Chapter Text
Meeting:
(Y/n) carefully followed Professor Slughorn’s instructions, but now that school had been in session for a month things were moving a bit faster. Potions was a favored subject of hers, however this new pace was doing her no favors. She thought she was doing everything correctly, but the uncertainty gave her no peace of mind. There had already been two times within this latest set of instructions where she wondered what it was the Professor was talking about. Had she measured everything correctly? Was the margin of error within the allotted frame of reference?
She blew air on to her forehead and hoped for the best. That was all she could do at this point. The potion was nearly finished and just needed a few movements of her wand. She grew increasingly anxious as the potions of a few students behind her flew out of their cauldrons in a thick sloppy bunch. Clearly they had done something wrong.
Slightly nervous, she lifted her wand and and waved it in one swift motion. The potion bubbled a bit and slowly began to settle. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and she breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Excellent herbicide potion Miss. (l/n),” Professor Slughorn praised after taking a look inside her cauldron. (Y/n) instantly beamed at the praise.
“Thank you Professor.”
As Slughorn continued his rounds of the classroom, he stopped a few rows back. “Very good Mr. Lupin. This is might be the best potion I’ve seen today.”
(Y/n) looked over her shoulder and saw the Professor standing by a tall, lanky boy with light brown hair and a scar on his cheek. The boy quietly thanked Slughorn before looking down to write something on the parchment in front of him. Next to him, two boys who’s potion had had less success playfully mocked his perfect creation. They were soon joined by another boy behind them.
(Y/n) hummed to herself and returned to her work. Ever since she found out she would be attending Hogwarts she told herself she’d do whatever it took to become a star student. She had always been academically inclined and competitive, so she refused to do anything less than her absolute best.
Which is exactly why she tracked down and cornered this so called “Mr. Lupin” after class.
“Hey!” She darted out of the classroom and caught him by the sleeve of his robe. He turned to face her in confusion along with his three friends, but that wasn’t about to deter her. “You’re Lupin, right?”
All four boys stared at her for a second before Lupin responded. “Remus, actually. Did you need something?”
(Y/n) looked off to the side and gave a crooked grin. “Oh right, it’s weird that they call us by our last names around here.” She focused her eyes back on him. “You’re pretty good at potions, right? I was hoping you could give me some pointers so I can get better.”
Remus began to open his mouth and the hesitation was evident on his face. (Y/n) was sure she was about to get turned down, but one of Remus’ friends jumped in.
“He’d love to! In fact, we could all start our own study group.” The boy who spoke wore circle framed glasses.
“We could?” The shortest of the boys knit his brows together.
“Absolutely! Sirius and I were a mess back there and we could all use the extra help.” The glasses clad boy smiled cheekily and tapped the boy with long black hair on the shoulder. “Right Sirius?”
“Of course! It’d be an honor to study with...umm...”
“(Y/n).”
“(Y/n)! Yes, we’d all love to study with you!” He finished his sentence with a charming smile. At least, it would have been charming to most girls. (Y/n) seemed a little put off by it.
“Well that’s great! Let’s all meet at the library after classes,” she suggested.
“Perfect! We’ll see you there!” With that, the two ringleaders of the group carefully lead the others away. Once (y/n )was out of earshot, they began to bicker among themselves.
“What were you two thinking?! Why would you agree to that?!” Remus hissed at his friends in a hushed whisper. “You two have never opened a book in your lives and you expect me to believe you want to form a study group?!”
“Relax,” James said. “We just want to get to know that girl. Having her around might be interesting.”
“What makes you think she’ll be interesting,” Peter asked.
“She’s a girl, Peter. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t at least a bit intriguing.”
“Besides, if we decide we don’t like her we can always stop going to the library,” Sirius added. “This is a victim-less crime.”
“You’re all impossible,” Remus sighed.
The rest of the school day flew by in a rush. (Y/n) packed up her things and quickly headed over to the library. She was sure she was the first of the group to arrive so she claimed a table for them by the wall. Laying out her books, she kept a sharp eye out for the boys.
It turned out she didn’t need to look very hard to find them. They entered the library in a loud, collective unit. Several students shot them dirty looks and the librarian told them to lower their voices. Unfortunately, they seemed to have volume control problem. Anyone could hear what they were saying even if they whispered.
“Remus! I’m glad you could make it,” (y/n) whispered. “What should we start on first?"
“Well I was thinking we could go over---”
“Introductions,” the boy with long black hair cut in. “I’m Sirius. This is James,” he gestured to the boy in glasses, “and Peter,” he nodded his head towards the shortest boy.
“Hi,” (y/n) said meekly.
“Now that that’s out of the way, I think we should go over tomorrow’s chapter.” Remus put his potions textbook in front of him and flipped it open to the fifth chapter. (Y/n) quickly followed suit and the pair began to read.
It didn’t take long for her to figure out why the other boys had failed so miserably during that morning’s lesson. Sirius made a show of comically turning his book every which way as if he were trying very hard to find something within its contents while James opted to poke fun at stressed looking students at other tables. Peter had been good about reading the chapter at first, but he quickly lost interest and was now using the open book as a pillow for his sleeping head.
“Sirius, what are you doing with that book?” Remus put down his quill at stared at his friend.
“Isn’t to obvious? I’m trying to read.” Sirius spun the book around on the table.
“Good luck with that. I have a hard time believing you could read anything more complicated than a picture book,” Remus said, but there was no malice to his words. In fact, he let out a lighthearted chuckle afterwards.
(Y/n)'s brow creased as she frowned. “I don’t get what’s so funny. We came here to study and we’re the only ones doing any work.” She swept her hand over the two pieces of parchment she and Remus had been filling with notes.
“Not true,” James cut in. “I’ve been doing plenty of work. I’ve spotted at least three pairs of students who fancy each other and another who’s on the brink of a mental breakdown.”
(Y/n) couldn’t help her condescending tone. “And that helps us how?"
“Isn’t there some old saying that goes all knowledge is good knowledge? It might not seem like it now, but the information I’ve gathered might be helpful one of these days.”
“Yeah, sure,” (y/n) snorted. She turned her attention to Remus. “Is it always like this with these two?”
“You have no idea.”
The five students continued their shenanigans until the entire chapter was covered. They all said their goodbyes as the boys headed off to the Gryffindor common room and (y/n) went to to the (house) common room. Even though sixty percent of their study group did absolutely nothing, (y/n) felt she was more than prepared to tackle tomorrow’s potions class.
Defense Against the Dark Arts:
While it was true that Remus was good at potions, he was on a whole other level when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts. (Y/n) watched as he skillfully used the knockback jinx. The spell was so potent that the poor student dueling him was launched to the other side of the room. (Y/n) flinched as she remembered her dueling match a few rounds before this one. She had been the one to be sent flying by her opponent.
Once class came to a close, she jogged over to Remus and his group. They had all become closer during the weeks since they started their study group and even though they were still prone to goofing off (y/n) had to admit things were a lot nicer when they were around.
“That was amazing Remus! I wish I could cast powerful jinxes like that. I don’t understand why this class is so difficult for me!” Pouting, she gave the Professor’s back a sad look. No matter how much she paid attention to the lectures her spells for this class never turned out very strong.
“It’s not your fault,” Remus assured her. “I think in order to fight against the dark arts you have to understand them to a degree. Your wand has unicorn hair at its core so it'd be hard to turn it towards the dark arts.”
Scooping up her things, (y/n) dejectedly followed the boys out into the hall. “Still, I really want to get better! The dark arts have always interested me.”
Peter nudged her side. “Don’t tell me you’re going to go all dark wizard on us.”
“No way, she’s too awful at the class to become a threat,” Sirius teased. “She’d be lucky if she could take down a bunny.”
Huffing, (y/n) faced him. “I do way better in our classes than you do, Remus is nearly a certified genius, and James can fly so well that he’s been offered a spot on the Quidditch team. Tell me Sirius, what do you do successfully?”
James, Peter, and Remus laughed at her sass. Sirius gave them all a quick glare before regaining his cool.
“I’m the attractive one in our group. I’d say I’m a successful visual.”
“Please mate, you could break a mirror with your ugly mug,” James teased.
Their group continued their banter down the hall and into their next class. Just as they were getting ready to sit down, Remus leaned over to whisper in (y/n)'s ear.
“I’d be happy to help you work on the knockback jinx after classes. We can even use the guys as targets.”
(Y/n) smirked. “Sounds good to me.”
Quidditch:
“Oh my god, he’s going to die.” (Y.n) anxiously covered her mouth with her hands as she watched the quidditch game unfold. Brooms were whizzing by at record speed as the players tried to one up their opponents. In the middle of it all was James, who was flying the fastest out of everyone.
“Relax, he’ll be fine,” Sirius assured her. In the next moment he was screaming at the top of his lungs. “James if you let those dirty Ravenclaws win I’ll castrate you!”
The game was getting intense. The score was nearly identical and the crowd was going wild. Whichever seeker caught the snitch would win it all for their team.
“Look, over there!” Peter pointed to the far right of the field. The golden snitch was hovering just in front of the section where the teachers were seated. Only a few seconds passed before it darted across the field and in view of both seekers.
The crowd’s cheering grew to an insane level as the seekers battled it out. At the same time, the other players got more intense. Defenses were tightening up and both teams were trying to get more scores in. Just as things were starting to heat up, a bludger flew into a player’s side. (Y/n) watched as the victim fell off his broom and landed on the ground. She gasped and got on the tips of her toes to catch a glimpse of him over the crowd, but her face paled once she saw the state he was in.
Arms were most definitely not supposed to bend that way. (Y/n)'s throat tightened up as she began to retch. She was the worst when it came to pain and gore, and the player's arm definitely fit both categories. Her legs became shaky as she began to imagine the agony the player must have been in.
“(Y/n), are you alright?” Remus gave her a concerned look and upon seeing her struggling state he wrapped an arm around her for support. “You’re so pale! Peter, help me carry her out of the stands, she needs some air!”
Both boys took hold of her sides and ushered her down to the grassy field behind the stands. Once there, she got on her knees and began to take deep breaths. Remus immediately knelt at her side and placed a hand on her back.
“Go get her some water. I’ll stay here and make sure nothing happens,” he told Peter. The boy nodded and ran off in the direction of the castle.
“His arm...was...backwards.” (Y/n) gasped as she spoke. The mental image was burned in her mind and she desperately wanted to get it out. “Sorry...for taking...you away from...the game...”
“Don’t worry about that. Sirius and James can fill me in later. Are you feeling any better?”
She nodded. “I--I think so.”
“Good. Here, I have some chocolate. It might help.” Reaching into his pocket, Remus broke off a small piece of chocolate from a good sized bar. (Y/n) gratefully took it and placed it in her mouth.
“Thanks Remus.”
“Don’t thank me until you’re back on your feet,” he told her. “You really had me worried back there. I thought you might faint.”
(Y/n) shook her head. “I know I look bad, but I’d like to think I’m not that fragile.”
“I’ve got some water!” Peter quickly jogged up to his two friends. “I wasn’t sure whether it should be cold or room temperature, so I put a bit of ice in it.”
“Thanks Peter,” (y/n) said as she took the cup in his hands and downed the contents. “Really, you guys shouldn’t worry. I feel a lot better.”
“It was incredible! I can’t believe you all missed it!” Sirius was the first to emerge from the large crowd exiting the stands. “James dove after the quaffle and scored right before our seeker caught the snitch! The crowd went mental!” His energetic smile faltered when he got a good look at what was going on. “Why are you two on the ground?”
Holding out a hand for (y/n), Remus got them both off of the grass. “(Y/n) wasn’t feeling well so we stepped out. Didn’t you notice?”
“Of course he didn’t,” Peter teased. “He was too busy watching his boyfriend.”
Sirius smirked and crossed his arms. “Don’t be jealous just because you don’t have what James and I do. Now come on, he’ll be expecting us.” Sirius lead the way as the four of them went off to see James. During that time, Remus was careful to never leave (y/n)'s side in case she felt ill again.
Full Moon:
This was the fourth month in a row that Remus went off to visit his mother for the weekend. Each time he returned he had a few new scars on his face and arms, but no matter how much (y/n) pressed him on the matter he never told her where they came from. By now, she was starting to suspect the worst. Was his mother abusing him? Was someone else in his household torturing him? The thought of it was nearly too much to bear.
Remus didn’t deserve to be hurt like that and if he would only open up about his situation at home then (y/n) would be more than happy to help, but until then she could only do her best to sooth the pain of the new scars he returned with.
Tossing the blanket off of her body, she got out of bed. She was too worried about her friend to sleep so she walked over to the window. Using her sleeve, she wiped it down a bit until she had a clear view of the full moon. Its light made everything look peaceful and serene. It was hard to imagine that just a short ride away Remus was getting horrible scars.
Hugging herself, she placed her forehead directly on the window and closed her eyes. Silently, she sent a prayer up to the moon.
Please let Remus be okay.
She didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep by the window until the first rays of light hit her eyelids, effectively waking her up. Rubbing her eyes, she first noticed how stiff her body felt from leaning against the window all night. The next thing she noticed was the unmistakable form of Remus walking up the path to the castle.
She didn’t even bother changing out of her pajamas. She quickly put on her shoes and raced out of the common room. It was so early that not even the professors were up. The corridors were completely empty as she ran through them. Once she made it to the front entrance, she plastered a grin on her face.
“Remus!” She jogged down the path and met him in the middle. He jumped in surprise once he caught sight of her. She wrapped him in a hug and quickly looked him over.
“(Y/n)? What are you doing up at this hour?”
“I fell asleep by the window and the sunlight woke me, but I’m glad that it did! I was so worried about you!”
Remus blinked as he registered her words. “Worried? Why would you be worried?”
Biting her lip, she frowned. “Every time you go to visit your mother you come back with more scars. Honestly Remus, you can tell me if she’s the one who gives them to you. I want to help!” She took a good look at his body. His hair was a mess and his shirt was wrinkled beyond belief, but she saw no signs of new scarring. It did nothing to calm her nerves, though. The could easily be hiding under his clothes.
“You shouldn’t worry about me. I can handle myself.” His words were uncharacteristically curt and tense. He obviously didn’t want to have this conversation.
“Please just promise me that you’ll tell me or the guys if things get too rough to handle.” She looked at him with pleading eyes and he sighed.
“Alright. If the time comes where I can’t handle it I’ll let you all know.”
Smiling, she caught him in another hug. This time, he returned it.
“We better get back inside before a teacher finds us,” she said.
“Or even worse, Filch,” Remus added. Grinning, the pair headed back to their respective common rooms until it was time for breakfast.
Valentine’s Day:
“You’re a complete ass to her best friend. She’s not going to date you,” (y/n) warned James, who was busy running a hand through his hair. He had been trying to impress a young witch for weeks and each time she turned him down.
“Persistence is key. Eventually I’ll wear her down,” he stated. “How do I look?”
“Like a gust of wind came by and blew your hair back,” Peter said. The description was accurate. The front part of his hair was pushed back so it was no longer in his face.
“Perfect. Wish me luck,” he said as he headed off to where Lily was talking with a few other girls. His call of “Oi, Evans” echoed through the corridor as (y/n) physically cringed.
“He’s going to crash and burn.”
Sirius shrugged as he watched the scene James was creating unfold. “It just fuels his fire for the next confrontation.”
As Lily began to tell James off, Remus tisked. “Guess it’s a no yet again.”
James returned to the group and did his best to play off what had happened. “I’m telling you, I’m getting to her. She’ll crack by this time next year.”
“Five galleons says she won’t,” Sirius wagered. James smirked and pushed up his glasses.
“I’ll take those odds.”
The group of kids walked into the Great Hall and settled in for dinner. Peter and (y/n) were the first to start eating while Remus and Sirius continued to tease James over his latest failure with Lily.
“You two are all talk. I’d like to see you do any better,” James said once all the teasing had finally gotten to him. “Sirius, you’re always saying how you could get any girl at the school, so why don’t you prove it?”
Sirius took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “I could get any girl here, but do they actually deserve me? The best thing for me to do would be to keep my options open and that’s not going to happen if I suddenly start asking people out.”
James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Alright Remus, what’s your excuse?”
He shrugged. “I’d rather focus on my studies and friends for the time being. Besides, there’s no one that I fancy.”
“Ugh, you’re all so boring,” James complained. “What about you (y/n)? You’ve always doubted my chances with Lily, but I’ve yet to see you try to shoot your shot with anyone.”
“Why would I even try to?” Swallowing the food in her mouth, she waved her fork as she spoke. “We’re only first years. There’ll be plenty of time for dating once we’re upperclassmen.”
“So then there’s someone you like,” James reasoned.
Frowning, (y/n) crossed her arms. “What drove you to that conclusion?”
“The only reason you gave for not wanting to date was that we’re first years. I’d think it’s logical to assume that there’s someone you fancy based off of that.”
She shook her head. “James, you’re being ridiculous. I can assure you there’s no one here that I like.”
“Aw, that just sounds like you’re trying to back out of it,” Sirius added. “Come on, we won’t tell! Who is it?”
“I’m telling you there isn’t anybody! You boys are so impossible!” Huffing, she took another forkful of food into her mouth. “I can tell you this much, though. If I ever did fancy someone they wouldn’t be as insufferable as the lot of you.”
“Oi, that hurts you know. I haven’t even said anything,” Peter complained.
“Tisk tisk, (y/n). So cruel of you to paint us all with the same brush,” Sirius teased.
(Y/n) rolled her eyes and ate as the boys continued to poke fun at her and each other.
Exams:
It was officially the last exam of the year. (Y/n)'s quill glided over her parchment as she wrote her essay. Her writing only ceased when she dipped her quill into the ink pot sitting at the corner of her desk. The professor slowly walked through the classroom to ensure no one was cheating. The small pocket watch in his hand sent a constant reminder that there was only so much time to finish this paper.
“Five minutes remain,” he announced. The sound of quills hitting parchment intensified and was accompanied by a few panicked groans. Students were becoming frantic.
Looking to the side, (y/n) caught glimpses of the boys. Remus looked to be finishing up his essay while Sirius’ parchment was still half blank. Peter was among the students frantically trying to get all their thoughts down and James was leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head.
Turning her attention back to her own work, (y/n) urged her hand to move faster. The extra speed was smearing the words ever so slightly, but she didn’t care as long as it was legible. Finishing was the top priority.
She finished her last sentence as the teacher told everyone to put down their quills. She let out a relieved sighed as her work was collected and she was dismissed. She waited outside the door for the rest of the group to appear. James was out first, saying that the essay had been a breeze. Supposedly he had managed to finish it in half the time the other students had needed. Next was Peter, who was slightly nervous as he had to cut his conclusion short. Sirius joined the fray, saying that he kept his essay short and to the point. Finally, Remus came out.
“I can’t believe that was our last exam. It was surprisingly easy,” he mused.
“If it was so easy then why’d it take you so long to finish?” James cocked his brow, obviously boasting that he had been the first to finish his essay.
“Some of us like to be thorough,” Remus reminded him.
“There’s such a thing as too thorough, though. My essay covered too many topics,” Peter complained. “I hope the actual content makes up for the awful conclusion.”
“Ah, there’s no point in worrying about it now,” James assured him. “Even if you fail the essay I’m sure your class grade will save you from repeating.”
Sirius laughed. “Yeah, the exact opposite strategy of yours!”
(Y/n) cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“James slacks off on his classwork so his grades are abysmal, but he has supernatural talent when it comes to exams,” Sirius explained. “These finals will bring his scores back from the brink of extinction.”
“Still, it’d be a lot easier to just do the work throughout the year. It’s too risky to bet everything on the exams,” Remus pointed out. “Besides, some smarts might actually seep into your thick skull if you let them.” He gently knocked his fist against James’ head for emphasis.
“Careful. We wouldn’t want you to kill off his last brain cell,” (y/n) warned as she caught Remus by the forearm. She lead his fist away from James’ head. “Lord knows he needs it.”
“For what? I never see it getting used,” Remus joked.
James frowned. “Hey, I’m not an idiot. Besides, you two have had your fair share of idiotic moments.”
“Yeah, but they haven’t had as many as you, mate,” Sirius added. The back and forth teasing went on long after they had left the corridor.
End of the Year:
The five friends crammed themselves into one carriage as the train began to depart. James and Sirius took up one of the booths while Remus and Peter sat in the other. Seeing as there wasn’t anymore space, (y/n) had to sit in Remus’ lap.
It was hard to believe the school year had already ended. The last few months really felt like they had flown by. Time had gotten lost somewhere between classes, friendly teasing, and futile study sessions. It was a bittersweet feeling, knowing that they wouldn’t see each other again for an entire season, but this group wasn’t one to let negative emotions get them down. Their carriage was certainly the loudest as it was filled with laughter and banter. If these would be their last few moments together until the start of the next school year, then by god they were going to make them count.
They spoke fondly of their time at Hogwarts and the memories they had made. It really felt like the school had become their new home. Just as they were recounting some of their newer adventures, the train came to a stop. It was time to get off and say goodbye.
As they all gathered their things, they exited the train in unison. Right before they headed off to meet with their respective families, (y/n) stopped them.
“I know we never discussed giving each other gifts, but I have something for each of you.” Opening one of her trunks, she pulled out four envelopes. She handed one to each boy and looked away in embarrassment. “You better not open those until I’m gone.”
“Aww, look who’s gone all sentimental,” James teased. He used his finger to poke her cheek and she immediately swatted his hands away.
“Oh shut up! You’re all idiots, but you’re my idiots. You can’t open them until you miss me, and you can’t miss me until I’m gone.”
Peter ran his fingers over his envelope and frowned. “You really know how to make a guy feel crummy. I didn’t get you anything in return.”
“That’s alright, I wasn’t expecting anything. Besides, it’s not like these are extravagant gifts. Just something to remind you of our time at Hogwarts until next year.” With that, (y/n) gathered her things. “I should get going. My parents are expecting me.”
She gave each boy a small hug and walked off into the crowd. Once she was gone, each boy went off in separate directions. As Remus met with his family, he couldn’t help but be curious. He opened the envelope and examined its contents.
The first thing he saw was a picture the group had taken around Christmas. In it, James and Sirius were in the back having a snowball fight while Peter, (y/n), and himself actually bothered to be in the foreground. Peter was waving and pretending to eat snow, (y/n) made a series of goofy faces, and Remus laughed at everyone’s antics. The picture looped after a stray snowball hit the back of (y/n)'s head.
Remus chuckled to himself as he remembered that day. After the snowball hit (y/n), she declared both James and Sirius to be dead men. She joined in on their fight and soon everyone was being pelted with snow. The five of them had fevers for three days afterwards.
Once he got his fill of the picture, Remus took the last thing out of the envelope: a handwritten letter.
Dear Remus,
This has been one hell of a year, hasn’t it? It’s funny to think that I owe it all to your brain. If you weren’t so good at potions I never would have become friends with any of you, so thanks for being a genius!
You better make next year as fun filled as this one. In fact, I’ll sue you if it isn’t. Still, I know you won’t let me down, especially since you have three months to think of different adventures. The clock is ticking though, so you better start brainstorming! I’m expecting excellence from you!
I know it’ll be a bit difficult to track me down in the Muggle world, so I’m leaving my address at the bottom of this parchment. Feel free to send me an owl any time. Preferably with a return address so I can send back any awful gifts.
Well, that’s all for now I suppose. See you next year!
- (Y/n)