House: Gryffindor

- Remus' POV -

I was slumped in the big armchair next to the fire, it radiating plenty of heat to fill the common room despite it being December. I had my head rested on my arms that laid against the arm of the chair, and I stared into the orange flicker of the fire not taking note of that which was around me. I was still trying to recover from the full moon two nights ago, and I found it quite soothing to watch the flames as they danced, ignoring the world around me.

That was until I heard the melodic laugh off (y/n), the beautiful girl I had immense feelings for. I looked around and saw her appear from round the corner where I assumed she had just entered through the portrait hole. She was walking with Lily, the two of them laughing about something. I could sit and listen to her laugh all day, and watch her smile happily. My eyes followed her as she walked across the room towards the stairs that led up to the dorm rooms, and once she was out of sight I let out a sigh.

"Wow dude, you really are whipped," Sirius laughed, him having caught me stare at her.

"Shove off," I blushed a little, looking back towards the fire.

"Why don't you do something about it instead of silently moping after her?" Sirius asked.

"Because she could do so much better than me," I admitted and Sirius sighed dramatically.

"This isn't any of this 'I'm a monster' crap is it? Because you really need to let that go-,"

"No, it's not to do with that it's- well it's to do with everything. I haven't got anything to offer her, I won't be able to give her the safe and loving relationship she deserves... she can do so much better than me."

"You know sometimes you can be really dramatic," Sirius laughed and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Moony, you love her don't you?" He asked. I had recently realised that my feelings for her were that strong, so I nodded. "Then there's no reason not to try! (y/n) won't care about the materialistic side of a relationship, she'll only want someone who's just as mad about her as she is about them. And to be honest, I'm getting some vibes from her that she might be interested in you too," Sirius winked and my eyes widened.

"I highly doubt that," I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Can't you see the way she acts when she's around you? I thought you were supposed to be smart," Sirius laughed. I just stayed quiet and instead kept my eyes trained on the flickering flames of the fire whilst my thoughts went to (y/n).

- (y/n)'s POV -

"You really think I should ask him?" I asked Lily, the two of us having just gotten back up to our dorm room after spending an evening with the Slug Club. In my hand I held two fancy tickets for Professor Slughorn's annual Christmas party, one for me and one for a guest. Since we were given these tickets I had been thinking about asking Remus, as I had slight feelings for him, not massive but enough to be considered a crush.

"Yeah, I think he'd be interested," Lily smirked.

"I don't know... a party like this, it's not really his kind of place is it? I mean, he stays up in the common room slouched on the sofa reading whenever he's not doing prefect rounds or subtly aiding in the Marauders trouble. I couldn't picture him enjoying himself at a party, especially like the ones Slughorn throws," I said and she hummed in apparent agreement.

"Well if you won't ask him, who will you ask?" Lily questioned.

"I don't think I'll ask anyone... if it's not him, I wouldn't want a partner," I admitted. "A-anyway... who're you asking?"

"It's... it's a surprise," Lily spoke quickly, blushing a little. "Anyway, I'm off to sleep now, goodnight!" And before I could question her further she had buried herself under her blankets.

- Timeskip -

It was a cold Saturday morning but the large fires in the Great Hall were doing an excellent job of keeping the place warm as everyone had their breakfast. I was sat with the Marauders and a few others as I ate, then spotting Lily wander into the hall. She approached us and I noticed she was holding onto the Christmas party tickets. My eyes widened as I saw her eyes trained on James, then approaching him and tapping his shoulder.

"Potter," she said simply, nerves in her voice. Her simply saying his name made everyone in the area quieten down and watch whatever was about to happen.

"Evans! Looking as beautiful as ever," James flirted with her as though it was second nature.

"Listen... Slughorn's having a Christmas party and- and I got an extra ticket," she held it in front of him as he stared at it, wide-eyed. "I-I want you to come with me... as a date," she mumbled the last part but everyone's mouths dropped. James looked as though he had just been put under cardiac arrest, his whole body frozen as he stared at Lily. She quickly put the tickets down in front of him and ran out of the hall.

"Prongs," Peter attempted to snap James from his daze.

"Oi, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, clicking his fingers in front of his face.

"What... did she just... did she?" He was having trouble comprehending the fact Lily had just asked him on a date, and his dazed state made me laugh a little. For the remainder of breakfast his eyes were glued to the ticket, apparently still trying to register that his romantic advances my finally be registered, however soon attention turned to me.

"So, (y/n), did you get any of those plus one tickets? You're part of the Slug Club, aren't ya?" Sirius asked almost mockingly.

"I did get one, yes," I said, glancing at Remus who had his eyes trained on me.

"Who're you taking then?" Sirius asked. I glanced quickly at Remus again, wanting to just ask him there and then.

"I don't know," I mumbled, looking down at my food.

"You've not got anyone in mind?" Sirius teased and I looked up at him irritably. He seemed to send a quick glance to Remus, making me think he had figured out my small crush on the prefect but I remained ignorant.

"No," I said simply. "I'm gonna go find Lily, I'll see you all later," I added, waving at the boys before leaving the Great Hall. I did want to invite Remus, even if it was just as a friend but I knew that a party, especially one like Slughorn's, wouldn't be his cup of tea so I wasn't sure whether I wanted to ask anyone. If it couldn't be him, then it'd be no-one.

When I was back in the common room I spotted my red-headed best friend with her head down, over a bit of parchment undoubtably trying to distract herself from what she had just done. "So, James huh?" I teased her, sitting opposite.

"Yeah... I felt like it was time to give him a chance... did he seem happy? Once I had left?"

"Happy? Lily, he was completely frozen, he couldn't believe that the girl of his dreams had finally agreed to go on a date with him!" I laughed and she smiled, blushing a little.

"Anyway, what about you? Have you asked Remus yet?" She asked and I let out a sigh.

"No, and I don't think I'm going to. I just know he'd be saying yes to be polite and then actually during the party he'd just be bored... I don't think I'd enjoy that either," I admitted and she hummed in agreement.

"So you're really okay just going on your own?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Yeah... I might not stay for long, but I think it'll still be fun," I said with a smile.

- Timeskip - - Remus' POV -

It was the evening of Slughorn's Christmas party, and I assumed now I was never going to be invited by (y/n). Sirius kept on assuring me she was going to ask but each day brought the party closer and there was no signs she was interested in asking me. What calmed me down a little was the fact that I had overheard Lily and James talking, her telling him that (y/n) hadn't asked anyone.

I checked my watch and realised it was soon time for me to go on my prefect rounds, so I said goodnight to Sirius and Peter who were undoubtedly going to be asleep on my return. James had already left with Lily to go to the party, and I assumed (y/n) had as well but I never saw her.

I sighed and left the warmth of the common room, a cold chill immediately sending shivers down my spine. It was now 21:00 and I was to be on patrol until 23:00, and even past that time the prefects would get into trouble if they were caught in the corridors. As always, when I had nothing else to distract me, I found my mind wandering towards (y/n). I wasn't sure how I had managed to get this hung up over a girl but she had overtaken many thoughts in my mind.

She was beautiful, that much was obvious. I had a feeling that tonight she'd look particularly gorgeous in whatever fancy outfit she was wearing, and I wondered what the party was like. I hoped more than anything that there wasn't anyone there trying to make a move on her, or trying to get her to dance with them frankly because I knew she'd be too polite to turn them down. Not only was she beautiful, she was intelligent and passionate about the subjects she loved. She may not have believed she had such qualities, but to me they were obvious.

I let out a big sigh, wandering down the moving staircases and not really paying attention to where I was going or what was around me. It was pitch black outside and the light from the nearly full moon put me on edge. I wondered what she'd think of me if she knew what I was, if she knew that I was hiding such a big secret. Due to her love of magical creatures and the kindness in her heart I hoped that she wouldn't mind, but the last thing I wanted to do was scare her or worse, hurt her, so perhaps it was for the best that we stay apart.

"What's wrong with me," I let out another sigh, realising just how tightly she had me wrapped around her finger. I rubbed the back of my neck, turning a corner at the end of a corridor when I suddenly collided with someone straight on. "Oh sorry- (y/n)?"

"Remus, hi," she smiled sweetly and I felt my cheeks heat up as I soaked in her appearance. She was wearing a beautifully fitted dark green dress that flowed down to her calves. A matching green shawl wrapped around her otherwise bare arms that seemed to have goosebumps running up them. "Er- Remus? Are you okay?" She snapped me from my thoughts and I realised then that I was staring at her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine... aren't you supposed to be at Slughorn's party?" I asked and she smiled sadly.

"Well I was there but I noticed that pretty much everyone had brought a date. Most of them started slow dancing, even James and Lily, and I didn't fancy being a wallflower so I just decided to head back to the common room," she shrugged nonchalantly, a cold shiver running through her.

"You must be freezing, here wear this," I said quickly, pulling off my cardigan.

"N-no, it's okay, I don't want you getting cold," she said, waving her hands in front of her.

"Honestly I'll be fine, you need it more than I do," I handed it to her and she smiled sweetly, taking it from me. Despite now only having a shirt on my top half, I felt oddly warm seeing her wear my clothes.

"Mm, this is so warm," she complemented, wrapping it around her tightly. "You have the nicest of cardigans, I've always wanted to try one on," she added, catching me off-guard.

"Really?"

"Really, although I don't think anyone can pull them off quite like you can," she laughed making me smile. "So what were you doing wandering the castle this late?"

"Just doing some boring prefect duties, nothing too special," I shrugged.

"Can I keep you company? Only I don't actually fancy going back to the common room just yet," she said cheekily.

"You really want to spend the evening with me?" I wanted to make sure I was hearing her correctly.

"Yeah, unless that isn't allowed Mr Prefect," she teased playfully.

"If it's you then of course it's allowed," I said before I could stop myself. "C'mon, I was just heading to the Entrance Hall."

- (y/n)'s POV -

His cardigan felt so warm wrapped around my body tightly, it was so fluffy and smelt so good. I was a little shocked by his words but found myself smiling at them, following him round after he spoke. "So what do you do on these prefect rounds?" I asked.

"Well we only really look for people who's out past curfew, then we have to escort them back to their dorm room," he said simply and I nodded, looking around. "So how was the party?"

"Fun to begin with, but then the music turned slow and pretty much everyone had brought dates who they were then dancing with. I didn't fancy being asked to dance by any of Slughorn's old Slug Club alumni he invites every year so I decided to sneak out," I said and we both laughed. "James looked utterly bewitched when he was dancing with Lily, if I had a camera I would've definitely taken a picture."

"Tonight was all he could spend the last few days talking about, and no doubt we'll continue to hear about it afterwards," Remus said with his charming smile. "So... why didn't you invite anyone? A date, I mean?"

I gulped, unsure on how to answer. "E-er, well I just couldn't imagine anyone would really be interested in coming along with me," I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head.

"Really? Why not?" He asked.

"I don't know really..." I mumbled, averting eye contact. "I guess some people wouldn't be too interested in a party like that anyway."

"I suppose, Slughorn can be a bit eccentric," Remus pointed out the obvious.

"Would you have wanted to go to a party like that?" I dared to ask, trying to keep it casual however he must've picked up on the nerves in my voice as his cheeks went slightly pink and he looked at me with surprise. I sighed, deciding to just tell him the truth. If there was no reciprocation then I'd just head back to the common room and hope all of this would've been forgotten by tomorrow. "I planned of asking you to that party Remus, but I just assumed you wouldn't be interested in a party like that and that you'd be too polite to turn me down."

"You wanted to invite me?" He seemed shocked but I nodded my head. "As a... as a date?"

"Yeah, because... well I've grown to have a small crush on you. Despite Lily repeatedly telling me to invite you I thought you wouldn't like such an event, and the last thing I wanted to do was put you off," I explained but he stood frozen.

"You like me?" He asked and I smiled, nodding. "But... why? Aren't I boring, plain?"

"No, you're neither of those things, your smart, secretly mischievous and your sarcastic humour always makes me laugh," I said reassuringly. "You're also quite nice to look at," I added with a teasing wink. This caused his cheeks to burn bright red, which only made me laugh a little more. "And what about you... am I just a friend to you or is there a chance I could be more-,"

"Be my girlfriend!" He exclaimed suddenly, his body rigid and his eyes widening when he realised what he had just said. "I mean- I- er-,"

"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Remus," I beamed brightly, my heart beating wildly in my chest. Without a moments hesitation I wrapped my arms around him tightly, breathing in his scent. He too held me close, my body fitting perfectly up against his. "Now I'm glad I didn't invite you to that party, this was so much more romantic," I gestured the courtyard we had found our way into, the moon and the stars beaming down on us.

"Agreed," he smiled gently, cupping my cheeks. I clutched onto his shirt as he pulled me in, our lips meeting gently in the middle. Small fireworks ignited inside of me, encasing my entire body with warmth. Our lips moved gently against each others with romantic passion before we pulled away for breath. We smiled uncontrollably at each other, laughing happily and hugging under the twinkling stars in the sky.