thirty

•••

        "WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed a bit too loudly. Remus shushed him. James and Peter were wide eyed and gaping, shocked.

        "Shut up, she's probably sleeping—"

        "—Oh no she's not! I need to talk to her!" Sirius exclaimed, marching over to Ivy's room despite Remus's efforts to pull him back. He slammed open the door. "Ivy! You saucy little minx!"

        Ivy raised her head up from where she was reading a book at the desk near her bed in an unfazed way, immediately seeing James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius in her doorway. Sirius was smirking as he leaned against the door frame, Remus standing behind him nervously.

         "May I help you?" Ivy asked curtly, pursing her lips.

"I'm sorry, I told him not to bother you," Remus apologized. Ivy shrugged as she tucked a strand of short brown hair behind her ear.

"It's fine, I couldn't sleep anyway," She said, waving a hand.

"You couldn't sleep because all you could think about was kissing Remus!" James exclaimed like he couldn't control himself. Remus hit him on the arm as Sirius and Peter guffawed. Ivy and Remus were both blushing.

Sirius walked in, shutting the door behind them and locking James, Remus, and Peter out. They could hear muffled voices that sounded a lot like Remus scolding James for his little outburst.

        "It's true?" Sirius asked excitedly, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

         "What?"

         "You snogged Remus?"

         "...I guess, if that's what you want to call it," She mumbled, trying to hide her red face in her book.

         Sirius laughed and kicked his legs in excitement. "Oh my God! This is insane! Tell me all the details!"

Ivy sighed, placing a bookmark in the book she was currently reading and closed it. "There isn't much to say. Earlier tonight, I was teasing Remus about girls and he said that I know the girl he fancies.

        "That's what they all say."

        "So later, when we stepped outside of the ballroom, he confessed that I was the girl he liked. And then the people started counting down to midnight, and one thing led to another and we kissed."

"Who initiated it?" Sirius asked. Ivy shrugged dramatically.

"It was mutual, I guess. That tradition was just an excuse to kiss, we probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the timing," Ivy said, looking over to Sirius.

"And how do you feel now?" Sirius asked, almost acting like a therapist to her.

"I don't know, I think I'm in shock. He said he likes me, and we kissed, and I like him too, but I just feel... what's the word... suspicious? Wary?" Ivy explained, feeling sort of silly once the words were out of his mouth.

"That's perfectly normal! Relationships can be scary, and that's why you need a few good friends to always stick around and be supportive, like me," Sirius said with a smile.

"But... didn't you mention a while ago that he doesn't think he deserves a girlfriend because he's a werewolf? What if he changed his mind or avoids me?" Ivy asked nervously, playing with the cover of the book.

"I won't let him. It is a possibility, though. You just need to be reassuring."

"And what if this totally fucks up our friendship? How do you transition from being friends to more than that?" Ivy complained, getting up from where she was sitting and falling into the bed.

"It won't. You both have liked each other for ages, it's just now that you've decided to act on it. You both are already couple basically. Now you just add kissing and more complex stuff!" Sirius said, clapping his hands together and getting up from where he was sitting. "We should both get some sleep. Merlin knows you need it after the eventful night you had."

The next morning, Remus found himself knocking on Ivy's door. She was still asleep, causing her to panic when she blearily opened her eyes to that sound of knocking.

"C-Coming!" Ivy said, jumping out of the bed and stumbling to the bathroom where she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth aggressively and quickly. She didn't bother to do anything with her hair that was in a messy ponytail. She opened the door.

Remus was about to say something before he closed his mouth and started over. "Did I wake you up?"

"No! Of course not!" Ivy lied, waving her arms. He made a face at her that said he didn't believe her at all, looking down at her tiny pajama shorts and tank top.

"Sorry. Should I come back later?"

"No!"

"Okay, if you're sure. Can... Can I come in?" He asked timidly. Ivy nodded, stepping back to let him in the room. He sat himself on the edge of her bed. "I don't think we'll have a chance to talk again, uh, in private, I guess, so I'll just get right to it... Um, I just wanted to know how you feel about... last night."

"You mean when we kissed?"

"...Yes."

"I mean, I don't regret it, if that's what you're asking," Ivy answered, sitting down next to him on the bed. Remus stared blankly at her.

"That was a very vague answer," He said with a sigh, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Ivy let out a nervous laugh.

"What I'm trying to say is, like— I'm— it's not— you're— wait, let me get my words right," Ivy said, pausing for a second and taking a deep breath, looking in almost the complete opposite direction so he couldn't see her very red face. "I'm saying that I enjoyed the kiss and I fancy you too. I'd be happy to see how things play out when we go back to Hogwarts. And I don't usually fancy people, so consider yourself lucky."

He smiled at her, who was embarrassed beyond belief. "But, Ivy, if we're gonna like, date, or whatever, then you need to understand the risks—"

"Remus, I don't care that you're a werewolf. At all. It never crossed my mind. I like you because you're kind and respectful and funny and so many other amazing things," Ivy said, finally turning to face him. He was looking at the ground, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"But it's not safe for you. People think I'm a monster. If it ever gets out to the public, you'll be shunned too," Remus said, pulling his steady gaze off the ground to make eye contact with her.

"You've got to understand, I really don't give any fucks," Ivy said bluntly. He laughed. "We don't have to rush into anything. We don't have to automatically put labels on it or tell all of Hogwarts we're dating. You iron and fold your goddamn socks. I'd much rather date a werewolf than someone like Adam Andrews. I really, really like you, Remus. I don't care what people think."

He took his eyes off the floor, meeting Ivy's own dark blue ones. She pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her torso as she rested her head on his shoulder.

        "I really like you too, Ivy."

•••

Ivy boarded the train to Hogwarts. It had been around three days since she kissed Remus. She was slightly nervous to see him.

        She found an empty compartment and walked in, setting her luggage on the floor and taking out a book to pass time. It didn't help very much though, all she could think about was Remus. She placed the book down, sighing frustratedly as she looked out the window to the cold winter weather. Soon enough, Sirius found her sulking in the compartment.

        "Ivy!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting across from her. She offered a smile as James, Peter, and last but definitely not least, Remus Lupin. The man of the hour. They made eye contact before hastily looking away.

"Hey," James said with an over dramatic, not subtle at all wink while he sat down across from her. Peter and Remus both glanced at the empty seat next to James before Peter ran to get it, forcing Remus to sit beside Ivy. It didn't go unnoticed by her. She glared at Peter, who gave a mere shrug.

        "You excited to be back at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked as he clapped his hands together.

      "I guess so. I'll be horribly stressed out from schoolwork, though," Ivy complained. James booed her.

        "Shut up! We are going to have an adventurous and wild second half of our sixth year!" James said, causing Sirius to cheer and clap, bouncing in his seat. Ivy started up a conversations with Sirius as Remus branched out to James and Peter.

        After a few minutes of talking, Ivy dared to look over in Remus's direction. He was in a small squabble with James about something. James talked too fast and Remus kept giving vague answers so Ivy didn't really know what it was about, but in the end, it looked like Remus won whatever argument they had.

"Ooh! I need to get something from the trolley! James come with me!" Peter exclaimed, excitedly grabbing money from his pocket. James stood up, obeying what Peter said.

Sirius glanced at Peter and James, then Ivy and Remus. His mouth formed a small 'o' shape before smirking. This wasn't what Peter meant to do, but it was like Sirius to find a way to play matchmaker. "I'm coming with you. Ivy, Remus, hold down the fort."

They left. It was quiet for a few seconds.

"I think they did that on purpose," Ivy said, still looking at the compartment door they walked out of. Remus laughed. "It's so quiet without them."

"I know. The silence is nice sometimes. I rarely get it around them. Especially Sirius," Remus said, glancing over at Ivy. She was fiddling with the zipper of her jacket nervously. Something was obviously on her mind. "Ivy, are you okay?"

She looked at him, who was staring at her kindly. She sighed, looking away. He always knew how to get her to talk about what was worrying her.

"It's just... I asked Sirius this a few days ago," Ivy began, a blush already creeping its way onto her cheeks. "How do you go from being just friends to like, being a couple? And being intimate and all that stuff?"

"You just... gradually start doing things, I guess. As long as it's not awkward for either, it's fine," Remus shrugged. Ivy was still messing with the zipper anxiously.

"I said we don't have to rush into anything, and I mean that. We could stay friends right now, if that's what you want," Ivy said, trying to sound nonchalant. Remus scooted himself a little closer to Ivy.

"I don't want that," Remus said quietly with a short scoff. She sighed, glancing at him.

"I've said this at least a million times, but I don't want to fuck everything up. What if a relationship ruins the friendship we have? Don't relationships within a friend group mess things up?"

"I don't think it will. Sirius is beyond happy, believe me," Remus said, causing Ivy to laugh. "And if it makes you feel any better, I won't do anything to make you uncomfortable."

"You could never make me uncomfortable, Remus," Ivy said, laughing softly and looking at him through her eyelashes. They were closer to each other than Remus intended. He didn't make it his goal to kiss her when the other three left the compartment, but he was already looking at her lips and before he knew it, they were kissing once again. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, thankful the blinds on the window were drawn so no one could look in. After a a few seconds, Ivy broke apart reluctantly.

"We can't have them walking in on us like this," Ivy said, taking her hands off him at once and brushing his shoulders off needlessly. She adjusted how she was sitting and looked at him. "Does my hair look okay? Do I look like I've just been snogging someone?"

"No," Remus said, watching her amusedly. She rolled her eyes, scoffing.

        "I don't believe you," She muttered, hastily getting a small mirror out from the bag she had sitting next to her. Remus laughed as she fixed her hair and looked at herself. She gave a small nod and a dorky thumbs up to him. He grinned, returning the gesture. The other three walked in a few seconds later, looking between the two suggestively.

Soon enough, after more pointless conversations, they arrived at Hogwarts, excited about the rest of sixth year.

•••

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