evans²| r.lupin

Chapter Eighteen

"Why do I ever listen to you?" Lily groaned as she and Cassiane stood in the middle of the street. Lily's father had driven them to the town where James lived, as the cousins were invited to celebrate Peter's birthday.

"We're going to have fun Lily, I promise."

"We don't even know where the house is!"

"I might be able to help with that." Sirius appeared, holding two bags of groceries.

Cassiane rushed to hug him, while Lily offered to take one of the bags. "For the first time in my life, I'm glad to see you, Black."

The man smirked. "Always so kind, Evans."

"How did you find us?"

"James insisted I should search for you... It's dangerous to walk on your own these days. I suppose you've already heard about what happened yesterday morning." Sirius explained, refering to the attack of the so called, Dark Lord and his followers had made against a few Muggle children.

"Oh, poor things. My mother knew one of them." Lily added.

"It's just terrible... His followers are getting out of control."

"We're here!" Sirius announced, cutting the conversation short, as he didn't want to cast a shadow over Peter's birthday night. The two women observed James' house, speechless. It resembled a small castle, where dozens of windows were generously scattered in fairly symmetrical patterns, while the hefty metal doors at its entrance were enormous.

"Are you sure?" Cassiane asked, still amazed by the marvelous house.

"Hey, I live here." Sirius reminded her.

The girls exchanged a meaningful look. Had James and his parents not taken Sirius under their wing, when he was kicked out of his house, life would have been much harder for him. Fortunately, Mr and Mrs Potter were quick to accept Sirius and treat him as if he were their own child, something the Blacks never did for him.

Fleamont and Euphemia greeted the girls at the entrance. "Oh, you truly are gorgeous! It's do nice to finally put a face to the names!" James' mother happily exclaimed.

"Thank you Mrs Potter! Pleasure to meet you both!" Cassiane respectfully replied, as Lily felt too embarrassed to talk. Just the thought of what James could have said about her to his parents made the redhead panic. She had always been too cruel towards him and meeting his family was something she had never expected to do.

"You must be Lily!" Mr Potter figured. "I can tell by the hair."

"Oh? I suppose it's not so common." She stated, shaking the man's hand. "Thank you for inviting us to your house."

James walked to them and threw his arms around his parents. "Hey girls. Welcome to the party. Let's leave mummy and daddy on their own now, shall we?"

Cassiane chuckled and waved at the elderly couple. Remus had mentioned at some point that they had perhaps spoiled James, because they had been trying to become parents for years.

"You seem to be zoning off often, Cas." Lily smiled. However Cassiane couldn't come up with a response because Remus was standing only a few metres away.

"Rem!"

He turned around and smiled brightly. "Hey, Cassie!" Unfortunately, it faded quickly. "We haven't spoken in ages."

Cassiane had to admit that after the end of the school year she couldn't bring herself to face him, convinced they had no chance of being more than friends. "I'm so sorry Remus. I got caught up with some family business back to Greece."

"It's alright Cas, I understand."

She shook her head. "I promise, it has nothing to do with-"

James and Sirius started singing a birthday song for Peter, who looked perfectly content around the buffet the friends had prepared.

"Oh, Happy birthday Peter! Marlene told me to let you know she's very sorry she couldn't make it!" Lily informed him while Cassiane handed him a few gifts.

"Her letter arrived an hour ago and I'm sure she wanted to come! Thank you for showing up though!" He answered, a grin plastered on his face.

"Who's ready for birthday cake?" James called, carrying an enormous cake.

"Nobody did such thing for me." Cassiane complained playfully.

Lily helped Remus cut a rather large piece of cake for everyone and the teenagers sat at the garden as the sun set.

"I'm pretty confident that dear Evans will disapprove but I managed to get my hands on something for the occasion." Sirius made a prologue. He then pulled a bottle of alcohol free Champaign, causing everyone to break into laughter.

"I genuinely thought we were getting drunk!" Cassiane joked and Peter nodded.

"That's disappointing mate."

"Allow me to pour some into your glass, birthday boy." Sirius continued, grabbing a plastic cup.

"My glass? That's made of plastic."

"You truly are brilliant, Peter." Remus ironically observed, bringing a smile to Cassiane's lips. She accepted a glass of Champagne and took a small stroll with Remus, who offered to show her around.

"How did you find your drink, Cassie?"

"Splendid. Did you try it?"

Remus grinned. "No, no, I... Well, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"I wasn't avoiding you because of your lycanthropy." Cassiane stated bluntly. "I thought you'd need some space and told myself you'd write me a letter if you cared to stay in touch with me."

"I would have, if you replied to the one I sent you during June."

She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Anyway, there's something else too. I was hoping you'd give me the permission to kiss you, since I'm actually aware of my actions, this time."

It was perhaps the most unexpected thing Remus could say. The cup slipped from her hands and hit the ground. "W-what?"

Remus smirked, remembering clearly the drunk kiss they had shared a few months before. "I like you, Cas, a lot. Ever since summer vacation started, I can't keep you out of my mind. Even the full moon has become another problem. I'm sorry it took me so long to see clearly. And if you don't feel the same way-"

He didn't manage to continue as Cassiane pulled him close and her lips brushed his, softly, just long enough that he could inhale her breath. His nose bumped against hers, but she persisted.

It wasn't perfect, but they had both been waiting for so long, that nothing in the world felt more right. Months of tension, hints and flirting had finally resolved in a kiss.

A/N; Heyy!
I hope that you're all doing well! Thanks for reading and please don't forget to comment and vote!
The next chapter will be up tomorrow,
Athanasia ❤️