Something Worth Leaving Behind

That afternoon, Remus quickly finished his lunch, managing, with great difficulty, to do so before James and Sirius arrived. They nearly caught him on their way in, but he managed to duck behind a passing Hufflepuff so that they didn't notice him.

Very proud of his own "sneakery," as Sirius jokingly called the talent of shadow chasing to avoid being seen, he made his way to the seventh floor. At the end of the hall, he found the portrait that marked his hiding place and strode past it, his eyes closed, three times, imagining the room they always used.

When he stopped and opened them, he saw an old oak door with an ornate handle. He twisted it and it opened to a warm room with a comfortable overstuffed sofa in front of the fire. Royal purples adorned the sofa and mantle and the carpet was very soft, again, purple, with the Hogwarts crest.

He left the door ajar and sat on the sofa and smiled at the warm fireplace. It gave off a homely feeling, and it was always very relaxing. Dumbledore had mentioned this room in passing sometime in first term and it had taken him forever to find it. But, when he had, he had immediately owled Olivia and they'd been meeting here ever since. It was always a nice escape; they'd talk about their troubles, maybe share some homework, chit chat about what Sirius had done that week that had annoyed Remus imensely, or how Sev had said something stupid again to Olivia. Remus would even give her the heads up if any mischief making was planned in her dorm, so that she would sleep somewhere else. Normally, it was here. She'd tell him about whatever rumours were floating around that she'd heard and they'd decide which were probably true. It was much like how they had met, and when Remus got here early like he did now, he liked to reminisce.

During the summer, he worked at a Muggle ice cream shoppe by the beach. One weekend, shortly after school had ended, he had seen a familiar girl at the bar. It had been his day off, so he had gone over and talked with her.

"Do you come here often?" he had said.

She shook her head. "I've never been to this beach before."

"Really? I come here every day."

"Must be nice."

"Well, I kinda work here. It's my day off, but... I like the atmosphere."

She nodded. "I know what you mean. This is a really great shop. The owner seems really nice."

"Yeah, he lives for the place."

"Do ya want anything, Remus?"

Remus turned to the old man behind the bar.

" I think I'll just have a chocolate shake."

"Comin' up."

When he looked back at the girl, she seemed to be trying to figure him out.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Your name is Remus?"

"Yeah. I know, it's kinda weird--"

"I think I've heard it before."

He stopped. "Really?"

"Yeah."

This time he was doing the thinking. "What's your name, again?"

"Olivia."

"Benson?" he added, smiling.

"Yeah. How'd you know--?"

"You go to Hogwarts, don't you?" She nodded slowly. "So do I! I knew you looked familiar."

But when when she didn't respond the same, he became worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I was hoping for a day out of the wizarding world and I find you," she replied wryly.

Remus grinned. "I can act like a muggle if you want me to. It might even help because you won't have to watch what you say. I know just as much as you do."

She smiled. "Okay."

For the rest of the summer they had met there every afternoon. If Remus had work, they would wait for his shift to end and wander the boardwalk. He would tell her about the different shops and people who worked there and would occasionally slip in a magical comparison, but for the most part, it was an escape from the ordinary for her and he was proud to do it.

Then September rolled around.

Two weeks before school started, Remus had to go to the Potters' with James and Sirius and, as sad as she was that they would no longer meet at the little ice cream shop, they'd promised to meet back on the train to Hogwarts.

Remus shook his head. Oh, the surprises that had awaited them that day. As a prefect, he had changed as soon as they got on the train and gone off to his meeting-a rather unwise thing in his opinion, as James and Sirius would undoubtedly cause trouble in his absense, but he had to tend to his duties. The real shocker was when he had stepped into the room to find Olivia there as well-not in Blue and Bronze or Yellow and Ebony as he had supposed, but in Emerald and Silver.

"You're a Slytherin Prefect?" he gasped, his astonishment clearly evident.

"I didn't know you were a Gryffindor!"

They both had realized that by keeping the atmosphere as muggle as possible, they had never mentioned their respective houses.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Lupin. Lost?"

Remus closed his eyes at the familiar drawl.

"No, I'm not, Severus," he replied sharply, trying to hold down the growl that threatened to rise from his throat for Olivia's sake. "I happen to be a prefect. Or did you not notice the badge last year when I came in here?"

When he opened them again, Severus Snape had entered the room, taking the seat beside Olivia.

"I thought that was a joke," he replied with a snarl. "And aren't you supposed to be babysitting Black and Potter right now? God knows they need it..."

Remus decided not to answer when Lily entered.

"Hello, Remus," she said, smiling sweetly at him."How was your summer?"

"Actually, it was quite wonderful, thank you." He looked over at Olivia whose face immediately became a good shade redder.

Lily then turned to Snape. "And you, Severus?" She had a tolerance for Snape that James said he would never understand.

"Quite lovely. It seems my mother had some old textbooks from when she went to Hogwarts so I got to learn a few new Potions tricks."

Lily nodded. "Perhaps you might share them with me sometime?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We'll see." He seemed quite unsure of her motives and so decided against a concrete answer.

"How about you, Olivia? I don't want you to feel left out."

Olivia straightened up in her seat. "It was most relaxing." She looked at Snape. Unbeknowst to Remus at the time, he had tried to contact her all summer and she hadn't answer his owls. Snape sneered at her comment, but the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects and Head Boy and Girl all seemed to pop in one at a time after that so conversation was halted for the meeting.

Afterwards, everyone left to their respective compartments but Remus and Olivia stayed behind.

"This might cause trouble," he had said.

"Yes." She looked down the presently empty hallway in which they were standing. Then she turned back to him. "You know, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but... is there any way we could still hang out like we used to?"

"I don't know..." he sighed. "But I'll see what I can do."

She smiled. "Thanks, Remus."

Then, to his surprise, she gave him a peck on the lips and slipped away into a nearby compartment.

Schocked by the fact that he had been kissed, by a Slytherin girl no less, he stood in the hallway for a moment, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

"Oy! Moony!"

By instinct, Remus spun around to find Sirius Black coming out of their compartment at the very end of the train.

"You comin' or what?"

"Yeah, I'm comin'."

But on his way, he looked in on the compartment Olivia had disappeared into and he could've sworn she'd winked at him.