Fated - Remus Lupin Fanfic

Chapter 3: It's Nothing

Violet sat down beside Remus in the library to catch up on everything that had happened while she was away.

"She didn't!" Violet gasped. "No way did Lily ask out James first."

Remus grinned. "She did! Saw it with my very own eyes."

She smiled. "I feel like everything has changed so much, especially regarding you and Pandora and Emmeline."

He laughed awkwardly. "I've not changed that much."

"Well, not like you've changed changed, but I mean you're taller..."

"Wow, so the only difference you've noticed about me is my height?!" He feigned offence.

"Well, not just that..." She looked down at her hands and grinned wryly. "I guess you're a lot more tolerable now."

"I'm sorry?!"

They both laughed until Remus gasped and immediately started to rummage in his bag. "I forgot, I wanted to give this to you."

He pulled out a book and passed it to her, and when she flicked through it she saw hundreds and hundreds of annotations.

She looked at the cover. "Isn't this story meant to be extremely depressing?"

Remus shrugged and smiled. "I've been annotating it for you the past couple of days in between studies. It's sad but it's really good."

"What's it about?" She asked as she flicked through the pages.

"This kid um... her best friend dies and... it's a whole book on this character and her grief and how she gets through it..." He shook his head dismissively. "It's a really good read and I'm sure you'll like it."

Violet began to read random annotations of his and laughed. "Your handwriting is so messy there! I guess that didn't change."

Remus looked at her with sad and glossy eyes. "Hey, Violet, I have to tell you something."

She didn't move her eyes from the book. "Mhm?"

He watched as she continued to smile at his little comments on pages. Her eyes lit up when she read something funny that he had written.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't break her heart. Not right now, anyways.

"Never mind," He looked longingly at her and then shuffled his seat closer so he could read some of it too. "You can't just read random annotations of mine! You have to actually read it!"

Violet laughed and placed the book into her bag. "I'll start reading it before bed... So what  is it you wanted to tell me?"

"It's nothing," He smiled.

"Are you sure?" She slightly furrowed her eyebrows and smiled uneasily. "It sounded serious."

"Genuinely, Vi, it's nothing. I promise."

She looked at his chest and then back at him. "With your whole heart?"

He laughed. "I promise with my whole heart. Everything is fine."

She grinned. "Good... Oh shit! I forgot I had something I wanted to give you too."

She picked a parcel from her bag which was wrapped delicately. Remus opened it slowly, careful not to rip the blue paper. Inside the package was a folded jumper.

Once he lifted it, it unfolded and revealed a flower. "I made it myself in a crochet club they had over at Beauxbatons. The flower is an Iris and they symbolise-"

"Hope," He smiled. "Why an Iris?"

"I think everyone needs some sort of hope to keep them going," She shrugged. "And I guess if I'm wishing hope on anyone it's you."

"... Why?"

"Because you're my best friend, obviously." She laughed. "Why else?"

Remus shook his head deniably. "No clue,"

—