metanoia

Chapter Seventy-seven

Once the Seventh Years finished their exams, they had two weeks left to revel in their last moments at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Early that Saturday morning, Alex woke up to a completely empty dormitory which led her to believe that she'd slept in past breakfast only to find that it wasn't even time for breakfast. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, grabbing a cardigan from the end of her bed before she jogged down the stairs to find her friends. Alex descended down the staircase, struggling to pull her arm through the large cardigan, to an empty Common Room.

Deciding she would wait until her friends either returned to the Gryffindor Tower or woke up, she sat down in her unofficial seat near the fireplace and mindlessly doodled on her knee with a pen she found in her pocket. The first person to return to the Gryffindor Tower with his hands behind his back was Remus. Pocketing her pen, she rose off the couch and smiled up at him, surprised that their other friends weren't with him, "Hey, Rem. Where is everyone and what's with the flowers?"

Remus chuckled nervously, looking down at the bouquet of soft colored daisies, "Sirius is with Emmeline, I didn't know this but apparently they've been going out for a little while, so they're down at Hogsmeade. James and Lily are at the Three Broomsticks with everyone else. They're all celebrating the end of exams."

"And you didn't go with them?" Alex asked incredulously, still wondering why he had flowers.

He shrugged innocently, kicking the leg of the couch with the toe of his sneakers, "I was waiting for you. And besides, I actually wanted to see you today. Try and talk to you."

"Okay..." Alex watched him fidget, concerned by how antsy he was this morning. He somehow managed to knock over the lamp sitting on the table beside them, struggling to catch it without crushing the bouquet. She placed the lamp back in it's designated place, wrapping herself in the creme cardigan she wore, "Are you okay, Remus? You seem nervous."

"I am nervous," he admitted, looking up from the daisies. The werewolf snorted at her observation, smiling when he realized that she'd been wearing his cardigan. Realizing he hadn't explained the flowers, he extended them to her, "Oh, right. They're for you. You like daisies, right?"

Alex graciously accepted the flowers, bringing them to her nose to smell them, "Thank you. And yes, I do. Remus, why did you get me flowers?"

Remus inhaled so deeply his sides ached, mustering up every ounce of courage he had to deliver the speech he'd been practicing for the past week. He anxiously wiped his hands on his trousers, "Right. Alex, I like you. No, that's a lie. I love you and I know you love me. Or at least I hope you do. Anyway, my life has become exceptionally better for having you in it. You're my best friend, my confidant, the shoulder we all lean on. I never want to lose you and I hope I never will. And I realize that I'm rambling, so I best get to the point. Would you go out with me?"

"I love you too."

Remus stared at her with wide eyes, taken aback by the four words he'd heard. It wasn't the first time Alex ever told him that she loved him, but it was the first time she told him in the way he wanted her to love him. He was in awe, completely forgetting how the human body speaks. "So, is that a yes?"

The blonde laughed at the apparent pink tint that filled his cheeks, finding it cute that the color made his scars look as though it was what's heating his cheeks. She played coy, shrugging as she smiled down at her flowers, "I'll think about it."

"Really?"

She could help but smile by how sad he sounded, looking up into his chocolate colored eyes and shook her head, "No. Of course, I'll go out with you."

Remus took Alex by the face, eyes grazing over her face as he memorized the moment. He looked down at the blonde, his eyes flickering down to her lips as she looked up at him and relished in the moment of finally being with him. She didn't move, waiting for him to initiate their first actual kiss that wasn't under the influence of alcohol and defiance or seeking comfort. Their lips finally met, Remus' large soft hands unmoving from their place on her cheeks.

"Bloody Hell!" James gasped as he climbed through the portrait hole, genuinely shocked to see that Alex and Remus were finally acting upon their feelings and weren't making any efforts to hide it.

The pair broke apart, turning their heads towards James' exclamation of surprise and the sea of squeals that followed and they found that James, Lily, Marlene, Charlie and Sirius had returned to the Common Room to collect them and request for them to join them in their celebration at the Three Broomsticks. The squeals of excitement came from Marlene and Charlie, who were happy to see them kissing.

"Did he do it? Did he ask you out?" Lily asked excitedly as she looked between the couple, knowing that Remus had been planning to take the step towards them becoming a couple and had even helped him and listened to his speech.

"Does this mean you two are finally together? If so, it took you long enough," Sirius asked the blonde, meeting her dark blue eyes and feeling nothing but happiness for his two best friends, not an ounce of jealousy or self-pity. All he wanted for both of them was for them to be happy and they made each other happy.

Remus wrapped his arms around her proudly, nodding as Alex answered verbally, nuzzling into his embrace, "Yes, Sirius, Remus and I are in fact finally together. Now what was it that you guys wanted, since you lot interrupted our moment?"

"Sorry," Marlene apologized as she and James congratulated Remus. She nodded her head in the direction the five of them just came from, "We were coming to find you to see if you guys wanted to join us down at Hogsmeade, since it's some of our last days here at Hogwarts. But we totally get it if you guys don't want to and want some time to yourselves, since you two are officially an item."

Alex looked up at Remus, nodding to tell him that she'd want to go out with them. He cleared his throat, slowly releasing her from the hold he had around her, "Yeah, let's go down to Hogsmeade."

The group made their way out of the Gryffindor Tower, descending seven floors worth of stairs before reaching the ground floor and made their way towards Hogsmeade Village. James watched as Alex and Remus walked hand in hand down the stone path, feeling the sudden need to pull Remus to the side. He let go of his girlfriend's hand, jogging forward to tap his friend on the shoulder to gain his attention, "Hey, Moony, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Uh, sure," Remus hesitantly agreed, dropping Alex's hand to follow James away from the group of them. He noticed James' darting between him and his cousin a few yards away, connecting the dots as to what he wanted to talk about, "I know what this is about and I can assure you-"

James stopped him, wanting to speak his peace quickly, "No, listen, please. She lost her brother, other than Fabian I'm the closest thing she has to one so I need to give you the big brother speech. You know as well as I do, she's not like other girls. She's been through things we'll never understand. So if you hurt her, and I'm not saying you will because I know you love her but if you do for whatever reason, I'll kick your ass.  You're my friend and I love you, but she's my family. That's all."

"I'll never do anything to hurt her. I love her and I'm not going anywhere until she doesn't want me anymore."

James smiled, throwing his arm over his friend's shoulder as he led them back to their friends, "Good. She's lucky to have you, she needs you more than she cares to admit."