CURSES AND CANDIES - REMUS LUPIN

𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒.

The Gryffindor common room was abnormally empty of the spirited chaos that occurred whenever the Marauders occupied it, which was both a comfort for students trying to study and a concern that something large was being planned.

The only one of the five pranksters occupying the large yet cosy space decked out in crimson and gold, in fact, was Hollis, who was sitting by Lily near the fire studying for their upcoming Potions final exam.

"Did James and Remus tell you where they were going?" the Slytherin asked, setting down her quill from sketching a diagram of steam patterns as she furrowed her dark eyebrows in thought. "It's been distracting me."

"Honestly, who knows with those two," Lily replied with an exasperated sigh. "They could be out flooding Hogsmeade with marmalade for all we know."

"Yea, but it's odd that they didn't at least bring Sirius or Peter with them, isn't it?" Hollis continued, something not settling right with her. "And Remus always tells me where he's going."

"Well yesterday I saw James counting his money for some odd reason, so I wouldn't overthink it," reassured the redhead. "They're boys, remember? They're mental."

"I suppose," she muttered in response, her brown eyes narrowing. "Do you reckon that I did something? To make them aggravated, that is? I dunno."

"Oh my god, Rosier, no," Lily said firmly shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I don't know why your suspicions always jump to yourself, but that simply isn't the right way to go about things."

"Why do you say 'oh my god?'" Hollis asked curiously, distracted from her previous point my these words from her friend. "Is that like a muggle thing?"

"I'd reckon," she said with a giggle. "I never really thought about it before until I met.."

The muggleborn trailed off a bit.

"Until I met Snape," she finished finally, making Hollis frown a bit in return.

The slippery snake of a boy had gone from Lily's life for the most part after he had called her a mudblood, making all of the Marauders silently happy even if they knew she would kill them if they showed this too much. Even the mention of him made Lily go sour, so he was a topic they avoided around her.

"Did you have a good life as a kid?" the Rosier asked delicately, not wanting to pry too much considering her own past. "I mean your sister, from what I've seen of her, seems like a bit of a bitch. But besides that?"

"Oh, it was alright," Lily told her honestly. "And yes, I agree, Tuney can be quite, uhm, severe at times about magic. It would have been better if I had been helped the way you did for that little girl on Halloween. That way the first person to tell me there wasn't something wrong with my abilities wouldn't be until I was nine, and a little earlier. Would have saved me years of self doubt."

"People keep on bringing that up, about Halloween," Hollis noticed contemplatively, fiddling with the lid of the inkpot. "Like over and over."

Blinking her light green eyes a few times, Lily slowly turned to her friend as a realization slowly began to form in her mind.

"Hol, have you ever considered-"

Hollis was already out of the portrait hole as the exact same idea had struck her.

.‌｡‌*‌ﾟ‌+.*.‌｡‌　‌　‌　‌ﾟ‌+..‌｡‌*‌ﾟ‌+‌ ‌

"Minnie, we have a problem."

This was the only warning McGonagall received as Remus and James walked into her office with a slam of her light oak door and two identical lumps in each of their pockets.