The Christmas holidays had fast approached, and it was time for the friends to part ways. Marlene was absolutely devastated to be heading home for Christmas. She had begged her parents to let her stay but they had been firm in their decision that she must return home. Before heading down for dinner, Marlene wanted to talk to James, not only about the Remus, Elizabeth situation but also about the potential budding relationship he was having with Lily.
Marlene found him exactly where she expected. James was sprawled out on one of the sofas, his legs thrown over Remus, "Oi, James!" She called out. His head whipped around, "Join me.". James quickly got up and bid his friends goodbye before following Marlene out of the common room. The two meandered down towards the great hall. "I tried to convince my parents to let me stay for the holidays." Next to her James let out a loud laugh drawing the attention of students nearby. "I knew that was going to fail. I told you. Anyway, we're leaving Sirius in charge while we're gone. He'll do a good job."
Marlene gently shoved James, "No need to rub it in. I'm just worried is all. Things seem to be going really great between the 2 of them. I'm just worried something could happen and it'll be a disaster.". James threw his arm over Marlene's shoulders. "You worry too much Marlene. Have faith in Sirius. He's Sirius about this." Marlene shoved James again for his awful pun.
"Now, how have things been between you and Lily?" Marlene raised her eyebrow and James broke into a huge grin. Based on the grin plastered on his face Marlene's assumptions about Lily and James starting to grow closer were true.
"Marlene, she's just. She's so beautiful. I mean at the party after the quidditch game. She. I can't. She really is just so beautiful. She's even talking to me more. It's like a dream come true." Marlene couldn't help but smile at James. While Lily hadn't overtly said anything to Marlene about James. She'd insinuated an interest when she came to her for advice on makeup. It had appeared all James's hard work had paid off.
They arrived down at the great hall before the others. They sat in their usual spot and watched as the great hall filled with students, all looking incredibly lively for the holidays. Marlene watched as Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Elizabeth all walked in together. All four were laughing about something. James poked her arm and gestured to where Remus and Elizabeth were. They were practically leaning into each other. "I don't think you have anything to worry about.". Marlene knew James was right.
The morning of the Christmas holidays arrived, and Elizabeth was feeling somewhat melancholy. She was going to be the only 5th year Gryffindor girl staying at the school for the holiday, she was one of 4 girls remaining from Gryffindor over the holidays. The other 3 being 7th year students. When she pulled back the curtains from her bed she was met by chaos. Her roommates were all frantically packing their trunks. Even the usually composed Lily seemed somewhat stressed.
"Has anyone seen my orange jumper, the one with the flowers?" Mary asked as she ripped apart her bedding trying to find it. From the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw Mary's jumper folded up with some of her own clean laundry. She hopped out of the bed and picked it up. "I've got it." She tossed it to Mary who graciously accepted it. "Thank you, Elizabeth.".
Elizabeth spent the rest of her morning helping her friends pack. Once they were packed, she went down to the great hall with the girls to have breakfast. Despite Marlene and Elizabeths regular dislike of Mary they'd enjoyed her company. It seemed that the holidays made Mary a lot less uptight. It was with a heavy heart that Elizabeth bid farewell to Marlene. Lily had to practically pull the two of them apart when it was time for them to leave. Most of those staying at Hogwarts watched from the entrance as their friends left in the thestral drawn carriages.
Elizabeth sighed and turned on her heels, only to bump into Sirius and Remus. "Don't look so sad. We're still here." Sirius smirked. Elizabeth glared at him, not all too serious. She hadn't even thought about what it would be like with just the three of them. Sirius threw his arm over Elizabeths shoulder and they made their way back to the common room. The three of them occupied their usual sofa, magazines and sweets spread out on the table in front of them. They stuffed their faces and planned their outing to Hogsmeade the next day.
During the holidays the students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade freely, as long as they signed out with their head of house, and were back before curfew. This fact had helped to improve Elizabeth's mood. She hadn't thought about how depressing the holidays would be if she was cooped up in the school. Although she would most likely spend the Christmas holidays studying. With their O.W.L.s fast approaching Elizabeth knew she had to make the most of the holidays by bunkering down and studying. They'd been set a mountain of homework to do over the 2 weeks and she was going to do everything in her power to get it out of the way as fast as possible.
Saturday came and went, and it was finally Sunday. For the first time in years Elizabeth was able to take her time getting ready. She didn't have to fight or race anyone to use the bathroom. She was to meet the boys at 9 in the common room so that they could quickly grab breakfast before heading into Hogsmeade.
Once they'd finished breakfast the three of them bundled up warmly. A heavy snow had fallen the night before and it was absolutely baltic out and Sirius and Remus in that moment wished that they could take a carriage in, however their only option was to walk. They were rather grateful that Hogsmeade wasn't too far by foot. Once they had arrived, they made a beeline for the Three Broomsticks. All in dire need of something to warm their bones.
"I'll grab us our drinks. You find us a table." Sirius left the two alone, leaving Elizabeth and Remus to find somewhere to sit. They hadn't expected Hogsmeade to be as busy as it was. They we're able to find a table in the corner. Elizabeth shrugged off her coat and made herself comfortable. Remus watched as she got comfortable. He smiled to himself. She looked beautiful. Her nose and cheeks had turned a soft shade of pink from the cold. She turned to face him. A smile on her face.
"God, I love Winter here. We don't get much snow in Ireland. Despite seeing so much of it here it never get's old." Remus hummed in agreement. He too did enjoy snow. They didn't get a lot of it in Wales. "It's the same in Wales. We just get an awful lot of rain." Next to him Elizabeth laughed, "Sounds pretty much the same as Ireland. That being said, I absolutely love rain. There's nothing better than listening to the rain hit the windows. Puts me right to sleep."
Sirius appeared with drinks in hand which both took quickly. Elizabeth watched the two boys talk animatedly with each other. She couldn't help but noticed just how pale Remus was looking. That was when she realised that the full moon must be fast approaching. She was just thankful that at least he had a friend around to keep his spirits up.
"So, what do you think?" Elizabeth was pulled from her thoughts by Sirius. She looked at him confused, "Sorry what?" she replied.
Sirius chuckled, "You weren't listening, were you? We're thinking we could head to Honeydukes next. Think we devoured most of our supply yesterday.".
"Sounds great. I really need to pick up more chocolate. I promised Marlene, I'd send her some chocolate frogs for Christmas.". Remus was curious about Marlene and Elizabeths friendship. Their friendship was almost on par with what James and Sirius had. Pretty much from the first time Remus noticed both girls they'd always been together. Remus had even thought, once he found out about Marlene that she may had had a crush on Elizabeth although it became more apparent that this was not the case.
"Actually, I've been wondering. How did you and Marlene get so close?" Remus asked, his curiosity got the better of him.
Elizabeth looked rather thoughtful as she thought back to her first meeting with Marlene. It had somewhat started just after they arrived in Hogwarts. On the journey to Gryffindor house Marlene had not heeded the prefects warning about the vanishing step and had promptly tripped pulling Elizabeth down with her. Marlene had apologised profusely to her. While their fellow first years sniggered around them. Elizabeth had just picked herself up and continued on the journey in silence, embarrassed by what had happened.
Then when all the first years had been getting ready for bed, she heard Mary McDonald laughing at Marlene for being an idiot and not listening. Which hadn't sat well with her. She had gone to give out to Mary only to witness Marlene unleash hell on Mary causing her to cry. Elizabeth had shot her a quick smile and a thumbs up before going to bed.
When she'd woken the next morning she had overheard Mary telling anyone she could about what had happened to Marlene and this thoroughly pissed her off. So, when all the first years we're heading down for breakfast Elizabeth had realised that the vanishing step was coming up and had bumped into Mary causing her to fall into the step and get stuck. The first years had then started to laugh, and Marlene had sent Elizabeth a grateful smile and the two of them had been close ever since. They'd always had each other's back.
"Well I'm sure you all heard what happened to Marlene on our first day. The vanishing steps and all. Well I was the girl she took with her. Anyway as Mary was gossiping around the common room I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine and I bumped into her so she'd fall into the same step. Mary really was a right bitch and she's never forgiven myself or Marlene for what happened. Rather pathetic holding a grudge for this long. Don't you think?" She replied. Across from her Sirius burst out laughing, Remus on the other hand did his best to hold the chuckle that was trying to escape.
The day had gone quickly and before they knew it, it was time to head back. Heavy snow had started to fall so the three of them did their best to get back as fast as possible. They didn't want to carry their goods through the heavy snow. Once back they placed everything in their rooms and went down for dinner which was incredibly quiet. Very few students had remained at school. Those that did we're mainly from the exam years.
The first few days of the holidays went quickly. Then things slowed, or at least that's how it felt for Remus. The familiar ache in his bones had set in and his foul mood returned. He had been trying to put on a happy face but he wasn't sure if he was really succeeding. When Elizabeth had asked him if he was ok, he'd played off the dark circles and overall pale complexion was due to studying. He was obviously not aware that she really knew what it was due to.
The day of the full moon Remus had been absolutely exhausted. He did his best to go about his day as usual. So, he stayed in the library doing his best to keep his head down and study. His attempts had been rather pitiful. Everything he'd read had gone in one hear and out the other. As it began to get dark Remus made his way to McGonagall's office, as he did every full moon. Sirius walked with him, "I'll be there soon to join you. Don't look at me like that Moony. Everything will be fine. I'm more than capable of handling you by myself. Don't worry." When they reached McGonagall's office Sirius bid Remus goodbye, leaving Remus alone. When he entered her office he was met by a warm smile.
"Are you ready?" despite McGonagall's reputation as a very serious person she had an incredibly soft spot for Remus. A somewhat maternal figure at times. She would never let anyone know that she'd often spend the nights of the full moon looking out her window despite the fact that Remus would be in the shrieking shack. Remus followed McGonagall out of the castle to the whomping willow. They then made their way to the shack. Remus had broken out in a cold sweat. "I'll be back to get you in the morning. Okay." She patted his shoulder gently, gave him one last look before exiting. Remus paced around the room. He could feel his heartbeat getting quicker and not long after his arrival he had transformed.
The next morning, at sunrise just as promised McGonagall came to get him. Yet again he was black and blue, face and arms cut. She found him on the old bed and gently shook him to wake him up. Remus eye's had felt incredibly heavy and his body ached all over. McGonagall helped him up and together he limped his way back to the infirmary.
The moment he had entered the infirmary Madame Pomfrey had swarmed him. Grabbing all the necessary lotions and potions that was needed, between McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey they managed to get him into a bed, away from any prying eyes. He was given a vial of dreamless sleep and when he woke up later that morning he saw Sirius being tended to, a cheeky smile on his face. Once the small cuts had been fixed Sirius made his way over to where Remus was sat.
"Good morning Moony." Sirius smiled he took a seat at the end of his bed and threw him a bar of chocolate that Remus graciously accepted. He was so exhausted that it wasn't until he saw the chocolate that he realised that he was starving. "What would I do without you." Remus smiled and practically shoved the whole bar of chocolate into his mouth. "Woah, woah slow down there. I've got more anyway lunch is about to be served. If you're feeling up for it, we can head down…or I can get you something from the kitchen and bring it here." Remus adjusted himself in the bed. "I'll go down…how do I look though?" Remus asked. Sirius studied him briefly before laughing, "You've definitely looked worse." Remus smacked Sirius arm only for his body to protest the sudden movement. With the help of Madame Pomfrey they managed to get Remus up and out of bed. She was a little reluctant to let him leave but after much begging on both their parts she'd allowed it.
It had taken a long time to get to the great hall. Every step for Remus sent pains up his shins, and he had to bite his lip to stop winces escaping. He persevered and finally they had arrived. Sirius, not wanting to cause Remus much more pain chose for them to sit close to the entrance. Nobody paid them much attention. Not even Elizabeth who was sat at the Hufflepuff table talking to some girl. She had only noticed them as she was exiting. The Hufflepuff girl at her side. She turned to the girl next to her and excused herself.
Without much thought she sat down in the seat opposite Remus. Her smile faltered briefly. "How are you feeling Remus? Sirius told me you we're sick."
"I'm feeling much better. Finally have my appetite back." He replied. He hadn't been lying. His plate had been packed with food. And Remus knew even after finishing the plate, he'd be having seconds. Remus saw Elizabeth's eyes flicker down to his hands. His hands had been pretty torn up after the moon. Sirius had told him on the way down for lunch that he'd broken 2 doors and they'd cut him a fair bit. Apparently it wasn't so much out of aggression but rather excitement. He quickly put his hands under the table. Remus watched as Elizabeth reached into her bag and pulled out a plaster, and handed it to him. She said nothing and he thanked her. She promptly left telling them that she would see them later, as she had to go tutor someone on charms.
Dinner came and went and the common room slowly emptied leaving just Sirius and Remus alone. Neither had seen Elizabeth at all after lunch. It was only when curfew was about to start that she came scrambling through the portrait, hair and clothes a mess. "Bloody hell! What happened to you?" Sirius asked. His eyes trained on the dishevelled girl that stood before him.
Elizabeth threw her bag on the floor and fell into the sofa next to Remus, "Binns, Binns is what happened! Why does he need 5 feet on the International Warlock Convention of 1289! I've been searching for books on it all day. Couldn't find anything. I thought I was going to tear my hair out." She replied, she was exhausted. "Maybe if I make my writing bigger I can make a 4 foot essay into a 6 foot long one."
Remus laughed, "I can help you if you want. I'll be helping Sirius anyway. Seems like I'm one of like three people that stay awake during his lessons." Remus had not been expecting Elizabeth to throw herself at him. "I could kiss you right now Remus." The moment the words came out of her mouth both Remus and Elizabeth blushed. Sirius watched in pure enjoyment. He would most definitely be sending not only James but also Marlene a letter about this. Sirius being the good friend he was winked at Remus before heading up to his room. He couldn't wait to hear from Remus what happened after he left.
With Sirius swift exit the two remained where they were, Elizabeth practically on top of Remus due to her excitement at his offer to help. The two locked eyes with each other, and Remus, despite being in a rather delicate state wanted nothing more than to pull her close. Neither one said anything. Remus's eyes kept flickering between her eyes and mouth. Remus was sure that he saw her move in closer, but felt her stop.
Without saying anything Elizabeth slowly sat back up, her face as red as ever. She couldn't believe she was about to kiss Remus. She was honestly mortified. "I'm so sorry." She stumbled over her words. Remus shook his hand, "It's fine…really.". Yet again Remus saw Elizabeth look at his hands. Before he could hide them, she took one of his hands in hers. Her fingers trailing along the healed scars, carefully avoiding the newer wounds. Remus squirmed in his seat. This was very intimate. It felt far more intimate than the moment that they had previously shared. A part of him wanted to rip his hand out of her grasp. He was scared that she was going to say something horrible to him. That didn't happen. Instead she reached into her pocket and opened a plaster, then placed it on his hand. She entwined her fingers with his. Remus had been reluctant at first before relaxing at her touch. "Promise me you'll be careful." She muttered.
"I promise." Was all he replied.
Eventually the two got up to head to bed. Hands still entwined. Both Remus and Elizabeth were reluctant to let go. Elizabeth finally let go. "Good night, Remus." She smiled waving him goodbye as she headed up to her room. "Good night, Lizzie." Once Elizabeth was out of sight he practically sprinted up to his room, at least as fast as his healing body would allow. He flung the door open and found Sirius sitting on his bed, a book in hand.
"Mate, I need to tell you something." Sirius listened in pure delight as Remus retold him what had just happened. He really couldn't wait to let the others know.