The Morning After (Dorcas)

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A diligent finger stabbed at the lovely bags hanging under those gray-green eyes that were still unwilling to remain ajar. They had done such admirable work the night prior; it was a shame to reward them so stingily with such little sleep. Remus caved in and slouched into his hands, elbows propped against the dark grain of the Great Hall table, rubbing his exhausted features. He sat back up and blinked sleepily. The clouds broke momentarily over his foggy vision, just in time for him to see the first silver plates appear with their breakfast bounties.

The school term had only just begun, and yet Remus's ever-faithful professors had taken care to see that he was promptly buried to his knees in books and parchment. He had slacked off for the days leading up to the last, prowling the grounds and goofing off in the corridors with his friends. He was certainly paying for it then... and would be again soon enough, once his early morning classes began.

Remus yawned and reached for a tempting cup of dark, steaming coffee. He took a reckless draught and immediately dropped the cup; the coffee was scathingly hot. He stuck out his tongue, which prickled.

"Uck," he exclaimed with a quick shake of his head, reaching down for the essay on "The Tarantallegra Jinx."

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2zgu9hc.jpg); width: 440px; padding-top:10px;] there's no sunrise --- Dorcas wasn't usually a morning person, but for some reason she woke up around four that morning. Rain trickled down the window panes, she observed. The small drops slowly trailed down the glass and then gathered at the corners in pools. Doe watched it for a bit, hoping the peacefulness of it all, paired with the quiet, would simply put her back to sleep. It didn't. She sighed at five and finally got out of her bed, deciding that she should be productive if she really couldn't go back to sleep. Curse her body. Doe figured she could get a couple of extra hours of sleep since she'd finished her assignments early and had nothing else better to do. Guess she was wrong. The wide-eyed beauty gathered a pair of black jeans, a loose purple and blue tie-dyed tank top, along with a few other things she'd need. Finally placing a towel over her forearm, Dorcas headed toward the lavatory and put her things down. She quickly undressed and turned on the water - which was surprisingly hot. Conveniently, as she thought about it, she shouldn't have been all that surprised. There was no one else awake and bathing at that hour, of course, so obviously the hot water was saved. She was grateful for that, of course. Maybe she could be relaxed enough to sink into a small nap once she returned to the common room. She showered and dried, then dressed herself and spritzed on a light honey perfume - her favourite. Doe wrapped the towel around her hair and squeezed out the excess water as she walked back to the common room, her hands wringing at her hair every now and again. She reached the common room and noticed the time; not even an hour had passed since she took her seemingly-long shower. Great. She plopped down onto the couch, but not before relighting the fireplace. Dorcas then tugged on the spare blanket hung over the couch and laid it over herself, snuggling into the comfortable cushions. It seemed that she was far too awake to even attempt a nap, but she didn't mind at that point. She was over the whole 'angry' phase of waking. Instead, she turned her senses to the rain that was now falling rather steadily and the crackling of the fire a few feet away. It was peaceful combined, and as soon as she had decided that she couldn't fall back asleep, her eyes closed and she was off to dreamland. A few hours later she was awoken by a tapping on her shoulder - her friend waking her. Dorcas smiled up at her, rather refreshed. Her friend trotted off quickly, but Doe took a few minutes to stretch, run a brush through her somewhat damp hair, and then apply her light makeup. She slipped into her blue flats, with black bows at the tops of the open areas which revealed her feet, then finally took off toward the Great Hall. As she entered, she realized not nearly as many people were there as she thought would be. Doe glanced toward the Gryffindor table - an unhealthy habit she'd developed in her fifth year. She couldn't help it, really. But as she looked, a new development in her sights progressed. Poor Remus Lupin just burned his tongue on his coffee, and was now holding it out of his mouth in attempt to soothe the prickling, numbness he was obviously encountered with. A small smile played at her lips and drug her forward. She quickly poured a glass of water at the end of the Hufflepuff table then approached Remus from behind. "I saw that," she whispered behind him, then grinned and swung her legs over the bench of the Gryffindor table beside him. She set the glass in front of him and nodded at it. "That'll, uh, help you..I think."

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A glass of water landed on the table in front of him with a muffled "clunk." Remus reddened - and not from the heat. His eyes flitted upwards to meet those of Dorcas Meadowes, who was now sitting at the table with him. She had obviously just showered - judging by the dampness of her hair - but Remus found her casual appearance to be genuine and refreshing. The light scent of honey wafted through the air.

He blinked a few times to clear his early-morning vision and cleared his throat in an ironically awkward attempt at not being awkward. "Good morning," Remus said, his tongue igniting over the 'n.' He smiled slightly and accepted the water. "You have impeccable timing."

He sipped from the glass and savored the cool flood of water soothing the scalded taste buds. Remus placed the essay on the table. "Good thing I have someone looking out for me." He raised the glass in a quick 'cheers!' motion and took another sip.

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2zgu9hc.jpg); width: 440px; padding-top:10px;] there's no sunrise --- Doe couldn't help but feel her stomach tie in knots as she looked into his cute face. Wow, he was just so...wow. She couldn't even describe the giddy feeling he made her encounter. But, he didn't even know it. And as much as Dorcas tried to remember that it was him who hadn't said anything to her about dating other people, she knew she would always have feelings for Mr. Remus Lupin. Unfortunately, he'd never share them. But sitting beside him, being thanked for being there, made her feel special, even if it was in a way that he didn't even realize. She smiled in return, looking down at the table as she blushed. She looked back up at him and grinned. "Of course," she nodded, smiling as she watched him take another sip of the drink she'd brought. Dorcas realized it was a simple gesture, really, thanking her for a glass of water. But she knew his thanks was sincere. Everything about him was sincere, really. Doe was pretty well at determining the ways people acted, since she was so highly paranoid about people being dishonest with her. But Remus had always seemed so kind and truthful with her, so Dorcas secretly trusted him the most - aside from her friends of course. As far as regular acquaintances and occasional hangouts went, Remus was pretty high on her list. And he didn't even know it. Doe bit her lip as she took a few deep breaths. It felt like a large rock was sitting on her chest. She tried to look past his handsome features and instead focus on conversation. After all, she might have thought she was pretty good-looking, but without a valid conversation or evidence of her personality, Remus would never pay more attention. And that was her goal, of course, even if he did seem to not care too much. "Hope that did the trick," she said as she nodded at the glass, then met his eyes again. She felt her cheeks warm, but tried to ignore it. "So what have you got going on today?"

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tag: remus lupin word count: --- lyric credit: colbie caillat notes: <3

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Down. Up. Forward. Was that too long? Too much eye contact was bad, right? He directed his eyes casually to the left as a countermeasure. He wished he had more confidence in his abilities of conversation. Remus often found himself envying the infallible charisma of his friends James and Sirius, a charisma he oftentimes felt deeply lacking in. "Yeah. The coffee's always too hot in the mornings. Uh, thanks."

He felt slightly warm; was he blushing? Ridiculous, he didn't blush. He was head boy, he was mentally grounded, he was a good, serious student... he didn't blush. He directed his attention to the essay on the table and rested his cheekbones on his balled hangs - still propped at angles against the table - to extinguish the unwelcome heat.

"Early classes, you know," he sighed in response. "I wish someone would propose a law ruling out the legality of morning sessions. I'm seriously starting to question it myself."

He looked up momentarily, wondering if the bags underneath his lower lids were still as impressionably noticeable as he had found them this morning. "You look tired," he noted. Immediately regretting the possibly rude observation, he added a hasty, "Er, sorry."

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2zgu9hc.jpg); width: 440px; padding-top:10px;] there's no sunrise --- As she looked at him, she couldn't help but notice his cheeks turning a bit pink. Was he blushing? No...not at all. He couldn't, right? Dorcas tried to ignore it, but of course she found herself staring. He was gorgeous, after all, and she felt completely nutter being so close to him. He obviously didn't want a thing to do with some foolish girl like herself. He was so honest and smooth, so sophisticated, really, for being just a year younger than herself. It didn't bother her that he was younger, of course. Besides, it was only one year...not that it mattered, anyway. "Ah, early classes. Sadly I've got two this morning as well," Doe explained, looking down to his essay. From just a glance, it seemed so thought out. Damn, he was intelligent too? She figured he was, but the proof there and all...why did he have to be so perfect all the time? If he was ugly, it would be no problem, and if he was stupid or plain boring, he would be nothing to her...a personality was more important than looks, anyway. But Remus Lupin had everything she'd ever longed for in a boy, and as she gazed into his eyes again, she couldn't help but wish she was his 'perfect package,' too. "Oh, Remus," she laughed, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be silly - I should look tired because I am tired," Doe admitted with a grin. "But...not tired for a stroll around the grounds later...I-I mean," she said, looking away as she tried to find her words. She looked back at him and gulped. "Only if you..if you want to, of course. I mean, I understand if you don't and I'll just...stop babbling now," she stuttered, then looked down at her lap. Good going. tag: remus lupin word count: --- lyric credit: colbie caillat notes: <3

credit to BABY DARLING ! @ caution 2.0

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Remus listened, allowing the girl to chatter uninterrupted. He raised his eyebrows. Was he making her nervous? He was so terrible when it came to mutual verbal exchange and worried that he was making things awkward. Why was he thinking so much, anyways? If the conversation didn't flow naturally, maybe it meant that two people weren't quite compatible. But somehow, he didn't want that to be true.

"A stroll?" He mused, mentally clearing a to-do checklist. "I suppose it would do me good to get outside today." The coffee sat on the table, slightly dripping and untouched since his earlier episode. Other students were starting to filter in, beckoned from their dormitories by the aroma of crisp, fresh bacon.

Cluelessly, he asked, "should I ask Sirius or James to come? I have some afternoon classes with them, so..." He didn't think much of the invitation, though it was hard not to notice the hand on his shoulder. Remus wasn't sure of how he should respond, was he even supposed to? He had always had a peculiar relationship with Dorcas. Remus had few friends at Hogwarts - he had considered himself to be fairly shy - and seldom spoke to the female students. For all he knew, this awkwardness was an integral part of a co-ed relationship. But that couldn't be true... watching Sirius flirt with random students on the grounds was almost poetic; he turned it into a skill, a game, an art form. There was no awkwardness there. Was it him, then? Was it her?

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2zgu9hc.jpg); width: 440px; padding-top:10px;] there's no sunrise --- "A stroll?" His question made her feel as though the suggestion was rather stupid. But as he answered further, that it would do him good, she grinned. Dorcas knew it wasn't exactly a date or anything, and it wasn't like they hadn't hung out before, but the fact was that she had asked him and he said yes - a clear sign that at the very least he was interested in her. Even if it was just a friendship. But..she couldn't help but want more. As he went on to ask if he should ask James and Sirius, her heart sort of dropped. Apparently, friendship was all that was possible for them. She bit her lip and nodded. "Sure, I mean, if you want them to come," she said politely. It wasn't like Dorcas hated James and Sirius - on the contrary, she found them amusing and very likeable. But, she sort of wanted some alone time with just Remus. But, how could she say that without sounding like a prude or making it apparent that she was interested in him romantically? She looked down and couldn't help but smile. "Unless you maybe...wanted to be alone..."

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GAH! Why was she so stupid? Her heart grew heavy in her chest and seemed to sink her down. She might as well had blubbered 'I LIKE YOU!' for as obvious as the statement she'd just made was. But, Doe had hope that maybe he would take her shyness as cute and maybe want to be alone with her. Of course, if he didn't, it was fine. But, still.


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Remus blinked. Doe seemed uncharacteristically flustered at the mention of James and Sirius, as if she would prefer that they not join them on their afternoon walk. That couldn't be, she had always seemed to enjoy their company while he was around. Had one of them said something to her? He would have to ask later. Perhaps he would leave them out of it... maybe... was she interested in James? Probably Sirius, he thought rationally. All of the girls were, it seemed. He felt as if there were a pit in his stomach... it was a strange, sinking feeling quite foreign to him. Odd.

Her next words made him look up again. His eyes fell searchingly upon her face, which was directed downwards. "Oh, no. I am exhausted," Remus said, mistaking the meaning of her utterance for quiet concern, "but I'd much rather spend the afternoon with you than alone." He provided a slight supplementary smile.

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2zgu9hc.jpg); width: 440px; padding-top:10px;] there's no sunrise --- Dorcas couldn't help but blush at his statement. "Oh, well, good then," was all she could manage to say. She looked up into his eyes and grinned. Maybe she could muster up the courage to tell him how she felt...but, it'd be up to the timing and such. Plus, if he appeared to really want to remain friends, then she wouldn't even try it. She bit her lip and then nodded as she gathered her thoughts. "I'll meet you at the lake, then? Around twelve?"

[/color] she offered, then stood up and smiled down at him. "I'll see you then,"[/color] Doe said softly, before hurrying off, grinning.

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tag: remus lupin word count: --- lyric credit: colbie caillat notes: <3

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credit to BABY DARLING ! @ caution 2.0[/center]