find me - kings of leon
☆☾
November has now made its way into the Highlands, bringing with it bitter cold and violent thunderstorms, which break the sky into pieces.
Olivia loves them. Storms. Lightning. The noise. The light. The atmosphere. She could stay for hours at the window, book in hand, observing, hearing and feeling them. She finds storms poetic. As if the sky was painting its anger.
Sitting alone at breakfast, she grabs some toast and a banana. Davies is at morning Quidditch practice and Mona is at her respective table. Olivia takes a book out of her bag. But not just any book. The book he gave her. There are only a few pages left to read. It seems to Olivia that that's all she's been doing this past week.
When she returned to the dormitory after her detention, after having carelessly thrown her bag and clothes on her bed and after putting on a nightie, she slipped under the sheets, took a deep breath and started reading the pages of the book. 512 pages. A grin graces her lips as she observes the annotations on the pages. He annotated it. For her. Her heart skips a beat.
Since that day, all her free time has been dedicated to reading this novel. She often smiles at his annotations and discovers that Professor Lupin is actually extremely funny. This is why that same morning, at breakfast, when Remus Lupin sits down at the big table, and as usual, his gaze automatically drifts to the blue and gold table and comes to rest on the brunette with red lips, a wave of heat travels throughout his body when he sees her reading his book. His book. He knows that seeing her reading his book, more, touching it, between her long, thin fingers, should not give him so much emotion. But he fucking loved it.
☆☾
After class, the storm had calmed down. The sky was still threatening, like the promise of a flood, but the wind had picked up the clouds and a chaotic atmosphere reigned over the school. Olivia takes advantage of this moment of respite, puts on a big warm jacket and goes out, determined to go for a walk. She takes the passages that only she knows to exit discreetly, and goes to the side of the forest.
Olivia feels good. The birds are singing, happy to see the rain gone, the trees are more and more bare, the humid atmosphere of the forest makes everything even more exotic. Only her footsteps on the wet earth break the peaceful silence of the place.
The brunette enjoys getting some fresh air, getting out of school. The atmosphere is becoming more and more heavy. All her classmates, including Mona and Roger are under pressure, with exams and NEWT's fast approaching. Everyone already knows what they want to do with their life: auror, works at the Ministry, Quidditch player, teacher. But what will she do once the year is over? She is suffocating.
Added to this is the problem of Professor Lupin. Is this really a problem? A digression? A fault ? A sin ? Desiring and feeling such strong things for her teacher, she knows, she shouldn't. But everything, absolutely everything about him makes her lose her mind; ranging from his emerald eyes to the way he licks his lips before speaking.
Olivia, normally, experiences all these things through her books, through the thousands of words she has read. Like when she experienced the passion of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, or the forbidden passion of Romeo and Juliet. Never, oh never, would she have thought she would feel this way in real life. But the truth is that she likes it, and that, for once, for a long time now, she feels that being attached to him is worth it.
As she arrives at her secret place, she sits down on her usual wooden trunk and takes out Remus's book, determined to finish it before the storm starts again.
☆☾
When Remus brings back the last student found in the corridors before the castle doors close, he runs into the common room. Since the start of the alert, he has only one face in mind; the face of Olivia, of brown bangs, brown eyes, red lipstick, desire and the forbidden.
He hopes to know that she is already warm in one of the sleeping bags, looking up at the starry sky designed especially for the occasion. But as his eyes sweep over all the worried faces, Olivia remains nowhere to be seen.
Fuck.
In the distance, he sees the blonde hair and green tie of her friend, the only one he sees her hanging out with, with Roger Davies. Remus runs towards her with short strides.
"Excuse me Miss Vaxey," he begins, the tone of his voice betraying his concern. "Is Miss Marat here?"
Remus would have liked her friend to tell him that yes, she arrived a few minutes ago and went to get something to spend the night peacefully, so he could sit down and keep watch with a light head, but no, Mona Vaxey told him that she had no idea where she could be and that she was starting to seriously worry, too.
"Fuck", Remus instantly regrets having used this word in front of the students, not because it would be too inappropriate, no, not that, it was the least of his worries, but rather because it could reflect his concern that he has for Olivia, wich is far too inappropriate.
Without thinking, Remus reaches the main doors and leaves the castle. The rain hits the ground and the sky is so threatening that we can barely see anything outside. Disregarding this, Remus walks through the pouring rain, taking the path of the small log he has seen on several occasions. She must be here. She has to be.
And as he runs in the rain, his heart beating, under the arch of a loose tree between the swells of the wind, he sees her, her gentle silhouette advancing quietly, undisturbed by the unleashing of the elements.
"Professor?"
Olivia speaks and in that same moment, Remus's worry dissipates, giving way to an anger he hasn't felt in a very long time. Overwhelmed by emotion, he grabs her arm tightly and begins to turn back towards the castle.
"What is happening ?" shouts the brunette under the torrent of rain that falls on them. "Where are you taking me?"
In front of his silence, she decides to stop, forcing Remus to do the same. She crosses her arms. He could almost smile at her harsh look, which only makes her more desirable. There, under the thousands of droplets falling on her face, her hair wet, her lips soaked, he only wants to kiss her.
"I don't have time for this, we have to go, come on," he manages to respond.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on, Professor," Olivia replies. Her few words succeeded in triggering his anger, and he dangerously walks towards her before grabbing her cheeks with his right hand.
"You almost got yourself fucking killed, that's what's happening! Sirius Black entered the castle, they were closing, you could have been killed by him or worse, frozen to death here! Do you understand ?"
By the time she understood everything that was happening to her, his hands on her cheeks, his face a few centimeters from hers, Sirius Black in the castle, and above all, oh above all, his concern for her, few seconds passed like an eternity. They don't take their eyes off each other and Remus finally lets go of her face and starts pacing back and forth, his hands behind his head.
"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention, I-" Olivia said shyly, still in shock.
"Oh fuck it," Remus said under his breath.
He closes the few steps that separate him from Olivia and grabs her cheeks a second time, but this time, his lips meet hers.
And their world stops.
His lips on hers, finally. The same lips that he had dreamed of so much, so desired.
The kiss is passionate, rushed, ardent, trembling, almost desperate. Their bodies intertwine as Olivia runs her hands through his hair. Remus lowers a hand to the small of her back and tightens the embrace, as if they weren't already close enough.
Remus groans as Olivia bites his bottom lip. Their tongues answer each other eagerly. Their breathing quickened, almost panting.
In the background, thunder rumbles, as if to warn them of the barrier they have just crossed. But they stay there, impossible to get rid of each other.
The sound of the rain against the lake, the wind in the hair, the drops running down their faces, their wet lips, the taste of cherry chapstick and cigarettes, the softness of her skin, the smell of vanilla.
Remus knows it. He's already addicted. He's screwed.
Reluctantly, they separate, almost out of breath. Remus could have stayed for hours in the rain, holding her, kissing her, tasting her. He runs his fingers over his lips, as if to be sure that this kiss was real, without leaving her gaze, which, too, was asking for much more.
"Come on, we have to go," are the words he finally manages to get out of his mouth. He grabs her soaked hand before heading back to the castle.
No words are needed. Mostly, no words are strong enough to describe what just happened. To describe this moment of pure union between two lost souls, trying to understand each other, apprehend each other, know each other, and who succumb to temptation, showing the world the entirety of their flaws.
Arriving in front of the castle, the doors open to a more than worried McGonagall. Remus' hand automatically lets go of Olivia's, who immediately feels a lack within her.
"Oh dear," she says, a hand over her mouth. She walks directly towards Olivia. "My child, are you alright?"
Olivia nods, glancing at Remus, who is looking down.
"Come on, we'll warm you up or you'll freeze to death!" McGonnagall continues before putting a hand around Olivia's shoulders. Before entering the Great Hall, she turns to Remus.
"Are you alright, Remus?"
"Yes, don't worry, I'll change and I'll be right back", he mutters, before leaving towards his office, without glancing at Olivia.
Outside, the thunder has stopped.