The pair walk up to the front of the room with a few others and gather the required materials which include a medium-sized golden cauldron, ashwinder eggs, vanilla beans, mint leaves, and a variety of other essentials that caused them to make multiple trips.
They place everything neatly on the desk and organize everything in the order that they will need to be used.
Y/n pulls out her wand and creates a low flame then Remus carefully takes the frozen block of glacial water and sets it inside, making sure he doesn't break or crack it.
"How should we do this next part? Should we both cut the vanilla beans and insert the pulp in increments, or should one of us cut and add them while the other times?" Remus asks as he fiddles with one of the beans.
"I like the first idea as long as we make sure not to mix the pulp." Y/n answers. He nods and gives Y/n two beans leaving three for himself. "I don't mind cutting the third." She indirectly offers.
"Nonsense, you've already carried up the majority of the ingredients anyways." He dismisses the offer. Now Y/n's the one to nod at his answer and they set to work in silence.
Both take sharp knives and cut the bean vertically down the middle and scrape out the pulp while the block of ice slowly starts to melt above the flame.
The rest of the eight remaining days play out similarly where the partners only talk to each other to discuss who should do what and how they should go about doing it, but it was a pleasant experience for the two in comparison to other pairings like Severus Snape and James Potter, although Potter should've felt lucky to be partnered with such a skilled potioneer. Much to Remus's surprise, Y/n is a very good partner. He thought she would slack off and force him to do all of the work when in reality she discreetly offered to do the majority of it and he had to refuse the help since he wanted their grades to be fair.
On the last day, Remus looks over to see Y/n picking up the last ingredient, a large white pearl.
"Mind if I do the honours?" She asks, admiring the shine of the pearl, not paying any mind to the stare the boy standing next to her is giving.
"Go ahead." With those two words, Y/n drops the pearl into their potion and they both watch as it dissolves upon contact.
Y/n subtly leans closer and smells the intoxicating scents emitting from the cauldron, eyes fluttering closed with content. "It's perfect." She smiles, her eyes remaining closed. Remus smiles and he too moves closer and inhales the scents that attract him. "What do you smell?"
"Rain, fresh laundry, vanilla, and lilacs." He answers, leaning even closer as he lets the scents draw him as a siren draws sailors.
"Oh, I love the scent of lilacs. I have a perfume that smells of it. It's quite lovely actually."
Without them knowing, Professor Slughorn had walked up behind them and smirked at the interaction.
"I see you've finished." He looks down at the two first then shifts his gaze to the potion. Y/n moves aside and Slughorn makes his way between them and examines the potion for a few seconds.
"Well?" Remus asks curiously.
"'Tis perfect! Well done!" He praises gaining the attention of some students at the desks around them. "Ten points to Gryffindor and Slytherin. Be sure to put two vessels on my desk. I am quite clumsy and I'd hate to make you both redo this."
"Okay, Professor." Y/n replies and Slughorn makes his way around the room once more. "Would you mind getting the vials and I can pour?"
"Sure." Remus agrees and goes to the front of the room and grabs two fancy looking glass vials then brings them up to Y/n. She takes one then spoons the potion into the container, then takes the other and does the same. As she pours the second she accidentally spills a bit on her hand so she quickly rubs it into her skin to make it seem like she hadn't gotten any on herself.
"I'll take these up."
"Alright. I'll clean our station.
Y/n makes her way down with their potion and Remus goes to get a rag to clean the station. While they are gone Rabastan sneaks away from his frustrated partner who he'd left to do all the work and goes over to the now empty station. He pulls a small bottle with a cork from his robe pocket and quickly fills it up and just as quickly makes his way back to Marleen.
"Where'd you go?" She asks him, as she adds the rose oil.
"Just needed to stretch my legs." He answers with a concealed smirk and a perfect love potion in his pocket.
Remus goes back to the table and starts wiping up the little mess they had made when Y/n comes back and laughs slightly. He looks up at her curiously. "What?"
She just smirks, pulls out her wand, points it at the table, and casts a nonverbal spell that cleans everything up. "I find magic is more efficient than using rags."
He rolls his eyes with an amused smile and they take their seats. Y/n lifts her legs and crosses them on the table carelessly.
"You might want to put your legs down before you get in trouble." He warns.
"I don't care." She brings her arms up to rest behind her head unknowingly causing Remus to continue smelling the amortentia which drives him mad.
"I think you may have used a bit too much of that lilac perfume today," He points out quietly.
"Actually, I'm not wearing that one today, I forgot to put it on."
"Oh, perhaps it's just the potion lingering then."
"Perhaps." A few moments of silence pass between them before she asks, "What did it smell like for you again?"
~~~~~~~~~~
Rabastan watches Y/n intently as she takes a sip from her goblet, waiting to see if the love potion he stole would work.
"Hey, Y/n," He gets her attention and she looks at him while setting her cup down on the table behind her plate. "How are you?"
A sappy smile spreads across her face, a smirk making its way on his. "I'm absolutely wonderful Rabastan. In fact, I've never felt more perfect in my entire life!" She sighs dreamily and stares up at the bewitched ceiling, gazing at the artificial night sky. "The stars are lovely tonight, aren't they?"
"Indeed they are."
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Narcissa Black asks as she takes her usual seat in front of Y/n.
"Oh, Cissy, I think I'm in love!" She giggles and looks around the room until her eyes land on Remus Lupin. "Isn't he wonderful?" At her words, Rabastan scrunches his brows, clearly confused as to why she isn't fawning over him. Both he and Narcissa look around the room to see who she's staring at.
"Who?" She asks.
"Remus, of course. Remus Lupin." Her chest fills with butterflies and she bashfully looks down with that same dopey grin. Narcissa looks at her in shock and disgust as Rabastan glares daggers at the Gryffindor.
Sirius notices the look and points it out to Remus so he turns around to see for himself but Rabastan turned his attention back to Y/n before Remus could see.
"That mountain troll? You can do so much better." Rabastan sneers with concealed jealousy.
Enraged, Y/n takes her dinner roll and throws it at his face. "You take that back!"
"Y/n, what's gotten into you?" Narcissa asks worriedly in a hushed tone, trying her best to calm her down.
"Nothing's gotten into me! You're just jealous that I'm in love!" At her yelling, students turned to look at the commotion.
"You're not in love! You're delusional!" Rabastan shouts back irritatedly, not only because she didn't fall for him, but also because she fell for a filthy Gryffindor half-blood.
Y/n glares at her friends and stands up quickly. "I don't need someone as vile and worthless as you to tell me that I'm delusional." Before either of them can respond to her comment Y/n walks from the table and over to the rival house only to place herself between Remus and Peter.
"What are you doing here, L/n?" Sirius sneers.
Completely ignoring him, Y/n holds onto Remus's left arm and lays her head on his shoulder. "Hello, Remus." She smiles up at him adoringly.
He, as well as quite a few other students, gives her a confused look.
"Uh, hi?" He responds, unsure of what's happening.
"Have I ever told you how wonderful you are? You're smart, charming, caring, I can go on and on."
"What do you think 's gotten into her?" James nudges Sirius in the side with a smirk.
"I have no clue," He answers.
"Y/n, are you feeling alright?"
"I've never felt better." She sighs dreamily with that same smile.
"You gave her a love potion!?"
Heads turn to the Slytherin table to watch Narcissa storm away from her seat and over to Y/n.
"Come on, lover girl. Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."
"No!" Y/n whines. She holds Remus's arm tighter and snuggles closer to his side. "I don't want to leave! I want to stay here with Remus!"
Narcissa sighs and looks uncomfortably over at Remus. "Can you please take her to the infirmary?"
"Why do I need to go to the infirmary?" Y/n asks defiantly.
Remus cuts in before Narcissa gets the chance to answer. "Because she's helped me plan a special surprise just for you." His tone gives off fake enthusiasm.
"A surprise?" Y/n asks happily.
"Yep. We've set it up in the infirmary so you wouldn't see it until it was time. Would you like it now?"
"Of course! I love surprises!" She moves closer to his ear to whisper, "Almost as much as I love you."
Remus quickly stands, trying his hardest not to blush, and pulls her up.
"Let's go," He takes her hand and leads her away quickly.
"We're following them, right?" Peter asks.
"Yep," Sirius replies.
The three marauders, plus Narcissa, trail quickly behind the pair, watching as Y/n relentlessly flirts with a clearly flustered Remus. The boys try to hold in their laughter, meanwhile, Narcissa starts silently plotting revenge against Rabastan.
"You're awfully quiet," Sirius points out. "Know something that we don't?"
"Rabastan stole a vial of amortentia that those two," She mildly gestures over to the pair, "made in class and tried to use it to make Y/n fall in love with him."
"Uh, guys," Peter interjects. "We've lost them."
"Well, we know they're on the way to the infirmary so we'll catch up in no time," James says with an easy smile and slings his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You have very alluring eyes," Y/n smiles. "though they always seem to be clouded like you're always thinking about something. Your intelligence is very attractive. Your mind works wonders yet you're so ordinary. Not that that's a bad thing, however, your brilliance could make you extraordinary. You stop yourself from reaching your full potential and that is very noble of you. Always so humble and kind and I never understood how you can be so patient."
"You're very flattering, but you're not yourself right now." Remus tries to deny, his cheeks still enflamed at the compliments and from the beautiful girl they're coming from.
"On the contrary, I've never felt more like myself than at this moment. You're just not good at taking compliments."
"Oh? And why do you say that?"
"Well, there is a multitude of reasons why, but for the sake of saving my breath, I'll narrow it down to two. One, because I saw Rabastan steal a small amount of the love potion we made and two, I saw him pour it into my cup which is why I avoided drinking from it. Apparently, I am quite the actress."
"Wait, what?!" Remus jumps away from her quickly. "So why'd you go along with it? I mean, why'd you pretend to drink the amortentia and pretend to be attracted to be?"
"Who said I was pretending to be attracted to you?" Her cheeks too become enflamed as she looks down at the floor. "Look, all of those compliments were true. I think you're wonderful, but I never thought I'd be able to tell you. So, when I saw Rabastan try to make me fall for him, I took it as a chance to finally confess. Besides, he obviously wasn't paying attention to the part when I said something along the lines of the victim of the love potion falling for the maker or else he would've tried to slip me the one he made. It's his own fault really."
"Oh," Is all he can say.
"I get it. You don't feel the same way and that is completely fine. Please just don't tell anyone about what I did or said. I know you're friends are following us so I'm going to leave. Just tell them you said something to accidentally hurt my feelings and that I ran off."
"For a smart girl, I would've thought you figured it out by now."
"Figure what out exactly?" She asks.
"I'm quite attracted to you as well. Why else would I smell your lavender perfume when I smelled the amortentia? Or why would I be blushing so much from your compliments? I'm honestly surprised you haven't caught me staring at you constantly since our third year by this point."
"Well, I guess the same could be said to you. You always smell of chocolate and like you've just been on a walk through the woods, which is why I smelled different types of trees I guess. And I always had a feeling that I was being watched, but I almost always caught some other person looking at me instead of you. I hoped that you were the one looking at me, but I always gave up, claiming it to be false hopes."
"It's hard for anyone not to look at you. You're beautiful."
"Thanks," She smiles, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, still looking down embarrassedly at the floor.
"If you'd like, we can just pretend that we saw Pomfrey and tell the lot that the effects of the potion will take a few minutes to start taking effect."
"Sounds good enough. I'm guessing you want to keep this a secret from them too?"
"Just until we get our story straight."
"I'm fine with that. Sorry in advance for acting annoying. I'm not usually the clingy type."
"Trust me, I don't mind at all."
Y/n walks back over to him and reaches for his hand. Remus notices and holds her hand, interlocking their fingers together. She lightly rests her head against his shoulder and they start walking back the way they came.
Less than a minute later the pair runs into the small group consisting of the remaining marauders and Narcissa.
"What are you two doing here? Did Pomfrey give her the cure?" James questions.
"Cure? What cure? What's he talking about Rem?" Y/n looks up at him with the most innocent eyes she can muster.
"I have no idea." He looks to James now. "Madam Pomfrey gave her that bottle of liquid luck I told you about. You know, the surprise. She said the effects of it will start to take place in a few minutes."
"Right!" James exclaims in feign recollection.
"Isn't he just the sweetest, Cissy?" Y/n asks with a lovesick smile; Remus blushes slightly at her words.
"Sure," She replies bitterly. "Anyways, let's head back to our dorm now."
"Why?" Y/n pouts.
"Uh-" She looks at the others in concealed panic.
"You don't want Remus to be the only one to give presents, do you?" Sirius quickly steps in.
"Of course not!" Y/n defends. She turns to Remus once again. "You've been wonderful, but we'll be taking our leaves now." She quickly kisses his cheek and quickly leaves with Narcissa following close behind her.
Once the girls get out of hearing range, Sirius starts to laugh.
"What?" Peter asks curiously.
"Remus just got one of the hottest girls in all of Hogwarts to drool over him! I mean, sure, she was under the effects of a love potion, but come on! How lucky was that?!"
"Not to mention he's been crazy about her for years," James adds.
Remus looks down at his shoes with a small smile. "Maybe she doesn't need a potion to fancy me." He suggests nonchalantly.
Sirius scoffs, "I doubt it. Not that there's anything wrong with you! She's just a flirt with no strings. I heard she's broken at least four guys hearts this month already."
"I heard six," Peter says.
"Exactly my point. Don't get your hopes up, mate." Sirius pats a hand on Remus's shoulder.
"C'mon, we've got a new prank to plan," James announces and the four boys make their way back to the Gryffindor dorm room.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Please find the partner you had last class and open your books to page fifty-two," Slughorn announces to the class.
A few grumbles are heard as students get up from their usual seats and go back to their partners. Y/n and Remus, on the other hand, weren't complaining in the slightest. In fact, they were hiding their excitement of working together, Y/n more so than Remus as she put forth a cool and collected front.
"Hello again, Y/n," Remus greets as he sets his things at the table beside her and takes his seat.
"Lupin," She nods in feign curtness.
After a minute of shifting to new seats, the professor starts his lecture, informing the class that they will be brewing Drought of Alihotsy and explaining his expectations for how things should go. During the speech, Remus subtly brushes his hand against Y/n's under the table and shifts his eyes to see her small smile. Y/n returns the gesture with a smirk and the faint brushing of hands continues until Y/n hooks her pinky around Remus's.
"Alright, you may begin!" Slughorn announcements then claim his seat at the deck at the front of the classroom, watching as everyone gets up from their seats once more and starts gathering ingredients.
"Lupin, be a dear and get the cauldron, will you?"
"Of course," He instantly agrees, and the pair make their way up to the table containing everything needed for the potion. Remus grabs a cauldron while Y/n grabs different types of flowers, berries, powders, and liquids, only struggling slightly while carrying everything, and make their way back to the desk.
Again, the pair work quickly and efficiently. The only difference in their work pattern is a proper conversation to avoid awkward silence.
"So," Y/n starts, "what do you want to do after we graduate?"
"I don't know. I've never really thought about it," He replies, squashing a small orange berry releasing its purple juice into the potion.
"Really? I pegged you as the type of person who has their whole life planned out."
Remus shakes his head even though he knows Y/n is too busy mincing the petals of the alihotsy flower into tiny, equal shreds. "Why do you think that?"
"Well, you just seem so orderly so I just assumed that you would have some type of plan by now. I mean, we do have another year until we leave so I guess you have a little more time to decide."
"What do you plan to do?" He asks curiously, flipping the subject to her.
She thinks for a brief moment before stating, "When I was younger I always dreamed of becoming a professional quidditch player, but now, thinking about it realistically, I want to open up my own business in Diagon Alley selling potions."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Over the summer I started planting a garden and growing some materials for potions and practising my skills. I've always taken an interest in the subject so why not try to make a business out of it. Besides, I like the idea of being able to own a, hopefully, successful business and potentially help someone with my hard work. Also, I hate the idea of being stuck working for someone I despise."
Remus looks over at her admirably, nearly missing the cauldron as he spooned in ground-up mandrake root.
"I never would've guessed."
"I don't think most would."
"What kinds of potions would you make?"
"Well, I'd definitely make all sorts of different healing potions to cure illnesses. Reversal potions, luckiness potions, hope, happiness, ambition, I'll probably experiment as well. I just mainly want to focus on making overall feel-good potions. Everyone needs a little pick me up at times, so why not be the one to help? I'm actually starting to experiment in my dorm and I've already come up with an industrial-strength sleeping potion that's effects seem to last a full eight hours with near-instant consumption activeness. It's so strong I couldn't even wake up my roommate until the effects wore off. I think it'll be great for restless nights. I'd love to make more of it and give some to people who need it, but most of the ingredients are very rare and much more expensive."
Remus smiles. "You're starting to sound like a Hufflepuff with your heart of gold."
"You know, the sorting hat almost placed me there, but it decided on Slytherin because I'm more ambitious to achieve my goals."
"Again, I never would've guessed."
"Again, I don't think most would."
~~~~~~~~~~
"She's bloody amazing!" Remus smiles as he throws himself onto his bed, his three friends watching him in surprised amazement.
"Who is?" Peter asks curiously, looking over at James and Sirius for an answer after he sees Remus shove his smiling, red face into one of his pillows.
"Who? L/n?" James asks. "I saw you two cosying up in potions class today."
"I saw that too! You both seemed to be having quite a talk. What about exactly?" Sirius asks, taking a seat at the bottom corner of his friend's bed, staring at his lump-like form.
"We were just talking about all sorts of things like where we've always wanted to travel to, what we want to do after we graduate, what books we've read-"
"I didn't know she could read," James jokingly quips. Remus pulls his head up and glares at his friend.
"Well, she can. And we've read a lot of the same books, and she has so many differing opinions that I've never even considered thinking about."
"About your books?" Peter questions.
"About everything! She's actually very smart and kind, but she doesn't like to be egotistical about it so she doesn't try to apply herself that much. I know it doesn't make sense when I explain it, but she put it so much better. She's just... She's incredible," He sighs.
"Mate, you're sounding worse than James going on, and on, and on, and on about Lily."
"Hey!" James grabs a pillow from his bed and throws it at Sirius's back earning a laugh in response.
"What?! You know it's true! Right, Wormtail?!"
"I mean, yeah. Kind of." He answers, trying his best not to get hit by one of James's pillows as well.
"Don't turn this on me! We're here to pester Moony! So, what else did you guys talk about?" James quickly gets back on topic, not only to pry answers from Remus but to save himself from even more embarrassment because of his undying love for Lily Evans.
"Well, not much else, but the topics we did talk about were in-depth so we didn't have much time to discuss other things. She's just an amazing person."
"She's a Slytherin. Slytherin's aren't that great, mate." Sirius reminds.
"Just because we know a few... a lot of not so good Slytherins, doesn't mean she's one of them. Besides, she told me she was almost placed in Hufflepuff," He tried to defend, but the other three marauders started laughing hysterically.
"She must be lying then! Can you even imagine L/n being placed into Hufflepuff?! I'd sooner be placed into Slytherin than her in Hufflepuff!" Sirius shouts.
Remus groans and shoves his face back onto the pillow.
"Don't tell me you're actually falling for her," Peter's serious tone ceases the laughter of the other two boys. "You've heard what she's like."
"Yeah, mate. Besides, she's probably only talking to you to keep you from telling everyone she kissed you last night. Granted, it was on the cheek, but still," James sighs, trying to break what he thinks is the truth to his friend, trying to save him from a possible heartbreak.
He sits up and stares at his friends with a neutral look before sighing and shifting his gaze down to his hands.
"I actually do really like her, and I'm positive that she likes me back."
"How can you be so certain?" The gentleness of Sirius's tone conveys his concern for Remus perfectly since he rarely uses such a tone.
"I can't explain how, but I just know. I know you lot think she's just going to play with my heart, and I really do appreciate how much you three care for me, but I need you to trust me on this one. Please."
"What if she finds out about your lycanthropy? Are you ready for what will happen if she knows?" Peter asks softly, almost too timid to bring up the subject.
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far yet."
"He has a point, you don't really know what she's like. This is the first time you two have talked, how do you know you can actually trust her?"
"James-"
"No," Sirius interrupts. "James and Peter are absolutely right. You have no idea what she's like, but neither do we, so, if you're actually serious about her, we'll help you when you need us. You've been here for all of us when we've needed your help, so we'll return the favour, but just keep in mind that you shouldn't fall for her so quickly."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Y/n!" Narcissa calls and walks quickly over to her younger friend who was working on an essay for charms. Y/n looks up just as she takes a seat on the couch next to her. "Just the girl I was looking for."
"What do you want Cissy?"
"I heard a rumour going around that you were talking to Lupin today in your potions class. Isn't that ridiculous?" She asks, subtly prying for answers.
"Well, I did talk to him. He's actually not that bad."
"What? Why would you even talk to him? If I were you, I'd ignore the amortentia situation and refuse to talk to him."
"Look, he's actually kinda nice."
"Nice?"
"Yeah. Look, about the amortentia, I saw Rabastan put it in my goblet so I pretended to take it to get him off my back. We both know how long he's been pining for me, it's pathetic really, so I decided that I'd use the situation to my advantage. Besides, Lupin's easy on the eyes, so why not use him to get rid of Rabastan?" She only half lies. Yes, Y/n does think Remus is attractive, and yes, she does want Rabastan to leave her alone, but she didn't tell Narcissa that she's been fancying him for two years.
"So you're going to try and use him? Isn't that just a bit cruel?"
"Well, not exactly. Let's just say I wouldn't mind getting to know him better." Narcissa scoffs with an amused look on her face at her answer.
"How do you know it'll actually work? I mean, do you even know if he fancies you?"
"Of course I do. He told me that he's fancied me for three years and he smelled my perfume in the amortentia."
"Why would you use him though?"
Y/n sighs quickly and looks to the side awkwardly deciding that she'd come out with the full truth. "Because I smelled him too." Narcissa's eyes wides at the confession, unsure of what exactly to say. "I didn't plan on this happening, but apparently I'm actually attracted to him."
"You could just be attracted to those scents instead of him as a person, right?" A moment of silence. "Right?"
"I don't know. I guess our talk in class made me realize that I could actually find myself fancying him a bit." Back to her lies to save herself from embarrassment.
"Y/n?" Narcissa pries.
"Alright, fine. Maybe more than a bit. I think he's attractive. Not just his looks, but also his personality. And I actually fancy him."
"I knew you felt the same, darling," Rabastan smirks as he casually leans over the back of the couch and rests his head on Y/n's shoulder.
Y/n rolls her eyes and scooches over to get his head off of her. "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about... someone else." She trails off.
Rabastan pouts and goes to sit in between the two girls. "Then who are you talking about?" He asks bitterly, obviously showing his jealousy.
"I don't have to tell you. It's none of your business."
He looks over at Narcissa for an answer.
"I'm not going to tell you either. Go find anybody else to pester."
"But-"
"Go." Narcissa points to the boy's staircase with a stern look. He grumbles to himself and leaves the pair alone. "Go on," She encourages Y/n to continue.
"See what I mean? He's perfect to get that little weasel off my back."
~~~~~~~~~~
As the Marauders talk among each other, Remus spots Y/n strolling through the courtyard mindlessly without a distinct location. He looks over at his three friends idly chatting and decides to sneak away and jog over to the girl.
"Hey, Y/n." He greets, falling into step beside her.
She looks over at him and smiles pleasantly. "Hello."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
They walk in silence for a few seconds, just enjoying each other's company until Remus asks, "So, where are you going?"
"Nowhere in particular. Where were you going before you came over here?"
"I was just walking with my friends to the Black Lake," He answers. "Though I much prefer walking with you."
"Wow, really? I thought you and the others were supposed to be inseparable."
"Well, I made an exception for you."
"I'm flattered." She teases with a wide smile. As she looks up at him, she catches him staring down at her hand. "You know you can hold my hand if you'd like."
"Are you sure? I thought we were going to keep whatever we have a secret."
"I've changed my mind. Please hold my hand."
And he does.
~~~~~~~~~~
"-so I grabbed my wand aimed it straight at Snivellus; then I-"
"Where's Remus?" Peter asks, unintentionally interrupting James's story of when he made Severus's nose to grow three times its original size.
The other two look around them, now wondering the same question, when Sirius spots his taller friend reach down and hold Y/n's hand in his larger one.
"Found him." He points over to the pair with a smirk. All three watched as Y/n nudges his arm with her shoulder playfully, the faint sound of Remus laughing audible from there they are standing.
"Who could've actually thought that those two would end up together?" James asks rhetorically.
"They're so different, but they look so happy," Peter points out.
"It seems like we don't need to help him after all. Good for him," Sirius smiles.
"We're following them, right?" Peter asks.
"Yep," James and Sirius agree in unison and the three take off after the pair.
~~~~~~~~~~
"What exactly are we?" Remus asks Y/n, coming to a stop in front of her, eyeing her closely.
"What do you mean exactly?"
"I mean, what is our relationship? Are we dating, or are we not? This whole thing is kind of confusing." He averts his gaze and stuffs his hands into his trouser pockets, waiting anxiously for her answer.
Y/n hums, thinks for a moment, then replies, "What do you want?"
Still averting his gaze, he tells her, "I want whatever you're comfortable with."
She sighs with a fond smile and cups his cheek with her hand. "I'm comfortable with whatever you want us to be." He takes her hand from his face and kisses her palm lightly.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
"No," Remus's face immediately falls and he starts to pull away when Y/n begins to giggle. "I'm kidding. I'd love to be your girlfriend." His smile returns and he holds gently onto her waist.
"I'm going to get you back for that," He whispers.
"I expect nothing less from a Marauder."
He finally moves back and holds her hand once more. "Shall we continue on with our walk?"
"We shall." Y/n replies in her most posh tone, gaining an eye roll from her new boyfriend, and they continue onward without a care in the world. Not even the loom of the impending war breaking their blissful moment just walking together without saying a single word more.
~~~~~~~~
Remus looks over the top of his book to find Y/n reading across from him, jotting down ingredients for a potion she's been wanting to make for a while.
"Y/n?" He asks, earning a soft hum as her way of letting him know she's listening. "Do you think you can make me that sleeping potion you were talking about? I've been stressed about exams lately and I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in a week."
This, of course, is a lie. Remus hadn't slept because he was nervous about the full moon that was coming up that night and paranoid that Y/n would discover what he is.
"Of course! Why didn't you ask me sooner?" She asks, setting her book aside to give him her full attention.
"I didn't want to bother you about it. Besides, you mentioned how some of the ingredients are rare and expensive so I-"
"Don't worry about the money. That's actually one of the things I've been growing in my garden. I have my parents send me some of the petals every month since they grow quickly and I use them for the potion."
"What is it exactly?" He asks curiously, he too putting aside his book.
"Wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane?" He furrows his eyebrows, wondering why she would use the petals for a sleeping potion when they are typically used for werewolves.
"Yes. Don't tell anyone, but it can potentially be very poisonous when using too much, which is why I only use two petals and add one drop of phoenix tears into the brew which allows the user to wake up. It's kind of like the draught of living death, only you breathe the entire time. I've perfected it so there's no use in worrying."
"How can you be so certain?"
"I wouldn't be here if I messed it up. Besides, I've also created a simple revival potion in case anything goes wrong, and believe me, it won't anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't think I would drink the wolfsbane without testing it first, did you?"
"No, I- nevermind. Wait, aren't phoenix tears very hard to collect? How did you manage to get some?"
Y/n hesitates for a moment then suspiciously blurts out, "Family connections."
"Family connections?" He repeats and watches as she quickly nods. "Okay."
"Look, everything will go smoothly when you take the potion. I'll give you a bottle tonight."
"Tonight?" He asks nervously.
"Yeah, when we meet up for our date."
"That was tonight?"
"You forgot, didn't you?"
He sighs, leans forward, and holds his head in his hands while his elbows rest on the table. "I'm so sorry, but tonight's not the best night."
"Oh... Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Everything's fine. Can we please reschedule for two days from today?"
"Uh, sure? Why not tomorrow?"
"I uh, I'm busy."
Y/n furrows her brows but nods none the less. "Okay. I'll give you the potion at dinner then."
"That would be amazing, thank you, love."
~~~~~~~~
"Are you sure it'll work?" James asks, eyeing the glass bottle containing a purple liquid Y/n had given Remus an hour earlier.
"Positive."
"What if something goes wrong?" Peter questions nervously.
"There's a small bottle of a revival potion in one of my robe pockets," He points over to a where he placed his robes and a change of new clothes for after the transformation.
"Remus," Sirius calls from the window. The three boys look over and Remus catches a glance of the moon. "You need to take that potion now, mate."
James quickly steps in front of the entranced Remus, blocking the view, and uncorks the bottle for him. "Come on, Moony, you have to take it now."
With a shaky hand, Remus brings the glass bottle to his lips and drinks until there is not even a single drop left. Instantly he starts feeling drowsy and lets the bottle fall to the floor which shatters upon impact.
"Woah!" Sirius shout, hurrying over to his friend and clutches onto him a moment before he starts falling.
"What'd she give him?!" Peter frantically asks.
Sirius gently sets Remus on the floor and the three watch as his unconscious body starts morphing into a grotesquely thin werewolf. They hesitantly watch for any signs of life, making sure to be careful in case he reawakens and starts attacking.
"He's breathing," James announces. "Now all we need to worry about is waking him up."
"He said it lasts eight hours," Peter reminds the small group.
"Then we'll stay with him for eight hours, and if he doesn't wake up, Y/n better hope I don't find her," Sirius says, taking a seat on the dusty bed.
"Agreed," James sits next to Sirius.
"Same here," Peter reluctantly chimes in.
"So, should we watch him in shifts?" James asks.
"Why not. I'll take second," Sirius answers, laying back on the bed and starts making himself comfortable.
"I'll take third," Peter adds.
"Fine," James crosses his arms and keeps his focus on his sleeping friend while the other two slowly start drifting off to sleep, waiting for their shift.
Unfortunately, after an hour James falls asleep and they all remain unconscious until morning.
Remus is the first to awaken, he's returned back to his human form sometime in his sleep and the only evidence of his transformation is his aching body. He sits up, groaning slightly, and looks around the room only to find the remaining marauders asleep on the bed. He slowly stands and quietly walks over to the pile of clothes.
Sirius wakes up to the jingle of his belt buckle and bolts upright, waking James and Peter in the process.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Remus apologises, fastening the buckle through the hole.
"Are you okay?" James asks worriedly.
"Yes. I think that's the best transformation I've ever had," He smiles.
"Brilliant! I might need to ask her to give me some of that potion later." Sirius laughs.
"I'm sure she'd be willing to give you some sometime," Remus smiles. "She's very generous."
"If I'm being honest, I thought you were dying when you took the potion," Peter admits.
"I think we all did," James adds.
Remus shakes his head. "I didn't. I trust her."
"That's because she's your bloody girlfriend. We still have some scepticism about her,"
"Hasn't she proved that she can be trusted, Sirius? I'm still alive and the only pain I have is a dull ache in my bones because of the transformation. She's created something that will finally help me and she is kind enough to just give it out to people. She told me some of the ingredients and they are very expensive, but she still gives it to people so they'll be able to sleep peacefully. I literally trusted her skills with my life and it worked flawlessly. In my opinion, she's proven herself. When will you finally understand that what you think of her is the complete opposite of who she actually is?"
The boys look down at the floor.
"When she proves us wrong." James finally answers.
"Would you still think the same way about her if she was a Gryffindor?" Silence. "Huh? That's not a rhetorical question."
"I don't know, and I don't have to know," Sirius replies.
"Whatever, I'll see you later," Remus grabs his clothes and walks to the door.
Peter asks, "Where are you going?"
"The Great Hall. I'm going to get some breakfast."
"Want us to come with you?" James questions, only for Remus to shake his head and gently closes the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~
"Good morning, Remus! How'd the-" Y/n gets cut off when Remus dashes over to her with a huge smile on his face and hugs her tightly. "Oh! What's this about?" She laughs hugging him back.
"Your potion worked perfectly."
"I told you it would," She smiles. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?"
"Of course," He agrees, and the two walk into the Great Hall together.
"You seem cheerful this morning," Y/n points out, guiding him over to the Slytherin table, much to the annoyance of her housemates.
"I guess you just have that effect on me."
She looks over at him with an amused, sarcastic look, but smiles after a few seconds. "That was cheesy."
"Why are you bringing him here?" Rabastan sneers over at Remus when he takes his seat across from Y/n.
"I'd like to eat breakfast with my boyfriend. Got a problem with that, Lestrange?" She asks in as polite a tone as she can muster.
"But he's a Gryffindor-"
"And you're a moron, what's your point?" Y/n interrupts, smiling passive-aggressively. Rabastan mutters under his breath and stabs his eggs with his fork while Remus, as well as a few others surrounding them, snicker at her insult.
The rest of the morning, Y/n and Remus were uninterrupted and enjoyed a lovely breakfast together followed by a relaxing walk along the castle grounds, enjoying their Saturday together. Soon enough, they found themselves sitting together at the edge of the forbidden forest, looking up at the clouds, occasionally pointing up at one that formed a cluster in a recognizable shape.
Y/n stretches her hand skyward and points at a fluffy cloud, gaining Remus's attention.
"That one looks like a duck."
"Really? I think it looks like a dog."
"A dog? Are you blind? It's obviously a duck."
"Alright then, it's a duck."
"Wait, nevermind. It is a dog."
"I told you so," He smirks.
"Hey!" She laughs, nudging his side teasingly. "That one looks like a dragon."
"You must need glasses, it's obviously a... oh. It's a dragon."
"I told you so," She mocks, deepening her voice in a horrible attempt to sound like Remus.
"Hey!" His voice raises to a higher pitch to mock her back and nudges her side as she had done to him. A content silence consumes them as they look up at the sky, no longer looking for any specific shape, both wearing smiles on their faces, happy to be sitting with each other. "Y/n?"
"Yes?"
He sits up and stares down at her, sighing deeply when averting his gaze. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course," She raises herself and looks over at him.
"Before I tell you, you need to promise me you won't tell anyone at all."
"I promise." He looks around, paranoid that someone could be watching them. "Remus? Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine. I just need to tell you that, uh, I'm sort of a- uh. I'm a- Oh this is harder than I thought it'd be."
"Are you trying t tell me that you're a werewolf?"
"Yes, thank you. And I- wait, what?! How do you already know?!"
"You really aren't that slick about it. Cancelling our dates which land on the full moon, making up terrible excuses, your scars, " She leaves a bit of silence, then continues, "I was suspicious that you might've been cheating on me, so I followed you last night and I saw you."
"You thought I was cheating on you?!"
"Well, yes, but that's only because you were acting very suspicious yesterday at the library when you cancelled our date. It wouldn't have been the first time, so I just decided to follow you and try to catch you in the act to tell you off. To my surprise, you snuck off with your friends and went to the shrieking shack. Even more of a surprise, one moment, Pettigrew was standing next to you lot, and the next he shrunk and did something to make the whomping willow stop moving. After you all went through the tunnel, I followed and hid behind the door and watched through the crack as you talked about your plan to drink the Wolfsbane potion and transform. I stayed long enough to see you fall asleep and watched as you jerked and changed into a werewolf, and then I left."
"You know, and you're not scared of me?" He asks shocked.
"Of course I'm not scared of you. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met. So what if you can't control your actions for one night of the month? You at least go away from other people, excluding your friends, who I have reason to assume are animagi, and try to protect them by secluding yourself in a small shack. Judging by those scars on your face, I also assume your hurt yourself because I've read werewolves are full of bloodlust, and while you can't perform your natural hunting instincts, which you cannot control whilst in that state, you harm yourself to satisfy that need. You, Remus Lupin, I am not scared of. I am scared of those who do not try to protect others."
"But I'm a monster."
"No. You're extraordinary." He gives her a bittersweet smile and leans in to give her a gentle kiss.
"Thank you," He whispers.
"Can I tell you something?" She asks.
"Of course."
"Remember when you asked me how I got the phoenix tears?" She asks nervously.
"Yes."
"Well, I'd like to show you something." She stands.
Y/n closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then focuses on her heartbeat, suddenly feeling the appearance of a second, faster beat, and she lets herself transform into a phoenix, flying around Remus, her delicate, firey wings shining brilliantly in the sunlight.
Remus gapes up at her, an amazed expression stitched on his face.
"Wow. Y/n, you're stunning."
She lands on the ground and in seconds she returns to her human state. "Thanks."
"I much prefer you like this though."
"Oh stop," She smiles, shyly hiding her face in her hands.
"I can't help it, I just think you're wonderful."
"I think you are too," Y/n hugs him close to her and kisses his shoulder. "I'm so lucky I have you in my life. You're such an amazing person and I hope you know that I will never ever think of you as the monster you say you are."
"Believe me, I'm the lucky one."
Y/n, a Slytherin student notorious for slacking in her classroom efforts, gains a few curious looks from her housemates, but she doesn't seem to care at all.
"Yes, Miss L/n." The professor calls.
Lily and Remus snap their heads over to the girl, both giving her a suspicious look.
"By the hideously seductive smell wafting around the room, I believe I'm correct in assuming we're going to brew amortentia."
"That is correct. Can you explain this potion for us?" She rolls her eyes at this, lets out an exasperated sigh and leans back in her seat casually, a few boys around the room eyeing her with small smirks.
"Isn't that your job, professor?" She shrugs, she hears a snicker from her desk partner, Rabastan Lestrange, and she sends him a playful wink, however, Slughorn looks at her expectantly, brushing off her sarcasm. "If I must." She rolls her eyes once more "It's the most powerful love potion in the world and an incredibly difficult potion to make. Though it is called a love potion, it does not produce love, but simply an obsession or an irritatingly great infatuation. It is rumoured to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them. If one were to consume it, they would fawn over the creator as long as it is done properly. There are cases where people are slipped the potion but fall for someone else due to the brewer's ignorance and lack of skill. It usually lasts around twenty-four hours up to a year give or take the success of the potion and brewer's attractiveness as well as the doses administered throughout the course."
At this point, the other students are staring at her shocked at her detailed answer.
"Read up on that one, L/n?" Sirius asks from the other side of the classroom earning laughs from most of the Gryffindors, and regrettable chuckles from a few Slytherins.
"For your information, Black, I've read up on quite a lot of things, for example, hexes that will send someone straight to St. Mungo's. Care for a demonstration? I'd be more than willing to practice on the likes of yourself."
"That's enough," Slughorn gently scolds. "Ten points to Slytherin for Miss L/n's perfect explanation. Would you like to share what you smell to the class?"
"Not particularly." She crosses her arms defiantly. Once again Slughorn looks at her expectantly. With a sharp inhale she thinks then responds as casually as she possibly can, "Cinnamon, cedar, sandalwood, pine, and chocolate."
"Thank you for sharing. For this assignment, you will be partnered with the person of my choosing. You will be partners for the full nine days of brewing and at least one of you must come in every day to stir the potion." Groans fill the room, but he goes on anyways calling out the partners, one being from Slytherin, the other from Gryffindor. Y/n is relieved when she gets paired with Remus instead of some incompetent idiot such as Peter Pettigrew. "Alright, go to your partner and turn to page twenty-eight of your textbook for the recipe and begin immediately."
Y/n looks over at Remus and after a moment of brief eye contact, he gets the hint and packs up his things.
"Move it, Lestrange." Y/n shoves him slightly to go to his partner.
"Fine." He too picks up his school supplies and makes his way over to Marlene McKinnon.
Quickly, Remus comes up to her and places his things carefully under the shared desk while Y/n flips to the correct page in her textbook.
"Lupin, be a dear and get a golden cauldron, will you?"
"Sure."
"Perfect. I'll come with you and gather the ingredients."
The pair walk up to the front of the room with a few others and gather the required materials which include a medium-sized golden cauldron, ashwinder eggs, vanilla beans, mint leaves, and a variety of other essentials that caused them to make multiple trips.
They place everything neatly on the desk and organize everything in the order that they will need to be used.
Y/n pulls out her wand and creates a low flame then Remus carefully takes the frozen block of glacial water and sets it inside, making sure he doesn't break or crack it.
"How should we do this next part? Should we both cut the vanilla beans and insert the pulp in increments, or should one of us cut and add them while the other times?" Remus asks as he fiddles with one of the beans.
"I like the first idea as long as we make sure not to mix the pulp." Y/n answers. He nods and gives Y/n two beans leaving three for himself. "I don't mind cutting the third." She indirectly offers.
"Nonsense, you've already carried up the majority of the ingredients anyways." He dismisses the offer. Now Y/n's the one to nod at his answer and they set to work in silence.
Both take sharp knives and cut the bean vertically down the middle and scrape out the pulp while the block of ice slowly starts to melt above the flame.
The rest of the eight remaining days play out similarly where the partners only talk to each other to discuss who should do what and how they should go about doing it, but it was a pleasant experience for the two in comparison to other pairings like Severus Snape and James Potter, although Potter should've felt lucky to be partnered with such a skilled potioneer. Much to Remus's surprise, Y/n is a very good partner. He thought she would slack off and force him to do all of the work when in reality she discreetly offered to do the majority of it and he had to refuse the help since he wanted their grades to be fair.
On the last day, Remus looks over to see Y/n picking up the last ingredient, a large white pearl.
"Mind if I do the honours?" She asks, admiring the shine of the pearl, not paying any mind to the stare the boy standing next to her is giving.
"Go ahead." With those two words, Y/n drops the pearl into their potion and they both watch as it dissolves upon contact.
Y/n subtly leans closer and smells the intoxicating scents emitting from the cauldron, eyes fluttering closed with content. "It's perfect." She smiles, her eyes remaining closed. Remus smiles and he too moves closer and inhales the scents that attract him. "What do you smell?"
"Rain, fresh laundry, vanilla, and lilacs." He answers, leaning even closer as he lets the scents draw him as a siren draws sailors.
"Oh, I love the scent of lilacs. I have a perfume that smells of it. It's quite lovely actually."
Without them knowing, Professor Slughorn had walked up behind them and smirked at the interaction.
"I see you've finished." He looks down at the two first then shifts his gaze to the potion. Y/n moves aside and Slughorn makes his way between them and examines the potion for a few seconds.
"Well?" Remus asks curiously.
"'Tis perfect! Well done!" He praises gaining the attention of some students at the desks around them. "Ten points to Gryffindor and Slytherin. Be sure to put two vessels on my desk. I am quite clumsy and I'd hate to make you both redo this."
"Okay, Professor." Y/n replies and Slughorn makes his way around the room once more. "Would you mind getting the vials and I can pour?"
"Sure." Remus agrees and goes to the front of the room and grabs two fancy looking glass vials then brings them up to Y/n. She takes one then spoons the potion into the container, then takes the other and does the same. As she pours the second she accidentally spills a bit on her hand so she quickly rubs it into her skin to make it seem like she hadn't gotten any on herself.
"I'll take these up."
"Alright. I'll clean our station.
Y/n makes her way down with their potion and Remus goes to get a rag to clean the station. While they are gone Rabastan sneaks away from his frustrated partner who he'd left to do all the work and goes over to the now empty station. He pulls a small bottle with a cork from his robe pocket and quickly fills it up and just as quickly makes his way back to Marleen.
"Where'd you go?" She asks him, as she adds the rose oil.
"Just needed to stretch my legs." He answers with a concealed smirk and a perfect love potion in his pocket.
Remus goes back to the table and starts wiping up the little mess they had made when Y/n comes back and laughs slightly. He looks up at her curiously. "What?"
She just smirks, pulls out her wand, points it at the table, and casts a nonverbal spell that cleans everything up. "I find magic is more efficient than using rags."
He rolls his eyes with an amused smile and they take their seats. Y/n lifts her legs and crosses them on the table carelessly.
"You might want to put your legs down before you get in trouble." He warns.
"I don't care." She brings her arms up to rest behind her head unknowingly causing Remus to continue smelling the amortentia which drives him mad.
"I think you may have used a bit too much of that lilac perfume today," He points out quietly.
"Actually, I'm not wearing that one today, I forgot to put it on."
"Oh, perhaps it's just the potion lingering then."
"Perhaps." A few moments of silence pass between them before she asks, "What did it smell like for you again?"
~~~~~~~~~~
Rabastan watches Y/n intently as she takes a sip from her goblet, waiting to see if the love potion he stole would work.
"Hey, Y/n," He gets her attention and she looks at him while setting her cup down on the table behind her plate. "How are you?"
A sappy smile spreads across her face, a smirk making its way on his. "I'm absolutely wonderful Rabastan. In fact, I've never felt more perfect in my entire life!" She sighs dreamily and stares up at the bewitched ceiling, gazing at the artificial night sky. "The stars are lovely tonight, aren't they?"
"Indeed they are."
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Narcissa Black asks as she takes her usual seat in front of Y/n.
"Oh, Cissy, I think I'm in love!" She giggles and looks around the room until her eyes land on Remus Lupin. "Isn't he wonderful?" At her words, Rabastan scrunches his brows, clearly confused as to why she isn't fawning over him. Both he and Narcissa look around the room to see who she's staring at.
"Who?" She asks.
"Remus, of course. Remus Lupin." Her chest fills with butterflies and she bashfully looks down with that same dopey grin. Narcissa looks at her in shock and disgust as Rabastan glares daggers at the Gryffindor.
Sirius notices the look and points it out to Remus so he turns around to see for himself but Rabastan turned his attention back to Y/n before Remus could see.
"That mountain troll? You can do so much better." Rabastan sneers with concealed jealousy.
Enraged, Y/n takes her dinner roll and throws it at his face. "You take that back!"
"Y/n, what's gotten into you?" Narcissa asks worriedly in a hushed tone, trying her best to calm her down.
"Nothing's gotten into me! You're just jealous that I'm in love!" At her yelling, students turned to look at the commotion.
"You're not in love! You're delusional!" Rabastan shouts back irritatedly, not only because she didn't fall for him, but also because she fell for a filthy Gryffindor half-blood.
Y/n glares at her friends and stands up quickly. "I don't need someone as vile and worthless as you to tell me that I'm delusional." Before either of them can respond to her comment Y/n walks from the table and over to the rival house only to place herself between Remus and Peter.
"What are you doing here, L/n?" Sirius sneers.
Completely ignoring him, Y/n holds onto Remus's left arm and lays her head on his shoulder. "Hello, Remus." She smiles up at him adoringly.
He, as well as quite a few other students, gives her a confused look.
"Uh, hi?" He responds, unsure of what's happening.
"Have I ever told you how wonderful you are? You're smart, charming, caring, I can go on and on."
"What do you think 's gotten into her?" James nudges Sirius in the side with a smirk.
"I have no clue," He answers.
"Y/n, are you feeling alright?"
"I've never felt better." She sighs dreamily with that same smile.
"You gave her a love potion!?"
Heads turn to the Slytherin table to watch Narcissa storm away from her seat and over to Y/n.
"Come on, lover girl. Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."
"No!" Y/n whines. She holds Remus's arm tighter and snuggles closer to his side. "I don't want to leave! I want to stay here with Remus!"
Narcissa sighs and looks uncomfortably over at Remus. "Can you please take her to the infirmary?"
"Why do I need to go to the infirmary?" Y/n asks defiantly.
Remus cuts in before Narcissa gets the chance to answer. "Because she's helped me plan a special surprise just for you." His tone gives off fake enthusiasm.
"A surprise?" Y/n asks happily.
"Yep. We've set it up in the infirmary so you wouldn't see it until it was time. Would you like it now?"
"Of course! I love surprises!" She moves closer to his ear to whisper, "Almost as much as I love you."
Remus quickly stands, trying his hardest not to blush, and pulls her up.
"Let's go," He takes her hand and leads her away quickly.
"We're following them, right?" Peter asks.
"Yep," Sirius replies.
The three marauders, plus Narcissa, trail quickly behind the pair, watching as Y/n relentlessly flirts with a clearly flustered Remus. The boys try to hold in their laughter, meanwhile, Narcissa starts silently plotting revenge against Rabastan.
"You're awfully quiet," Sirius points out. "Know something that we don't?"
"Rabastan stole a vial of amortentia that those two," She mildly gestures over to the pair, "made in class and tried to use it to make Y/n fall in love with him."
"Uh, guys," Peter interjects. "We've lost them."
"Well, we know they're on the way to the infirmary so we'll catch up in no time," James says with an easy smile and slings his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You have very alluring eyes," Y/n smiles. "though they always seem to be clouded like you're always thinking about something. Your intelligence is very attractive. Your mind works wonders yet you're so ordinary. Not that that's a bad thing, however, your brilliance could make you extraordinary. You stop yourself from reaching your full potential and that is very noble of you. Always so humble and kind and I never understood how you can be so patient."
"You're very flattering, but you're not yourself right now." Remus tries to deny, his cheeks still enflamed at the compliments and from the beautiful girl they're coming from.
"On the contrary, I've never felt more like myself than at this moment. You're just not good at taking compliments."
"Oh? And why do you say that?"
"Well, there is a multitude of reasons why, but for the sake of saving my breath, I'll narrow it down to two. One, because I saw Rabastan steal a small amount of the love potion we made and two, I saw him pour it into my cup which is why I avoided drinking from it. Apparently, I am quite the actress."
"Wait, what?!" Remus jumps away from her quickly. "So why'd you go along with it? I mean, why'd you pretend to drink the amortentia and pretend to be attracted to be?"
"Who said I was pretending to be attracted to you?" Her cheeks too become enflamed as she looks down at the floor. "Look, all of those compliments were true. I think you're wonderful, but I never thought I'd be able to tell you. So, when I saw Rabastan try to make me fall for him, I took it as a chance to finally confess. Besides, he obviously wasn't paying attention to the part when I said something along the lines of the victim of the love potion falling for the maker or else he would've tried to slip me the one he made. It's his own fault really."
"Oh," Is all he can say.
"I get it. You don't feel the same way and that is completely fine. Please just don't tell anyone about what I did or said. I know you're friends are following us so I'm going to leave. Just tell them you said something to accidentally hurt my feelings and that I ran off."
"For a smart girl, I would've thought you figured it out by now."
"Figure what out exactly?" She asks.
"I'm quite attracted to you as well. Why else would I smell your lavender perfume when I smelled the amortentia? Or why would I be blushing so much from your compliments? I'm honestly surprised you haven't caught me staring at you constantly since our third year by this point."
"Well, I guess the same could be said to you. You always smell of chocolate and like you've just been on a walk through the woods, which is why I smelled different types of trees I guess. And I always had a feeling that I was being watched, but I almost always caught some other person looking at me instead of you. I hoped that you were the one looking at me, but I always gave up, claiming it to be false hopes."
"It's hard for anyone not to look at you. You're beautiful."
"Thanks," She smiles, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, still looking down embarrassedly at the floor.
"If you'd like, we can just pretend that we saw Pomfrey and tell the lot that the effects of the potion will take a few minutes to start taking effect."
"Sounds good enough. I'm guessing you want to keep this a secret from them too?"
"Just until we get our story straight."
"I'm fine with that. Sorry in advance for acting annoying. I'm not usually the clingy type."
"Trust me, I don't mind at all."
Y/n walks back over to him and reaches for his hand. Remus notices and holds her hand, interlocking their fingers together. She lightly rests her head against his shoulder and they start walking back the way they came.
Less than a minute later the pair runs into the small group consisting of the remaining marauders and Narcissa.
"What are you two doing here? Did Pomfrey give her the cure?" James questions.
"Cure? What cure? What's he talking about Rem?" Y/n looks up at him with the most innocent eyes she can muster.
"I have no idea." He looks to James now. "Madam Pomfrey gave her that bottle of liquid luck I told you about. You know, the surprise. She said the effects of it will start to take place in a few minutes."
"Right!" James exclaims in feign recollection.
"Isn't he just the sweetest, Cissy?" Y/n asks with a lovesick smile; Remus blushes slightly at her words.
"Sure," She replies bitterly. "Anyways, let's head back to our dorm now."
"Why?" Y/n pouts.
"Uh-" She looks at the others in concealed panic.
"You don't want Remus to be the only one to give presents, do you?" Sirius quickly steps in.
"Of course not!" Y/n defends. She turns to Remus once again. "You've been wonderful, but we'll be taking our leaves now." She quickly kisses his cheek and quickly leaves with Narcissa following close behind her.
Once the girls get out of hearing range, Sirius starts to laugh.
"What?" Peter asks curiously.
"Remus just got one of the hottest girls in all of Hogwarts to drool over him! I mean, sure, she was under the effects of a love potion, but come on! How lucky was that?!"
"Not to mention he's been crazy about her for years," James adds.
Remus looks down at his shoes with a small smile. "Maybe she doesn't need a potion to fancy me." He suggests nonchalantly.
Sirius scoffs, "I doubt it. Not that there's anything wrong with you! She's just a flirt with no strings. I heard she's broken at least four guys hearts this month already."
"I heard six," Peter says.
"Exactly my point. Don't get your hopes up, mate." Sirius pats a hand on Remus's shoulder.
"C'mon, we've got a new prank to plan," James announces and the four boys make their way back to the Gryffindor dorm room.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Please find the partner you had last class and open your books to page fifty-two," Slughorn announces to the class.
A few grumbles are heard as students get up from their usual seats and go back to their partners. Y/n and Remus, on the other hand, weren't complaining in the slightest. In fact, they were hiding their excitement of working together, Y/n more so than Remus as she put forth a cool and collected front.
"Hello again, Y/n," Remus greets as he sets his things at the table beside her and takes his seat.
"Lupin," She nods in feign curtness.
After a minute of shifting to new seats, the professor starts his lecture, informing the class that they will be brewing Drought of Alihotsy and explaining his expectations for how things should go. During the speech, Remus subtly brushes his hand against Y/n's under the table and shifts his eyes to see her small smile. Y/n returns the gesture with a smirk and the faint brushing of hands continues until Y/n hooks her pinky around Remus's.
"Alright, you may begin!" Slughorn announcements then claim his seat at the deck at the front of the classroom, watching as everyone gets up from their seats once more and starts gathering ingredients.
"Lupin, be a dear and get the cauldron, will you?"
"Of course," He instantly agrees, and the pair make their way up to the table containing everything needed for the potion. Remus grabs a cauldron while Y/n grabs different types of flowers, berries, powders, and liquids, only struggling slightly while carrying everything, and make their way back to the desk.
Again, the pair work quickly and efficiently. The only difference in their work pattern is a proper conversation to avoid awkward silence.
"So," Y/n starts, "what do you want to do after we graduate?"
"I don't know. I've never really thought about it," He replies, squashing a small orange berry releasing its purple juice into the potion.
"Really? I pegged you as the type of person who has their whole life planned out."
Remus shakes his head even though he knows Y/n is too busy mincing the petals of the alihotsy flower into tiny, equal shreds. "Why do you think that?"
"Well, you just seem so orderly so I just assumed that you would have some type of plan by now. I mean, we do have another year until we leave so I guess you have a little more time to decide."
"What do you plan to do?" He asks curiously, flipping the subject to her.
She thinks for a brief moment before stating, "When I was younger I always dreamed of becoming a professional quidditch player, but now, thinking about it realistically, I want to open up my own business in Diagon Alley selling potions."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Over the summer I started planting a garden and growing some materials for potions and practising my skills. I've always taken an interest in the subject so why not try to make a business out of it. Besides, I like the idea of being able to own a, hopefully, successful business and potentially help someone with my hard work. Also, I hate the idea of being stuck working for someone I despise."
Remus looks over at her admirably, nearly missing the cauldron as he spooned in ground-up mandrake root.
"I never would've guessed."
"I don't think most would."
"What kinds of potions would you make?"
"Well, I'd definitely make all sorts of different healing potions to cure illnesses. Reversal potions, luckiness potions, hope, happiness, ambition, I'll probably experiment as well. I just mainly want to focus on making overall feel-good potions. Everyone needs a little pick me up at times, so why not be the one to help? I'm actually starting to experiment in my dorm and I've already come up with an industrial-strength sleeping potion that's effects seem to last a full eight hours with near-instant consumption activeness. It's so strong I couldn't even wake up my roommate until the effects wore off. I think it'll be great for restless nights. I'd love to make more of it and give some to people who need it, but most of the ingredients are very rare and much more expensive."
Remus smiles. "You're starting to sound like a Hufflepuff with your heart of gold."
"You know, the sorting hat almost placed me there, but it decided on Slytherin because I'm more ambitious to achieve my goals."
"Again, I never would've guessed."
"Again, I don't think most would."
~~~~~~~~~~
"She's bloody amazing!" Remus smiles as he throws himself onto his bed, his three friends watching him in surprised amazement.
"Who is?" Peter asks curiously, looking over at James and Sirius for an answer after he sees Remus shove his smiling, red face into one of his pillows.
"Who? L/n?" James asks. "I saw you two cosying up in potions class today."
"I saw that too! You both seemed to be having quite a talk. What about exactly?" Sirius asks, taking a seat at the bottom corner of his friend's bed, staring at his lump-like form.
"We were just talking about all sorts of things like where we've always wanted to travel to, what we want to do after we graduate, what books we've read-"
"I didn't know she could read," James jokingly quips. Remus pulls his head up and glares at his friend.
"Well, she can. And we've read a lot of the same books, and she has so many differing opinions that I've never even considered thinking about."
"About your books?" Peter questions.
"About everything! She's actually very smart and kind, but she doesn't like to be egotistical about it so she doesn't try to apply herself that much. I know it doesn't make sense when I explain it, but she put it so much better. She's just... She's incredible," He sighs.
"Mate, you're sounding worse than James going on, and on, and on, and on about Lily."
"Hey!" James grabs a pillow from his bed and throws it at Sirius's back earning a laugh in response.
"What?! You know it's true! Right, Wormtail?!"
"I mean, yeah. Kind of." He answers, trying his best not to get hit by one of James's pillows as well.
"Don't turn this on me! We're here to pester Moony! So, what else did you guys talk about?" James quickly gets back on topic, not only to pry answers from Remus but to save himself from even more embarrassment because of his undying love for Lily Evans.
"Well, not much else, but the topics we did talk about were in-depth so we didn't have much time to discuss other things. She's just an amazing person."
"She's a Slytherin. Slytherin's aren't that great, mate." Sirius reminds.
"Just because we know a few... a lot of not so good Slytherins, doesn't mean she's one of them. Besides, she told me she was almost placed in Hufflepuff," He tried to defend, but the other three marauders started laughing hysterically.
"She must be lying then! Can you even imagine L/n being placed into Hufflepuff?! I'd sooner be placed into Slytherin than her in Hufflepuff!" Sirius shouts.
Remus groans and shoves his face back onto the pillow.
"Don't tell me you're actually falling for her," Peter's serious tone ceases the laughter of the other two boys. "You've heard what she's like."
"Yeah, mate. Besides, she's probably only talking to you to keep you from telling everyone she kissed you last night. Granted, it was on the cheek, but still," James sighs, trying to break what he thinks is the truth to his friend, trying to save him from a possible heartbreak.
He sits up and stares at his friends with a neutral look before sighing and shifting his gaze down to his hands.
"I actually do really like her, and I'm positive that she likes me back."
"How can you be so certain?" The gentleness of Sirius's tone conveys his concern for Remus perfectly since he rarely uses such a tone.
"I can't explain how, but I just know. I know you lot think she's just going to play with my heart, and I really do appreciate how much you three care for me, but I need you to trust me on this one. Please."
"What if she finds out about your lycanthropy? Are you ready for what will happen if she knows?" Peter asks softly, almost too timid to bring up the subject.
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far yet."
"He has a point, you don't really know what she's like. This is the first time you two have talked, how do you know you can actually trust her?"
"James-"
"No," Sirius interrupts. "James and Peter are absolutely right. You have no idea what she's like, but neither do we, so, if you're actually serious about her, we'll help you when you need us. You've been here for all of us when we've needed your help, so we'll return the favour, but just keep in mind that you shouldn't fall for her so quickly."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Y/n!" Narcissa calls and walks quickly over to her younger friend who was working on an essay for charms. Y/n looks up just as she takes a seat on the couch next to her. "Just the girl I was looking for."
"What do you want Cissy?"
"I heard a rumour going around that you were talking to Lupin today in your potions class. Isn't that ridiculous?" She asks, subtly prying for answers.
"Well, I did talk to him. He's actually not that bad."
"What? Why would you even talk to him? If I were you, I'd ignore the amortentia situation and refuse to talk to him."
"Look, he's actually kinda nice."
"Nice?"
"Yeah. Look, about the amortentia, I saw Rabastan put it in my goblet so I pretended to take it to get him off my back. We both know how long he's been pining for me, it's pathetic really, so I decided that I'd use the situation to my advantage. Besides, Lupin's easy on the eyes, so why not use him to get rid of Rabastan?" She only half lies. Yes, Y/n does think Remus is attractive, and yes, she does want Rabastan to leave her alone, but she didn't tell Narcissa that she's been fancying him for two years.
"So you're going to try and use him? Isn't that just a bit cruel?"
"Well, not exactly. Let's just say I wouldn't mind getting to know him better." Narcissa scoffs with an amused look on her face at her answer.
"How do you know it'll actually work? I mean, do you even know if he fancies you?"
"Of course I do. He told me that he's fancied me for three years and he smelled my perfume in the amortentia."
"Why would you use him though?"
Y/n sighs quickly and looks to the side awkwardly deciding that she'd come out with the full truth. "Because I smelled him too." Narcissa's eyes wides at the confession, unsure of what exactly to say. "I didn't plan on this happening, but apparently I'm actually attracted to him."
"You could just be attracted to those scents instead of him as a person, right?" A moment of silence. "Right?"
"I don't know. I guess our talk in class made me realize that I could actually find myself fancying him a bit." Back to her lies to save herself from embarrassment.
"Y/n?" Narcissa pries.
"Alright, fine. Maybe more than a bit. I think he's attractive. Not just his looks, but also his personality. And I actually fancy him."
"I knew you felt the same, darling," Rabastan smirks as he casually leans over the back of the couch and rests his head on Y/n's shoulder.
Y/n rolls her eyes and scooches over to get his head off of her. "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about... someone else." She trails off.
Rabastan pouts and goes to sit in between the two girls. "Then who are you talking about?" He asks bitterly, obviously showing his jealousy.
"I don't have to tell you. It's none of your business."
He looks over at Narcissa for an answer.
"I'm not going to tell you either. Go find anybody else to pester."
"But-"
"Go." Narcissa points to the boy's staircase with a stern look. He grumbles to himself and leaves the pair alone. "Go on," She encourages Y/n to continue.
"See what I mean? He's perfect to get that little weasel off my back."
~~~~~~~~~~
As the Marauders talk among each other, Remus spots Y/n strolling through the courtyard mindlessly without a distinct location. He looks over at his three friends idly chatting and decides to sneak away and jog over to the girl.
"Hey, Y/n." He greets, falling into step beside her.
She looks over at him and smiles pleasantly. "Hello."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
They walk in silence for a few seconds, just enjoying each other's company until Remus asks, "So, where are you going?"
"Nowhere in particular. Where were you going before you came over here?"
"I was just walking with my friends to the Black Lake," He answers. "Though I much prefer walking with you."
"Wow, really? I thought you and the others were supposed to be inseparable."
"Well, I made an exception for you."
"I'm flattered." She teases with a wide smile. As she looks up at him, she catches him staring down at her hand. "You know you can hold my hand if you'd like."
"Are you sure? I thought we were going to keep whatever we have a secret."
"I've changed my mind. Please hold my hand."
And he does.
~~~~~~~~~~
"-so I grabbed my wand aimed it straight at Snivellus; then I-"
"Where's Remus?" Peter asks, unintentionally interrupting James's story of when he made Severus's nose to grow three times its original size.
The other two look around them, now wondering the same question, when Sirius spots his taller friend reach down and hold Y/n's hand in his larger one.
"Found him." He points over to the pair with a smirk. All three watched as Y/n nudges his arm with her shoulder playfully, the faint sound of Remus laughing audible from there they are standing.
"Who could've actually thought that those two would end up together?" James asks rhetorically.
"They're so different, but they look so happy," Peter points out.
"It seems like we don't need to help him after all. Good for him," Sirius smiles.
"We're following them, right?" Peter asks.
"Yep," James and Sirius agree in unison and the three take off after the pair.
~~~~~~~~~~
"What exactly are we?" Remus asks Y/n, coming to a stop in front of her, eyeing her closely.
"What do you mean exactly?"
"I mean, what is our relationship? Are we dating, or are we not? This whole thing is kind of confusing." He averts his gaze and stuffs his hands into his trouser pockets, waiting anxiously for her answer.
Y/n hums, thinks for a moment, then replies, "What do you want?"
Still averting his gaze, he tells her, "I want whatever you're comfortable with."
She sighs with a fond smile and cups his cheek with her hand. "I'm comfortable with whatever you want us to be." He takes her hand from his face and kisses her palm lightly.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
"No," Remus's face immediately falls and he starts to pull away when Y/n begins to giggle. "I'm kidding. I'd love to be your girlfriend." His smile returns and he holds gently onto her waist.
"I'm going to get you back for that," He whispers.
"I expect nothing less from a Marauder."
He finally moves back and holds her hand once more. "Shall we continue on with our walk?"
"We shall." Y/n replies in her most posh tone, gaining an eye roll from her new boyfriend, and they continue onward without a care in the world. Not even the loom of the impending war breaking their blissful moment just walking together without saying a single word more.
~~~~~~~~
Remus looks over the top of his book to find Y/n reading across from him, jotting down ingredients for a potion she's been wanting to make for a while.
"Y/n?" He asks, earning a soft hum as her way of letting him know she's listening. "Do you think you can make me that sleeping potion you were talking about? I've been stressed about exams lately and I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in a week."
This, of course, is a lie. Remus hadn't slept because he was nervous about the full moon that was coming up that night and paranoid that Y/n would discover what he is.
"Of course! Why didn't you ask me sooner?" She asks, setting her book aside to give him her full attention.
"I didn't want to bother you about it. Besides, you mentioned how some of the ingredients are rare and expensive so I-"
"Don't worry about the money. That's actually one of the things I've been growing in my garden. I have my parents send me some of the petals every month since they grow quickly and I use them for the potion."
"What is it exactly?" He asks curiously, he too putting aside his book.
"Wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane?" He furrows his eyebrows, wondering why she would use the petals for a sleeping potion when they are typically used for werewolves.
"Yes. Don't tell anyone, but it can potentially be very poisonous when using too much, which is why I only use two petals and add one drop of phoenix tears into the brew which allows the user to wake up. It's kind of like the draught of living death, only you breathe the entire time. I've perfected it so there's no use in worrying."
"How can you be so certain?"
"I wouldn't be here if I messed it up. Besides, I've also created a simple revival potion in case anything goes wrong, and believe me, it won't anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't think I would drink the wolfsbane without testing it first, did you?"
"No, I- nevermind. Wait, aren't phoenix tears very hard to collect? How did you manage to get some?"
Y/n hesitates for a moment then suspiciously blurts out, "Family connections."
"Family connections?" He repeats and watches as she quickly nods. "Okay."
"Look, everything will go smoothly when you take the potion. I'll give you a bottle tonight."
"Tonight?" He asks nervously.
"Yeah, when we meet up for our date."
"That was tonight?"
"You forgot, didn't you?"
He sighs, leans forward, and holds his head in his hands while his elbows rest on the table. "I'm so sorry, but tonight's not the best night."
"Oh... Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Everything's fine. Can we please reschedule for two days from today?"
"Uh, sure? Why not tomorrow?"
"I uh, I'm busy."
Y/n furrows her brows but nods none the less. "Okay. I'll give you the potion at dinner then."
"That would be amazing, thank you, love."
~~~~~~~~
"Are you sure it'll work?" James asks, eyeing the glass bottle containing a purple liquid Y/n had given Remus an hour earlier.
"Positive."
"What if something goes wrong?" Peter questions nervously.
"There's a small bottle of a revival potion in one of my robe pockets," He points over to a where he placed his robes and a change of new clothes for after the transformation.
"Remus," Sirius calls from the window. The three boys look over and Remus catches a glance of the moon. "You need to take that potion now, mate."
James quickly steps in front of the entranced Remus, blocking the view, and uncorks the bottle for him. "Come on, Moony, you have to take it now."
With a shaky hand, Remus brings the glass bottle to his lips and drinks until there is not even a single drop left. Instantly he starts feeling drowsy and lets the bottle fall to the floor which shatters upon impact.
"Woah!" Sirius shout, hurrying over to his friend and clutches onto him a moment before he starts falling.
"What'd she give him?!" Peter frantically asks.
Sirius gently sets Remus on the floor and the three watch as his unconscious body starts morphing into a grotesquely thin werewolf. They hesitantly watch for any signs of life, making sure to be careful in case he reawakens and starts attacking.
"He's breathing," James announces. "Now all we need to worry about is waking him up."
"He said it lasts eight hours," Peter reminds the small group.
"Then we'll stay with him for eight hours, and if he doesn't wake up, Y/n better hope I don't find her," Sirius says, taking a seat on the dusty bed.
"Agreed," James sits next to Sirius.
"Same here," Peter reluctantly chimes in.
"So, should we watch him in shifts?" James asks.
"Why not. I'll take second," Sirius answers, laying back on the bed and starts making himself comfortable.
"I'll take third," Peter adds.
"Fine," James crosses his arms and keeps his focus on his sleeping friend while the other two slowly start drifting off to sleep, waiting for their shift.
Unfortunately, after an hour James falls asleep and they all remain unconscious until morning.
Remus is the first to awaken, he's returned back to his human form sometime in his sleep and the only evidence of his transformation is his aching body. He sits up, groaning slightly, and looks around the room only to find the remaining marauders asleep on the bed. He slowly stands and quietly walks over to the pile of clothes.
Sirius wakes up to the jingle of his belt buckle and bolts upright, waking James and Peter in the process.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Remus apologises, fastening the buckle through the hole.
"Are you okay?" James asks worriedly.
"Yes. I think that's the best transformation I've ever had," He smiles.
"Brilliant! I might need to ask her to give me some of that potion later." Sirius laughs.
"I'm sure she'd be willing to give you some sometime," Remus smiles. "She's very generous."
"If I'm being honest, I thought you were dying when you took the potion," Peter admits.
"I think we all did," James adds.
Remus shakes his head. "I didn't. I trust her."
"That's because she's your bloody girlfriend. We still have some scepticism about her,"
"Hasn't she proved that she can be trusted, Sirius? I'm still alive and the only pain I have is a dull ache in my bones because of the transformation. She's created something that will finally help me and she is kind enough to just give it out to people. She told me some of the ingredients and they are very expensive, but she still gives it to people so they'll be able to sleep peacefully. I literally trusted her skills with my life and it worked flawlessly. In my opinion, she's proven herself. When will you finally understand that what you think of her is the complete opposite of who she actually is?"
The boys look down at the floor.
"When she proves us wrong." James finally answers.
"Would you still think the same way about her if she was a Gryffindor?" Silence. "Huh? That's not a rhetorical question."
"I don't know, and I don't have to know," Sirius replies.
"Whatever, I'll see you later," Remus grabs his clothes and walks to the door.
Peter asks, "Where are you going?"
"The Great Hall. I'm going to get some breakfast."
"Want us to come with you?" James questions, only for Remus to shake his head and gently closes the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~
"Good morning, Remus! How'd the-" Y/n gets cut off when Remus dashes over to her with a huge smile on his face and hugs her tightly. "Oh! What's this about?" She laughs hugging him back.
"Your potion worked perfectly."
"I told you it would," She smiles. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?"
"Of course," He agrees, and the two walk into the Great Hall together.
"You seem cheerful this morning," Y/n points out, guiding him over to the Slytherin table, much to the annoyance of her housemates.
"I guess you just have that effect on me."
She looks over at him with an amused, sarcastic look, but smiles after a few seconds. "That was cheesy."
"Why are you bringing him here?" Rabastan sneers over at Remus when he takes his seat across from Y/n.
"I'd like to eat breakfast with my boyfriend. Got a problem with that, Lestrange?" She asks in as polite a tone as she can muster.
"But he's a Gryffindor-"
"And you're a moron, what's your point?" Y/n interrupts, smiling passive-aggressively. Rabastan mutters under his breath and stabs his eggs with his fork while Remus, as well as a few others surrounding them, snicker at her insult.
The rest of the morning, Y/n and Remus were uninterrupted and enjoyed a lovely breakfast together followed by a relaxing walk along the castle grounds, enjoying their Saturday together. Soon enough, they found themselves sitting together at the edge of the forbidden forest, looking up at the clouds, occasionally pointing up at one that formed a cluster in a recognizable shape.
Y/n stretches her hand skyward and points at a fluffy cloud, gaining Remus's attention.
"That one looks like a duck."
"Really? I think it looks like a dog."
"A dog? Are you blind? It's obviously a duck."
"Alright then, it's a duck."
"Wait, nevermind. It is a dog."
"I told you so," He smirks.
"Hey!" She laughs, nudging his side teasingly. "That one looks like a dragon."
"You must need glasses, it's obviously a... oh. It's a dragon."
"I told you so," She mocks, deepening her voice in a horrible attempt to sound like Remus.
"Hey!" His voice raises to a higher pitch to mock her back and nudges her side as she had done to him. A content silence consumes them as they look up at the sky, no longer looking for any specific shape, both wearing smiles on their faces, happy to be sitting with each other. "Y/n?"
"Yes?"
He sits up and stares down at her, sighing deeply when averting his gaze. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course," She raises herself and looks over at him.
"Before I tell you, you need to promise me you won't tell anyone at all."
"I promise." He looks around, paranoid that someone could be watching them. "Remus? Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine. I just need to tell you that, uh, I'm sort of a- uh. I'm a- Oh this is harder than I thought it'd be."
"Are you trying t tell me that you're a werewolf?"
"Yes, thank you. And I- wait, what?! How do you already know?!"
"You really aren't that slick about it. Cancelling our dates which land on the full moon, making up terrible excuses, your scars, " She leaves a bit of silence, then continues, "I was suspicious that you might've been cheating on me, so I followed you last night and I saw you."
"You thought I was cheating on you?!"
"Well, yes, but that's only because you were acting very suspicious yesterday at the library when you cancelled our date. It wouldn't have been the first time, so I just decided to follow you and try to catch you in the act to tell you off. To my surprise, you snuck off with your friends and went to the shrieking shack. Even more of a surprise, one moment, Pettigrew was standing next to you lot, and the next he shrunk and did something to make the whomping willow stop moving. After you all went through the tunnel, I followed and hid behind the door and watched through the crack as you talked about your plan to drink the Wolfsbane potion and transform. I stayed long enough to see you fall asleep and watched as you jerked and changed into a werewolf, and then I left."
"You know, and you're not scared of me?" He asks shocked.
"Of course I'm not scared of you. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met. So what if you can't control your actions for one night of the month? You at least go away from other people, excluding your friends, who I have reason to assume are animagi, and try to protect them by secluding yourself in a small shack. Judging by those scars on your face, I also assume your hurt yourself because I've read werewolves are full of bloodlust, and while you can't perform your natural hunting instincts, which you cannot control whilst in that state, you harm yourself to satisfy that need. You, Remus Lupin, I am not scared of. I am scared of those who do not try to protect others."
"But I'm a monster."
"No. You're extraordinary." He gives her a bittersweet smile and leans in to give her a gentle kiss.
"Thank you," He whispers.
"Can I tell you something?" She asks.
"Of course."
"Remember when you asked me how I got the phoenix tears?" She asks nervously.
"Yes."
"Well, I'd like to show you something." She stands.
Y/n closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then focuses on her heartbeat, suddenly feeling the appearance of a second, faster beat, and she lets herself transform into a phoenix, flying around Remus, her delicate, firey wings shining brilliantly in the sunlight.
Remus gapes up at her, an amazed expression stitched on his face.
"Wow. Y/n, you're stunning."
She lands on the ground and in seconds she returns to her human state. "Thanks."
"I much prefer you like this though."
"Oh stop," She smiles, shyly hiding her face in her hands.
"I can't help it, I just think you're wonderful."
"I think you are too," Y/n hugs him close to her and kisses his shoulder. "I'm so lucky I have you in my life. You're such an amazing person and I hope you know that I will never ever think of you as the monster you say you are."
"Believe me, I'm the lucky one."
