crushed - remus lupin

-seven-

A golden light shone through the windows of the tidy two story house, like a beacon of hope to Celeste. The smell of cooking dinner made all five of the marauders mouth water, desperate to get inside.

"Mum! I'm home!" James yelled, throwing his coat onto the coat rack. The rest of them followed suit, slipping off their shoes and following James into the kitchen.

Standing there, amid the heavenly smells of turkey and mashed potatoes, was Celeste's favorite person on this earth. Euphemia Potter.

Auntie 'Phemia had practically raised Celeste. She rotated between her friends houses for breaks and summers, but the Potter's thought of Celeste as their own child. James was sure that his mother loved Celeste more than she loved him.

"Celeste! Oh, darling, I didn't know you were coming!" The two embraced, Euphemia not taking a moment to wait to ask Celeste tons of questions.

"How is school?"

"Are you prepared for your O.W.L.'s?"

"Has James been getting into trouble?"

"Are you all behaving?"

"Have your parents been too horrible?"

"I love having you here, but I have to ask, did the boys break any laws to get you here?"

Celeste laughed heartily at her last question. "School is pretty good! I'm pretty prepared for them. When is he not? Sort of? Yes, definitely, and no, not that I know of."

The kitchen erupted with laughter, and then they left Celeste to unpack her trunk in her room. She had her own room in the Potter household, due to the fact that she was there so often and she was the only girl.

It was very similar to her room at home, posters and plants practically everywhere. A knock came at the door, giving her a sense of deja vu, feeling as if Cissy would appear at the door any second now.

"Come in!"

Remus entered the room, smiling at the room around him.

"You've got quite the taste in decorations. Never thought you'd be one for muggle bands."

Celeste laughed slightly. "I'm already the disappointment child, figured I couldn't disappoint them any more. Did you need something?"

He looked up from the plants he was observing and seemed to remember someting. "Oh, yeah! Auntie 'Phemia told me to get you for dinner, and then after dinner we can do presents! It is Christmas, after all."

She had almost forgotten that it was, after the excitement of the day. Celeste almost laughed at the irony. Most family's excitement on Christmas consisted of gifts, food, and waking up at three in the morning. In Celeste's case, it held yelling, dumb parties, and tears. Fun, isn't it? But she was here with her real family now. And that was all that mattered.

The two headed towards the kitchen, Remus taking a detour to the living room to tell the boys to come to the table and Celeste going to help Euphemia set the table.

"So... who's the boy or girl?"

Celeste stopped dead in her tracks. "W-what?"

Euphemia looked at the girl who was practically her daughter with a knowing smile. "Darling, it's clear as day. Someone's got your heart. Who is it?"

Seeing no other choice, Celeste sighed and was brutally honest. "Auntie 'Phemia, have you ever had a person in your life that was a really good friend, but you think that you might feel... more than they feel for you? And you don't want to risk it and possibly lose your best friend in the entire world?"

"Honey, in my experience, those are the people worth fighting for. Those relationships are the ones that you'll keep forever, no matter if they feel the same or not. You're thinking about what happens if they find out and it goes badly, but have you thought of what it'll do to you if you don't tell them? If they're really your friend, they'll still be your friend after they find out."

"I love you, Auntie."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

-

"Why exactly is this fun for you guys? This is just weird."

The five marauders were currently squished on a couch together, looking at James's baby pictures.

"Awwww look at you, Jamsie! You're flying a toy broom!" Sirius cooed, putting on a very false high-pitched voice.

"Awwww and look at baby James falling off of a swing!" Peter shouted. The boy in the photo soared off of the swing set onto the ground, crying out.

"You shoulda seen the way he cried out for his dad that day, poor little baby got dirt on his knees!" Euphemia called from the kitchen.

"Mum!"

Celeste felt a warm feeling in her heart at the photo on the next page. It was the five of them, bursting out into laughter, on the first day they met. "Guys look..."

They all turned to Celeste and huddled around the album she was holding. The laughing from before melted into a feeling of reminisce, the five teens all remembering the day they met clear as day.

The photograph pictured the best day of her life. The day she found her real family. The first day that she could really be who she wanted to be. The day she met her best friend.

The way she looked at Remus in that picture couldn't be described with words. If that was how she looked at him all of the time, it was no wonder she was always stopped to ask how long they had been dating. It was no wonder that everyone who saw them always called them a cute couple, or commented about how in love she was. Maybe she always had, but she'd never seen it the way everyone else does.

Holy motherfucking shit. She, Celeste Valyn Malfoy, was desperately in love with Remus John Lupin.

"Hey, Remus, what's going on between you and that Veronica girl? I saw you two getting cozy," Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively. "At Slughorn's party."

Remus's flushed with pink, before he muttered the very words that would ruin Celeste's foreseeable future.

"We're... dating?"

a/n

shits about to go DOWN and euphemia potter has my heart

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i love every one of you!

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ella <3