The Marauders: Moony

Remus and The L-Word

Remus felt torn about the end of the school year fast approaching. On one hand, there was a sense of relief. Exams were over, and he would have no assignments or school work to do over the Summer. On the other hand, Remus felt sad to be saying goodbye to his friends and to Freya. Of course he would see them all over the Summer, but it wouldn't be every day, as he was currently used to. 

"I promise that I'll write every single day." Freya had told him as they sat and watched the sunset on top of the astronomy tower.

"If you write every day, then you'll run out of things to write about." Remus had responded, although he had struggled to stop the smile creeping onto his face.

"I'm sure I'll find something!" Freya had responded cheerfully. 

Remus looked over at her, and she gave him a familiar smile. The L-word was once again on his mind. He knew that he wanted to tell her, but he was afraid that it was the wrong time. He thought about how the Hogwarts Express would be picking them up in a couple of days time to take them back to King's Cross Station. The memory of his last trip on the Hogwarts Express came to mind. Christmas time. When she was avoiding him. He didn't want to make a mistake and risk losing her again.

Remus had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realised he had been staring at her. She shook her head as her smile grew wider.

"What's on your mind?" She asked him, breaking him out of the trance.

"Nothing." Remus mumbled, turning away to look at the fluffy pink clouds. 

The following day, all of the students gathered in the Great Hall for the annual House Cup ceremony. The air was full of anticipation and speculation over which house would win the cup this year. 

Every student was dressed in their smartest robes and sitting at their respective house tables. Each table was intricately adorned with its house colours and banners. Thousands of candles floated in the air, giving the vast hall a warm glow. 

The ceremony began with a procession of the Hogwarts faculty. Leading the procession was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He lead the professors to the head table, where they sat, overlooking all of the students. 

Professor Dumbledore began to award the achievement points. Sportsmanship, bravery, acts of kindness. Remus listened intently as house points were gained for each award. Between each award, a hushed silence fell around the hall as everyone listened intently.

"For his unwavering dedication to his studies, exceptional knowledge, and remarkable academic achievements, this year's award for Academic Excellence goes to Remus Lupin!" Professor Dumbledore announced.

"YES MOONY!" Sirius shouted with enthusiasm, giving Remus a hard pat on the back, almost causing him to choke on his pumpkin juice.

Cheers erupted from around the entire hall, not just from the Gryffindor table. Remus had not been expecting to get an award, especially not one for academic excellence after he felt that he did so badly in his exams. He felt his cheeks glowing pink as students around the hall turned to look at him. 

Anticipation built with each announcement, until it was finally time for the winning house to be announced. 

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for. The house with the most points this year, and hence the winner of the annual House Cup is... Ravenclaw."

The Great Hall erupted into thunderous applause as the Ravenclaw students jumped to their feet, cheering and hugging one another. The Ravenclaw banners seemed to come alive, fluttering joyfully as if celebrating their victory.

If it wasn't going to be Gryffindor, Remus was glad that it was Ravenclaw that won the house cup. He spotted Freya across the hall. She was hugging her friends tightly with a huge grin on her face. It was infectious. Remus found himself grinning too.