moony and wood | r. lupin

falcon

"Well, I thought that bit was pretty self explanatory– "

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

June 1978, Year 7

Training Grounds

The last few weeks of school had passed quickly; too quickly for Evie's liking. She, along with Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary, spent their last few days doing everything with the thought that it would likely be their last ever. Their last meal in the Great Hall, their last classes, their last trip to the library, their last Quidditch game (which Gryffindor ended up winning, which led to James and Dorcas into dragging their friends to Hogsmeade for a Butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks), their last late-night chat in the dorms, and even their last exams.

But it all passed by quickly, and before any of them knew it, it was all over.

An entire seven years of education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were completed.

Evie spent the entire morning packing her trunk, trying not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop welling up when Marlene burst into a fit of sobs as she found an old sign she'd made for the intense Gryffindor-Slytherin game in third year.

The faculty had planned out the traditional banquet that was set in the training grounds. Stunning decorations were displayed and the school's best silverware was laid out on the numerous tables.

The evening had been bittersweet for Evie. She nearly spent the whole time with her group of Gryffindors, next to Remus. She kept her hand entwined with his for nearly the entire night, laughing with him as the group as they remembered old pranks pulled, old jokes told, and the last seven years of their lives that were coming to an end. Evie only left the table occasionally, once to hug Dawn Ferguson, a Ravenclaw who had been in her Ancient Runes class, and another time to offer Andrew Patten another tissue because he kept tearing up.

Evie knew they would be boarding the boats to head to Hogsmeade soon, so she timed everything carefully. There was one last thing she had to do before they left Hogwarts for good.

It was beginning to near the end of the feast– desserts had yet to be brought out– so Evie made haste, wasting no time.

"Remus!" Evie whispered, trying to get her boyfriend's attention apart from the others'.

The boy looked back at her, startled.

"Will you come with me?" She squeezed his hand, gesturing the other in the opposite direction of the other tables.

Remus gave her a look. "Evie, I don't think this is the time–"

"No, Remus," she laughed. "Not that. I have something to show you."

He gave her another look, one of confusion and suspicion. "Evie, are you sure you–"

"Come on," she laughed again, dragging him off.

She took him well away from where the large gathering was, nearly all the way out by Hagrid's hut, before stopping, releasing Remus' hand from the grip she held it in.

"Evie, what're you doing–"

"Shh, just listen to me, okay?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, but still complied.

"I know what you're going to say," Evie began. "'Oh, Evie, you idiot, how could you be so stupid?'" She mocked his deep voice painstakingly falsely, prompting Remus to pinch her in the arm teasingly. Laughing, Evie continued. "But you shouldn't. I wanted to do this. Believe me. Okay?"

"Evelyn, what did you do?"

"Just–" she shook her head, trying to brush away his worry. "Just watch."

She took a tentative step back. Remus noticed the way she shook her hands around, as if brushing off nerves.

"Okay. Ready?"

"I guess so...?" Remus asked, more so than stated.

She flashed him a grin, then leapt into the air, flipping forwards in the process. But rather than tumble onto the ground like Remus expected, she transformed into a bird– a falcon– and gracefully swooped into the air.

Remus nearly fell backwards at the sight. Once the initial shock wore off, he began to smile and laugh in disbelief. Did Evie really become an animagi? He watched as she soared through the air before his smile instantly deflated. "Evie!"

The girl– in bird form– swooped back toward the ground, but instead of hitting it, she did another graceful flip and returned to her human form. She wore an enthusiastic smile, but her eyes seemed a little dizzy. "Well..." she panted, tired. "What do you think?"

"Evie," Remus practically scolded, grabbing the sides of her arms.  "You're an animagi?"

She shrugged. "Well, I thought that bit was pretty self-explanatory–"

"You couldn't have," Remus shook his head. "The process is long and tedious– James, Sirius, and Peter were living in pure agony for at least five months to do it,"

"Well, it only took me two." Evie admitted. "It would've been less if I hadn't accidentally spit out the mandrake leaf. It's very difficult to brush with those damned things in your mouth, you know."

Remus shook his head again, in disbelief. "You're telling me you did the whole ritual and I didn't even know?"

Evie gave him another shrug.

"Wait–" he stopped her in her tracks. "That entire month you said you had a cold–"

"I just needed an excuse for that stupid leaf."

"My god, Evie," Remus didn't quite know what to do but stare at her in awe.

Evie did the first thing she thought of– she wrapped him up in a tight hug. "And every night going to bed early was so I could recite that stupid incantation,"

"Wait–" Remus pushed away from her, sending her another look. "Evie, are you...?"

The question seemed to ask itself. "No." She bit her lip, dropping her voice. "I'm not registered."

"Evie, are you mad?" Remus had almost begun to raise his voice at her. "That's one of the most dangerous things you could've done! And I didn't even know about it–"

"Remus," she stopped him, putting a hand on his chest. "I wanted to. I had to. For you."

His gaze softened.

"Y'know, we're leaving school, and the boys won't be there like they are here for you." she said. "I need to make sure you're not alone in this. I won't let you be."

Remus lost his words again. The pure consideration of Evie's too-big heart was starting to get to him. She had gone through the whole thing, the entire animagus ritual for him. Recalling how hard it was for James, Sirius, and Peter to complete it made it only that much more touching.

He didn't know how to thank her, so he wrapped his arms around her in the most sincere hug he could possibly give. He might have been suffocating her a little bit, but he didn't really care.

After that, he was never going to let her go.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾