𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒

Song:
Video Games (Lana Del Rey)
"He holds me in his big arms, drunk and I am seeing stars, this is all I think of..."

"Stay." Callisto pleaded, watching as Regulus and Narcissa started packing their bags.

They had spent one of the best weeks Callisto could ever think of, the muggle camera she had bought with Narcissa being filled with photos the blonde had taken every time she saw something mildly interesting. Callisto had managed to get Remus off her mind for a bit, barely even seeing him out of the house, his curtains always drawn shut. She dreaded to think of what the rest of the holidays would hold for her, with her parents nagging her for her forgiveness and Remus avoiding her like the plague again.

She was scared for Regulus and Narcissa. A lot of things could happen in a week and she didn't want them to return back to Hogwarts with their spirits completely broken. She had stayed up the previous evening, begging Narcissa to take Regulus and leave, only to receive the same stern 'no' that could shut anyone up.

"What?"

"You should stay here for the rest of the holidays." Callisto said, her gaze averting between the two. "We'll have fun."

"We can't, Callie." Narcissa sadly replied, fully understanding why Callisto wanted them to stay. "We'll see you in school though."

"Don't get all emotional with us, Kaliko." Regulus smiled sadly, pushing the "Regina White" sweatshirt deep in his bag. "You won't be that bored."

"It's not a matter of boredom."

"Yes, it's a matter of wanting to jump your neighbor's bones and needing some type of distraction from it."

"It's not a matter of that either." Callisto insisted, looking at the tattoo on her wrist sadly. Regulus had covered his up, and Narcissa had done the same thing, albeit a bit reluctantly. If their parents found out they had been dabbling with muggle arts, Callisto was pretty sure they'd throw the biggest tantrums ever. The few scars on Regulus' back suggested that it wouldn't be a harmless yelling session either.

"We need to go, Callie." Narcissa muttered, looking at her watch. "We'll owl you though."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

Narcissa watched as Callisto hugged Regulus tightly, the boy looking completely taken aback by all the sudden gestures of affection. It had been like that the entire past week, with Callisto bursting into emotional rants out of the blue. Narcissa understood why this all kept happening of course. Callisto knew that Regulus was heading right into the lion's den for lack of better words, and nothing she could have ever said would make him change his mind. Narcissa only hoped that whatever he had heard them talking about in the death eater meetings was going to be worth it.

~ ~ ~

"Do you not like the food?" Vera asked, a look of concern in her eyes as she watched Callisto playing with the potatoes on her plate. "I can make you something else if you'd like."

"I'm not that much of a brat." Callisto mumbled, letting her fork down. "The food is really good. I'm just not that hungry right now."

Three entire sentences. She had said three entire sentences to both of them, and one of them was a compliment. Vera just blinked in disbelief, while Thomas looked positively out of his comfort zone.

"We can go straight to dessert if you want."

"It's fine." The blonde said, eating a carrot. The food really was good, she pondered, drinking some water. It would have been even better if her stomach wasn't tied in a knot.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" Thomas asked, cutting his chicken.

"It was very nice."

"Is the boy, Regulus, your boyfriend?" Thomas tried to look nonchalant, yet the look of curiosity in his eyes betrayed him.

"No, we're just friends, Thomas." Callisto blurted out, raising her tone slightly. "That's a stupid question..."

Vera smiled lightly, "So, you don't have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Is it because of the curse?" Vera asked, looking sadly at her. "Because you shouldn't let it stop you from living your life. There are options nowadays in case he wants children."

"Yes, I bet you're not the only parents that were selfish enough to give your child up so easily."

"It wasn't easy." Thomas argued. "It was the single hardest thing we've ever had to do."

"Oh yes, definitely." Callisto sarcastically remarked. "Poor you."

"Let's not argue again, please." Vera pleaded, looking at Thomas expectantly. "I don't want to fight with either of you anymore."

"Trouble in paradise, Vera?" Callisto asked, raising an eyebrow. "I suggest you try for another child. Maybe even keeping it this time and see how it works out for you."

"Callisto, please."

And to her surprise, Callisto didn't say anything more. Instead, she took a bite from her potatoes and sat back on her seat, her jaw clenched in frustration, but no more comments coming out of her mouth.

"What are you doing this afternoon?"

"I'll just sleep." Callisto answered, shrugging. "Don't have anything else to do."

"Why don't you hang out with Remus?" Vera proposed. "You're getting along, right?"

If Vera could see the images running through Callisto's mind at that, she would have taken the question back. She could clearly remember the way he'd poke her sides every time she got a question in DADA wrong, his soft touch as he'd absentmindedly play with her hair, the lopsided grins they'd share in the library. She could remember the way he held her close to him with such desperation it made her heart burst, her fingers tugging at his hair as he made her his own, the lustful kisses in secluded corridors. She could remember all the tears she had shed over him, wondering why he was treating her that way when she would do anything to see him happy and the anger pounding in her head every time they fought.

And yet, her heart swelled at the thought of him.

Callisto smiled sadly, letting her fork down.

"Maybe some other time."

~ ~ ~

Remus couldn't shake off the sense of deja vu as he kept moving in his bed, the sheets tangling in his legs as if they were trying to suffocate him. The full moon was a week away, its symptoms slowly creeping up into Remus' life. He already knew he would be barely able to get any sleep for the rest of the week, every little thing about his bed, his blankets, the noises of the night and even his own damn pajamas annoying him to the point of insanity. Then, his appetite would go haywire, making him devour everything he laid eyes on and then he would have so many mood swings he'd genuinely question whether he was pregnant or not.

He got out of his bed, remaking his bed to stop the sheets from crumpling under his legs and slightly opened the window, savoring the cold breeze hitting his hot face. He used to be afraid of how dark the neighborhood was in the evening, only one street lamp lighting up the night sky. Even now, he couldn't really sleep without a small night light on, a habit that he had picked up after he was bitten. Greyback had crawled in the dark, his yellow eyes only visible when Remus was too far from being saved.

That night however, there was another light. It came from the opposite window, the curtains pushed aside to allow some of the cold air to enter the room. Remus could hear the sound of music, the loud instruments making him smile. He doubted Vera and Thomas were fans of 70s rock & roll, something which Callisto obviously planned to take advantage of fully by blasting Sex Pistols at 1 am. 

Instinctively, images of her were conjured in his mind. She was happy, dancing around the room with her hair flying wildly around her. Her eyes were always closed as she danced, as if she couldn't register the sheer beauty behind the music unless she blocked out everything else. There was no specific pattern to her movements, she just did what felt right at that moment, occasionally taking a drag from her cigarette. His t-shirt was old, but looked better on her than it ever did on him, just managing to cover her shorts. He imagined he was there, dancing with her messily, watching as her lips twitched up in that beautiful smile that brightened up his entire day.

Nobody else got to see her like this, but him. It was a version of Callisto many didn't even manage to grasp as a context, and he was lucky enough to share those moments of pure happiness with her.

Remus just needed to fucking see her, even if it was for a second.

He picked up a random pen he had lying on his desk and carefully aimed for Callisto's window, throwing it full force. The realization of what he had just done didn't settle until Callisto came in full view, looking at him curiously.

"Stop assaulting me with pens." She warned, pointing at him with the pen he had thrown at her. Her blonde hair was tied up, a few strands escaping the ponytail and framing her pale face. The dark bags under her eyes seemed to be more prominent than before, a sign of sleepless nights after Narcissa and Regulus had left. Yet, the glint in her eyes as she saw him remained the same.

Perhaps that was why he leaned on the window ledge, smirking slightly.

"I don't think so."

She just narrowed her eyes and threw the pen back at him, the small object hitting him straight on the face. He immediately reached up to touch his nose , sending Callisto a glare. She just smirked, shrugging.

"I won't hesitate to do it again."

"If you say so." He smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Studying DADA." Callisto admitted, her nose scrunching up in disgust. "I should probably be getting back to it, and you should probably go to bed."

"I can help." Remus blurted out, for the first time being thankful for the dark because that meant she couldn't see the red on his cheeks. "I mean, I can't sleep, so why not?"

Callisto seemed to hesitate, her gaze averting slightly to the ground. Just like countless times before, his mood had suddenly changed and he went from not talking to her at all, to wanting to help her. Did that all matter though? She couldn't understand half the things in her text book and he was the next best thing to a professor. He just wanted to help after all; this was all strictly friendly.

She couldn't have picked a better excuse to nod in agreement and let him in one more time.

"Okay." She agreed, eyeing the distance between them. "I'll go fetch Vera's wand and I'll come back."

And with that, she disappeared from his view, the only thing visible being her blonde hair as she left the room. Remus subconsciously ran a hand through his hair, trying to make it appear just a bit tamer. Yet he achieved the exact opposite, strands of brown hair sticking out everywhere. He grabbed his DADA notes from his desk, tapping his foot nervously on the floor as he waited for Callisto to come back. He didn't have more time to back out, because she burst in through the door, closing it shut before she came back to the window.

"Wingardium leviosa." She muttered, Remus letting out a small squeal as he was lifted from the ground. He tried not to look down as he slowly flew midair, his eyes fixed on Callisto who seemed more than just amused. He finally stepped on the ground again, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for not killing me."

"You'd deserve it." Callisto sighed, plopping down on the floor. With a wave of her wand, the window banged shut and she patted the space next to her for him to sit on.

"So, what are you studying exactly?" Remus curiously asked, choosing not to comment on her previous words. "Defensive spells?"

"Yes, apparently there's a theory behind that." Callisto grumpily muttered, pointing at the text on the book. "It's all nonsense."

"Not surprised." Remus stated, skimming through the text. "After all, you do know that's out of our material, right?"

Callisto blinked, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"We only have the practical, Listo."

She let out a groan of frustration before she fell back to the floor, kicking the heavy book away from her.

"FUCK!"

"Language, Listo." Remus scolded. "No need for obscenities."

"You can take your language and shove it up your arse, Lupin." Callisto retorted, narrowing her eyes at him. "You didn't think of telling me that earlier?"

Remus' eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, "I didn't even know you were studying this."

"I don't care!" Callisto sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's your fault."

"How is it my fault?"

"You should have told me!" Callisto exclaimed angrily, shooting up. "I just wasted an hour and a half going over this shit and not understanding a word!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You're the DADA genius here, not me!"

"That doesn't mean I can read your mind." Remus argued, scoffing. Callisto was now seated opposite from him, her arms crossed under her chest as she looked at him with irritation in her eyes. "It's not my fault. Actually, it's your fault for not paying attention in class!"

"I would be paying attention if somebody wasn't an asshole and didn't keep on commenting on how easy everything is!" Callisto defended, pointing at his chest roughly. "You keep distracting me, so yes, it's your fault!"

"You're fucking impossible!"

"You're fucking annoying!"

Silence fell between them as Callisto looked at him, her jaw clenched and cheeks slowly growing redder at the realization of how close they were. Remus seemed to be thinking the exact same thing because his gaze kept averting to her lips that had never been so irresistible before.

"You're driving me crazy." Remus mumbled, his tone softening. "Completely mad."

"Remus-"

"No, don't tell me that we agreed to be just friends." He continued, his hands holding hers with so much desperation Callisto almost caved in. "I can't be just your friend, Listo; not when I want so much more with you."

"You said you don't want to be with me." She whispered. "You can't treat me like this anymore."

"I want to be with you, my love." He murmured, tightening his grip on her hand slightly. "I always have. I just- you scared the shit out of me, because I know how badly I could really hurt you and I just couldn't bear it. I was trying to protect you, but I just fucked everything up..."

"Remus, I know." Callisto murmured, her words getting an automatic response from him. She knew Callisto's secret, but his brain was hardwired into immediately freaking out the moment he heard someone saying those three dreaded words. "I know about your condition. And you'd have to be fucking stupid to think I would ever care."

Remus couldn't help but chuckle at her bluntness.

"No, it's true." Callisto insisted. "What kind of shit do you have for a brain, huh? I would never judge you about that. I would judge you for every stupid thing you do, but never for that."

He hadn't noticed the few tears escaping his eyes until he saw Callisto's eyes widening in regret.

"Shit, I was too harsh..." She mumbled, stepping away from him. "I'm sorry, I-I got carried aw-"

He didn't let her finish her sentence, his lips colliding with hers. She froze for a moment, causing him to pull away, dread hitting him like a brick on the head as doubt started to make its way to his heart. Before he had time to apologize, she clutched his shirt with her hand, bringing him closer to close any space between them.

She had missed it. There was something incredibly intoxicating about the way he kissed her, his warm hand on her neck while the other held her close to him, as if he was afraid she'd just disappear and leave him back with the memories of a ghost. Her heart was racing, making her feel lightheaded as he deepened the kiss, his body curving on hers. She slowly pulled away, his forehead resting against hers as he pecked her lips.

"I want you to be mine." Remus solemnly said, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "It's selfish of me to expect you to want this after the way I've treated you and knowing I could hurt you, but if I can be selfish once in my life, I want it to be with you."

He didn't need to wait for long to realize that it was worth it, because the moment he saw her smile, he knew that Callisto Claire would be the woman of his life. She'd be the one he'd think of even when he was old and grey, because he simply couldn't even grasp the idea of another person making him feel even a little bit like she did.

"I'm already yours, Rem." She smiled, leaning into his touch. "Please, don't leave me again."

"Never."

~ ~ ~
Fun fact: this was actually two diff chapters, but I couldn't keep my babies away for any much longer.
Bet you didn't expect that, did ya?
On another note, Callisto would love Lana Del Rey.