True to his word, Remus wrote to her all summer. At first his parents thought he was spending all of that time writing to his friends (good, they thought, he's still keeping up with them), but when his mum called him downstairs one day in August, saying there was an owl from someone named Hazel, there was a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I haven't heard about her." Hope looked to her husband, who had just gotten home from work. "Is she nice?"
Lyall shook his head. "Neither have I. Ashmore... the name sounds familiar, I just can't place them."
Turning nearly Gryffindor scarlet, Remus untied the letter from the owl's leg. "She's just a friend."
"Mhm." His parents shared a look, Remus dashing back upstairs before they could say anything more.
When September first rolled around, Lyall had a warning for his son: Be careful, especially around that girl. You can't have too many people knowing what you are. Your best friends are one thing, but it had to be a closely-guarded secret. It's for your own good.
Remus had nodded in agreement, promising he wouldn't go telling the entire school. All worries were erased as soon as he was on the train, Peter waving him over to the compartment where Sirius was already sitting. James joined them a moment later, and the four were reunited, ready to start a new year of adventures.
"Hey Moony, look who it is." James jerked his head towards the door, which was sliding open.
"Hey," Hazel beamed, leaning in the doorway. Remus immediately turned pink. "I figured I'd stop to say hi. Pan, Xeno, Sev, and I are a bit further down the train." She paid no mind to the faces James and Sirius made at Sev's name, her eyes glued on Remus instead. "Don't forget about the chocolate frogs you owe me. I expect them by the Prefect meeting tomorrow. Well, maybe after the first Hogsmeade weekend, to be fair."
As soon as the door slid shut, James, Sirius, and Peter started to give him hell for it.
As the last remnants of summer gave way to fall, Hazel and Remus found each other together a lot. They'd sit out on the grounds reading, holding hands and pointing things out in their books. Or they'd be locked in the library, rushing to finish essays before early-morning deadlines. Or they'd be in Hogsmeade, taking up spots in their favorite bookshop or the cafe nearby. Or they'd be watching Quidditch tryouts, eagerly awaiting the first Quidditch game of the season.
Gryffindor faced off with Hufflepuff first, incredibly early after tryouts. "They only gave us what, a week and a half to train? If that?" James was saying over breakfast.
Sirius shrugged, stuffing his mouth with eggs just as Hazel walked over, wrapping her arms around Remus and balancing her chin on the top of his head. "Supporting Gryffindor, I see," Sirius tried to say through a full mouth. "Wait, where'd you get that Gryffindor jumper, Miss Ravenclaw? Aren't your house colors bronze and blue?"
"Rem lent it to me," she smiled.
Remus blushed into his coffee as Sirius nearly fell out of his seat. "Wait, does that mean you two have been -"
"No," Remus cut him off hastily. "She just needed something to wear to the game."
Sirius would've had a wonderful comeback if all eyes hadn't turned to James, who had just checked his watch. "Shit! C'mon, we've got to go. I didn't realize how late it was. I bet the Hufflepuff team's already there."
"We'll see you guys soon. You're going to do brilliantly!" Hazel called after them as she took over James' vacant seat.
"Sorry about them," Remus said as Hazel poured herself a cup of coffee. "You do look nice in my jumper, though."
"Thanks. You look pretty cute in them too." She reached for the milk, stirring a splash into her coffee. "I'd say we give them ten minutes or so and then we head out there. Peter, how are the pecan pancakes? I've been too excited to eat much more than toast."
Remus fished for something in his pocket, handing her a piece of chocolate. "Here. Don't give me that look. You need sugar, and you don't put any in your coffee."
Hazel couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Rem. The boys better not catch you trying to make sure I eat before we play Gryffindor, though. They've promised me no mercy, especially after we beat them so badly last time." She took a sip of her drink, frowning at him a little. "Hey, are you feeling alright? You look like you're getting sick again." Putting a hand to his forehead, she frowned even more. "You're not too warm. Maybe you haven't gotten enough sleep."
It had been an easy lie. At least at first. He was sick a lot. But it was getting harder to lie to her. The more time they spent together, the more he wanted her to know the truth. But if she knew, she would run as far as she could. My dad was killed by a werewolf when I was little. Even now the words echoed in his ears, words he'd hear when they were sitting outside together, or walking through Hogsmeade, even when he zoned out in class. He'd smile at her and his father's words would come back to him. Be careful around her. She deserved to know. They'd been friends for ages, and now... even though things had only been officially official since spring, and they'd only talked through letters all summer, he knew he wanted to keep her in his life, and if he was going to do that, she would have to find out eventually. "Yeah, I think I'm... yeah." He and Peter exchanged a look. With four days until the full moon, they'd stayed up late the night before planning their next adventure.
"Well... if you're up for the game, we should get going. If not, go back to bed. You could do with some sleep. The boys will understand." Hazel stood, Remus glancing at Peter once more before he stood too, taking her hand and letting her guide him out of the Great Hall.
"Hazel!" They turned to see Sev jogging up behind them, a textbook in his hands. "Hey," he said sheepishly, looking at Remus before looking back at her.
"What's up, Sev?"
"I know you're going to the game, but if you're free after, do you want to get to work on Slughorn's essay?"
"Sure," she smiled. "Shouldn't take us long. All stuff we already know, right?"
"Yeah. I'll, uh, see you later." Sev took off for the library while Hazel, Remus, and Peter joined the crowd headed for the Quidditch pitch.
"What's he want your help for if he already knows all of that stuff? Everyone knows he's the best in our year. He's the Potions Prodigy, or whatever Slughorn calls him," Peter rolled his eyes, munching on a piece of toast as they walked.
Hazel pursed her lips, not wanting to get into an argument about Sev now. At least it wasn't with James and Sirius. They'd berate her about him every time his name came up. Remus, on the other hand, never made her justify why she was friends with him. After all, he knew what it was like to be the kid that no one liked. He was worried, even now, that people would leave him if they found out about what he was. Hazel was a prime example. "He's lonely, Pete. Lily's drifted away from him ever since they got here, and the Slytherins he's friends with... they're not that great. Besides, he's really nice once you get to know him. Is that - Hey! Em! Marlene! Wait for us! Mary! Lily!"
For the time being Remus set aside his worries about the conversation that he knew had to happen sooner rather than later. Today he was cheering on his friends and holding hands with the wonderful girl who would turn to smile at him every time Gryffindor scored. And she was wearing his jumper. Today he wasn't Remus Lupin the (four days from now) werwolf. He was just Remus, just Rem, as Hazel called him. And that was more than good enough.