15 April 1977
Sep. 3rd, 2012 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
for_his_friends"Hello?"
Remus frowns at the telephone. The voice is definitely female, but it doesn't really sound like Lily. Maybe voices get changed, though, when they travel over the cords and all?
"Hello?"
There's a hint of irritation this time, and Remus reminds himself that she can't see him, so he had better start talking.
"Er, Lily?" he says.
"Is this Remus?"
It must change voices, if she has to ask, too. Remus nods, remembers that it's useless to do so, and says, "Yes."
"She said you might be calling. One moment, Remus, I'll get her for you."
Oh, it's her mum. It had never occurred to him that the number wouldn't dial directly to Lily, the way an owl delivers a letter straight to its recipient.
Though it makes much more sense than the idea that the cords change voices, now that he thinks about it.
"Thank you," Remus manages.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James and Sirius, watching him through the phone box's windows. He'd locked the door and cast a muffling spell, which he knows he'll pay for later, but he thinks it's worth it to have some measure of privacy for this. They're his best mates, and he trusts them with his life and the biggest secrets thereof, but he doesn't need their "help" with this.
"Hello, Remus," Lily says, and Remus focuses his attention on the telephone in front of him. "I thought you'd be calling."
"Hello, Lily." She sounds exactly like herself, which is both reassuring and kind of bizarre. "It's really odd to hear you but not see you."
"Yeah, I guess that is new for you, isn't it?" she says. "So is this your practice call before you ring what's-her-name?"
"Angela, and I don't know. James and Sirius think I should, but ... I dunno."
"Well, it's really kind of simple, Remus. If you want to ring her, you should ring her, and if you don't ... then I'm honestly not sure why you're calling me."
"I'm just not sure it's a good idea," Remus says.
"Why wouldn't it be, if you liked her? You're talking about calling a girl on the phone, and maybe seeing her for a bit. What's the worst that could really happen here?"
"We meet up, go out, get attacked by Dark wizards, she winds up in St. Mungo's where they have to reverse four different curses and then she gets Obliviated and forgets she ever met me in the first place, and I wind up in Azkaban for violating the Statute of Secrecy," Remus says in a rush.
It's a moment before Lily says, "You've given that an alarming amount of thought. The good news, though, is that as long as you don't take her to some dodgy pub in Knockturn Alley, I don't really see that happening. I don't think your average Death Eater is hanging around London hoping some sixth year Gryffindor on a date is going to wander past. I kind of think they have better, or worse, things to do than worry about a Hogwarts student, yeah?"
"She could have a really bad time and wish she'd never met me," Remus says.
"Yeah, she could," Lily says. "But again, the worse that happens there is that the two of you have a less than brilliant afternoon, and it's not like you'd have to spend the rest of the year sitting across the aisle from her in Charms class or trying to avoid her in the common room, like Perdita and Black."
"But that's part of the problem, isn't it?" Remus says. "I'm a Wizard. She's a Muggle."
"Yeah, and if you were talking about marrying her, that would be a concern. But you're talking about ringing a girl up and then maybe taking her to get a cup of tea or something. Don't make this bigger than it is."
"Right," Remus says. He looks over his shoulder, where James and Sirius have practically pressed their noses to the glass and then turns back to staring at the numbers on the phone in front of him. "So what do I say?"
"Um, you say something like, 'Hello, this is Remus, we met however it is you two met, I'm in town visiting a friend for Easter break, I've got to go back to school on Sunday, but I'd really like see you before then, are you free?' And then the two of you pick a place and a time. And you can let her suggest the place, because you don't know London and she does."
"What if her mum answers the phone like yours did?"
"Then you say, 'Hello, this is Remus Lupin, I'm trying to reach Angela, is she in?' And her mother will either go get her, or she'll tell you she's out. And if she tells you Angela is out," Lily continues, anticipating his next question, "then you say you're staying with a friend, you don't want to disturb his parents, and is there a good time to call again and talk to her."
Remus nods, remembers the whole not-seeing thing, and manages, "All right."
"Good."
"Lily?"
"Yeah?
"What if it goes really well?"
And why is that the scariest thought of all?
"Then you have a brilliant time. And you ask her for her address, and you tell her you'll write from school."
"I can't write her from school," Remus says. "I can't send an owl to a -- "
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Remus, you'd hardly be the first person to need to write to a Muggle from Hogwarts. There are ways to do it; I'll explain if you need to know. And at this point, you're just stalling. You don't really need to me to tell you any of this. Just ask her out. Stop making up excuses, stop pretending you don't know what to say, stop telling yourself you can't handle this, because you and I both know you can. So I'm ringing off now. You can tell me all about how it goes on Sunday. See you then."
"Lily, no wait, I -- "
There's a click and she's gone.
Remus considers just stepping out of the phone box and telling James and Sirius that Angela is busy for the rest of the week and it didn't work out, but as he can't see any way he actually gets away with that, he sighs, squares his shoulders, and drops another coin into the phone to call Angela.
"Hello?"
"Hello, I'm Remus Lupin, I'm trying to -- "
"Oh, hello. This is Angela."
"Angela. Oh, good," Remus says. "I was calling you."
"I was hoping you would," she says.
"And I am," he says, and then makes the inanity of that remark worse by adding, "But you've spotted that."
Thank Merlin for muffling spells, because if Sirius had heard that, Remus would never hear the end of it, as it might actually be the stupidest and most obvious thing he has ever said.
Angela laughs. "I did, yeah," she says.
Wait, does she think he's being, like, clever?
Or amusing?
On purpose?
"I'm glad you did," Angela says. "How are you?"
Confused.
Very, very confused.
"I'm good, thanks. How're you? How's Winston?"
Did he really just ask about the dog?
"He's fine; hasn't got away from anybody since you caught him. And I'm good, too."
Right, that's covered then. What was he supposed to say next?
"Um, so, um," Remus says, and makes the mistake of looking away from the phone. James and Sirius have split up, and are now watching him from either side. Remus attempts to steadfastly ignore them in the most dignified manner he can manage while stammering.
"Yes?" Angela asks.
"Well, I'm visiting a friend in London this week, for part of Easter Break," he says. "And I've got to go back to school on Sunday."
"Oh," she says.
"But, um," Remus says, and glances over at James, whose smile is actually ... encouraging.
Stop telling yourself you can't handle this.
"But meeting you was definitely one the best parts of my visit, and I know that you're probably busy, and I'll understand if you can't, but if you've got time, and you wanted to, I'd really like to see you before I go back. Maybe tomorrow?"
That actually didn't sound too bad, did it?
"That'd be brilliant," Angela says. "I'd love to."
"Me, too," Remus says. "I already said that, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but that's all right," she says. "I promised Molly -- that's my sister -- I promised her I'd do some things with her in the morning, but I'm free all afternoon."
"Um, maybe around two o'clock, then? I could meet you somewhere."
"That'd be perfect. Where?" Angela asks.
"You probably know a lot more about London than I do," Remus says. "What would you recommend?"
"Have you not got to see much of the city, then?"
"Not really," Remus says.
"Well, I guess we could just sort of meet at Trafalgar Square or something? Walk around a little, let you see some of the sights. Is that silly?"
"No, not at all," Remus says. "I think it sounds like fun. Trafalgar Square, two o'clock, tomorrow."
"I'll wait for you by Nelson's Column and I'll be wearing a purple scarf," Angela says.
Remus isn't sure where Trafalgar Square is or what Nelson's Column is, but he's got twenty-four hours to figure it out.
He can handle it.
"I'll find you. I'll just look for the prettiest girl there."
Remus frowns at the telephone. The voice is definitely female, but it doesn't really sound like Lily. Maybe voices get changed, though, when they travel over the cords and all?
"Hello?"
There's a hint of irritation this time, and Remus reminds himself that she can't see him, so he had better start talking.
"Er, Lily?" he says.
"Is this Remus?"
It must change voices, if she has to ask, too. Remus nods, remembers that it's useless to do so, and says, "Yes."
"She said you might be calling. One moment, Remus, I'll get her for you."
Oh, it's her mum. It had never occurred to him that the number wouldn't dial directly to Lily, the way an owl delivers a letter straight to its recipient.
Though it makes much more sense than the idea that the cords change voices, now that he thinks about it.
"Thank you," Remus manages.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James and Sirius, watching him through the phone box's windows. He'd locked the door and cast a muffling spell, which he knows he'll pay for later, but he thinks it's worth it to have some measure of privacy for this. They're his best mates, and he trusts them with his life and the biggest secrets thereof, but he doesn't need their "help" with this.
"Hello, Remus," Lily says, and Remus focuses his attention on the telephone in front of him. "I thought you'd be calling."
"Hello, Lily." She sounds exactly like herself, which is both reassuring and kind of bizarre. "It's really odd to hear you but not see you."
"Yeah, I guess that is new for you, isn't it?" she says. "So is this your practice call before you ring what's-her-name?"
"Angela, and I don't know. James and Sirius think I should, but ... I dunno."
"Well, it's really kind of simple, Remus. If you want to ring her, you should ring her, and if you don't ... then I'm honestly not sure why you're calling me."
"I'm just not sure it's a good idea," Remus says.
"Why wouldn't it be, if you liked her? You're talking about calling a girl on the phone, and maybe seeing her for a bit. What's the worst that could really happen here?"
"We meet up, go out, get attacked by Dark wizards, she winds up in St. Mungo's where they have to reverse four different curses and then she gets Obliviated and forgets she ever met me in the first place, and I wind up in Azkaban for violating the Statute of Secrecy," Remus says in a rush.
It's a moment before Lily says, "You've given that an alarming amount of thought. The good news, though, is that as long as you don't take her to some dodgy pub in Knockturn Alley, I don't really see that happening. I don't think your average Death Eater is hanging around London hoping some sixth year Gryffindor on a date is going to wander past. I kind of think they have better, or worse, things to do than worry about a Hogwarts student, yeah?"
"She could have a really bad time and wish she'd never met me," Remus says.
"Yeah, she could," Lily says. "But again, the worse that happens there is that the two of you have a less than brilliant afternoon, and it's not like you'd have to spend the rest of the year sitting across the aisle from her in Charms class or trying to avoid her in the common room, like Perdita and Black."
"But that's part of the problem, isn't it?" Remus says. "I'm a Wizard. She's a Muggle."
"Yeah, and if you were talking about marrying her, that would be a concern. But you're talking about ringing a girl up and then maybe taking her to get a cup of tea or something. Don't make this bigger than it is."
"Right," Remus says. He looks over his shoulder, where James and Sirius have practically pressed their noses to the glass and then turns back to staring at the numbers on the phone in front of him. "So what do I say?"
"Um, you say something like, 'Hello, this is Remus, we met however it is you two met, I'm in town visiting a friend for Easter break, I've got to go back to school on Sunday, but I'd really like see you before then, are you free?' And then the two of you pick a place and a time. And you can let her suggest the place, because you don't know London and she does."
"What if her mum answers the phone like yours did?"
"Then you say, 'Hello, this is Remus Lupin, I'm trying to reach Angela, is she in?' And her mother will either go get her, or she'll tell you she's out. And if she tells you Angela is out," Lily continues, anticipating his next question, "then you say you're staying with a friend, you don't want to disturb his parents, and is there a good time to call again and talk to her."
Remus nods, remembers the whole not-seeing thing, and manages, "All right."
"Good."
"Lily?"
"Yeah?
"What if it goes really well?"
And why is that the scariest thought of all?
"Then you have a brilliant time. And you ask her for her address, and you tell her you'll write from school."
"I can't write her from school," Remus says. "I can't send an owl to a -- "
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Remus, you'd hardly be the first person to need to write to a Muggle from Hogwarts. There are ways to do it; I'll explain if you need to know. And at this point, you're just stalling. You don't really need to me to tell you any of this. Just ask her out. Stop making up excuses, stop pretending you don't know what to say, stop telling yourself you can't handle this, because you and I both know you can. So I'm ringing off now. You can tell me all about how it goes on Sunday. See you then."
"Lily, no wait, I -- "
There's a click and she's gone.
Remus considers just stepping out of the phone box and telling James and Sirius that Angela is busy for the rest of the week and it didn't work out, but as he can't see any way he actually gets away with that, he sighs, squares his shoulders, and drops another coin into the phone to call Angela.
"Hello?"
"Hello, I'm Remus Lupin, I'm trying to -- "
"Oh, hello. This is Angela."
"Angela. Oh, good," Remus says. "I was calling you."
"I was hoping you would," she says.
"And I am," he says, and then makes the inanity of that remark worse by adding, "But you've spotted that."
Thank Merlin for muffling spells, because if Sirius had heard that, Remus would never hear the end of it, as it might actually be the stupidest and most obvious thing he has ever said.
Angela laughs. "I did, yeah," she says.
Wait, does she think he's being, like, clever?
Or amusing?
On purpose?
"I'm glad you did," Angela says. "How are you?"
Confused.
Very, very confused.
"I'm good, thanks. How're you? How's Winston?"
Did he really just ask about the dog?
"He's fine; hasn't got away from anybody since you caught him. And I'm good, too."
Right, that's covered then. What was he supposed to say next?
"Um, so, um," Remus says, and makes the mistake of looking away from the phone. James and Sirius have split up, and are now watching him from either side. Remus attempts to steadfastly ignore them in the most dignified manner he can manage while stammering.
"Yes?" Angela asks.
"Well, I'm visiting a friend in London this week, for part of Easter Break," he says. "And I've got to go back to school on Sunday."
"Oh," she says.
"But, um," Remus says, and glances over at James, whose smile is actually ... encouraging.
Stop telling yourself you can't handle this.
"But meeting you was definitely one the best parts of my visit, and I know that you're probably busy, and I'll understand if you can't, but if you've got time, and you wanted to, I'd really like to see you before I go back. Maybe tomorrow?"
That actually didn't sound too bad, did it?
"That'd be brilliant," Angela says. "I'd love to."
"Me, too," Remus says. "I already said that, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but that's all right," she says. "I promised Molly -- that's my sister -- I promised her I'd do some things with her in the morning, but I'm free all afternoon."
"Um, maybe around two o'clock, then? I could meet you somewhere."
"That'd be perfect. Where?" Angela asks.
"You probably know a lot more about London than I do," Remus says. "What would you recommend?"
"Have you not got to see much of the city, then?"
"Not really," Remus says.
"Well, I guess we could just sort of meet at Trafalgar Square or something? Walk around a little, let you see some of the sights. Is that silly?"
"No, not at all," Remus says. "I think it sounds like fun. Trafalgar Square, two o'clock, tomorrow."
"I'll wait for you by Nelson's Column and I'll be wearing a purple scarf," Angela says.
Remus isn't sure where Trafalgar Square is or what Nelson's Column is, but he's got twenty-four hours to figure it out.
He can handle it.
"I'll find you. I'll just look for the prettiest girl there."
