CHAPTER TEN
Saturday morning both Remus and Ambrosia had been called into Professor McGonagall's office to receive detention for cursing Nott.
"But Professor," Ambrosia pleaded from her seat, "Remus didn't do anything. It was me, I cursed Nott." Remus looked to his left and stared at Ambrosia in shock. The graying woman turned to Remus, who was still looking at Ambrosia, and raised a brow, "Is that true Mr. Lupin?" Remus looked at his Head of House and shook his head,
"No Professor," he told her honestly, missing the exasperated look Ambrosia was wearing, "I hexed Nott as well. But Professor we only did it because of what he said about Dorcas and Marlene." McGonagall pursed her lips and tipped her chin upwards. She looked to Ambrosia who was looking in her lap.
"Miss. Harkins, what was he saying about Miss. Meadowes and Miss. McKinnon?" Remus saw her jaw clenched for a moment.
"He called them bulldykes Professor, that's why Remus and I hexed him, but before that he-" she sucked a deep breath of air, "-he said that freaks like those two would be showed a lesson when the Dark Lord won." Remus felt himself still when he heard Ambrosia speak of You-Know-Who. As did Professor McGongall, though she went white and then red and then a shade of purple Remus didn't know humans could become.
"Very well," she said tartly after a moment, "The Headmaster and I will speak to Mr. Nott about what he's said, but in the meantime, you will both report to Mr. Filch at seven to polish trophies." Neither Remus nor Ambrosia tried to argue with the stern Professor, and instead hung their heads murmuring similar sounding "Yes ma'ams."
When they exited the office Ambrosia turned to Remus and crossed her arms, "Why'd you say you cursed Nott! I gave you an out!"
Remus looked down bashfully. The tips of his ears burned hot. "Because I did. It wouldn't've have been right to let you take the detention alone." Ambrosia smiled lightly at him.
"You're a good guy Remus," Ambrosia told him softly.
"Uh," he blinked, "Thanks."
"So what're you doing now?" She asked. She ran her left hand through her hair-Remus still wondered what it felt like. It was probably soft, maybe a little knotty but her hair was long and wavy so it was to bound to have some kinks in it.
"Going to hang out with the guys," Remus told her. She nodded, smiling brightly at him, "Cool, I'm going to find Lily. Have fun! I'll see you at detention!"
And she did, though she was five minutes late. Filch was standing in the entryway of the door while Remus had taken to standing towards the middle of the room where two buckets filled soapy water were.
"You're late," Argus Filch snapped as Ambrosia stumbled past him and into the trophy room. He clothes were different from those she'd worn early, when Remus had last seen her she'd been in muggle trousers and a large sweater, now she was wearing a golden brown, tight fitting turtle neck and a different pair of muggle pants- they were a shiny metallic silver and were loose fitting around her thighs, though they got tight around her ankles.
"Sorry sir," she said. Filch rolled his eyes, not actually caring.
"Wands," he demanded, palm out. Though he complied wordlessly he rolled his eyes when he dropped his wand into the pimply man's hand. Filch sneered at a hesitant Ambrosia, her wand was out, though it was clutched tightly in her hand.
"Wand," he growled. Remus bit his tongue, he knew it wouldn't do either him nor Ambrosia any good if he snapped at Filch like a petulant child. Ambrosia handed it over with a sigh.
"Now," Filch smiled, his crooked yellow teeth made both Remus and Ambrosia reel back, "You to will be cleaning the cases and trophies until there's not a speck of dirt left. You can leave when you're done."
"You're not going to be staying?" Ambrosia asked as Filch turned to the door, the man looked over his shoulder, "I'm not a babysitter." When he left Ambrosia turned to Remus, "I can take the cases on the left and you can take the cases on the right, that way it goes faster."
"Sure," Remus picked up a bucket, only to be stopped by Ambrosia putting her hand on his, sending sparks shooting up his arm. With how loudly it was pounding away in his ears, Remus wondered if Ambrosia could hear it too.
"Hey, Remus?"
"Yeah?" He looked at her, her eyes were wide and had a mesmerizing sparkle in them, her eyelashes looked longer and thicker and her lips looked shinier and plumper than they normally did. He could hardly breath when he realized that their faces were inches apart.
"Thanks for not letting me have my first detention alone. You're a real sweetheart, you know that." He blinked once then twice then a third time before, with a pink face, dumbly nodding his head.
They'd only been at cleaning for twenty or so minutes when Ambrosia called over to Remus,
"Yeah?" He replied.
"What's your favorite color?" She asked him.
"Why?"
"Because we're friends right?" Remus nodded his head, "And yet I don't actually know you, you know?" Not really, as creepy as it sounded Remus had picked up a bunch of thing about Ambrosia, like she always bit her lips when studying or that on Wednesdays she always wore the same space themed socks, just from watching her over the years.
"Uh, yeah." He was such a fucking creep. And a werewolf. He was a creepy werewolf and she'd hate him if she ever actually got to know him.
"So," she asked again, "What's your favorite color?" He should lie and say something normal, something like red or blue or-
"Brown?" Remus answered, "Like nice browns?" He wasn't exactly sure how to put it. He liked browns, the light-toned browns that old book covers tended to be, the kind of browns golden leaves turned to once they reached the earth-browns.
"What do you define as a nice brown?" She asked him. He looked at her and then her shirt, her nice golden brown kind of shirt.
"The color of your shirt?" She laughed, it was such a pretty laugh that warmed him in a comforting embrace, "Remus there's no need to keep phrasing everything as a question, I won't hate you just because you like brown or Kneazels over Nifflers."
"Really?" She nodded, "What's yours? Favorite color I mean."
"Purple, maybe? Possible bright red." She set the trophies she was cleaning back on its proper shelf and picked up a different, slightly larger one.
"Favorite food, and it can't be chocolate," she told, her bottom lip slipping behind her two top teeth as she smiled.
"Why not?" Remus laughed,
"Because chocolate's a sweet, and everyone knows you love it so I wouldn't be learning anything about you!"
Remus was quite as he thought about his favorite foods, "Crempog," he said. Ambrosia's eyes came together.
"I've never even heard of that word," she told him giggling. He smiled, his face was starting to hurt from smiling so wide, but he didn't really care because he was actually talking to Ambrosia Harkins!
"It's Welsh," he explained- "You're Welsh?"
"Half, my mum's Welsh, anyway Crempog is kind of like a pancake, but not really? There's vinegar in them."
"Vinegar? In your pancakes?" Remus nodded, "Alright, I happen to like Spicy Fish Curry."
"Does your mum make that or-"
"I get it when we go to Sri Lanka. Mum can't cook to save our lives, her girlfriend Betty on the other hand-"
"Girlfriend?" Ambrosia nodded,
"Betty and mum have been dating since the middle of second year. So, do you like Kneazles over Nifflers or are you a dragon guy?"
"Dragon," he said sarcastically, "You?"
"Mooncalfs," she told him, "Defiantly."
"What's your favorite class?" She wondered, "You're good in a bunch of subjects, but which one really takes the gold?"
"Defense," Remus answered automatically. He loved Defense Aginst the Dark Arts, even if he wasn't the top student in that class-Sirius was, he still loved it with all his heart.
"Let me guess, you like Herbology?" He snickered.
"No," she snapped, "I'm sorry," she winced,
"It's alright," Remus told her. Ambrosia sighed.
"Everyone just thinks that because mom is this great Herbologist, and that because she taught me a bunch of things she knows that it'll be my favorite subject when it's not. I mean I don't hate it but honestly, it takes a certain kind of person to love plants." Remus looked at her throughout her explanation and nodded along.
"So what do you like?" She looked at him and smiled, "Astronomy. I love the stars and the planets. I mean, space is fucking-" Remus's eyes widened, he wasn't so sure he'd ever heard Ambrosia curse in front of him before, "Wicked man. I mean the muggles, American's, put a guy on the moon, did you know that!"
"You can't put a person on the moon," Remus denied, but Ambrosia nodded enthusiastically,
"Yes, you can! And in '71 the USSR sent something to Mars, like how awesome is that?" Remus shook his head st the fact Ambrosia was shaking in her seat as she continued to list off space oriented muggle accomplishments. But as he looked at her and her wide smile and bright eyes he couldn't deny that in that moment that Ambrosia, under dimly light candles and sprouting off Astronomy facts, was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.