Game Changer ♠ Remus Lupin

Thirteen: Red Is for Wine, Not for Love

It was here. The day I was dreading the most, when I avoided going out altogether and was content with the prospect of not seeing the sun or breathing fresh air until the next morning. The day when all the shameless people go on the streets and kiss each other with no regards for those lost on love.

Originally, I was to sleep in until my butt would hurt from all the laying, then I would go eat breakfast for lunch and spend the rest of the day in my room, buried under any of the books that would silence my intrusive thoughts enough.

But then I saw an advert in the Daily Prophet that Sirius discarded after his morning reading and thought, why the hell not. I was young. I shouldn't be sulking, I should be out there living my best life. Theoretically.

And so I wore the best piece of clothing I had left, took extra care of my hair and after checking in the mirror whether or not I still remembered any of the seductive looks I have got during school years, went down the stairs as quickly as my heels let me to avoid seeing Sirius. Or worse, Remus.

"Bloody hell, I thought the ceiling's falling down on our heads!" The hall resonated with Sirius's voice. "Why on earth are you dressed like that?"

Sirius, being locked in this dreary house, often didn't know what day it was, or simply gave up on staying up to date. He most likely knew it was February, but perhaps thought it was too early for Valentine's Day.

"I'm going out. Don't worry, I plan to be back for dinner, or better, I can bring you leftovers."

"I know it's supposed to be a dog joke," he said with no bitterness, "but it's been years since I had a real sophisticated meal and I will gladly take them."

Mental note: get Sirius a takeout once in a while.

I walked past him and started to put on my coat, the only one I had left.

"But wait, where are you going?"

Sirius was one of the people I considered close and didn't want to lie to, but at the same time I wasn't comfortable with sharing every bit of information about my boring life with him. Like, I have been feeling like I wasn't doing anything important all day, so when I were going to actually do something out of the ordinary, I wanted to keep it to myself.

"Out. You're not getting anything more from me."

"Alone?" He inquired, narrowing his eyes.

I spread my arms and looked left and right. "Do you see anyone else with me?"

"I liked you better when you were a sad little girl."

"I liked you better when you got fur and no brains."

I got down before he could ask me any more questions. I had no idea where the pub was, as I had never heard of it, so there was no room for being late.

The last time I wore high heels was probably the Yule Ball. I remembered sliding them off my feet before running the stairs to the dungeons. It certainly wasn't the same pair as I wasn't sure I ever came back for them.

It took me quite a long time to get there as I didn't have my wand to melt the hardened snow that covered the pavements. I wasn't missing being made fun of.

I didn't really know what to expect. I have never been on a blind date, nevermind multiple of them. The only dates I ever had were spent in the Three Broomsticks and I was reluctant to even call them dates, as they seemed too casual for me as it was too much of a commitment, it gave a certain label that I didn't want to agree to.

I've never been in what could be called a relationship. I had boyfriends because that's what they wanted to be called, as if it gave them some status, but what we had could hardly be called a relationship. I didn't like being restricted. Hell, even what happened between me and Remus couldn't be called a relationship, though it was the closest thing I had to that term.