Self-conscious and insecure Evelyn Garrick has a history of comparing herself to others, longing to be anyone but herself.
She is trapped in her own mind and is drowning in her negative thoughts.
She meets a boy. A boy who also struggles to accept...
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Once Pippa arrived back to the dorms, Evie was dressed and ready to go. Pippa had to pull her out of the bathroom, for the insecure girl couldn't stop trying to fix her natural appearance. With a promise of beauty from Pippa, the two finally managed to leave the dorms.
"How annoyed was he?" Evie asked, scrunching her nose in embarrassment.
"He wasn't mad at all," Pippa said. "Only disappointed that he doesn't get to spend as much time with you."
Evie blushed. Pippa was pulling her by the arm towards the entrance hall, it was only when they were about to turn the corner did Evie object.
"Wait," Evie said, stopping dead in her tracks. "What if I say something stupid?"
A huge grin was on Pippa's face by now, probably overjoyed that Evie was so close to doing the thing she always wanted to do, though she would never admit it. "You won't," was Pippa's brief reply before she pushed Evie round the corner.
Evie stumbled upon her entrance, making her presence known to Remus. He was standing by the doors of the castle, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. His eyes met Evie's, who was looking around for Pippa now. The social butterfly seemed to have disappeared.
Evie cleared her throat and moved towards Remus, wanting to eliminate any room for awkwardness. Remus was dressed simply and casually in a beige jumper made of wool, but Evie couldn't deny he looked attractive.
"Hi," Evie said. "Sorry about- I had-"
"No need to explain," Remus smiled. "Shall we get going?"
Evie smiles gratefully, not sure what she would even say to explain her lateness.
They began their trek to Hogsmede in a silence, a comfortable one. They didn't meet many on their path, most people having already reached the little village. December was approaching quickly, so a thin layer of frost had covered the ground. Evie desperately tried not to slip.
"Three broomsticks?" Remus asked once the cozy little pub came into view.
"Sure," Evie replied.
Although lunch time had passed, the pub was bustling when the pair entered. After a squeeze through the crowd and a hand grab that almost made Evie's heart stop, they arrived at a little table in the back of the shop.
"Drinks?" Remus offered as Evie settled herself into the seat.
Evie pulled out a few coins from her pocket and pushed them across the table, saying "a butterbeer, please."
Remus pushed the money back to her. "I can get it."
"No, I insist," Evie said, pushing the coins back.
"I also insist," said Remus, with a small little smirk that made Evie's stomach flutter. "Is this our first fight?"
Evie scowled playfully, pouting. "Just get the drinks then."
Remus disappeared into the crowd with a chuckle. He returned with two mugs of butterbeer. "You can pay me back later," he joked, Evie rolling her eyes.
They began a light conversation, full of heavy listening and light jokes. Evie didn't take her eyes off Remus as he spoke, and he did the same to her, which made her flustered, which he thought was cute. Evie went scarlet when he shared this thought with her.
When their mugs were half empty, Evie took her eyes of Remus for a second. She wished she hadn't, for someone else caught her attention.
"You're friend is here I think," Evie said, making eye contact with Sirius Black. "Friends," she corrected, having spotted James Potter and Peter Pettigrew also.
Remus sighed but didn't turn to look. "Ignore them," he advised.
Evie tutted. "Pippa's there too."
"Ignore them." He reached across the table to grab her hand. "We're here together. Not with them."
Evie had been staring at his hand on hers for the past few seconds. His hands were warm yet refreshing on top of hers. She stole one more glance over to the onlookers. Pippa was jumping up and down, her thumbs pointing towards Evie.
Evie felt a sudden surge of bravery surge through her as she twisted her hand to hold Remus' properly. The boy was surprised, but showed no objection.
Neither commented on their intertwined hands, almost ignoring them altogether. The position must have been uncomfortable for Remus, with his arm stretched across the table but he didn't seem to care. There's hands only disconnected when they stood up to leave.
"Where to next?" Remus asked when they left the pub, reconnecting their hands once again.
"Honeydukes?" Evie suggested. "Their fudge is legendary."
Remus chuckled. "Legendary Honeydukes fudge it is then."
They got a bag of fudge each in the colourful shop, with Evie insisting on paying this time.
They wandered down one of the quieter streets of Hogsmede and settled themselves on a wooden bench.
"Winter is coming," Evie said, dragging her finger along the armrest, where a thin layer of ice had settled.
"Do you have any plans?"
Evie gathered the frost into a little mound. "Just going home to my family. Spend it with them like every year." Before Remus could respond, Evie had picked up the tiny snowball and threw it at the side of Remus' face.
Evie giggled as Remus shuddered. The ice rolled down his neck and down his jumper. He grinned at her mischievously, gathering his own mound of frost.
Evie jumped from the bench, running down the street. Remus' long legs caught up with her easily, wrapping one arm around her waist and using the other to rub the ice into Evie's hair.
Evie squealed, wriggling in his grip until she ended up facing him. With his arms still wrapped around her, Evie took a moment to admire Remus' eyes, and the way his hair fell into them.
"That wasn't nice," Evie whined playfully.
"Sorry," Remus said, sounding anything but sorry.
In that moment, with Remus begin that close to her, Evie couldn't understand why she'd been so nervous.
