After much debate, because the two options were pretty much tied according to the vote, I think, I've decided on option B) A school dance is coming up and the Marauders are trying to find dates (excluding Remus). This takes place during their fourth year at Hogwarts.
Remus leafed through his bag, trying to find the notes he had taken during the last potions class when a small piece of parchment landed on his desk. He glanced behind him to see James encouraging him to read it.
Who are you asking to the dance? it read. Remus rolled his eyes. That was all his friends seemed to think about over the past week. Remus picked up his quill and scrawled on the back of the note. No one.
Remus took the note in his hands and glanced up at Professor Slughorn. He was measuring out a sliver powder into different small jars. Pretending he was stretching, he reached his hand back over his head, keeping it there until he felt James take the note from him.
"Moony," James whispered after reading the note, sounding disappointed. Remus shrugged. There was no one who he really liked, so there was no one he wanted to ask.
As soon as class let out, James came up from behind Remus and blocked his path.
"Why not?" he demanded.
"Why what?" Remus asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. He walked past James, who fell in line beside him.
"Why aren't you going to ask anyone?"
Remus shook his head slightly. "Because I don't like anyone. Simple as that," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"If everyone followed that logic, no one would have a date! The point is to have a date. It doesn't matter if you really like them, as long as you can stand them," James said bluntly. Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend. James really could be so blunt and ignorant sometimes.
"I presume you aren't going to ask Lily, then?" Remus asked. James's jaw locked and his face flushed. Remus laughed.
When they reached the Great Hall for lunch, Peter and Sirius were already waiting, complaining about all the homework Professor McGonagall had assigned.
"So, who are you two asking?" James asked as he sat down. Sirius grinned and leaned back slightly. "You asked someone already, didn't you?"
"Maybe," Sirius said.
"What about you, Peter?" James asked. He shrugged and pushed his food around on his plate.
"There's... there's this girl in Hufflepuff... I don't think she'll say yes though," he said sadly.
"I'm sure she will. Just ask her," Remus said encouragingly. Even if he didn't have a date, he hoped his friends would be happy. After all they had done for him, they deserved it.
By the time the dance rolled around, only Sirius had a date. Lily had turned James down immediately, leaving him "heartbroken" (again). The girl from Hufflepuff had already been asked by another boy by the time Peter got up the nerve.
Remus stood off to the side of the dance floor, watching people as they danced, swinging one another around and laughing. He spotted Sirius dancing with his date through the crowd. Not far off was James, swaying in an almost "too cool" fashion relatively close to where Lily was, though Remus was positive that was merely a coincidence. Peter had left some time ago to find something to eat, but Remus had seen him get pulled into the dance crowd and disappear.
"Tell me, Remus, why aren't you out on the dance floor with your friends?" a voice beside him asked. He looked up to see Dumbledore, his robes a deep crimson colour.
"I'm not much of a dancer," he said sheepishly.
"Nor am I. But, I have found that joining in is much more fun than watching from the sidelines," he said, a smile crinkling up in the corners of his eyes. He said good-bye with a simple nod and danced over to where the rest of the supervising teachers stood.
He hadn't been lying when he said he didn't dance, but Remus smiled and searched the dance floor for his friends. Maybe he would join in after all.
So, writers block... boo...
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this little chapter! I think I still have to work a bit more on nailing Remus's perspective. Any tips?
