CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑓𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛.

^wow i wonder whats gonna happen

In an effort to cheer themselves up, the six Gryffindors were sitting by the Black Lake having a picnic for dinner. Marlene had originally pulled out the same cream checkered blanket they had used with Hollis at the beginning of the year, but that ended up just being too painful with memories of spin the bottle and laughter that all incorporated the old Hollis trapped inside this new one somewhere. 

There was a spread of strawberry jelly filled pastries on copper trays that Peter had insisted on bringing, roasted, golden potatoes in small bowls, and beige wicker baskets full of dinner rolls. Lily had tried to add some vegetables to the mix of purely carbs and sugar but had been quickly shot down by Sirius and James in a passionate display of anger that she would even suggest such a thing.

Twisting the ring back and forth on her finger and staring at the warm, brown stone that represented the missing member of their trio, Lily was sadly thinking of how Hollis would agree with her.

"Hey," Marlene said gently, placing a hand over Lily's with soft eyes. "Thinking about it isn't going to make whatever day they have planned to figure out if we're right come any sooner."

Making half of an attempt to smile back, Lily nodded back sadly.

"Yea, right," she said, light green eyes meeting a vivid blue for a few moments before a pastry thrown by Sirius missed its intended target and hit Lily directly in the ear.

The two girls both slowly turned their necks towards Sirius, whose face had dramatically paled in exaggerated panic.

"It's a good thing you don't play quidditch," Lily grumbled, pulling a bit of the buttery flakes out of her brown hair. "We would lose every game."

There was a moment where they all waited for Hollis to say something like You already do before they realized that wasn't going to happen. For Remus, it felt like some sort of betrayal to be acting like everything was so normal.

A loud shout came from around the trunk of a large oak a few hundred yards away, making all of the Gryffindors heads turn.

"I said that you're bloody insane," Narcissa said sharply, clearly a bit frustrated with whoever she was talking to. "You can't just-"

"What, what can't I do, Cissa?" Hollis snapped back in a loud tone. 

There were a few moments of silence.

"Exactly," Hollis replied as Narcissa didn't answer. "I can handle myself, I just need to get some dittany paste."

And with that, Hollis's back came into view as she furiously walked away from Narcissa, who shortly followed. 

"What does dittany paste do?" Peter asked, voicing what they were all thinking. 

Remus was the first one to speak up, Hollis had been the one to tell him about this silvery healing paste one full moon.

"It heals bruises, or if they're large, it just reduces the visibility," Remus said in a low tone. "Which means-"

"She has them to hide," James finished, his voice dropping and standing up. "I'm going to kill somebody, I swear to Merlin-"

Grabbing his arm and pulling him back down onto the blanket, Lily looked at him with sad eyes.

"We can't do anything until we're sure, James," Lily told him in a calm tone that she was just barely keeping. "Until we're sure she's under the Imperius Curse, that is."

There were only three people that could make James decide against doing something; Hollis, Lily, and Euphemia. So reluctantly, James sat back down, still watching as Hollis went back into the castle.