I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything else resembling what J.K Rowling introduced us all to. Just the plot and OC are mine.
Author's Note: I really want to apologize for the long delay before posting this chapter. I found out at the beginning of June that I'll be moving to Germany from the U.S. at the beginning of August, and in case you aren't aware, 2 months is not a lot of time to coordinate all that needs to happen in order to move internationally. Btw, I'm super excited, just super busy. I'm going to try real hard over the next month to have more regular updates!
This chapter is shorter than usual, but I wanted to post something so no one would think I was already giving up on this story.
Also, I'm so flippin' giddy about the amount of favorites and followers for this story! Almost 100 followers! It's incredible :D Please let me know what you think!
Chapter 8
Avalynn rolled over in the guest bed of Professor McGonagall's quarters, trying to get back to sleep. However, the numerous thoughts running through her head were preventing that from happening. The young girl couldn't help but ponder on her situation: arriving in a world where magic is real and supposedly having a soulmate who, until recently, she thought was a fictional character. She snapped her eyes open and let out a huff of frustration, causing strands of her blond hair to flutter off her face momentarily before settling back down. Ava had no clue as to what time it was, so she figured it'd be best to get up and grab some food before the meeting with the Potters and the grimoire that was unknowingly a co-conspirator in deciding her fate. The anxious girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at her own melodramatic way of thinking. Not wanting to prolong her day any more, Ava heaved herself out of the comfy bed and padded across the stone floor to the wardrobe and quickly decided on a nice set of mauve robes.
After dressing and freshening up in the bathroom, Avalynn stepped out into the living room of the professor's quarters to see the woman herself sitting at the small dining table, nursing a cup of tea.
"Good morning, Ava," the older witch greeted.
"Morning, Aunt Minerva," Avalynn replied with a weak smile.
Frowning, the professor asked, "Has the pain returned?"
Ava sighed, realizing that she'd probably need to get another dose of pain potion from Madame Pomfrey. "It's not hurting at all right now, but it probably will later. And worse too," Ava said as she moved to sit down at the table. However, Professor McGonagall held up a hand.
"Let's head down to the Great Hall. It's a little after nine, dear, and we have our meeting with the Potters at ten," the professor stated.
Ava nodded in agreement and the two women left for breakfast. They had only been walking in a comfortable silence for a couple minutes when they were joined by none other than James and Sirius. The boys couldn't stop thinking about the scene last night in the Hospital Wing and were worried about what was wrong with the young girl. Ava's face initially brightened at the sight of the boys, but her smile dropped when Sirius and James maintained serious expressions.
"Good morning, professor," they chimed in unison, bouncing on their toes. Sirius looked at Ava pointedly while James politely added, "Can we talk with Ava?"
McGonagall rose an eyebrow. "I believe that would be up to my niece, Mr. Potter," she retorted. James' gaze flickered to Ava's expectantly and she nodded without hesitation.
"I expect to see you three in the Great Hall momentarily," the older witch commented before continuing to walk down the corridor.
As soon as the professor had rounded the corner, James and Sirius started jabbering simultaneously. "Are you okay?" James asked as Sirius questioned, "What the hell happened last night?"
Taken aback by the fact that the boys knew something had happened to her the night before, and the level of concern in their voices, Ava's eyebrows raised, as did her hands, and she let out a slow, "Whoa. Chill out, guys."
James rolled his eyes before heeding Ava's words, and Sirius did the same, but not before letting out a groan of annoyance.
Avalynn took a deep breath before saying, "Look, I don't know what you think happened, but I'm fine." She didn't wait for a response from them and began walking towards the Great Hall once more. The two Marauders shared a look then quickly strode down the corridor to catch up to Ava.
"We're just concerned, Ava. We wanted to make sure that you're okay. That's all," James reassured her.
She briefly entertained the idea of telling the boys about her physical connection to Remus, but decided against it as it would only result in more information that they would need to keep from their friend. So, Ava just waved them off and merely said, "It was nothing. I'm fine." A quick glance at their faces told Ava that they didn't believe her, so she added, "Seriously. It's nothing, guys."
As they descended the staircase, she could hear Sirius grumbling under his breath. Something about a "stubborn witch", causing Ava to roll her eyes. She didn't feel that they needed to know everything that was going on in her life. James held open the door to the Great Hall for Ava and Sirius, but the young girl was halted once more by the view in front of her. I don't think I'll ever get used to this, she thought dreamily as her eyes roamed over the enchanted ceiling and floating candles. Too preoccupied with the impressive visual magic, Avalynn failed to notice that Sirius had guided her to a seat at the Gryffindor table. She had also failed to acknowledge the increasingly warm, pleasant feeling spreading throughout her body until she was sat between the boys and prompting from James caused her to look up across the table. Directly into the green eyes of Remus Lupin.
Remus looked up from his breakfast as he picked up the familiar cadence of Sirius' voice as he approached the Gryffindor table. Immediately, the werewolf noticed the girl that he and James appeared to be dragging along to the meal. His friends sat down across from himself and Peter, taking their places on either side of the girl, and Remus' surprise must've shown on his face because James gave him a shrug and small smile in response to his unspoken question. He assumed that this new girl must be McGonagall's niece and something special if his close friends were letting her into their lives so quickly.
Remus couldn't keep a grin from forming on his face when he realized that Ava was distracted by the enchanted ceiling. She had the same look of awe on her face that he did every time he managed an exciting new spell. As Sirius guided the girl down into her seat, Remus noticed that she was rather pretty. Her hair was several shades lighter than his and pulled back into a messy braid that seemed to suit her well. Remus heard James mutter something in the background as he continued to take in Ava's appearance. Her nose and cheeks were sun-kissed, as were her arms, and Remus briefly wondered if the rest of her skin looked so delicious. Wait, what?! he thought as his brain came to a screeching halt right before the most gorgeous deep blue eyes locked with his.
With his mind seemingly out the window for the moment, Remus was functioning on instinct. Which meant that his wolf was taking stock of his surroundings, so he picked up on the fact that Ava's heartbeat spiked when she made eye contact with him, allowing a confused frown to form on his face. Remus thoughts didn't linger on that though. Not when he could feel Moony beginning to stir. He took a deep breath to calm himself, but it had the opposite effect. The tantalizing smell that wafted up his nostrils was from Ava, but slightly familiar, and made him feel a strange mixture of emotions. It only took another second for Moony to analyze the scent and decide that he felt comforted and excited at the same time, but on edge as well. As if he needed to defend something or someone from harm. This realization caused the frown on Remus' face to deepen. He wasn't a stranger to that particular feeling, but it only occurred when one of his close friends was in a situation that wasn't one hundred percent safe. Which, with his special brand of friend, was often. Fortunately, Moony seemed to be just as puzzled as he was, so the wolf settled down, not having a coherent plan of action. As he slowly came back to himself, Remus still couldn't reason out why he would have such a reaction to Ava. Since it wasn't an extremely strong reaction, he mentally shrugged and shook his head to focus on the conversation and the blush that was prettily spread across Ava's cheeks.
James had a hand resting on the girl's shoulder and was giving her what the werewolf interpreted as a reassuring smile. Remus felt unnerved when he noticed the contemplative look Sirius was giving him. He returned his gaze back to James when his friend asked, "Moony?"
"Huh?" Remus intelligently replied.
The young girl gave the werewolf a shy smile and extended her hand tentatively across the table. "I'm Ava McGonagall. James felt the need to give you a bit more information than necessary, so you didn't miss anything special", she informed him quickly.
Feeling slightly embarrassed at the implication that the pretty girl knew he had zoned out a bit at the sight of her, Remus reached out to shake her hand, hoping to improve his first impression with her. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Remus Lupin."
As their hands clasped each other and made skin on skin contact, Remus could see Ava's eyes widen in what looked like surprise, and once more he could detect an increase in her heart rate as her eyes flickered back and forth between their joined hands and his own eyes. After shaking hands for the polite few seconds, Remus attempted to pull his hand out of Ava's, but she didn't seem ready to relinquish his appendage quite yet. He raised a curious brow at the new girl and cleared his throat slightly.
Ava's grip minutely tightened before she snatched back her hand. "I'm so sorry," she muttered breathlessly.
Wanting to continue with a good first impression, Remus merely shrugged and flashed her a friendly smile before continuing to eat his breakfast.
Ava's thoughts were spinning wildly out of control since she grasped Remus' warm, strong hand. Holy shit. Did he feel that? What was that? I need to tell Aunt Minerva. Aunt Minerva. I'm even calling her that in my head now. Focus, Ava. Shit. I hope Remus didn't feel that too. He didn't look like he felt it. Whatever it was. The "it" Ava was referring to was the sudden rush of warmth that spread throughout her body like a shock wave the instant she made contact with Remus' skin. She was overwhelmed with an almost giddy feeling just at being in his presence.
Ava internally rolled her eyes as she replayed the scene in her mind. God. He probably thinks I'm socially inept or something. Not letting go of his hand like that. I just couldn't. It felt too good. She was fairly certain that releasing Remus' hand was the most difficult thing she's ever done. She almost couldn't do it. Her brain, and magic, she supposed, were sending mixed signals to her hand. Her rational thoughts were telling her to immediately let go of his hand, for fuck's sake. But the others were demanding that she hold onto him for dear life. When the idea of launching herself across the table to cuddle into Remus' strong arms crossed her mind, Ava snapped out of it and pulled her hand back as fast as she could, trying to break the connection between herself and the werewolf.
Sirius nudged the preoccupied girl from her thoughts with an elbow to the ribs. She glanced up to see his inquisitive stare, but shook her head once to indicate she would answer whatever his questions were later. There was no way for her to discuss this situation in front of Remus, so it would just have to wait. And even then, Ava wasn't sure she wanted to let James and Sirius in on the fact that she apparently craved to be in physical contact with their werewolf friend.
Ava ate her meal as quickly as she could, looking at the other students sitting at the table as little as possible, especially Remus. She hadn't even realized it at first, but of course, Lily, Peter, and the others were there as well. As soon as she was done, her gaze went to the Head table, with a silent plea that her guardian be finished with her breakfast too. All it took was a quick look of understanding from her Aunt Minerva before she shot out of her seat, muttering quick goodbyes and reminding Sirius and James that she would see them soon. Unable to control herself any longer, Ava briefly glanced at Remus and saw that he was interrogating James and Sirius about what "see you soon" meant, and hadn't given her parting a second thought. Of course he doesn't care if you got up and left Ava. He doesn't even know you, she thought harshly. The young girl had to remind herself that she may be privy to their connection as soulmates, but Remus was still in the dark, and rightfully so, and she couldn't hold that against him. Dispelling those thoughts with a shake of her head, Ava continued walking with great speed and quickly escaped the Great Hall. She hoped that she'd be able to put into words the experience she just had with Remus and that it would further their understanding of the spell.
