Chocolate Covered Strawberries [Remus Lupin]

𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛

Chapter seventy-four; Going home

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''Goddamn it, Sirius! Stay still!'' Jasmine scolded and her hand was a second away from hitting him.

Sirius stopped fidgeting with his leg as though he would be nervous. ''Sorry.'' He apologised sheepishly and concentrated on Jasmine sitting opposite the coffee table in the living room. She looked away from him and down to his hands to continue painting his nails in black nail polish.

The group was back at the Potter's house after visiting Robyn. During the day each of them kept to themselves, doing their own things and just today Sirius had a brilliant idea of wanting to have his nails painted. Thankfully Lily came prepared for it, having a full bag of nail polish with her, but Jasmine was the one doing it. The thumping of feet sounded from the wooden stairs when Remus came down, fully dressed and prepared to leave the house.

''You're all packed?'' Lily asked voice laced with confusion as she lowered the book she was reading to her lap. She straightened her posture as she was previously reclining on the comfortable armchair.

''Yes.'' Remus dropped his bag by the entrance of the living room.

Jasmine just finished painting Sirius' last nail when she picked her head up and looked at Remus. She sensed the tiredness of his voice and it all became clear when she took a good look at him. His shoulders sagged and his hair was messy. Big bags appeared under his eyes and he looked as though he hadn't slept at all during the night. All of those signs pointed at only one thing. The full moon was tonight.

''Why are you going home for the full moon?'' asked Lily.

Remus sighed slightly as if the mention of the moon was a very painful word to hear. ''There's a lot of woods near my house, easier to hide and less likely of attack on anyone.''

''Don't worry, we'll be there tonight.'' Sirius fanned his hands to dry the polish.

Lily nodded slowly but the concern didn't fully disappear. Jasmine's eyes never left Remus and for a minute there she forgot that they already revealed their relationship and that she can approach him any time she wants.

''There's really no need for that.'' Remus feigned quietly.

''Nonsense.'' James appeared from the kitchen and put his arm over Remus' shoulder. ''Of course, we'll help. We always do.''

A small smile tugged at Remus' lips even though it was still evident that he hated to put his friends through his misery. Jasmine observed how after James moved away from Remus, her boyfriend's hands started to shake in anxiousness. She slowly stood up and circled the couch to get to him.

"Hey," she said softly and took one of Remus' shaking hands in her own.

She gently tugged him in a direction that would take them away from the rest of the group so they had a bit of privacy. Once they were out of earshot, Jasmine held on tighter on Remus' hand.

"How are you feeling?" She asked facing him.

Remus raised his eyes from the floor and gazed at her green ones. 'I'm okay' was on the tip of his tongue to answer but in a moment of hesitation, he changed his mind. He knew that if he said that, Jasmine wouldn't believe him, so what was the point of lying then.

"Not so good. But pretty much the same like every day before the full moon." He replied gravely and hung his head again in sadness.

Jasmine frowned for a moment not liking how he was. She released his hand only to bring both her arms around his torso for a warm embrace. She leaned her head on his chest and hugged him tighter, waiting for his arms to circle around her too. Remus was almost hesitant, as though he was afraid of being comforted. Or not afraid but more ashamed that someone was doing it. Jasmine was sure that he was mostly bravely going through his day before the full moon not letting anyone know the dark thoughts or the horrible tense feelings inside of him. He didn't allow himself to be comforted, he didn't want to receive pity from anybody. But Jasmine wasn't pitying him, she never did and she always wanted to help. Realising that, Remus wrapped his arms around Jasmine's back hugging her closer.