The Last of the Four- Chapter 7
Belgian Waffles and Mysterious Grins By Lillian Evans
The next weeks of Remus's life were taken up by, first studying for his end of the year exams, and then taking the exams. Although many upper classmen had taunted them that Hogwarts exams were very difficult, Remus found that the only even moderately difficult exam was potions. And what with the glaring eyes of Professor Malfoy, that just made it even worse, but he managed to survive, and when grades were posted a few days later on the common room bulletin board, he joined the celebration with the rest of his friends, having passed all of his classes with excellent marks.
After the partying had died out, the common room floor was littered with candy wrappers and empty butterbeer bottles. Only Remus, Peter, Ashley, Lily, James and Sirius sat in the room after everyone had gone to bed. Remus sat on the high backed chair in front of the fire, Ashley on the armrest of this chair, Peter on the rug in front of the fire, Sirius draped across another chair, and James and Lily sitting on opposite ends of the couch. James kept glancing shyly over at Lily, who looked over at Ashley and rolled her eyes each time he did so. Ashley would just giggle and slide her eyes over to Remus. He would smile, and she'd blush ever so slightly. Sirius just sat sideways in his chair, his back against the armrest, and an arm dangling over the armrest behind his back, a butterbeer bottle held loosely in his fingertips.
They sat there discussing what they were doing that summer, each of them spilling their different family woes, making promises that each would contact the others over their two month break.
Lily's family were going to Majorca for a week and Ashley's were taking her to Paris. Sirius was regretting going home, so James offered to let him spend the summer at his house. Sirius accepted jovially, and the boys began talking gleefully about what they could do.
"Oughtn't you check with your mum first, James?" Lily interrupted as they made plans to play quidditch each night.
The end of term came quickly, as things tend to do when you dread them, and Remus found himself packing his trunk to return home. The morning of their departure, everyone met up in the common room, and walked down to Hogsmeade Station together. They found an empty compartment on the train, and spent the ride playing exploding snap. When they got home, they each found their parents and, after saying their final farewells, walked through the barrier and started for home in their various methods of transportation.
*****
Remus sighed he walked around the kitchen, trying to find the ingredients for Sirius's favorite cake. It was his birthday tomorrow, and-
Remus stopped, his hand midway in his reach for the sugar container, and withdrew his hand from the cupboard. He felt a tear fall slowly down his cheek. He had been so wrapped up in his memories from first year that he had completely forgotten about that day a few weeks past. He saw the room in his head, crowded with people, the image that haunted his dreams. He saw Sirius fighting Bellatrix, the red beam of light that his Sirius in the back, the laughter in Sirius's eyes as his head disappeared from sight, then his chest, his legs, falling slowly into the archway until the last part of his foot slipped beyond the graying piece of cloth.
Remus stumbled over to a kitchen chair and sat down, leaning his elbows on the table and putting his forehead in his hands. His shoulders shook as the tears spilled. He sat there for a half an hour or so, the images from that night playing like a movie reel through his head. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that he moved from the spot.
He stood up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He knew his eyes and nose were still red, but he didn't care. When he reached the door, he opened it, and saw Tonks staring back at him.
"Wotcher, Wolvie! How ya doin'?" She greeted him using her nickname she had created for him when she found out he was a werewolf. Then she saw his eyes, and her look of jubilation disappeared. "Remus, what's the matter?"
Remus stepped aside and let her come in. She led him over to the sofa, and sat him down.
"You've been thinking about Sirius again, haven't you?"
He nodded, and told her that he had been remembering stuff from his first year.
"Well, I have the perfect remedy for that. I'm making you dinner." She smiled at him, flashing him one of her most mysterious smiles.
"What're you making? I didn't know you could cook." He raised an eyebrow, "and I'd rather have my kitchen, not a pile of ashes."
"Funny, Wolvie. And you'll see when its ready. Although I'll admit, its not the most widely thought of dinner food."
*****
An hour later, they were sitting at the kitchen table, a pile of Belgian waffles between them, and a small bowl of Lucky Charms in front of each of them.
"I still can't believe the only thing you know how to cook is Belgian waffles and Lucky Charms;" Remus chuckled.
"Hey, what can you cook?"
"Plenty of things. I'll show you sometime."
"Anyway, you were going to tell me what Hogwarts was like back in your years? Tell me about your second year."
"I was only graduated six years before you. I'm not that old, Tonks. And anyway, it wasn't that exciting, I-"
"Tell me," she urged, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I want to hear about it."
"Alright, well, I was friends with Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius of course, as well as this girl named Ashley. We didn't get to see each other over the summer, or at least I didn't get to. Things just didn't work out. But we caught up on the train. Nothing really happened until about a month or two into the school year. Around the time of the first Hogsmeade visit."
"So what happened then?"
Remus started the tale of his second year at Hogwarts, amused that she was this enthusiastic and interested about his life.
A/N: The title of this chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Carter. He didn't know what a mysterious grin looked like so it sparked an interesting discussion. We also discussed Belgian waffles, and how he had never had one. We decided that Mysterious Grins and Belgian Waffles would make an excellent chapter title, so I worked it in. The Lucky Charms I would like to dedicate to the SS Wotcher Wolvie, one of the most marvelous ships on the seas.
Belgian Waffles and Mysterious Grins By Lillian Evans
The next weeks of Remus's life were taken up by, first studying for his end of the year exams, and then taking the exams. Although many upper classmen had taunted them that Hogwarts exams were very difficult, Remus found that the only even moderately difficult exam was potions. And what with the glaring eyes of Professor Malfoy, that just made it even worse, but he managed to survive, and when grades were posted a few days later on the common room bulletin board, he joined the celebration with the rest of his friends, having passed all of his classes with excellent marks.
After the partying had died out, the common room floor was littered with candy wrappers and empty butterbeer bottles. Only Remus, Peter, Ashley, Lily, James and Sirius sat in the room after everyone had gone to bed. Remus sat on the high backed chair in front of the fire, Ashley on the armrest of this chair, Peter on the rug in front of the fire, Sirius draped across another chair, and James and Lily sitting on opposite ends of the couch. James kept glancing shyly over at Lily, who looked over at Ashley and rolled her eyes each time he did so. Ashley would just giggle and slide her eyes over to Remus. He would smile, and she'd blush ever so slightly. Sirius just sat sideways in his chair, his back against the armrest, and an arm dangling over the armrest behind his back, a butterbeer bottle held loosely in his fingertips.
They sat there discussing what they were doing that summer, each of them spilling their different family woes, making promises that each would contact the others over their two month break.
Lily's family were going to Majorca for a week and Ashley's were taking her to Paris. Sirius was regretting going home, so James offered to let him spend the summer at his house. Sirius accepted jovially, and the boys began talking gleefully about what they could do.
"Oughtn't you check with your mum first, James?" Lily interrupted as they made plans to play quidditch each night.
The end of term came quickly, as things tend to do when you dread them, and Remus found himself packing his trunk to return home. The morning of their departure, everyone met up in the common room, and walked down to Hogsmeade Station together. They found an empty compartment on the train, and spent the ride playing exploding snap. When they got home, they each found their parents and, after saying their final farewells, walked through the barrier and started for home in their various methods of transportation.
*****
Remus sighed he walked around the kitchen, trying to find the ingredients for Sirius's favorite cake. It was his birthday tomorrow, and-
Remus stopped, his hand midway in his reach for the sugar container, and withdrew his hand from the cupboard. He felt a tear fall slowly down his cheek. He had been so wrapped up in his memories from first year that he had completely forgotten about that day a few weeks past. He saw the room in his head, crowded with people, the image that haunted his dreams. He saw Sirius fighting Bellatrix, the red beam of light that his Sirius in the back, the laughter in Sirius's eyes as his head disappeared from sight, then his chest, his legs, falling slowly into the archway until the last part of his foot slipped beyond the graying piece of cloth.
Remus stumbled over to a kitchen chair and sat down, leaning his elbows on the table and putting his forehead in his hands. His shoulders shook as the tears spilled. He sat there for a half an hour or so, the images from that night playing like a movie reel through his head. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that he moved from the spot.
He stood up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He knew his eyes and nose were still red, but he didn't care. When he reached the door, he opened it, and saw Tonks staring back at him.
"Wotcher, Wolvie! How ya doin'?" She greeted him using her nickname she had created for him when she found out he was a werewolf. Then she saw his eyes, and her look of jubilation disappeared. "Remus, what's the matter?"
Remus stepped aside and let her come in. She led him over to the sofa, and sat him down.
"You've been thinking about Sirius again, haven't you?"
He nodded, and told her that he had been remembering stuff from his first year.
"Well, I have the perfect remedy for that. I'm making you dinner." She smiled at him, flashing him one of her most mysterious smiles.
"What're you making? I didn't know you could cook." He raised an eyebrow, "and I'd rather have my kitchen, not a pile of ashes."
"Funny, Wolvie. And you'll see when its ready. Although I'll admit, its not the most widely thought of dinner food."
*****
An hour later, they were sitting at the kitchen table, a pile of Belgian waffles between them, and a small bowl of Lucky Charms in front of each of them.
"I still can't believe the only thing you know how to cook is Belgian waffles and Lucky Charms;" Remus chuckled.
"Hey, what can you cook?"
"Plenty of things. I'll show you sometime."
"Anyway, you were going to tell me what Hogwarts was like back in your years? Tell me about your second year."
"I was only graduated six years before you. I'm not that old, Tonks. And anyway, it wasn't that exciting, I-"
"Tell me," she urged, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I want to hear about it."
"Alright, well, I was friends with Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius of course, as well as this girl named Ashley. We didn't get to see each other over the summer, or at least I didn't get to. Things just didn't work out. But we caught up on the train. Nothing really happened until about a month or two into the school year. Around the time of the first Hogsmeade visit."
"So what happened then?"
Remus started the tale of his second year at Hogwarts, amused that she was this enthusiastic and interested about his life.
A/N: The title of this chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Carter. He didn't know what a mysterious grin looked like so it sparked an interesting discussion. We also discussed Belgian waffles, and how he had never had one. We decided that Mysterious Grins and Belgian Waffles would make an excellent chapter title, so I worked it in. The Lucky Charms I would like to dedicate to the SS Wotcher Wolvie, one of the most marvelous ships on the seas.