Bleeding Heart | REMUS LUPIN

Chapter Six

After having bought more sweets than they could eat in a lifetime (as it seemed), the Marauders exited Honeydukes Sweet Shop, bringing Ivory along with them.

Ivory walked around as if in a daze. She was there, but she wasn't really there, as if wandering around through fog; she was unable to see too far ahead. Every step forward that she took was filled with uncertainty and while she tried not to dwell on her pain, it kept overwhelming her. When she stopped thinking about her parents for even a moment, she would feel guilty that they weren't on her mind constantly...

James stood at the front of the group, cracking jokes that caused them to laugh no matter how much any of them tried not to; Sirius darted around, jumping into piles of yellow and orange and red leaves with a childlike fascination that was there only to amuse the others; Peter bounced around happily on his feet, whistling and humming simultaneously, the liveliness in his spirit showing through his eyes; Remus hopped onto James's back, causing the bespectacled boy to yell out in surprise and temporarily lose his glasses in the fallen leaves. They were all so full of life and they all so clearly loved each other that Ivory felt like she was intruding on something beautiful; but they weren't doing it on purpose, because never did they make her feel as though she belonged anywhere else than with them. In itself, the feeling of simply being in their presence made her feel better.

When Remus grabbed her by the sleeve of his own jumper once again, bringing her attention back to the four boys, she felt her heart lift.

"Where would you like to go: the Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks?" Peter asked her.

Ivory mulled this over. She knew that, under normal circumstances, the answer would've been obvious since hardly anyone chose the Hog's Head over the Three Broomsticks, but she knew why Peter was asking. They probably thought she'd have wanted a quieter place like the Hog's Head as opposed to a rowdy, stuffy place like the Three Broomsticks.

Truth be told, Ivory didn't know what she would prefer.

"Well, I don't think the Three Broomsticks will be as loud as usual, right? I mean, since the rest of Hogwarts isn't here like they are during our trips to Hogsmeade..." said Ivory.

"All right, let's go," said Remus.

Sirius walked over to Ivory, taking a leaf out of his hair, and draped his arm across her shoulders. Remus released his hold on her sleeve and stuffed his hands into his pockets awkwardly as Sirius guided Ivory into the Three Broomsticks.

Ivory had been wrong in thinking that the Three Broomsticks Inn wouldn't be packed with people. It was not, of course, as full as normal, but it was crowded enough that the place was buzzing with noise and conversation. Sirius's arm dropped from across Ivory's shoulders to his side and the other three all turned to look at her.

"Do you... want to leave?" James asked carefully, his eyebrows knitting together.

"No, it's fine. Let's just get a drink, yeah?" she said, gulping nervously as her eyes swept across the room.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Firewhisky?" James asked each of them.

They all nodded in response. Peter dug for money in his pocket, but James stopped him.

"It's okay, it's on me," he added.