Brenna's POV
"He was cute," Sydney mused, her hands clasped in her lap at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. Sydney had other Hufflepuff friends, she was actually quite popular, but she preferred to sit with me since I was, well, not.
"So what?" I asked with a shrug, hiding my blush with my hair.
"So, he saved you! This is a big deal! Boys never approach you!" She squealed excitedly and pushed her plate away, signaling she was finished with supper.
"First off, I didn't need saving. And second, thanks for the self confidence boost," I groaned, rolling my eyes. I helped myself to some more of the endless desserts that covered the table and kept quiet, listening to the conversations of those around me.
"Why does she even sit here anyway?" One girl whispered to her friend. "It's not like she has any friends in this house anyway."
"Yeah! Why doesn't she go and sit with the Hufflepuffs? Her only friend is one isn't she?" The other pondered.
"That's right. But she brings that cheery little brat over here instead. I hate Hufflepuffs. She's so annoying," a third girl chimed in with a sneer in my direction. I'd had enough.
"You can insult me all you want but don't you dare talk about my friend that way!"
The Great Hall went silent, or as quiet as it can get really. Everyone was staring at me. I'd said that out loud. Shouted it actually. I flushed and bolted from the room, my cloak fluttering behind me as I ran.
When I reached a statue of a hunched over witch, I sank to the ground beside it and buried my face in my hands. If there was one thing I hated more than people talking down to my best friend, it was being stared at by large groups of people. Of my six years of attending Hogwarts, I'd never gotten used to it, even though I got stared at a lot.
"Are you alright?" A voice called from around the statue. I looked up to find Remus kneeling in front of me, one scarred hand bracing the statue and the other holding a cool glass of pumpkin juice.
"How did you find me?" I asked quietly.
"I followed you. Now drink this," He commanded.
He offered the pumpkin juice to me and I took it cautiously, downing the glass in one gulp.
"Better?" He smiled.
I nodded in thanks and hugged my knees to my chest.
"Wanna see something cool?" He asked, trying to get me to speak. I didn't reply but I watched him as he tapped the statue with his wand and muttered "dissendium" under his breath. The hump of the statue opened up. I jumped to my feet in astonishment.
"Hey! What di-," I began but Remus' hand covered my mouth.
"Shh. Follow me," He whispered. We descended into the hole and into a passageway, the hump closing itself behind us.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"This passage leads to Honeydukes," He replied without turning around.
"Honeydukes? So we're headed to Hogsmeade, huh?" I observed aloud to myself.
"Is that alright?" Remus asked.
I slowed down a bit. "I guess so, but what if we get caught?"
He slowed down to match my pace, walking a little in front of me because the passage was too narrow to walk by my side. "We won't, I promise. I've been doing this since my first year," He grinned proudly.
"Really?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You don't strike me as a rule breaker."
"Then you're in for a surprise," Remus smirked then cleared his throat and pressed forward.
"You're kinda shy," I observed.
"Just around strangers," He shrugged. "Now keep quiet."
We'd reached the end of the tunnel and found a trapdoor lying above us. Remus opened it slightly, peaked through, then motioned me foward. He climbed out and held out his hand, which I took carefully.
"Stay quiet until we get upstairs," Remus whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck. Without dropping my hand, he lead me up the stairs and into the shop. Luckily it was pretty busy so we went undiscovered. He stopped me by a bush and tugged on one of the branches and it opened up like a trunk.
"Well get caught if we keep our cloaks on. You can put it in here and we'll come back when we're ready to leave," He smiled. I dropped my cloak and tie inside and shut the lid.
"So, Mr. Rulebreaker, where to first?" I grinned.
"Three Broomsticks? Butter Beer, my treat," He said, returning my smile.
We sat down in the crowded building and Remus ordered us two butter beers.
"Thank you," I said as I stared into my mug.
"For what?" He asked, looking puzzled.
"For everything," I replied quietly. "For helping me out with those Slytherins, for taking me here... for talking to me."
I noticed him tense up but I ignored it.
"N-no problem," He stammered nervously. I eyed him suspiciously and took another sip of my butter beer. After a long pause of silence, Remus finished of his drink and sighed.
"We should probably get back," He frowned, casting his dark eyes to the window. The sun was setting. "If we're not in by dark, Filch'll catch us."
"We better be off then," I sighed and finished off my drink as well. We collected our cloaks from the bush trunk, started off towards Honeydukes, snuck downstairs past the owner, and began our journey back through the passage. We were silent the whole way back with the exception of a few muttered "watch your step"s from Remus.
Once we were back in the castle, Remus cleared his throat.
"I'd like to walk you back to your common room, if you'd allow me," He proposed quietly, not meeting my eyes.
"I wouldn't want you to get caught," I replied.
He smiled suddenly. "Don't you worry about me. I have my ways of getting past old Filch."
"If you say so," I laughed, "but if you get caught, don't come whining to me."
And with that, we snuck through the halls all the way up to the tower that housed the Ravenclaw common room. When we reached the entrance, Remus nodded his head and wished me goodnight.
"I'll see you tomorrow," He called over his shoulder in a not-so-quiet whisper.
"See you tomorrow," I whispered, even though he was already gone.
Remus' POV
"Guys, I don't think I can do these dates anymore," I sighed as I plopped down on my bed.
"So she's as bad as they say?" Peter asked, dropping by my side.
"No! No it's not that. She doesn't deserve this though," I frowned.
"You know what the penalty for not fulfilling a dare is, mate," Sirius yawned.
"I know," I groaned.
"It's not like you're hurting her anyway," James shrugged.
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "Besides, they're just harmless tasks."
"Speaking of harmless tasks, what should his next one be boys?" Sirius smirked. "Since the hero bit was my idea and cheese breath over there picked the last one, it's your turn, Prongs."
"Hmmmm," He thought. The he jumped of his bed and laughed. "I've got it! Now this one should be a good one!"
"Oh no," I frowned and buried my face in my pillow, much to Peter's amusement.
