For as long as Remus can remember he's had a hard life. Constant monthly mutilations of his skin, a absent father, and the trepidation of his blush inducing crush on Anastasia Fox. Anastasia Fox, who flirts with everyone, has matching fainter scars...
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Chocolate Frogs and The Stereotype Contest
"Wow Annie, new uniform you got there. Or did you steal it from some second year. Tell me is that even aloud. M' not complaining, don't think anyone is" James stated, pursing his lips to keep himself from laughing at Ana and her obnoxiously short skirt. She has been pulling down every five seconds since she entered the great hall.
"Shut up James. Wasn't allowed to get a new skirt. Told I could wait till next year or Christmas." She glared at the boy stomping on his foot from under the table watching his face screw up.
"Now I'm certain everyone in this school is gonna see my knickers by the end of term." Ana whispered out not noticing Remus cough on his pumpkin juice at the mention of the girls underwear.
"Think Minnie will let me wear pants?" She asked, turning to Lily who was still slightly mad, Ana and Marlene had made her sit with four boys or more specifically James Potter who since she had sat down kept offering her random food items to put on her plate.
"No, I don't think she would just throw away a hundred years of the same uniform." The prefect told Anastasia in a rudder tone than she herself and the others had expected.
Along with her current seating arrangement she had also found out on the train she was now a prefect with Julien Wood and not her friend Remus who had declined the offer to be a prefect this year. Remus got his letter that he was once again a prefect over the summer the same day the boy had finished "My Year of Rest and Relaxation". The book had sent him into a minor spiral and in a moment of romanticization he had declined the position. Remus slightly regretted his choice.
"Yeah you're probably right" Ana agreed, shoving mashed potatoes into her mouth diverting her gaze over to the new coming first years in Gryffindor all looking very happy with their house selection and the large amount of food displayed on the table.
"Aww look at the little first years I just wanna take them and like.... murder em." Holding her hands up as if she was choking someone.
Looking at the group that had now stopped eating, watching her with concern and disturbance. "Come on lot didn't mean it in like a murder way, they're just so cute you know" she argues back to their silence, a smile spreading across her face as she watches Remus who couldn't contain his laugh any longer at the girl's unexpected words.
"See Lupin gets it, you are all just children haters all of you." She waved her hands accusingly at all of them as if she had not just talked about her want to kill children, pointing at Remus who had quickly lowered his head becoming very interested in his food with a smile still decorating his face. A smile that even with all the muscles in his face could not be pulled down because the fast beating of his heart and the girl smiling across from him in his mind held weight keeping his lips in an upturned fashion.
"What you got a crush on Moony now Fox leaving me in dust." Sirius bantered watching the rare smiles that were shared between the two uncommon pair within their tight friend group.
"Sirius, if Annie had a crush on anyone it would be me. Girls love jocks right Lily?" James said cheekily. Lily turned her head away from him ignoring his question.
"Nuh uh, girls think bad boys are ten times hotter than jocks. Take it from me" Sirius smirked, confident somewhere in the research of the world that there would be a statistic to hold up his claim.
Both of the boys turned their head in the direction of Fox with no words spoken like they had freak twin telepathy. "So which one is Foxy?" he asked both him and James, waiting for the bragging rights of an argument that would probably be forgotten within a week's time.
"You're both wrong." Ana smirked as she watched the two boys' faces morph. The rivalry for who was the most stereotypical liked guy was broken and an enemy was made in the form of the judge.
"You're forgetting Lupin over here." Pointing her fork across the table towards the boy who was no longer interested in the food but eyes wide with confusion.
"Girls will always pick the smart guy who is always reading and is like super nonchalant. Look at those scars, makes him mysterious and right peng." Ana told the boys as if it was common knowledge.
Peter was looking at her as if she was the smartest professor in the best class he had ever taken. James, Marlene and Sirius had giddish smiles on their faces, both of them well aware of their best friend's crush on the girl. The three of them had placed a bet in third year for five galleons each against Lily that Anastasia and Remus would end up together.
Remus felt like he had just gained a surge in his not entirely confident ego. Remus Lupin always prided himself in his knowledge, his wit. Always delighted in his ability to piece together abstract pranks or make it a challenge with himself to see how fast he could finish a book.
Remus had never held pride in his looks, he never thought he was attractive, he didn't think the looks given to him from his mother and father were horrible in any way. Though he avoided the bathroom mirror every morning choosing to not look. When the boy looked at himself he couldn't see the handsome features that adorned his face, features that could seduce anyone he truly wanted.
He could only see years of scars that traveled throughout his whole body. Below the recent ones were faint lines of old ones layers to his body that felt like a constant homage to frankenstein. That he was some creature being controlled. Only his master was not Victor, a mad scientist but the never ending moon cycle. Remus' skin never felt like his own, only something to be mutilated.
Nobody had ever complimented him on the marks or much less made a mention to them. Most tried hard to never look at the scars. Remus' theory in them doing it was so that they didn't have to go through the uncomfortable acknowledgement of his unfortunate face.
His father did it, most of his friends did it. He never resented them for it but sometimes he wished he could make self-deprecating jokes about the disfigurement without pitiful looks. Or in his mind fake compliments about the state of his attractiveness.
Talk of his scars was not common and when the topic was mentioned it was most definitely not in the way it just was spoken about. It felt unbelievable to Remus that someone would pick him then his school's two biggest heartthrobs James Potter and Sirius Black much less his lifetime crush. The rest of that dinner Remus Lupin held a content grin on his face. He was looking forward to the events of his fifth year.
Authors note: full first chapter. I decided to split each one up into two parts so it was easier on myself. the whole fifth year including winter holidays/new years is set to be 19 chapters with the summer before 6th year being 10 chapters.
