- Chapter Twenty-Seven -
"If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know."

ANOTHER EXCRUTIATINGLY BORING FRIDAY NIGHT was coming to an end and surprisingly, this one had actually not been as painful as Sherry often anticipated when it came to the torturous sessions that her headmaster forced on her. She often wondered if the man thought they were working and actually stopped to see the improvement, which there was none of. Every Friday normally ends in a large argument until Dumbledore returns or the both of them storming quickly out of the office as soon as he returned; there was never a still moment of peace that Dumbledore had seen.

The pranks were still being passed back and forth between the two of them but the other students at Hogwarts had learned not to be scared or bothered by the endless cause of their amusement because it was quite clear that Sherry Opal and James Potter were not targeting anyone else apart from each other. It gave them quite a reprieve in comparison to the previous year at Hogwarts when they could barely turn a corner without checking first in case the four infamous Gryffindors were planning something.

Now they could walk peacefully knowing the loud bang behind them was just ten dungbombs sneaked into Potter's bag or the round of gasps was just something happening to one of the two engaged in the so called 'war'. Sirius Black was getting a little bit restless, anyone could see, since his usual partner in crime was occupied with thinking of new things to target Sherry with that the group wasn't doing their normal pranking on the Slytherins; Remus and Peter didn't seem to mind the no pranking, happy to get their heads down and buried in their work especially since it was O.W.L year

He had even gone as far to approach Potter as he left the common room for his usual Friday night agenda and suggest moving on from the person he had sworn his enemy. But Potter had promised to talk later and disappeared from the common room and begun making his way to his headmasters office to spend a couple of hours with the most annoying person on the planet in his opinion.

It was safe to say he was surprised when the session didn't turn out like it normally did, endless bickering and insults before they separated themselves from each other. Actually, Sherry didn't even seem to notice when he came in because she was huddled in her usual chair inside the office, a book instead of a magazine in her lap as her eyes scanned the pages eagerly.

He just sat and rested, careful not to fall asleep in her presence in case she tried anything but she was so engrossed in her book and the pile  of them next to her that he didn't see an point in distracting her; it would probably only end in a slap anyway after their argument and no matter how tempting the urge to annoy her was, he left her be with the songs from the radio that was playing when he entered.

The two hours seemed to be coming to an end as the usual sight of the moon rose high above the trees, not quite a full moon. That was next week and unfortunately, an essay on werewolves was due that day too. Mrs. Greene hadn't made Remus' life easier but with the help of his friends, he suspected he'd be okay. No words had been spoken and he was getting restless just thinking why she hadn't spoken or at least said anything yet but when a new tune came from the radio, he heard her voice for the first time that night.

"It's a little bit funny," She softly hummed along to the song coming out of the radio; he didn't recognise it so he reckoned it was a muggle song that he didn't know. "This feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide."

Potter sat awkwardly, against the windows where he normally sat in the office and peered through the gaps of the legs of the desk and chairs so he had a small view of the American sat on the chair, her finger tracing a sentence in the book.

"I don't have much money, but," She continued, turning the page once her finger had traced the last sentence. "boy, if I did. I'd buy a big house where we both could live...if I was a sculptor-"

"What's that song called?"

"HOLY SHIT!" She jumped, her body jolting in shock as she exclaimed loudly and the book splayed open in her lap slid off of her and onto the floor with a loud thud as it fell shut with the momentum. Potter pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing at her reaction as she looked around wildly before glancing down and meeting his eyes through the gaps of furniture.

"You okay?" He asked her, smirking as her chest heaved up and down in heavy breaths from being scared.

"What the fuck, Potter?" She asked, slumping back in her seat without picking the book up from the floor since she was still trying to recover from the fright she had received. "What the hell is your problem...and when the hell did you get here?"

He flicked his arm out slightly and checked the watch on his wrist, it shone and glinted in the light given from the bright fire-lit lamps around them giving the impression that it was new...and very expensive by the looks of it. Sherry figured he had gotten it for Christmas and tapped her foot quietly on the floor whilst pursing her lips, she was wearing the shoes Amber had gotten for her over skin-coloured tights which served as a way to keep her legs from being on show.

Her outfit was much more thought out than her normal Friday sweaters and jeans since at lunch, Matt had ventured over the table and asked her if she wanted to go on a walk with him after classes. Of course she said yes but she had no idea that something as simple as a walk could make her heart flutter, so she excused herself to the bathroom twenty minutes until the lessons end to go and get ready; Amber gave her a reprimanding look as she left, answered by a middle finger as she walked out with a sweet smile to her friend.

It had been a bit of a rush, especially when she had been stuck outside of the common room for 5 minutes because of the stupid knocker. Then she had gone rooting through her clothes, deciding what Matt would like best. She chose a simple white skirt and a red button-up blouse that she tied at the front just above the waistband of her skirt; the buttons were undone all the way to the top of her cleavage, she had to make herself look eye-catching, and then the rest of them were buttoned when she tied it round.

"Wow," A voice had said when she had traipsed down the stairs into the entrance hall biting her lip with slight anxiety, she had turned her head to see Matt stood by one of the corridors and staring at her with a smile which made her smile too as she walked up to him. "You're...really pretty."

"Thank you." She had grinned, trying to keep the embarrassing blush on her face down as he stared at her. Her hands then reached out to pluck at the collar of the shirt he was wearing. "Don't look so bad yourself."

He laughed slightly and they stood in a small silence for a couple of seconds whilst they admired each other before they started their walk. They mainly just went around the grounds and made conversation with each other, things varying from family life (which Sherry let him take the lead on and gave very little information about her own but he didn't seem to mind if anything he tried to change the subject after seeing her hesitance) and how school was.

He complimented her Quidditch skills and smiled when she smirked slightly cockily at the mention of them, he could tell that she was confident about her level of skill compared to the way she smiled sweetly when he complimented her looks in the way he did. They ended up holding hands when she nearly tripped over a stone and he grabbed her arm to stop her from falling and when she was steady, his hand had slowly travelled down to hers where they laced together.

Amber, Oliver and Louis all smirked and raised their eyebrows at her when she returned to the common room before she had to be at Dumbledore's office with the biggest smile on her face and the brightest colour of red on her cheeks. She sat with them for a small while before making her way to the headmasters office and taking advantage of his books on werewolves whilst they waited for Potter, she was too engrossed in her reading that she didn't noticed him come in or Dumbledore leave and his sudden question had scared her out of her wits.

"I got here two hours ago." He looked away from his watch and back at her, watching as her eyes went wide and she stared at him incredulously. "You've just been sat there reading...hey, if you didn't think I was here why didn't you leave?"

"Once I'm in, I can't get out until the old man comes back, dingus." She told him and he scowled, sighing and letting himself recall the charm their headmaster had put on the door that prevented their leave. "Which is so fucking stupid because Lily's party is on a Friday and I'm gonna miss it."

"Evans is having a party?" Potter perked up at the sound of her name, looking at the blonde and taking silent note of how she was dressed up instead of in her usual 'i-don't-want-to-be-here-let-me-leave' attire.

"One that you're not invited to, dickwad." She smiled wryly, enjoying the sight of his middle finger directed at her as she put a hand on her heart and muttered a small 'aw' as he rolled his eyes and let his hand drop.

"She might invite me, I'd be better company then you." He scoffed and she nodded slowly, raised eyebrows and a tight smile on her face as she leaned down to pick back up the thick book and Potter did a double take at the sight of it. "Werewolves?"

Sherry smirked, acting clueless as she looked over at him. "For the essay."

"Right." He nodded and listened as the song slowly came to an end before launching into another that Sherry hummed under her breath as she flipped through pages in the book to find her original place. "You never told me what the song was."

"Your Song by Elton John." She said and Potter stopped himself from saying 'my song?' because he realised that Your Song was the name of the song and he didn't want to give her a chance to insult him.

The clicking of the lock on the door had both of their eyes snapping over to it and Sherry closed the book again, grabbing the rest on the pile next to her and sliding them into the shelf where she had taken them from. She had no bag with her, just herself so when Dumbledore came in through the door and took off his travelling cloak, she wasted no time in walking past him and down the stairs until she reached the corridor below.

And as usual, Remus was on his prefect duties and with an idea, she approached.

"Roar!" She jumped him, hands on his shoulders as he flinched and yelled out in fear but quickly tried to play it off as a cough and a laugh as he turned, mentally berating himself for getting scared by the same person who does it every single Friday.

"Stop doing that, you're gonna give me a heart attack." He scolded her and she smiled up at him, a knowing glint coming to her eyes that Remus didn't quite like. "It's almost curfew."

"Yeah, I'll prowl around a bit longer." She said in a thoughtful tone, pursing her lips and looking around. Remus didn't like the way she said prowl. "Or maybe not, best not to break any claws. Did I say claws? I meant laws."

Remus stared at her small smile and with dread, realised what the knowing glint in her eyes was about as she smiled teasingly at him and brushed past in the direction of the staircase that lead to Ravenclaw Tower. He was half-frozen, half-twitching to go and drag her into the nearest broom closet and beg her not to tell anyone. The second option felt like the best choice.

With his long legs, it was easy to run forward and grab her arm before pulling her into a conveniently placed broom cupboard. He let her go further in whilst he shut the door behind them and stared at it for a moment before he turned around slowly to be faced with a smiling instead of a smirking Sherry as they stood almost pressed up against each other in the cupboard.

"Sherry-"

"Remus...you're like a brother to me." She reached to put her hands on his shoulders as she looked into his eyes firmly. "So, this is a little weird."

It took a moment for him to understand what she meant and when she did, he scrunched up his nose and pushed her hands off of his shoulders with a fed-up look on his face as she laughed and crossed her arms over chest to stand in front of him; he looked distressed and she felt slightly guilty for teasing him before so she decided to take the lead.

"Look, Remus...I don't care." Sherry said simply, shrugging her shoulders and Remus let his tensed shoulders relax the slightest bit as he tried to hold eye contact but it failed a couple of times as he glanced away anxiously to the side multiple times. "I don't care that you're a werewolf, I don't care if you're extremely hairy under those clothes and I do not care if you need manicures to keep your nails in check...you're kind of cool. And that's saying something considering you hang around with Potter."

Remus smiled weekly, going to rub his neck but due to the small proximity he hit Sherry in the chin and quickly let his arm drop down after he had done so. "Sorry. And, uh...you really don't mind?"

"It's not like you're gonna send me to the Hospital Wing." She laughed and he shrugged nervously. "Besides, I can handle it. And I won't tell anyone either, I feel like that's important."

"Yeah, really important." He chuckled and she nodded slowly, a small smile coming up and she tried to force it down in order to not to let herself show that maybe she cared a little bit. "Thanks, Sher." His eyes grew wide. "Sherry."

She only smirked, going to walk past him and he moved out of the way quickly as she opened the door to the cupboard and exited, Remus behind her so they were back out in the hallway. He smiled at her again and began to walk away back to his normal prefect spot, Sherry watched his back before she called out to him.

"Remus!" She said and he turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. For a moment, she considered telling him not to worry about but the words had already left her before she could take them back. "If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know. Full moons next week."

He looked as though he could cry but all he did was nod and accept her smile as she turned and strutted away down the corridor to get back to the common room.

At least now he could stop lying about his mum being sick...

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A/N: soft sherry is my religion