Unfortunately, none of us get much time to adjust back to school time. The next day is Monday and it's sink or swim time. Luckily, I had already factored that into my schedule. I rise just before the sun and go for a jog with my wand out ahead of me to melt the snow, then make it back just in time to shower. I'm fresh, clean, changed, and in the breakfast hall just as Lily and the others are just starting to stir from sleep.
I settle in my usual spot with the warm fire to my back quickly drying my hair as food blooms in front of me. Warm toast with butter, eggs, scrambled and fried, sausage, bacon, and a few fruit-filled pastries cover the table and I hum with appreciation. I'm halfway through my second plate when Lily shuffles in with a bleary-eyed Remus. I kind of feel bad since our talk is probably why he's so tired, but I can't do anything to change that now. Lily settles close next to me while Remus settles across from us both.
"I'm freezing. How are you not cold?" She asks and shakes her hair out from her cloak as if the red color will attract the warmth of the fire. I shrug.
"And how are you not tired?" Remus asks and blinks a few times as if he's still actively fighting the urge to sleep. I shovel a few scrambled eggs in my mouth as I scan over the new semester's schedule. McGonagall gave me mine personally just after I sat down with a pointed look.
"Went for a run this morning. Been up for a couple of hours. Lily, what are you taking?" I ask and turn to her before I notice the both of them are staring at me.
"You willingly got up before the sun? To run?" Lily asks with wide eyes and I smirk.
"I want to be fit for quidditch and running clears my head. Schedules?" I ask again and receive them with some rolling of their eyes. "Barely any extra classes together." I huff before handing them back their schedules. Lily scoffs and slathers a biscuit with both butter and jelly.
"The only class we don't have together is arithmancy." She corrects and Remus chuckles while sipping on his orange juice. "Mmhmm, laugh it up divination and muggle studies. You chose all the easy subjects." Lily accuses, but Remus' expression doesn't give away a thing excepting a little lift to the corner of his thin lips.
"Not a clue what you're talking about." He says and I toss a few crumbs at him for his smartassery. He grins and nibbles a bit of his food before the rest of the boys come in. They pause at the sight of Remus with us, but then pointedly sit at the opposite end of the table. Peter does wave though which I return.
"You can go sit with them if you want, Remus." I encourage as he looks over at them.
"Wouldn't want them to think you're too rational." Lily teases and he rolls his eyes. "I'm heading to Herbology early anyway. Ravenclaws always hog the good seats." I hum in agreement and pop up from my seat when she does.
"So, you're abandoning me because it's in my best interest to seem an idiot?" He asks and we both giggle.
"Exactly. See you in class!" Lily waves and I give him a pointed look so he knows to stay quiet about our talk before the boys head over to join him. "When are you going to try and fix that?" Lily asks once we're out of hearing range of the great hall.
"Didn't think you were too fond of them." I stall and she shoots me some side-eye because she knows it. "Fine. I don't even know how to fix it, so I'll figure that out first before trying any sort of reconciliation. If there even can be one."
"I'm sure they'll forgive you, Arell. Despite Potter's...shortcomings, he loves his friends more than anything." She assures me as we head in the greenhouse and pick a spot in the middle of the front. Close enough to see and hear, but not too close as to be scrutinized.
"But there are things that are unforgivable, Lily," I tell her and shrink in my seat when the boys come in and avoid my eyes.
Class sucks. Professor Sprout goes on about some cabbage that eats carrots, but all I'm aware of is James and Sirius avoiding my eyes, then staring at me when I look away. Lily gives them a few glares herself, but I discourage her. I'm in the wrong here, not them. After Herbology is Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins which does not help with the boys' mood. Now, I'm the one who wanders away from them and run into a familiar face.
"Hey, you." I greet the figure clad in green and see his smile before he's even turned around.
"Hey, stranger." Garrett greets me back before Professor Grubblyplank calls for attention. As we turn, I catch Sirius staring at me and fuming. Maybe approaching Garrett wasn't the best idea.
"Now, Bowtruckles don't trust humans since their primary niche is to protect their trees. The best way to earn their trust is to show you care about their environment." He walks around and shoves watering cans into our waiting hands. "Small groups of you will look after a single tree with a group of Bowtruckles on it. How well your Bowtruckles take to you will determine your grade. The group with the best result will receive a special prize!" Grubblyplank hands out the final can before clapping his hands together happily. "Alright! Groups of three to four! Assemble, assemble!" He shouts and Garrett and I instantly look to one another.
"Partners?" We say at the same time, then grin.
"Think you can handle being around me for that long?" He teases and I shrug.
"We'll see who comes out alive at the end of it, I suppose." I tease back and it feels good just to smile and not worry for a minute. "Kinda need a third member though." We both look for an availability, and I spy Lily, but the look on her face isn't a happy one. My brows furrow before I realize she's with Remus, James, and Peter. But where's Sirius?
"Mind if I join?" His voice is cold when he speaks and my eyes shut with dread, but there's no doubt that it's Sirius. I turn to face him, but his eyes are on Garrett.
"Sirius, are you sure-"
"Alright! Groups are made. Get to it, everyone!" Grubblyplank interrupts me and any hope I had drops to the bottom of my stomach. Sirius smirks.
"Settled then. Mind getting the water, mate?" Sirius asks Garrett who looks to me. I nod with an apologetic expression which he shrugs off before walking towards the well. Only then does Sirius look at me. "So, you prefer green to red after all?" He says and I sigh.
"Sirius, that isn't what this is about."
"You don't even deny it?"
"This isn't personal."
"Then what the hell is it?"
"I'm just-!" I hiss, but can't finish without telling him everything. We stare off another minute before I turn away and rip open a bag of fertilizer. "Let's just get through this." It's quiet for a moment as I start shoveling fertilizer into the small square where our tree stands.
"Is that all you have to say to me?" His voice is softer now and I can see his face without even looking at him. His slightly furrowed brows over big, stormy eyes, downturned mouth, and the little way he leans forward toward whoever he's talking to. I can't resist looking up and seeing exactly what I suspected. I let the little spade fall back into the bag as I stand and look into his eyes. My hand reaches out and grabs his, squeezing tight.
"I...I care about you so much." My voice is almost pleading so that he'll believe me. His fingers wrap around mine before Garrett comes back and I let go. I lean back down and fiendishly shovel fertilizer around the tree. Both men are silent as Garrett pours the water over the fertilizer I while Sirius just stands there with his arms crossed.
"Maybe cut back on the fertilizer?" Garrett suggests and crouches next to me to ease the spade from my hand. "It's not good to give the plant too much of anything as well as too little." He tells me with gentle green eyes on mine and I hear Sirius huff behind me.
"Suppose you know everything about everything, don't you Fenway?" Sirius asks as we both stand. I shake my head slightly at Garrett and he sighs.
"Don't have enough hubris to say so, but I know enough little things about everything to get by." He responds with a little smirk in my direction. All I can offer him is a weak smile in return. Sirius takes a breath and steps closer to Garrett, about a wand's length away. My wand handle is slick with stress sweat as the two stare off. Sirius takes his time looking Garrett up and down and the Slytherin watches him dispassionately. Still, I notice the tip of his wand peeking out from his sleeve. He won't take an attack lying down.
"Sirius, don't," I warn and my voice is firm now. He glances over at me for a moment before looking back at Garrett.
"Maybe. But never think you know a thing about her." Sirius meets my eyes again before he walks off, grabbing his bag on the way. Sighing, I walk over to Garrett and slide a hand over his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry-" Garrett shakes his head nonchalantly.
"Nah, it's not your fault." He tells me sweetly and with a kind smile. "He's protective of the things he cares about. Can't fault a man for that." I release a tense breath and lightly squeeze his shoulder before we go back to work. After class, since the boys instantly run after Sirius and Lily is walking with a sulking Severus, I walk with Garrett.
"It'll probably be just as difficult every time. Sorry to ruin the project." I tell him as we amble back into the castle.
"You didn't. Believe it or not, you can't control other people's actions." He teases and I roll my eyes. He sways into me and I look over at him. "It's fine. I like a good challenge." We turn and take the stairs at the same time, laughing as we both rush to beat one another at the top. "You do too, if I'm not mistaken. An interesting quality in a Gryffindor." I snort and his eyes widen at the sudden noise.
"Being in a certain house doesn't eliminate the qualities of other houses. I can be an ambitious Gryffindor and you can be a brave Slytherin." He hums in acceptance of the fact as we enter the Ancient Runes class. Only Lily and I will be in this one, none of our boys. Lily smiles at me but is already sitting next to Severus so I settle beside Garrett in the desk next to them.
"And what about a cowardly Gryffindor?" Garrett whispers as the teacher starts writing on the board. My eyebrows furrow as I glance at him beside me scribbling away. He continues after seeing my confusion. "I'm getting the sense that your angry friend is only angry because you haven't told him a certain something and the reason why you haven't told him is because you're scared." I blanch at this and am frozen in my seat. My hand even freezes in the middle of writing before I shake my head and work on.
"This is the moment where I tell you to hush before I hit you," I tell him and my tone is teasing, but I'm half-serious. Garrett chuckles before sealing his lips with a finger and we're relatively quiet the rest of class. My other classes pass smoothly, but it's a burden to know that isn't even the end of the day. We have astronomy later and I'm already exhausted.
"It's so wrong to have us sit outside when it's bloody freezing outside." Marlene hisses and I chuckle before tugging a heavy quilt out of my bag. She eagerly takes it and wraps it around her with a thankful look to me. "Bless you." She murmurs and I laugh softly again which earns me a firm look from the teacher. Sheepishly, I study the star chart in my lap until she looks away.
"Here, drink this," Emmaline whispers and shoves a small flask into my hands.
"Last time you said that to me my hair was pink for a week," Lily warns with a firm look to Emmaline. She sighs and waves her off.
"Do it or don't, your choice." Eyes turn to me and I shrug, taking a sip before coughing slightly.
"Fire-whiskey? How'd you get your hands on that?" I ask as I pass a now eager Lily the little flask. Emmaline rolls her eyes before taking a sip when it comes back to her.
"I prefer galleons for potions, but I'm not opposed to bartering." She responds and I make a mental note of it while glancing over to the boys on the opposite side of the tower. They're sitting on the stone either leaning against the railing or the stone walls interspersed around the space. They try to hide it, but they're all holding tightly to their arms and holding muscles taut to stay warm. Sighing softly, I tug out three other blankets along with my wand. After braiding it together like a snake, I point my wand at it.
"Serpere." I whisper and it suddenly comes to life. The strange creature slithers it's way past others sitting on the floor, including a sickeningly adorable snuggling Alice and Frank, to Remus. He's the least likely to reject my kindness. The blankets flop themselves over his knee before the spell fades and his hand reaches out to grab them. A smile teases his lips before he looks up and meets my eyes.
"Thank you." He mouths and I nod, gesturing to the others so he knows to share. He nods back and I try to watch him without being noticed as he passes out the blankets. He keeps two for him and Peter, then drapes the third over James and Sirius' laps. James smiles and messes with Moony's hair before tucking it closer around him, but Sirius just stares at it. He lifts a corner of the red plaid to his nose and I grimace. Damn that dog sense of smell. His eyes flash to mine and I try to look away, but I'm caught. He tosses his half onto James without breaking eye contact.
"Won't be that easy." He mouths at me and I sigh. Apparently not.
*A/N*
Sirius is a savage and I love him for it.