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“Come on, darling, I want to know where we’re going!” Remus whined as you dragged him towards the surprise spot.
“We’re almost there, love” you giggled as you entered the little room, now cleaned up and filled with blankets, pillows and floating candles. “Alright, you can open your eyes now.”
He did, and the unreadable expression on his face as he took in the little room made your heart rate speed up. You’d been so nervous to show Remus the surprise you were working on for the past couple of days and now that you finally did, you were anxious about his reaction.
It was no secret to you that Remus hates the Shrieking Shack, for it brings back the worst memories of his transformations and the pain he endures every full moon. You were determined to change that, so one day you came here during a free period and assessed the place. There was a lot of dust and the furniture was in dire need of repair, but you could definitely turn it into a nice, cozy space where new memories would take form and replace the bad ones.
Since then you have been coming here every chance you got and put your plan in motion.
*
You started by dusting off and airing the room, then moved on to the broken furniture. This was a harder task, sorting out what could be useful and what was beyond repair, then fixing up the pieces you decided to keep. The process took you two days, but the result was worth it, as the tiny room looked less spooky and more welcoming.
By the third day, Remus started noticing your disappearances. He knew you were hiding something and he decided to confront you about it.
“Where are you off to, my dear?” you heard Remus’ voice behind you just as you were leaving the castle.
“To Hagrid’s. He’s got this new puppy he needs help training and I offered” you lied.
He didn’t look convinced.
You hated lying to your boyfriend, but you didn’t want to spoil anything. After all, it was just a few more days of waiting and hopefully, he’ll like the surprise.
You started in the direction of Hagrid’s Hut until you were out of sight for anyone standing at the entrance of the castle, then turned back towards the Whomping Willow, slipping through the tunnel unseen.
Once inside the Shack, you got to work. With the room cleaned and fixed up, you moved on to the smaller things. You replaced the ripped curtains on the four poster bed with new ones, thick enough to drown out the light coming from the window during the day and changed the dusty old sheets.
You made sure to bring a few blankets the last time you came here, along with books and chocolate – lots of chocolate.
On the fourth day, you were nearly done with the place. You brought a few candles which you left on the nightstand and moved on to the final touch – and your favorite part of this whole project – the ceiling. You’ve always been enchanted by the Great Hall ceiling, spelled to portray the beautiful night sky.
You asked Professor Flitwick about it the other day and convinced him to teach you the proper charm to do it. It took a few tries until you succeeded, the excitement of finally being able to show Remus this place overwhelming you.
When you were done, you turned around for one last look around, making sure everything was in place. Tomorrow will be the big day and as excited as you were before, you were also very, very nervous. You changed the whole place and made it into an actual living space, but would he like it, or resent the mere idea of getting anywhere near it before a full moon?
Well, there was no going back now.
*
“Do you like it?” you asked, nervously biting your lip when the silence became overbearing.
You were worried now, as he kept looking around the small room, his expression unchanged. Had it been a mistake? Should you have left the place as it was before and not interfere? You knew he wanted you as far from this building as possible as if to keep you as far away from Moony as he could, but…
“Like it? Y/N, I love it! I-I can’t believe…you did all of this…for me?” he asked, now facing you. There were unshed tears in his eyes, as well as love – so much love – for you.
You felt the tension release your body and you beamed. He liked it, he truly liked it.
“Yes, Remus. You have so many painful memories attached to this place, I thought I’d give you some good ones too. I thought this could be our secret spot, away from the boys…” you trailed off, still watching him.
His face broke into a huge smile hearing your intentions.
“I’d like that, darling. I’d like that very much.”
He closed the distance between the two of you and pulled you to him, kissing you passionately and taking your breath away, as his arms closed around your waist. You kissed until the both of you needed air and when you parted, he pulled you into a bone crushing hug, burying his face into the crook of your neck.
The moment was short lived, as he pulled away suddenly.
“Wait, does this mean you were not helping Hagrid train his puppy?” he asked confused.
You giggled “No, I’m sorry I lied. I just needed time to finish all of this.” you apologized, hoping he won’t get mad at you for lying.
“S’alright, my love. The surprise was worth it.” he reassured you, placing a loving kiss on your forehead.
You muttered a charm and the piano sprung to life, playing beautifully in the background.
“Dance with me?” you whispered as you wrapped your arms around him, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
“My love, you know I am a horrid dancer.” he tried to protest but you were having none of it, dragging him to the middle of the room and resuming your previous position, moving slowly to the soft music that filled the room. You couldn’t care less about his dancing skills, especially in this very moment.
“I love you so much, Y/N” Remus whispered before kissing the crown of your head.
“I love you too, Remus. So much” you whispered back, kissing him once more.