CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒.

The room was completely quiet besides the rustling of cards and Remus reading to Hollis as James absentmindedly picked at a tassel on the corner of a pillow. For once in their lives, they didn't really find themselves having much to say to one another. Not out of anger, but out of being lost in their own thoughts.

"I want to go to Rosier Manor."

All heads turned towards Hollis in shock. They had thought she might be the one to speak first besides Remus, but it most certainly hadn't been like this.

The tall boy sat up fully with his back slouched to look at Hollis in the eyes that weren't critical, but certainly hesitant and questioning.

"Why would we do that?" 

There was the unspoken decision that if she was going, Remus would be there with her through every step of it.

"Because the Ministry's going to raid it soon," Hollis said, already pulling on her jacket that had been thrown on the back of James's desk chair. "And they're going to try and take every valuable thing out of there. It's not that I want the things, it's that they could be used for bad."

"So we get there before they do," Remus said, starting to catch on. "Who all's coming?"

James, Lily, and Sirius had already stood up as well.

"You know, we could always just take my motorcycle," Sirius said with a grin as they moved down the long, circular stairwell. "We've gotten five people on it before."

"Yea, unless your motorcycle can fly, I doubt that," Hollis teased.

And Sirius didn't take it as a joke at all.

Her brown eyes widened when she saw the mischevious grin slowly creeping onto his face, practically kicking herself with this new fuel for the Black boy doing something incredibly stupid.

"No, I meant that as a joke!" Hollis shouted as the other three started laughing. "Sirius, that is literally the most dangerous thing you could possibly do!"

"Which is exactly why am doing it behind your back at every second I can," he grinned, then quickly changing the subject when he saw the look on her face. "Uhm, let's go tell the oldies that we're leaving before Hollis kills me."

The four parents all happened to be in the kitchen eating lunch when they came down, and turned their heads with surprise that the teenagers with dark bags under their eyes had actually come down from James's room without being forced to.

"Where are you all going?" Hope asked, gesturing to all of their shoes and coats. "You know what, actually I don't think any of us want to know."

"Stay safe," Fleamont added on with a twist of his head over his shoulder from where he was washing dishes. "And don't get anyone or yourselves killed."

Hollis and Remus both saluted him before apparating away.

They landed in the pine forests just outside the black marble manor.

Just as it had always been, the air felt colder when near the deeply evil place they could feel running through the ground below them with a horrific pulse that made the friends stand closer to one another to find the warmth of family that this place was severely lacking from years of blood and greed being put over typical, kind values.

"Why is it all.. black?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.

The muggleborn had never been to a magical place like this besides Hogwarts before, which was a place of light magic. This one, however, was quite the opposite and radiated a dark energy that made her stomach turn.