Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DECEMBER 1976
6th Year
• • • •
Avery let out her fifth groan, making Toby, Addeline and Lydia roll their eyes as they sat at breakfast.
"Ave, it's just for a few hours." Addeline reminded her.
"She's right," Toby nodded, "And besides, you need to get used to Black being around. What with Remus and Lydia and all."
"Okay, there is no Remus and Lydia," The said girl told him, "Remus is my friend. That's all."
"For now." Avery smirked, earning a glare from the Hufflepuff sat next to her.
***
Lydia and Remus stood at the bar of The Three Broomsticks, while their friends were talking back at their table.
"You know, Sirius is being really tame," Lydia noted, "He's not tried to flirt with Avery even once."
"Hopefully he's coming to the conclusion that he will never get her to like him." Remus said, making the pair chuckle.
"Hopefully." The girl nodded, as one of the staff members behind the bar placed eight butterbeers split onto two trays in front of them.
Remus watched, as Lydia fished the money out of her pocket, "Seriously, Lyds, you don't-"
The girl cut him off by handing the galleons over to the barkeep, "Too late." She smirked, as they both picked up a tray each.
Remus chuckled, shaking his head as they navigated their way through the pub, back to their friends.
"Are you seriously not going to let me at least pay some of it back?"
"Nope." Lydia grinned, as they put the trays down on their table, joining in on the conversation that was currently being had.
"You know, they say that a person is never more than three feet away from a spider at any given time." James said, gladly taking a butterbeer.
Toby stared at him, "Do you want me to cry?"
"Toby acts all big and strong, but all it takes is a dog or a spider to make him crumble." Avery smirked.
"Thanks for the butterbeers, Lydia." Peter smiled at the girl.
"Yeah, thanks Lydia."
"Thanks, Lyds."
"Okay, but what if you saw a spider riding a dog's back?" Sirius asked.
"Then you are never seeing me again." Toby told him.
"How come you're not at all jumpy or sobb-y whenever you're with Roscoe?" Lydia wondered.
"Because Roscoe is Roscoe," The Hufflepuff boy said, "He won't try and bite my face off. Other dogs, however, will."
"Just be glad you never had to bee Cerberus." Remus chuckled.
"Because he has three heads, would that mean that Toby would experience triple the fear?" Lydia asked with a smirk, making Remus laugh, as their friends just stared at them, Sirius grinning.
Noticing their stares, the pair stopped laughing.
"What?"
Sirius sent them a smug smile, "Nothing."
***
After having to convince a begrudging Avery, the two friend groups were walking around Hogsmeade. Remus and Lydia were walking at the back of the group, uninterested in their friends' conversation.
Having an idea, Lydia looked up at Remus with a small smirk, "Wanna run to the woods?"
"And miss the spider vs dogs debate?" He sarcastically asked.
Lydia chuckled, grabbing his hand when their friends weren't looking at them, "Come on." She said, tugging on his hand, the pair running in the opposite direction of the group.
"How long do you think it'll take for them to notice that we're gone?" Remus asked, as they walked through the snowy woods surrounding Hogsmeade.
"Well, Sirius seems pretty hellbent on trying to get Toby to like dogs," Lydia chuckled, "So I'd say we've got a good chunk of time."
The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff walked in a comfortable silence, before the boy broke it.
"What, uh, what're you doing for the holidays?"
"Well, this year, I'm going to my Dad's, and then, my Mum, my stepdad and my stepsister will come over for Christmas day." Lydia explained.
"Do all of your family get along then?" Remus asked.
Lydia nodded, pushing her glasses further up her nose, "Yeah, we're quite lucky in that sense. The breakup between my parents was mutual and my Dad and Mark get along pretty well, as do my Mum and Olivia. And then there's Emily. It was weird at first, having a sister, but it's actually quite nice."
"That's really nice," Remus smiled, "I've always been an only child, so I can imagine."
"Yeah," Lydia hummed, before smiling, "Oh, I didn't tell you, Olivia's pregnant. So I'm getting a half-sibling soon."
"That's great," Remus told her, "How far along is she?"
"A few months. I'm hoping for a brother," She said, making the boy send her a grin. Lydia started playing with her fingers, before saying, "I, uh, I was actually wondering if you'd like to come over at some point during the holiday."
Remus blushed, before nodding, "Yeah. Yeah, of course, I'd like that."
Lydia smiled, "Good."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
