Seventh Year

Althea yawned, rolling over in bed. The festivities from last night had absolutely exhausted her because they had stayed up until about six in the morning before finally deciding that it was best they get some sleep. She glanced at her watch laying on the bedside table next to her and sighed. It was only one in the afternoon.

Much too early, she thought.

Althea yawned again, sitting up and patting down her untamed hair that likely resembled a bird's nest. She couldn't believe that her seventh year – her last year – at Hogwarts was almost over. It was a bittersweet feeling to know that soon, she would be a full-fledged witch, able to make a difference in the world. But, with the rise of Voldemort and his threatening presence constantly looming over the wizarding world it was hard to actually enjoy the moment. Althea, rubbed at her eyes and slowly rose to her feet.

Changing clothes was an exhausting affair, and she decided that she didn't really want to bother making an effort. She piled her hair into a messy bun and tugged a large oversized sweatshirt on. The sweatshirt was so big that it went down almost to her knees, covering the shorts that she was wearing. She shrugged it off, stumbling out of the dormitory and into the Common Room. As she suspected James and Sirius were laying on the couch, moaning and groaning about how awful they felt. Peter was nowhere in sight, and Remus was sitting in front of the fire a book on his lap. She crossed over to him, setting gracefully beside him.

He smiled looking over at her, and his eyes widened at the amount of bare skin that he saw. A mischievous smile curled Althea's lips but she knew better than to tease him. Althea brought her knees closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs, and peering curiously at the book in Remus's lap.

"What are you reading?" she asked quietly, her head lightly resting on his shoulder.

"A story," he answered. She frowned at him. He laughed, "A book explaining Ancient Runes in a deeper depth."

"Sounds boring," Althea said bluntly. Remus laughed a little louder and her cheeks flushed. "Ordinarily, I'm not one to judge when someone is reading about an academic subject but Ancient Runes is bloody awful, Remmy. I can't understand why you like it so much."

"It's intriguing," he weakly defended it.

"No, Potions is intriguing. Ancient Runes is stupid," she argued.

"To each their own I suppose," he answered lightly. "Thank you for the book by the way."

Behind them they could hear Sirius and James stirring more, and still grumbling about how their heads hurt. Althea wanted to reply that their heads wouldn't hurt if they hadn't had so much firewhiskey and if they hadn't stayed up so late, but decided it wasn't her place. Besides, Lily would be coming down soon she was sure and would probably tell the boys the same thing.

A pleased grin appeared on her face, "Not a problem, Remus." She rolled her eyes, "I know how much you adore Ancient Runes so this seemed like the most logical present. Did you enjoy the rest of your present?"

"You mean the Chocolate Frogs, a nice poem written by you, and two Muggle books called The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby. Or what about the book about hippogriffs you got me?" Remus shook his head thoroughly amused as Althea's cheeks flushed pink. "Honestly, Thea you didn't have to spend that much money on me."

"But I wanted to!" She protested. "And I couldn't decide on just one gift, so I got a bunch. You like them, right?"

"Of course, I do. I liked all the gifts that you got me Thea," Remus answered his voice soft and his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that stole her breath. He then smiled charmingly at her, "You haven't opened my present yet, have you?"

The flush on her cheeks darkened. "No. Weren't you the one insisting that you want to be there when I open it too?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod. "Why don't you go get it? I'll be right here."

Althea bounded to her feet, and yelled quickly that she'd be right back. Althea quickly bounded up the stairs not seeing the amused look in Remus's eyes as they followed her. She burst into the girl's dormitory going to her bed, where the present lay. She grabbed it and darted back downstairs, nearly slipping down the steps as she went. In minutes, she was back at Remus's side, the present lying carefully in her lap. Remus laughed a little at the obvious excitement in her eyes and the way she was practically vibrating with energy. He rested his hands on her shoulders, stilling her.

"Okay, you can open it now," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, smiling and tore into the present. The wrapping paper ended up in shreds as she tore through it. She stared down at the box in her hands, turning curious eyes to Remus before opening the box. In the box were a few books, a snow globe and a necklace case. She grabbed the case first staring at it and opened it, her jaw dropping open slightly when she saw the pendant. A wolf. She knew that Remus hated what he was, so she couldn't quite comprehend why he would give her a wolf pendant unless he was somehow acknowledging that it was a part of it.

Remus gently took the necklace out of the case, and indicated that Althea should turn around. "I'm usually not one to be sappy, but I saw this necklace and I couldn't erase it from my mind," he told her, fingers fumbling with the clasp. He put it around her neck, his cheeks heating when she turned back around. "It has a wolf, and I hope it will remind you that I'm always there. That I'll always come back to you."

Althea leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Remus. "I love it."

She nestled her face in the crook of his face, and with barely any effort he pulled her until she was splayed above him, her legs draped over his hips. He wrapped an arm around her waist holding her more securely against him. It was moments like this, Althea treasured the most because they reminded her what it meant to feel loved and to feel content with what she had. It reminded her that Voldemort was evil and terrible, but he couldn't take away everything good in the world. He could taint it but there would always be people fighting back to protect precious moments like these. Her arms tightened around his neck and she suddenly found herself fighting back tears.

"Thea, what's wrong?" Remus asked gently when she sniffled.

"Nothing," she mumbled. "I'm just being stupid."

"I highly doubt that," Remus answered a touch of amusement in his voice. "You're one of the smartest witches that I know. So whatever has upset you isn't stupid."

"It's not important," she tried.

"Everything you say is important."

"Remus."

"Yes?"

"Stop being so irresistible."

He chuckled, and the sound made warmth curl in her belly. "No can do," he whispered in her ear. She nestled closer to him, nose brushing against the skin of his neck. "Now, what was upsetting you?"

"I don't know," Althea mumbled into his neck. "I suppose that I'm feeling very overwhelmed about everything. I can't stop thinking about the future and leaving Hogwarts, and You-Know-Who and life in general. It's all a bit overwhelming and I'm struggling to process it all I guess."

"Thea, Thea, Thea," he sighed. "Don't worry about the things that you cannot control. Your worries are not unfounded but we should treasure the time that we have, shouldn't we? Make the best of our lives, because we only get one."

"Says Mr. Broody," she quipped.

Remus laughed. "Yes, I suppose I am broody. But…I'm working on it."

"Fair point," she whispered. "Remus."

"Hm?"

"You're my favorite Marauder."

"I certainly hope so. You're my favorite Althea."

"I'm the only Althea that you know," she pointed out wryly.

"And? That doesn't mean that you can't be my favorite, does it?" Amused, she shook her head. "That's what I thought," he said with a pleased smile.

Althea pulled away from him, her eyes searching his features. "What do you want to do, when we're done with Hogwarts?"

"I don't know." Remus answered slowly. "Obviously, I've given it some thought but it might be fairly difficult for me to find a job."

Althea smiled pressing her lips against his cheek. "You'll figure something out, Remmy. And whatever you do, you're going to be fantastic at it."

He smiled, touching his forehead to hers. "I hope so."

"You will. Just wait, someday the whole world is going to know the name Remus Lupin."