» a werewolf's heart » {wolfstar}

matchmaking

-padfoot-

I glance down at Remus, who's craning his head to look at James standing in the doorway, and then back up at Prongs. Lily, behind him, has her hand over her mouth; her expression is a mix of amusement, embarrassment, surprise, and apology. To Remus and me she mouths, I tried to stop him. I just stare at her much like James is staring at Moony and me—how does she know?

Belatedly, I scramble off of Remus, and I have to think about whether or not I want to offer him a hand to help him up—but in the end, I do. I don't want to seem like I feel guilty about anything, after all. I just made up with Remus, anyway, so I don't really feel like creating another opportunity for an argument. No. James has been blissfully oblivious about this for nearly a week, and that's long enough. He'll have to find out eventually, and it's not like I want to keep secrets from him.

Remus takes my hand, standing next to me like a kid who's just been caught stealing out of a cookie jar. James looks between the two of us, gawping wordlessly for a few moments, before Lily nudges him roughly in the back and he stumbles a couple of steps into the dormitory. "I—er—am I interrupting something?" he asks weakly, still unable to keep himself from staring. Behind him, Lily rolls her eyes, looking highly amused. I'm glad she's confident—personally, I'm worried James is about to have a heart attack.

When no one says anything, Lily steps into the dormitory, settling herself down comfortably on a bed and looking between all three of us. Then she says, "Obviously yes, we're interrupting something, James. And this is the part where Sirius and Remus explain that they've taken a liking to each other, and nervously wait to see whether you're going to pass out, look disgusted, or tell them you're fine with it even though you were a little surprised at first. The latter, I hope."

I stare at Lily, completely taken off guard, and once I can think again, I feel an intense respect for her flood through me. I glance over at Remus, who is—I'm surprised to see—looking quite as amused as Lily; the two of them exchange a glance that tells me they've talked about this already. That explains why Lily wasn't very surprised. "Er... yeah, that," I murmur, looking back at James. He looks a bit like he's recovering from seeing a ghost, and that hair of his sticking up at odd angles is definitely helping the look.

"Right..." James mumbles, seeming to slowly collect his senses. "I don't... What have I missed?" He looks frozen mid-step, but he's beginning to recover, and after a few moments he goes to sit next to Lily on Remus' bed.

I notice Remus is still holding onto my hand after I pulled him up; his eyes follow mine to our hands, and he lets go, blushing. I can't help blushing a little myself as I turn back to look at James. "Well... after the whole thing on the full moon... er..." I trail off, not sure how to explain all this, and not certain whether James really wants to know or was just groping for words to stall with.

Thankfully, Remus seems to decide to explain. "The thing with Snape made us realize what we... think of each other," he says, blushing horribly. "I was afraid Sirius didn't care about me, and that's why he didn't mind telling Snape." He glances at me, offering a small smile, before looking back at James. "We talked... and... er..." And now he trails off, looking rather helpless. I remember kissing, and I can't help but smile; James just gives me an odd look.

Lily elbows James, and he says automatically, "So, er, odd way to get together, then, isn't it...?" He massages his ribs, watching us the way we might stare at Snape if he suddenly started playing Quidditch and caught the Golden Snitch.

I frown, thinking about it. I haven't considered the fact that Remus and I might be thought of as 'together'. I glance at him, and he looks a little stunned, as well. "I guess," he mumbles to James, but he's still looking at me.