Two weeks. That's how long Greyson would be in the castle teaching her class specifically, and Emma was beyond annoyed with that information. Emma would have two weeks free of Snape but two weeks stuck with Greyson Fenmore. That seemed like an even worse trade-off. When he mentioned getting his Potions Mastery, Greyson failed to mention he wanted his Mastery so that he could teach Potions. It wasn't like they had a terribly long conversation in Flourish and Blotts before things went awry. Still, Emma felt it was important information to know. Emma couldn't help but wonder what exactly she did in her life to deserve a punishment so cruel.
Right from the start of class, Emma despised Greyson. Even if she didn't meet him already, he would have annoyed her just because of who he was. It was almost fortunate that she had that information beforehand, as she would have been even more annoyed otherwise.
She was aggravated by how well-spoken he was. She hated the way that nearly the entire class seemed to respond quickly to him. Most willingly raised their hands to answer his questions as he went through their unexpected revision of undetectable poisons – was that even supposed to be their lesson of the day? It seemed like another cruel trick of Snape's to find every possible way to annoy Emma without actually doing so. Clearly, the start of fifteen was meant to be just as difficult as fourteen.
Emma especially hated the way he kept looking at her as though she was below him. Having to pay attention to him at all was infuriating; her mind struggling to process who she was looking at. If she looked at Greyson the wrong way, peering up from her notebook from beneath her eyelashes, she would see Fenrir. If she looked at him straight-on, when he wasn't looking at her, he looked nothing like his father, but he had the arrogance to match. When his eyes would manage to find hers, she would have to stifle her gasps of surprise out of existence. Her mind would only see Fenrir until she forced herself to look at the rest of his face.
Half-way through the class, Emma couldn't help but sit up a little straighter when she noticed the other girls were staring hard at Greyson. It was the exact sort of look that Emma could recall them giving her father once she started noticing it, and Emma's aggravation grew. A few of the Ravenclaw boys seemed to have known who Greyson was from their first year, but the girls were oblivious. Why would they even look at Greyson like that? Did they not realize who he was? It wasn't like he was that cute…not really.
The very moment the thought crossed Emma's mind, her stomach did a funny little flip, and she felt herself go into a mild panic. Did she just think Greyson was cute? Did that mean she thought Fenrir was cute? There was absolutely no way that she could ever think that about either of them, though Greyson's hair did have a nice little swoop to it…and he did look fit with a tie on. And perhaps he did have a rather fit bum and –
Oh, Merlin's saggy tits, Emma, no! Emma thought to herself. Why in the world was she even looking at Greyson's bum at all?
She slammed her notebook closed and crossed her arms over her chest, drawing everyone's attention to her with the noise. Mandy, sitting to her left, gave her a funny look, but no one gave her a stranger look than Greyson. Emma practically glowered at Greyson, daring him to say something to her. His eyes narrowed, and his lips parted slightly as if he was about to say something, but he hesitated.
"If you feel the need to take house points away, you are entirely within your right," Snape drawled from his desk. "It wouldn't be the first time that Miss Lupin has done something out of turn in this classroom."
Greyson's eyes flicked over to Snape, an eyebrow lifting in that aggravatingly similar arch that Emma wanted to claw off his face. "Is that so?" he questioned before meeting Emma's gaze with mild curiosity.
"Remind me to inform you of her…history," Snape said slowly. "If anyone gives you an issue within this classroom, it will be her."
"Excuse me, Professor," Emma said sharply, not caring to raise her hand. "By history, what exactly are you referring to? My attendance and work have been exemplary."
"Need I remind you of your second year, Miss Lupin?"
"You can't tell him that," Emma snarled out. Emma felt her panic grow at the very idea of Greyson knowing what she had done. It was embarrassing enough that Fenrir knew. The idea of his son knowing her history as well seemed infinitely worse. She didn't even know why she cared – it wasn't like Greyson mattered to her, but Emma didn't want him knowing. He already judged her harshly when she wasn't a full werewolf. She didn't need to give him something else to judge her for. "That is confidential information."
"And yet the entire school knows about it," Snape said with a one-shouldered shrug. "As Mr. Fenmore is presently undergoing his Mastery, he will need to be informed of difficult cases such as yours. For the next two weeks, he will be considered a part of the Hogwarts teaching staff, and therefore any and all information in your record is available."
Emma never hated the fact that her eyes would well up with tears when she was angry more than that moment. She could feel the way Soleil wanted to pull herself up to the surface, could feel the way her face wanted to twist into a feral snarl. Every part of her wanted to lash out at Snape, and she had to take a steadying breath in through her nose that caught on its release at Greyson's words.
"Perhaps it would be best if I don't know, Severus," Greyson said in an oddly gentle tone, pulling his gaze from Emma's face to look at Snape. "It's not my place to know. If, er…if Miss Lupin feels that it's something that she needs to share, I would rather her do it on her time."
Emma knew she had an idiotic look on her face as she looked at Greyson. She had absolutely stopped breathing, and she blinked several times to clear the tears that had welled up in her eyes. Greyson stared at her for a moment longer before clearing his throat and moving along with the lesson at Snape's shrug.
If Emma thought she hated Snape, she hated Greyson Fenmore even more. She hated him with every fiber of her being. How dare he try to pretend he was nice and how dare he actually be good at teaching. Even though she was well-versed in her knowledge of poisons, a topic she had taken very seriously after doing it to herself, she found herself learning new things.
Emma found herself packing impossibly fast the moment the bell rang. She was too far too distracted for her own good, and it wasn't good. This was an absolute disaster. How was she going to tell Remus about this? Oh, dear Merlin, he barely believed her as it was, and now to try and tell him that Greyson was right there? He was going to insist that she needed more therapy and that she was completely losing it.
"Oh, I didn't get to say it at breakfast, but happy birthday, Emma," Mandy said with a smile before walking off with Anthony.
Emma could feel her cheeks turn pink as Greyson's curious gaze found her again. He was talking to Stephen Cornfoot at the next table over, and at the mention of Emma's birthday, Greyson looked at her. His stupid eyebrows were raised as he looked at her, and Emma forced herself to look away.
"It's your birthday?" he asked her.
"Yep," Emma said, making sure the end of the word popped. She didn't want to talk to him.
"So, you're finally fifteen then? You're not nearly-fifteen, anymore?"
"Yep."
Greyson hummed thoughtfully to himself with a slight nod. "Well…happy birthday, then," he said. Greyson gave her a once-over before one corner of his lips lifted into a grin. "That just means you look like you're thirteen to me, then," he said dryly.
Emma wasn't sure if she wanted to smack his smile off his face, rip it off with her nails, or…she wouldn't entertain the thought. She let out an annoyed chuckle, running her tongue over her teeth.
"Thanks," she said with a smile she was sure was a grimace.
Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't any better than Potions. Moody was still continuing his lessons with curses, and more than once, Emma thought to herself she would have preferred the Boggart. When Moody finally gave them a short break, Emma turned to Persephone with a blank look.
"Effie, did you have any idea that Greyson is in the castle?" Emma asked.
Persephone's expression shifted from confusion to horror and then to a shocked amusement. "You're kidding," she said slowly. "You're not…are you serious?"
"Oh, I'm quite serious," Emma said. "He failed to mention that he wants his Potion's Mastery so that he can teach Potions."
"He wants to teach Potions?" Persephone asked, her brow furrowing slightly. She looked lost in thought for a moment, and her eyes grew wide with a sudden, "Oh, no."
"What? Why would you say that?"
"Em, didn't you say Remus was going to find you a Potion's tutor? And he wrote back and said that Snape had a suggestion?"
"Well, yes, but what does that…" Emma trailed off, the gears in her brain slowly starting to process what Persephone was trying to point out to her. "Oh, you've got to be bloody kidding me. Greyson's meant to be my tutor, isn't he? The absolute bastard…"
"I mean, Greyson is perfect, but –"
"There is no way I am letting Greyson be my tutor!" Emma hissed to Persephone. "Do you know how terrible of an idea that is?" Emma took a look around the room to make sure that no one was paying attention. Her gaze fell on Moody for one brief moment, her lips pressing into a thin line as she watched his magical eye swivel about, but she shook her head. "Effie, besides the fact I absolutely hate him, it wouldn't be fair with everything I need to do."
"What do you need to do? It's not like you're going and running off to…well, you know where with you know who," Persephone said. She let out an exasperated sigh at the look on Emma's face. "Just because he said you have to doesn't mean that you do."
"It's not as though I have any other job prospects with the Ministry being so far up my arse when I'm seventeen, so what does it matter? If I can just convince him, that I can –"
"Lupin! Moon!" Moody said sharply with a whack of his hand on his desk that made both girls sit up straight. Both of Moody's eyes found the necklace around Emma's neck for one brief moment, and he turned to the chalkboard with an, "Eyes up front and pay attention. Break's over."
Lunch more than made up for how the rest of her morning went. Emma was very much lost in thought when Fred and George sat down on either side of her.
"You two look as though I should be worried," Emma said, looking between the twins.
"Worried?" George asked. "Never. We have an idea."
"An idea?"
"Well, since Quidditch is off the table this year, we were thinking maybe we should play a birthday match," Fred said.
"I think we can manage to find enough people to play," George said.
"And wouldn't we need permission to use the Quidditch pitch?" Emma asked, not daring to let herself get excited over playing Quidditch.
"Already got permission," Cedric said, sitting down across from them. "Just got the permission form from Hooch. She said she'll even referee tonight…if you want to play, of course."
"Excuse me," Emma said, picking up a crisp and tossing it at Cedric as he started laughing at Emma's mock-outrage. "Of course, I want to bloody play Quidditch! When?"
"We can go out after dinner," Cedric said, motioning for Emma to keep eating her lunch. "Eat, Lupin – you need your energy! Have to make sure our team can beat those two."
"Oi! Who said she's not going to be on our team?" George said.
"I say she's not going to be on your team," Cedric grinned. "I'm not losing one of my favorite Chasers!"
"I played one match," Emma laughed.
"And it was a damn good match!"
"We didn't even win!"
"Yes, but you scored a ton," Cedric pointed out. "Slytherin was playing dirty. We weren't going to win regardless. You held your own, and I'm already looking forward to having you on the team next year."
"Oh, please – you'll find someone much better than me."
"Don't doubt yourself," Cedric said. "I can see it already – Cedric Diggory and Emma Lupin, star Quidditch players set to sign contracts with…who should we play for?"
"Oh, absolutely the Holyhead Harpies. We'll stick a wig on you and everything."
"Ah, yes, perfect," Cedric said, brushing his hand through his hair and fanning it out as if he had long locks. "Cedrica Diggory and Emma Lupin for the Holyhead Harpies, then!"
"You'd be one ugly girl," George said slowly, drawing out his words. A long silence followed as Cedric stared at George with his jaw dropped. Emma broke the silence first with a snort that sounded more like an elephant trumpeting.
"You really would be an ugly girl, Cedric," Emma said, bursting into laughter. The rest of the group quickly followed suit.
Emma was practically bouncing in her seat in both Charms and Transfiguration. Her double Charms class felt like it wasn't ever going to end, and Transfiguration was even worse. It was hard for Emma to sit still in either class, and she rushed far too quickly in her quiz in Transfiguration. She wanted to be out on the Quidditch pitch, and she wanted to be out there now.
It appeared the others felt the same way as they rushed through their dinner. They had a small group that would be playing, and Emma was excited. Their match wouldn't involve the snitch, but it didn't matter. The moment everyone was done eating, they ran to the dorms to get changed. Emma and Cedric pointed at each other with excited shouts when they met back in the common room as they both put their Quidditch jerseys on.
"I'm telling you, Emma – we're going to be stars," Cedric said, flashing a brilliant smile at Emma. "You'll see."
Emma didn't have the heart to tell Cedric that she felt she wouldn't be the star of anything unless it was some sort of scandal. So far, Emma had something go wrong every year at Hogwarts and was subject to rumors more times than she could count. She had to suppress the urge to laugh as they walked, her arm around his waist, his around her shoulders, to the Quidditch pitch. Emma never would have guessed that Cedric's forced time with her the previous year would have created such an easy friendship. She had to have known Cedric in another lifetime.
Being back on the Quidditch pitch felt like an absolute dream. It felt nice to stretch out with their makeshift team and feel like they were preparing for an actual match. She stretched her arms across her body with a joyful laugh. After being confined to seemingly several different prisons all summer, Emma finally felt free. It was funny that something that gave her so much anxiety had become one of her favorite things in the world.
"I feel like we should be running laps right now," Emma said to Cedric. "But it's also my birthday, and I absolutely do not want to go on a run."
"What? You don't want to do some sprints?"
"Oh, Merlin, absolutely not," Emma said, sticking her tongue out at George across the pitch. He made a silly face at her, and Emma laughed some more. "Besides, it's my birthday, and no one wants to do birthday sprints."
"Hey, bad news," Justin said as he ran over to Emma and Cedric, a broom in his hand. "Maxine and Herbert both got detention, Zach got himself hurt – again, and everyone else wants to get their homework done."
"What?" Emma said with a frown. She looked over at the group sitting in the grass, none of them wanting to go up into the stands. "George has got a full team over there, and we've only got three?"
"Make that four," Caspian shouted. He pulled himself up from the ground, excusing himself from his conversation with Ginny, Colin, and Elijah, and made his way over. "Now we just need a fifth. I'm sure someone would be willing to play. I'll be back – I just need to borrow a broom. I'm not going to walk back to the castle to get one."
Emma frowned at George's team across the way. They had Fred, Katie, Angelina, and Lee still stretching across the way. It was only meant to be a fun game, but she didn't want to play with a player down. She looked over at the small group closest to them. Ginny, Colin, Seamus, and Dean were making their way across the pitch to join the other Gryffindors. Out of the group closest to them, Emma didn't feel their prospects were good.
Persephone still hadn't arrived, leaving their choices as Luna, Neville, Wayne, Susan, Hannah, Roger, Ernie, Megan, Sally, or Leanne. Susan, Hannah, and Wayne had come to support Emma, but the others only showed up because they were forced to. Neville wouldn't be caught on a broom; Luna was pointing out things airily in the sky to Neville. Wayne could possibly play, but he looked to be in a very animated discussion with Megan, Sally, Roger, and Leanne. Susan, Hannah, and Ernie were in some sort of heated debate. Their prospects were dismal.
"Oi, Emma, brace yourself," Caspian said with a nervous look on his face as he returned with a broom.
"Brace myself for what?" Emma asked sharply, pulling her attention away from the group to look up and find Madam Hooch, Persephone, and Merlin save her – Greyson heading their way.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Emma growled.
"What is it?" Justin asked, curious to know what had Emma so annoyed.
"It's nothing," Emma said sharply, crossing her arms and turning around to talk to Cedric about what they could do. He seemed to feel the same way as Emma did, his lips pursing ever so slightly as he looked over her shoulder at their possibilities.
"I mean, we could play with four," Cedric said with a slight grimace. "We need two beaters and a keeper, though."
"Which leaves me as the only Chaser against Katie and Angelina," Emma groaned. "It's not even a real game, but even I know I wouldn't stand a chance by myself."
"Or I could be your fifth."
Emma's eyes grew wide, and she looked up at Greyson, who was suddenly standing next to her. She looked over her shoulder at Persephone with a pointed look. "Or Persephone could play," Emma said through gritted teeth and making a silent plea for her to come over. When Persephone shrugged, Emma looked between the boys and then Greyson. "Would you even be allowed to play with us? Snape said you're considered staff while you're here."
"Ah, but that's only while I'm teaching," Greyson said. "And as it's currently the weekend, I'm free to do whatever I please."
Cedric suddenly thrust his hand out towards Greyson. "Cedric Diggory," Cedric said. "Captain for Hufflepuff, and desperately in need of a fifth player."
"Greyson Fenmore," Greyson said, shaking Cedric's hand. "And willing fifth player…unless, of course, the birthday girl has too many objections."
"I think I remember you," Cedric said slowly. "You were Slytherin's captain, yeah? Chaser? I think we played a match in my third year."
"Ah, yeah, thought you seemed familiar. I played seventh year but stepped down as captain to focus on my NEWT's."
Emma bit back the urge to growl as Cedric got into a discussion with Greyson. How did no one know who he was? She whipped around to glare at Persephone, who was trying to avoid her by keeping her gaze focused on Luna. Emma was going to kill Persephone for this one. What was she trying to do?
"Is everyone ready?" Madam Hooch asked, looking between the two teams.
Cedric cleared his throat to get Emma's attention. "Er, Emma? Do you think it's fine if Greyson plays? He's really good from what I remember. It would be better than you trying to practically kill yourself playing as our only Chaser. It doesn't look like anyone else wants to play."
"Oh, is he now?" Emma scoffed, giving Greyson a once over. Even though she had only seen him twice, it was bizarre for her to see him wearing something as casual as jeans and a t-shirt. Emma tried to ignore the scent of his cologne that seemed to capture every single fragrance that she found familiar: vanilla, sandalwood, lavender, warm cinnamon, and something very woodsy. Why did he have to smell so lovely and stand so close to her? She shook her head, looking over at Fred and George, who were waiting expectantly, eyes glittering with amusement. Even they knew they were going to win if they kept their team at only four players. Emma shot Persephone another look of annoyance, and she wasn't surprised that Persephone still refused to look at her.
"Emma?" Cedric prompted. "What do you say?"
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath and turned to look back at Cedric. Cedric was looking at her expectantly, and she sighed, turning her attention back to Greyson. "Thought you made it very clear about how you felt about creatures like me?" Emma challenged, raising an eyebrow at Greyson. "Are you sure you feel comfortable being around me?"
"And you said you're not a werewolf," Greyson said, leaning a little closer towards Emma. "Or is that just what you tell everyone you meet?"
Greyson's eyes never strayed from hers, and Emma refused to look away. He was challenging her just as much as she was challenging him. How very Slytherin, indeed.
"Fine," Emma said slowly. "We'll see just how good you are, Fenmore. Or do I have the displeasure of having to call you Mr. Fenmore?"
"Fenmore is fine," Greyson said with a snort. "Although you can call me Greyson outside of the classroom. And…you, Miss Lupin?"
"Lupin's fine," Emma huffed. "Don't you dare even think of calling me Emma." Emma turned back to Cedric with a scowl. "Fenmore's in, and we better win. I have no intention of giving Fred and George a reason to gloat."
If Emma thought she hated Greyson before, she absolutely loathed him after playing Quidditch with him. She thought it would be challenging to work with someone different, but Greyson was nearly flawless and kept up with her. Even though Emma had to slow herself down to keep up with the speed of his borrowed school broom, he didn't hog the Quaffle. Emma had to reluctantly admit to herself that she understood how Greyson became captain. If he knew she had a better chance of scoring, he was quick to pass the Quaffle off to her. She hated Greyson even more when they actually won, scoring 50 points more than George's team.
"Well, I guess the birthday girl should get one final gift," George said when they all landed. Emma laughed as George pulled her in close, but her laugh faded out as he kissed her on the cheek. George's very reserved affection was still odd to Emma, and she couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. Emma thought maybe he was tired the first night they were at Hogwarts, but a week later hadn't changed a thing. Emma only had her relationship with Persephone to go off, but she didn't think George's behavior was normal. He let go of her just as the others were approaching, and Persephone looked to be practically brimming with excitement.
"Birthday kisses!" Persephone suddenly blurted out.
"What?" Emma asked, her eyebrows shooting up into her hair.
"Birthday! Kisses!" Persephone said, clapping her hands. "We started the tradition last year, and we're keeping it going!" Persephone grabbed onto Emma's face and pressed a very wet and loud kiss to Emma's cheek. "You've got two now! You need thirteen more! Who's next?"
"Well, don't mind if I do!" Fred said, pulling Emma close, giving her a spin, and dipping her just to press a kiss to her cheek.
"Oh, Merlin help me," Emma grumbled as she was passed off to different people before they walked off. She tried to pretend it annoyed her, but Emma found it funny. Her face was bright red as Fred handed her to Katie and then was pulled over by Ginny and Colin, who kissed either side of her face at the same time. Luna, seemingly inspired by the entire situation, tipped Emma's face up to kiss her forehead and patted her on the head before departing with the crowd.
"Happy birthday, Emma," Neville said before giving Emma a swift peck on the cheek and running off.
"We'll see you back at the common room," Susan said after forcing Wayne, Hannah, and Caspian to join her in birthday kisses. Susan gave Justin a pointed look and waved at Cedric.
"I told you, Emma – stars," Cedric repeated, grabbing tightly to Emma so he could give her an even more obnoxious kiss on the cheek than Persephone. Emma laughed, shoving her hands into Cedric's chest to try and push him off of her.
"You're terrible, Cedrica," Emma teased.
"Remember – Holyhead Harpies with Cedrica Diggory and Emma Lupin. We'll be brilliant," he said, smoothing out Emma's windswept hair. He looked over at Justin and grinned. "Come on, Finch-Fletchley. Give Emma her birthday kiss so we can head back. We've got a party to set up."
"Ah, I thought I could help Emma clean things up since Hooch decided to have Greyson close up the pitch," Justin said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"We can handle it," Persephone said quickly, waving Justin off. "Get on with it."
Justin's face turned red, and he slowly approached Emma. He stared at her for a long moment with a nervous chuckle and leaned in to kiss Emma's cheek. Emma cast Justin a curious look when he pulled away, somehow even redder than before.
"Er, happy birthday," Justin said quickly before rushing over to Cedric.
"What just happened with that?" Emma asked Persephone when Justin and Cedric were far enough away. She glanced over at Greyson, wondering if he was listening as he gathered the borrowed supplies from the match.
"I think, and hear me out, Justin has just figured out that he likes you," Persephone said, waggling her eyebrows. "And I think he's trying to figure out how much of a chance he actually has with you being with George and all."
"George, who barely even acts like he's my boyfriend and refuses to tell me what's wrong? Would be a bit stupid of him."
"I think George has figured out that he's not the only one who fancies you," Persephone said slowly. "Did you not notice how many times he knocked the Bludger at everyone who wasn't you?"
"It's George. He goes after everyone," Emma scoffed.
"Yes, well…" Persephone said with a shrug. "Also, bit shit that you only got fourteen kisses. You only need one more!"
"Just kiss me again, and then it's fifteen," Emma said in exasperation.
"Nah, mate. Has to be fifteen people. Doesn't count if I do it twice."
"Is that everything?" Greyson asked suddenly, popping up behind them.
Persephone took a look around and then nodded. "Yeah, that should be it," she said. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at Emma, a grin crossing her face. "I'm just going to head back," Persephone said slowly. "You two should be able to handle putting everything away, right?"
"Yeah, it'll be fine," Greyson said, waving Persephone off. "Why don't you just head back? I'll be fine by myself," he added with a quick glance at Emma.
"I, er…" Emma trailed off quickly and felt herself blush as Persephone immediately explained Emma's sudden hesitation.
"Emma's a bit afraid of the dark, and neither of us have our wands," Persephone said quickly. "It would be better if she went with you."
Emma's face grew impossibly hotter. "Persephone," she hissed sharply.
"You're afraid of the dark?" Greyson asked. His brow furrowed slightly, but to Emma's surprise, he didn't look as though he was judging her for it.
"It's…it's a bit of a story," Emma said, rubbing the back of her neck.
Greyson's gaze was searching, and his lips pressed into a thin line. "All right," he said slowly. "Suppose it would be irresponsible to let you go off then. We're all afraid of something."
"Excellent," Persephone said brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Happy birthday, Em."
The last thing Emma wanted to do was be left alone with Greyson, but there she was. She cleared her throat and carefully gathered the borrowed brooms as he lifted up the heavy trunk with the Quidditch balls.
"You all right?" he asked, casting Emma a curious look. Emma couldn't stop herself from glaring at him.
"I'm fine," she said dryly. "Come on, let's just go."
Emma treated the chore of having to clean up everything as if it was something she had to do every day. She was aggravated with Persephone for putting her in a situation where she was stuck with Greyson by herself, but she had done worse. At least Greyson wasn't as terribly overbearing as his father, though he was infuriating in his own way. However, he seemed just as content to not say a word to her, and Emma was perfectly fine with that. She muttered a soft "Thanks" when he lit his wand for their walk back to the castle after putting everything away.
Even with Greyson's intrusion, she supposed her birthday wasn't terrible. She cast a sidelong glance at Greyson as they walked, trying to figure out how she actually felt about everything. It was as if fate had decided to play another cruel trick on her, but Persephone was not any better. Persephone had mentioned Trelawney's "prediction" while on the train, but there was no way that could possibly be true. She didn't believe in Divination at all, and she certainly wasn't about to put any stake in Trelawney's words.
"How old are you?" Emma suddenly blurted out, startling Greyson out of whatever thoughts he was having. His eyes grew wide as he looked at her, an eyebrow lifting.
"Uhm, I'm twenty," he said slowly. "Why?"
"Just wondering," Emma said, clearing her throat. "Was just trying to, erm, figure that out."
"Any particular reason why?"
Emma nearly laughed at the thoughts crossing her mind. What could she really say? "Oh, because your father is 34 years older than me and obsessed with me and wants to be the werewolf equivalent of my husband," or, "My best mate seems to have decided we're meant to be destined together off some complete shit Divination, and I'm trying to figure out what's going on." Or, better yet, her favorite possible response and the one thought she was struggling with severely, "I couldn't stop myself from staring at your arse, and even though I hate you and just met you really, I have to admit you're quite fit. And then I couldn't figure out if your father has broken me so much that I find him attractive just because unfortunately I think you are." Yes, that would go over very well if she said any of those things.
"You just seemed young for a Potion's Mastery," Emma finally decided to say. It was the safest option that she could come up with. "Thought you were a bit older, so it's a bit odd to me that we were in school together at all."
"Well, I've got another year or so of my Mastery program."
"So then you started as soon as you graduated?"
Greyson nodded. "I did. Started working at an apothecary out in Italy. Spent some time out in Germany and Bulgaria. Finally came back at the beginning of the summer and have bounced around."
"And yet you've somehow decided to come back to teaching?"
"I think I'd like to teach at one of the other schools. Castelobruxo, maybe Ilvermorny."
"Castelobruxo?"
"It's in Brazil in the Amazon rainforest. I hear it's stunning."
"So, you know Spanish then?" Emma asked. "Or at least know the language if you're considering Castelobruxo."
"I'm fluent enough," Greyson said conversationally. "My mum's side of the family is Spanish –" Greyson cut his sentence off so quickly that Emma grew worried. It took one good look at him to realize he felt he said too much, and it made Emma wonder just how much he knew about her. Something told her that Persephone had to have said something to Greyson, but she wasn't sure.
Even though it was dark, and she was relying on the light of his wand and the waxing moon, Emma dared to take a quick look at him. Knowing that Greyson was Spanish made a lot of sense. His features were darker than Fenrir's – dark hair, bronzed skin that she was sure he had year-round without the help of the sun. However, Greyson's eyes were entirely his father's, and it was startling. She would have to take a look at him during the day but try and not be a complete creep about it.
The rest of their walk was quiet, but as they grew closer to the castle, the energy shifted ever so slightly. Just before they stepped into the light radiating from the castle, Greyson extinguished his wand.
"Lupin, wait," Greyson said, grabbing onto Emma's wrist to stop her from moving into the light.
"What?" Emma snapped, whipping her head around to look at Greyson, who had gotten closer to her. Her lips parted with her surprise, and she stopped breathing, or at least Emma thought she stopped breathing.
Emma knew she officially stopped breathing as Greyson's lips pressed against her cheek, leaving behind a flaming warmth. The moment had somehow happened very quickly and very slowly, but her brain refused to catch up with her. One moment Greyson was staring at her, a flicker of something unexplained crossing his face, and then the next, his lips brushed against her cheek. Her mind went blank, and she felt herself grow dizzy from lack of oxygen.
"It would be stupid for you to not get fifteen when you were only one away," Greyson muttered, a pink tinge crossing his cheeks as he straightened up. He cleared his throat, letting go of Emma's wrist. "Best head down to your dorm. Curfew's in fifteen minutes."
Emma remained rooted to the spot for a long moment before turning on her heel to run back to the castle. She just barely turned her head to look over her shoulder at Greyson, unsure of what had just happened. Emma refused to stop running until she reached the basement hallway's relative safety, tucked in an alcove near the common room entrance. She lifted her fingers to her still burning cheek as if the coolness of her fingertips would soothe the odd fire that Greyson left behind. What was that?
She had to force air back into her lungs with a gasping breath. How was it all possible for just a kiss on her cheek to feel that way? Why did it have to be Greyson who left a searing heat on her skin as if she had just been branded? Emma scrubbed her hands over her face trying to kickstart her brain back into gear, but it was like all rational thought had left her entirely. Once more, Emma found herself questioning everything she knew about herself.
There was absolutely no way she could ever tell Remus this one, and now was when she needed him most. She stomped her foot like a child and let out a whine – Emma could never tell anyone. She could tell Remus and Sirius many things, but there was no way Emma could begin to explain this. Emma would have to embellish everything from the entire day so that Remus wouldn't be worried about her when she wrote to him. She forced herself to take several deep, steadying breaths, her hands pressed to her chest as if that would bring air back into her lungs, and she sighed. How could she be so stupid? Even though Emma couldn't talk to Remus about what had just happened, Emma knew exactly what he would say to her.
Nothing in the world couldn't be fixed with a little bit of chocolate, and the faintest of smiles crossed Emma's face. She could practically see him coming up to her, a bar of Honeyduke's dark chocolate in hand with his lopsided and fond smile for her. Remus would look down at the chocolate in his hand before holding it out for her to take. Emma couldn't stop herself from saying the words he would tell her, "Eat it. It'll help."
And that was the advice that she would take.
a/n: Hi, yes, henlo. What in the actual fuck did I just write? HEHEHEHEHEHEHEH. Hello teenage relationships and very confusing feelings. Also, why am I enjoying Emma being back at school more than I thought I would? I dreaded leaving summer, but noooowwww... heheheheheeheh. Do we need to start ship wars? Because I feel like I want to know who everyone's OTP is for this series is now. I have a fuuunnnnyyyyyy feeling I know it, but I'm curious! xD
To all of my late night readers - please go to sleep, good night and sweet dreams!
Come join the Gremlin pack and join the Discord if you'd like to help me out from time to time! Either punch in the link below (just remove the spaces) OR head over to my twitter bio and grab the link from there (link in my profile) -
discord . gg / 9gXkaaq2qJ
Lucasjan - Bahahah thank you! Boy trouble indeed and it definitely didn't get better
Maricate - Moody, Moody, Moody...he's a fun one. I had to splice together three different dresses I found online for inspiration and I'm obsessed with it. I might have to commission someone to draw her Yuleball outfit... Hhmmmmmm...Hopefully this chapter didn't make you hate me again ahahaha. Ooh, Baby Grey. He's a special one for me, for sure. Omg I haven't thought about OTH in such a long time, but I can see it! Cedric's gift absolutely broke me when it was mentioned on my Discord. I might have cried when the idea came up. Aaahhhh!
ShardAura - Oh, goodness I love you so much ahahaha. Snape's a diiiiiccccckkkkk. Hope you liked this oooneeeee because BABY. GREY. Enough said ahahahaha.
