DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ82: BLIBBERING HUMDINGERS & MOON FROGSϟ

When Rhea and Remus stumbled back into the common room with their cheeks flushed and their lips pulled to a grin, they found their friends waiting for them impatiently. Apparently, they'd all been waiting to offer their congratulations to the couple. Which they did.

Quite chaotically and smugly, if she might add.

It was as though Rhea had announced the news of her marriage with Remus, honestly.

Marlene, Mary, Peter and Luna had just smiled widely at them, their happiness and aura extremely contagious. Lily'd simply cheered and hugged Remus and Rhea, warning Remus in an undertone that he'd have to face consequences if he ever broke Rhea's heart.

To which James'd immediately did the same to Rhea, promising to declare war if she ever hurt Remus.

Sirius had simply rolled his eyes, though even he hadn't been able to hide his grin. He'd formally shook hands with Rhea as though he was a businessman, but Rhea knew the gesture meant that all was well between them.

When they'd walked into the Great Hall, the next morning, Rhea immediately caught Dumbledore's eyes, and he gave her a subtle wink, his eyes twinkling. McGonagall cracked a faint smile at the sight of their clasped hands, and there were a few wolf-whistles from the Gryffindor table, which were immediately silenced upon McGonagall's quelling glare.

Severus had extended the ban on Rhea and Remus visiting him because apparently, he still didn't want 'two sappy, moony eyed fools' adding to his emotional stress.

But Rhea swore up and down that she saw the faintest smile on his face when he glanced at Rhea's fingers interlocked with Remus's.

He denied it, of course.

"'Morning!" Rhea said brightly as she and Remus sat down along with the rest of their friends. Severus was still sitting in the Slytherin table while Dorcas and Amy were not to be seen.

"'Morning." Everyone chorused, their grins widening as they saw the two love struck teenagers sit down goofily.

"You look happy." Mary remarked casually. "Normally you look like a grumpy koala in the mornings."

Rhea's smile widened. "Dunno what you're talking about."

"Well, about time." Marlene huffed, glaring at Remus and Rhea. "I was on the verge of getting wrinkles with all the stuff going on between you two."

"So true," Timothy agreed, sipping some coffee, "the tension was overwhelming."

"Leave them be." Peter said reproachfully. "I, for one, am glad they took their time to sort things out. Rushing it would've been catastrophic."

"Thanks, Pete." Rhea smiled appreciatively at him, before pulling a toast towards her and buttering it liberally. Lily had her head in her hands, apparently too sleepy to eat. James was in the process of doing breathing exercises, while Luna gulped down her daily dose of gurdyroot juice (something that made Sirius retch).

"Well, they certainly didn't rush things yesterday night in the broom closet," Sirius teased, making everyone snigger. "I'm proud of Moony. Never thought I'd see this day coming."

"Shut up, Pads." Remus rolled his eyes, though there was a grin on his face. He reached for Rhea's under the table, interlocking their fingers and eating with his left hand innocently as though nothing had happened.

Rhea's lips involuntarily pulled to a smile. She ignored the swooping feeling in her stomach. "Hands to yourself, Lupin."

He grinned, clumsily lifting a cup of coffee to his mouth with his left hand. "Don't complain about the things you like, Arquette."

Marlene and Sirius burst out laughing at Rhea's expression. James, who was closing his eyes, deep in meditation, immediately cracked an eyelid open. "Your flirting is interrupting my yogic ambiances."

"Shut up, you hypocrite." Rhea grumbled. "You can hardly keep your hands off Lily."

"Say my name?" Lily mumbled, looking at Rhea's general direction with her eyes closed. "Yeah, Potter is an idiot."

James whistled under his breath. "That's my girlfriend, you all."

"So, are you aware of the 'Blibbering Humdingers and the Moon Frogs' talk, Remus?" Luna chimed dreamily, turning her large eyes towards him.

Remus was baffled. "I—what?"

"That's her version of the 'birds and the bees' talk." Rhea said, trying not to laugh.

Remus choked violently on his coffee, his eyes wide and his cheeks a brilliant shade of magenta. Sirius, Marlene and James looked confused.

"The what, now?" they chorused curiously.

"The 'birds and the bees'." Peter cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. "is, um..."

"For Merlin's sake." Mary snapped. "that's the metaphor people use to explain human reproduction."

The boys flushed dark red at this.

"Well?" Luna said with maddening patience. "are you aware of the Blibbering Humdingers—?"

"Please stop calling it that." Timothy grimaced, not touching his breakfast. "Please stop."

"Would you rather I call it the 'fire crabs and nargles' talk?" Luna asked with genuine curiosity.

"Agh!" Remus groaned in frustration, releasing his grip on Rhea's hand and covering his face. "Stop this blasphemy!"

"Please don't." Lily said teasingly, now fully awake. "I'm having too much fun with this conversation."

"Hiya!" a cheery voice interrupted them, and they all turned to find Regulus standing behind them, a bright grin on his face. "What're you up to?"

"Ah, Reggie." Sirius grinned, opening his arms for a dramatic hug. But Regulus sat in between Regulus and Rhea, turning to look at them smugly. 

"About time." He said, grinning. "I was wondering when you two would finally open your bloody eyes. Hey, Boot. Luna."

"Black." Timothy nodded, passing a plate of toast to him. 

"Regulus." Luna turned to him expectantly. "We were talking about—"

"Dumbledore's beard." Remus interrupted loudly. "We were talking about how Dumbledore's beard looks too good to be real."

"Oh." Regulus looked surprised. "Well, why do you care about the Headmaster's beard?" His eyes caught Sirius's, who was still sitting with his arms outstretched. "What are you doing, Sirius?"

"You ignored me." Sirius snapped, genuinely offended. All of them rolled their eyes at Sirius's theatrics, but Regulus cracked a smile and just chucked a piece of toast at his brother, who dodged it. 

To which, James hummed as calmly as he could. "Don't waste food."

Luna gave him an amused smile, but then asked Regulus. "Where's Amy? I couldn't find Dorcas when I woke up."

"I dunno." Regulus answered easily, removing the crust from his toast. "Maybe—"

As if on cue, two girls came rushing to where they were sitting, their faces flushed and their uniforms creased. Amy was sporting a swollen lip, and Dorcas's ebony hair was messed up. 

Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground. Rhea, Lily, Marlene, Luna and Mary grinned at this, while the boys blatantly goggled at the sixth year girls. 

Poor Regulus was clueless.

"Never thought you two liked exercising." He remarked, and everyone looked incredulously at him. Both Amy and Dorcas blushed furiously, but kept their silence. "Come and sit. We've got fifteen minutes until classes start."

Sirius stared at his brother disbelievingly. Then, he shook his head. "Regulus, brother?"

"Yes?" Regulus deadpanned.

"You've got a lot to learn."