And There Were Always Two... - oc x r. lupin & oc x s. black

- 10 -

Ashley was having the most shitty day. She woke up with the wrong chemical and emotional balance in her head and it just kept getting worse from day to day.

Mavis dragged her out of bed and down to the Great Hall for breakfast. For the last couple weeks, sitting with the Marauders had become their new ritual. That day, in particular, Ashley hated being dragged out of the shadows.

"You look like you just got dragged ten miles by a wild horse," Sirius commented to Ashley.

She glared at him.

When Ashley was in a bad mood, it was scary how much she resembled Mavis.

"Go starve in front of a mirror," she growled.

"Ooh, that's a new one!" James exclaimed. "I gotta remember that!"

Mavis shook her head, trying to cue him that messing with Ashley today was not a good idea.

Ashley stared at her plate while the others talked about something.

"Hey, Ash," Mavis nudged her. "We want your opinion."

Her nostrils flared but she didn't decline.

"James here has been chasing Lily for ages," Mavis continued. "He vouches that he's in love with her. I say he can't be. What do you think?"

Ashley rubbed her eyes and yawned, then turned to them.

"I don't believe that there is such a thing as love."

"What?" James blurted out.

"I don't believe it. Mavis here is the closest friend I have at the moment. Yet she could fall off a cliff and I probably wouldn't feel a thing. Perhaps I'm just emotionally impaired. But then I look at all of you. I don't think you are capable of love. James, I think you're obsessed. I'd be happy if you proved me wrong, but I don't think you even like Lily. She's just the one person who hasn't bent to your whim."

Everyone was shocked for a second.

"Well, that was something..." Mavis broke the silence.

Ashley didn't realise Remus hadn't been there until he sat down between Mavis and her. She looked up in surprise as he placed a mug of tea on the table and slid it over to her.

The mug was one she recognised from back in her childhood. In the autumn, she and Remus would have run around outside till their cheeks and noses were red and then come inside where Remus's mother had stewed the best cup of tea in the world. Each of them had a special mug. Ashley's had been a yellow one with bees on it, and Remus had a baby blue one with yellow stars. Before her was sitting Remus's blue mug with a spoon in it, which she knew had been put in there with a dollop of honey.

Had she been in a better mood she would have thanked him, but instead, she succumbed to the heavenly smell of tea and honey. The nostalgic taste of the cinnamony tea almost made her tear up, but instead, she took another sip. And another.

She heard Remus chuckle beside her.

"Oi!" Mavis exclaimed. "You don't get to sit with my sister!"

"Shut up," both Remus and Ashley answered.

Ashley was very aware when Mavis leaned over and whispered into Remus's ear, "she's not in a good mood today. I would stay away."

She was about to glare at her sister, when Remus answered, "I think I know how to deal with this. Perhaps you should stay away if you think that'll help."

Mavis, for the first time, looked like she could choke on her own words.

Ashley took another sip of her tea, trying to suppress a smile from crawling onto her lips.

"It's Hogsmeade weekend," Remus told her. "Are you going?"

"Sure."

"Carriages leave in two minutes," he added.

"Shit."

"My sentiment exactly, shall we get going?"

Ashley stuck out her tongue at him and got up.

* * *

"Since when are they besties?" Mavis asked Sirius as Ashley and Remus walked away.

"Dunno."

"I don't like it."

Sirius shrugged and returned to shovelling his breakfast into his mouth.

"Imma gonna go drown in self-pity..." Mavis said getting up, but Sirius caught her arm.

"Nuh-uh. Not this time. You promised me you would go to Hogsmeade with me."

Mavis raised a brow.

"You don't get to decide that."

They had a staring contest, which Sirius won.

"Oh, fuck life! Let's go."

Sirius was beaming.