Heavenly Waters||Sirius Black

Chapter 30

{{Drama alert! No--not the reunion (this is February and the reunion wont be until June ish. Please don't hate me. I know it sucks but it will be worth it. I refuse to do the traditional reunion i've read time and time again!}}

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Gwen doesn't flinch at the knife like words. She knew it would be a bad day.

She'd taken her usual sleeping draught the night before, and when she hadn't opened her eyes to find James lazing in soft, green grass, she had panicked. She'd taken another potion in the middle of the night, desperation driving her to claw open the vial and dump it down her throat before she could think it through.

When she'd pried her eyes open in the morning, she couldn't remember seeing James in her dreams. But she could hear him. She could always hear him. She heard him chiding her when she promptly leaned over the side of her bed and vomited until her sides burned.

Even then, she hadn't thought it would be a bad day. Until the head ache set in.

She presses her lips together, staring down at the exam she was creating. She'd been looking at it for minutes, trying to piece together what it was she had written down. She nearly throws up again when she sees a familiar constellation glaring up at her from the parchment. Gwen slowly burns it to a crisp with fire dancing from her fingertips. Only then does she look up.

Remus is standing in front of her with eyes that blaze like the fire warming her palm. She curls her fingers inward, asking hoarsely, "Good evening to you as well, Remus. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Don't try to pacify me, Gwen," His voice is shaking slightly, and when Gwen realizes his hands are too, she also notices something grasped tightly in his one hand. Her lips twitch slightly, "Did you know that Cassiopeia chained her daughter Andromeda to a rock to pacify Cetus? The constellation--"

"Enough!"

She clamps her mouth shut, teeth gritting together. Remus throws the thing he's holding onto her desk, asking vehemently, "You'll pay attention to the fucking stars but not to the real world?"

Gwen looks down at the crumpled magazine on her desk. She blinks at the familiar Witch Weekly scrawled at the top. On the sides there are a few small stories with page numbers listed underneath, but that isn't what has enraged her friend. There, right in the middle of the cover, is a moving portrait of her standing in front of the fountain at the ministry. Her head throbs when she sees herself smile demurely at the camera, her body tall and stoic, her hair perfectly coiffed. Just in the frame is Cornelius Fudge scowling at her like she's the embodiment of evil. Above it, printed in blue is the words, ' 'It -being' Gwenyth Whitlock returns to tell unheard secrets of Veela'

She glances up and asks curiously, "Did you wan't me to sign it for you?"

Remus stares at her, his cheeks flushed so much so that his scars look nearly white. He stares for so long she begins to grow concerned he's fallen asleep with his eyes open. But then he blinks, balks as he lets out an exasperated puff of air. She knows exactly what the puff of air is saying.

Her eyes narrow even before Remus gathers himself enough to snap, "Must you be so thoughtless--"

"Thoughtless is the last word I would use to describe my actions, Remus."

His jaw clenches, working as if he's biting down on all of the words he wants to say. She wants him to say it too. Wants to force it out of him. If he wanted a fight, he would get one. Her stomach churns, and if her skin weren't so cool she would wonder if she had a fever. The potion's lingering effects had ruined her day, or at least she had thought as much until Remus barged into her office.