𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑...

"Was it always like that?"

"It used to be much worse." Callisto admitted. "I spent entire months in the hospital with a few other kids. Kenny, the only other permanent patient, was a Maledictus. He was four years older, but the curse was progressing quite fast and he's been randomly transforming into a stork since I was thirteen. Until I was ten, they hadn't figured out my medication, so Elena would take me to the hospital every day to administer special potions."

"And your friends?"

"I didn't have any." She responded, shrugging. "Nobody really wanted to be friends with the girl that fainted at least once a week during playtime and made toys attack people when she was mad."

"That's fucked up."

"I was an odd kid." She stated. "Ivan would come and play with me in the afternoons though, so that was quite fun. Although, I did make the toys attack him too just for fun, especially after a full moon."

"You're an asshole."

"He was so annoying after a full moon, I swear." Callisto huffed. "So, I started slipping sedatives into his potions and the issue got solved."

"And that was when you were..."

"Eleven."

"What a lovely child." Remus snickered. "I was very shy and timid. Mom actually tried to bribe me into breaking a vase once because I hadn't rebelled at all."

"Did you do it?"

"No, because apparently, I really liked that vase." Remus hummed. "After that, I kept on taking it to my bed to keep it safe."

"Adorable." Callisto commented, shaking her head. "Who would have thought you weren't always such an ass."

"Unlike you."

"Unlike me." She confirmed, silence falling between them as she gently played with his hair. It was the most soothing next to her kiss, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the slight tugging feeling and her steady, comforting heart beat. Remus unconsciously tried to control his breathing so that it matched hers, surprised to see that it was extremely hard to match the ever-changing rhythm of her chest rising and falling.

"I have been acting like an ass with you, though." He murmured, looking up at her. "Even that time during the break when we saw you with Regulus and Narcissa."

She visibly cringed, "Stop, that was embarrassing."

"Because I kept ignoring you." He insisted. "I don't plan on doing that again."

"You better not."

"I promise." He swore, extending his pinky. "I'm not ignoring you ever again."

She linked their pinkies and he shook them lightly, a satisfied smile on his lips at the promise.

~ ~ ~

"Pacing up and down will not make the time pass any faster, Miss Claire." Slughorn stated, observing as the girl walked up and down the small distance of the infirmary. He could have sworn the floor had gotten worn out from the constant friction of her shoes dragging across the ground.

"One can only hope, Horace." She absentmindedly said. "How much more do we have?"

"Five hours."

"Shit."

"Shit indeed." The man agreed. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

Callisto didn't reply, instead continuing her pacing. She didn't know what to do to release the pent-up energy inside of her besides melting the floor with every loud stride. Her mind was running miles ahead, reviewing the recipe of the potion with the scrutiny of someone desperate to find a mistake. There was no point; the potion was perfect as it was.