"The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before." – Samuel Johnson
Anne woke up to another bout of Lily's harsh sniffling. Anne could see her fiery head, and cringed as Lily exhaled sharply, irritated at her stuffed nose.
Anne sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes quickly.
"Lily, are you well?" she asked cautiously. Lily sniffed harder.
"No." she groaned from atop her bed, and rolled over to face Anne. "Actually, I feel horrible."
Anne got up and felt Lily's forehead. She was burning up.
"I am going to get your mother." She said quietly, and started for the door in her purple pajamas. Lily only groaned in response.
"Mrs. Evans?" Anne called softly as she entered the kitchen. The tall women turned, her fiery hair swirled with the movement.
"Good morning, Anne." She said pleasantly.
Anne smiled. "Good morning, Mrs. Evans." She answered politely. "Uhm, I believe that Lily requires your attention upstairs. She seems to be ill."
Marsha's smile dropped a bit as she set down the spatula she was holding, and followed Anne up to Lily's room.
"Lily dear?" she said soothingly as she sat on her daughter's bed. She rested the back of her knuckles on Lily's forehead as she sniffled. "You're simply sweltering!"
"I know, mum." Lily said, slightly saucily. Her voice was nasal and it sounded like it hurt to talk.
Marsha frowned. "Well, this won't do! We were all supposed to go shopping together this afternoon." She said, disappointed but accepting. "But you are much too sick to be going anywhere for a few days."
Lily coughed. "No, go without me. I don't wanna ruin your day." She protested. "Dad'll be here to take care of me while you're gone. I'll be fine."
"No, Lily, I would feel so guilty." Anne protested quietly, sitting on her cot. "I shall stay here and take care of you along with your mother."
Mrs. Evans smiled down at Anne, pleased that Lily had chosen such a caring girl to be her best friend. "Of course." She agreed.
Lily shook her head. "No, really. I just need some sleep and some quiet. I'll be fine. Please, just go."
Mrs. Evans looked doubtful. "Okay… but I want you to call me anytime if you want us back home." She said slowly, not totally approving.
Lily rolled her eyes and sniffled. "Okay, mum, okay. I'll be fine. It's just a cold." She smiled.
Anne smiled back at her friend, and rose from where she sat. Mrs. Evans patted her daughter's hair before doing the same.
"Very well. Anne, we'll be leaving at twelve, which gives you an hour to get ready, is that okay?" she asked.
Anne nodded. And Marsha smiled. "Right, now I'll go wake Petunia." She said, and walked out of the room to Petunia's door.
Anne spent the next hour getting ready for their outing. She was uncomfortable with that fact that she would be alone with Petunia and Mrs. Evans, but she supposed that it would be beneficial for Lily to get some rest with them gone for the day.
She wore a thin, white and red striped tank top with a modest neckline, with faded jean shorts that came to her knees. Her auburn hair was down and straightened, but even straight it only fell to her chest, due to her drastic cut.
When she deemed herself ready, she shakily said good-bye to Lily, and headed down the steps to where Mrs. Evans and Petunia were waiting. She was surprised to find Petunia dressed rather scantly. A faint sneer appeared on the blonde's face at Anne's modest outfit, but it quickly disappeared.
"Ready to go, girls?" Marsha said pleasantly, and led the two out the door to the dark green cavalier outside. Petunia sat in front, periodically changing the Muggle music station, as Anne sat quietly in the back for the whole ride.
They arrived at what seemed to be a large, outdoor mall. There were stores everywhere, as well as outdoor tables to eat at and teenagers everywhere.
Petunia's eyes shown with malice as they stepped out of the parked car. Marsha led the two to the first store close by.
"Alrighty, girls. I know that you probably don't wanna hang out with your mum…" she started; an amused smiled gracing her face. "So here's some money, go have a good time."
Anne tried to protest the funds that Marsha handed her, but the older woman waved her off as she strode away towards a cluster of stores.
Petunia flipped her hair and waved at a group of girls by the fountain in the middle of the square. Anne followed her to them, and stood awkwardly as they greeted each other with hugs.
"Who's this?" a dark-haired girl asked in a snooty fashion, pointing behind her hand at Anne.
"Oh, that's just Anne, Nina." Petunia said, her condescending tone was directed at Anne. "She's my sister's best friend. She just had to tag along with me today."
The girls sneered in Anne's direction, and she looked at her toes in shame.
"Why don't you run along now, Anne?" Petunia said, turning her black gaze on the younger girl.
"But… I do not know…" Anne started in a whisper, looking at her shoes. Her accent thickened with her embarrassment and shame.
"Ew, what kinda accent is that?" another girl sneered.
"French." Petunia sneered. "She's some type of foreign exchange student, I think. Who would possibly exchange anything for her?"
Anne felt tears well up in her stormy eyes. She blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. She tried to speak again.
"Je…Je ne sais pas…." she started in French, but caught herself. "I do not know where to… to go…"
"Figure it out." Petunia spat, and then, laughing with he friends, they flounced away to join a group of guys.
Anne was so very close to tears as she fast-walked away from the group of girls. She passed groups of teenagers that stared at her, and a couple of teenage boys who tried to hit on her.
She plopped down, her face in her hands, on a bench on the other side of the complex. She felt a few tears run down her face, and wiped them away.
"You know, a pretty girl like you shouldn't cry." A familiar voice said.
Anne looked up, startled, and found herself staring into the face of Remus Lupin, a half-smile present on his face.
"Oh! Remus! Qu'est-ce que tu fais ici?" she blurted out, the mixture of her emotion and surprise pushing her to speak French.
Remus chuckled. "English, s'il vous plait." He said pleasantly, and Anne smiled at his attempt at French.
"What are you doing here?" she said, correcting herself. "This is a Muggle shopping centre…"
Remus shrugged. "I come here often. I live a few blocks away, in the small, secretive wizarding town, Shankstil." He explained. "I was actually just heading to the ice cream parlor for my mum, care to join?"
Anne looked away. "Oh… I do not know about that… I mean…" she started, trailing off.
"C'mon. My treat." He said, holding out his hand. "It'll be fun."
Anne sniffed and finally nodded, standing up without the help of Remus' hand. Remus smiled, and they started walking.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. "By the way, why were you crying?" he asked.
Anne looked away and blushed. "I-I …" she couldn't admit it to Remus, so she fell silent.
"It's alright. You don't have to tell me." He said, accepting that Anne was embarrassed. He didn't push her for information.
Anne was grateful, and smiled a little as they walked into the fenced area of the outside ice cream parlor.
"Can I help you?" the cashier asked nicely, and Remus mused for a moment.
"I'll take the moose tracks, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles for here, along with a double banana fudge to go, please." He said, and then glanced at Anne expectantly.
Anne panicked for a moment. All of the menu's items were foreign to her. She had had ice cream before, of course. But the flavors were very different from wizarding flavors.
"Um, chocolate… just… chocolate. Please." Anne stumbled over her words. The waitress smiled sympathetically and told Remus the total. He pulled out some cash, and told her to keep the change. Anne pulled out a few pounds to give to Remus.
"No, no. It's fine." Remus insisted, amused. Anne frowned, but followed him to sit with their treats when they were handed to them.
They ate in silence, until Remus broke the ice.
"So, how is your summer so far?" he asked, and Anne licked her lips as she glanced up to answer.
"Rather good. But I think that I am ready to go back to school soon." She answered. "I am actually staying at Lily's home at the moment. For another two days."
Remus smiled. "Yes, I was wondering why I found you here, of all places." He mused. "I actually had to give you something. It's for Lily."
He pulled out a small, wrapped gift box. Anne inwardly groaned.
"It's for Lily. For her birthday. James told me that it was coming up. So… here." He held it out to her.
"Oh… um… well…. You see…. It is… not Lily's birthday… until January." Anne stuttered, licking her ice cream cone. "James made a mistake…"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Well. That's unfortunate. I went out to get this for her specially. Hm." He was in thought for a minute. "Here. You take it. Happy very late birthday." He said with a smile.
Anne was stunned as she received the small package. "M-my birthday was in April…" she murmured.
Remus shrugged. "Okay, so very, very late?" he joked, and Anne laughed softly. She opened the present quickly after glancing up at Remus for permission.
It was a Sneakoscope. A rather humorous present, in Anne's mind. The Marauders were known for their 'untrustworthiness'.
Anne beamed. "Thank you, Remus." She said quietly, and slipped it into her small handbag that she had with her.
Remus smiled back. "No problem." He said happily, and then the two swung into an actual conversation. Yes! Anne had a conversation with someone other than Lily!
It went for a few hours, and Anne was delighted to have found a companion in Remus for the day.
When the sun began to set, Remus started to fidget a bit in his seat. Anne could take a hint.
"Oh, well, thank you, Remus." She said, standing up. "I think that it is time that I go and find Petunia and Mrs. Evans. They are probably expecting me."
Remus smiled and nodded. Anne noticed a bit of strain in his face.
"It was good to see you, Remus." Anne said awkwardly, not sure what to do next.
Remus nodded, and was about to go, but seemed to have an afterthought. He reached over, and took Anne into his arms.
And just hugged her.
Anne was surprised, and her heart beat was so fast she was embarrassed that Remus might be able to feel it.
On an impulse, she turned her head, and kissed him on the cheek.
He seemed surprised, and pulled back. Anne smiled awkwardly, worried that she had offended him.
"Good-bye, Remus." She said quickly, and darted out of the parlor area.
Remus smiled and called a good-bye to her as well.
As he began to walk quickly towards home, glancing up into the sky nervously every few seconds, he noticed a weight in his back pocket.
He reached in, and pulled out a single golden galleon.
He smiled wearily, and continued his trot home.
…
Wow, that took forever to write!
A lil Remus/Anne action? Yes, I think so! Adorable!:D Nerd love!
Aha, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did!
Not much else to say, but don't forget to revieeeew!
I love you allllllll!
-Jess