Into White [Annelise!]

[Remus John Lupin]

Humming when he enjoyed food was indeed one of Remus' quirks. He guessed it had something to do with his animalistic side, as he'd often heard dogs whine or make content sounds when eating something that they liked. He made no move to suppress it, it was harmless - it was only a low hum.
Secretly, Remus had many quirks. Turning the spoon upside down in his mouth when he ate porridge, wrinkling his nose when he was tired, chewing his knuckles when he was intensely nervous.. The list went on and on.

He chuckled softly. "Yes, I have to admit that the staring people were a tad unnerving," Remus said softly, half grinning. There was a short silence and when Annelise posed her next question, Remus found himself to be a little surprised, even though he should've expected it, as he had long-guessed Annelise did not read the gossip column.
"As a matter of fact.." he started, lingering a little, "I do.." Remus smiled a little, thinking for a moment about how to formulate a reply. "You know Rita Skeeter? The one who writes the gossip column you, eh, obviously don't read?" he started, a little uncomfortable. Remus wasn't ill at ease because he was talking to Annelise. Au contraire, he felt that he could speak freely to her, but he hoped she would not doubt his word and believe the gossip, in the end. He knew it was an irrational fear, but it was still there.
"Well, she was rather focused on me for a while, published some nonsense, eh.. it was rather embarrassing.. especially the last issue, I'm sure pretty much everyone in the school will be able to tell you all about it," he said, his voice lowering the longer he spoke. It was obvious it was not a subject he was comfortable with, but on the other hand his posture showed that he understood that Annelise would want to know it, and that he would tell her everything.. if she so desired. "You know what people always gossip about. I had allegedly kissed so-and-so girl, but I had also talked to another, and I was dubbed a little heart breaker, while, in fact, until recently, I have, well, never even thought of showing affection of.. that nature to anyone.." Remus obviously didn't talk about these sort of things much. He hadn't talked about the rumours with his friends, either. They'd bugged him about it a little, he had begged them to shut up, and that basically been it.

[Annelise Westerhof]

The look on Remus' face changed, and Annelise suddenly wished that she hadn't have asked. This was why she didn't ask questions often. She didn't think it would have been a big deal, though, she always thought questions through in her head before asking to make sure that they didn't seem too personal, or that someone couldn't be offended by them. She looked away briefly, wishing that she hadn't said anything at all. She just wanted normal, good conversation. Not an awkward one, which was what it was quickly becoming.

Annelise listened to Remus, and almost laughed when he said that Rita Skeeter decided to dub him a heart-breaker. It wasn't like she didn't think he was capable, it was just he was obviously not the type. She didn't care about if he had kissed anyone before, or even had a girlfriend before (providing he wasn't interested in them still). So that was why everyone giggled all the time? It seemed a tad immature. So what if he was out to break her heart? Whose business was that other than hers? It made her a little frustrated, thinking about it.

"No, I don't read that nonsense," Annelise said when he made the comment about her not reading the gossip column. She paused for a second, deciding that it was the best moment to pick up a brownie and chew it slowly, trying to collect her thoughts. "It makes me glad I don't, I suppose. I don't think I would have cared to read those things about you. I wish Skeeter had more friends, I suppose she wouldn't care for involving herself in people she doesn't know's lives."

Somehow, Annelise made it sound like she wasn't trash talking Rita, and her mind, she wasn't. She honestly just believed that Rita didn't have a lot of friends, so instead of trying to get to know people like a normal person, she got involved in gossip so she could feel like she was involved in everyone's lives. Annelise wouldn't intentially bad mouth anyone, unless they truly were evil. She always attempted to see the good sides of situations and people, even if hardly any were available. She didn't even care if the person she was standing up for was her friend or not, or even if that person liked her. She just had a hard time believing anyone was evil pure and through.

"I'm sure no one in the school would tell me about it," Annelise continued with a small smile. "I wouldn't ask anyone else but the source."

By that she meant that she wouldn't ask about gossip to anyone else other than the person who the gossip was written about, for it was just a vicious circle... it would have just caused more gossip. She hated lies, or stretched truths. She just wanted to know.

"Sorry for asking, I just thought maybe people were giggling because they assumed we liked each other or something," she finished, quickly, looking back at him in the eyes.

Word count: 540

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[Remus John Lupin]

Remus didn't so much mind her asking, but he was just more than a tad embarrassed about the things that had been written about him (although he tried not to show), even though less than half of them were true. Not that he thought that Annelise would believe them, because, indeed, she wasn't the type, but they might make her.. doubt him or, if she inquired after him in the corridors, that was most like the information she was going to hear and that was something that Remus didn't want happening at all. Remus always tried to be nice and polite and helpful and he had been thoroughly annoyed with Rita for changing that carefully sculpted image into a womaniser. As though he was Sirius! (Which, for your information - he wasn't!)
He smiled when she confirmed she didn't read the gossip column and looked genuinely relieved. "Well, good to know.. I'd hate it if you had an image of me that was 'the tragically scarred heart breaker'," he commented, smiling slightly, but grateful. He was grateful, pretty much every time when he was treated without prejudice getting in the way, he was thankful. Prejudice was truly the worst of all things, he thought just look at Elisabeth Bennet!. Mainly because it was so hard to overcome; once prejudice was established among a community, getting rid of it was ever so difficult. Remus assumed wrestling a troll would be easier.
To Annelise's comment about Rita, he just nodded. Remus guessed it was true, it seemed pretty logical, anyway, for people who had no life to get obsessed with others' lives. Plus, she was a Slytherin, so it was basically in her nature to sacrifice others if that would make her seem better, wasn't it? That sounded prejudiced, and Remus was aware of that, but ever since that wench had cornered him in the bathroom.. No, he didn't want to talk about Skeeter, so he just nodded and didn't elaborate. Skeeter wasn't worth his breath to speak with.

"I wouldn't ask anyone else but the source." Remus smiled, again, grateful. "Thank you, I hate it when people just assume.." He chuckled a little when she said she thought people were laughing because they assumed Remus and Annelise were together. "Well, if they did, they should start divination classes now, they'll probably ace them," Remus commented, half amused. It was true, right? Annelise and he did like each other, it had seemed rather mutual mere moments ago.
Remus sipped his butterbeer again, sighing softly as the liquid danced down his throat. He felt happy, he realised, and why wouldn't he? He was with the girl he more-that-liked (the word 'love' was quite a bit too scary, still..) and every time they spoke she turned out to be even nicer than she was before. "Let's move onto more brighter subjects, shall we?" he suggested. He wanted to get to know Annelise better, and where better to start than where she came from? "Tell me about your family? I mean.. You told me you have a brother, but - you know." Remus didn't mean to pry, he just wanted them to talk, but wasn't quite sure how to ask such a question without seemingly prying.

[Annelise Westerhof]

Annelise laughed quietly at the 'tragically scarred heartbreaker' comment. "So you're renowned for being a heartbreaker are you? Better keep my guard up."

She was joking, of course, and the look on her face showed that completely. It wasn't like she didn't believe that Remus was capable of breaking someone's heart for everyone was capable of such a thing. You didn't even have to be a player or mean to do so. All you had to do was tell someone who cared about you something that they didn't want to hear. It was almost the way she felt when her friend had left to go into hiding. It wasn't that she was heartbroken, but it was the closest feeling that she could get to such a thing. Annelise had no idea what the pain of heartbreak truly felt like, though, she could only imagine.

"I never assume anything," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I can't lie, I can be a little, well, presumtuous that something is true when I hear it, but I won't believe it until I hear from the actual source that it's true. Unless it's something truly ridiculous, of course."

Annelise laughed again about the Divination comment, and it caused a light pink colour to appear in her cheeks. Did this mean that he was actually foreseeing the two of them, well, ending up in a relationship? She didn't think the concept was that bad. She tilted her head to the side slightly, looking at Remus well. Could she imagine being the girlfriend of Remus Lupin? Yes, she could. She didn't know him extremely well, however, which did concern her just a little bit. Just because she liked him now in the infatuation stage did not mean that she'd like him later. It was a terrible thing to think, but it was reality. She smiled, however, when he suggested moving on to brighter subjects and he asked about her family.

"Well, my mum and dad are great, really. I'm a Pureblood, I have crazy Aunts in the Netherlands who are all into the Dark Arts, but we don't speak anymore," she said, trying to get as much out as possible in one breath. "I guess my parents are pretty normal, they're nothing exciting. They love me, and that's all that matters. My brother is my best friend. He's thirteen, though. He's practically my backbone. Tells me when I need to stand up for myself better or anything. You'd like him. What about you? I already know that your father is great."

Word Count: 450
Notes: UGH. Sorry about the really crappy post, I was sooo museless for this one D:

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[Remus John Lupin]

Remus chuckled softly at Annelise's comment and would've told her not to worry, had not a lump gotten stuck in his throat as he'd suddenly heard his mother's voice in his mind, a memory of before the Accident (he had only few), and she was reading him a story. '...just as Little Red Riding Hood entered the wood, a wolf met her. Red Riding Hood did not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him.' He tried to laugh it off a little. "Oh, yes, I'm terribly dangerous," he said, trying to jest, but the words sounded too serious to his ears. For a moment, again, Remus wondered if this was the right thing to do.. He honestly liked Annelise and Sirius had told him to go for it, but could he just burden her with him? It was out of the question that he would not tell her, that would be even worse, after all..
He looked at Annelise briefly and was just glad to see trust in her face. Sirius was right - she really was a nice girl. Did he even deserve a nice girl?

"I never assume anything. I mean, I can't lie, I can be a little, well, presumptuous that something is true when I hear it, but I won't believe it until I hear from the actual source that it's true. Unless it's something truly ridiculous, of course." Remus nodded a little, torn between being grateful for her way of thinking and doing, and feeling terribly guilty for leaving her in the dark as to what he really was.
He heard he laugh and was pulled from his thoughts, smiled at her slightly out of instinct. Annelise was blushing slightly, but didn't seem quite embarrassed. Remus wasn't sure what had caused her cheeks to colour, he couldn't see inside her head, after all, so he decided to not think about it for now..

"Well, my mum and dad are great, really. I'm a Pureblood, I have crazy Aunts in the Netherlands who are all into the Dark Arts, but we don't speak anymore." It surprised him how lightly she spoke of her dark-minded relations, but guessed it was something you just got used to, something you learned to ignore and dismiss in half a sentence - just as she had done just now. "I guess my parents are pretty normal, they're nothing exciting. They love me, and that's all that matters. My brother is my best friend. He's thirteen, though. He's practically my backbone. Tells me when I need to stand up for myself better or anything. You'd like him. What about you? I already know that your father is great."
Remus smiled slightly. "Well, if you think your family is not particularly special, mine's even less so, really.." Apart from the fact that the son was cursed and dangerous, but they were quite fine, really.. "My dad's a biologist. He's a wizard, but he.. chose to do a muggle profession, though he, eh, still keeps track of magical creatures, really - he used to work with them." Since when had Remus' thoughts become so disorganised? Was this the same mind with which he wrote all those essays his teachers praised him for? "Well, as for my mum, she used to work but gave that up when I was born," also not true and Remus felt terrible about lying, fearing it was visible on his face as he spoke. He'd always been reasonably good at lying to people that were not his friends, but he found it hard to lie to Annelise. "So she home schooled me and that's pretty much the long and short of it, I mean.. I have no siblings, so.." He smiled weakly. The more he heard Annelise talking about her sibling, the more he realised he'd have liked to have one.
Remus had completely forgotten about his 'my mom's ill and I see her every month' story. Annelise made him forget things, probably, and he had probably felt so at ease, almost the same as he felt with his friends, that he had simply forgotten about that one, though rather important, feature of his life.