The widow in the portrait (Remus)

[MOLLY PREWETT]

The best thing about being an older student was that the punishment for being outside your respected common rooms near dark isn't nearly half as bad as it is when you're a junior. Molly Prewett was taking advantage of this, of course, because it meant she could come back from the library much later than others (and with good reason too! The homework pile she was collecting was getting ridiculous), or pop down to the kitchen for a few twilight snacks to share with the rest of her dormitory before bed. So, typically, Molly was strolling the halls of Hogwarts without much worry given it was almost eight o'clock. She had just managed to catch the library before it closed by a few mere seconds, and begged Mr Nuckols at the door to accept her book return so she wasn't slapped with a late fee. Grudgingly, he accepted her book and told her to quickly return back to her common-room before she was caught and put into detention. Molly gratefully bid him goodnight and was set upon her way again, only she ignored his advice and took a number of detours on her way back to her tower.

It wasn't as though Molly didn't want to go back to the common room; she wasn't particularly avoiding anyone, but there wasn't anybody she wanted to see either. It was always so crowded and loud this time of night, as many of the students had their heads together studying or playing various wizardry games amongst themselves and making a racket. She could easily take her book up to her dormitory to read in bed and be completely anti-social, but neither that nor trying to maintain peace in common room seemed like a good idea right now. Instead, Molly decided to pay a visit to the widowed army-wife's portrait on the fifth floor where she promised she would visit once every few weeks after she helped her in a desperate time for escape back in her earlier years at Hogwarts. She was friendly enough, but had the tendency to go off into long, detailed and repeative stories about her youth that Molly often felt compiled to listen to without finding a moment to excuse herself. If she had a reason to only pay her a quick visit, then she was worth all the while.

Making sure to skip the trick step in the stairwell, Molly entered the fifth floor and past a number of oddly decorative displays Hogwarts was known common for and searched the neighboring portraits for her talkative friend when she heard a sudden crash up ahead that made her startle. Looking around suspiciously at the dimly lit hall stretched in front of her, Molly drew her hand inside her robes to clutch her wand for safety in case she needed it. "Hello?"

[/color] Molly called out, hearing her voice echo a little through the emptiness of the hall. She waited a moment and heard nothing, so she took a few cautious steps forward, deciding to draw her wand this time just in case. "Whose there?[/color] she called again, trying not to sound frightened but concerned. "You shouldn't be out of bed after dark, you know!" She added hastily on the off chance the sound had come from a lost first year.[/blockquote][/size]

[REMUS JOHN LUPIN]

One of the perks to being a prefect aside from getting to dock housepoints and having the air of authority (which Remus still thought he lacked) was the prefect's bathroom. As always, he had put up a "do not disturb" sign which was a creation of his own doing. Despite the size of the tub, he did not feel comfortable sharing with other people. Perhaps he was a bit prudish in that respect- he knew that it was customary for shower stalls to be shared with a thin veil of plastic in some places- but it was his preferences. He was uncomfortable in his body and particularly in his scars.

As he let the tub drain, he began to dry himself off. His chest, arms, legs, and back were covered in scars. Some were tiny, others stretched across his abdomen. Some were thin or on the verge of disappearing- likely acquired when he was fairly young. And yet, others were thick and deep. One of the recent additions to this group was on the back of his leg where he had bitten into his own flesh in the form of the wolf, trying to relieve his aching bones.

Or maybe that was just an excuse. Perhaps he hated himself so much that he wanted to not be faced with it- to not have to deal with it. James and Sirius would call him a stupid git for thinking such thoughts. He was Moony, and it was just one of his unique traits. He wished that everyone saw his affliction as just a minor setback. He wondered if he'd have so many image issues with himself if this were the case. It was truth that he knew many people feared and despised werewolves. The ministry had made that painfully clear with all of their anti-magical creature laws.

Although he was studying to become an auror, he had been painfully informed by Professor McGonagal that his profession would likely never be acheived. It wasn't that he wasn't a skilled enough wizard, and she assured him that she believed he could do it. He excelled in all of his classes, and his main strength was defending against the dark arts. Yes, it would be a perfect profession, but the Ministry would not entrust capturing dark wizards to werewolves. That was the truth, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it except learn on his own time and hope that one day the ministry would see reason.

The thoughts helped him mindlessly dress into his robes so that he could start his trip back to the dormitory. It was as he was heading back to Gryffindor tower, he stumbled upon none other than Lily's friend Molly. He half smiled at her ramblings, "I believe that the Prefect's schedule is slightly different than yours," of course, another perk was that curfew was later for him- and it gave him an excuse to venture to the prefect's bathroom after hours for a relaxing, hot bath while being undisturbed.

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TAG - Molly
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[MOLLY PREWETT]

Though the voice that answered her was kind, unconcerned and yet familiar, Molly did not lower her wand until Remus came into view. He was walking in her direction with a slight stumble, likely due to clumsiness, with damp hair stuck to her forehead and Molly realized he must have been using the prefect's bathroom. Sighing with relief, Molly gave him a smile and tucked her wand away inside her robes. "Blimey Remus,"

[/color] Molly laughed, trying to act half as worried as she had been a moment ago. "Thought you were a teacher, or a Slytherin, knowing my luck,"[/color] She ran a hand through her hair idly and looked around the deserted corridor. Noting how jumpy she was this evening already, she made the conscious decision to return to the Gryffindor tower with him, especially since it was less likely for a seventh year to get into trouble if she was with a prefect.

"How are you?[/color] she asked politely. Molly had always been fond of Remus. He was the less idiotic of the four infamous sixth-year Gryffindors, showing much more maturity and sensibility than both James and Sirius combined. He was also exceptionally talented in all of his studies, or so she had heard from Lily who was studying very similar subjects with him. Molly always admired people who took pride in their school-work, rather than taking it for granted and using classes as an opportunity to waste time. It wasn't common to see Remus, whether it were at breakfast, in the common room or out in the courtyard when the weather was nice, to have a book in his possession. Molly was sure Remus read more than anybody she knew, with the exception of Lily who was just as obsessed with books. With all this in mind, Molly didn't mind walking with him as she often never had the chance to speak to him when both Sirius and James were around him. This was turning out to be a nice change.

"In case you were wondering,[/color] Molly added quickly as a side-note before Remus could respond to her first question. "I promise I wasn't up to any mischief,"[/color] She grinned as they rounded a corner. "I'll leave that one up to your friends, but seriously...[/color]" The pair of them paused at the foot of an empty stairwell, waiting for the stairs to change before climbing up to the next level. "I was just visiting that widow in one of the paintings on this level. She's quite nice, you know. Very good for optimistic advice,"[/color] Molly nodded encouragingly, still with a smile. It was quite funny how cheerful she had become when only a minute ago she was scared out of her wits.[/blockquote][/size]