Beyond Rumours | Remus Lupin x Reader

Chapter Twenty-One

REMUS LUPIN 

Saturday, 24th of December 1977

The fire crackled beside us as my group of six friends sat in the common room. It was well past eleven now – everyone else had gone to bed, but the rest of us just had so much to do and talk about, apparently.

The Yule Ball was a popular topic. None of the girls would tell us what they were wearing, which seemed to infuriate Sirius – he'd always been a lover of fashion. Whenever it was mentioned I'd always sneak a glance at Y/n – just to see her already looking at me. Maybe they were right. Maybe she did like me – maybe I could ask her...

No.

She wouldn't.

James and Lily sat together on the couch – and I mean together. At the beginning, Lily had just draped her legs across his, but now she was fully sat in his lap, arms circled around his neck and hands playing in his curls. His hands were around her waist respectfully. His hands never ventured lower, and he'd even asked her permission for it. He thought he'd been discreet, but I could hear everything – one of the few pros (or one of the many cons, depending on how you looked at it) of being a werewolf.

"We should probably be getting to bed soon," Lily yawned.

"C'mon, it's not like we're gonna miss Santa Claus," James grinned. "He's not real."

Sirius gasped, placing his hands over Peter's ears. "Shh! Don't spoil Pete's dreams!"

Peter batted his hands away with a scowl, causing the rest of us to laugh.

"Hey, what if we have a sleepover?" James suggested. "Y'know, all of us?"

Sirius sat upright and stared at James with adoration in his eyes. "James Fleamont Potter," he gushed, "That is completely and utterly the best idea you've ever come up with!"

"A sleepover is his best idea ever?" Y/n scoffed. "And here I was, thinking James may have had a bright future ahead of him."

James scowled and everyone laughed.

"A sleepover sounds fun," Lily said.

"Well, since us fellas can't get into the ladies' dorms, it seems you will be joining us," Sirius said, winking at Lily, and causing James's arms to tighten slightly.

Lily and Y/n got up to get changed into their pyjamas and get ready for bed, and the rest of us walked to the boys' dorms. Regulus disappeared into the bathroom, and James cast a silencing charm before turning on me.

"Have you asked her out yet?" he pressed.

"Who?"

"Y/n, you idiot!" Sirius cut in.

I felt myself blush a deep red, and I looked away, rubbing the back of my neck. "Er... no."

"Why not?" Sirius demanded.

"I don't think she likes me," I mumbled.

Sirius looked at me like I had said the stupidest thing ever, and it made me want to hit him. "C'mon, you asked her to the ball, and she said yes! That's gotta mean something!"

"Maybe she just didn't want to hurt my feelings," I protested. Even though my thoughts travelled back to how she'd reacted – how she'd seemed glad, excited, even. But maybe that was just wishful thinking.

Sirius scoffed and James rolled his eyes.

"All in favour that Y/n likes Remus back and he should ask her out?" Peter suggested, raising his hand.