6
Autumn Whims
"You're not focusing" Severus said as he added the unicorn eyelashes to the potion.
" Sorry," Doe said running her hand through her hair quickly and rereading the last line of the directions.
" Why do you keep looking over there?" Severus asked handing her the bottle of crushed beetles.
" Looking where?" she asked crushing the beetles into the potion.
" Over at the table with Lupin and Rosier" Severus said stirring the potion.
" What, I wasn't" she said pouring the dragon tears into the cauldron.
Severus looked at her with her eyebrow raised.
She rolled her eyes at him, " Just stir the potion again".
Truthfully, she had been looking over at the table. She and Remus had been looking over at each other the entire class. She had thought they were being coy, but apparently Severus had been more observant than she had thought.
" I think it may be done" Severus said leaning towards the potion.
" How do you know if it?" Doe asked rereading the instructions.
" You have to smell it" Severus said not taking his eyes off of the cauldron.
" Oh" Doe said.
She leaned forward and held her face over the steam pouring out of the cauldron. It didn't smell like love. She wasn't sure what she expected it to smell like, something fluffy. She had always assumed that any potion that allowed you to smell love would smell sickly sweet, like candy or unicorns.
Instead it had a warmer more rich smell to it. It smelled like books, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Doe slid back in her chair coughing when she realized who wore the familiar scent.
Her eyes landed on Remus from across the room. He was stirring his potion, but when he looked up and saw her, he smiled at her too.
" I think it works" Doe told him.
Severus leaned towards it and smelt the potion. As soon as he did, he began coughing and slid away from it, " I agree. I'll fetch Slughorn"
Severus got up and went over to Slughorn, bringing him back to our table.
Slughorn looked apprehensive of the two of them as he walked over to their table.
" So you think you two have done it?" Slughorn asked, " Correctly mastered Amortentia?"
He leaned over the brewing potion and took a deep break. His eyes were closed but a smile was plastered on his face.
" By god I think you've done it" Slughorn said continuing to breathe in the fumes, " You two have managed to brew Amortentia"
The smell was permeating and drifting back towards Doe. She took a step back, not wanting to be distracted by the intoxicating smell.
" 10 points to both your houses!" Slughorn said happily.
Severus didn't even look phased. He had expected the points.
" Seeing as you've all been working so hard. Clean up your things and you can head out early." Slughorn said and walked back over to his desk.
Doe helped Severus bottle a portion of their potion and vanish the rest.
" I'll do some research for this essay later, okay?" Doe told him.
He nodded and waved her away with his hand. Doe was used to Severus' forms of communication by now.
She had to jog to catch up with the group of Gryffindors that were leaving the dungeons.
" Hey, there you are" Remus said when she caught up with him.
" Hi," she said. Their hands brushed against each other and she felt Remus take hers in his.
" Awwww look at them" Marlene walking next to us, " the love birds"
Doe was sure all of the color had risen to her cheeks. She looked to see Remus blushing just as equally. She smiled at him, and returned it.
" Kiss her, kiss her" Mary teased mockingly.
" I apologize on the behalf of my friends" Doe whispered to Remus.
He grinned, " No need to apologize" he said and kissed the top of her head.
" And an obedient boy no less" Mary said approvingly.
"Come on guys, leave them alone" Lily said crawling through the portrait hole. Remus and Doe followed in after her and sat down on the couch. The other marauders were seated in the chairs around the couch.
" Oh look it's Moony and Doe" James said with a sly smile.
" Oh yes," Sirius said, " Such good friends they are, aren't they Prongs?"
James smiled, " Very good friends" he agreed.
" Alright, enough" Remus said staring at his friends.
"Please, let it go" Doe told them.
It was weird for Doe how well all of this seemed to go.
" I've got to say, I'm quite surprised about this new union among us" Sirius said leaning against the chair and putting his feet up on the coffee table.
" It's shocking isn't it?" James said to him.
Doe and Remus exchanged a look between each other.
There was a tapping at the window near the end of the common room. Doe's father's owl Edipus was attempting to get into the locked window.
Doe got up and walked over to the window to let him in. Edipus snapped at her fingers in greeting. Her father had had Edipus before Doe was even born. She stroked his feathers lightly before pulling the letter off of his leg.
Doe opened the letter carefully, sliding it open.
Dearest Doe,
I am writing to you to let you know that this year our family has been invited to the Ministry Christmas Eve Party, so your mother and I would like you to come home for the winter holiday this year. I miss you very much and cannot wait to see you.
See you soon,
Dad
Doe reread the letter twice to make sure she had read it right. The Ministry of Magic had an annual Christmas Eve party every year, and usually they skipped it. This year however, he wanted them to go. She grabbed an abandoned quill off of the table closest to her and scribbled a quick 'ok' to her father. She tied the letter onto Edipus' leg and stroked him once again. She watched as he took off into the sky again.
" Everything alright?" Lily asked when she made her way back over and sat down again.
She nodded quickly, " Just my family formalizing plans for Christmas"
" Are you going home then?" Remus asked.
" It's my year to go home, and my dad has a party he wants me to go to with him" She told him, "are you going home?"
Remus nodded, " I promised my mum"
Sirius shook his head in disbelief, " I under what it's like to have parents who want you home?"
Lily frowned, " Well I wish I didn't have to have to go home. Petunia is going to be there and probably bring her awful boyfriend"
" So stay here with me, Evans" James said with a grin.
Lily scowled, " I'd rather have Christmas with a toad"
" Now, now, play nice" Marlene warned shooting an angry glance at Lily.
Marlene hated when James and Lily rowed because it usually ended any gathering between the eight of them.
Across the room, Gideon and Fabian Prewett were enchanting some of the lamps to follow around the first years, doing impressive impersonations of Professor McGonagall. It was pretty entertaining, and they had gathered quite an audience.
" So you know I've heard a bit more about this You Know Who bloke" Sirius started.
Doe's attention instantly snapped back towards him.
" They say he's growing more powerful and that he's trying to rid the wizarding world of all muggleborns" Sirius added.
" An entire group of wizards? Thats ridiculous!" Peter said nervously.
" He's like a modern Hitler" Lily said quietly biting her lip.
" Who?" Sirius asked.
" Nevermind. He's a muggle" Lily said shaking her head.
" He claims," Sirius said whispering a bit, " that muggle borns stole their magic from the 'real' wizards"
" That's completely untrue" Doe said in disbelief.
" But he's convinced a lot of people" James said, " whether or not it's right it's becoming a movement"
His expression changed and he looked worried for a moment. His gaze turned to Lily instantly, and Doe wondered whether he had even realized he did it.
" He'll be stopped" Marlene said quickly, " he has too"
" I hope he does" Remus added.
" Before he gets any stronger" Peter said biting his nail nervously.
Remus got up from the couch he was sitting at, "I think I'm going to go the library" he said quickly. He caught Doe's eyes and gave her a small smile.
Doe waited until he left through the portrait hole, and then got up to follow him. Everyone else was so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice her get up and leave.
She slipped through the portrait hole and headed towards the empty corridor. As soon as she rounded the corner, she found Remus waiting for her.
He grinned when he saw her heading towards him.
" There you are" Remus said, his smile taking up his entire face.
Doe grinned at him, " Sorry, I was trying to be coy" she told him.
Remus and Doe had soon realized after that first kiss that they were much too shy and introverted people to publicly display affection. And since they both spent so much time in their crowded dormitories with their friends that they had to sneak around to have any time alone.
Doe moved closer to him and wrapped her arms lightly around his neck. Remus moved his hands to her hips and kissed her.
With no one watching them and a little privacy they were able to be all over eachother a little.
" You know" Remus said when they broke apart, " I could get used to this whole kissing thing"
" Is that so?" Doe asked biting her lip.
Remus grinned and pulled her back to her wards him, kissing her enthusiastically again.
As November began to speed by, the first quidditch game of the year grew nearer and nearer. The excitement was evident all over the castle. The first game was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. It was the first year in a few that Ravenclaw had had a very strong team so tension was building. The Gryffindor team spent almost every night on the field. James and Sirius always came in late, covered in dirt and exhausted.
The entirety of Gryffindor was a bundle of nerves by the morning of the first game. Everyone sat in the great hall eating breakfast, and gossiping loudly about the game.
Up and down the table, all of the house was decked in scarlet. and gold, many of them carrying large ornately drawn signs.
Mary and Doe had spent the night before decorated one of their old bed sheets to picture a lion chanting 'GO GRYFFINDOR' periodically.
" You're going to be fine, don't worry" Mary said showing it to James.
He and Sirius were wolfing down their breakfast and discussing the game intently. They had been strategizing since they sat down.
Sirius and James had both made the house team first year. Sirius was a beater, and James was a seeker. They were very talented players and had won countless games for Gryffindor in the last five years they had been on the team.
Even Lily couldn't find any insults to burden them with today.
" Of course we're going to win!," Landon said from further down the table, " because I am the captain this year"
" Deflate your ego, Landon" Marlene hissed, " I don't want to lose the House Cup over your arrogance."
Landon flicked a piece of breakfast sausage at her. Doe ducked as it went spinning past Marlene's golden head.
" The first game of the year is always so exciting" Doe said happily.
Though she wasn't much on a broom, Doe had always had a deep appreciation for the sport. She dragged Lily and Marlene to countless matches over the summer.
" For you, since you love quidditch" Lily said, " it's too hard to follow for me"
" But Lily it's such a great game" she said, " honestly"
Doe had spent most of her first five years at Hogwarts going to every game and cheering loudly, while Lily would only attend the really exciting ones and sometimes she would a bring a book.
" It definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat" Remus told her.
Lily shrugged, still slightly uninterested.
After everyone finished breakfast, they all headed down to the quidditch pitch. It was a brisk fall day and everyone had brought jackets and scarves and were excitedly climbing the steps onto the pitch,
The team had left earlier and were already preparing for the Match. Doe took a seat on the bleachers with Remus on one side and Marlene on the other. Mary and Lily sat behind them with Peter.
" You're practically bouncing in your seat" Remus observed, a sly smile on his lips.
" I've just really been looking forward to this," she told him.
" I can tell" he said, and he grabbed her hand giving it a good squeeze.
She looked over to the teacher's stand where Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were chatting happily. They always went to the matches. Professor McGonagall because she often told the house she liked having the House Cup in her office, and Doe suspected Professor Dumbledore also supported Gryffindor.
Mafalda Hopkirk was also there, she was a fifth year Ravenclaw who always announced the Quidditch games.
Drums began beating from below signaling the beginning of the game. From both sides, scarlet and violet players began flying into the arena, met by cheers from both sides.
" AND IT LOOKS LIKE BOTH THE GRYFFINDOR AND RAVENCLAW PLAYERS ARE ON THE FIELD" Mafalda announced happily.
Madam Henswool was on the ground with the trunk of balls. She opened it and quickly let all four fly into the air.
" The quaffle has been released and the game begins!" Mafalda called into the mic and began narrating the game.
" LOOKS LIKE GRYFFINDOR IS IN CONTROL OF THE QUAFFLE, MCKINNON FLYING PAST THE GOALS AIMING AND...STOPPED BY RAVENCLAW KEEPER MCDORM- QUAFFLE NOW IN HANDS OF GRYFFINDOR CHASER OTTO BAGMAN, PASSED TO BROTHER LUDO BAGMAN AND SCORE- 10 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!"
The crowd of Gryffindors cheered loudly.
" NOW THE QUAFFLE HAS BEEN PASSED TO RAVENCLAW CHASER ROWENA MARX- AND SCORE 10 POINTS TO RAVENCLAW- QUAFFLE BACK TO MARX AND NO STOPPED BY A BLUDGER SENT BY GRYFFINDOR BEATER SIRIUS BLACK."
Doe watched as Sirius wielded the beater's bat again, this time knocking one of the Ravenclaw chasers away from the goals.
" AND LOOKS LIKE YES GRYFFINDOR SCORES AGAIN" Mafalda stated. One of the Gryffindor chasers had scored again.
The game continued on for another half hour. Both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were likely matches, and were very close in score. Gryffindor at 60 points and Ravenclaw at 70.
" NOW LOOKS LIKE - YES CHASER MARX HAS SCORED AGAIN PUTTING RAVENCLAW AT 80 POINTS- BUT LOOKS LIKE GRYFFINDOR SEEKER JAMES POTTER HAS SPOTTED SOMETHING- PERHAPS IT'S JUST A SHINY SURFACE TO LOOK AT HIS OWN REFLECTION- SORRY MCGONAGALL I MEAN POTTER HAS SPOTTED SOMETHING AND YES POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH. 150 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR. GRYFFINDOR WINS"
The crowd of Gryffindors erupted into loud cheers. Doe pulled a tearful Marlene into a quick hug and turned to Remus.
" We won!" she said happily as he pulled her into a hug.
" James and Sirius will be very happy. I'm sure there is a party awaiting us in the common room" Remus said with a smile.
" Well you know how I love parties" she said sarcastically, taking his hand as they followed the others out of the stands.
They headed back up to the castle and into the common room. It had been decorated lavishly with Gryffindor tapestries and the posters that the other Gryffindors had made.
A party was indeed in full swing. The team had filled the common room with food and loud cheers of " FLY HIGH GRYFFINDOR" and " SCARLET AND PROUD" could be heard all around the room.
They all sat around the fire, snacking on pumpkin pasties and listening to the team retell every detail of the game and the faces of the Ravenclaw's who had lost.
James and Sirius had begun telling the tale with such excitement that they needed props.
It was a few hours later when Remus disappeared and returned with a worried glance.
" Doe, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
" Of course" she said getting up from the couch and following him to a more private corner of the room, separated from the celebration, " what's wrong?"
" My mom's fallen ill, I think I need to go home." he said quickly.
" Is she alright?" she asked.
Doe wasn't close to her own mom, but Remus wore an expression of pure fear and discomfort.
" Dunno, but I just wanted to let you know. I'll see you soon, okay?" He said.
She nodded, " Of course. Go." she told him.
He pulled her into a quick hug and left through the portrait hole.
" Where's Remus?" Lily asked when she returned alone.
" He had to go, his mum was sick" she told her.
Lily frowned, " Poor Remus. Is she alright?"
" She gets sick quite often" James interjected, " She's usually okay. Remus just likes to be there for her"
" Yeah, he always goes" Sirius added quickly.
He and James exchanged a quick look between the two of them.
" Thats sweet" Mary said.
" It is" Doe agreed, sitting back down at the table.
The more she thought about it, the sweeter it is. Remus was concerned about his mother's health. It was nice to meet someone who cared so much about their family.
She fell asleep that night thinking how lucky she was that she was interested in someone like that.