𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀 | hp [2]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄; 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐕𝐄

(lowercase intended)

it was a rainy night a week after she'd come back from hogwarts and artemis had gone out an hour ago maybe to get some pizza from the corner shop. she'd microwaved it about fifteen minutes ago and was sat on the couch with the box on the small table in front of her and a book in her free hand.

she wanted to see sirius at grimmauld place, but she hadn't been allowed in yet. they wanted to wait before letting anyone in. dumbledore was in the process of making sure it was safe to be order of the phoenix headquarters, meaning sirius was trapped inside with no way to communicate with anyone.

the fire was roaring in the corner of the living room and the rain pattering away on the windows. she'd never felt cosier, especially in her oversized blue sweater, shorts and fuzzy socks.

her quiet was interrupted by a knocking on her door and she put the book down, a confused look on her face. artemis wasn't expecting anyone until the weekend. charlie and tonks were supposed to come over.

she stood grabbed her wand in one hand, padded over to the door, and quickly opened it. "helios?"

her boyfriend stood there, his clothes soaked and his hair plastered to his face, practically shivering. he held his wand in one hand and his trunk in the other. "hey." he forced a smile.

"bloody hell, lio. what - " she took in how he looked. "come in." she moved to the side and let him come into her apartment.

so he did. he stepped in and put his trunk on the ground, running his free hand through his wet hair. he turned to look at her. "i- i'm sorry for barging in, and it's late."

"helios, i told you that you were welcome anytime, and i meant that." artemis replied softly. "do you want to get changed?"

"can i?"

"of course you can." she smiled gently. "my room's right at the end of the corridor. i'll wait for you here with pizza."

"pizza sounds good." he nodded before dragging his trunk to her bedroom to get changed. artemis sat down on her couch with a deep sigh. what could have happened to being helios to her front door without warning like this?

minutes later, he emerged wearing some new clothes, dry ones, but his hair remained slightly damp. artemis smiled when she saw him and patted the space beside her on the couch. he forced a weary smile on his face and plopped down beside her.

"do you want to tell me what happened?" artemis asked.

"uh- yeah." he shifted to face her. "my parents were fine before my letter came, we were happy, but after, they saw me different. they denied it but i knew. i heard them talk behind my back every single summer, about how it was the devils work. i- i think they were waiting until they found someone to fix me. they went looking for the best exorcist money could buy, and they brought him to me today, just a few hours ago.

"i couldn't believe my own parents thought i was possessed by the devil, that this magic that made me so happy, that led me to hogwarts, to my friends, to you, was something evil. so, i packed my bags and i ran. the only place that came to mind was the address you gave me."

"helios, i can't even begin to tell you how sorry i am that this happened. i can't pretend to know how it feels but i have an inkling. my aunt and uncle hate magic, despise it and they treated harry and i like shit because we took after our mother, my aunts sister. all i can say is that i'm glad you're here, safe and away from them and i'm happy you choose to come to me."

"can- can i stay until i can find a place for myself?" he dared ask.

"helios, you can stay as long as you want. you're welcome always."