swim || remus lupin

her buoy

My skin was on fire. The itching sensation crawled from my toes through my legs and torso, up into my mouth and all down my arms. I did my best to ignore it as I brushed out my wet hair and pulled on a pair of sweatpants.

It's just the new school water, I reminded myself. The reflection staring back at me from Lily's mirror was both inflamed and irritated. I held my hair away from my body in order to keep it as dry as possible, scorching my left hand in the process.

I pulled on a faded Gryffindor hoodie that had belonged to my dad and re-examined myself. With clothes on, the only notable redness was the back of my hands and a little in my cheeks. But that would wear off before dinner.

I moved uncomfortably over to my bed and pulled out my Ancient Runes homework. The nice thing about having four free blocks in one day was that I'd never get behind on work. The not so nice thing was that I had absolutely no idea how to read Runes. I snapped the book shut and decided to wait for Lily.

As I shoved the pages back in my bag I noticed the Divination sheet from class and instinctively reached for it.

95, 88, 96, 99...

Were we really that compatible? Not that it mattered, I'd just met the boy. Charming, sweet, funny, and intelligent as he was - I'd just met him. And I could never bring him into the mess of a life that got me here. It would be too cruel. 

I rolled up the paper and placed it on my bureau. In its place, I picked up a small book and flipped to the marked page.

July 9, 1964

Adella and I took a walk by the shore today. It terrifies me that her first instinct is to run to the water. Perhaps it's just her juvenility but I fear something much more magical lies within her heart. Of course, as proven by the cereal incident, she's most definitely a wizard. However, I surely hope she does not share in that 25% which lies in my DNA. Our people are not taken to well in the wizarding world. She should not have to endure this burden.

Louis and I will explain all of this to her one day. He has been so kind through all of this. The other day as he chased them around the house, which filled with joyous love and laughter, I felt truly at peace for the first time. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he always says. "For now let's just swim."

Marina

I flipped through the pages following this entry - blank. Some time after July 9, 1964 my mom was killed. My chest burned and my head congested as I attempted to recall that day on the beach. Anything about it. The sand, the waves, her smile. It was all a faded blur.

I knew her face from pictures, her voice from lyrics on a page, and her heart from this book. The rest of my mother was lost.

"So he's not even your full brother?" I rolled my eyes but shook my head.

I was seated at dinner with Alice, Lily, Marlene, and the boys. About 10 minutes into our argument about the various types of apples, a certain brunette entered the Great Hall. He was now sporting some grey sweatpants and a white tee, but he took his place beside Severus Snape, making his house and character painfully clear.