𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐌

"It can't have been that bad." Callisto muttered, internally cringing at her attempt to comfort him. Oh, but it was that bad, Callisto just didn't remember. Remus didn't say anything. The worst thing that could happen now was angering her with her memory missing by telling her why they fought. "It's fine. I can try the spell."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but what the hell." Callisto sighed, gesturing for Remus to come closer to her. "Just don't accidentally kill me."

"If I ever kill you, be assured that it won't be accidentally."

"What a charmer." Remus smiled lightly at the response. It almost felt like the old times, when she had her memories and called him out with every chance she got. She pointed the tip of her wand in front of her, closing her eyes for a brief moment as if she was searching the memory.

From the moment she brought the memory to the forefront of her mind, she knew something was wrong. It was still a happy memory, there was no denying that but she couldn't channel it like all the previous times. It felt like she couldn't concentrate on it like before, the memory getting interrupted by sudden flashes accompanied by loud noise.

"I can't." Callisto mumbled, letting her wand down. "Something is wrong."

"Flashes?" Remus asked, looking down at his book. "It says here it's because of the memory loss."

"This is hopeless."

"No, it's not." Remus argued, handing her the book and pointing at the paragraph he was reading. "It says here that the flashes can be overcome with that spell. The only issue is that you can't do two spells at the same time."

"Can you do the spell?" Callisto asked, uncertainty lacing her voice. He had treated her more than nicely those past few days, even she had to admit it. And he did all that without making her feel uneasy about it either. It was a perfect balance of caring and knowing when he should leave her alone.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'll be able to see your memory."

"We're friends, right?" Callisto shrugged, managing a small smile. "Besides, if you go around talking I'll sew your lips together."

"Sounds painful."

"It is." Callisto taunted, her fingers grazing his lips. "It's a shame because yours are quite pretty."

"In that case I won't go around talking." He retorted, feeling his cheeks heat up under her gaze. The need to return back to his usual self overcame him and he pressed his wand on her temple, his hand laying on her shoulder to keep her still.

Being in someone's head was weird. Maybe it was because Callisto's head was so messed up with the memory loss, but it still felt wrong. It was as invasive to her privacy as it could go, but she didn't seem to mind. It felt as if his thoughts were replaced by her own, but he had no feelings towards the memories whatsoever. It was like a movie, but real.

He could tell she was struggling to concentrate. The moment she managed to conjure the memory he suspected she wanted, black flashes ensued and the scenery got replaced by images that appeared in seconds and sounds that were deafening one moment and disappeared the next.

Remus held on her shoulder tighter, focusing more on the spell and the memory she was trying to conjure. The image was blurry at first, as if she was unsure of its power, but it quickly became clearer and clearer. He was kind of surprised to see that Callisto's most cherished memory took place in a dark room that vaguely reminded him of her room back in the Lawsons. He could clearly see her, looking a bit younger than she did now, seated on the floor. She was humming along to a song playing in a small, battered radio while stirring a cup in front of her. On the bed, there was Nicholas looking at the small radio in awe as he tried to figure out what every single button did.