Author's Notes: Thanks to KajiMori for the review. I really appreciate the support, and I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter.
Additional thanks go to Peggy (Medieval Mystic: USER ID: 796384) for doing such a wonderful job beta'ing.
Chapter Seven: Seeking Advice.
"What are you doing walking around the castle at this time of night?" the voice questioned. It was so low, it was almost a whispered growl.
"I was just on my way back from prefect duties," I explained, not wanting to reveal how intimidated I was currently feeling.
"Well, maybe you should hurry yourself up a little, so that you're not walking about alone at night," the voice mocked, as it's speaker stepped out of the shadows.
My heart sank as Snape was revealed and I wondered what he was doing lurking in the shadows on his own.
"Leave me alone, Snape," I spat. "I've done nothing wrong."
"Maybe you haven't. However, there's that little matter of a mis-aimed hex in Defense the other day," he informed me, his lips curling into a sinister sneer as he reached for his wand.
"That was an accident," I insisted, my heart now racing in my chest, while I fumbled in my pocket for my own wand.
My rapidly beating heart sank even deeper as I realized I didn't have it, and must have left it in the Great Hall at dinner time. I was now standing in a deserted corridor, unarmed, and facing a very menacing Slytherin.
Slowly, I backed towards the wall, hoping to find some way of evading Snape, but there wasn't one. I was trapped, and knew with absolute certainty that this was going to end badly. Snape had a reputation for getting revenge on anyone who crossed him; just last year he'd sent a third year Hufflepuff to the hospital wing for a week, all because the unfortunate boy had made the mistake of calling him greasy. Additionally, there was the fact that Snape was infamous for knowing more dark curses than the rest of the students put together.
As I prepared myself for the worst, another light suddenly illuminated the corridor, and then Stephanie's voice rang out.
"Jenn, is that you?" she called.
"Yes, I'm here," I squeaked, my voice tight with fear. "I was just explaining to Snape why I'm late returning to the common room."
"Oh, right," she said, eying the situation skeptically, knowing much more than I was letting on had nearly happened.
"And I was just reminding Miss Knightley that strolling the corridor after hours is strictly forbidden," Snape added with a sinister sneer. "You could run into all sorts of trouble."
"Well, thanks for the warning, we appreciate it," Stephanie said hurriedly, as she took my arm and began pulling me along with her. "We'll just be going now."
"Yes, you do that," agreed Snape, still speaking in a low whisper. "And for future reference, maybe you should remember not to walk around the castle alone at night."
From anyone else, this would have sounded like friendly advice. Coming from Snape's lips, however, there was no mistaking the threat of it.
"Yeah, we'll do that too," Stephanie called, as she assisted my shaking form to Ravenclaw tower. When we were safely on our way to the common room, she added, "Crazy psycho."
"Tell me about it," my voice quivered as I replied. "I was only coming back from prefect duties."
"What was he doing stalking around here anyway?"
"I don't know, and honestly I don't want to think about it. Can't we just get back please?"
"Wait, don't you want to talk about what was bothering you at dinner? The common room is still pretty crowded and we won't get much peace in there."
"Well, I do, but I'm scared Snape is still lurking around."
"I doubt it. We're practically at the foot of the tower now, plus he saw me. Even Snape isn't stupid enough to try something with a witness about."
"True," I agreed, and then hesitated. I wasn't sure how to ask the question that had been on my mind all day. Finally – after a questioning look from Stephanie, I found my courage. "How do you know when a guy likes you more than as a friend?"
Stephanie's eyes lit up and she let out a small squeal of delight.
"You're talking about you and Remus, aren't you?"
I nodded my head sheepishly, then blushed.
"Aww, you're so adorable Jenn," she gushed. "Okay, start talking. What happened between the two of you last night?"
"Well, mostly we just studied. However, when we were discussing our plans for the weekend, Remus asked me to go to Professor Slughorn's party with him tomorrow, and then suggested we watch the Quidditch try-outs together on Saturday. Then today, when we got our grades back in Arithmancy, he hugged me and that was when I realized I like him – a lot."
"From the sound of things, I'd say he definitely likes you than as more than a friend too."
"Alright, so what do I do about it? Do I tell him how I feel or should I wait for him to say something?"
"To me, Remus asking you to go to Professor Slughorn's party seems like you're practically dating already. But you know how shy Remus is, he won't just come out and ask you to be his girlfriend. He'll do it subtly."
"I guess you're right. Maybe I'll just see what happens after this weekend, and then if he hasn't said anything, maybe I will," I suggested.
"Good thinking," agreed Stephanie. "Oh, this is going to be so fun. We could go on double dates – you know, me and Sirius and you and Remus."
"What? Has Sirius asked you out or something then?"
"Well no, not yet. But we all know he's going to soon."
At this we both burst out laughing. The ironic thing was that Remus had told me just a few days ago that Sirius was planning on asking Stephanie to go to Hogsmeade with him when the next trip was announced.
At the thought of a visit to the village, I wondered if I'd have reason to go this time. Normally, depending on the amount of homework I had and the weather, I didn't go to Hogsmeade. I saw enough of the village during the holidays for it to be nothing special any more.
I much preferred the castle, where it was a little quieter with less students around. However, the possibility of going to Hogsmead with Remus filled me with excitement.
We could do all the things I heard older students talk about, like going to Madam Puddifoot's. Then a terrible thought entered my head. What would happen if my parents saw us?
It was inevitable that two bookworms like Remus and I would go into my parents' bookshop, and then my mum would see us. What if we were holding hands or something? She'd make such a fuss and embarrass me completely.
I was almost at the point of panic at the mere thought of it then I managed to pull myself together and remembered something vitally important. Despite what Stephanie had said about Remus and I practically being a couple already, the truth was that we weren't. All we'd done was study together – something we'd done plenty of times over the last few years. Yes, he had invited me to Professor Slughorn's party and we'd agreed to go to the Quidditch try-outs together, but anything could happen between now and then or Remus could have meant both as nothing more than a friendly gesture.
I sighed to myself, thinking the only thing I could do at the moment was wait and see what happened over the weekend. If things went well at Professor Slughorn's party and the Quidditch try-outs, then I'd allow myself to think about going to Hogsmeade with Remus. Until Monday though, I vowed to put all thoughts of a trip to the village with him out of my head.
My promise of the previous evening to not think about the Hogsmeade visit was made almost impossible when I woke up the following morning. After washing and changing into my school robes, I went down to the common room, where I found a group of people crowded around the notice board.
"Jenn, have you seen? The first Hogsmeade trip has been announced," Heather said excitedly as I approached my friends.
"Oh, good. When is it?"
"The Saturday before Halloween," Michelle informed. "But why are you so interested in a trip to the village? Normally you don't come with us."
Stephanie gave me a side-long glance, and I knew she'd worked out that I was looking forward to the prospect of possibly going with Remus.
"Well, maybe she just wants to see her mum and dad," Stephanie offered, giving me a good cover story.
"Yeah, that's it," I agreed, shooting Stephanie a grateful look. "I'm missing them more than usual. Plus, I promised to tell Sarah how the new school year is going."
"Oh, okay then," said Heather. "So, are we all going to go together?"
"Of course," agreed Stephanie. "Well, unless Sirius asks me before then."
Michelle and Heather giggled and rolled their eyes, while I tried to hide a triumphant smile. If Remus was right, Sirius would indeed be asking Stephanie to go to Hogsmeade with him.
Then a slightly depressing thought entered my head. If things went the way I was hoping they would, both Stephanie and I would be going with dates to Hogsmeade. Where would that leave our two other friends? Would Michelle and Heather mind Stephanie and I ditching them to go out with two of the Marauders? Would they find dates themselves or just go together?
Once again reminding myself that nothing had actually happened between Remus and I yet, I decided to worry about what Heather and Michelle would do when the time came to it.
Classes on Friday passed in a rush of festivity. Everyone was looking forwards to the weekend, when most houses were holding their Quidditch try-outs. Additionally, a handful of students had also been invited to Professor Slughorn's gathering, so there was lots of excited chatted about that too.
The only downside of the day was that I didn't have a single class with Remus. I saw him twice in the corridors between lessons, where we smiled at each other and said 'hi', but that was about it.
He and the rest of the Marauders were strangely absent from the Great Hall at lunch time and I momentarily worried that something had happened to them.
However, my fears were unfounded as I saw them half an hour later, when my friends and I made our way to Defence.
"Hey, Jenn, can I have a quick word?" Remus asked as I passed him in the corridor.
"Yeah, sure," I replied, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. Then, I turned to my friends and called, "Go on without me, I'll catch you up. Just save me a seat, alright?"
"Will do," Stephanie called back, as she shot me and Remus a knowing look.
"So, what was it you wanted?"
Remus looked around the now deserted hallway and then said, "Erm ... well ... I was just wondering if you still want to go to Slughorn's party with me? I'll completely understand if you've changed your mind and want to go with your friends or something."
My heart fluttered at how utterly shy and adorable he was being, and then my face broke into a grin.
"Don't be silly. Of course I still want to go with you. That is, if you still want to?"
Momentarily, Remus' gaze dropped to the floor and his cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson.
"Yeah, I'd really like to go with you," he said sheepishly.
"Great, all settled then. Shall we meet in the Entrance Hall at around eight?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll guess I'll see you later then," Remus agreed bashfully. I nodded, and turned to leave, when he added, "and have a good time in Defence."
"Thanks, I'm sure I will. And you have a good time in your class, too," I called over my shoulder as I walked along the corridor.
Once I'd turned the corner and was out of sight from Remus, I had to steady myself against the wall.
My heart was racing and my cheeks felt red hot. However, I didn't really have time to calm myself down, as I knew I was running late for my lesson.
As quickly as possible, I hurried along the hallway, making it to the classroom just as everyone was sitting down.
"Sorry I'm late," I told Professor Trimble breathlessly. "I had to quickly pop to the bathroom."
"Chatting with filth is more like it," Snape muttered under his breath.
I span around and glared at him, about to reply when Stephanie pulled me down into my seat.
"Leave it, he's not worth it, Jenn," she whispered.
I nodded in agreement as Professor Trimble started to inform us what we'd be doing in the lesson, then we divided up into small groups so that we could work on the new spell we were learning.
As the classroom filled with noisy spells and the hissed incantations of people trying not to say them, my friends and I began chatting.
"Okay, spill. What's going on with you and Remus?" asked Michelle. "You've been spending loads of time together, giving each other these looks and just now he asked to speak to you alone."
I looked at Stephanie - as though asking her for permission to tell our other two friends what I'd told her - and once she'd nodded, I replied.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I think there's something," I began. "We've been getting on really well since school started back. He's even asked me to go to Slughorn's party tonight and we're going to the Quidditch try-outs together too."
"Oh wow! This is so exciting," squealed Heather, causing everyone to turn and look at us.
"I'm glad you find the Revulsion Jinx so enthralling, Miss Loxley," said Professor Trimble with an amused smile.
After that, my friends and I tried harder to actually pay attention to what were were doing, but also continued discussing what was happening between Remus and I in hushed whispers.
The resulting effect was that by the time the class ended, and we were heading down to the Great Hall for dinner, my stomach was filled with anxious butterflies as I wondered what would happen at Slughorn's party.
To be continued ...