Hi! Well... This will be my first attempt of Harry Potter fic and it'll be a Snupin because I have just been reading FAR too much this couple... My intention is a one-shot but we'll see (readers should know that the author is completely incapable of writing one - shots...) (I have a natural tendency to want to develop characters too much) Should also probably warn you this is a traslation from my fic by the same title but in spanish. I will be updating them both at the same time, so just you know...
Okay, let's start then.
Harry Potter and his characters are J.K. Rowling property.
Searching for 'Prince charming'
Strong, Intelligent, courageous and handsome. There are the main features that any 'Prince charming' who respects himself must have. For any 'normal person', a man who meets these features would be 'the one'. Because, honestly, what else could you ask for?
Of course, Remus did not consider himself a 'normal' person. And that was beyond the fact that Remus fancied males and not females as the majority of his classmates. Frankly, that would not have caused great scandal (or at least that was what he liked to think) actually; his biggest difference with the rest of Hogwarts' students laid in his... Umm... nature.
You see, Remus Lupin was a werewolf.
Which wasn't that bad; his best friends didn't seem to care about it. Peter, James and Sirius seemed to accept it and for the first time in his life, the boy felt... Welcome. And also, for the first time in his life, the brunette felt secure and not-so-worried his lycanthropy.
Although right now what concerned him was his friends' reaction if confessed them of his huge crush in... Oh, wait a second; we'll get to that later on.
As I said; strong, intelligent, courageous and handsome were the characteristics you want to find in your dreamy Prince. If he had to be very honest with himself, Remus was willing to accept Sirius possessed each and every single one of them. He was strong and muscular; smart although a trouble-maker; brave despite the fact that from time to time he didn't behave as he should and... Well, wasn't he handsome?! Who would dare to deny that? Half school longed for him...!
But, pretty please, don't think for a second that Remus had fallen 'victim' of the irresistible charms of Sirius Black. And that was exactly (from his point of view) the problem. Had been in hopelessly in love with one of his best friends, the others would have understand it. Most likely, Sirius wouldn't have minded and would (probably) apologize for not being able to return Remus affections.
Nobody would have been surprised if Remus had felt attracted by the other Gryffindor. As I said (numerous times) Sirius was the personification of the 'Prince Charming' ideal. The problem was that (as I'd also said) Remus didn't consider himself a regular person. And therefore, his 'Prince charming' could not be the typical one.
So, the 'love of his life' was rather the archetype of the villain in the fairy tale. Not particularly attractive, ambitious, cunning and, occasionally, frankly evil and impolite. And he belonged to Slytherin. Oh, and he hated Remus and his friends with passion. But well, nobody is perfect, right?
In case you haven't guessed, our beloved werewolf had fallen in love with no other than Severus Snape.
Which was ridiculous, stupid, impossible and extremely dangerous. Oh, if Sirius was to find out…! Remus was sure that James would frown and protest a little; then he would offer himself to play matchmaker and find another love interest for his beloved Moony. Peter would surely follow James in his search to find a 'crush-replacement'. But Sirius he would probably kill poor Severus, convinced he had bewitched Remus into fancying him.
And of course, there was also the possibility that Severus himself found out. Which would be infinitely more dangerous; surely the Slytherin would get into even more fights with the Marauders. And that wouldn't end nicely…
Or if he truly wanted to be pessimistic, there was the chance that other Slytherins where the ones who learned of his 'little secret'. If Sirius knew, rumor would reach his little brother Regulus (how? REMUS wasn't quite sure but anything that Sirius knew, Regulus did too) and once he knew it, it would be a matter of time before Narcissa heard it and if she was to find out, Bellatrix and Lucius would too and then... oh God, possibilities were infinite (and infinitely dangerous)!
The young boy sighed. No one had told him that love could be so incredibly difficult. Or if someone had, he hadn't paid attention. And with all this problems, he couldn't help to wonder if it was worth it…
"Now Remus, if you could, just for a second, stop gazing adoringly at Severus, you could understand why your spell isn't working"
"What? Uh?"
Lily rolled her eyes. The other Marauders were blind; it was plain obvious that Remus liked Severus! Seriously, you would need to be completely blind (or to be a complete fool) not to notice!
"Remus, concentrate. Do you want to pass the test or not?"
"Of course!" he protested, blushing a bit, without fully realizing what had his redhead friend had implied "sorry Lily; I'm just a little distracted lately..."
She sighed and nodded her head, empathetically. In all truthiness, she understood (and pitied) her friend. She supposed that it should be anything but easy to be fond of your best mates' sworn enemy and at the same time, be sure that it his affection would not be returned even if he was to do something about it. Wait a second...
"You won't accomplish anything this way, you know?" she said, with a sweet smile "if you want Severus to notice you, you can't stay here, gazing at him and daydreaming"
"W- what?" Finally, the brunette realized what the girl was saying "What are you suggesting, Lily? I would never…"
"Remus, you are like an open book. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on inside that pretty head of yours" her smile went wider and she leaned closer to him "I could help you, if your want me to..."
"I... eh... umm... it isn't..."
"You don't want to tell the boys, do you?"
He sighed and shook his head sadly "No, I'm not looking forward it. I'm afraid of what could happen..."
"If they are truly your friends, they'll accept that..."
"It not that Lils"- he whispered, with a tired smile "I'm not worried of telling them that I am gay; in fact, I am sure that suspect it. What really troubles me is... well... we are speaking of Snape. You know... Snivellus"
Once more, the redhead rolled her eyes "I've always said that this rivalry among you is ridiculous. And now I'm against it even more; since it's interfering with your happiness, Rem..."
"Oh, come on Lily! Don't say that! It's not like Snape was the love of my life...!"
"And how do you know that? Remus, if you don't give it a shot, you could be losing your chance to find your soul mate!"
"But..."
"No buts!" she snapped, standing up and pulling him by the wrist - Let's go! We'll do something about it, right now!
"W -what? Lils! Lily, wait!"
But the young female wasn't listening anymore and was dragging him down the road. It was a particularly cold winter afternoon and the majority of students were in the castle, so, to the lycanthrope's relief, no one say the shameful exhibition. No one, except of course…
"Severus! So good to see you!"
Said boy raised his eyebrows and looked up from his book. He had been sitting several meters away from the redhead and the brunette, without even noticing their presence. Severus really enjoyed his moments alone and he often concentrate a lot when he was reading…
"Lily" he greeted with the briefest movement of his head. He eyed Remus from the corner of his eye and said boy flushed slightly. However, he hoped that the pink tone of his cheeks would be attributed to the cold and not to the embarrassment "Lupin"
He had greeted him! Without any sarcastic remark! That was as much of a response as you could expect from Severus, but Remus was certainly not complaining!
Lily sat down next to him and instructed the brunette to take a seat in front of Severus. The boy did was said only to avoid the wrath of the female. She smiled and then returned her attention to the other young male- You see Severus, we have a problem. And we would like your assistance with it"
An elegantly arched brow let Remus know that the other suspected of their intentions. Even so, his tone was friendly when he replied "Really? And why would you need my assistance, Lily? Especially Lupin, who has this WONDERFUL friends of his. Most certainly they could..."
"But Sev! Potter and Black would be absolutely useless for this particular task. You're a million times better than them in potions..."
Remus couldn't decipher his friend's game, but he didn't say anything. Eventually he would know what was she planning. Also, he had to admit that her way of approaching Severus was particularly smart; nothing as effective as flatter him slightly to achieve... well, whatever Lily was trying to achieve.
"Agreed; I'll accept that I am much better than them" Remus noticed he hadn't clarified 'in potions' but decided not to argue "so what?"
"Well, you see, Remus is having a few problems with this class…"
"Why should I help him?" he re-focused his attention towards his reading, ending the conversation. Lily groaned and then appeared to think about something for a couple of seconds while that Remus stood up, assuming that there wasn't anymore they could do or say on the matter ('Fortunately' for him)
"You called me Mudblood" Lily eventually exclaimed, determined to get Severus 'help' "and you said you would do 'whatever it takes to earn my forgiveness'"
The dark-haired boy looked up and chewed his lip nervously. Oh, of course, that incident... Remus had almost forgotten. Umm... perhaps that would work. Now the interesting thing was, was that good or bad for him?
"I... eh... you said… that was last year!" exclaimed a somewhat worried Severus "and I thought that you had already forgiven me!"
She shook her head with obstinacy and folded her arms "Help Remus. That's all I'm asking for"
"But Lily! He is one of them!-the other boy's tone had became pleading but it was clear as water that the girl was not going to 'buy it' "You can't ask me that!"
"Please" she whispered, taking one of the boy's hands between her "do it for me" she batted her eyelashes adorably, in the sort of way that she knew made boy's knees go weak. Severus sighed and looked away, while his pale cheeks gained a bit of color.
"I will… If you promise you won't be angry at me anymore" he looked full of hope and an unusual smile crossed his lips, making Remus' heart skip a beat "will we be friends again?"
Lily smiled and nodded her head "We have never stopped to be, Sev. But this would be a favor that I would appreciate a lot..."
The conspiring wink she gave Remus let him know that he had just signed his death's warrant.
"Well, I think that went pretty good, huh?"
Normally, Lily's enthusiasm was contagious. But this time... "Honestly Lily, I think you had just signed me in a lot of trouble…"
"Nonsense!" She laughed at the same time she said the password to get into the common room "only do exactly as I tell you and you'll be... fine" she frowned and Remus didn't have to look up to know what the person standing in front of them was James Potter.
"Lily my love! Where you have been? I've been looking for you around the whole school..."
"Get lost, Potter" she ex claimed, ignoring the young boy's flirting attempts "Later, Remy. Take care!" once again she winked and he rolled his eyes. James sent him a murderous gaze and gazed adoringly at the redhead, who was running towards her friends who where sitting by the fire. Remus wondered if he gave Severus the same look James was giving Lily. If that was the case, he was pathetic…
"Remus..." the Seeker's tone was threatening and the lycanthrope couldn't stop himself from smiling somewhat sarcastically.
"It isn't my fault that she prefers quieter and more bookish guys- he shrugged, as if it wasn't such a big deal "we make a beautiful couple, don't we?"
"REMUS JOHN LUPIN! How dare you…?!"
"What? What did Moony do this time, Prongs?"
Sirius had just walked into the common room, followed by Peter. The firs smiled mischievously, probably suspecting which the 'problem' was. The second smiled innocently, without really knowing what was going on, but feeling some curiosity.
"Padfoot! Moony has stolen my girl!" exclaimed James, in the most melodramatic way possible; making sure everyone in the common room was listening to them and turned around to see what was going on.
"That's not possible!" exclaimed Sirius, in the same dramatic tone "Remus, how could you?! I thought you loved me!"
And there it was the typical drama alluding to his sexuality. Yes, Remus Lupin was very sure of his friends knowing... and he was also petty sure that Sirius had noticed the long glances he had been giving him during their fourth year in Hogwarts...
"I'm sorry Sirius, but Lily is the real owner of my heart" if they insisted on this small farce, who was he to stop them? "she's also much smarter and more attractive than you…"
Oh, and Remus could think of someone else who, in his eyes, was much more worthy of his love than Sirius Black...
Sirius pretended to receive a deathly injure and collapsed on the carpet with his hands over his heart as if he was having a heart attack. He closed his eyes and pretended to be dead by a few seconds, while House colleagues started laughing loudly before they applauded the 'wonderful' presentation.
Making a leap, Sirius stood up and placed his arms around his friends' and practically forced them to make a bow along with him for their 'marvelous public'. Peter, who had not participated, applauded along with the rest of the Gryffindors.
From the corner of his eye, Remus caught Lily's eye and saw her shaking her head with a soft smile. He couldn't help to smile.
A little too soon the next day arrived and before he knew it, it was dinner's time. However, Remus didn't even dare to take a small bite because it was almost time for his 'extra lesson' with Severus and he was nervous as hell. Despite the fact that Lily would accompany him (at least during the first sessions) he didn't think he could take it anymore…
Finally, dinner concluded and most students headed back to their common rooms to enjoy an evening beside the fire. His friends were talking enthusiastically among them about some new 'prank' but Remus paid them no mind. The time had come. Oh God, was so anxious! His hands were sweating and his knees seemed weak and unable to hold his weight...
"Ready?" Lily seemed to have come out of nowhere and now was beside him, talking against his ear "what are you going to tell them…?"
"Moony! Aren't you coming?" the boys appeared to have noticed his absence and now were walking towards him in order to drag him after them.
"I am sorry guys" he whispered, with a shy smile "I'm going with Lily to the library. Lots of work…
And without daring to say another word, fearful letting slip his real objective, the brunette took the girl's wrist and (almost) ran out of the hall. The others watched him leave; James with some envy, Peter with curiosity and Sirius with frank suspicion.
"You know, Prongs? I believe Moony is trying to hide something from us..."
Okay, I failed. I can not write one-shots. But I like how this is heading. Probably, it'll last between 7 and 10 chapters. No more, because honestly, I shouldn't be getting distracted. And of course, that's only if you would like me to! So, let me know what you thought!