UNDER THE MOON, Remus Lupin

xli.

WHAT IS LOVE?

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"It's fucking ridiculous! I don't even know why I put myself through Potions anymore!" Alice exclaimed, walking into Remus' empty classroom. She looked around for him, but he didn't even appear to be present. He was always here waiting for her at the end of the day. Where was he? "Remus?"

Alice took a few steps toward his desk and saw a folded paper with her name written in cursive on the top. She leaned over his desk and opened it, keeping it flat on the desk. 'Meet me at Puddifoot's tea shop. And for Godric's sake, stop talking about Snape! I know you are, don't even lie to me. See you soon, darling.' She read the note aloud to herself, then stuffed it into her bra, dashing out the door without a winter coat.

Maybe to spite him Snape would be the very first topic she started on. Alice often talked Remus' ear off. He'd watch her, listen to her. But he wouldn't always respond. Alice was much more of a talker than Remus was. And that worked out fine for him. He loved listening to her stories.

As Alice finally took her last steps toward the cramped, pink tea shop, she inhaled deeply with a bright smile. Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all. She pushed the door open, the bell overhead ringing quietly. Over the chatter of a few people, she could just hardly hear it. Couples were seated at every table, cozying up to each other with tea and pastries, feeding them to each other. Alice scanned the room and found Remus in a corner, of course, reading. He had claimed not to like it as much as it seemed, yet all he did in his free time was read. She rolled her eyes and quickly made her way across the room to him.

"Funny meetin' you here," Alice chewed her lip as Remus looked up at her with those beautiful amber eyes of his. They glazed over her like frosting over a doughnut.

"Do you fancy a proper date with me, Alice?"

She quickly surveyed the room. Mostly adults. Hogwarts students would probably be heading this way any time now. Did it really matter? She could just say she and Remus met by chance if anyone was suspicious. "I do, actually."

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Standing up quickly, towering over her by a large scale, Remus pulled out her chair. "Have a seat, love. Tea? Coffee?"

"How about just you?" Alice grabbed his tie and pulled him into a kiss. Chocolate. How dare he eat chocolate without her? And on Valentine's Day!? She detached their lips and glared at him. "Remus, how could you!? Eating chocolate without me!"

Remus quickly placed another kiss on her frowning lips. "I'm sorry. Allow me to make it up to you by buying you something, yeah? Slice of chocolate cake, mm?"

She tilted her head sideways with a shrug and a smile. "Well... if you'll share it with me."

"I can arrange that. Wait here, love." Remus playfully pushed her face to the side with his finger, then got in line for the slice of cake.

Alice put her head down on the table, grinning to herself. She was on a real date with her boyfriend. It hadn't seemed too plausible seeing as he was her teacher, but they were managing. What defines a date as a real or proper date, though? Does it have to be all the specialties, like being in public? Or is being in private just as proper? Whether the dates were proper or not, Alice loved Remus no less.

A few minutes later, Remus reappeared with two forks and a rather large piece of chocolate cake. "When you said a piece of cake, I thought you meant piece, not chunk," Alice stared at the cake wide-eyed. She'd eaten lunch just a few hours ago. At least she wouldn't have to eat it all on her own.