Disclaimer: I still own no one from the Harry Potter books. I do own this
plot, and I own the person in the bathroom with Remus. But that's about it.
Chapter 7
Remus' POV
Someone else is in here with me. . . I quickly jerk my pants back up and look around wildly. Where are they? Then I see the person who must have spoken.
She is sitting on the diving board at the end of the huge bathtub, smiling at me cheekily. Her clothes are scattered all over the bathroom, forming a trail from the door to the diving board. For modesty's sake, she is clutching one of the fluffy white towels to her chest.
"Oh, spoil sport," she says. A pouting note has entered her voice.
"Wh-who are you," I stutter nervously. She isn't a prefect, that's for sure. I would have seen her before. She looks vaguely familiar. I think she's a sixth year like me.
"You don't know me. But I know you. You're Remus Lupin, aren't you? You hang around with that James Potter fellow. I'm Hope Moon. Sixth year Ravenclaw. I'm on the Qudditch team, a beater. So, what are you doing here, Mr. Lupin?"
"Me? I'm a prefect. What are YOU doing here? YOU aren't a prefect."
Her smile get wider and she seemed to relax. Her long legs draped over each side of the diving board. "Well, I was planning on taking a swim by myself, but now you're here so I'm not so alone anymore. I kind of. . .persuaded the password from Eli White, the prefect Chaser from Hufflepuff. You still haven't answered my question, you know. What are you doing here?"
"I came here to take a bath." That should have been pretty obvious. Why was she just staring at me with those piercing blue eyes?
"Really," she asked with faux awe. "To take a bath? No! Wow! Amazing!"
"I'll just leave." I didn't need to be mocked at that point, not by that motormouth. I grabbed up my clothes and turned to the door.
"Wait," Hope called softly. I turned to face her. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"You didn't," I said. "I'm just a little touchy today. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression." Again, I reached for the door.
"You know, we can share the tub," she said. "It's pretty big. Just leave your undergarments on and I'll do the same. How does that sound?"
"Fair enough," I said. What am I doing? I could get into so much trouble for this! It didn't matter that I wasn't attracted to the gentlier sex, this was still forbidden. What would the headmaster say?!
I dropped my clothes onto the floor in a heap. Hope discarded her towel, revealing her white lacey unmentionables. Several crude things that Sirius could say, where he here, came to my mind. What couldn't I stop thinking of him? 'I won't think about him,' I told myself. 'I won't!! I won't! I won't. . .will I?'
"If you're shy," Hope said, shaking me from my thoughts, "I can just go ahead and jump in so you won't be embarrassed."
"Please." I shyly reached for my belt buckle again.
"Right." She gracefully walked back up the diving board, turned, and ran to the end. The board dipped as she jumped down on it then she was thrown up. With a big splash, she landed in the water. Her cannonball sent water and bubbles flowing all the way my bare feet. I quickly shucked off my pants and hopped in. Her head bobbed up close to me.
"Hello," she chirped happily.
"Uh, hi," I said.
"What say we have a little race? Three laps from this end to that one and back. Winner gets a prize."
"What kind of prize?"
"Doesn't matter. Go!"
She shoved off the side and tore across the pool-sized tub. I was soon in hot pursuit, catching up to her easily and passing her. That had been a cheap trick on her part.
"No fair," shouted Hope. How could she say that? She was just mad because she was eating my dust.
"I win," I panted, resting on the side.
"Fine, you win." She put on a mock-sulk as she slowly swam to my side.
All of the sudden, I didn' feel like talking to her anymore. I wanted to be alone again. She started talking again, but I wasn't listening. Sirius was on my mind. What was he doing right then? Was he thinking of me? Or was it James that he was thinking of? Probably the latter. At the rate I as going with trying to win Sirius' affections, I had a better chance of getting Severus Snape to fall in love with me. Oh, perish the thought.
"What's bothering you," came the faint, questioning voice of Hope, intruding once more on my thoughts.
"Nothing, just a personal problem. You probably don't want to hear about it. I don't want to bother you."
"It's no bother," she said softly. She swam a little closer. "It will make you feel better to talk about it."
For some reason, I trusted her. Why, I didn't know. Maybe it was her soft whispering voice. Or the honesty in her blue eyes. Or the sincerity written all over her china-doll face. Whatever the reason, I was soon bearing my soul to this girl who I barely knew. I told her about my feelings for Sirius; how it started out as just a crush but it turned into so much more, about him not even noticing, about him writing that letter to James, everything. She remained relatively quiet through my speech, with the exception of a few gasps or sounds of sympathy.
When I finished, Hope layed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.
"Just tell him," she said. "It will take a load off of your shoulders. If he doesn't feel the same about you, then you will have to get over him. There are lots of guys out there in the world. Trust me, I know. I'm sure that if things don't work out for you and Sirius, there will be someone special waiting for you. Who knows what could happen in time? Maybe he'll open up and return your feelings. As for Mister James Potter, everyone knows that he has something for Lily Evans. He's been after her for years, he's quite determined. I seriously doubt that he'll forget all about her for anyone. Don't you worry your handsome head about it. Now, don't you feel better since you got that off your chest?"
"Yeah," I admitted. And in truth, I did feel better. "Thank you for listening to that silly problem."
"It wasn't silly, it was something worrying you. You can always talk to me, Remus. And believe it or not, I will keep this big mouth of mine shut. Cripes!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"The sun's already coming up! Plus, I'm all pruny. So are you. We are offically no and forever the prune pair. You're P1 and I'm P2. I'm getting out."
True to her word, Hope hauled herself out and wrapped up in a huge towel. She turned her back on me for the sake of my modesty as I also got out. In the process, I splased all of Hope's clothes within a foot of me.
"My skirt! My shirt! Ah, Remus!"
"Sorry," I apologized, helping her pick up the soaked garments. "Here, just-just wear my shirt and pants. I've got some pajamas. They may be a little big, but they're dry."
"Thanks." I carefully draped the shirt on her shoulders. It came almost down to her knees. I was suddenly unsure of myself and just handed her my pants. She quickly pulled them on, fastened the belt, and turned to face me. I couldn't help but chuckle. Hope, who was a bit smaller than me, looked slightly dwarfed by the clothes.
"Don't laugh," she scolded. "It's not funny!" My laughted onl increased as she huffed and presented me with her back.
"Sorry, Hope," I said through chuckles, "but you look like a fairy in a wizard's garb."
"I shall take that as a compliment," she said loftily.
"It was meant to be." At that, she turned and smiled at me.
"We should do this again sometime. How does tomorrow night sound?"
"Sounds good to me." It really did sound good. Hope was easy to talk to, was clever, and had a great personality, even if she did talk too much sometimes.
After saying our final good-byes, we both turned down different corridors and headed back to our dorms. My heart became heavy in my chest. I couldn't handle being in the same room with Sirius just then. Instead of taking the stairway up to the Gryffindor dorms, I took the stairway down to the dunegons. I let my feet take me where they will.
I didn't look up once. So, it was hardly a surprise when I ran into someone. The both of us crashed to the ground. A mass of white blonde hair was visible.
"Narcissa Black?!" What were the chances of running into Sirius' cousin in a dark hallway?
"Watch where you're going next time, Lupin," Narcissa groused angrily. She wouldn't even let me help her to her feet. She stood, pushed her blonde hair from her face, stuck her nose in the air, and stomped off.
What in the world was she doing out of bed at this hour? I just shook my head. Even if I followed her, I wouldn't get any answers out of her. Narcissa was a snob; the whole school knew it. Still, there was something about her. . .
Chapter 7
Remus' POV
Someone else is in here with me. . . I quickly jerk my pants back up and look around wildly. Where are they? Then I see the person who must have spoken.
She is sitting on the diving board at the end of the huge bathtub, smiling at me cheekily. Her clothes are scattered all over the bathroom, forming a trail from the door to the diving board. For modesty's sake, she is clutching one of the fluffy white towels to her chest.
"Oh, spoil sport," she says. A pouting note has entered her voice.
"Wh-who are you," I stutter nervously. She isn't a prefect, that's for sure. I would have seen her before. She looks vaguely familiar. I think she's a sixth year like me.
"You don't know me. But I know you. You're Remus Lupin, aren't you? You hang around with that James Potter fellow. I'm Hope Moon. Sixth year Ravenclaw. I'm on the Qudditch team, a beater. So, what are you doing here, Mr. Lupin?"
"Me? I'm a prefect. What are YOU doing here? YOU aren't a prefect."
Her smile get wider and she seemed to relax. Her long legs draped over each side of the diving board. "Well, I was planning on taking a swim by myself, but now you're here so I'm not so alone anymore. I kind of. . .persuaded the password from Eli White, the prefect Chaser from Hufflepuff. You still haven't answered my question, you know. What are you doing here?"
"I came here to take a bath." That should have been pretty obvious. Why was she just staring at me with those piercing blue eyes?
"Really," she asked with faux awe. "To take a bath? No! Wow! Amazing!"
"I'll just leave." I didn't need to be mocked at that point, not by that motormouth. I grabbed up my clothes and turned to the door.
"Wait," Hope called softly. I turned to face her. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"You didn't," I said. "I'm just a little touchy today. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression." Again, I reached for the door.
"You know, we can share the tub," she said. "It's pretty big. Just leave your undergarments on and I'll do the same. How does that sound?"
"Fair enough," I said. What am I doing? I could get into so much trouble for this! It didn't matter that I wasn't attracted to the gentlier sex, this was still forbidden. What would the headmaster say?!
I dropped my clothes onto the floor in a heap. Hope discarded her towel, revealing her white lacey unmentionables. Several crude things that Sirius could say, where he here, came to my mind. What couldn't I stop thinking of him? 'I won't think about him,' I told myself. 'I won't!! I won't! I won't. . .will I?'
"If you're shy," Hope said, shaking me from my thoughts, "I can just go ahead and jump in so you won't be embarrassed."
"Please." I shyly reached for my belt buckle again.
"Right." She gracefully walked back up the diving board, turned, and ran to the end. The board dipped as she jumped down on it then she was thrown up. With a big splash, she landed in the water. Her cannonball sent water and bubbles flowing all the way my bare feet. I quickly shucked off my pants and hopped in. Her head bobbed up close to me.
"Hello," she chirped happily.
"Uh, hi," I said.
"What say we have a little race? Three laps from this end to that one and back. Winner gets a prize."
"What kind of prize?"
"Doesn't matter. Go!"
She shoved off the side and tore across the pool-sized tub. I was soon in hot pursuit, catching up to her easily and passing her. That had been a cheap trick on her part.
"No fair," shouted Hope. How could she say that? She was just mad because she was eating my dust.
"I win," I panted, resting on the side.
"Fine, you win." She put on a mock-sulk as she slowly swam to my side.
All of the sudden, I didn' feel like talking to her anymore. I wanted to be alone again. She started talking again, but I wasn't listening. Sirius was on my mind. What was he doing right then? Was he thinking of me? Or was it James that he was thinking of? Probably the latter. At the rate I as going with trying to win Sirius' affections, I had a better chance of getting Severus Snape to fall in love with me. Oh, perish the thought.
"What's bothering you," came the faint, questioning voice of Hope, intruding once more on my thoughts.
"Nothing, just a personal problem. You probably don't want to hear about it. I don't want to bother you."
"It's no bother," she said softly. She swam a little closer. "It will make you feel better to talk about it."
For some reason, I trusted her. Why, I didn't know. Maybe it was her soft whispering voice. Or the honesty in her blue eyes. Or the sincerity written all over her china-doll face. Whatever the reason, I was soon bearing my soul to this girl who I barely knew. I told her about my feelings for Sirius; how it started out as just a crush but it turned into so much more, about him not even noticing, about him writing that letter to James, everything. She remained relatively quiet through my speech, with the exception of a few gasps or sounds of sympathy.
When I finished, Hope layed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.
"Just tell him," she said. "It will take a load off of your shoulders. If he doesn't feel the same about you, then you will have to get over him. There are lots of guys out there in the world. Trust me, I know. I'm sure that if things don't work out for you and Sirius, there will be someone special waiting for you. Who knows what could happen in time? Maybe he'll open up and return your feelings. As for Mister James Potter, everyone knows that he has something for Lily Evans. He's been after her for years, he's quite determined. I seriously doubt that he'll forget all about her for anyone. Don't you worry your handsome head about it. Now, don't you feel better since you got that off your chest?"
"Yeah," I admitted. And in truth, I did feel better. "Thank you for listening to that silly problem."
"It wasn't silly, it was something worrying you. You can always talk to me, Remus. And believe it or not, I will keep this big mouth of mine shut. Cripes!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"The sun's already coming up! Plus, I'm all pruny. So are you. We are offically no and forever the prune pair. You're P1 and I'm P2. I'm getting out."
True to her word, Hope hauled herself out and wrapped up in a huge towel. She turned her back on me for the sake of my modesty as I also got out. In the process, I splased all of Hope's clothes within a foot of me.
"My skirt! My shirt! Ah, Remus!"
"Sorry," I apologized, helping her pick up the soaked garments. "Here, just-just wear my shirt and pants. I've got some pajamas. They may be a little big, but they're dry."
"Thanks." I carefully draped the shirt on her shoulders. It came almost down to her knees. I was suddenly unsure of myself and just handed her my pants. She quickly pulled them on, fastened the belt, and turned to face me. I couldn't help but chuckle. Hope, who was a bit smaller than me, looked slightly dwarfed by the clothes.
"Don't laugh," she scolded. "It's not funny!" My laughted onl increased as she huffed and presented me with her back.
"Sorry, Hope," I said through chuckles, "but you look like a fairy in a wizard's garb."
"I shall take that as a compliment," she said loftily.
"It was meant to be." At that, she turned and smiled at me.
"We should do this again sometime. How does tomorrow night sound?"
"Sounds good to me." It really did sound good. Hope was easy to talk to, was clever, and had a great personality, even if she did talk too much sometimes.
After saying our final good-byes, we both turned down different corridors and headed back to our dorms. My heart became heavy in my chest. I couldn't handle being in the same room with Sirius just then. Instead of taking the stairway up to the Gryffindor dorms, I took the stairway down to the dunegons. I let my feet take me where they will.
I didn't look up once. So, it was hardly a surprise when I ran into someone. The both of us crashed to the ground. A mass of white blonde hair was visible.
"Narcissa Black?!" What were the chances of running into Sirius' cousin in a dark hallway?
"Watch where you're going next time, Lupin," Narcissa groused angrily. She wouldn't even let me help her to her feet. She stood, pushed her blonde hair from her face, stuck her nose in the air, and stomped off.
What in the world was she doing out of bed at this hour? I just shook my head. Even if I followed her, I wouldn't get any answers out of her. Narcissa was a snob; the whole school knew it. Still, there was something about her. . .