DISCLAIMER: Once again, I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't.
Chapter Three: In Which Arguments Are Had, and Runes Are Studied.
Evelyn Barrow sat in a quiet corner of the library, Spellman's Syllabary lying open before her. Various other Runes texts were spread across the well-worn desk. The books were ignored though, as she frowned at the retreating back of her boyfriend.
"I'll come by and pick you up later, yeah?" he had said, as he left for his own study group.
"Honestly, Gavin, it's fine. Gryffindor Tower's a little out of the way for you, and I'm perfectly capable of walking back to the common room on my own."
"I know, Evie, I know, it's just—. Well. You're sure he's - you're alright?"
She sighed, finally seeing what Gavin had been anxiously fumbling about. His irritation with her troublemaking housemates was tiresome, if not entirely misplaced. He had, after all, been forced to accept the hard-earned Quidditch Cup (which even Evelyn, as a Gryffindor, could concede they'd won, fair and square) alongside the rest of his team, wearing blue uniforms which clashed horribly with their red and gold candy-striped skin. It'd somewhat dampened their celebrations. But why he though that Remus, of all people, posed any sort of threat on his own was beyond her, and she said as much.
"Lupin's alright - certainly better than the others, I'll grant you, but he's still friends with them, going along with whatever ridiculous schemes they decide to get up to, so you'll understand if I don't take your word for it" His eyes furtively darted around the shelves, as if he expected her Runes partner to emerge at any second, ready to assail them with a one-man version of the Marauder's latest high-jinks.
She had huffed. "Fine!" She replied, through clenched teeth. "But I hope you realise just how ridiculous you're being. I'm in their House, it's highly unlikely they'd try anything with me - and certainly not Remus."
Gavin continued to puff indignantly up before her, as he warmed to his subject, and plowed determinedly on. "You're still dating me, and after last year, I doubt they're going to hold back when it comes to the Cup. Merlin, they get away with bloody murder! It's sickening, how everyone just fawns over them, and don't get me started on—"
Evelyn thrust a hand out, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Gavin. I appreciate your concern. But none is going to do anything to me to try and - I don't know - put you off your game, if that's what you think is going on. Besides —" she grinned, with a sudden flash of teeth, "any little prank they tried on me? I'd return it in spades!"
Gavin visibly deflated, smiling despite himself. "Of that," he said, leaning in and pressing a quick, apologetic kiss to her cheek, "I have absolutely no doubt." He pulled back, holding her by gently by her shoulders. "I'm sorry - it's just - I would hate for anything to happen to you, because of me. I'm Captain now, too - I'm an obvious target."
"I know - I do. But I'll be fine." She smiled again. "Meet you tomorrow after dinner? I know we haven't been able to spend as much time together since summer finished."
Gavin stepped away, picking up his bag. "Sorry - Quidditch practice. Got to make the final year count, you know? But the weekend?"
Evelyn nodded, smile fading, and sat back down behind the desk. "Sure - night then."
Gavin grinned, and was gone.
Evelyn sighed, head falling back against the chair. This resentment of the Marauders, combined with her friendship with one of them was the only thing Gavin and she had been unable to completely agree upon. She shouldn't let one thing detract from their relationship - with their shared love of history, dreams of travel and from the fact that he likes her, a lot. For the first time, someone actually saw her, and not her more outgoing friends. The fact was, she was pretty bloody sick of always mooning over the unattainable, and letting her teenage years slip by, which was why, when her friends starting giggling to her about the handsome Ravenclaw's apparent interest in her, followed by his invitation to Hogsmeade a week later, she accepted. She supposed for now she'd just have to wait until the memory of the Cup was less … raw.
She pulled another textbook towards her, pushing her ash-blonde hair behind her ear as it fell across her face. She was halfway through a particularly fiddly bit of translation when the whole table shook with the sudden addition of a towering pile of books. She looked up, pulling her quill from her mouth, where she had begun to worry it between her teeth.
"So sorry I'm late! My friends were being idiots and I'm afraid I was a little side-tracked." Remus panted, looking a little worse for wear, with his shirt untucked and rumpled. He pushed his dishevelled hair away from his face with one hand, while the other desperately tried to re-organise his books. "Not that I'm trying to blame them, or anything," he added, hastily, "it's just that, well, I was a little distracted, when I know I should have been paying closer attention to the time—" He broke off, looking at her apologetically.
"It's quite alright. I haven't been here too long myself", she said, leaning forward to help him replace the texts back into their precarious stack.
"Great!" He flashed her a quick grin, before sitting down.
"Keen to get stuck right in, though, if that's alright with you? It'd be good to get a good head-start on this project of ours."
Remus nodded. "Sounds good to me! I was actually thinking, perhaps we could look at how Runes can be applied to the potions field, since it's another subject we're both interested in..."
Two hours later, Remus and Evelyn lay slumped over their desk, parchments covered in elaborate runic designs strewn around them. Raising her weary head, Evelyn gazed blearily across the desk. "I think we've done as much as we can for now," she said, massaging at her temples, where a throbbing headache raged. "How about we leave it as is, and meet up same time next week?"
"Thank God" Remus groaned. "I love Runes, I really do, but this is just brutal! Trust us to pick such a complex topic."
Evelyn laughed, as she began stacking the Runes books to return to the shelves. "Very true." Pulling her Syllabary towards her, she added teasingly, "I'd better let you get back to your friends, anyway. Who know what sort of schemes they're coming up with now, without your calming influence?"
"Honesty, I'd rather not. You wouldn't believe what James' come up with this time!"
Evelyn's cocked eyebrow prompted him to elaborate. "It's ridiculous, as most of his plans are, of course, but he's taken it upon himself to er...well, find me a girlfriend." He went on to outline the "Grand Plan", looking increasingly embarrassed as he did.
Evelyn's eyes widened, before she broke into raucous laughter. Remus, looking thoroughly disgruntled, leant forward to shush her, looking around for the stern librarian, who had a habit of swooping down on unsuspecting students he felt were disturbing the sacred peace of the library.
"Thank you," he said dryly, a small hint of a smile belying his words. "It's so nice to know I have such supportive friends."
She continued to laugh at her friend's expense. "I'm sorry, Remus, I really am, it's just...it's completely absurd! Surely they know you're perfectly capable of finding a girlfriend for yourself, if you were interested? Knowing how James and Sirius carry on, they'll be lucky if they don't end up in front of McGonagall for looking like stalkers or something. " She chuckled again. "Oh thank you, Remus! You have no idea how much I needed a laugh." Her expression sobered, and she paused, looking down and fiddling with a quill, unsure of whether she should elaborate.
Remus leant forward, making an aborted move to reach for her hand. Now it hovered somewhat awkwardly between them. "Did—did you want to, er, talk about it?" he asked, tentatively.
She worried at her quill between her teeth, before offering, "I — Gavin and I had a bit of a disagreement earlier, that's all. But we worked it out."
"Ah - well, I'm glad to hear it. He seems a nice bloke - don't know him that well, of course, but you seem pretty gone on him, which I'll take as confirmation enough!"
She huffed a laugh. "Yeah, something like that.
"Right, I'd better be off then. Got to face whatever's next in James' plan. You heading back to the Common Room?" Remus stuffed the last quill in his pocket, before rising to his feet.
"I think I'll stay a little longer. Maybe draft out my Charms essay. You're going to go through with this plan then?"
He snorted. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice. I'll never hear the end of it! I'd rather just play along and prove them wrong while I do."
"Well, be sure to keep me posted! I wait with bated breath for the next instalment in the saga that is Remus Lupin's Enforced Romance."
Remus shot her a mock glare, shaking his head, before grinning and raising his hand in farewell. "I'll see you in class Wednesday, then? Night!"
"Night, Remus!" Evelyn called after him. Her eyes followed him out of the library, before she pulled a fresh piece of parchment towards her. Charms wouldn't write itself.