swim || remus lupin

still waters

"He what?!"

I was back in my dorm room now, standing with my back to the door, chilled to the bone from the rain and still in Remus's soaking wet sweatshirt. Upon my arrival, the three girls, who were each sitting upright in their beds, instantly noticed the new piece of clothing and hit me with a wave of questions. I didn't hesitate to retell the events that occurred only moments prior.

"He pulled me into this little nook to hide from Severus," I said for the second time. "And then he leaned in and kissed me."

Alice squealed.

"How long?" Marlene asked, mouth open in shock.

"What?"

"How long did he kiss you for?" Lily clarified.

"Why does that-"

"It matters," the two girls stated harshly.

"Geez, I dunno, like six seconds?"

Marlene and Lily both threw their hands up in frustration. Alice laughed from her bed, throwing a jellybean into her mouth.

"Why do you care how long it lasted?"

"We each owe Peter 5 galleons now," groaned Lily.

"I told you both not to take that bet," Alice noted. Marlene threw a pillow at her.

I laughed and made my way across the room and into the bathroom. I peeled off my wet clothes, turned on the shower, and took a look in the mirror.

The familiar little scales popped up along my arms, legs, and neck from the rain that had seeped through my clothing. I ran a finger down one arm, tracing the downward facing semicircles. They were slightly red due to both my skin irritation and the dryness of the air, but they didn't hurt and I was smiling too hard to care.

I stepped into the running shower, feeling ecstatic and fluttery. I found myself humming the tune to 'Lovely Day' as the hot water washed over me, the huge grin still plastered across my face as clips from the courtyard ran on repeat through my head.

I was sure to keep the shower short in order to avoid a more full transformation due to excess water exposure. When I stepped out, the scales were more prominent and populated, but still no pain. I dried my skin off happily, still singing softly to myself, and applied the cream from Madam Pomfrey, which soothed the redness a little bit. 

I then wrapped my hair up in a towel to keep it off of my back and pulled on a pair of shorts. Performing a drying spell on Remus's sweatshirt, I pulled that over my head as well, taking a deep breath of his firewood and caramel scent and smiling to myself. I unwrapped and brushed my hair before exiting the bathroom and crawling into bed.

"So, are you two like a thing now?" Alice's voice asked softly.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "But I'm fine with whatever we are."