Hello there :D We're back in the past again... Enjoy ;)
Morning came around quicker than I'd expected and, before I knew it, I was no longer staring at the tranquil face of sleeping Remus but at a plate of greasy breakfast. The Great Hall was buzzing with students but the Gryffindor table was very clearly split into two sides – me at one end and the rest of the house at the other. Now I knew how it felt to be Snape: if he was handsome, less greasy and likeable. James slid towards me, entering limbo and carefully manoeuvring himself over the wall of distain, onto my side.
"Pads, we have potions next. Will you be alright being paired with Moony?"
I smiled "Thanks for worrying, but I'll be fine. I have a feeling I'll be able to sway his view on me this lesson." I smirked "And anyway, it could be worse – I could be paired with your girlfriend."
"Ah, it's always a possibility."
"I'd rather it wasn't" I muttered to myself.
He laughed "So would I: I wouldn't have to clean up anybody's corpse."
I glanced to my side to see Lily's emerald eyes trying to burn through my skull and fry my brain.
"I think you'd better go back. Lily looks murderous."
He smiled at me and slid back across the table.
When I placed myself next Remus in Potions the whole room went tense, the piercing eyes of fellow Gryffindors fearing the worst. But he wasn't uncivil towards me... nor unkind... he just had this slightly cold air about him, like he didn't really care about me; like there was somewhere he'd rather be. Yet I still knew there was an ember of hope sparking in the darkness – if he loved me when he was asleep, he loved me when he was awake, it was simply that his mind and feelings had been subject to impugnment on behalf of a distraught Lily Evans, to the point that he believed whatever she said regardless of whether it was right or wrong.
He lifted our caldron from the storage and placed it on the table with a clink. 2 month old Polyjuice Potion sloshed and swirled around in it, filling the room with a rather rancid smell. I didn't quite get why we'd had to leave it over the holidays – it didn't need to brew – and was positive that, being left for that amount of time, it would probably kill someone like Remus, who had never been a very well person in the first place. I didn't want him to die from a dodgy potion when he was already slipping so nicely from my grasp. He sat down beside me again and began to listen intently to the Professor, his arm dangling so sweetly, his hand open, fingers relaxed, calling mine with hushed voices. Without even thinking, my hand glided perfectly into his, his palms softer than I'd remembered, the touch so delicious that I could barely contain myself, instantly regretting the notion – knowing it would be snatched away any moment and I would be yearning for it with all my heart for as long as it took for him to forgive me. But, to my surprise, he left it there, giving it what felt unbelievably like a slight squeeze. His shining blue eyes flicked to me and rested delicately on my face with a sympathetic smile playing nicely on his lips. I leaned toward him.
"So, you don't love me only when you're asleep" I muttered.
His eyes broadened and his cheeks glowed an aggressive red. "How di- What makes... Just..." He looked to the floor and heaved a sigh "So, it wasn't a dream."
"No, it wasn't." I laughed "So now can you please go back to being my wonderful, beautiful, innocent Remus – It's lonely without you."
"But... Lily. She's still angry. She was such a good friend when we..."
"And, as a friend, she'd want you to be happy, right?"
We were suddenly met with a loud thud on the desk and the booming voice of our Potions Professor in our ears. "Get on with it! I do not want a month's worth of work to have been a complete waste of time and potentially dangerous because you two have not been concentrating!"
I sighed and quickly placed the last few ingredients into the caldron, splitting it then into two vials and neatly exchanging hairs. The potion was possibly the most putrid thing I'd ever tasted; it burned my throat and watered my eyes, threatening to come back up and exhibit itself on the table. Though, I was glad I wasn't the only one, as the whole class around me seemed to be displaying strained attempts to keep their breakfasts in their stomachs. I stared at my hand that had slowly begun to resemble Remus' and felt the sensation trickle up my arm and spread across my body. It was odd carrying what little weight he composed himself with, compared to mass of muscle I had to bear, he was like a feather, completely free, and I found it surprising that I was still stuck to the ground. Funnily enough, he seemed to be having the very opposite problem, pressed to the table, looking overly worn out. I laughed as he shot a malicious glance at me.
"You're bloody heavy, I hope you know that."
"And you're really light. Have you ever wondered why I'm on top?" I grinned, winking.
"Well, I think I'm going to take this as an opportunity."
"Tut tut, no sex in class – did you forget that the one we made only lasts for half an hour?"
He grunted and pulled himself up to level with me.
"It will happen one day and you'll be sorry."
I shook my head, having his flowing hair fall in my line of view. It lined the room with gold, making everything glow like nothing on this earth, an extra gate to heaven, Remus being the only key. Now I understood why he would let his hair float around so freely – such beauty needed to be cherished not ignored. I smiled.
"You're an amazing human being, Rems."
He turned to face me.
"Are you saying that to me or you?"
I slanted to kiss his cheek, but the fact I would be kissing what appeared to be myself and the presence of the impending eyes of other students killed the moment. They all seemed a bit off key, not quite right, then I realised that the change back was happening. I glanced down on myself, but nothing had changed. The floaty feeling was still there. I was still Remus Lupin and Remus Lupin was still me.
"Nothing's changing..." I moaned, frustrated.
"Look, when the Professor turns around again, we swap and no one will be any the wiser."
Surely enough, by the end of the lesson no one had actually noticed that we weren't us and as we staggered out of Potions with our new found weights, Moony seemed quite pleased with himself, professing how he was going to be the one on top tonight. It came as quite an amusing disappointment for him when we changed back in the middle of Care of Magical Creatures, so as my apology, I kindly granted a once in a lifetime ticket that he gladly accepted.