I stared at him.
"What did you just say?" My mouth was dry and it came out as one word.
Sirius chuckled (as if he thought it was funny!) and repeated the awful phrase. "I said that of course I care for Remus's girl."
His girl. I wasn't anybody's girl. I wasn't Remus's girl. "I'm not his girl," I snapped, surprised at how easy being mad and bitter came to me. I had never shown this much emotion to anyone; usually, it was written down in my journal.
He then shrugged (as if it was no big deal!) and said, "That's what everyone is calling you."
My mouth dropped open in shock. The whole school wasn't just making fun of me for going up to the tower with Remus – they were also giving me insinuating nicknames. "But, we're not even talking right now-" I tried to explain, to give a reason why I wasn't his girl.
I suppose it wouldn't be absolutely awful being Remus's girl. But I didn't like Remus like that. Other girls would probably kill to be in my situation. And here I was, fighting and complaining about it.
"Because you ran out on him," Sirius added.
I frowned. "I just didn't know what to say. I needed some time to think. Is that such a crime? Did he think I was just going to accept it right then and there?"
I didn't even expect an answer. It was supposed to be rhetorical. "He did, actually." I looked over at Sirius with a wide-eyed expression. "He was hoping that you were going to understand right away. He thought you would sympathize with him."
"But-" I couldn't just understand without some time. I was utterly terrified of werewolves because of my dream and I was just supposed to forget it ever happened and go along my merry way? "I have to go..." I said suddenly, standing up, catching Sirius off guard.
He didn't say anything as I rushed away, out of the portrait hole and through the corridors down to the Great Hall. Dinner was about to start in a couple minutes and it was a good excuse to get out of there.
"There she is!"
Excited whispers caught my attention. I looked around to see two younger Hufflepuffs leaning together and looking over at me.
"She's the one that everyone is talking about. Remus's girl."
I clenched my teeth and continued down to the hall, not even caring to send a glare their way.
Even though I had only ran into a couple people on the way down, all of them seemed to be talking about one common thing: me. And Remus, to be more exact.
But what bothered me the most is the number of times I heard "Remus's girl". I lost count at six, where I was so frustrated that it all became a blur to me.
Dinner was like a large-scale version of walking in the corridors. I could feel so many pairs of eyes watching me, and I felt like I was going to be sick.
Sneaking a glance down the table, I caught sight of Remus, idly moving his food around his plate. He was looking even worse than ever before.
Why was I so afraid of werewolves? Where was my Gryffindor courage when I needed it? I wanted to go and apologize to Remus, tell him everything was all right, but my legs wouldn't move. I was paralyzed.
I only spent fifteen minutes in the Great Hall before I rushed out of there, still feeling the burning of their eyes on my back.
I wanted homework to distract me, but I was distracted from it. I sat there in the common room, scrolls of parchment in front of me with absolutely nothing written on them. It was no surprise that I was failing miserably.
Remus had returned from dinner only a few minutes after I had settled down to work, and he refused to look at me as he clambered up the staircase and out of sight.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and placed a hand on my head. There was my headache again.
I knew I would have to speak to Remus soon, but I didn't know what to say, what I could do. Was I supposed to tell him that I wasn't afraid? But that was a lie. Of course I was afraid. This was too confusing.
"You have to say something to him," I heard James suddenly say. Looking behind me, I saw Sirius and James standing there, arms crossed, like they were in some sort of intervention.
I sighed. "I will. I just need some time," I answered.
James gave me a long look, and then left up the staircase. Sirius didn't move. He probably had more to add to James's comment.
"You okay?" Okay, so that really didn't add to James's comment.
I hesitated, and then said, "You were right. About the girl comment."
Sirius looked thoughtful and then walked around the couch to sit next to me. He stared into the fire for awhile and I waited for him to respond. It grew steadily more awkward. "Sirius?" I finally prodded him.
He looked up at me, a hint of a smile beginning to appear on his face. He had some sort of plan. "So," he grinned. "where's your story?"
I'm sorry! I know it's another cliffhanger! I know I'm awful. But...you still love me, right?