𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

"Does it hurt a lot?" She blinked in surprise, not expecting him to break the silence first. "Lily says it can be painful..."

"Not right now." She responded briefly. "Are you sick? Because you look like shit."

"Always the charmer..."

"To everyone but you." She observed, the tone in her voice reminding him of the seer irony behind those four simple words. He felt his cheeks heating up at the mere thought of being that intimate with her, something that unfortunately didn't go unnoticed by the girl. "Why are you blushing like that?"

"I'm not blushing." He muttered, averting his gaze to the sleeping first year opposite from them. He sounded exactly like Peter when he tried to convince him that he hadn't secretly been taking his dark chocolate, even though Remus could see the wrapper sticking out from his nightstand drawer.

"I think you are." She stated, getting up from the bed and taking the seat next to him instead. "Am I getting to you or are you going to try and deny that?"

Remus looked up at her, immediately recognizing the glint in her eyes. It was the exact same as she leaned closer to him while he had cornered her in the duel, before she caught him completely off guard. Just like that night, he felt the same frustration that made him want to either kill her or kiss her. Quickly dismissing the second thought as an unwanted byproduct of the revelation that she indeed was the mystery girl, he rolled his eyes.

"Me? Not so much." He began, unable to hold the snarky comment back. "Luke Pucey? Yes, I think you do."

"No need to be jealous, darling." She She teasingly said. "I'm not going to tear you two apart..."

"Your compassion is beyond measure." He deadpanned, scolding himself for expecting a more serious answer.

"One of my many redeeming qualities." She agreed, her head snapping to the right as the matron came out. Her eyes fell on the pair, but she kept her tongue back and walked over to Callisto.

"I'm going to need a bit of your blood." Callisto extended her arm, wincing lightly as the thick needle prickled her finger. A few drops of crimson blood poured in the light yellow vial and the matron wiped the blood pooling around the small wound. With a small, sympathetic smile that Remus was used to receiving every time the full moon was close, she walked back to her office.

"Why did she smile at you like that?"

Callisto raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Like there's something seriously wrong with you."

"That's rich coming from the boy who looks like he's about to faint." She drawled, her eyes running over his pale face. Remus' gaze snapped away from her. He felt as if she could see right through him; through all the lies and excuses, her eyes were searching for the truth in his.

As if Madame Pomfrey has sensed the atmosphere growing heavier with every second that passed, she came in the ward. Callisto took the small bottle in her hands, the rattling of the pills making Remus flinch lightly as she placed it in her pocket.

The matron murmured something to Callisto, not loud enough for him to understand even with his enhanced hearing. The only words he made out were "blood" and "cure", which on their own didn't say much. All he could do was observe as Callisto's face progressively lit up, her lips tugging up in a smile.

"You can keep him company until breakfast ends, but then you have to go to class."

Poppy disappeared back in her office with a knowing smile and Callisto sat on the chair next to him, crossing her legs, "And then they were two."