✧･ ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
The Quidditch match had been a success, proof that all of James's hard work on the team had payed off magnificently. Hufflepuff had been beaten in only twenty minutes, a sign that the new Gryffindor team was one of excellence. Victory had never tasted so sweet to Genevieve, especially after she saw Toby on the verge of tears after losing.
There had been a party in the Gryffindor common room to celebrate just like Sirius said there would be. Most of their year attended it, disqualifying the few select Slytherins who were more than unwelcome. Unlike he said he would, Sirius didn't manage to drag Genevieve out from the safety of her dormitory despite his many attempts. He had bribed her with gingerbread men and a butterbeer on him the next time they went to Hogsmeade, but she still refused to join the party.
The morning after, Genevieve sat in the common room impatiently waiting for the rest of the boys to come down the stairs. They were taking longer than usual to get ready. Lily and Marlene had already headed to the Great Hall for breakfast after Genevieve insisted that it was fine they didn't wait for her.
James came down the stairs first and greeted Genevieve with a grin. It was obvious he was a morning person, he always had been since their first year.
"You look like you're glowing for someone who I heard was drunk last night," Genevieve said as he approached her. "Lily made sure to have a rant about how you're ten times more annoying while drunk."
"I got her attention though, didn't I?" He threw himself down next to Genevieve on the largest sofa and threw his legs onto the top of hers.
Genevieve patted his shin and smiled wryly. "For all the wrong reasons, Bambi."
James frowned. "Bambi? What's a Bambi?"
Genevieve had to stifle her laughter. "It's nothing."
Peter came down the stairs next, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them. "Morning Gen," he said as he sat on the single sofa next to them.
A slow thumping noise came from the stairs as Sirius appeared into view. He was sluggishly dragging his feet along the ground towards them, almost like it was painful for him to move. Genevieve was sore from the match, but she was still able to move perfectly fine. From the way Sirius was fighting to keep his eyes open and kept swallowing thickly, however, she could tell that he wasn't sore from the match.
"Someone's hungover," Genevieve said amusedly, watching as he winced when she spoke.
Sirius slowly pressed a finger to his lips and looked at her through squinted eyes. "Sh. Too loud," he hushed her and sat in the nearest armchair. Genevieve was talking in her normal pitch of voice, which only fed her amusement more.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like death. I am in need of scrambled eggs within the next five minutes," said Sirius as he pushed his hair out of his face. "What about you? How are you feeling?"
Genevieve knew what he was talking about. "I feel fine," she shrugged, "No weird tingling, no headaches, no nothing."
"It looks like we were successful in turning you into an Animagus then," James said happily.
Genevieve wasn't fully convinced that they were successful. She had turned into a wolf and not the creature she had expected. There was one possible reason behind this, but she didn't want to think about it. All throughout the party when she was alone in her room she had pushed that thought way down until it didn't even seem like a logical explanation anymore. Instead, she would much rather say that she somehow got the wrong animal. "I guess so," she shrugged again.
"What are you guys talking about?" Remus asked as he came down the stairs, looking tired but also perfect in his Gryffindor robes. It was amazing how easily he could pull himself together even with the full moon drawing closer.
"Quidditch," James answered and looked over the back of the sofa to give him a smile. It seemed to be their default answer now.
Remus's lips pulled them self into a straight line suddenly, almost like he had been expecting something and was still disappointed by it. "Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot that Quidditch was the only thing you ever talked about anymore," he recalled with an annoyed edge to his voice.
Genevieve sat up straighter as he said this and momentarily closed her eyes. She knew that at one point Remus was going to catch on to their lie even though she had hoped he wouldn't. Knowing Remus, he had probably caught on ages ago but was too polite to mention it. She slowly opened her eyes again, but she didn't look at him. She kept her nervous gaze straight forward at the crackling fire.
"We didn't think you cared much for the sport," James said politely, trying his hardest to ignore the tone of Remus's voice.
"I'm not, but it doesn't take a genius to know Quidditch isn't what you're actually talking about."
Peter frowned and tensed in his seat. "Moony—"
"Are you all getting bored of me?" He asked quickly before Peter could even begin to ration everything out. "Because if you are then I would much rather you tell me now then feel bad and never tell me. Honestly, I don't mind if you are. I would rather not feel like a burden to you all."
Genevieve instantly pushed James's feet from her lap and rose from the sofa, looking at him through squinted, confused eyes. "What? Remus, no, heavens no." She walked until she was right in front of him, face to face. He was looking anywhere but at her no matter how hard she tried to make eye contact. "We would never get bored of you, I swear on it," she said with every ounce of honesty she could muster up.
"I don't mind if you are. I would rather not weigh you all down," muttered Remus.
Genevieve's eyes softened as she bit down on her bottom lip harshly. After a moment, she said carefully, "Is that really how you think we feel about you? Never, Remus. Never."
"If you wanted us to give you a list of 101 reasons why we love you then we would," James said, the smile he walked into the common room with slipping. "Trust me Moony, you're not a burden or heavy weight. You are loved."
Peter watched as Remus kept his stare towards his shoes. "You don't think we're telling truth," he observed.
There was a silence, and then Remus made a sound between a sigh and a scoff. "I think you're all not telling me something," he said finally, and looked at them all with a frown etched on his face.
Sirius glanced at Genevieve to see what she would do, but she wasn't looking back at him. She was staring at Remus with some identifiable look on her face. He was hungover, and still not completely sober, but he was sober enough to know what Genevieve was thinking. He knew what she was trying to decipher.
Whether she was going to tell him she had become an Animagus, or wait and tell him when the time was right.
Sirius knew that if Genevieve didn't tell Remus now then it would only make the situation worse for her when he did find out, and he didn't want her to be put in that situation. It wasn't often he made decisions for other people, he liked others to have their own say and be free to do whatever they liked. He didn't like it when his mother and father had made his own decisions, so he didn't do it for other people. Maybe it was a brotherly urge, or the need to make sure Genevieve and Remus's relationship as friends (or whatever they were) didn't collapse, but Sirius made the decision for her and said, "You're right. We aren't telling you something, and we haven't for a long time now."
Everyone turned to look at Sirius. He was still sat in the armchair, but his posture had grown stronger. James looked like he wanted to throw daggers at him, Peter looked worried and Genevieve was emotionless. It was Remus's expression that caught him off guard. He didn't look surprised in the slightest, but his shoulders relaxed a little. He was hurt.
"What?" Remus said. He had expected this, but denial had made him hope for the better. He didn't know why he asked 'what'. He had heard Sirius loud and clear.
Genevieve waited before nodding. "Yeah," she told him quietly. "Yeah, he's right."
Remus swallowed thickly before turning his head away from them all. "So what have you all not told me?" He asked, his voice shaky yet he didn't know why.
"Just don't get mad, okay? Anger won't solve anything," James bargained, standing up from the couch and holding his hands up assuringly.
Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head. He felt more drained of energy— drained of all emotions— now than he had when he had just woken up. "Just tell me," he said emptily, his voice hollow and distant.
"This was a group idea, but if you're going to blame anyone then blame us. We're the ones who helped Genevieve," Sirius began.
"Helped her do what?" Everyone lacked confidence to answer Remus. In all of their time spent planning, nobody had ever thought to plan out how they would break the news to Remus. They didn't think about the consequences. Becoming impatient, Remus repeated more loudly, "Helped her do what?"
"I'm an Animagus now, Rem," Genevieve managed to say despite the feeling of her windpipes closing up. It was his turn to make eye contact, and she accepted it with a heavy, pounding heart that threatened to beat itself out of her chest. She tried her hardest to swallow the lump building in her throat before speaking again. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking as she saw the wounded look on his face.
"How long have you been like this for?"
"Since yesterday."
"But we've been planning this since then end of fifth year," Peter added shamefully.
Remus looked at her— scrutinised her, even. His eyes held no softness like they usually did when he looked at her. They were disappointed, and Genevieve hated that. "You promised."
Genevieve felt her heart break a little as she tried to reach out to him but he moved away from her touch, something he had only ever done after a full moon. "I know I did but—"
"Please don't try to make an excuse for breaking your promise," Remus said sharply, "You're not supposed to break promises, Gen. Not you of all people."
"I know." Genevieve felt the guilt she had been host to all summer surge in the bottom of her stomach, almost like it was laughing at her. She could hear it cackle menacingly faintly in her ears. 'You brought this upon yourself, silly girl,' the guilt cajoled, 'Always looking for something to fix, aren't you, silly girl?'. She looked away from Remus in fear that he could see her eyes glimmering. "You don't need to tell me that for me to know."
"Don't take it out on her," James butted in sternly. "We came up with the plan and made the potion and so on. It was our fault."
Remus payed no attention to James. He ran a hand through his already messy hair before looking at Genevieve crossly. "You do realise that it was all for nothing, right? Being near me on a full moon is dangerous, and that's why you can't go near me—"
"—But the boys can so why can't I?" Genevieve argued.
"Because it's different with you, ok?!" Remus snapped, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty common room. A numbness took over his body, and yet he could feel himself overheating. "Animal or not, I will not let you," he said with a wavering voice, "I don't know what I would do if I hurt you."
Genevieve's lips made a rapid movement as she tried to find the right words to say other than 'I'm sorry' because she knew being sorry wouldn't cut it this time. With a final scoff to himself, Remus turned and walked out of the common rooms exit.
With his eyebrows drawn together, James walked to where Genevieve was still stood lifelessly. She only realised she had been crying when he brought a hand up to her face and began to wipe away the tears with his thumb. "He doesn't hate you for this," he began assuringly, "I just think he doesn't understand the extents you'll go to for him."
"We should go and get breakfast," Peter said, cutting the tension that had seeped into the room. "Sirius, you said you wanted scrambled eggs?"
"They can wait," Sirius said.
"No, it's fine," Genevieve smiled and wiped her own face, picking up the pieces of herself that had shattered. "Let's go get breakfast."
The boys all shared a glance of discreet worry, because they knew that if there was one thing Genevieve did when she was upset, it was that she blocked everyone out from her true feelings and dealt with everything by herself. They also knew that Remus was worse, because he had the ability to act cold to someone without actually feeling that way.
They knew that the next three weeks would be long and confusing.