The Phoenix in You • {Remus Lupin/Marauders FF}

5

Freddie reached his lean arm across me as I went to open the door to The Three Broomsticks and opened it for me, ushering me inside with his classic smile on his face. He pointed over towards a booth in the corner where two other Ravenclaw students were sat. There was a girl with short curly blonde hair, smiling happily to the boy with his arm around her. I recognised him, he was Freddie's best friend - Damien Abadosse.

"Hey guys," Freddie greeted them, reaching across the table to shake hands with Damien before festering for me to sit alongside the girl before he slid next to me. "This is Amy Martin and I think you know Damien."

"Hi, I'm Scarlett Black." I smiled politely at Amy. I had seen her before in the library, usually studying with Damien when he wasn't up on the sticks practising Quidditch.

"Yeah, a naughty Quidditch player you are," Damien laughed, nodding to me. "And your brother is just as much a menace from the stands."

"Don't I just know that." I laughed, looking to Freddie who was resting his arms over the back of the booth. Rosmerta, a girl who graduated a few years earlier, came to see if we wanted any drinks and Freddie ordered us all a butter beer.

We all took a sip and I found myself giggling as Freddie purposely left a moustache of foam across his top lip. He leaned towards me, pretending to try and kiss me before he returned to wipe it off with his sleeve.

"You're disgusting." I said.

"She's right, you know." Amy agreed, pointing towards me and shaking her head at Freddie.

"Hey, don't attack my boy like that." Damien squeezed Amy's arm before they started to jokingly bicker with each other.

"So," Freddie caught my attention. He was looking me directly in the eyes and it caught me off guard. I shyly hung my head and scooped back my hair as it fell forward. "What's the deal with Lupin?"

"What do you mean?" I asked him, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Are you two... seeing each other?" He asked, unhooking the hair I had placed back and letting it fall down again.

"No, we're just friends. He's just a bit protective, comes with being my brother's best friend, I guess." I answered, laughing as I tucked the hair back.

"Like he was protective when we left them earlier?" Freddie asked and I nodded, acknowledging the weird moment that had occurred. That's just how I knew Remus. He cared deeply for his friends.

"I wouldn't overthink it too much." I told him, batting away his finger as he tried to hook his finger around my hair again.

"What?" He laughed, using his free hand to hold mine away whilst he successfully did it. "It looks pretty when it's like that."

Merlin's sake, I thought as my cheeks blushed a solid shade of red. He grinned at me, knowing what he had done. I picked up my butter beer and hid my face behind the large glass.

"Are you any good at Transfiguration?" He asked me, changing the subject. I lowered my glass and placed it gently on the table.

"Er, I think so. It's my best subject. Why?" I felt slightly on edge at the question. My mind raced through a hundred unlikely reasons why he would ask; he wanted me to do something, he knew I was an animagus, I had accidentally forgotten to transform back to human and a black panther was sat between the three friends right now.

"I just made an Exceeds Expectations grade but I want to get better. I heard you were the best in the year and I wondered if you had some free time, you wouldn't mind helping me with some essays?" He asked, a little bit of his pride damaged.