Seventh Year

For the next couple months Althea tried her best to push all negative thoughts from her mind, and ignore the words from the fourth-year Ravenclaw. For the most part, she had been successful. But every now and then, the words from Celia would pop into her head and the guilt would once again consume her. Thankfully, Remus was there for her and was able to draw her out of her self-imposed exile and depression. He reminded her that it wasn't her fault; that she was only one person and she couldn't possibly be responsible for the deaths. It was still hard, though for Althea to not blame herself. It didn't help when the Slytherins would make snide remarks and tease her. They only seemed to make the situation worse.

As their graduation neared, Althea came to a few realizations about herself and life in general. The first, was that she couldn't control what happened in life and she shouldn't blame herself for what she couldn't control. The second, was that she didn't think that she could live without Remus in her life. She had never pictured herself as the girl who needed a man in her life but, she hadn't been considering Remus then. Now she knew that she needed him in her life, he had been such a big part of it already and she didn't know what she would do if suddenly he was gone. The third revelation was, that she wanted to continue writing and taking a stand against You-Know-Who even if it was in a passive-aggressive way. The fourth and final revelation Althea recognized, was that she wanted to still remain friends with people from Hogwarts. She didn't want to leave and suddenly lose contact with everyone.

Althea yawned, pulling the blanket closer to her and staring unseeingly into the fire. For most of the school year she had been shirking her Prefect duties, but she had slowly stopped that. Patrolling was exhausting work, and she wondered why Remus seemed to like it so much. The door to the Common Room opened and the Marauders sans James stumbled in. Sirius was laughing loudly, Peter's face was all red, and Remus looked amused. Seconds later both Lily and James stormed into the Common Room embarrassed expressions on their faces. Remus offered the angry couple a shrug, before moving passed them and toward Althea. He sat on the couch beside her, wrapping his arms around her frame and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"What did the three of you do?" She asked, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair.

"Nothing," he answered.

She rolled her eyes, not believing a word that he said but didn't push the subject. She'd find out eventually, she was sure. If there was one thing the Marauders weren't good at, it was keeping secrets. Honestly, she was surprised that they had managed to keep Remus's "condition" a secret. Althea sighed, snuggling closer to Remus.

"Exams are coming up soon," she muttered conversationally.

"So, they are. In about a month we're going to be graduates of Hogwarts," Remus replied a melancholic note in his voice. "It's surreal, isn't it?"

"Very," Althea murmured. She twisted in his arms so she could look at him. "I love you Remmy."

"Love you too, Thea."

The rest of the month passed by far too slowly for Althea's tastes. Since that night in the Common Room nothing much had changed with her and Remus. Except, they had grown more intimate and to everyone it was clear that the two were going to stay together after Hogwarts. Then finally, they were down to two weeks before graduation. They had finished their exams for the most part and now were getting everything ready for when they would finally leave Hogwarts. Althea stuffed her jeans into one of her suitcases and sighed loudly. As soon as they left Hogwarts, the situation with You-Know-Who would seem all too real, because they wouldn't be able to escape to a safe haven.

Althea zipped up her suitcase, and stuck her wand into the back pocket of the shorts she was wearing before heading downstairs into the Common Room. The other years were still taking their exams, so for now the seventh-years had the Common Room to themselves. Lily and James were cuddling on the couch looking disgustingly cute, Peter was in the corner eating chocolate, Sirius was who knows where, and Remus was sitting in front of the fireplace, a glass of tea clutched in his hands. Althea walked over, sinking onto the floor beside him.

"Hello," she greeted him quietly, rejoicing silently when he handed her the tea and let her have a sip. She twisted around to look at Lily and James, "Hello to you two."

"Hi Thea," Lily smiled brightly, pulling away from James her cheeks bright red. James groaned, his face falling onto her shoulder. "Oh, hi Remus. I didn't see you there."

"It's because you were too busy snogging James," Althea quipped, laughing a little when the two turned cherry red. Remus sighed shaking his head causing his girlfriend to turn to him innocently. "What did I say something wrong?"

Lily smiled, "It's nice to see you looking so relaxed Thea. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Since you've been this relaxed, I mean."

"Yeah." Althea said quietly. She shook off the pessimistic thoughts that were beginning to creep into her mind. "I'm happy."

At her side Remus grinned, curling an arm around her waist. She didn't miss the pleased smile on his face and shook her head in amusement. Everyone knew that Lily and James were going to move in together after they graduated, and Althea wondered what would happen with her and Remus. Would they do the same? Or would Remus say that they needed some space? She didn't know, and she didn't want to dwell on those thoughts too much.

"Have you guys picked a place to live yet?" Althea asked curiously, her eyes darting between the redhead and her beau.

"Nope," James said smiling proudly. "But we're going to figure it out."

"You better," Althea said sternly. She rolled her eyes, "I'm happy for you two. It only took you guys forever though, to get together."

"Yeah, well at least it finally happened," James muttered, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

Althea grinned cheekily, but didn't say anything else. She leaned against Remus, her eyes roving the Common Room. It was weird to think that they wouldn't be coming back. This school had been part of her life for so long, and to suddenly leave and not return was a strange thought. It meant that they were growing up, and loathe as Althea was to admit it, she would miss this place and hanging out with the Marauders – even Sirius. Arguably, Sirius had changed the most. He still flirted with anything that moved but he was also a lot more serious, at least around the professors.

Lily sighed, "Thea, what are you going to do when we graduate?"

"I don't know. Be a writer," Althea shrugged. "I haven't decided. What about you Lils?"

"I'm not sure either," Lily smiled. "But that's okay, I'll eventually figure it out."

They lapsed into silence once more. Althea's stomach gurgled and she sighed, standing up.

"I'm going to go to the kitchen."

"We'll come with," James said standing and dragging Lily with him.

Althea wanted to protest, as Remus rose to his feet but she didn't. This wasn't the time to pick a fight and she knew that they were only coming along because they were worried about her. With the end of the school year approaching, the Slytherins were getting restless particularly the Slytherins who were Death Eaters. They were itching to pick a fight and it was only a matter of time before it happened. Everyone in the school could see it; Slytherins weren't exactly subtle. So, James and Lily as Head Boy and Head Girl encouraged everyone especially first-years to never go anywhere alone. Of course, that wouldn't stop the Slytherins but for now it proved a powerful deterrent.

James tickled the pear and they slipped into the kitchen. The walk to the kitchen had been silent, and they hadn't run into any Slytherins. As stupid as it was, Althea was hoping that maybe the Slytherins were relaxing and that maybe they wouldn't pull anything until after they had graduated. She sighed, her leg jiggling up and down nervously as she ate the beef roast. Remus placed his hand on her leg to still her and she flushed, ducking her head. Once they were finished eating the quartet headed back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Lingering anywhere else in the castle was asking for trouble, since the Slytherins were aching to start a fight.

Althea curled up on the couch beside Remus, her head resting lightly over his sternum. The rhythm of his heartbeat was soothing, and she closed her eyes snuggling closer. Remus smiled, combing his fingers through her hair. She wasn't asleep, she couldn't sleep since it wasn't even three o'clock yet. But, she was relaxed and feeling lethargic.

"Remmy," she asked quietly, "what are we going to do after we graduate?" She looked down at the floor, "Obviously, we've planned to stay together. But beyond that, what are we going to do?"

Remus sighed, his fingers ceasing their movement in her hair. "What do you want me to say Althea? I'm as clueless about this as you are."

"I know, but Lily's clueless too and she knows what she's doing with James." Althea protested sitting up, and frowning at him. "I mean, he's not her first boyfriend or anything but he's the first one that she's liked this much and…I don't know. What I'm trying to say is, they've got a plan. Even Sirius has a plan! Although his is much different than theirs. But, we don't and I'm just wondering what we're going to do."

Remus bit his lip, contemplatively and Althea pouted at him. She didn't want to pressure him into doing something that he didn't want to, but she needed to know. She didn't like being kept in the dark or having things happen spontaneously. If something was going to happen she needed to know so that she could plan and organize her life meticulously in accordance.

"Althea," Remus sighed.

She withdrew, moving away from him and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I'm not saying we have to move in together or that we have to get married. I'm just asking what's happening with us after graduation. What is happening with us after graduation?"

"Like you said, we're obviously staying together. Beyond that, I don't have an answer. I suppose we try to find jobs and we go about life as normal," Remus answered.

"Then you don't want me to move in with you?" For a brief moment, he hesitated and then Remus nodded. Althea sighed; it stung but she understood. "Fine, then I'm going to look into getting an apartment that I can share with a roommate. Hopefully, the good ones aren't taken."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her toward him.

"It's fine. I understand," Althea mumbled. She pushed away from him, getting to her feet. "Now if you'll excuse me I believe I have to look in to some apartment listings. Hopefully, I can find some."

She headed up to the girls' dormitory, leaving Remus behind on the couch watching her sadly. She didn't blame him, she couldn't – he just wasn't ready for that step and she wasn't going to push him. It stung, but she would get over it. Maybe the reason it stung so much was because obviously that wasn't what Lily and James were doing and they had been dating for only a short while, less of a time than her and Remus had been anyways. Althea sighed; even if they weren't moving in together she still had Remus. That was all she really needed for now.

Just him.