And by midnight you'll be so convinced [OPEN]

[serena]

Serena loved her time at home. She was always so alone and isolated at Hogwarts that it was nice to be in a place where she wasn't afraid to speak up. Often she wasn't heard because she had one of the softest sorts of voices but she still spoke more in one week at home than she did a year at Hogwarts. Home was her comfort zone.

Serena shook her head at Remus. "Honestly Remus, they're more afraid of you than you are of them. I know it sounds old but it really is true. They can just react differently to us when scared. The sort of 'fight or flight' reflex kicks in and you just have to know how to sooth the savage beasts as it were." In Serena's opinion animals were far more easier to get along with than humans. They needed food and water. They also needed fresh air and sunlight (at least in most cases, the occasional few dwelled in the dark) and exercise. Follow all those very basic needs and you would do fine with animals (though a few species require company of their kind or sometimes others). Serena felt like offering to take Remus to a few of the magical creatures they kept at the school (some relatively safe ones so that if they were to get scared, the worst they could do was spit puss at them or something similar) but she decided against it as she wasn't sure if she was over stepping an invisible and metaphorical sort of line.

Serena felt at ease when she saw Remus smile after correcting him, she wasn't one to talk to people usually so correcting someone was a rather big step. In talking to Kat and now Remus Serena really did feel as though she was coming out of her shyness shell even if it was for small periods of time.

When Remus suggested they could take the class to find out all the information they were pondering Serena felt a little uncomfortable as she wasn't sure if she'd be able to take the class or not as it may or may not clash with one of her other subjects and she really hated letting people down. She shrugged her shoulders and wondered if Remus might be mad with her but she felt as though she had a logical reason for not agreeing right away. "I'm not sure, I suppose if it doesn't clash with any of my other subjects then it would be a great subject to take and I'd be really interested in it."

[Remus John Lupin]

"Honestly Remus, they're more afraid of you than you are of them. I know it sounds old but it really is true. They can just react differently to us when scared. The sort of 'fight or flight' reflex kicks in and you just have to know how to sooth the savage beasts as it were." He shrugged and chuckled slightly. "I'm sure, I'm sure they are," he said and half shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm a lost case, though." Oh, he hoped she wasn't going to offer him any help. "Everyone's got their weak points, I'm not too bothered, really."

He was glad Serena appeared to be opening up a little. She seemed so shy, which was not necessarily a bad thing, but she was a nice girl and now that she was more at ease, it complimented her all the better.
She seemed a little reluctant to sign up for the Ghoul Studies class, but it soon became clear that that was due to her worry about it clashing with her other subjects. "I think they'll plan it in a completely free area, as it's out of the regular curriculum?" Remus smiled a little, hoping she'd be able to take it. "We could go and ask?"

Remus toyed with his book's cover a little, enjoying the conversation, actually. "You know, if you can't make the class you could always copy my notes." He thought everyone ought to have as many educational options as they wanted. Sure, it required a little work, but it was worth it wasn't it?

[serena]

Serena smiled at Remus. There was no shame in being a little bad at some things and she supposed his thing that he was bad at was care of magical creatures. After this thought Serena felt a little bad about pushing the subject and wondered what had gotten into her as she wasn't usually like this at all. But then again she never really ever talked to people.

"Oh well that sounds fantastic. I think we should ask, just to make sure." Serena smiled again. Remus was really quite the cheerful influence she thought. He seemed very kind to her and willing to talk. He even invited her to an extra lesson with him which she knew she would enjoy and she knew she would enjoy becoming friends with Remus, he seemed like the kind of boy she would have gotten on with had she been social from her first year on.

"Well thank you Remus, if I can't take the class I would surely love to copy your notes." She stated in a cheery sort of way, the tones of cheer apparent in her softly spoken voice. "But I do hope I can take it. So far it sounds fascinating and that's just from what you've told me!" Serena was really rather excited to take an extra class, especially with Remus. He was proving to be a good influence on her already and she hoped she could get on just as well as this with others too.

[Remus John Lupin]

Serena needn't feel bad about talking about a subject not so close to Remus' heart. He wasn't one to get annoyed or irritated by is easily, and she hadn't really pushed him about it, either. He had confessed his inability when it came to COMC with others and they had responded in very much the same way as she had and he hadn't had any feeling of pressure, to be honest. Serena had stopped inquiring after it at the exact right moment.

He nodded when Serena agreed they should ask and he checked his watch, the gold one he'd gotten from Annelise last year. "I assume the professor will be in his office around this time, we could go now if you're okay with that?" Remus was by no means a teachers' pet. Yes, he did his best in classes and did so deliberately, but he didn't suck up to teachers. Besides, he was too misschievous at heart to really be teachers'-pet-material. Still, that didn't mean that he sometimes talked to teachers about certain subjects and things he'd read. As Defense Agaisnt the Dark Arts was by far his favourite subject, it wasn't very strange (at least not to him) that he would ask the teacher for extra information or material when he was interested in something specific. Teachers were here to educate them, and Remus wanted to be taught.
He was glad to see that Serena was also enthusiastic about it. To be honest, Remus wasn't sure if any of his other friends would consider the extra-curricular subject. Peter, James, and Sirius would dismiss it simply because it was extra-curricular in the first place. He hadn't asked Lena yet, but as she had done well in her OWLs he expected her to be busy. Annelise.. he hadn't spoken to Annelise in quite a while, and DADA was not her forte. Remus wasn't sure about her, either. Still, he'd also be happy to just share this class with Serena. She was a little silent and shy, he'd noticed, but once she opened up she was really nice.

"Well thank you Remus, if I can't take the class I would surely love to copy your notes. But I do hope I can take it. So far it sounds fascinating and that's just from what you've told me!" Remus smiled and nodded, agreeing. He wasn't quite as studious as some Ravenclaws, but this sounded interesting and to be honest he was pretty glad to realise that other students (who were also not in Ravenclaw) also seemed to be interested. It made him feel like less of an oddity.

[serena]

Serena wondered if now was really a good time to go and visit the professor. Remus had been reading quietly before she had interrupted with her clumsiness and she didn't want to pull him away from a good book if he would be more comfortable in the library.

"That would be good as long as you don't mind Remus. I would hate to pull you away from the library when you came here to read and relax." Truth was Serena wouldn't mind a quiet read right now but she was also thinking that she would really quite like to find out more about Ghoul Studies and when it was so that she could give Remus a definitive answer as to whether she would be taking the class with him or not. She really rather hoped that she would be able to. She really quite liked Remus' company and she hoped she wasn't too imposing for him.

Serena stood up and lifted her book bag into her back. She gave it a quick inspection to make sure she'd cleaned up all the blood. The bag and the floor all looked clean and she assumed Remus would have helped her out had she had any blood on her face or anywhere obvious. She gave herself a quick glance down to check there was no blood on her clothes before looking at Remus. If he was ok to go and see the professor then she would of course go with him but if he was not then she would say her good byes and settle down in her chair and have a read of her new school books (a few of which she'd already read at home during the holidays).

[Remus John Lupin]

Serena seemed a little hesitant to go and see the professor. Maybe she had things planned, or maybe she just didn't like to speak to teachers outside of class (something most students didn't like, Remus knew, so that wasn't completely out of the ordinary). Then again, what did he know? For all Remus knew Serena could be reluctant to walk all the way to the other side of the castle.
Her remark soon cleared his doubts, though, and Remus shrugged and smiled a little. "Oh, it wouldn't be pulling me away. I don't mind, I was planning to ask him sooner or later anyway. So unless you had other plans.." Remus didn't finish the sentence and shrugged instead.

As the girl next to him started packing her things, Remus followed her example, closing the book he'd been reading and putting his things into his, rather well-worn, backpack. "I'll have to check this book out for a second," he said, a little apologetically, because he didn't like making people wait, and strolled over to Madam Pince with her. The librarian glanced at Remus over the rim of her half-moon glasses as though she doubted he would ever restore the piece of literature in one piece, though eventually scribbled the date onto the card inserted into the cover, briefly checked the book for future reference, and handed it back to Remus with a remark that she would need it back in a week - as though anyone actually wanted the obscure bit of herbology Remus had come across on some back, dusty shelf.
"It's not a very far walk from here," he said, just for something to say. He knew the teachers' quarters were farther away from the Gryffindor tower than they were from the library, but he had no idea where the Hufflepuff cellar was, actually. "So, eh-" He hoisted his backpack up a little higher as they ascended a flight of stairs. "You're from a pretty big family, right?" Remus was an only child and he had always secretly longed for brothers and sisters, so he was a little jealous of Serena in that respect.

[serena]

Serena shook her head at Remus for she had no other plans (apart from reading but that could wait until later she decided) and so seeing the professor now was probably a good idea because then she would find out sooner rather than later as to whether or not she would be able to take the class with Remus and she was truly hoping that she could. It seemed like it would be fun and she knew it would be a most enjoyable subject with a friend to talk to through it as long as they weren't reading or practicing spells.

Serena smiled at Remus and waited for him to return. Madam pince seemed to be giving the book a once over to check on its condition as if memorising it incase it came back with a scratch or something. She would probably try and have Remus expelled if any such thing were to happen. The silly old lady. Remus to Serena seemed like the type of person that looked after books very, very well indeed.

Serena walked out of the library with Remus and was glad when he struck up conversation. She had no clue what to talk about and so it seemed like family was the way to go. Serena just nodded her head and sighed lightly. "Yes, fairly big and I'm the quiet, shy one that never gets heard, but I don't mind so much, I have the library close by to home so I like to read a lot. What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Serena was quite interested to know about Remus' life. She thought he was quite a lovely chap and was really starting to wish more so than hope now that she could take the class with him. He seemed gentle and yet very social at the same time and of course Serena knew he was friends with Sirius, James and Peter and that together they were known to be quite mischievous throughout the school, but she had a hard time imagining Remus as a trouble maker but she had only just met him officially today.

[Remus John Lupin]

"Good, we can go now then," Remus said, quite happily actually, because it gave him something to do and he hadn't been able to focus while reading anyway. After he had gotten passed 'the Obstacle of Pinch' (as some students preferred to call the librarian) he led her out of the library and towards the teacher's quarters. It wasn't that he was a teacher's pet (not completely anyway) that he knew where to go - it was the simple combination of working on the Map a lot and having a rather good memory. He had remembered the staff quarters because he'd noticed how some of them differed in size and how different they were from the student's dorms (and maybe he had also remembered because he secretly dreamed of living in one some day).
Either way, it didn't matter - he knew where to go, that was what was important. He walked up a flight of stairs, hoping it wouldn't shift places while they were half way up, and nodded at Serena's answer a little. "I wish I had any siblings," he answered, "but I don't, sadly." He shrugged a little and smiled. "But I suppose this is good too, I mean.. after being at Hogwarts for a year, Merlin knows how much I need the peace and quiet - and not siblings to quarrell with at home." There was a bright side to everything, if you looked hard enough.
Serena was nice and Remus felt rather guilty for not having noticed her before. Then again - she was quiet, so it wasn't completely his own fault. At least they shared some classes now, so they could get to know each other better, maybe keep in touch after they were both out of school.

The Defense teacher's rooms were at the end of the hallway, on the west wing of the fifth floor. Remus had been there before, once, to ask the teacher about some titles the library didn't have (and mr. Zolnerowich did). They got along as well as students and teachers can, Dimitri found Remus an attentive, hardworking student and Remus liked Dim's easy-goingness when it came to his condition. He wasn't sure why his teacher seemed not so bothered, but Remus had the hunch that he had maybe seen worse. After all - he was a Defense teacher, he must have seen a dark wizard or two in his life.
Even though professor Zolnerowich seemed to have a very open policy about students coming to ask him about things, Remus knocked the door gingerly and then quietly waited for it to open. And open it did, not a minute later, by a somewhat surprised Dimitri, who smiled as soon as he spotted them. "Ah - mister Lupin, miss Williams. How can I help?" his accent had faded during the years he'd lived outside of Russia, but it was unmistakably there, a quiet, rolling hint in the background of his speech.



[Sorry that it took me ages! I play the Defense Teacher now, so I figured I might as well give Dim the class. He's the kind of guy to do extracurricular things xD]