CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑦 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒.

When the Marauders fought, fangirls and fanboys would sob, the other friends of the five would suddenly become closer to the split up group, and the professors would take a much needed break of fresh air from the pranking.

Now was one of those times, and it all started in the Marauder's Corner.

Everything was normal at first, or as normal as it possibly could be with those five.

James had his head bent over his essay he was writing on the rotary phone for Muggle Studies, a class he had taken for the sole purpose of understanding Lily better, so closely that the copper rims of his glasses were practically touching the parchment.

Next to him, Remus was repeatedly flexing his fingers and setting down his quill on the mahogany with a small clink of metal against wood to give his hands a break from the aching and throbbing pain still left over from March's full moon.

Meanwhile, Hollis was watching him move his hands very closely, getting a bit distracted from her work at the motions, and then turned back to her essay once Sirius would raise a suggestive eyebrow at her focus that made her cheeks darken.

Peter was looking at Remus's essay to copy down what he was writing in much more sloppy handwriting, not knowing anything about what they were learning in Herbology and not wanting to figure it out on his own knowing he would just get confused.

Everything was peaceful with the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows and the gentle scratching of quills and clinks of inkpots being adjusted were the only sounds in the corner, along with the occasional yawn from Peter or James.

"Hey, what ever did end up happening with all the chocolate for the full moon a few nights ago?" Hollis asked curiously, setting down her quill in thought. "Did someone raid the compartment and only leave a few?"

"It shouldn't have been low," Remus replied, still writing as he spoke and only half filtering the words that came from his mouth. "I refilled it on my birthday."

James cringed a bit at this subtle phrase that he knew the girl next to him would instantly pick up that something was wrong with.

"Why were you there on your birthday?" Hollis asked curiously, now sitting up fully. "I was with you all day, you didn't have time."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought, making Remus momentarily hold his breath.

"Unless it was during the party."

Cringing a little bit, Remus attempted to just shrug it off.

"Nah, it must have just been some other time and I'm not remembering correctly," he said, blatantly lying as not to dig up the filthy dirt of their fight and make a mess again. "My bad."

James was incredibly uncomfortable with this exchange of words and really did try his best to keep his expression neutral and uninvolved.

Unfortunately, Hollis had known him for years and knew when something was wrong with him or he didn't feel like something was going as it should.

"What is it?" she asked, and Remus tensed up a bit. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," said Lupin hastily, trying to avoid any conflict as much as possible. "Nothing."

"You can't keep avoiding it like it didn't happen, mate," James murmured under his breath so that Hollis and Remus could both hear.

Which the Potter was highly aware of.

Sensing that something was about to go down, Sirius and Peter set down quills. Not to interrupt just yet, but instead simply to listen and watch the argument play out so that they could get all perspectives before jutting in with opinions of their own.