The detention hall was quieter than you’d anticipated. Normally, it was filled with the sounds of paper shuffling and frustrated sighs, but today, it was just you and him. Remus.

You didn’t know how you ended up stuck with him of all people. You had nothing against him—he was quiet, polite, kept to himself mostly. But after Sirius’s prank gone wrong, you’d been dragged into this mess alongside him. The note he’d scribbled earlier in the day had seemed harmless enough, but you were both now facing the consequences.

You let out a quiet groan as you stared at the stack of essays in front of you. The ink was smudged on your hand from your half-hearted attempt at writing down your punishment. Detention with Remus wasn’t what you had in mind, and you couldn’t figure out why, but it made you feel oddly uncomfortable. He’d always been that guy in the back of the room, his head buried in a book, but now you had to sit here for an entire hour in silence.

Silence, of course, until he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

It started as a small laugh. Just a chuckle. But then he did it again, louder this time. You glanced up from your paper, confused. Remus was hunched over his work, a crooked grin on his face, and the most unexpected laugh escaping his lips.

He looked up, his face turning pink under your gaze, but his grin was still there, unbothered. “Sorry,” he muttered, clearly embarrassed. “It’s just… Sirius’s prank. I’m sorry, but it was ridiculous.”