CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
the sister substitute
BETTY STAYED IN the hospital wing for only a day before Madame Pomfrey deemed her ready to leave. The cobblestone floors were just as she had remembered it, but the dreary ceiling seemed to bloom with new life as she stared up at it the night before she was released. She knew that nothing had changed, but as the seasons started to turn, the light started to flicker onto it as the sun overtook the night and the clocks turned. As the days became longer and the sun started to inch its way into her life, it curled over the stones in the early morning and greeted her with a warm kiss on the cheek before her final evaluation. She headed to her first class after she was released and sat through her potions lecture, taking notes diligently, but her eyes secretly flicked over to the clock ever so often and willed the seconds hand farther along—closer to the evening, closer to dinner, closer to after dinner when a hand would grab her own in the shadows, whisk her away and tell her a million sweet nothings as she nodded along with blushing cheeks and sweet butterfly kisses. Madame Pomfrey had told her not to do her rounds, so Betty was going to make sure that James didn't hear that. Before, she'd like waking up in the early sunrise, but now, she longed for the way the stars turned and how the lamplight flickered and caressed the faces the of the passing portraits.
Eventually, with her potion brewed and immaculate mark earned, she packed up her bags and headed to lunch, where Philippa waved her over with a bright smile.
"Betty! What happened?" Aisling screeched as she stood up and guided her towards the Gryffindor table. "Peter told me that James brought you to the hospital wing last night?"
"Why didn't you say anything?" Cece asked, a spoonful of mash in her hand. "Are you feeling alright?"
Betty smiled, a blush painting her cheeks. "Everything's alright. Caught a small cold and he got concerned." She caught herself. "Said something about wanting to be the one to kill me, not Snape."
"I can't believe that rat bastard is still here after all he's done!" Philippa grumbled as she shot daggers, like routine, in his direction. "I'm not one for hating people, but lord, that boy makes me want to tear someone's hair out."
"Preferably his," Cece snidely mumbled under her breath.
"I'd have to wash my hands three times after with that amount of grease," Philippa countered in a grumble.
Betty didn't have the heart to quiet their snide comments as a small smile settled on her face and forced the edges of her lips up. She let the venom hang in the air, not wanting to be everyone's antidote anymore.
Lunch came and went as the girls talked about classes and the date that Peter had taken Aisling on (which, of course, included sneaking into the basement of Honeyduke's through a secret passage). Eventually, she trudged back to her classes and watched as the minute hand made time whirl past her. It was funny, she thought, once she had something to look forward to, the clock moved slower. And yet, the past couple of months of growing closer to James had flown past much faster than she would've liked. Especially since he was graduating at the end of the year. And she was not. She hadn't even thought to try to claw onto the time that seemed to slip by them, faster as they burned closer to each other.
She went back to her dorm, chatting with Aisling on the way, to grab her cloak and a scarf—wanting to keep warm as to not catch anything again and miss her rounds. She hummed under her breath once she flicked it around her neck, hugged Aisling goodnight and flitted down the stairs to the barrel entrance. She counted the stones as she made her way to her and James's usual meeting spot.
"More chatting tonight?" a portrait sneered as she passed it. Her pace slowed as she came to face the man's face. "Hate your nights. All you and the bloody Gryffindor do is chat. Well past lights out and when you're supposed to be back in bed." He sniffed, crossed his arms over his chest and turned his nose up. "Lucky that I don't report you to the headmaster. I am personal friends with Phineas Black." His tone imposed upon her, trying to make her feel small as a bemused smile captured her lips. "I have friends in high places."
"Is that why you're so low on the wall?" Her tone was airy, accompanied by a laugh of similar lightness.
His face went red as he spluttered. "Those are not proper manners, young lady." His cheeks huffed and puffed as he tried to come up with a retort. "And besides, it is not just I who think so. The other portraits complain at all the chatter and laughing. We need our sleep too, you know!"
She smiled kindly as she tilted her head, looking at the red-faced man. "We'll do our best to stay quiet tonight."
The portrait murmured something incoherent, but slowly turned away and retreated into the distance of his painting. She laughed once more to herself as she turned away and headed towards the entrance to the Great Hall, her hum and counting resuming—a smile and pink cheeks now ever-present. Her heart skipped with every step that she took towards him. She faintly heard his voice as she turned the corner, but heard another voice as well, making her hair stand up—on guard. She heard the tone and immediately knew.
"I'm sure she's fine, Moons," James urged with an eye roll.
"She's not taking care of herself," Remus grumbled, but he sensed the quietly approaching presence. He turned with a furrowed brow and crossed arms. "You can come out, Birdy."
She finished approaching with an eye roll. "It's not fair that you can sense all of that."
"The reason isn't favorable," he shot back.
"I hope that you're just here for a chat because I have responsibilities to get to." There was a warning in her tone.
"Absolutely not." He stepped towards her. "You were just in the hospital wing—"
"For a small cold!—"
"In the hospital wing regardless! You're not doing rounds tonight!"
"I'm fine!"
"If I ask Madame Pomfrey if you should be doing rounds, would she agree with you?" Remus arched an eyebrow.
Betty groaned and ran her hands over her face. "You already asked her, didn't you?"
Remus paused for a moment. "Yes, I did."
"Rem!"
"Betty!" His voice was sassy as he looked at her with a crazed, concern.
"You're not my mum! I can make my own decisions!"
"Not against the advice of medical professionals!"
"Remus, I'm fine." Betty's voice held a cutting defiance that made butterflies erupt in James's stomach, admiration flooding his eyes.
"You don't take care of yourself enough!"
"I've—" Her voice crack as she fought the urge to look at James. "I've honestly—I'm fine. Things are actually going right in my life!"
"That doesn't mean—"
"Remus—"
Remus stood forward, determined. He leered his height over her. She was on the taller side—in between Peter and Sirius in height, but when Remus extended his neck, he loomed, intimidating. "This is final. You're going back to bed."
"You're not going to budge on this, are you?" Remus only shook his head. She sighed, making brief eye contact with James.
Remus raised an eyebrow and turned back to face James. "He's not going to help you on this."
"James Potter would never dream of helping me on anything."
Remus grinned victoriously. "Exactly. You two hating each other finally has its use." Betty rolled her eyes. Her and James briefly made eye contact once more as he quickly tilted his head in the direction that he'd be walking in. She sighed as her attention turned back to Remus, who was too preoccupied listing reasons as to why she shouldn't do her rounds that night to notice. "I know Madame Pomfrey better than anyone at this school and if she—"
"Fine, you win."
"Which is precisely why I'm going to fight you—" Remus stopped talking immediately as his shoulders relaxed. "Oh. Alright, well, I'll walk you back to your dorm."
Betty huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm a big girl—I know how to get back to my dorm by myself."
"Well obviously not after the thing that you and James encountered—"
"That was a one time thing—"
"I'm walking you back—"
"I can walk her," James piped up. Remus whipped around with a confused look. "I normally go that way for rounds anyway to grab something from the kitchens."
Betty suppressed a smile and replaced it with an eye roll. "Of course that's why you insisted on going that way."
"Well, we couldn't have you distracted and snogging Abbott on the way, now could we?" James chuckled with a raised eyebrow.
"Freddie? I thought you were seeing a Ravenclaw?" Remus asked, looking between the two of them, confused.
"I am," her tone was deadly as she glared at James, mischief playing in her eyes so subtly that only James could catch it. "James just doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, so of course he wouldn't know that I wasn't seeing Freddie." James rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her. "Dear lord, are you five?"
"Are we going to go or not?" James growled as he brushed past the two of them—headed for the corner to turn towards the way to the barrels. "The longer you take, the longer I have to be with you and the longer I'm away from the kitchens."
"Oh no, god forbid that you ever do something selfless for once in your life," Betty gasped, mocking him. But, she swept past Remus and started to walk in time with James, not too close to him. They left Remus, bewildered, standing in the corridor.
He took a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." His voice was quiet as it let the the floor plan of Hogwarts curl over the parchment. He saw Peter in the common room and Sirius pacing in their dorm. Aisling was in bed. Snape was by the Slytherin common room fire with Regulus. And, Betty and James's foot steps slowly drifted farther down the corridor, almost stopped near the edge of the wall—headed for where he knew the Hufflepuff common room would be. He shook his head, noted the kink in the magic and closed the map once more. "Mischief Managed." He folded the parchment and slid it into his pocket—setting off on Betty's portion of the rounds.
"Thank you for that," Betty said quietly as her and James slowed their pace. He leaned against the wall as she peeked her head around the corner to see Remus's retreating figure.
"'course," James mumbled as he gazed at her in the low lamplight. "Is he gone?"
Betty hummed and nodded, but her eyes remained on Remus as his shadow elongated as he moved farther away. Hands tumbled down over her hips and pulled her closer, into the shadows. In one swift motion, he hands spun her hips until she faced him and he leaned down, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. A giggle ripped through her throat as she leaned into him on her toes—bringing their bodies closer together and her to his level as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly, her hands shifted down his neck and onto his cheeks as they gently caressed him, his cheeks turning pink in the process. She lowered her heels back to the ground, re-creating their height difference. She slowly pulled away, leaning her head forward as she did—his lips capturing her forehead in a sweet kiss. His fingers reached down and gently lifted her chin back up as his lips met hers again, but he quickly turned more fervent as he used his leverage to start to back her up.
Once her back softly hit the wall, she let out a stifled moan and pulled away. "We could get caught! Especially with my brother now doing my rounds!" Her voice was a forceful whisper. "You should—" She cut herself off abruptly as he dipped down and pressed his lips lightly to her neck, making her hair stand up. She sucked in a sharp breath as she tensed, using all of her will power not to give in. "I'm being ser— I'm not kidding!" Her voice was a whisper and her words were disjoined.
James smirked against her neck before pulling away. "I'm Head Boy, remember?" Amusement danced around his eyes.
"And my brother's best friend!"
"Hasn't stopped you before."
"Well he wasn't doing rounds on our night before and we weren't in public before!" James rolled his eyes and shook his head—his hair bouncing. "And I blame you since you took me to the hospital wing to begin with!"
"If I let you win, can I kiss you again?" James raised an eyebrow.
"That's not fair and this isn't a fight—" James rolled his eyes and captured her lips once more, sweetly, before pulling away again.
"This okay?" She hesitated, her eyes looking frantically between his as thoughts raced through her mind, before nodding slightly. He smiled victoriously and kissed her once more. This time a hand slipped under her skirt, making her breath hitch.
"James, not in public—" But she cut herself off once more as his lips attached to her neck. His lips trailed to right below her ear, her sweet spot, right as he slipped a finger inside of her and curled it slightly, making her stifle a groan. "Jesus Christ." Her voice was a whisper as he slid a second finger in and she dropped her forehead to his shoulder. His pace was faster, but steady. She muffled herself against his shoulder as her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. James kept working his way across her neck, nearing her collar bone that was hidden under her school button up. He could make small constellations with the tattooed kisses on her neck.
She was crumbling like Pompeii under him as his lava burned her neck, marking his destruction. It slid down her skin and killed anything in its path, yet she craved it and hissed like water being siphoned away under the contact. If this was death, she'd die a thousand times and then some. Right before he was about to give her one under her ear, he stopped and pulled away completely — his fingers quickly moving her underwear back into place. She looked at him with desperate eyes and a thick swallow as he smirked.
"Beg."
Her pride screamed and begged for 'no' as she hesitated, making James grin. "Please." Her voice was barely a whisper. He chuckled under his breath as he captured her lips finally, biting her bottom lip with his teeth, making it bloom red. Her face were a similar shade as he pulled away slowly.
"More." She rolled her eyes and huffed, but quickly gasped as in one swift motion, his fingers pushed her underwear to the side and slammed back into her.
"Oh my god." Her voice was strained as her forehead landed on James's shoulder once more.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Fuck, James. Please. Cherries on top. All of it. Make me yours." He groaned as he felt her clench and the lava started to burn him as well, a bulge appearing in his trousers. He cleared his throat as he tried to collect himself.
"You have no idea what you do to me." His fingers slipped out of her and he held them to the side, with the intent of washing them.
Betty swallowed thickly, collecting herself and frantically looking around for any intruders that might have seen them, to find themselves alone and out of sight of the paintings. "Yeah?" She looked up, her eyes dark.
James gulped as he looked at her, his confidence draining under her gaze. It was her turn to chuckle as her eyes flicked down to his trousers. She leaned against the wall, both hands behind her back and looked back up innocently at him. He looked down, collecting himself, before looking back up. "But your brother will kill me if he doesn't find you back in your dorm because knowing him, he'll check up on you."
"Well I should've been there long ago . . ." Her eyes tracked him as he shifted.
"I'll go find him and say that I dropped you off if you're okay heading back by yourself."
She stuck out her bottom lip. "Not joining me, Head Boy?"
James chuckled as he looked down at her. "Merlin, you've gotten good."
She shrugged one shoulder as mischief danced in her eyes once more. The same mischief that could be found in James's. He lifted his hands in the air and pointed in the direction that Remus had gone previously. He sucked in a breath as he admired her. He loved her disheveled hair, messy tie and unbuttoned shirt. But, perhaps, most of all, the little marks that littered her neck that could be faintly seen in the light. He knew she'd put a glamour charm over them in the morning, so he relished the few moments that they were on display. Even if it was just for the paintings, they knew that she was his.
The candle was still lit when Betty made it back to her dorm. Aisling was sitting up, reading for History of Magic. Her head shot up at their door opening quietly as to not wake up the rest of the girls in the dorm. Panic shot down her spine as Betty scrambled to button up and straight her tie.
"You're back early," Aisling murmured. She yawned and stretched, her eyes focusing on Betty. "And your uniform's so messy!"
"Remus took over my rounds," Betty said quickly as she made a beeline for her bed. Betty cursed to herself when Aisling tilted her head curiously, lifted the candle from her bedside table, swung her legs over the side of her bed and padded her way over to Betty.
"Oh. My. God," Aisling's voice raised a little, but not too much so as to not wake the other girls. "Jesus Christ—that Ravenclaw is good." She shifted Betty's hair to the side and had to hold back her laughter. "Betty Lupin! You bad bad girl! What's happened to you? Forrester messed you up that much, huh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Betty breathed out as she rummaged around for a pajama set, ultimately claiming the set that she wanted.
"Oh please, Betty Lupin. You've put off work. You've gone out. You go to parties . . . routinely, I might add. And you're letting loose, you idiot."
"Isn't that what you've been wanting me to do for forever?"
Aisling giggled and brushed it off. "And not to mention those." Aisling nodded towards Betty's neck as she fiddled with the buttons on the button down. Betty didn't say anything, cheeks flushed, as she managed to get out of her uniform and into her pajamas. She folded her uniform and tossed the dirty clothes into the laundry basket at the end of her bed. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at Aisling with pursed lips. Aisling only raised an eyebrow. "What are you not telling me?"
Betty had to catch the words in her throat, lest the charade be unveiled. The only secret that she hadn't told Aisling, it seemed. The silence was deafening between them as they walked along the tightrope of their years of friendship. "When I'm ready, I'll tell you."
Aisling's face contorted into concern. "Are you okay—"
"Yes, yes. Everything is perfectly fine. I just . . . have some things to sort before I tell anyone."
"Did you get back together with Kellan?" Aisling's voice held a warning as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"No, it's not Kellan."
"So it is a secret relationship?" Betty's stomach dropped as the silence cut through them again, giving Aisling the answer that she was searching for. Betty hesitantly nodded, making Aisling nod as well and release the tension between them. Aisling nodded once more before relenting and going back to her bed. They were quiet once more as she tossed the quilt over her body.
The silence made the hair on Betty's neck stand up as she felt Aisling not falling asleep and tapping her fingers on the quilt, rhythmically, thinking, figuring it out.
But Betty Lupin knew that Aisling Khan was too respectful to ask. To say the name that flashed through both of their minds. But Betty also knew that once it was said, it couldn't be unsaid.
That she'd have to break one of two promises now. To speak or to die. To say the name or let the trust dissolve into silence.