"Oh yeah, I'll tell you something
I think you'll understand.
When I'll say that something:
I want to hold your hand."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius led the way up the steps to the highest part of the Quidditch pitch stands, wanting a good view, but when Persephone muttered she'd prefer somewhere with less wind to draw, he noticed Remus was quick to offer to sit one floor below with her. He wasn't sure how he was going to 'keep an eye' on them like Bell had told him too now, but after a moment's consideration and squinty-eyed stare through the gaps in the floorboards, he determined if they sat relatively close under these seats, he'd be able to see them enough to deliver something of a report to the girl of his longtime fancy. As luck would have it, a minute later as he and Peter squabbled over the blanket the latter had brought, Sirius saw Remus and Persephone claiming the bench practically right below him.

"Gimme."

"I was the one who brought it, Sirius-"

Sirius snatched the fuzzy purple blanket and declared, "Mine!" causing his meek friend to scowl at him, reminding the raven-haired boy vividly of a rat's face- no wonder that animal was Peter's Animagus. Sirius smirked and pulled out his wand, then concentrated for a moment. "Remus is much better at this than me," he murmured, but cast the enlargement spell anyway and was quite satisfied when the blanket grew to three times its normal size, certainly large enough to wrap around the two of them and then some. Peter grinned and wiggled his shoulders as he lost himself in the plushy fabric so only his nose and eyes could be seen.

"Now, if only you'd turn into your dog form, Sirius, then I'd really be cozy-"

Sirius nudged his friend's arm, meaning to reprimand him lightheartedly that he couldn't with Bell so nearby, but ended up laughing instead Peter completely toppled over sideways onto the bench, giving a muffled yelp into the blanket's folds.

"Careful there, Wormtail, or you'll be swallowed up by The Purple!"

Peter gave a soft snort as he sat back up. "'The Purple'? I guess this is a thing now?"

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Oh, definitely. Behold the vast and mighty Purple or thou shalt be consumed by its fuzz-"

Peter's laughter died away as he pointed down at the field. "They're starting."

Sirius immediately leaned over the railing (he and Peter were seated right at the edge) and easily picked out Bell from the group. She was the only one that rode her broom with her non-dominant hand placed in front of her dominant one when holding on with both hands. Left in front of right. Not to mention Sirius had spent plenty enough time staring at Bell in the last few years to know her in a crowd of thousands.

Hovering a few feet above the ground, Marlene said something that was carried away by the wind before it reached these upper seats then blew the whistle and the rest of her players took off to start the training match. Today's practice included reserve players, and Marlene, being the fair person she was on and off the Quidditch pitch, had told her friends earlier that she'd be evening out the playing field with half-reserves and half-main-players on each team. Sirius watched Bell swoop in for the Quaffle and grinned when she immediately snatched it out of the air despite the three other Chasers on the opposing team reaching for it at the same moment, including Marlene.

James darted off up into the clouds immediately to get a good view of the pitch as Sirius had expected. He always did that first thing in a match, never straying from that routine strategy in the many years he'd been the Gryffindor Seeker, not once, and Sirius had come to rely on it as the unofficial start of the game. He glanced back down just in time to see Bell flip her broom upside-down in order to avoid a fourth-year reserve Beater sending two bludgers her way. The menacing balls crossed paths just where Bell's head had been just a second ago, and Sirius half-stood from his seat with a right mind to scold the kid's head off- but his attention was drawn back to Bell when she approached the goalposts and shot the Quaffle right through the shortest hoop.

In the span of the next sixty seconds, Bell scored five more times for her team, impressing even those she'd been on the team with for years. Sirius' grin was starting to hurt his cheeks from how long it was staying there, but he hardly wanted to chase it away. Marlene gave a shout, something like "Now that's the kind of skill we need on this team" and Sirius threw his arms up in the air and jumped up and down a few times, then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, not caring that the wind wouldn't let his words reach Bell:

"WOOHOO!! THAT'S MY GIRL!!!"

"Cool it, Padfoot, she's not 'your girl' yet."

"Yet, Moony, mark my words, it'll happen."

Remus, looking up through the floorboards at Sirius, smirked. "It had better. If James and Lily are the couple everyone publicly wants to get together, you and Bell are the ones whose wedding we all secretly want to be invited to."

Sirius grinned down at Remus and winked at his friend. "I'll have to ask her of how long of a guest list she'll allow." He looked back up and his eye caught now on James taking a dive for the Golden Snitch, the other Seeker clearly not noticing the shimmery, winged ball hovering near the stands across from where Sirius and Peter were seated.

"THAT'S RIGHT PRONGS, GO GET 'EM!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus shook his head but still smiled as he brought his attention back down to the book he was reading- but then he heard a tapping noise beside him and turned his gaze to Persephone instead. She was pursing her lips as she looked at the page of parchment before her, frowning at something she'd drawn. The sound he'd heard was her wobbling her pencil up and down between her pointer finger and thumb and it hitting the side of her notebook. He traced his eyes over her hand, wondering if it would feel as nice to hold as it looked, but caught himself after a moment and swiftly looked back to his book.

No. Two years I've had this crush, and I need it to go away. It'd be too risky. I've got to let it go, for her sake.

"Remus?"

Immediately he looked up, forgetting everything he'd just warned himself about, and smiled softly at Persephone, who was tilting her head at him and biting her lip as if contemplating something.

"Thanks."

He paused. Thanks? For what?

"For sitting down here with me instead of up there with your friends." Apparently he'd spoken his confusion out loud without really meaning to. She tucked a rope of dark hair behind her ear and glanced away for a moment, and Remus had to force himself not to look like he wanted to stare at her all day long. "It's nice to have some company, for a change." 

Remus couldn't help but grin. He'd spend hours on end in her company if she'd let him, but he was careful not to say this aloud. Persephone smiled back shyly and Remus noticed a slight blush creeping up her neck as he felt his own cheeks turn pink. They broke the gaze at the same moment and the smile on Remus' face only faded a little as he reread the same page in his book for the fifth time.

It was silly, he scolded himself, he didn't even know her that well- but a voice inside him (that of which sounded awfully like Bell when she was encouraging him) reminded him just how long he'd wanted to.

"Persephone?"

"You can call me Percy."

Remus felt himself blush again. Her reply had come so quick- had she been waiting to offer the nickname to him until he spoke up? He wished so, but barely let himself hope. On one hand, a crush of two straight years was nothing to scoff at, but on the other hand- and then she smiled at him, ever so sweetly, and he forgot whatever the opposing factor of his thoughts had been.

"Percy-" The nickname rolled off his tongue and his smile grew. "-do you spend a lot of time in the library?" She blinked twice and Remus, mind falling into a frenzied pattern of thought, wondered if he'd made a mistake in venturing the question, which was only the prelude to what he really meant to ask.

"Yes. I usually sit at the table by the-"

"-stairs to the second floor." Remus found himself with cheeks quite a bit warmer than a moment ago as she almost gaped at him for cutting her off and he quickly added, "Not that I- I just- I get books from up there a lot. For studies. And things." 

Persephone nodded and replied, surprising Remus that her words were as quick as his had just been, "Yes- I know-" It was her turn to blush now, though it was a little hard for Remus to tell considering her darker skin. Still, he felt his heart give a skip as he realized she was just as nervous as he was. Could it be from mere social awkwardness, or maybe- but no, he dared not hope so quickly. "I've noticed you going up and down. Just because I'm right there. Right?"

"Right."

A moment of silence fell and Remus found himself unable to tear his gaze away from her deep brown eyes as his mind abruptly forced him to focus on his own breathing. Was it too loud? Oh, it certainly was, he fretted;  now he sort of choked a little on the inhale, that was cause for embarrassment-

"Were you- did you mean to ask something else, too?"

Ah, yes, his follow-up question. Remus glanced away and swallowed, his throat significantly drier than it had been just a moment ago. "I study a lot in the library too, would you mind if I- I mean, only if it's alright- I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"Yes. Definitely. Please do." They met each other's gaze again and Remus realized he was smiling like a fool, but this time, he didn't fight it, as she was grinning in the same sort of way.

"Wednesday-"

"Four pm, then walk to-"

"Great Hall together-"

"For supper.

Another blush from both of them and Remus wondered again what it'd feel like to hold her hand.

"Great."

"Fantastic."

"Superb."

"Splendid."

Persephone gave a soft laugh and Remus had to force a delighted peal of laughter to not escape his own lips. A smile wider than he meant it to be took the laughter's place and Remus licked his dry lips, fighting to tamper down his grin as he turned his gaze back to his book and Persephone went back to her drawing beside him. As if he'd be able to focus on the contents of the pages now anyway- he felt in a way he hadn't ever felt before. Almost... bubbly. And he really enjoyed the feeling.

Two years I've had this crush, and I'm finally acting on it. I still have my fears, but when she smiles at me-

How could I not take the chance?