pink! - remus lupin

11 - at wandpoint

"YOU'RE THE WORST, YOU KNOW THAT?" Remus chuckled as Stella jumped onto the couch to sit beside him, kicking him slightly when she laid her legs across his lap.

"Come on, Rem, you love me," she giggled, leaning over to give his scarred lips a quick kiss.

"You're lucky I do," he smiled, pulling her in for another kiss. In the five months that they'd been together, they never wasted a moment. With Remus' condition and the brewing war, everyone had to become so much more careful, but they were proud to say that their relationship was stronger than ever. Stella's hair was still the bright bubblegum pink (her dad had gotten over it), their OWLs were over. If it weren't for the darkness that seemed to be growing overhead, they might have considered everything to be perfect.

"Get a room!" Sirius called, walking in on them in their cuddled position.

"We had one!" Remus groaned, tucking his face into his girlfriend's neck.

Stella smiled up at Sirius, feeling Remus' breath fanning down on her. "You have no right to say that, Pads. Why are you even here?"

"Fuck you, Ella. I was gonna ask Moony if he wanted to play quidditch, but I guess that's not happening right now," he chuckled at the honorary member of their previously exclusive group.

"You're right, he's all mine today. Love you too," said Stella, blowing him a mocking kiss as he left the room. She felt Remus smile against her, leaning her head on his own. "You're my favourite person ever," she mumbled. "Don't tell Dad I said that, he thinks you're equal."

"Stella!"

"I'm not lying! You are my favourite, I love you so much," she spoke. Stella didn't get soft often, but it was always a nice surprise for Remus when she did.

"I love you. You're my favourite too, love. I told you I wouldn't leave," he reminded, looking up at her. Even from that supposedly unflattering angle, she still looked gorgeous as ever.

"And I'm very thankful that you kept that promise."

~

From that moment, nothing got better. If anything, it got worse, so much worse. There was a wizard, "Voldemort", he called himself, set out to kill. He and his "Death Eaters" were doing everything in their power, and they had power.

The attack came in mid-July. Stella and Remus didn't see it coming at all, just a regular Wednesday in the McLeod house where Stella's father had (reluctantly) let Remus stay. He trusted his daughter, but he didn't fully trust Remus. Any other time, meaning without a war, he might've, but the scar-faced boy wasn't exactly welcoming at a glance.

"Hey, love, do you know where the cinnamon might be?" Remus asked, his head poking out from the doorway of the kitchen.

Soleil stirred in her lap as Stella raised her head from her book, looking up at her boyfriend. "What for?" she asked. Remus had never really been one for cooking.

"I found an old book of recipes, and I wanted to try one out to surprise your dad when he gets home. There's this awesome chocolate-cinnamon roll recipe that I figured I'd try, you know how much I love chocolate. So where is it?" he quickly explained, then pressed on. The dough has already risen, and he didn't want to leave it for too long. His urgent expression was quite funny, but it dropped when he saw her face.

Stella had sat up very quickly, but the shocked look on her face masked the daze it would've caused. "Whe-" She paused. "Where did you find the cookbook, Remus?"

"Under the spatulas. I promise I wasn't snooping and I'm sorry if I overstepped, I thought it was just there because you don't follow the recipes often," he defended, getting increasingly more worried.

"What does it say on the cover?"

"Why-"

"Just tell me what it says!" Her cheeks glowed red, her eyebrows furrowed.

His eyes widened. "Um, uh, it was a name- oh! Luna, I think."

That was it for Stella, she'd never felt angrier in her life. Remus knew Stella to be a very calm person, so for her to be this upset, over a cookbook, no less, was quite a surprise.

"Remus, I love you, you know that, but you can't just open things whenever you want. I don't know what made you so entitled as to think that you could just invite yourself to my mother's cookbook for some fun on a Wednesday evening! She's the one who put it there, just before she died, and that's why it hasn't moved! It was her fucking hands that last held that book, and for you even touch it is so stupid!"

"Stella, I'm sorry! I didn't know, honey, I'm sorry," Remus quickly apologized, walking toward her.

"I need a break from you. The cinnamon's beside the big jar of chilli pepper flakes if you're still using it, the damage is already done anyway." Stella walked away, rolling her eyes as she slammed the front door behind her.

~

She stood outside in the garden for a moment before walking down the street. She heard Remus calling from behind her, maybe 100 metres away. It was just the two of them, the street basically deserted at 4 PM on a Wednesday.

His footsteps drew nearer, so her pace got faster. She reached the nearest intersection before that tension was dissolved by a poof sound and a dark chuckle. Stella knew the laughter wasn't coming from Remus, and it for sure wasn't her own.

"Hello?" she questioned, still not turning toward the sound.

"You and the werewolf having trouble in paradise? How sad," the voice spoke menacingly.

"Stella! Stella, don't turn around, just keep walking. You need to-" Remus pleaded.

"Shut it, Lupin! You're a sorry excuse for a wizard, and boyfriend too. Let her turn if she pleases."

Stella wanted to keep walking, she truly did, but her curiosity took over. "What do you want?" She turned, coming face to face with a Death Eater. A black cloak covered their features, but they towered over Stella like a looming shadow.

"I want you to come with me, to the Dark Lord, and surrender your power to him," they spoke, reaching a hand out to her.

"I'd rather die than give anything to him. Besides, I haven't got any power that your Dark Lord hasn't already," she said lowly, furrowing her eyebrows and reaching back for her wand, only to realize it wasn't there.

"Oh, but you do. You have so much heart, too much love, to be left in the open. You're a threat, Stella McLeod, and we can't have that, can we?" the Death Eater elaborated, twirling their own wand between their thin fingers.

"Stella, back away. You need to run, Stella, please," Remus said again, his eyes watering and words shaky.

"No, I've got it," she replied to him before turning back to the Death Eater. Their wand now raised and pointed at her, she was trapped between the wand and the busy street. She thought a Muggle might see them and come help, but each one passed by without a glance. Damn magic.

"Do you, really? Come here, McLeod, or I'll grab you by that pretty, pink hair of yours." They stepped nearer to the young witch, hand still outstretched.

"Stella, go, I'll take them. Please, just go!" Remus was yelling now, tears streaming down his face as he watched Stella draw closer and closer to her fate.

"I told you, I'd rather die!"

So in a flash of pink, then a sea of black, she did.

~

what the fuck did i just do 😃 also hi it's been a minute i missed u guys + writing for u :) there's probably no one waiting for an update but here you go (as a treat)

love, ivy <3

originally published november 28th, 2020