THE WOLVES | R.L.

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 15

Their NEWTs Exams had gone well.

Well, at least in Ardelle's opinion.

She felt quite satisfied with her own results, even though Lily was stressing over her results.

"You know what," Ardelle told Lily, cutting off one of Lily's long ramblings of how terribly she'd done in all of her exams, "You're exaggerating, Lily Evans. And even if you did do terrible, there is nothing you can do about it, is there? So enjoy the final two months of school and stop rambling, okay?"

Lily sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just—,"

"Alright, alright," Ardelle said, "Calm down. Take a breath.

Lily did.

And the rest of their free period went on peacefully, with Lily rereading the Tales of Beedle and Bard for what seemed to be the thousandth time, and Ardelle reading a book on the History of Wand-Making.

Okay, okay, it sounds kind of boring, but it isn't, okay?

***

Ardelle tucked her wand behind her ear as she brewed the next batch of the Wolfsbane Potion—for the next Full Moon, which was in a week and a half.

She'd written down the method for the Wolfsbane Potion in her notebook, which she had titled, 'The Wolfsbane Project'.

Those words, written in bold print, now had the words, 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED' scrawled underneath them.

Then, underneath those words, 'ARDELLE POTTER' was written in cursive handwriting—Remus had written it there.

His handwriting was so much neater than Ardelle's.

Remus would need to take the first dose the night before, and then he'd need to take another dose on the morning of the Full Moon for the potion to be the most effective it could possibly be, Ardelle had found over the past few Full Moons.

But even though the Wolfsbane Potion helped Remus keep his mind and keep his judgement while in wolf form, the Marauders still stayed in their animagus forms mostly, just to stay on the safe side.

Well, Ardelle made Sirius and James stay in their animagus forms.

She mainly spent time telling wolf-Remus (Was that a thing?) stories and making conversation with him.

At first, Ardelle had hoped that he wouldn't notice, but every morning, when Ardelle is sitting beside him in the Hospital Wing, he'd tell her stories in return as she falls asleep.

Of course, Ardelle always went along with them, every time, every month—and Peter usually went reluctantly, but James, Sirius and Ardelle, and maybe even Remus, knew that they only needed Peter to go with them because Peter would be the only one who could touch the trunk of the Whomping Willow.

After all, Peter fell unconscious within the first five minutes.

They brought Peter back to the castle with them (Obviously. They weren't cruel) but then after Peter healed and got better, he'd proceed to seemingly avoid them.

Peter seemed to be avoiding them—he hadn't been speaking to them at all other than some short, quick greetings, and he didn't even sleep in the Marauders' dorm anymore.

Where he slept was a mystery—but the bigger mystery was what was going on with him.

But nobody cared much about what he was doing, anyway.

Most people found him strange, really.

Not just the Marauders—many of the students at Hogwarts found Peter Pettigrew to stick out among them.

No doubt if he weren't a friend of the Marauders—the respected, popular bunch—Peter would be popular, yes:

A popular bully victim.

But the Marauders had stood up for him for the best many years.

However, Peter didn't seem to want their company anymore.

So Ardelle, Remus, Sirius and James drifted apart from Peter.

"Ardie?" Remus asked groggily as he sat up from where he had fallen asleep on his bunk, "What time is it?"

He sniffed the air, and said, "You're brewing the potion? Why? You're supposed to be resting!"

"Remus, it's ten o'clock in the morning, and it's Saturday," Ardelle retorted, but her eyes did not move from the bubbling cauldron in front of her, "I don't need to rest."

Remus yawned, then asked, glancing around the Marauders' dorm, "Where're Sirius and James?"

"James is with Lily, doing Head boy and Head girl duties," Ardelle said, carefully dripping a few droplets of green liquid into the potion, and it sizzled as it dissolved into the potion.

"And Sirius?"

"I don't know," Ardelle said distractedly, carefully slicing up some petals, "Somewhere. Probably at the Black Lake with Marlene, I think he mentioned something about that."

There was a moment of long silence between them.

"Ardie...I...I mean, we have a month of school at Hogwarts left," Remus inhaled deeply, "And I really like you, Ardelle. And I mean...it might not be the most romantic time to ask you this...but...I really, really like you, Ardie. And you help me so much—about everything. Not just during the Full Moon. And I just...I just...do you want to..." He blushed, "Like..."

Ardelle gave him a smile, finally looking away from the cauldron, finding his shyness cute, "Be your girlfriend?"

Remus nodded, and when Ardelle didn't answer immediately, he said quickly, "I mean—if it's awkward or if it's not—,"

"No, no," Ardelle said hastily, "Of course I'll be your girlfriend. You're too cute, Rem."

Remus smiled, "I...I'm sorry I'm so awkward—,"

"Remus, seriously," Ardelle sighed as she got to her feet and pulled Remus into an embrace, "I like you too, Remus."

She felt him smile, and she pulled him close to her, pressing a kiss to his lips.

They both laughed, before they pulled apart and Ardelle returned to brewing her potion, with Remus sitting beside her and reading the instructions to her—and holding her hand.

But most importantly, he was there, by her side.

And that was what mattered the most to Ardelle.

Author's Note:

Hi everybody! I'm back--this is an extra chapter for the 100 reads (132 now! Wooo so AMAZING!) and I hope you enjoyed it ;)

Also, how do you guys like the new cover? Let me know in the comments; I'd sure like to know your opinion if you have a spare moment!

Let's get on with the questions, shall we:

1. Who is/are your favourite character/s as of this chapter?

2. Why is he/she/they your favourite character? What about them stands out/appeals to you?

3. Who would you like to see more of in future chapters?

4. Any other thoughts/comments?

Leave your answers in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, see you next time <3