Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this? For the 54684216 millionth time people! It's not mine!
::AN:: There's not much to say about the actual chapter, but I SAW HP3!!! (Whoopee) It was good! Even though they left A LOT out and all that… But ya got to give 'em a break, right? It's bound to be hard, fitting that whole book into 2 hrs or so… lol
Oh yes! And this one goes out to Tintalu, who supported short chapters and said she liked all my fics so far! (That's so nice!)
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Faylinn froze. "Umm. Heh." She slouched in her chair, leaning over her Charms book, trying desperately to hide her face behind it. She stood up suddenly, turning to James. "I think I'll go, um… Yeah."
James raised and eyebrow and she just rolled her eyes, walking briskly out of the library. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She whispered to herself on the way to the Gryffindor common room.
"Faylinn! Wait!" She heard someone shout behind her. A boy.
"Just keep walking." She urged herself.
Without warning, she was turned around by her arm. She flinched involuntarily, jumping backwards and losing her balance. She fell onto the floor with a soft thud, bringing her pursuer down with her.
"Oh. Ow." She said from underneath the tall boy. She suddenly felt her cheeks burn, realizing who lay on top of her.
"Sorry, sorry." Sirius mumbled, rolling away from her and sitting up into a crouch position, looking away from her.
Faylinn nodded dumbly, unable to speak. She sat up slowly, using her elbows to keep her propped up, resisting the sudden urge to, again, run to the Forbidden Forest and hide until her embarrassment had died down. Which would probably be in about a hundred years past never.
"I was just going to follow you to-" Sirius said to the hallway, still not facing Faylinn. "James told me to go see if you were-"
"I- I'm- I'm okay." She stammered, standing up. He stood up with her, finally turning towards her.
"I didn't mean to-" He said awkwardly.
"No, it's okay." She whispered. "I mean, look at me! I'm a walking disaster! I'm bound to just fall over for no apparent reason and-"
"I meant about what I said in the library."
"Oh." She paused, unsure of what to say.
"It's kind of cool, you know. You and Remus, I mean. He's never had a girlfriend, so." He rubbed the back of his head, shifting his gaze to Faylinn's face instead of the floor.
"Oh." She said softly. She blinked. "I- I-" She stopped, looking around frantically. "I'm gonna go." She whispered, turning away.
She half expected Sirius to follow her. Half-hoped was more like it. But when she reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady, she knew he wouldn't.
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Kill me now. I'm going to die of horrible embarrassment, anyway.
That is the LAST TIME I try and have a conversation with Lily when the guys are standing right there. Well, behind the bookshelf, but COME ON!
Oh yeah.
Dear Diary,
I'm messed up. Real messed up.
Well, not too bad. But pretty bad.
Now everyone's going to think I'm madly in love with Remus or something.
Am I, though? I mean, he's cool and stuff, but. No.
You should've seen Sirius's face, diary, I thought he was going to joke about it some more, but.
I hate how pale I am, too. I checked the mirror when I got to the dorm… I was still blushing like an apple in summer.
It was horrible, diary. I want to talk to Lily, confide in her, you know. But she'll never forgive me if I tell her how James was hiding behind the bookshelf the whole time we were talking.
She's in the dorm. I can't be in there. Well, I can. TECHNICALLY.
But as she's locked me out, I don't think so.
"What are you writing?" Remus asked, sitting next to her on the couch.
Faylinn looked up from her journal, her pink bangs falling into her eyes. "Nothing." She mumbled, wiping her hair out of her face.
"Can I talk?" He asked quietly.
She glanced around the common room. They were alone, save a few first years in the opposite corner. "Where's…?" She trailed off.
"I don't know." He answered, shrugging. "Not here."
She looked at him quizzically. "Or are they just under that weird cloak-thing James has?"
He sighed. "If they are, I'll never talk to them again."
"Good enough." She smiled briefly. "You, um, wanted to talk?"
"Uh-huh."
Faylinn looked around, glancing at the time-teller on the wall. "Go ahead." She said softly.
"I, er, I heard… What Lily said." He whispered.
She resisted the impulse to roll her eyes. "I know. I was kind of there, too."
"Yeah." He nodded. "Um, I just."
"Just…?"
"I don't."
"Don't what?"
"Idon'tthinkofyoulikethat." He said in one breath.
"What?" She exclaimed. "Why not?! Do I disgust you or something?" She asked. "It's the ears isn't it? You think that's the worst of it, huh? You don't know about the whole sick, disturbing, painful transformation thing!"
He frowned. "What are you talking about?"
She shrugged, shaking her head. "Never mind." She paused. "Sheesh, Remus. And I thought you were nice."
He sighed. "Faylinn, I'm sorry, I-" He hesitated when she giggled. "What's so funny?"
She held her stomach. "I was so worried!" She gasped in between giggles. "I thought for a second there you were gonna go into this long speech about how much you liked me or something!"
"Wait, wait, wait." He said, holding up his hands. "You don't like me?"
Faylinn rolled her eyes. "Listen, Remus. In the short time I've known you, I love you very very much."
He backed away. "You what?"
"Like a brother you idiot! Who the heck do you think I am?!" She shrieked. She lowered her voice when she noticed the first years glance their way and giggle furiously.
"But Lily-"
"Is not as smart as everyone thinks she is. Well, she is. Books wise. Other than that she's… well… not."
"What are you talking about?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Guys can be so egotistical, even the nice ones. You get all defensive when you suddenly find out that I do not, in fact, like you in a… way more than I do."
He shook his head. "I'm not getting defensive."
"You're in a weird kung-fu position. Like you're about ready to attack at any second."
"I don't know kung-fu."
"WHATEVER!"
He frowned. "But, why not? I mean, what's wrong with me?"
Faylinn patted his arm. "It's nothing personal, Rem. Well, it is. But not in a bad way, you understand."
"I understand."
She nodded. "Hug on it?"
He nodded and they hugged.
"Cozy, aren't we?"
They pulled away from each other to see James, Sirius, and Peter standing in front of them, having just entered through the Portrait hole. "Shut up." Faylinn grumbled.
"Exactly." Remus agreed quietly.
James raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You are so dense." Faylinn muttered, standing up. "Well," She said cheerfully. "I'm off to see if Lily's calmed down a bit and unlocked the door! Wish me luck!" She crossed her fingers in front of her and stuck out her tongue playfully before skipping up the stairs to the Girls' Dormitories.
"So you two are an item now?" Sirius muttered, plopping onto the couch lazily.
"No." Remus said, pulling out some chocolates. "We sorted it all out. There's nothing to worry about, Sirius."
Sirius scowled. "Why would I worry about your love life, Rem? You're my friend, but that's kind of gross."
Peter shrugged, taking a seat on the floor. "I think it's awfully sweet. Faylinn's really pretty, you know."
"We don't like each other." Remus rolled his eyes.
James chuckled. "That's bound to be one awkward relationship then."
"We don't have a relationship!" Remus objected.
Sirius straightened. "Really?" He slouched a bit more. "But she still likes you. And you obviously like her-"
"I don't think of her like that, Sirius!" Remus practically shouted.
Sirius shot a nasty look at his friend. "Why not?! What's not to like? Is it because of her ears?! They add character, you know! She's the prettiest girl in-"
"I KNEW IT!" James declared, pointing at Sirius and grinning madly.
Remus nodded. "We all did, Prongs."
Peter frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Sirius fancies Faylinn." James filled in.
Sirius's eyes widened. "I do not!"
Remus smiled. "Come on, Sirius. 'What's not to like,' right?"
Sirius flushed, leaning back into the arm of the couch. "Oh, would you all just—I don't—I'll prove that I don't!" He announced, standing up and walking towards the Portrait hole.
"Where are you going?" James called after him.
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"Four smudges of monkshood…" Faylinn paused. "How much is a smudge, again?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "It's not a smudge, Faylinn. That's an ACTUAL smudge on your paper because you copied my notes at lunch."
Faylinn sighed. "Oh, right." She slouched in her chair. "Listen, Lily, I know it's almost time for Winter Holidays, but do we really have to spend this much time doing extra studying?"
Lily nodded as she carefully examined the potion before her. "Yes." She looked up. "Besides," She said with a slight scowl. "This is still payback for your conspiring behind my back around Halloween."
"I said I was sorry!" Faylinn exclaimed, leaning back in her chair so that the front legs left the ground. "I never really talked to Helen Edison, you know. I just figured that if I said I had, you'd think that I already knew how much you liked James and…"
Lily smirked. "It doesn't matter whether you talked to Helen or not. What matters is that Potter heard everything that we said!"
"Sorry." Faylinn mumbled. "He is rather dense though." She said with a laugh. "He still doesn't know that you're madly in love with him."
"I am not madly in love with him! I don't even mean to think of him like—that!" She sighed. "I thought you stopped hanging out with them."
Faylinn shook her head. "Not Remus. Just James, Sirius, and Peter."
"How are things with you and Remus, anyway? You two do make quite the couple."
"We are not a couple, Lily!" Faylinn shouted.
Lily grinned maliciously. "Oh, I know, I know. I am glad you were finally honest about all that, though."
Faylinn smirked, remembering the night that Lily had locked her out of the dorm room. When she had finally allowed Faylinn in, Faylinn told her everything. Everything from where she was born to her least favorite subject. She'd showed Lily her ears, explained her home. She even went as far as to betray James's and the other's trust by telling Lily of Remus's being a werewolf and the others being animagus.
In the long run, though, her honesty paid off. Lily had confided in her about her "uncontrollable" crush on James. She'd said that even though she hated him, she rather liked him as well. And Lily hadn't ever mentioned the boys' being animagus, as she didn't want Faylinn to regret ever telling her.
Faylinn sighed. "Oh, I can't wait to go home for the holidays!"
"You're still going to my house for the first few days, right?" Lily asked.
"Of course." Faylinn agreed, nodding. "Then I'm off to Remus's. And then I'm going-"
"You're going to Remus's house?!" Lily exclaimed.
Faylinn nodded slowly. "Yes… I also have a free week in there somewhere. I don't know where I'm going to go."
Lily shrugged. "I'd invite you to stay at my house a little longer, but I know Petunia's having some of her friends over, and they're all muggles, so…"
"That's alright, Lily. I'll find somewhere to go. Maybe I'll come back early, you know. If I have to."
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::AN:: mer. Boring chapter… Kind of. But I assure the next will be… less boring.
I'm really sorry to everyone who got the impression that Faylinn and Remus would get together! (Really, I am!) Stay tuned, though… I do have another fic coming after this one…. About none other than our favorite werewolf… lol
Please review!