UNDER THE MOON, Remus Lupin

xxi.

AWAY

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Cedric and Alice were sitting together for lunch in the mostly empty Great Hall. It consisted of about 8 students, half of them being Weasleys. Remus hadn't shown up again. That was the first thing Alice noticed when she walked in. For some insane reason, she felt like it was her fault because she hadn't seen him since yesterday. Maybe he was still sick. That was even more of a reason why she should check on him.

Professor Snape caught Alice glancing toward Remus' empty seat one too many times. That left her pink in the face from embarrassment. The last thing she needed was Snape suspicious of her. But when wasn't Snape suspicious of something? He also seemed to not be so fond of Remus.

All Alice could focus on was Remus' well-being. She was terribly tempted to visit him later. Again, the argument of her annoyance joined the debate. Deciding if she would see him today, Alice zoned out on Cedric's conversation about his plans for the Hufflepuff quidditch team. Since none of his friends stayed, he didn't have any Hufflepuffs to tell them to. Alice wasn't sure why he thought telling her was a bright idea, but she didn't pay attention as it was. Too wrapped up in her own dilemmas. It wasn't like she was trying to be a bad friend by not listening. She was doing him a favor by not taking notes on his upcoming plays.

"Alice, are you okay?" Cedric suddenly asked. He had noticed how she'd been staring at the same dent in the table for ten minutes and not eating her lunch.

"Yeah, I'm just deep in thought." She slowly pulled her attention away from the table. The table was the only thing saving her from getting caught looking at Remus' empty seat again. 

Cedric studied her complexion which was a mix of confused and worried. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alice wouldn't even be sure what to say if she did. "I don't think so."

"I could be helpful, whatever it is. I won't tell anyone, Hufflepuff's honor." He held up his pinky finger.

"It's okay, Cedric. Thank you." For once, Alice would keep it to herself.

Fred and George were sitting with Ron, Ginny, and Harry. But Fred was looking at Alice who acknowledged him with a wave. George nudged Fred after he was too distracted by her smile to wave back.

Harry had also found himself looking at Alice a lot lately. Not in a weird way. Of course, she was pretty. But that wasn't why. They'd talked a few times and Harry liked her company. He assumed she did as well since she never proved otherwise. Every day he hung around Ron, he hung around Fred and George at some point. And all Fred did with his spare time was talk about Alice. It was either that her hair looked nice, that her makeup looked nice, or that they'd accidentally brushed hands. Harry could see how exhausted George was, yet couldn't help laughing at his twin.

At some point during lunch, Alice put her head down, letting Cedric rub her back as he finished his lunch. She'd decided to take a moment and reflect. Only, she wasn't sure what she was reflecting on. Herself? Her confusing relationship with Remus? Her kissing two different guys in the same week? In her defense, one of them was to scare away a psychopath. No matter the topic, reflection was surely what she needed to clear her mind. Surely...

As the day progressed, Alice and Cedric snuck to Hogsmeade to get a drink at The Three Broomsticks. It's what Clint would've wanted; his friends drinking without him. Three drinks in and they were laughing over jokes they didn't even understand.

"What's round and ill-tempered?" Alice took a sip from her drink.

The gears visibly turned in Cedric's head. "Uh... what?"