5
Hogsmeade
" Why did you let me drink so much?" Marlene grumbled the next morning clutching her head.
Her eyes were bloodshot and her long fingers knotted themselves in her hair.
" Let you?" Lily asked, " I practically begged you to stop"
Marlene grumbled in annoyance and pulled a pillow over her head.
"It was quite a party, huh?" Alice said from the corner. Doe remembered seeing Alice there the night before, talking to Frank Longbottom.
"Better for some than others" Mary said rolling out of bed.
Doe had told them all about Remus' invitation at the party and they were being very annoying about it.
" Let it go, Mary" she told her getting dressed.
" Doe's first date," Lily giggled, while Doe pulled on her boots.
" It's not a date" Doe said, even though silently she hoped it was.
" Oh please," Marlene said pulling a sweater over her golden head, " Remus wouldn't have wasted the time if it wasn't"
" But it's Remus. He's shy, he probably just wanted a study partner or something" Doe told her.
" You can be so inept Doe," Marlene said, " a boy who wants to study comes with you to the library, they don't ask you to Hogsmeade"
Doe pulled her sweater over her head and ran her hands through her hair.
Mary shook her head, " No this one. You look so good in blue" she said handing her a new sweater from her trunk.
" Thanks" Doe said taking off the sweater and switching it for the one Mary had handed her.
"I think I need some waffles," Lily said.
" I need sleep" Marlene complained pulling her hair into a ponytail, " and quieter roommates"
Marlene lagging behind them, as they all headed downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Most of the older students were exhausted from the previous night's events and ready to go on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.
Doe nibbled at the waffles on her plate. The Marauders entered the great hall to a small applaud from the Gryffindor table, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's table.
James, Sirius, and Peter sat down at their usual spots, but Remus walked over and sat down in the empty seat next to Doe.
" Hi, Doe" he said running his hand through his hair quickly. He looked nervous.
" Hi, Remus" Doe said. She felt the eyes of her friends watching them.
" So, I'm sorry for the rushed nature of my invitation last night." he said quickly, staring down the plate in front of him., " you don't have to go if you don't want too"
" No, I want to" Doe assured him.
" You do?" he asked.
" Yeah, it should be fun" She said picking up a strawberry with her fork.
Remus smiled and grabbed a waffle putting it on his plate.
" So I think we considered last night a success?" Sirius said taking a sip of pumpkin juice.
" The best one yet" James said smiling.
" It was a very interesting one" Peter said.
" Funny" Marlene said clutching her head, " I can't remember it all"
She wasn't her usual sunny self, instead she looked exhausted and a little sick. It was odd not to have Marlene being her usual bubbly self.
" That's what happens when you drink your weight in firewhiskey" Lily reminded her.
Marlene groaned loudly, " Please don't use the F world around me".
There was a collective chuckle from all of her friends. Mary placed a hand reassuringly on her back.
James laughed loudly, " Marlene did have quite a bit of fun"
" I remember my costume" Marlene said quietly, " And that's about it"
" Oh everyone remembers your costume, Marley" Sirius assured her. His grin was wide.
Marlene grinned and then clutched her head again, nursing her hangover.
They spent the rest of breakfast chatting about what had happened during the party, and filling Marlene in on the details she had been too drunk to remember.
When breakfast finished everyone got up and headed towards the entrance to the grounds.
McGonagall was at that entrance with a list of those who had permission to enter the village and was checking it against the people leaving.
" You ready?" Remus asked coming up behind Doe.
" Definitely," she said as McGonagall checked off both of their names from the list.
" So, " Remus said as they walked down the path towards Hogsmeade, " did you have fun last night?"
" It was definitely interesting" she said with a light laugh, " not sure it was for me, though"
Remus put his hands in the pockets of his coat, " I agree, they are more for the Sirius' of the world"
" Yeah" she agreed.
" Is there anywhere in particular, you want to go?" Remus asked her as the entered the village. They passed a group of third year girls anxiously pointing at the shops, and the Post Office.
" There's actually a small bookshop on the corner over there" Doe said pointing , " do you want to look around?"
Remus smiled widely, " That's music to my ears"
The shop was small, but it was crowded with shelves, displaying endless rows of leather bound books.
It smelled wonderful in there, and Doe felt right at home as they wandered through the tall shelves of books.
" Can I help you with anything?" the elder shopkeeper asked.
" A cot," Doe told him, " I think I'd like to live here".
Her remark was met by a chuckle from both Remus and the shopkeeper.
She wandered down one of the isles and stopped at a section that was completely devoted to defensive tactics, one cover stood out.
The Auror Guidebook: An all inclusive guide to auror training.
Doe picked it up off of the shelf and flipped through it quickly, reminding herself to ask her dad if it was good.
" Auror training?" Remus asked reading the cover, "is that what you want to be?"
She looked up at him, a small smile on her face " Yeah actually,".
He smiled, " I can see doing that"
" Really? Most people don't see it" Doe told him, " Generally aurors are bigger wizards".
He pouted slightly, " I think it's always the larger people that are the ones people think would be good aurors, but you're less suspecting, it might even make you more successful"
"Thanks," Doe said her mouth breaking out into a large smile. She placed the book back on the shelf.
" There is an amazing book on display back here" She said walking towards the back of the store, " it's something I think you'll like"
" Oh, really?" Remus asked. He looked curious, and Doe felt her stomach flip when she noticed the look on his face.
She nodded, "Trust me".
She led him to the back of the store where in a large display case was a signed copy of A History of Magic. Bathilda Bagshot's large curving signature was very visible through the glass.
" Wow," Remus said stroking the glass, " an original".
" I thought you might like to see that," she said.
" I did," Remus said happily, " I didn't think they had any of these outside of the ministry"
" I've stared at this probably a thousand times" she told him, " I always force Lily to come in here with me and look at it"
Remus looked down and then smiled back up at her, " I have an idea, do you mind leaving?"
Doe shook her head, "Nope".
She followed him out into the street and the two began walking deeper into the village. The girls from earlier were at the small wire fence staring at the shrieking shack.
" That's so terrifying!" one of them shouted pointing at the shack.
" It's haunted, obviously" the other snapped.
" I think there's a monster that lives there" the other said back.
" Well whatever it is, it's nasty. You can always hear creepy noises coming from there" the girl said shuddering violently.
Next to her, Remus looked horrified.
" You okay?" she asked.
Remus nodded quickly, " yeah it's just-" he stopped short and shook his head.
He took a deep breath, " It's nothing."
Doe didn't push it, whatever it was it wasn't her business.
He stopped in front of Honeydukes and opened the door, " after you".
She walked into the shop and was immediately welcomed by the warm smell of all the delicious treats. Honeydukes always smelled welcoming.
" I'll be right back" Remus said dashing to the back of the store.
While she waited for him, Doe looked around at the display closest to the door. It was a large display of chocolate frogs, advertising the addition of Dumbledore's card.
Somewhere, underneath her bed in London probably, she had a large collection of chocolate frog cards that she had gathered when she was little. She wanted to give them to Mary's little sisters at one point but she always forgot. She made a mental note to write to her father to send them.
" Okay, all done" Remus said popping up behind her with a Honeydukes bag in hand.
" Had a candy craving, did you?" she asked him.
Remus smiled, " You could say that."
He led her to the door and they both walked out back into the street. He led her over to a bench and sat down. She took the spot next to him.
Remus pulled out a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
" Okay so" he said opening the box, " we pick one out and try to figure out what the flavor is before we taste it, ok?
Doe reached into the box and held up a white bean, " Marshmallow or Toothpaste" she asked handing it to him.
He put it in his mouth and after a moment, he grinned, " Marshmallow".
He reached in and picked a light amber one, " Toffee or Earwax"
Doe frowned and took it from him, " I really hope it's toffee" she said before she placed it in her mouth. It melted on her tongue and left the flavor there.
" Toffee" she said happily, as Remus grinned at her wider.
He plunged into the box and grabbed a reddish brown one and eyes it apprehensively, " It's got to be Cinnamon or Earthworm" he said sniffing it before plopping it into his mouth.
Doe watched as his face contorted,
"Ugh, Merlin. It's Earthworm" he said coughing slightly.
They spent the rest of the day walking around and talking, finishing off the afternoon with butterbeers at the three broomsticks. Everything seemed to be going very well. The walk back to the castle from Hogsmeade seemed even shorter.
" I still can't believe that you've actually met the inventor of the Polyjuice potion" Remus said in disbelief as they walked down the corridor of the castle.
" It was completely by accident, fate almost" Doe said.
" It's still so amazing" he said as they approached the portrait hole to the common room.
" I had a lot of fun today" he said.
" I did too" Doe told him.
They smiled at each other quickly.
" Are you going to come in or not, I don't have all day" The Fat Lady said shrilly.
" Oh right of course, 'prancing pixies'" Remus told her.
The painting swung open and the portrait hole was revealed. Remus and Doe both climbed through.
" So, I'll see you at dinner?" Remus asked.
" Yeah, sure" Doe told him.
He smiled at her and then jogged upstairs to the boys dormitories. Doe walked back to the girl's dormitories and opened the door to her room.
Marlene, Mary, and Lily were sitting on Marlene's bed with a plate of pumpkin pasties in front of them.
" Hey, Doe " Lily said when she walked in, " how was it?"
Doe pulled off her boots and curled up on the bed next to her friends " Good. I think".
She told them every detail of the day in Hogsmeade. They waited until she was completely done before they spoke.
" He didn't kiss you?" Marlene asked in disbelief,
Doe grabbed one of the pillows next to Mary and hugged it, shaking her head.
" But that doesn't mean anything" Lily assured her, " Remus is shy, we know that"
" Yeah, maybe" Doe said grabbing one of the Pumpkin pasties off the plate.
It had been a week since Doe and Remus had gone to Hogsmeade and Remus had been very cordial since then, but it made her very ancy. Up until the end of the visit at Hogsmeade, she had been sure it was a date, but now she was just confused. Maybe it had just been a friendly visit. She felt stupid for having thought otherwise, and so she hadn't been speaking to him much.
On Tuesday, Doe met Remus for their usual prefect patrol of the fourth floor.
" How was your day today?" Remus asked her when they started walking.
" It was good" Doe told him, " what about yours?"
Remus nodded, " good".
They walked in silence for about a minute, and Doe was about to say something to stop the silence when Remus did first.
Remus stopped, " Actually, Doe. Can I talk to you about something?"
He was looking at her with a strange expression, and Doe was worried about what this could be about.
Doe stopped so that she was standing in front of him, " Sure, whats up?".
Remus looked down at the floor, " So I don't know if I've messed this up already, or didn't make myself clear enough, and I don't really know what to say or how to say this-"
" Remus, it's okay" Doe told him, " Whatever it is,"
Remus frowned and took a deep breath.
" Doe, I like you" he said quietly.
Doe blinked quickly in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
" You like me?" she repeated.
Remus shook his head, " I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry. Let's forget it."
He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm stopping him.
" Remus, I don't want to forget it" she told him.
He looked at her strangely, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion.
She took a breath, " I like you, too" she told him.
" You, what?" he said blinking quickly.
" I like you too," Doe said quietly, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.
She looked back up at Remus. And the two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment.
Neither of them were sure what to do or what to say to one another. Remus took a deep breath and took a step closer to her.
It happened quickly. Remus slowly moved closer to her and pressed his lips against hers.
They were both nervous, but Remus' lips were soft against hers. Doe's an entire body felt like it was going to explode from the excitement of all of it. She rested her hand on his arm as he pressed his lips against hers more firmly.
Remus smelled warm, like the worn cover of a leather bound book, and it was an oddly comforting smell to her.
" Uh oh, that's not patrolling I see" a drawling voice called into the hallway.
Doe and Remus broke apart instantly, both pink faced.
Argus Filch, the ancient caretaker, was standing in front of them with his awful kitten Mrs. Norris.
Both Doe and Remus exchanged a quick look. If there had been anyone they wouldn't have wanted to catch them kissing in the hallway, it was Filch.
" Now, tsk tsk what are we going to do about this rule breaking?" Filch asked aloud, pacing in delight in front of the two prefects.
Doe bit her lip in frustration. Of all the people who could have walked around that corner.
" Look, Mr. Filch. We're sorry. It won't happen again" Remus said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation.
" You were supposed to be patrolling" Filch snapped back at him, " and I won't tolerate any rule-breaking!"
At that moment McGonagall walked around the corner and stopped at the scene enfolding in front of her.
Doe groaned quietly. This situation was getting more and more embarrassing. Beside her, Remus was slightly pink.
" Filch what is going on here?" she demanded, " I doubt seriously that Ms. Meadowes or Mr. Lupin have broken any school rules"
" Well no" Filch said quietly, " not a school rule"
" Well then I daresay you let them head back to their common rooms then" Professor McGonagall said sternly.
Remus and Doe caught each other's glances and then walked away from Filch and McGonagall, thrilled with their luck.
When they were far enough away, they looked at each other eye's wide.
" I thought for sure we'd be stuck in detention" Doe said clutching at her chest.
" I know" Remus said in disbelief, " when I heard Filch's voice.."
They looked at each other again and smiled.
As they approached the Fat Lady, Remus said " Prancing Pixies" and they both crawled into the Common Room.
" So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Remus asked her hopefully.
Doe felt as though he was asking her a bit more than if he would see her in classes.
" Of course" Doe replied, watching Remus smile widely.
They both bade each other goodnight and then disappeared into their dormitories to fill in their roommates on their evenings.