CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑓𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟.

It had been a full week since Hollis arrived at Lupin Cottage, and she still hadn't woken up. Euphemia had been checking her pulse regularly, and even if the beat was faint, it was still very much there. Mrs. Potter had done everything she could do to help Hollis, now it was mainly up to her at this point to wake up.

The only sleep James, Sirius, and Remus had gotten was when they were slumped down in some chair in the living room and fallen asleep from pure exhaustion of trying to stay awake just in case Hollis woke up for days on end.

None of the Gryffindors wanted for her to open her eyes and them not be there, not again.

Lyall and Fleamont had just made breakfast on the cloudy summer Saturday morning, and they were currently dishing out the eggs and baked beans onto five plates for the rest of their families. Hope was sitting at the kitchen table along with Euphemia, the two of them reading the Prophet of the day.

"Have we considered how Hollis is going to eat?" Lyall asked. "It's been a week, and she hasn't consumed anything."

Remus heard this as he walked into the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee and sighing deeply.

His red and black flannel pajama pants that Hope had made him change into after wearing the same thing for too many days were wrinkled from falling asleep on the rug yet again, and the neckline of his shirt was askew.

Hollis would have jumped up to the best of her ability to straighten his lightening auburn hair with a small laugh, but it remained messy for now.

"I'm not saying it's okay," he told the adults with a frown as he leaned against the counter and took a sip from his hand painted mug. "But it wouldn't be the first time."

"What do you mean?" Fleamont prompted, more wrinkles than already present forming on his forehead.

"I mean the Rosiers have gone a too far without giving her anything to eat," Remus clarified.
"So, it wouldn't be the first time. But if she doesn't wake up soon, then we're just going to have to figure out a way. The last thing she needs is to go through that again."

"Those people-" Lyall started, but his son cut him off.

"I wouldn't even give them that much credit," Remus corrected. "Snakes."

"Monsters," James added, yawning as he walked into the naturally lit room from the large window above the sink as well. "Complete and total arses that deserve to go through every bit of pain in the world."

They could go on for hours.

"Do you reckon they could have been the ones who gave her the mark?" Sirius asked from the living room, gesturing for the rest of them to come in there with him so that someone would be with Hollis. "I mean, it seems likely."

"It does," Remus said, sitting down on the chair closest to Hollis as he finished off his coffee. "Except they hate her."

"Yea, if that happened Hol would just spy on them or some shit-" Sirius started, but then he stopped himself as a thought hit him, his eyes widening.

"Oh, Merlin," James muttered. "Holy shi-"

"Language."

"Sorry, mum."

"Her meetings with Dumbledore," Remus said, slowly nodding to himself. "No, that makes sense. She got the mark so she could be a spy."

"No, it doesn't fully make sense," Sirius said, running a hand through his hair. "Because her parents are at those meetings, they would see her and know something was wrong."