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𝕺utside, a stone's throw away from the lake is where she finds them.
Making the most of the clear blue skies, gathered around on two huge blankets, red of course, borrowed from the lion's den strewn across the grass, the seventh year Gryffindor clique plus one lovely Dorcas Meadowes. The Ravenclaw sits close to her girlfriend, rubbing light circles against the supple skin of her inner wrist, adding warning pressure whenever the complaints whined under breath amplify loud enough to reach where she doesn't want them to.
The unfailingly kind yet annoyingly persistent comeliness that is Lily Evans. Decades, it feels like, she's been at random quizzing their knowledge on every single topic that could possibly appear on their NEWT exam papers. Any flickers of hope that James Potter could swoop in and save the day have been long snuffed out, for as thrillingly fun as James Potter truly is, much to Sirius' horror, the shiny badge he wears as Head Boy has a switch for a seriousness.
One hundred percent he's backing up his academically driven girlfriend, just as motivated for everyone to revise for their important upcoming exams, reminding this is their futures at stake. Remus had scoffed and fairly pointed out that no matter the letter circled in red ink at the top of the page no one wants to hire someone that changes into a savage beast when the moon is full and is in chronic pain the rest of the phases. He'd managed skipping three rounds of questioning before Lily couldn't take it any longer, asking him the dates of the Goblin rebellions.
Peter picks up his low hanging head when his little rodent ears detect swishes of grass made by footsteps, blue eyes lighting up at the sight of the approaching younger girl.
"Please save us, Moonette. Or atleast put me out of my misery" He begs, yanking off his shoe and holding it up, coming to terms with his fate.
A groan, full of a pain worse than dying, leaves him when Romie merely pats him on the head, apologising lightheartedly,
"Sorry Pete, I'm striving to make it out the teen years before reaching that milestone"
Mary chuckles from where she's sprawled out nearby, sucking on a strawberry, "Some girls it's teen pregnancy they try to beat, no Romie's is ending life"
Point blank ignoring the small grunt earned from Remus, Romie crosses the threshold of the circle, stepping over tossed limbs and scattered flashcards to accept the invitation extended out. She sinks down beside the cocoa skinned girl, delighted to see her not only out of the bed she's been tightly cocooned in for the past several weeks, but out in the fresh air, somewhat enjoying herself.
Tentatively, Romie descends into her lap she happily pats, paying close attention to her face for any visible sign of discomfort. Touch alone is a big deal, touch after an unspeakable trauma like that is a huge deal. Romie would know. She also knows that it might be confusing, mind boggling that she's romantically involved with someone who shares the same serpent emblem, at one point in life shared the same beliefs as the disgrace of a human being who hurt her.
Regulus isn't like that, sure, he has his fair share of moments, it would be a lie to say that's an individual experience, but harming someone for the sake of harming them isn't his type of outlet. Not anymore. Not ever. She deserts face scanning to observe the soft thumb, not Regulus stroking, running across healing knuckle ridge to ridge, feeling relieved at the curve spreading at her well rounded mouth.
Mary covers her hand with her own, the gentle squeeze enough for Romie to receive the message that really isn't necessary. Any one of them she'd react the same, fight for. That's what you've got to do, fight. Fight for your friends and family, fight for what you believe in.
"Romie, what are the three trademarks of Amortentia?"
The quick fired question breaks the powerful moment of unbreakable friendship, their attention transferring to the expectant green eyed girl. Dorcas enables Marlene's loud protest, jumping to Romie's defence,
"Lily, she's not even doing exams this year!"
"Exactly! Studying well in advance for next year will be beneficial. So Romie, three trademarks?" Lily ploughs on, stubbornness giving Romie a run for her money.
Romie sighs, racking her brain on the potion recently studied in class. The answer comes in a time so outstandingly fast Lily would be proud and Peter would be envious, but before she can utter a word, someone beats her to it.
"NO!"
Everyone startles at the sudden outburst, Remus' shoulder rapidly hiking up to cover his poor ear as Sirius whips out his arm and theatrically smacks the flash card right out of Lily's hand. The red head's not the only one looking daggers at the grinning git, Romie of a similar, more intense nature, understanding Sirius' true incentive there.
"You're not funny"
She snaps, irritation flaring further when Sirius grin merely widens to a cocky degree, eyes of striking silver glittering with the wild spirits she likes only when they're not being broadly used at her expense.
"Oh, but I am"
James knowingly sucks in a breath at the all too familiar face of fury emerging to the surface that's bad enough on any woman, let alone Romie Lupin. Scratching his slightly stubbled chin, he wisely speaks up,
"She said she was striving, Padfoot. Striving doesn't mean will definitely, my good friend"
His good friend soon to be no longer, is what he's hinting at, wiping the stupid grin clean off Sirius' face. Panic starting to gradually fade in, without taking his eyes off the girl more than capable of a mean injury, he fumbles around for the sweater clad arm of her taming experienced older brother, whispering,
"Moony. Moons, protect me"
Remus doesn't absent himself from the well annotated book he's managed to sneak out from under Lily's nose, mumbling ever so casually as he flicks the page,
"Can't. She knows where I live"
"Not where our new flat will be! She doesn't know that!" Sirius rushes out hurriedly, grip tightening on his arm.
In a temporary moment of contemplation, Remus lazily lifts his eyes to meet the purple ones his baby sister now has, then to the wickedly handsome boy that's so out of his league it's comical. He should want to protect that, the absurdity that is having someone like Sirius Black dear. He really should, it's a one in a million.
"Better not" He sighs, returning to his book without sparing a rather offended Sirius another glance.
Remus' name has already been scribbled in the bad books more than the world's greatest mathematician can count, he can't go around, mouthing that number willy nilly. Moments are to be chosen carefully, the instances that the welfare he swears on his life to protect is at risk. Yes, he's bad cop more than he's good cop, but sometimes that's the case for parental figures. Sacrifices of the constant jollies unfortunately have to be made.
A squeak that sounds like it belongs inside the little body of a first year girl escapes Sirius, scrambling up just in time for Romie's pounce across the blanket, claws making an appearance. Back and forth the strip of lawn they chase like cat and dog, providing great entertainment and distraction for the group tired of Lily's quiz questions.
"Go on Romie! Get him!" Mary and Marlene cheer encouragingly, appalling Sirius.
Appalling significantly when it becomes abundantly clear the two girls aren't the only ones on Romie's side, the vast majority of his friends, the pals he's known for seven years are against him. And worse, the exception, usually nice and loyal James, is an obligatory vote out of pity. He slows down to, of course, dramatically express how gravely betrayed he feels, an action that's a rookie mistake.
Because like a scalded cat, Romie's catching up and launching herself at him, the sheer velocity of it nearly knocking Sirius down to the ground in a face plant. Perhaps he might've if that didn't mean Romie wouldn't tumble down with him, which would worsen matters. After a few wobbles, he manages to stabilise himself, ring adorned hands clutching the spindly legs clamped tight around his toned torso.
"Fucking hell, Roman Weapon"
The hands buried deep in the well cared for roots of his silken raven locks tighten their grip impossibly more, scrunching up his face to what resembles a wince as she hums,
"What was that?"
"Why hello lovely Roman Goddess of whom I kiss the ground walked upon" He swiftly corrects, sighing a sigh of relief when that seems to please her enough.
Instead of the planned rip, Romie ruffles his hair, trying to repress the escalating longing that it was both shorter and curlier and not Sirius' at all. She sighs so quietly it's easily missable, but maybe not as much as she thought because when she goes to finally dismount him, his grasp grows firmer, keeping her in place. On the spot he shuffles around, moving the second Romie's arms loosely loop around his neck.
Moving in the direction opposite of their friends. Moving in the direction straight of the body of water that homes the Giant Squid, grindylows, colonies of merpeople and Merlin knows what else. She squirms in position, beginning to seriously warn,
"Sirius Orion Black I swear if you—"
Her sentence is cut short by her own piercing shriek, bracing for the impact as Sirius charges full pelt through the shore and dives them both headfirst in where the deepness measure is tippy toe walking. Sparks, not the nice kind, ignite on the surface of her skin and cold water rushes up her nose in that horrible way everyone's experienced atleast once in their existence.
None of it is as bad as the roaring laughter heard when she breaks out the rippling surface, most probably due to bearing a strong resemblance to a drowned rat. A fully clothed in jumper, jeans and shoes drowned rat treading next to what can only be described a walking wet dream. She refuses to catch a glimpse at Remus' face, already mildly disgusted at what she imagines.
Another shriek disturbs her brown study, this one not tearing from the throat that is her own, instead the girl with fiery hair and emerald eyes now being swooped up by an eager James. Eager to recreate what earned him a good snog in the first place. Sirius tugs Romie out of the way just in time for when the couple join them in the water, followed closely by Marlene, Dorcas and Mary.
Peter's much slower in his arrival, adjusting to the shockingly cold temperature little by little until James drags him all the way in and playfully ducks his head under the surface. Romie jumps when Sirius suddenly appears behind her, glancing over her shoulder to the last one left on land who holds no ambition to participate, nose deep in the book. Most likely hiding his face, terribly flushed from Sirius' soaked look.
"On three, you get the legs, I'll get the rest of him" He quietly instructs, turning a deaf ear to Romie's objections that he's too heavy boned and guiding her out.
Playing normal as can be, they steadily approach him, pushing and shoving each other like brothers and sisters to, bickering. Romie huffs and Sirius snickers, collapsing either side of happily dry Remus. He groans at the stench radiating from his friend, the wet dog smell really coming through much to his hypersensitive senses' dismay.
"What's up, De la lune à mes étoiles?" Sirius laughs, deliberately shaking himself off.
Remus sniffs, swerving away into Romie's space, "You stink, you bloody dog!"
"Oh? Is that right?" Sirius hums, on his knees, leaning up close and personal to the amber eyes and sandy halo of curls he dreams of at night.
Temporarily out of it thanks to the proximity of Sirius, Sirius and Romie lock eyes and silently countdown, on three like agreed, seizing hold and carrying him towards the rest of them. A string of swears, each progressively cruder than the last, fly from his mouth, struggling against the pair of traitors. James comes to help, lightening up the heavy load despite Remus' protests.
"I know where you all live and I do bite!"
"And I bark!" Sirius shouts as they finally toss him into the murky waters and dive in straight after him.
It's childish and silly and it's teenagers making the most of their final moments at the castle that's been their home for a whole era of their lives, an important era of their lives. When they grow in more ways than one and learn from mistakes and make lifelong friends they'll never get rid of. They're deep in the Black Lake but soon they'll be thrown into the deep end of the real world, the cruel, dark world trapped in war with no navigation or guide books. A complete and utter free-for-all.
It's childish and silly and it's teenagers making the most of their final moments until it's not. Until in her peripheral vision, Romie spots something that stops her in her competitive splashing tracks. It's the professor she's not long left the presence off, half an hour at most. But that's all it takes. Minutes for someone's whole world to come crashing down. No advance notice, no forewarning.
She races over to Remus' side, not one bit liking the hauntingly familiar expression Mcgonagall's wearing as she surveys the carefree group messing around. It's the expression used when students are quietly taken aside to never be seen around school again. Or atleast for a couple of weeks.
"You're okay" Remus gently reassures, hiding his snowballing fear and tucking her safely against him.
Romie's okay, yes, but someone isn't.
"Miss Evans, could I please borrow you a moment?"
Their hearts drop. Drop lower at the plain silence of Lily Evans as she wades out of the water, treading on the heels of the sorrowful professor. Like this call had been one she's been expecting.
One she had already prepared herself for.
——————
Sorry for all those expecting our beloved Regulus and future sorry because he won't be in the next chapter either. Well not in person. Anyway, a while ago I was playing around on AI (not for long that technology scares me) but I attempted to make these of what I picture Romie like in my head. I keep forgetting to share them, so here they are!
(I don't blame you Regulus, I'm down bad too)