When she returned to her room, it was to find that the rat had somehow exploded, and was now all over her bedclothes and curtains.
Curling her lip in disgust, she waved her wand and cleaned up the mess, then did it again for good measure.
"Guess that one needs a lot more love, huh?" Ashlanne asked, standing next to her.
"Love and hard work," Honey corrected.
"Yeah, well, you have fun with that. I'm gonna shower and head to bed."
"Goodnight," Honey said distractedly as she pulled out her notebook and wrote down the turn of events. It was going to be a long night.
"Good morning."
Honey groaned and lifted her head from where it was pillowed once more on her arms.
"Oh, Remus. Hello," she said, blinking drearily.
He cracked a small smile at her that made her breath catch. "Didn't sleep much again, did you?"
She shook her head all the while asking herself why he suddenly had such an effect on her. No boy ever had before, and she honestly wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Sure, she had already decided he was perfectly suitable, but that didn't mean she wanted these feelings. She was a woman truly married to her work. She didn't know the first thing about courtship or boys. Not that she couldn't go to Ashlanne for advice, but that didn't negate the fact that she'd still have to give up precious time if she were to ever pursue something, with Remus or with anyone else for that matter.
"Yeah, me neither," he replied, pulling out his books and setting them on the desk. "I've been, uh, worried about my mum. She's been sick lately; I might have to go home for a few days to help take care of her."
"Oh, no. I'm truly sorry to hear that. If there's anything you need, I'm here for you."
He nodded but then seemed to really think about the offer. "You couldn't whip up some draught of peace for me, could you?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Of course, that's a simple recipe, and doesn't take all that long to make."
Remus gave a surprised laugh. "Honey, that's not a 'simple recipe.'"
"Well, maybe not for any old oaf, but I'm quite a master at following directions and knowing just how to treat a potion to give me the results I want. So don't worry too much about it."
"If you say so... Thank you. It, uh, means a lot."
Honey blushed, not used to sincerity at the levels that Remus was using it. "Yeah, uh, don't mention it." She cleared her throat and put her head down again.
"Miss Scamander, head up!"
"Remus," she hissed, snatching his arm and pulling him into the alcove as he passed by.
"Wha- Oh, Honey. Is something wrong?"
"Not at all. I've got that potion for you," she replied, pulling it gently out of her bag. "I enhanced it a little... Gave it some healing properties."
Remus' eyes grew wide. "You didn't have to do that..."
Honey shrugged. "It really wasn't an issue. I quite had fun with it. Besides, it's for a good cause for once."
Remus smiled cautiously, but she hid her suspicion well. "Thank you. It, uh, really means a lot to me."
"Of course," she said, clicking her feet together and standing taller. "I'm merely doing my job as a potioneer."
His smile was more sincere that time. "I think you're doing a great job, then."
For some reason, the praise made her feel as if she was glowing with pride. She reached up and awkwardly adjusted her hairpin, feeling out of sorts. "Well." She cleared her throat and adjusted the strap of her bag. "Thank you. I'll... See you around." With that, she took off down the hallway.
"Get yourself together, Honey," she hissed under her breath. "He's just a boy!"
"Who's just a boy?" Ashlanne asked, coming out of nowhere. Honey choked back her scream and whirled to face her friend.
"Nobody in particular."
Ashlanne raised and eyebrow. "Uh huh... It sure sounded like someone in particular."
"Yes, well, it wasn't," Honey snapped before feeling bad. "I'm sorry. I'm just..."
"Tired?" Ashlanne supplied. "You've barely been sleeping lately."
"That must be it," Honey agreed. "I almost fell asleep in defense today, can you believe it?"
Ashlanne rolled her eyes as they started walking again. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can. Honestly, Honey, I don't know how you're still walking and talking right now. You've got bags for days."
Honey reached up to swipe under her eye self-consciously. "Geez, thanks."
Ashlanne smiled up at her. "Someone's gotta knock you back on track with brutal honesty."
Honey hummed and they waved as they parted ways. She was free the rest of the day, and usually she would use this time to work more on her potions, but maybe Ashlanne was right, and she should get some sleep instead. Merlin knew she could use it.
So she headed up the long staircases until she reached the Ravenclaw tower.
"What can fill a room but takes up no space?" The knocker asked.
"Light," Honey replied smoothly. The door swung open and she waltzed inside, heading for the girl's dormitories. As she climbed even more stairs the exhaustion truly started to set in, and she was even more glad she had decided to take a nap now. Once she made it to her room, she slung her bag and robe at the end of her bed and crawled on top of the covers. Too tired to even adjust herself to get under them, much less take off her shoes, Honey quickly fell asleep.
