Halcyon // R.J.L

Chapter Seven: The Compartmentalisation

The following week was accompanied by bated breath and nervous glances at the doors of classrooms, as though at any moment a professor would swing it open and ask to pull them aside. The boys were of course a wreck, but nothing could compare to the excruciating guilt wracking Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans.

While no one else was aware of the exact circumstances unfolding, two things were clearly off among the group of Gryffindor fifth years. The first being that Violet Hayes was no where to be seen. The second, and perhaps even more shocking, was that James Potter had not said a single word to Lily, and even glancing in her direction contorted his features into a scowl.

James was angry. As though if he took his anger out on everything and anyone, the sick and twisted pit of worry in his stomach would disappear. No one in the entire school had ever seen the boy in such a state, as he was always bringing laughter and light to the halls of the ancient castle.

Peter was confused. He was close to Violet of course, but not in a deeply emotional way the other boys had connected to her. This was nothing against Violet and did not undermine their friendship in any form as Peter adored her as a person, which resulted in him spending nights in the library scouring the pages of books which appeared to have not been opened in a century searching for an explanation as to what had occurred. Madam Pomfrey had after all deduced that this was not a simple case of slipping in the shower and losing consciousness, but rather something sinister she could not yet place her finger on. This also proved to be a good get away from the intense angst finding home in the marauders dormitory.

Sirius was devastated. As rigid and tough his exterior appeared, those who knew the boy well knew it was purely a front, and he was scared. Hogwarts not only provided a home for Sirius, but a family of warmth and love he never knew under the care of Walburga and Orion Black. The young wizard had attended many death beds and sick relatives in his life as part of such a large family, but had never felt sorrow or even cared and therefore had no idea how to handle all of the intense emotions that arose from Violet's comatose state. Everyone knew not to question his bloodshot eyes or occasionally trembling lip, but for once, Sirius didn't even care.

But Remus simply sat by her bedside, his warm hand clutching hers as he spoke aimlessly, only ever leaving for food and the occasional shower. While visiting hours didn't exactly permit this, by the sixth time of telling him off Madam Pomfrey simply gave in to his puppy dog eyes and allowed him to stay no matter the hour. Almost a week on from the incident was the night of the full moon, and Remus' emotions were running high. While each month seemed to affect him differently, the lycanthrope found that not even his wolf side itching to unleash could distract him from the pure love he held for the girl before him, no matter how much he had been wrestling to keep the feelings at bay. With only an hour before Remus knew he had to walk the dark and lonely tunnel to the shrieking shack, he took in a deep breath and spilled words he never could to her awake.

"You know no ones ever made me feel this way before? Like maybe I'm not a monster and maybe I'm worthy of love. You make me genuinely happy Vi, to the very core of my being like a ray of sunshine which I know is cheesy as shit and you'd smack me on the arm for saying it and I know you hate it when James calls you Sunny but I get why. I really, really do. And you go out on dates with all these boys who treat you like shit that don't know anything about you, like the way you scrunch up your nose when you're concentrated on something you love or when you smile, Merlin I love it when you do that, or the fact that you only tie up your hair with ribbons rather than hair ties even though you know it means your hair is going to fall into your face after an hour tops. Or how your left handed so you always have ink stains on your palm which usually ends up on your jaw when you lean your head on your hand in the boring classes. I'm so utterly and hopelessly in love with you that it's almost pathetic Violet Eleanor Hayes, so please in the name of Godric just wake up". And with one last look over his shoulder, Remus began the walk to the Whomping Willow.