[ R E M U S ]

[ 09.15.1976 ]

[ t h i r d  p e r s o n ]

[ edited ]

remus lupin had always been the quiet type. many students at hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry wondered why he could always be found trailing along next to the infamous school pranksters. loud and obnoxious, the four marauders ruled the school. they had every girl (and some boys) under their spell. except for the famous lily evans, ivory hue, and iris jones. james yearned for lily, sirius was convinced that he was to win over ivory's heart, and peter... well, peter wasn't sure if iris even knew he existed. remus, however, did not need a girl. he was perfectly content with his books. girls were too complicated. he preferred to love a girl as a sister, not as anything more. it was too much. 

the young boy knew that there was commitment in a relationship and, honestly, he was already committed to one too many things. there was the monthly problem, but he didn't necessarily have a choice in that case. and his books and schoolwork and taking care of the responsibilities of being a marauder took up a lot of his time too. having a girlfriend would get in the way of that. having a girlfriend fit into the other boys' schedules perfectly fine, though. james and sirius didn't read or do their homework, and didn't spend as much time in bed sick days before the full moon. plus james spent all of his free time trying to get one redhead girl, while sirius was either hooking up with another girl or chasing after ivory trying to apologize for his latest hookup. peter just followed everybody, but still found a way to sneak glances at iris while looking at the ground.

"You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore. It's a pack. A snarling, distrustful, bickering park like the Socs in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the t—"

remus's reading was interrupted by someone yelling "CANNONBALL!!" followed by a tsunami of water, drenching him and his book. he scowled at james, who gave him a sheepish grin in return.

"must you always ruin my books? i think i have 4 good, unharmed books out of the hundreds that i've read. because you and sirius always find it funny to interrupt and destruct my free period full of reading."

"well i think i've found your problem: ALL YOU DO IS READ. you spend more time with your  books than you do with people! we're starting to believe that you are a sociopath—!"

"okay, first of all, there's no problem with me reading a lot. it's just something i enjoy and find peace in, since i don't get very many peaceful moments around you rugrats," remus glared at the bespectacled boy who shrugged and made a face. "secondly, we all know good and well that i am most certainly not a sociopath. obviously. i talk to people all the time—"

"ABOUT BOOKS!" james groaned.

"—and i think it's safe to say that most people like me more than they like you."

"bullshit! they find me funnier and funner—" james boasted.

"that's not a word," remus commented with a roll of his eyes.

"yes it is people say it all the time."

"people say what all the time? how good looking i am?" sirius said, walking up to the two boys.

"uhh, no. you say it all the time," remus said to james, ignoring sirius's comment.

"i am a people—"

"merlin, just shut up and go read a book. better yet, go nag your lilyflower. she just sat down under the oak over there," james's face lit up as the looked where remus had been pointing. he quickly got up, brushed himself off, and ran over to the 6th year girl. after quite a long silence, sirius spoke up.

"james is right, you know. you never come to any social events with us. you always stay in the dormitory with a book during the balls. you hang out in the library with your fellow book friends—"

"quit," he warned. although remus was a kind and respectful boy, he had his boundaries. and if you insulted anything that he loves, whether that be his interests or his friends, you were crossing that boundary. no acceptions. to joke around and take his books was one thing, but throwing insults at him like spitballs was another thing entirely.

"sorry. but you never go out with us, mate."

"what're you getting at?" he questioned suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"well, what i'm trying to say is i think you should come with us to this party on friday. get a drink or two... or more, get some ladies," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "alright, nice talk see you this weekend buddy."

"okay, no, no, no, i never agreed to this, why should i go? give me one good reason."

"cause you're a bum, remy," sirius shrugged, patting remus on the back, and walking away.

"you're the bum," remus muttered under his breath, but his best friend heard him.

"why i DO have a nice bum, thank you remus!" sirius shouted back, earning a groan from remus.

"you're a nice pAIN IN MY ASS!" he called in response.

"I TRY!"

"I'M VERY WELL AWARE!"

[~] | [~] | [~]

"so sirius told me that you're going to hunter's party on friday," the familiar voice of ivory hue spoke whilst in the library at the late hours of the night. 

"erm, well yeah but i didn't really agree to do it. i told him to give me one good reason to go and he said cause i'm a bum. so it doesn't really count. but yeah."

"so are you going?"

"i guess i'll go. just so i can use it to rub in their faces next time they say i never come with them to parties. which i don't. i mean, what's the point of parties? what do you even do?"

ivory laughed at her friend before saying, "its different for different people. some people do it to get their minds off things, some people do it to socialize, and some people just really, really like firewhiskey. it honestly depends on the person."

"that's so dumb," remus muttered. "this is a load of crap. i don't want to do this."

"remus, they've done a lot for you these past 6 years; they know that you've gone through a lot and they just want you to have a good time in the way that they do."

remus ran a hand over his face, groaning, then through his hair, that stood up in about 50 different directions. "i know. but in case if you haven't noticed i'm not really the same kind of person that they are."

"what are you talking about?"

"ivory, they party and prank for a living. i read, and organize things. that's not even close to the same thing."

ivory laughed, and covered her face for a minute, before calming down and placing her hands back in her lap. "remus... i don't know if you realize this, but you're a prankster, too. you're working on a magic map, for godric's sake! they would never be able to figure that out without you. and are we just going to ignore the fact that you are a freaking..." she looked around, "werewolf."

"that's different. and... no that doesn't count."

"HOW?"

"shut the hell up we're gonna get in trouble."

"okay fine, but how does that not count? that's one of the most dangerous things that can be done to a human and you just... do it. if that doesn't count i don't know what does."

"it's just," remus paused, "i didn't choose for that to be a part of my life, it just happened. so that's why it doesn't count. okay? what are you doing here at 3 in the morning, anyway?"

"i can ask you the same thing."

"no you can't. i'm always here. answer me."

ivory sighed. "sirius was being an ass again and i just... i don't know. i needed to get my mind off things. and i knew that you would be here."

"what's that supposed to mean?" he questioned.

"i-i don't know. you're like my brother—"

"i thought james was your brother?"

"honestly all 3 of you are my brothers. james is like the over protective older brother, you're like... i don't know. you're like my twin because i can go to you about personal things and you don't get so defensive. and then peter is like everyone's baby brother. honestly. i mean, i don't know. i'm gonna go."

"ivory, wait..." remus called out. when she turned around, he said, "tell sirius that i told him to quit being a bum."

she smiled and kept walking. "goodnight remus."

"goodnight."