Headdesking - Remus Lupin/OC

Chapter 19: An Agreement Betrayed

Hazel was splitting a peach in half when she noticed a head of flaming red hair in the corner of her eye. She looked up to see Lily making her way down the Great Hall toward her.

Some juice trickled down her fingers, and she grabbed a napkin to wipe it off.

When the girl sat down opposite her, Hazel didn't immediately speak. She waited for Lily to give her whatever news she had, as it was usually the case that an incident of some sort preceded their interactions.

"Listen to this..." Lily said. She bent down over the table for secrecy. "I just met Remus in our common room, and you won't believe it... he smiled at me and said 'good morning'."

Hazel was about to reach for a basket of muffins, but stopped herself. "Are you sure it was him?"

"Confident."

She ended up grabbing a muffin after all and breaking off a piece. "It's still pretty early. Is it possible that you were still dreaming?"

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled. "I swear it happened! What do you think it means?"

Hazel's gaze dropped and she slowly chewed off a piece. "I have no idea..."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "You know something."

To Hazel's instant dread, she could see Lily begin to plot in real time. Her irises began twining like a cogwheel, setting a system into motion designed to uncover whatever was being kept from her. She knew the look so well at this point, it was actually beginning to feel trite. She was still terrified of it though, and decided to just admit what she knew instead of letting Lily drag it out of her.

"We... kissed." she said. It was the only thing she knew that Lily most definitely didn't.

"Interesting." she replied without much other reaction. "And can we expect this to be a regular occurrence from now on?"

Hazel shook her head. "Doesn't look like it. Apparently he has 'a problem' that prevents him."

"Do you know what it is?"

"No."

"Do you have an idea?"

Hazel paused to think back. "I got the impression that he doesn't like the idea of his friends becoming animagi. I think he has something against it and... well, he refutes this, but I thought for a moment that he might dislike the fact that I am one."

Lily had to quickly shush her. She motioned with her head in the direction of the door. Hazel looked up to see the four boys enter the hall. They began making their way toward them.

A smile spread over Lily's face. "Shall I dig into it?"

Hazel set her muffin down resolutely. "Absolutely not!"

"Don't worry, I'll be covert about it."

"Nothing about you is covert. Please don't."

But Lily was already turning and grinning at the guys as they joined them. Before they sat down she whispered, "You won't even notice it's happening."

Hazel felt a lump in her stomach forming as she watched Lily greet their new company. Her thoughts were soon set on a different path though when Remus sat down next to her. He looked at her curiously and smiled — so the rumours were true.

Hazel felt a small blush on her cheeks, and returned his smile.

As the others began talking animatedly, Remus and Hazel remained in a quiet exchange between just the two of them. Hazel smiled down at the muffin on her plate. She knew that if she looked at him any longer, she'd break out in a ferocious blush.