[back to school]

Avalon made her way towards the toilets after leaving the compartment she had been sharing with her friend Madelyn, and a few other Gryffindor girls. While she usually enjoyed the rides to Hogwarts on the train, this time was filled with the excruciatingly loud yelling and laughing of a few well known boys of the school. It bothered the Jennings girl to no end that they were ruining the peace of tranquility of her downtime but, then again, anything the marauders did bothered her.

They were obnoxious, immature, and they made everyone in the school think Gryffindors were the same.

"Look who it is." James Potter commented with a mocking grin as she began to pass by the marauders cabin, all his friends chuckling and giggling in response.

"Shove it, Potter." Avalon dismissed the boy with the roll of her eyes and continued down the hall, doing her best not to look back to see exactly who was laughing at his stupid little jokes and jabs.

"Pst." A few moments later, as she was about to make it to the end of the train to the toilets, she heard a whisper, making the Jennings girl turn on her heel to face the sound.

Her face lit up at the sight of him, Remus Lupin in his charmingly handsome glory, staying a safe distance until she allowed him to come near. Spotting an empty cabin, Ava quickly made her way inside and gestured for him to follow. The boy did, and as soon as the cabin door was closed, the couple threw themselves into each others arms.

"I'm sorry for him, darling. You know he's just—"

"His behavior is nothing new, I learned to block out James Potter a long time ago." Avalon placed her hands on both sides of Remus' face, inspecting every inch of it as if she hadn't seen him in years. "I missed you."

"We seen one another two days ago." The Lupin boy withheld a smile, loving the way Avalon's nose scrunched up when she was upset with somebody. "You know I missed you too. If it was up to me we'd spent every waking moment together."

Avalon's heart felt like it was singing in this very moment, with the boy she adored hiding from the rest of the world. She was a bright girl above all else though, and knew that something called the "honeymoon phase" existed. What if after all this puppy love ceased, and the two of them were forced to dive deep into their problems, and secrets, he left her?

What if after she gave him everything, he wanted nothing from her?

"Let's get back out there." The Jennings girl smiled gently, as to not cause any suspicion to the boy about her conflicting feelings, and placed her hand on his chest, slowly pushing herself away from him. "Your mates will surely be suspicious if you don't come back soon."

"You're right." Remus' lips pouted slightly. "I promised them all chocolate frogs from the trolly, I should go find it."

Avalon nodded and pointed to the door, not uttering another word. Though Remus noticed the slight shift, he knew that at times Avalon would need her space to settle her mind, and after he gave her that space, he would ask her what was wrong. Quickly, he pressed a kiss on her forehead before opening up the cabin door, and glancing back and forth to scan the area.

It would seem the coast was clear after he clumsily darted out of the room, leaving the Jennings girl by herself. She let out a slight sigh, and left the cabin too, finally making her way to the bathroom. Still, her thoughts of this boy she was beginning to love was consuming her.

Could she really let herself fall for him?

  Sat next to Madelyn, and a few other Gryffindor girls, Avalon's eyes kept drifting down the way towards Remus. His sheepish grin and hair that was perfectly messy but tamed all at once made her smile when she didn't want to, stare against her own will, and probably look like a fool to those around her. That last thought snapped her back to reality as she looked down at her plate, poking at her food.

"You've got drool inching down your lip, Lonny." Madelyn whispered to her friend with a slight grin before taking a large bite of her food.

"What—" The Jennings girl realized then, Mads had probably known since the moment she came back from the toilet on the train she was falling head over heels for a marauder of all people. "You can't say a word."

"I wouldn't dare." The Harrier girl shrugged her shoulders likely and turned eye to eye to her friend. "Though, I do have to point out you crucified me for my little stint with Sirius last year, a bit hypocritical, no?"

Avalon let out a slight whine, closing her eyes and placing her hands over her face, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Mads. I couldn't help it I just—"

"Can't help who you fall in love with. Yes, I know." Madelyn's eyes drifted over towards the small group and let out a sigh.

"You mean you and Sirius—" before Ava could suggest such a thing her friend shook her head no repeatedly.

"Merlin, no. Sirius and I was just... fun." Mads shrugged her shoulders. "I don't fall in love, Lonny. Not in the cards for the.. what do they call me again? Ah, yes. The Hogwarts Heartbreaker."

Madelyns glance went down at the table yet again, but, this time Ava watched as she locked eyes with James Potter and turned away. She jotted this down in the notebook that was her mind but decided not to dwell on it, maybe she was just reading too much into the small look they'd exchanged. No way her friend, her dearest friend was in love with James Potter, her worst enemy.

Then again, she was head over heels for Remus Lupin, and she never in a million years thought that would happen.

"So, you two had to keep it a secret you were in love?" Raven questioned in awe by the beginning of her parents story.

"Well, we didn't have to necessarily but, your mother thought it was in our best interest. I personally would have loved to scream we were together from the rooftops." Remus explained to his daughter, Avalon frailly running a brush through her hair.

"Your father is right, secrets bring nothing but problems. That was the case with us." The Lupin woman let out a sigh and looked straight ahead. "It took too much time away from us."

"Time is something you can never get back, Raven. Remember that." Remus added on.

Both parents were scared now, scared that time together was something they'd not have any left of. Afraid that any moment now could be their last moment together. Terrified that their daughter would grow up without a mother.

Time is such a crazy thing.

authors note...
hey y'all, here's chapter one and we are delving deeper into the past now, hopefully it's understood we are switching back and forth through time.

any predictions?

hope you enjoyed!