Brenna's POV
Christmas was approaching rapidly and the cheery buzz of vacation was infecting every student. Sydney and I slacked off on our homework, the marauders played their most daring pranks, and even my ever-so-studious fellow Ravenclaws relaxed a little when it came to classes. The teachers were highly annoyed with us bit even they seemed excited for the break. During the last week of the term, Remus and I spent even more time together than we normally did, which was saying something. We'd starting dating after our date three months ago, which amused the other marauders.
"Where's your precious little Remmy?" Sirius smirked and poke my side.
"How should I know?" I snapped.
"He's your boyfriend now isn't he? Shouldn't you keep tabs on him?"
"I'm his girlfriend," I growled. "Not his stalker."
"I beg to differ," Peter chimed in. "You seem to have a nasty habit of staring at him when he isn't looking."
"Shove it, Pettigrew!" I cried, my cheeks turning crimson. As if on cue, Remus took his usual seat beside me at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. I felt my ears grow hot as the boys snickered and Remus gave me a curious look. His expression softened and he put his arm around me, chuckling softly.
"That's adorable," He smiled.
"What is?" I squeaked.
"Your ears turn red when you get embarrassed," He laughed. My hands went to my ears and I pulled my scarf up over them.
"Aww, come on!" He frowned. "I was just poking fun!"
"Well now you've gone and made my ears feel self-conscious. They're sensitive," I pouted.
"You're a weirdo," James snorted over his plate of roast beef.
"And that's why you love me," I countered. James merely shrugged and began to devour the contents of his plate and Sirius'.
"So," Remus grinned and pulled my scarf off my ears, "I was thinking about staying here over the vacation. I've already talked to my mum about it and she's cool with it. I thought about inviting you to stay with me, but I figured you would feel a little uncomfortable meeting my parents since we've only just starting dating and all."
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" I frowned. "I don't want you to miss out seeing your family."
"I've seen them loads!" He laughed. "Besides, I'd like to see a little more of you this Christmas."
"Gross, mate," Sirius scoffed and pushed his plate towards James.
"T- That's not what I meant!" Remus cried.
"Sure it wasn't," Peter smirked. He yelped as Remus kicked him under the table and rubbed his shine while glaring at him. I finished off my plate and got up from my seat, Remus following in suit.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"Walking you to your common room. I figure that's where you were going," He said.
"But you didn't eat!" I cried.
"I wasn't really hungry," He shrugged.
"If you're lying to me, severe injury is in your future," I threatened.
"I promise," He chuckled as he followed me out of the Great Hall.
"I was actually going to the library," I smiled. "I hope that's alright."
"Of course," said Remus enthusiastically. He loved reading just as much as I did so his answer hadn't surprised me in the slightest. We strode into the library and browsed the shelves in search of some good books for us to read together during the break.
"What about this one?" He asked, pointing to a ruddy book. It was leather-bound and the smell of musk drifted off the pages as Remus shifted through them.
"Looks good enough," I smiled. Remus went to go check it out and left me to admire the collection of dusty old books. I ran my fingers across the spines quietly and plucked a thick book from the shelf. I thumbed through the pages, surveying the paragraphs for interesting phrases. A noise behind me startled me and I dropped the book. It made a loud thump sound as it hit the ground and I spun on my heals to find the source of the startling noise.
In front of me, Remus was staring at me like he'd just seen a dementor.
"What is it?" I stammered. He didn't move.
"Remus?" I called as he blinked lazily, as if he was in a trance. "Are you okay?"
Once again, he didn't move. He just stared at me with frightened eyes.
"Remus, you're scaring me...," I whispered. Something in his gaze changed and he exploded into movement, his arms wrapping around me. I rubbed his back slowly, trying to figure out what'd just happened. Suddenly, Remus pushed me up against the bookshelf and put his hand on the books behind my head. His other hand was still tangled in my hair and he leaned his face close to mine.
"I didn't meant to scare you," He whispered in my ear. I untangled his hand from my hair and laced my fingers through his, letting him relax against me.
"What happened?" I asked quietly. Instead of replying, he pressed his lips to mine. He took his hand from the shelf and rested in my waist, pulling me closer to him and holding us up with our intertwined fingers. After a few seconds, he broke away, breathing hard, and sighed.
"Sorry," He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"For what?" I asked breathlessly.
"Freaking you out," He frowned.
"It's okay. If you're okay, I'm okay," I said, offering a smile to convince him.
"I'm fine now," He said, returning my smile.
"What was that about anyway?" I asked as we walked to the Ravenclaw common room.
"It was nothing," He shrugged. "Just forget about it."
"But-"
"Forget it."
I'm not dead guys! Sorry for my absence, I've been kinda busy with school lately and I had some killer writers block. Hopefully it'll leave me alone for a while so I can get some updates out. I got my laptop repaired so I don't have to go through the awful process of writing on my phone, yay! That will definitely help me get some chapters out quicker with less weird mistakes. Thanks for being patient and thanks for reading! Leave a comment or a vote if you're feeling like that's the kinda thing you wanna do. Annnnnd I'll shut up now...
