Moon Phases // Professor Lupin

Chapter Twenty-Three

Paisley kept trying to approach Remus the rest of the night but he almost seemed to be avoiding her. After a few more songs and an unnecessary amount of dancing, a Gryffindor seventh year had to come out of their room and tell the gang to quiet down.

Sirius walked Paisley back to her dorm. He was wearing a black jacket and faded black jeans. There was a blue band shirt under the jacket but Paisley couldn't get a good look at it.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," the boy smiled, "I think the guys really like having you around. Myself, included."

"Is that right?" Paisley giggled.

"Maybe not Remus, so much. But don't worry, he'll come around. He took a while to get used to all of us, too."

Paisley nodded, looking at the ground.

"Is something wrong?" Sirius asked.

She sighed and thought about telling him the truth. It was all becoming absurdly overwhelming for Paisley. Being so far from everybody she knew and loved was impossibly difficult. She longed to see her friends again, to tell them that she missed them. She wanted to see Hank, or Marley, or...or Winston and...and what was the last one's name?

"No," she lied, "I'm okay."

With that, they arrived at the Ravenclaw common room. Sirius exhaled deeply and smiled at her.

"G'night, Cassie."

"Good night, Sirius,"she smiled up at the boy, who was a good few inches taller than her.

His eyes bore into hers and she looked back at him. He looked as though he were reading a page from the books in her eyes. Eventually, though, he broke from his trance and opened the common room door for her. She smiled and politely passed as she and entered the room.

In her dorm, Tiffany, Luke, Jen, Ian, and Katherine sat on the floor, playing cards.

"Hey, Cassie,"Luke said.

"And where have you been, young lady?"Tiff inquired.

"With Sirius and his friends," she answered.

"Being safe, I hope?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"We weren't doing anything, Luke," she rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Just in case you are..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic square.

The rest of the group laughed or groaned but Paisley stood there, her head pounding. Had this happened before? Her mind was fuzzy.

"Hey, I picked you up some clothes from Hogsmeade, earlier. Hope they're your style."

Tiff threw a large paper bag at her and she peeked inside. A few skirts, blouses, and jeans sat at the bottom of the bag.

"Thank you, Tiff."

"Right," Tiff continued, "So there's no interest in Sirius at all?"

"No," Paisley answered resolutely, "Actually, I've taken more of a liking to Remus."

"Oh, Loony Lupin," Luke snickered, "Careful with that one."

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Boy's got a wild temper," Ian answered, "He's been in more fights than the whole of Slytherin house, which is saying something, I think. There was a rumor going around that he was in a gang. Total bullshit, of course."

"Really?" Paisley's eyes widened.

"Yeah, I should know," Luke laughed, "He gave me this."

He lifted up his shirt and a large scar was visible across his abdomen.