do you have the time? (REMUSSS!!) - FINISHED!

[Annelise Westerhof]

The class was dismissed, and Annelise packed up her things slowly. Everyone else filed out, all the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins... no one from either House really paid her much attention. It wasn't like she didn't have any friends, she had plenty of friends -it was hard not to when you were as nice as her - but they were all used to how she was at the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It happened every time they had to do practical magic. They'd each have their turn, and then when it was Annelise's turn, she'd freeze up and panic, and not perform a lick of magic. She's get extremely embarassed, and then after a few awkward moments where her cheeks only achieved getting more progressively pink by the second, the teacher would take over and get someone else to try. Afterwards, Annelise just wasn't as enthusiastic about chatting anymore.

By the time the last book was in her rucksack, the class was deserted. Even the professor had left. She had been used to being approached by the professor to see if she was okay after each class. Annelise knew what was wrong, but no one seemed to understand. She just had a very, extremely vivid imagination, and whenever she'd practise magic for the use of defending herself against the Dark Arts, all she could do was pretend like that was exactly what she was doing, and it freaked her out. They told her it was just 'stage fright' and that she'd get over it, but she never did. If her theory work wasn't good, she would have been failing the class. The thing that bothered Annelise was that no one even bothered to offer to help her. They just assumed that she really was rubbish at it, and that nothing they would do could make a difference.

Annelise didn't let it get to her, though. She told herself that if she kept practising on her own time, eventually she'd get it right, and that was what kept her going back to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sometimes she wished there was just a Dark Arts class so they could learn about it, but not actually have to do the practical. She was good at magic, just not when she thought she'd actually have to use it on something else.

With her mind on the lesson, she left the classroom, closing the door behind her. The corridors were bustling with students, and she squeezed through them all effortlessly, due to her small stature. Her long, black hair flowed behind her, for she hated puting it up in a ponytail. She wore her uniform exactly how it was supposed to be worn, but on her feet instead of normal, uniform black socks were actually blue socks with penguins all over them that actually moved. They kept her feeling happy when she got bored in class.

Annelise kept her wand out the entire way as she tried to get to the Great Hall for supper. She kept saying the incantation, not really expecting it to work. It was probably not the smart thing to do, but she never got it to work anyways. The image in her mind of Death Eaters coming at her always distracted her too heavily. The fact that all of this was going on in her mind, however, caused her to not realize she was just about at the stairs, and when she realized, it was too late. She began to fall down the marble stairs, and all of her books and notebooks went spilling out of her bag and everywhere. As she fell, she could hear presumably Slytherins laughing, and other people gasping. She was stopped from going all the way to the bottom, however, by someone who finally took the intiative to grab her.

Word Count: 660

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: a pathetic 466, Rem's getting used to me pushing him into this P:

Remus had been hurrying towards the DADA classroom to find the teacher. He wasn't failing DADA, not at all, it was one of his best subjects, but he was failing potions and he was wondering if, perhaps, he could use DADA to compensate for that. After all.. you couldn't be good at everything, right? (Or that was what he told himself..) Unfortunately, the throngs in the hallway caused him to be too late. He knew he was, it would be useless to go to the classroom now, it would probably be abandoned, if not locked. Still.. who knew, maybe the teacher was answering someone's questions? He knew it was just a wild-goose chase, but he might as well try, he had a free period, after all.
He had been right - by the time he arrived at the classroom, the last student just walked out (passed him by without noticing) and the teacher had left already. Just his luck. Remus turned on his heels, determined to find the man anyway, at least today, and tried to slip through the crowds in the hallway. Why did the halls have to be so busy? It was supper time, of course, but Remus couldn't see what the fuss was all about. It was only food.

After trying to get through a number of times, Remus gave up, looking around and trying to spot the girl he'd passed earlier. Maybe she knew where her teacher had gone - it seemed a logical thing to ask, at least. Well.. he meant.. it wouldn't be a strange thing to ask, right? Or, well, at least.. Remus sighed, walking down the stairs towards the Great Hall slowly. You never knew with girls. One minute they were all nice and polite and the next they could be screaming to your face! (The incident with Ryan was still a rather fresh memory.)
Remus decided he'd ask her anyway. Ironically, he couldn't see her anywhere.. or had she lingered a little and was she behind him? Just as he turned around, he could feel someone crash into him and the impact would've sent him bouncing to the floor, had he not been able to grab the banister to steady himself. By the time he opened his eyes, he found himself with a girl against his chest and people staring at him, so he instantly reddened, steadied the girl, and stepped back (half expecting a slap across the face the way Lily slapped James when he said something). "Eh- Are you alright?" It seemed the only logical thing to ask. Remus just hoped that the rest of the students wouldn't keep staring and, for Merlin's sake, would walk on..

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise fell into someone, and for that she was lucky. What was with people nowadays? Only about one hundred people were on the staircase, but yet everyone was looking at her like she was funny. If she wasn't currently in the presence of someone else, she most likely would have shrugged. Instead, she mentally shrugged, thinking that everyone just must be busy going to and from dinner. She made a mental note of where all of her stuff was before turning to the person who stopped her from getting injured any further. Annelise didn't want to seem rude and just start collecting her stuff without thanking her saviour. She took a step back to get out of his personal space and smiled. She instantly knew who he was, for she had a knack of seemingly knowing who most people in Hogwarts were. It also helped that Rita Skeeter had just done an interview about the brown haired boy in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm alright, just fell is all. Thanks for catching me!" she said, happily. She looked around quickly, and then stepped closer to the banister in hopes of not getting knocked about. She then remembered her things and began collecting them, but kept her attention on Remus. "You're Remus Lupin right? Gryffindor Prefect? I'm Annelise Westerhof. It's okay if you don't recognize me."

Annelise kept collecting her books, weaving in and out of people, but never vanishing out of sight for long. Once she assumed she had most of her belongings, she slung her rucksack over her back and returned to Remus. She already covered many of the first questions that most people would have in a conversation without the questions even being asked. She had a habit of doing that, and always had, for she knew where the conversation would immediately go, and always wanted to get the small talk out of the way. The staircase began to clear as she stood there with him, for which she was grateful for it was hard to hear him otherwise.

"I was practising a spell I can't get right in Defense Against the Dark Arts and I guess I forgot where the staircase was," she added with a shrug. Honestly, Annelise knew more about Remus than he probably even knew. She had a great memory for small details, so something she might of heard abot him years ago she'd still remember. Besides, he was constantly thrust in the spotlight due to two of his best friends being some of the most popular boys at Hogwarts. From the little she saw of him every now and then, she always thought that he was probably good natured.

Word count: 465
Notes: Yes, short... it's almost 4am. Hope it's workable ;P

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 576

Surprise - the girl smiled at him? Oh, well, he supposed she was just happy to be not on the floor, covered in bruises, even if it did mean he'd invaded her personal space. Remus was always rather fond of his personal bubble, maybe girls (or this girl in particular) didn't mind so much? He pushed the thoughts from his head, focus, she's talking to you.
"Yeah, I'm alright, just fell is all. Thanks for catching me!" Remus couldn't help but smile a bit himself. Well, how couldn't he? She was a cheerful sort of person, it seemed. He almost forgot her things were scattered on the floor until she squatted. Guessing it was the gentlemanly thing to do, he sunk to his knees as well, picking up parchment and quills before they could be trampled on. It would be no decorum to watch her pick up things at his feet, now would it?
He didn't expect her to talk to him again (apart from maybe a 'thank you'), but she did. What was next, she knew his name? Oh, then again.. Rita Damned Skeeter had made pretty sure the entire school knew his name, didn't she now? Remus cleared his throat. "Eh, yes," he answered, not really sure what else to say before confessing: "I have to admit I don't-didn't know you, eh-" Remus was just glad he could focus on picking up her things and then get away from the scene? Really.. he was probably worse than James around Lily, a train wreck when it came to girls.. and this wasn't even an intimate situation of any kind! Remus rolled his eyes at himself. He was hopeless.

The lycanthrope got up quickly as she did, stumbling backwards into someone else who shot him a pointed look. Remus shrugged it off, it happened all the time when there were lots of people around. Then again.. lots of people, the crowd was surely beginning to thin. He was glad for it, but he also wasn't. He didn't like crowds in the sense that it could be a very claustrophobic sensation at times, but on the other hand, crowds made it so much easier to blend in.
"I was practising a spell I can't get right in Defense Against the Dark Arts and I guess I forgot where the staircase was." He hadn't expected her to explain or talk to him some more at all and to be honest.. he'd dreaded it a little (it can't be said often enough: you never know with girls!). DADA, however, was a subject he could talk about, girl or no girl, and Remus visibly relaxed. "Oh, really?" he asked, genuinely interested. "Which one?"

As much as Annelise perhaps knew about him, he didn't know her at all. Remus was fairly sure he'd seen her a couple of times, especially as they were in the same year, and he knew she was a nice sort of girl, as she'd never stood out before (most girls that stood out were either just plain nasty or femmes fatales), but he'd never known which name to link to the face.
Now he did, though, and he smiled a little. "Annelise," he echoed from what she'd said earlier, as though tasting the syllables on his lips. "Sounds foreign..ish?"

[Annelise Westerhof]

When Remus admitted to not knowing who she was, Annelise just shrugged. She accepted the things he picked off the floor from her and began returning them to her already overfull bag. She had a habit of bringing more than just her current course's books to class incase she finished early in order to do homework. She also kept in there her 'observations book' which held observations about everything, from the weather, to classes, to even just her classmates. Annelise didn't keep it for any other reason than just to remember. She liked to remember, for she always thought it was nice when people remembered stuff about her. She wasn't a hypocrite, really, which was a trait rarely found in people.

"Like I said," she added with another smile. It was not a flirtacious smile by any means, it was just a genuine smile. "It's okay if you don't remember who I am. I don't really talk much in class... or else I miss things. It sounds silly, I know, but it really does help the overall effectiveness of a class if you keep socializing for afterwards... Oh, listen to me, I sound like a right prude!"

She laughed, although it sounded more like a chuckle. The staircase had long since cleared out other than the stragglers. She didn't really mind it. Now she could hear what she considered his soft voice. He seemed kind, especially just the way he spoke. She liked the way he seemed a little flustered, for it showed to her that he cared about the way he came off to others. Annelise felt a little bad when he fell into someone, but he corrected his posture quicker than she could offer help. Instead of continuing to hold her rucksack on her shoulder (for it was quite heavy), she instead just placed it next to her feet. It was a bit presumptuous, but even if the conversation only continued for five minutes it would be worth it for her shoulder.

Remus perked up the moment she mentioned Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it made her smile even more. So the boy had passion about something. Or at least she assumed so by the pitch of his voice. He didn't even stutter or sound like he was unsure. "To be honest... pretty much every spell. I mean, I'm fine in Transfiguration and Charms, but when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts I'm hopeless. I guess I just freeze up. I understand the theory behind it, but just not it!"

Annelise hoped she wasn't coming off like she was complaining. The last thing she wanted to do was sound like she was whining. She then heard him say her name and ask if it was foreign. "Sort of," she said with a shrug. "I moved here from the Netherlands when I was young. Not really all that interesting. You on the other hand, have a fascinating name with many origins..."

She didn't mean it like she was suspecting something of him, just that she found people's last names (and first names occasionally) interesting. She liked to know where people came from, and how far back their blood went, and all of the lovely things. Realistically, everything fascinated Annelise. She just loved life and everything in and around it.

Word Count: 585

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 713
Comments: Yeh, Remus instantly likes her. I don't know why. xD Let's just say he's a damned teenager full of hormones everywhere. xD
Also, this is before the revival of Welsh? I know there's a whole educational program to bring Welsh back, etc, but in the 70s this was probably not the case? :S

Oh, wow, was this really one of those girls that didn't slap you in the face when you admitted you didn't know them? Today was probably Remus' lucky day.. Ever since Skeeter's stupid focus on him in her mediocre rubbish newspaper, girls had somehow guessed that if they could get his attention, they could hog the limelight, and it had earned him a dent in his pride and multiple stinging cheeks after particularly vicious slaps. It was unpleasant.
Remus instantly felt better and smiled along a little as she smiled. She had dimples in her cheeks when she did, it made her smile contagious, like it was impossible not to smile along. "It's not silly," he assured her as his smile widened a little, "and not prudish, unless I am also silly and a prude, as I agree." Remus had, throughout the years, learned to pay attention in class while his friends were thoroughly socialising. After a fair bit of practice (especially as he had enhanced hearing because of his lycanthropy), he was even able to read in a crowded common room.

He was glad the staircase was finally empty, Remus had quite had enough of people watching him. He could feel their eyes on his back like tiny needles, or like an itch he just couldn't reach, and he was getting quite sick of it, really, it annoyed him to no end how they just watched and said nothing. Why did the whole school have to turn their head when Oh-So-Scarred-And-Heartbreaking-Remus turned his head towards a girl, even if it just was to help her out after she'd fallen down a flight of ruddy stairs. Damn Skeeter. He was going to get her back at some point..
Actually, he found himself not so interested in dinner, not in the mood to walk into yet another space filled with peers and (especially) eyes. The solitude of the hallway was much more appealing, and the company was also a lot more pleasant. Maybe he could run by the kitchens, later..

Part of him paused for a moment when she mentioned she had problems with Defense Against the Dark Arts. Part of him wanted to offer help immediately, part of him noticed the striking similarities with Saige at once and he suppressed the urge to check if there was someone watching, if this was an elaborate joke to test him or confuse him. Remus dismissed the thought almost immediately. Even if it was a joke or a set up, he still felt like he should offer his help, it was only the nice thing to do - being nice could do no harm. It would be rude not to offer any.
"Well.. if you'd like some help.." he offered with a slight shrug. "I mean.. it's rather important, especially nowadays." Remus smiled slightly and leaned against the banister a little. No, he wasn't eager to get into the Great Hall anymore.

"I moved here from the Netherlands when I was young. Not really all that interesting. You on the other hand, have a fascinating name with many origins..." He shrugged a little, smiling. "Depends how you look at it. To me it's just a normal name, had it all my life, so.. To me, your name sounds more exotic, really," he chuckled briefly, "even if it's from the Netherlands, which is not that far away at all." The Netherlands, after all, were only across a bit of sea, hardly a day's journey away - it wasn't exactly the topic for orientalism.
"I suppose mine's something French," he added with a bit of a pensive expression. "My mother's maiden name sounds French as well.. but I hardly speak the language at all. If anything, my parents sound Welsh." He chuckled a little. His parents owned a small country house near Pont Rug in Wales. To be honest, Remus had no idea if his parents were Welsh by heritage, he hadn't heard them speak Welsh often (though he knew they could), possibly because they wanted their son to speak proper English. Who spoke Welsh nowadays, after all? (Though Remus wouldn't mind learning it.)

[Annelise Westerhof]

Honestly, Annelise didn't want to admit that she already knew that he was similar to her in many ways, especially when it came to the classroom. She took notice of almost everything during the classes, and knew a lot of habits that students had. In truth, she paid Remus a lot of attention, for she couldn't exactly figure out why he hung out with the likes of James Potter and Sirius Black. It wasn't like she disliked those two, but they seemed to be as different to Remus as possible. She could see why Peter hung out with them: Peter wanted to attention, to feel accepted. Remus seemed very nice and didn't seem to need them by any way. But she would never ask why he was friends with them, it was none of her business. For all she knew, he could have grown up with them, or maybe he had been more outgoing when he was younger; or perhaps even Sirius or James had been less outgoing when they were younger. Or maybe they were just legitimately were friends... it was none of her business. It was the reason why Annelise didn't like Rita Skeeter very much. The girl was too nosey. It made people less interesting to read about them, and it took the fun out of getting to know people if you just read their life story in Rita's newspaper article. So, Annelise had never seen the story about Remus, although she had noticed the peculiar looks he had been getting.

Annelise smiled when he offered her help. "Thanks for offering! No one's ever offered to help me with it before. I think everyone just thinks I'm hopeless by this point," she said with a laugh. "I'd like if you could help me out sometime. I heard you're really good at it."

She was being a little generous there. Yes, she had heard that he was good, but only because the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had told her a list of students probably able to tutor her. She didn't want to say this, however, out of slight embarassment. She'd rather just tell him that it was word of mouth, which was technically still the truth.

"I guess everyone gets used to their name. I always think mine's somewhat normal. It's just Anne with a nice little tail at the end," she laughed a little bit, and then listene to Remus describe his name. As far as she could remember, his name had something to do with Romans, but she wasn't exactly sure, although she was quite sure Lupin was part of the latin name for a wolf. "You've lived in Wales? I've never been there, although I've heard it's beautiful. Well, wherever your name is from, I like it."

Annelise was a fairly honest person, especially when it was something positive. She found people were critical much more often than they were nice towards others, which she never understood. Would you rather people think you were positive or negative?

Word Count: 550
Notes: Blahh, sorry if this is hard to work off of :/

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 758

Why Remus hung out with the friends he had? Why, that was a complicated and yet a simple matter. For one, they accepted him. Of course, they didn't say so in sappy notes or hugged him all the time (which made Remus all the more glad, as he didn't like people babying him), but they showed it with their fierce loyalty and friendship. He could read it in their faces without having to voice it. Secondly, they knew his secret and were still there! Remus sometimes had nightmares about somehow upsetting Sirius behind measure (he had annoyed Sirius before, but Sirius was always quick to forgive and forget - up until now, at least), driving him to severe all his ties with Remus, causing James and Peter to do the same and then telling the entire school about him. (Or any likewise scenario, Remus' mind seemed very good at thinking of doom scenario's when he least needed it, though Remus had also become quite good at willing the ideas away and remaining optimistic - but it still scared him.) Oh, Remus would never admit it, but he was pretty sure that that was just about his worst fear, the people he cared about, the people he admired being disgusted by him. Which brings us to the third reason why Remus was friends with James, Sirius, and Peter: he did admire them. James had this carelessness, this 'I'm an evil genious' sort of humour, Sirius was more confident than Remus would probably ever be in his waking life and brave enough to severe the ties with his very own family, and Peter, well.. Remus always imagined that, had he just been human and normal, he would probably have been like Peter, so he could relate to him too, really.
He couldn't imagine life without his friends, they had grown to be a part of his conscious half the time and, secretly, he worried about pack-forming a little. There weren't many books about werewolves in social environments and Remus was too afraid to borrow all the werewolf-books from the library (afraid it'd be suspicious), but he was afraid the wolf was bonding with his three friends subconsciously, forming a pack mentality - because they were always together, worked together and stood up for each other.

Once again, he smiled back when she smiled. "Oh, I'd be happy to help, really. I find that tutoring people helps me memorising everything better as well, so," Remus half shrugged. "And I'm sure you're not a hopeless case," he added with a small nod. After all, he'd worked with Saige, who'd also claimed she was absolutely hopeless and he'd managed to improve her wand work within two sessions, even getting her as far as practicing on him in stead of on a dummy.
"...I heard you're really good at it." Remus blushed slightly. "Oh, well, I'm not brilliant, really.. And I'm rubbish at potions, so try not to sit too near me during that class," he half-stammered, his blush only intensifying at his ineloquence. 'Too bad, Rem,' he thought to himself. 'You still can't talk to girls without making an arse of yourself.'

Remus thought Annelise was a very nice name. It was just like she said: 'Anne with a nice little tail at the end', a tail that, somehow, seemed to walk the tightrope between feminine and playful, balancing the two into an altogether very pleasant name. He really did like it, it suited her (for as far as he knew her, at least..).
..then again.. what did his opinion matter, right?
He knew his first name was of Roman origin: the twin brother of Romulus, who'd founded Rome after winning a contest of auspice and then had killed his brother - Remus. He couldn't sometimes help but think he was even named after a loser. He had thought she meant his last name, as they'd been talking about heritage, and 'Lupin' did sound rather French to him, so hadn't mentioned his first name, really.
"You've lived in Wales? I've never been there, although I've heard it's beautiful." He smiled a little, thinking about the house he grew up in, and his parents, whom he missed, especially in these dire times. "I grew up there, yes it is nice, you should go there sometime when you have the chance."

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise was extremely happy when Remus said that he would help her via tutoring. No one had even bothered to offer before, and now he was going to help her. For the first time in ages he felt as if maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to actually do some magic in the class, even if it was just small spells. It was better than nothing! Annelise always had a problem of getting her hopes up about a lot, and when someone promised her something or said they'd do something for her, she expected them to do it, just like she would if she said she'd do something for someone. She noticed colour rise to his cheeks somewhat, and it made her feel good, for it wasn't like she literally embarassed him, she just made him feel good about himself.

"Thank you!" she said, happily, bouncing just a little bit for a second. "It means a lot to me! And that's okay, Potions is lousy anyways, I'm not the greatest either, so we can be terrible together."

She laughed, and watched as a couple girls walked by giggling. She paid them no mind, not assuming the worst like most people did. Most people, in her position would assume thta they were giggling because she was talking with Remus. She kept her attention fully on her companion, for it was the polite thing to do. She then began imagining all the pictures she had seen of Wales.

"I'd like to do that some day," Annelise admitted. "Well, I'd like to see most of the world one day! Traveling fascinates me. I have to do it young, though, because one day I was thinking about starting a family, and I don't really know how well families bode for traveling." She shrugged and continued, "I guess my decision on a family depends on how much traveling I get done before I become infertile."

Yes, Annelise had a habit of sharing a little too much of herself too soon. She never even realized she was doing it, she merely talked. She had a hard time holding back, or even bending the truth. She never lied, though. She knew that lying only led to more lies, and it was a vicious circle. She only revealed who she was, and if people didn't like it, they didn't have to. Annelise only wanted people around who liked her as she was, and nothing less. She didn't want to change anything about herself for anyone; no compromises.

She noticed the crowd was gone, and she knew she should continue to the Great Hall, but she decided that she liked Remus, and she didn't want their conversation to end. "Hey, are you busy right now?" she asked. "Or do you think maybe we can have our first tutoring lesson? It's okay if you have other plans right now, but I just thought I couldn't leave without asking."

She was, deep inside, hoping he'd agree. She felt some sort of weird connection with Remus, as if she knew that they'd get along without really even knowing him. It was a weird sort of feeling that she had never really felt before, and for the first time, she began to wonder if maybe she'd get a close friend out of Remus. She had many friends, yes, but never a close one. Never one that she could see and instantly hang out with no small talk first. Although unsure if she could ever really be close friends with his best friends, that didn't matter right? She was trying to get to know Remus, not James and Sirius and Peter. Being friends with one of them didn't mean necessarily that she had to be friends with all; although realistically it wasn't like she was entirely opposed to the idea either.

Word Count: 675

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 653

He could see the happiness shining in her eyes and smiled a little wider. Rem was just happy to help Annelise, he liked helping people, it made him feel like he was useful and just generally made him feel good. Not that his life completely revolved about being there for others, but Remus Lupin liked being liked - and helping people out and being there for them certainly helped you being liked.
"Thank you! It means a lot to me! And that's okay, Potions is lousy anyways, I'm not the greatest either, so we can be terrible together." He laughed softly. "Not a problem, happy to help." Remus grinned slightly. "We should be potion buddies, think of all the disasters we can make happen?" he joked. He noticed the giggling girls (how could he not?), but honestly? After being in the gossip newspaper for the last three months or so, Remus was sort of used to it and was able to ignore them fairly easy.

He smiled when listening to Annelise telling him about loving traveling, but had to admit he was a little overwhelmed when she told him about her wish to start a family at some point. Well, that sure was.. forward? Well, not that it bothered him - it was her life, after all, and Remus loved children (although he knew having them was not really an option), so he'd never discourage anyone to have them.
Remus couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen to a girl pregnant with a baby lycanthrope during full moon. What if the baby transformed and slashed her open from the inside? Then, he couldn't imagine any girl who'd want to be pregnant by an animal, or at least half-an-animal, so why worry?
Yes - why worry? He was going to tutor this girl, not get her knocked up, after all.
"Wow, got it all planned out, huh?" Remus smiled a little. "Well, it might be good for young children to travel a lot, you know. I'm sure it teaches them a whole deal of things a school can't." Remus half-shrugged. "You know, street smart?"

The crowd was gone, indeed, but Remus was still not planning on going into the Great Hall, really. He liked talking to Annelise and when the conversation was over, he'd just grab a bite in the kitchens and go back to the dorm to study. Half the school had seen him catch this girl off a flight of stairs, he wasn't in the mood to increase the gossip, but neither was he in the mood to face a hall filled with gossipy students.
"Hey, are you busy right now? Or do you think maybe we can have our first tutoring lesson? It's okay if you have other plans right now, but I just thought I couldn't leave without asking." He smiled. "I was just thinking about skipping dinner - read my mind?" It was a bit of an in-joke with himself. "But sure, I don't mind tutoring you now, I'm not hungry anyway. You had any particular place in mind?" If she hadn't, Remus was just going to go for the Room of Requirement, though he was sure that, as a Prefect, he'd be able to arrange an empty classroom or something like that.. Whatever was easiest.
He really did like Annelise so far. She didn't seem one of those terribly girly girls, was nice and energetic and, apparently, found school important. In his mind, he half-compared her to Lily Evans, who was also the only other girl that didn't make Remus feel uncomfortable. Of course, he'd known Lily for, well, ages, but he had the feeling that Annelise was a trustworthy sort of person, just like her.

[Annelise Westerhof]

The concept of having a Potions partner honestly worried Annelise for a moment. She liked the offer, but at the same time, since she started going to school, she always did everything by herself. She never wanted to risk the chance of making the other person feel like they were doing all of the work. She didn't mind doing all the work, and besides, doing it herself guaranteed that it was done the way she liked it. It wasn't like she didn't like working with others, but if they didn't do work that was up to par, she wasn't confrontational enough to request them to re-do it. However, Remus was sort of known amongst people whose highest priorities weren't themselves or how to get laid, of being intelligent. How bad could it be? Besides, she didn't want to hurt his feelings - he just overcame his stuttering.

"I'd like that," she said. "At least if we get made of for doing something wrong, we'll get made fun of together."

Being made fun of was something that Annelise got used to, especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Someone could only be so bad at it until the teasing started. It really didn't bother her, for she always believed that people who teased had insecure issues about themselves, and she actually pitied them, but it did get rather tiresome every now and then... especially when she tried very hard at a certain something, and then went to class only to fail. It was admittedly a little bit disheartening.

Annelise laughed about the comment about family. "I guess it'd be good for them if I knew I wouldn't bore kids to death. I'd be doing things that would not interest them... like maybe go on an endangered species trip and save them, or find and learn about real life ancient runes, and not just in the classroom... family comes second to me, I want to accomplish I guess, selfish things before I can have children. If I have them, I have them, if I don't, I don't. I'm fairly neutral to be honest."

More than anything, though, Annelise was scared of having children, and they turned out like she and her brother Jakob did. She didn't want only one being magical and the other being a Squib. It just wasn't fair. She felt bad enough for her brother as it was. He was probably looking forward to going to Hogwarts more than she was, but yet he was the one who denied the right to due to being a Squib like her mother. Annelise was scared of having kids to be honest, but she wasn't about to tell Remus that. Besides, he looked like a family man, someone who'd love to have kids of his own to take care of. Not that she was looking at him as some sort of potential mate, but merely because it was the way her mind worked.

"Maybe I did read your mind," Annelise said with a friendly wink. "You'll never know!" She paused, and then frowned somewhat. "No, I don't know where we can practise. We're not allowed in the classrooms unsupervised, and I don't even know where to find the professor if I wanted to. As well, we don't share a common room, so it's not like we could do it there..."

She trailed off, wondering what they were going to do. She really hoped this wasn't the end of their tutoring before it even began. Annelise hadn't thought about an actual location they could go to, and now as much as she tried not to feel a little let down, she did, although she tried to tell herself maybe it was for the best, and maybe a professor's teachings were more likely better than a classmate's.

Word count: 683

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: a mere 523, sorry!

The suggestion to be potion's partners from Remus' side had been half a joke, an attempt to lighten the mood by laughing at both their expenses. He hadn't expected her to accept. Still, it was nice that she did.. right? Remus chuckled lightly. "I suppose so, though don't feel obliged, I'm sure someone who's actually good at potions could help you better than I possibly can."
As strong as Annelise was, standing above people who teased her and just thinking they were insecure, that was how weak Remus was himself. Of course no one noticed, but when he was teased (even by his friends) he almost always took it to heart, he couldn't help it. He never told them, or basically anyone for that matter; he knew the frustration would out itself during the full moon and then he'd be rid of it and would never have to tell a soul. It was a bit of an ongoing joke that Remus was the Azkaban of Secrets. He was very good, maybe too good, at keeping them.

Good, she laughed - that meant he hadn't said anything stupid, right? It wasn't a mocking laugh. Remus had found it a little tricky to comment on her family planning, but maybe he hadn't done too bad.
"I guess it'd be good for them if I knew I wouldn't bore kids to death. I'd be doing things that would not interest them... like maybe go on an endangered species trip and save them, or find and learn about real life ancient runes, and not just in the classroom..." Remus half shrugged. "Children are curious enough, they're bound to find something that interests them and keeps them busy."
Remus nodded a little as he listened to her 'If I have them, I have them, if I don't, I don't'. "I suppose you can't plan future, I mean.. what fun would future be if you knew what you'd be doing every minute?" Lie. Well.. slight lie. Remus would love to have a planned future, simply because he knew that in two years his future would be a whole lot less bright than it was now. He knew he hardly had a chance of a solid job, no matter how high his grades were, and besides.. who could dream of a future when some dark wizard was killing half the community? He pushed the thoughts away. His parents were still alive and he was safe, that was all that mattered thinking about for now, no sense in worrying.

"Maybe I did read your mind." Remus had never been so glad with a wink before, thank Merlin she couldn't really read minds. He smiled a little when she said she had no idea where to practise. "I do," Remus reassured her with a bit of a smile and, half formally, half in jest, offered her his arm. "In case you fall down more stairs," he added with a bit of a lopsided grin.

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise didn't want to continue the conversation about Potions, especially after he told her to not feel obliged for someone else was bound to be better to help her. It made her a little insecure to admit that no one offered to help her in classes, and barely gave her much help when she decided to ask. It wasn't like they didn't like Annelise, it was just that people didn't really have the patience. She felt a bit of colour rise into her cheeks, and could feel herself blushing over it. She didn't want to tell him that he was the only one who had ever offered to help her, so she just avoided discussing it further.

Remus returned the topic of family, and she knew her assumptions had been correct - the way he talked about kids was almost as if he was defending them. "I like to live in the moment more than anything," she said with a shrug. "I always change my mind on what I want. One minute I want to be a stay-at-home mom with four kids, the next I want to be a successful business woman with a husband, and neither of us relying on each other. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to do... which I guess it's really not a good thing because I only have two years of school left after this..."

Annelise had a habit of rambling, and when she realized she was only talking about herself, she felt as if she should apologize, but didn't due to knowing the awkward silence that would happen if she did. She shook her head and looked at the floor quickly. "What do you want to do with your life? Like, when you leave school?"

Annelise didn't socialize enough to really remember to keep both sides of the conversation on. She always assumed that people would talk about themselves just as much as they asked questions, but she was proving the point that they didn't, for she realized he was asking and talking a lot more about her than he was about himself. She just didn't really like asking personal questions, for she realized that a perfectly normal question for some people would be a completely personal and uncomfortable question for others. It just happened - like when people asked Annelise what blood line she came from. Technically, she was Pureblood, but she felt bad saying that knowing her mother and brother, although from a Pure family, had no magical abilities whatsoever. So did that truly make her Pureblood? Not that she cared that much herself, but blood status seemed to be a very important thing at Hogwarts to many students. It was something that Annelise would never understand - shouldn't people like one another for who they were, and not for things they couldn't control?

Annelise's face lit up when Remus said that he knew a place they could go to. She had felt something she never felt before when she thought that they wouldn't be able to practise - it was want. She had never really felt the want to spend time with someone before. She always felt that spending time with someone was out of ease, not really out of want. She pushed the thought aside. She didn't want to think maybe it was all out of desperation, and that she didn't want her time to end with someone who actually showed that they wanted to help her out.

"Oh, that's great!" she exclaimed, excitedly. She couldn't imagine where he was going to take her, for all the options in her head were crossed out due to being against school rules. Remus offered his arm to her, and she could feel the heat rush to her face. If she didn't know any better (which really, she didn't) she would almost think that he might be flirting with her. She didn't want to assume, however, so she just took his offered arm as a sign of friendliness. She laughed at the joke he made, and slipped her arm around his as well. "Thank you for escorting me, then. I wouldn't want such a clumsy thing to happen again, anyways, so this is probably for the best!" She laughed lightly. "So where are you taking me, anyways?"

Word Count: 755

[/size]

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 589

Remus noticed her blush (noticed it, he could practically smell it..) and wondered for but a moment if he had offended or embarrassed her. He decided that it was probably better not to ask, as that would probably only make it worse, but he disliked not understanding what was wrong, really. Once again, he just pulled a blank curtain over his mind and concentrated on the rest of the conversation.

He couldn't really help subconsciously defending children. He liked children and, to be honest, he'd love to teach. He knew that would never be an option, but it was nice to dream, really. Nothing wrong with dreams.
" I always change my mind on what I want. One minute I want to be a stay-at-home mom with four kids, the next I want to be a successful business woman with a husband, and neither of us relying on each other. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to do... which I guess it's really not a good thing because I only have two years of school left after this..." He half shrugged. "Well, it makes life adventurous. And two years seems still plenty of time to decide, if you ask me," he mused. "Two years is longer than it seems." He didn't mind her 'rambling' at all. To be honest, after Rita's interview he'd had his fair share of dodging questions about himself, hence why she took him by surprise when she asked him what his plans were after leaving school. "Oh- eh.. Not sure yet." Definitely the truth. "I'd like to teach somewhere, but I'm not sure if that's an option. I'll just.. see." He nodded a little. A voice in Remus' head had told him to lie, but he somehow had not been able to. He didn't like lying.

Rem was just glad to see her eyes light up when he announced he knew a place to practise and he smiled a little wider, with a slight twinkle in his eye. Why? He liked pleasantly surprising people (whether it was making them laugh by pulling a prank or finding them the perfect gift for their birthday) and he had a hunch the Room of Requirement would pleasantly surprise Annelise, especially if she had never even heard of it before.
She blushed a little again when he offered his arm. He had meant it to be some sort of ice-breaker and, well, maybe he was flirting just a tad. He knew he shouldn't, but Remus had the feeling Sirius' behaviour rubbed off on him more than he noticed. Apart from that, there was a tiny voice in the back of his head saying what the harm was in being charming. Remus had the idea he could think of at least a thousand reasons how being charming could harm someone, but was also aware it was a futile battle. He was fifteen, she was pretty and nice - could anyone blame him (or his hormones)?
" So where are you taking me, anyways?" Rem couldn't help but smile a little conspiring. "Have you ever heard of the Room of Requirement?" he asked her with a grin. "It's a room that will appear when you need it, so all we have to do is walk around and think about how we need a room to practise for DADA and it'll appear." He half shrugged, a little matter of factly.

[Annelise Westerhof]

It felt nice to Annelise that Remus didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life either, mainly because she found it comforting that she wasn't alone in the matter. Everyone she knew seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, and she always seemed to think she was the only one who didn't know. She wished she could think of something, but just couldn't. She supposed studying dragons wouldn't be such a bad job - she did love animals after all. It was an idea she always considered, but never really voiced, because she didn't know if she was, well, tough enough for it.

"Teaching? I can really imagine you doing that," Annelise said. She didn't ask about his 'not being an option' for it seemed like something she shouldn't question. She could typically tell by people's tones of voices whether or not they wanted to elaborate on what they were talking about. Besides, if people wanted to go into detail, than they would have. People don't leave things out for no reason. "What would you want to teach if you did? Defense Against the Dark Arts?" She half-teased with a smile. She only asked that because that was exactly what he was about to do with her. "I think that would be a great goal, actually. I'm sure you could do it great ... well, I guess I'll be the judge of that in an hour or so!"

Annelise laughed again. She was actually getting giddy at the idea of actually being able to perform magic in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was hoping that he'd be a good enough teacher. She wished that she actually had that class with the Gryffindors instead of the Slytherins. At least then maybe he could coach her perhaps during class... realistically, however, that would be asking too much of him. Not that she would have asked.

"Honestly..." Annelise said, rubbing the back of her neck in a shy fashion. "I was always thinking about maybe being someone who studied dragons. I find them so ... interesting. I just don't know if I'd be strong or forceful enough to do so."

She didn't know why she said it, she just did. Maybe it was because she felt comfortable in Remus' presence. Certain people did that to you. You met them and felt comfortable, while other people you felt like you had to put your guard up. She was hoping her intuition was correct about him.

"I've actually never heard of the Room of Requirements," Annelise said, feeling strangely joyous of the fact that their arms were linked. "It sounds amazing though! Take me to it!"

A room that could transform into whatever someone wanted it to be? It was the strangest thing she had ever heard of, and she didn't even come from a Muggle born family. She knew she shouldn't have been so surprised, but she was. Especially because Remus wsa the one who told her about it, and it seemed like the kind of room that only those who broke the rules knew about. She was curious all the same, and was eager to see it.

Word Count: 575

[/size]