selenophile || remus lupin

chapter sixty one

15 January 1997

11:26 am

"Oh my Godric, I can't keep up with you and those long ass legs of yours," Ophelia whined, chasing after Remus who was several feet in front of her.

"It's not my fault you're shorter than me," he smirked.

"Oh boo hoo, what's next? Are we gonna compare hand sizes?" she said sarcastically.

"Nah, too cliche for me."

"That's what I'm trying to say!"

"Sorry, what was that? You're too far behind me, I can't hear you."

"I hate you."

"Nah, you love me really."

Ophelia kept her promise, and as the first snowy weekend back at Hogwarts, they hurried down through the castle to the front doors, making their way to the grounds for a January picnic.

It had only been ten days since leaving Grimmauld Place, and Ophelia hadn't completely healed yet. She would've usually been able to keep up with Remus' quick walking pace, but her torso was still extremely sore. The dozens of small scars around her entire body were starting to heal, but a few of the larger injuries were taking their time. The one gash across her eye had no intentions of leaving any time soon, and Ophelia feared that it would never go away. Nonetheless, she continued to put concealing charms on herself several times a day to make sure no one saw anything that would've made them ask uncomfortable questions.

The front doors swung open and Remus and Ophelia were blasted with a cool wind.

"Nope, we are not doing this today," Ophelia said, about to turn around and head back inside, towards the warmer air of the castle.

"Oh no you don't," laughed Remus, grabbing her wrist and pulling her further outside. She winced which Remus noticed almost immediately, quickly letting go and deciding not to mention it.

"It is so cold out here, how are you not freezing to death?" she whined.

"Remember that funny little heating charm?"

"Oh, you dog! I can't believe you didn't remind me!"

"No that's Sirius, actually," he murmured.

"What?"

"What?"

Ophelia eyed him suspiciously before giving herself the heating charm, immediately feeling its effects, and could finally bear the cool winter weather.

The pair laid out a picnic blanket in the blanket of snow, somewhere in the middle of the grounds. They weren't quite sure where they were, they couldn't make out too much around them other than the trees and the castle.

They both sat down and Remus opened the picnic basket, pulling out a plate of a few scones and a bowl of fruit.

"And now we feast," he announced to the big crowd of one.

Ophelia, obviously, wasn't going to tell Remus about her unfortunate eating habits, and instead tried to eat as much as she could without seeming suspicious. She was able to eat one and a half scones and a few strawberries before starting to get nauseous. It had been a while since she had started feeling this way, she knew when to stop eating before she threw up, luckily. Remus, on the other hand, was devouring the breakfast, due to his werewolfish tendencies.

Ophelia watched as Remus finished his fifth scone and looked up at the castle as if he was seeing it for the first time. As he was staring at Hogwarts, Ophelia was, unadmittedly, staring at Remus. The wind blowing his hair in all directions, his cheeks flushed a light pink from the coolness of the snow, which had started to float down on the two.

He looked back at her with a hint of a smirk on his face, realizing that she had been staring at him.

"Like what you see?" he asked smugly.

"Merlin, no! I'm more into Snape, you see," she teased.

"Oh, is it the scars?" he mock pouted. Remus intended this as a joke, which Ophelia knew, but she wanted to make sure that he knew that his scars were something that he should never be ashamed of. She turned her body to face him.

"Godric no!" She gently ran her thumb across several of the scars across his face, the rest of her hand placed lightly on his jaw.

"Remus, these scars are nothing to be ashamed of, you know that. They're gorgeous to be quite honest. They make you unique, they're intricate, like a detailed painting that deserves to go in the Louvre. Tu es l'une des plus belles œuvres d'art, Remus. Je t'aime bien plus que tu ne peux l'imaginer, j'aimerais juste avoir le courage de te le dire."

        Translation: "You are one of the most beautiful works of art, Remus. I like you more than you can imagine, I just wish I had the courage to tell you."

Remus smiled lightly into her hand, appreciating what he could actually understand. His eyes flickered between hers, not knowing which to look at, wanting to look into them for hours on end, studying the gray specks, learning what secrets they hide.

Ophelia snapped back into reality, realizing what they were doing, and pulled her hand away, not noticing Remus' flash of disappointment before he too realized what had just happened. They both blushed and looked away, focusing on the castle, not knowing that each other couldn't stop glancing at the other.

"Tu es ce qui m'aide à vivre," she said.

       Translation: "you're what helps me live."