A/N: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!
hello, everyone! this is my first attempt at writing a story and I hope you like it. I read the Harry Potter books every year because... well, it's Harry Potter and don't know, I felt like writing a little of my own about the Marauders so... here it is :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :)
But then again, if we're not friends
Someone else might love you too
And then again, if we're not friends
There'd be nothing I could do, and that's why
Friends should sleep in other beds
And friends should kiss me like you do
And I know that there's a limit to everything
But my friends won't love me like you do
No, my friends won't love me like you do
Oh, my friends will never love me like you do
Ed Sheeran
"Remmy!"
Remus Lupin was barely able to turn around properly before he felt arms quickly wrapping around his neck. He smiled instantly and returned the hug, recognizing one of his best friends in the entire world.
"Hello Cassie" he said with a small chuckle wrapping his arms around the small girl and kissing the top of her head. "How was your summer?"
"Ugh bloody boring" she said stepping back a little but he still had his hands on her waist. "I am so glad to be back" she said with a small smile. "How was yours?"
"A bit boring too" he admitted. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
"How were the- um" she started before looking around and lowering her voice. "You know?" she whispered. Remus smiled knowing what she was talking about.
"They weren't that bad Cass, honestly" he said knowing she always worried about the full moon.
"Sorry we couldn't come" she said getting a little nervous. "Father decided to have a stupid dinner with the Malfoys that night and-"
"It's alright Cassie, really" Remus said with a kind smile. The black haired witch smiled apologetically back at him.
"I missed you Remmy" she said hugging him again.
"I missed you too" he whispered placing his head on top of hers until they were interrupted by her angry brother.
"CASSIOPEIA! How many times have I told you not to run out of my sight like that?"
"I wouldn't know Sirius. How many times have I asked you to NOT call me that?!" the small girl said glaring at her twin brother. Remus tried not to laugh. He knew just how much Cassie hated her full name. Since first year she had warned every single person in school that she would hex them if they ever used it. The only ones who called her that were the teachers, sometimes. And, of course, her brother, just to get in her nerves.
"You left me with mother and Regulus, thank you very much! Mother made me carry your trunk!" Sirius complained. "Oh, hey Moony!" he said spotting his friend.
Remus laughed at the sight of two of his best friends fighting like they always did.
"Hi Padfoot, I trust you had a good summer?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"You don't even want to know, mate" he said hugging his friend.
It was a known fact that Cassie and Sirius didn't have the best home life, to put it in a nice way. They came from The Noble and most ancient House of Black, one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest pure-blooded families in the wizarding world. However, unlike the rest of their family, they didn't care about the 'importance of blood purity' as their parents put it. Remus, on the other hand, was a half-blood. His father was a wizard but his mother was a muggle. Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Black didn't really approve their friendship with him or Cassie's muggle-born friend, Lily Evans, for that matter.
"Sirius, Cassiopeia" the three friends turned around to face the third Black sibling. Regulus. Unlike his older brother and sister, he believed in everything their parents said, although he wasn't as drastic as they were. He didn't care for muggle-borns or half-bloods but he wasn't exactly mean to them. "I've been looking for you everywhere" he said slightly annoyed.
"Well, what a coincidence Regulus, because we've been avoiding you everywhere!" Sirius answered with a small smirk. Remus knew the two brothers never got along. Sirius always said Regulus needed to stand up to his parents like they did. But Cassie was very protective of both her brothers and she was always the peace maker of the three.
"Siri" Cassie warned. Regulus simply rolled his eyes and continued.
"Mother told me to tell you that she hopes you two behave this year" he said without any emotion in his voice. "And she said that running like that is not lady-like Cassie" he added and Remus saw the girl rolling her eyes but she smiled at her little brother.
"Thanks, Reggie" she told him and he smiled back at her. In the long time Remus had met the Black siblings, he had only seen Regulus smile if it was towards his sister. "Do you have everything you need in your trunk?"
"Yes" he replied before picking up his trunk. "Lupin" he acknowledged the boy before he left them standing there and made his way to the train.
"Well, we should go and find a compartment too" Remus suggested.
"Yeah, here!" Sirius said tossing Cassie her trunk and she quickly grabbed one end as the heavy trunk landed on the floor almost bringing the girl with it in the process.
"Hey! I thought mother told you to be chivalrous!" she complained.
"Yes, and she told you to be a lady" he mocked her laughing and grabbing his trunk before he made his way to the Hogwarts Express.
"I can carry it for you" Remus offered kindly, seeing that the trunk was a bit too heavy for the girl, but Cassie shook her head.
"No, Remmy, don't be silly" she said smiling gratefully at him. "I can do it, I just wanted to tease Siri, but thanks" she said grabbing her trunk and they both made their way inside.
"Hey! Moony, Cassie! Over here!" they recognized the voice as soon as they stepped inside the train.
"James!" Cassie shouted excited as they made their way to the boy with black, messy hair and she hugged him.
"Hey, Prongs!" Remus greeted the boy at the door of the compartment where Sirius was already seated.
"Took you long enough" he said looking up at his friends. Cassie rolled her eyes and threw her trunk at him. "Oi!"
"That's what you get you lazy bum!" she said sitting next to him.
"Things never change, do they?" James asked Remus as they sat across from the twins.
"Call me crazy, but I kind of missed it" Remus said laughing a little. "So, how was your summer?"
"It was alright" James said shrugging his shoulders. "I finally found a way to get Lily to go out with me!" he said excitedly.
"You're still on that?" Sirius asked laughing at his friend. "Mate, the girl's said 'no' at least 800 times. I think she means 'no'" he stated as Remus rolled his eyes and Cassie let out a small laugh.
"Honestly Jamie, you can't possibly think she's interested! You followed her around like a sick puppy all of last year" Cassie added. "The girl hates you!"
"Well that was before I thought of my genius plan!" he argued.
"Which is?" Remus asked.
"You!" James said pointing at Cassie.
"Me?" she asked, clearly confused.
"You're friends with Lily" he commented.
"So?"
"So, you can help me out!"
"It took you all summer to come up with that?" Sirius asked, making Remus laugh.
"Shut up! Come on Cassie, please?" he asked turning to the girl, once again. "I asked Remus last year to help me out, since they were both prefects and did their rounds together-"
"Does that mean I am off the hook this year?" Remus asked him hopefully.
"No" James quickly said. "But Cassie shares a dorm with her. She can help me out even more. You can tell her how nice a guy I am and how funny and how smart and charming-"
"And how modest" she said sarcastically and Remus smiled at her, but James ignored her as he kept on saying all his good qualities, including how he was an amazing Quidditch player.
"… So, what do you say?"
"No" the girl simply said.
"What?" James asked taken aback.
"I said no" the girl repeated.
"But Cassie-"
"No" the girl said again.
"But… why not? I'm your best friend!" he said offended.
"Be that as it may" she said rolling her eyes a little. "Lily is one of my few, if not only, female friends, thanks to you two idiots flirting with every single girl, dating them and then, never talking to them again!" she said glaring at James and Sirius. "I am not going to jeopardize my friendship with Lily just because you can't take a hint Potter!"
"But this is different! I love her!" James argued. The other three friends rolled their eyes once again when the door opened.
"Hey, guys!" Peter Pettigrew said walking in the compartment. "Hi Cassie" he said eyeing the girl sitting next to her brother.
"And that's my cue to leave" Cassie said standing up and walking out of the compartment.
"If you see Lily, be sure to mention my name!" James shouted getting up and out the door to see his friend walking down the hallway.
"Bite me!" she yelled without even looking back. James laughed and went back to sit down. Sirius stood up and punched Peter in his arm when he didn't move.
"Ey! Stop ogling over my sister!" he said before sitting down again.
"I wasn't ogling!" the smaller boy argued sitting down next to him.
"Things really never change, do they?" Remus asked James this time.
"Nope" James replied laughing before all four boys started talking about their summer.
"Hello, again my friends" Cassie greeted the Marauders at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, sitting between Remus and James and across from Peter and Sirius.
"Hey! You can't just sit like that! Why isn't my Lily Flower here with you?" James asked upset looking for the red-haired girl everywhere.
"She saw you here and ran away as fast and far as she could" Cassie replied and James glared at her sticking his tongue out.
"Oh that's very mature, James" she said rolling her eyes and mimicking the boy.
"And that's real lady-like, Cassie" he mocked her. She was about to reply when she got interrupted.
"Good evening! And welcome to yet, another year at Hogwarts" the Headmaster's voice was heard in the entire room.
"Shh! Pay attention" Remus warned his friends while Professor Dumbledore gave his regular speech.
"Why? We know all this stuff anyways" Sirius complained. "We're in sixth year!"
"Well there are first years that need to listen to this" Remus replied in a serious tone.
"Look at them, all scared, lined up, waiting to be sorted" James said smirking at all the first years.
"Don't be mean!" Cassie said hitting his arm. "Don't you remember what is like to be that nervous?" she said remembering how afraid she was on her first year.
She was called to the sorting hat right after her brother. When the hat yelled Gryffindor, she saw the terrified look in his eyes. But when she stepped up, she was more afraid to be placed in a house without her brother than to not be placed in Slytherin like the rest of her entire family. To her happiness, the hat also yelled Gryffindor.
"I don't ever get nervous, darling" James said winking at her and she let out a laugh.
"Keep it quiet!" Remus scolded them again just before they heard a loud growl. The four boys turned their heads to an embarrassed Cassie.
"Tell that to Cassie's stomach" Sirius said trying to contain his laugh. Cassie glared at her brother before Remus noticed the blush in her cheeks as she looked down.
"Didn't you eat something in the train?" he whispered concerned.
"Uh, no I um, didn't have time" she replied with a shy smile. Remus knew that wasn't entirely true but he let it pass.
"Here" he said taking out some chocolate from his pockets.
"Remmy-"
"Don't make me use your full name" he threatened before she had a chance to protest. Cassie glared a little at him before smiling. She knew that Remus loved chocolate even more than she did so the fact that she was giving some of it to her was a big deal.
"Thanks" she said taking it and eating it. She couldn't help but feel a fuzzy feeling in her stomach when he smiled back at her but she decided that it was just her hunger and ignored it.
"Hey! No fair!" Sirius complained across from them but they ignored him.
Finally, after the speech and the sorting, it was time for the feast to commence.
"About time! Merlin's beard, I'm starving!" Sirius said filling his plate with everything in front of him as the rest did the same.
When he noticed his sister only filled half her plate, and she was just playing with her food, he frowned at her and passed some of his food to her plate. Cassie turned to face him but Sirius only gave her a look that was all she needed to turn back to her plate and start eating. Two of the other three Marauders witnessed the exchange between the twins but didn't say anything. The third one was oblivious to the whole thing.
Remus knew how they always came to this. Mrs. Black would always put Cassie down because of her conduct. Her eating habits were only one of the subjects she didn't approve of her daughter. She was always nagging her about not acting like a lady and not being more like her cousins, Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Remus had seen the three witches at some point when they attended Hogwarts. They were all older than them. Narcissa, the youngest one, was one year ahead of them. They were all known for their remarkable beauty. They were all in Slytherin, like the rest of the Black family. Their look was always flawless, always seemed perfect to the public eye. To say that every single guy in Slytherin was head over heels for at least one of the Black sisters was an understatement. Interestingly enough, Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff, won the heart of the middle sister, Andromeda, causing the family to disown her for marrying a muggle-born.
Cassie, on the other hand, was, not only a Gryffindor, but she was more of a free spirit. Her long black hair, that almost reached her waist, was always a little messy. Whether it was in a messy bun, a messy ponytail, a messy braid or just let down. Her uniform tie was usually undone; her shirt would rarely be tucked inside her skirt, the only times she would look 'acceptable' for her mother was whenever they had a fancy dinner to attend and her mother would make her act like that. And to top it all, she was a Quidditch player, the Seeker to be exact. According to her mother, no boy would want to go out with a tomboy like her. Mrs. Black was always telling Cassie how she should be more like her three cousins. How she wasn't as smart as them, or as pretty as them, or as thin as them, or as popular as them. And she would never find someone worthy of her that way.
Remus found it disgusting, really. How could she put her own daughter down like that? And even if Cassie never admitted it, Remus knew how much it hurt her. He and James knew about the matter because Sirius had told them all about it when they were in third year. If there was someone who hated Mrs. Black's attitude towards Cassie more than Remus, or even Cassie herself, it was Sirius. He had always been very protective of his sister. He would make sure to tell her that she was beautiful no matter what. Mostly because she was his twin, but still. Whenever they were home, Mrs. Black would serve the 'appropriate' amount of food in Cassie's plate, making the girl self-conscious in the process, so Sirius would always pass some of his food to her. He was always messing her hair and asking for her help on some subjects even if he was just as good as her. Remus hated seeing her like this. She was usually very outgoing and very confident, but three months stuck in that house and some of it had to sink in. So, Sirius, James and him would always try to get her not to listen to Mrs. Black and just be the girl they all loved just as she was.
"Come on Cassie, Quidditch season is coming" James said trying to cheer her up. "We need to get protein in you!" he said making her smile just slightly. She knew what they were doing and why they did it. She was so grateful to have great friends and loved them for it.
Remus sat there for a minute just looking at his friend as she kept her conversation with James about Quidditch. Little by little, he saw how quickly she forgot the matter and went back to her old self. Her dark grey eyes started to spark a little as they remembered how they won the Quidditch Cup the past year, thanks to her. Remus smiled at having his friend back. He chuckled a little when James said something that made her laugh and spit a little of her drink. In his opinion, Mrs. Black was insane. Cassie was just as pretty as her cousins, if not more. He had always wondered how come she didn't have a boyfriend. Boys were always chasing after her, Peter being one of them, but she never really seemed interested. Not, that he would notice or anything, but he still found it rather odd. Sirius was always taking advantage of his looks with the girls. He knew Cassie could get away with it as well, but in that aspect, she was the complete opposite of her brother. He was a bit thankful for that. He was very protective of the girl and never really liked any of the guys that had tried something to her. And he could feel this year would be a little more difficult since he saw that she got more beautiful over the summer.
Wait! What? Beautiful? Since when do I think Cassie is beautiful!? Sure, I mean the girl is attractive and all but that's it! Right? Still, he had never liked the idea of her being serious with another guy, but that's just because he was looking out for her… as a friend of course.
As if someone was reading his mind, at that moment Augustus McLaggen, another one of Cassie's big fans, approached the group. "Hello Cassie" he said smiling flirty at the girl. "Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew" he nodded to the boys. Remus found himself glaring at the boy a bit and had to make himself stop.
"Hello, Augustus" Cassie said politely as the boys just nodded.
"Looking forward to this year's Quidditch Cup?" he asked excitedly.
"You bet we are!" Sirius said, high-fiving James. "We're gonna win it again!"
"Yeah, we need new beaters, though, since Fabian and Gideon graduated last year" James said.
"Well, with the best Seeker in the entire school we will still win, obviously" Augustus said winking at Cassie. Remus felt a tight knot in his stomach but thought maybe it was something he ate.
"Ow, thanks, Gus, but I can't take all the credit myself" she said mocking them. "I guess the Chasers and the Keeper also had something to do with it."
"Well, obviously" James said messing her hair a little. "Without me to score the points, the team would be doomed!"
"Hey! Do I need to remind you that I scored more points than you last year?" Sirius argued.
"Yeah, well, who was the one making sure the other team didn't score?" Augustus also intervened.
"Gentlemen, please" Cassie interrupted making them all look back at her. "I think we can all agree, that if I hadn't caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw would've had the Cup, so really, is all on me" she smiled happily.
"Careful Cassie, you're starting to sound like Padfoot over there" James teased her.
"I am not! I am way prettier than him, don't you think?" she said making eyes at James, who raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. Remus had to control his stomach again, apparently and stop his mouth from saying 'obviously'.
"Hey!" Sirius complained as the other two laughed.
"I think I speak for all of the boys in our school when I say that you are" Augustus suddenly said. Remus suddenly noticed his fist was clenched for some reason. He took a deep breath and let it pass.
"Aw, thanks, Gus!" Cassie replied turning to face him again and smiling up at him.
"Oh please, we could make a survey around the school and I think I'd beat you, sis… girls and boys" Sirius mocked her.
"Getting a little full of ourselves, aren't we, Siri?"
"You'd have my vote" Peter suddenly said looking at Cassie and Sirius punched his arm. "Ouch!"
"Mine too" Augustus said winking at her again. "Well, guys it was nice seeing you, but I'm off" Augustus announced. "I'll see you around" he told them. "Always a pleasure" he added his eyes landing on Cassie again before walking away from the group as Remus glared a little more. He was about to say something but someone beat him to it.
"Well, with the best Seeker in the entire school we will still win, obviously" James mocked Augustus' voice once he was out of sight. "That guy is a phony" he stated.
"What? I thought you liked Gus" Cassie said confused.
"I did until I saw the way he was looking at you" James said in a protective tone. Remus was relieved that he wasn't the one who had to say it, even if he was about to.
"James, I already have an annoying protective brother! I don't need another one!"
"Of course you do!" Sirius said. "You think I can fight all of the boys at school by myself? Cassie, I know I'm tough and all, but come on, sometimes I need Prongs and Moony to help me get them off your case!"
"What about me?" Peter protested with his mouth full of cake. Cassie eyed him with a disgusted face.
"You are the president of Cassie's stupid little Fan Club" Sirius said glaring at him. It was true; Peter had developed a crush in the witch since fourth year. He blushed a little at the statement and decided it was better to just keep on eating.
"I don't have a Fan Club!" Cassie argued blushing just a little. James smirked widely at her.
"I think I speak for all of the boys in our school when I say that you do" he said mocking Augustus' voice again. "And is not that little!"
"Knock it off!" Cassie said hitting his arm while the other three boys laughed.
"Come on Cassie, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed several guys at school, well… um, fancying you" Remus said trying not to sound so upset about it.
"They do not!" Cassie said blushing a little when she turned to Remus. "Not all of them" she muttered looking down but James heard her.
"Right, not all of them, is just Augustus, and Peter, Adrian, who's always taking your photograph, Fabian and Gideon used to have their eyes on you, that Ravenclaw guy, what's his name?"
"Bertram Aubrey!" Sirius said glaring at the Ravenclaw table.
"Right! Remember when we hexed him last year for lifting up your skirt with his wand?"
"His head grew twice its original size!" Peter said laughing, remembering the incident.
"It wasn't funny" Remus intervened. Although he had gotten furious for what Bertram had done, he didn't think what James and Sirius did was right.
"Oh, please, Moony! He's lucky that was the only thing we did" Sirius said upset while Cassie just tried to sink in her seat hoping they would stop soon.
"Who else? Let's see… There are guys in Hufflepuff like Davey Gudgeon, Dirk Cresswell-"
"That's enough James" Cassie said getting upset.
"Ah! And there's Slytherin! Evan Rosier, Avery and Mulciber, Malfoy, Scabior… oh, this is fun!" James said laughing and looking at Remus who forced a laugh. Fun wasn't exactly the word he would use to describe all of the boys chasing after Cassie.
"Ugh! You are so irritating! And you wonder why Lily won't go out with you!"
"Well, to answer your question, is simply because Potter is an arrogant git who hasn't changed one bit" the five friends suddenly turned to see the red-haired Prefect standing behind James. James quickly composed himself and got up to greet the girl.
"My beautiful Lily" he said gleaming at the sight of the witch. "Wow, you got even more beautiful over the summer" he commented. To what do we owe the pleasure of you joining us? Have you finally fallen for my charms?"
"No" she said rolling her eyes. "I asked Cassie that if that day ever were to come she would immediately have me sent to St. Mungo's declared with insanity" she replied. "I came over to tell Remus that we have to guide the first years to the Common Room and you guys should be heading there too" she advised.
"Wow, not even a 'hello' Evans?" Sirius mocked her. "Didn't you miss us?"
"I missed your sister, Black" Lily offered, smiling at Cassie and Sirius pretended to be hurt.
"See? I already got three votes on my survey" Cassie said smirking at Sirius.
"I missed you too" James added making the girl glare at him again. "Would you guide me to the Common Room? I'm afraid I might get lost without your help" James said smirking as his friends all rolled their eyes.
"I think I'd be doing everyone a favor by letting you get lost" she said in a serious tone. "Remus, shall we go?"
"Uh, yeah, sure" he said standing up. "I'll see you guys later, please don't get into any trouble, at least for tonight" he begged.
"Can't make any promises mate" Sirius said. "You know trouble can't seem to stay away from us" he said as James nodded.
"Yep, that's us… handsome and dangerous" he said winking at Lily, who made a disgusted face.
"Cassie" Remus pleaded turning to his friend who wasn't as bad as the rest. She sighed, knowing she couldn't say no to him.
"Fine, we'll try" she said offering a smile.
"Cassie!" James and Sirius complained at the same time.
"Thanks" Remus said kissing her head, ignoring the two boys. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Lily!" James yelled, but she simply ignored him. "I'm going to marry that girl" he said sitting back down next to Cassie.
"And the day that happens, I'll be named Head of the Slytherin House!" Sirius mocked him as they all laughed at his hopeless romantic friend before they all headed back to the Common Room.
"Hey, what are you still doing up?" Remus asked coming down to the Common Room and finding one person sitting there, looking out the window.
"Well, I could ask you the same thing" Cassie said smiling up at him. Remus walked over and sat next to her.
"I asked first" he said with a small smile. Cassie saw he was holding something on his hand but she couldn't see what it was.
"Couldn't sleep" she said shrugging her shoulders. "What time is it?"
"Almost 2 AM" he said getting chocolate out of his pockets and giving some of it to her.
"Did you put a charm on your pockets so that they'd always be filled with chocolate?" she asked grabbing the piece and eating it. Remus laughed.
"No, I fill them myself" he answered.
"My knight in shining armor" she said playfully making Remus smile.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" he asked all of the sudden.
"I don't know" she said shrugging her shoulders, hoping he would let it go.
"Cassie" no such hope. Cassie sighed and turned to look back at the window.
She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want him to know the truth. She didn't want him to know that while James was naming out every single guy in school that apparently fancied her, she was hoping for Remus' name to pop out. But it didn't. She wasn't quite sure why she had hoped for that, but she did. She didn't want him to know that she could care less about every other guy in the school because, for the past year, she had developed feelings for the werewolf. She wasn't quite sure what they were yet. She just knew that she loved spending time with him, he was her best friend and everything seemed happier when he was around. She also didn't like it when another girl made him laugh, or got too close to him during class.
"Is just um-" she started, seeing Remus' eyes looking intently at her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't admit what she was feeling to herself, let alone to the guy in front of her. "Uh, my mother had my skirts 'fixed' again" she said smiling sadly and looking down. It had happened before that her mother would make her skirts smaller, so that she would have to fit into them. But ever since third year, Remus had helped her to charm them back to their original size.
Remus felt his heart clench. He hated when she was upset. Every time she was sad, he would make sure to make her laugh. He loved her laugh. But he couldn't say that. He couldn't let himself start to feel this way over Cassie. She was his best friend. She was a Black and Remus was… well, a monster. There is no way that she would ever see him as more than a friend. He wasn't even sure why she was his friend, but he was thankful. And he couldn't let her slip away. If that's the only way he could have her, he was glad. And he was determined to make her happy anytime he could.
"Cassie, look at me" Remus said in a very gentle tone. When the girl didn't look up, he placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking directly at him. "I don't care what your mother says, I don't care what your cousins look like and I don't care how many times do I have to say this, but I will repeat it until you believe me" he said in a serious tone. Cassie was looking at him a little confused. Remus was rarely this serious about something unless it was something very important. "You're beautiful!"
Remus froze when he realized the words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He felt his heart stop for a little while. He couldn't believe he had just said that. He just blurted it out. What is she going to think? Wait, why do I care about what she thinks? I'm just comforting her as a friend… there's nothing wrong with that… right? He felt himself calm down a little when he saw her grey eyes sparkle a little and a shy smile forming on her face.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked blushing just a little. No one, aside from Sirius, had told her that she was beautiful. And she was pretty sure he only said that because, well, they were twins. She knew James wasn't wrong about all the guys fancying her, and most of them tried asking her out, but they never called her beautiful.
Remus felt his cheeks burning a little, but there was no going back now. "I do" he simply said with a warm smile.
Cassie reached out to him and kissed him on the cheek before she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. "Thank you" she whispered before she rested her head on his shoulder.
Remus smiled to himself, knowing what this had meant to her. He turned his head and kissed her forehead.
"You're welcome."
Cassie sat back down and turned to face him again. "So, what are you doing up?" she asked trying to get things back to normal and Remus took the hint.
"Oh, did you know that James' snores got worse over the summer?" he asked a little irritated and Cassie laughed.
"Worse? I didn't think they could get any worse!" she said feeling sorry for the boy.
"I'm surprised you didn't hear him from your dorm" he told her. "So, I came down here to read and I saw you" he finished.
"Oh" she said with her smiling falling a little. "I can leave if you want" she said a little sad. She didn't really want to stop spending time with Remus.
"Don't be silly" Remus said grabbing what hi had on his other hand and showing it to her. "This is the book I brought" he said showing it to her and seeing a wide smile appearing on her face.
It was her favorite book. It was a book that had all of her favorite muggle Fairy Tales in it. Remus had shown her this book when they were in first year, on a night much like this. Remus couldn't sleep because his roommates were snoring and he came to find the small girl in the Common Room. She couldn't sleep because she was upset. Her parents had found out both her and her brother were placed in Gryffindor and they had sent out a Howler showing their disappointment.
"So, which one do you want to read tonight?"
"Peter Pan" the girl said without even thinking.
"Again?" he said letting out a little laugh.
"Is my favorite" she replied as she got comfortable and laid her had on Remus' lap, like they always did. Both teenagers decided to ignore whatever fuzzy sensation they felt as she did so. "Along with Beauty and The Beast."
"Alright, Peter Pan it is" Remus said with a small laugh and opening the book to the page where the story began. As he stroked the girl's long black hair he began to read. "All children, except one, grow up…"
A/N: so, there it is! :D I hope you guys liked it! let me know what you think :)
Mischief Managed!