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

- 27 -

Ashley awkwardly walked into James' room, tugging the sleeves of her brown, cable-knit sweater over her fingers. There were quidditch posters on the wall and objects mostly painted red or gold or just plain oakwood. The bed was shovelled up into the fall corner with sports magazines sprawled over a messy blanket and pillows and a half drunk mug of what looked like hot chocolate or coffee sat on the nightstand. His trunk, still not unpacked, was thrown into the middle of the room. Ashley was slightly horrified at the mess.

Mavis breathed in the scent of his stale room and jumped onto the bed right on top of the magazines.

"Merlin, I've missed this room!" she sighed. "It's like walking back in time!"

"I couldn't care less about your fucking nostalgia," James grumbled, walking in after her. "Get off my bed."

"Killjoy."

Mavis slid off the bed and onto the floor. She lifted a pair of trunks out of James' suitcase that had baby dragons on them.

"Real mature, Jay" she told him.

"Fuck off." He snatched the trunks from her outstretched hand and shoved them into a random drawer.

"Language, James."

Remus suddenly appeared behind them, leaning against the doorframe with an unreadable expression which made Ashley want to disappear.

"Your parents let me in," he explained.

"Great," James said. "Now that everyone's here, I'll go get the treat my mum baked for us. Mavis, wanna come with?"

The sister skipped after him and they were already halfway down the stairs when Ashley shouted, "What about Pete?" And that was how Remus and Ashley were left standing alone in James Potter's bedroom.

"Got anything to say?" Remus asked, slowly walking across the room to stand by the window.

"I'm guessing sorry won't cut it," she replied.

"Nah, but how about an explanation?"

"It feels more like an excuse at this point."

"I don't mind, have at it."

Ashley looked up from the floor to find Remus looking at her intently. His green eyes were begging for a reason and the words just kind of tumbled out.

"I liked keeping us a secret," she whispered. "It made it feel more... special."

"Why?" This time his voice was a stone blade cutting through stale air.

"Because I don't want other people's words to change anything."

"That's it? Nothing else?"

Ashley drew her brows together.

"What else could there be?"

Remus' jaw muscles flickered as he shut his mouth. His hand ran through his hair, messing up his mousy locks.

"You're not... ashamed of me?"

"No!" Ashley scoffed. "No, of course not! Why would I be?"

He wandered around the edge of the bed and sat down on it. His hand slowly pointed at the scar stretching across his face and skipping over his eye.

Werewolf.

He thought she'd be ashamed of him being a werewolf.

Her legs quickly carried her over to kneel in front of him, forcing him to look at her face.

"Never. Never ever would I be ashamed or-or embarrassed of you. I could never..." she promised.

Her face ducked in to kiss him.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his lips.

Her flipped her over, with her laying on her back on the bed and him hovering over her. Ashley felt like she could have melted right into the bed. Remus came up for breath a minute later, smiling at her.

"So... we're good?" she asked shyly.

He pecked her cheek and nodded.

"Never better."

Somehow, they didn't notice Mavis and James stomping up the stairs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," James shouted, his words nearly illegible as he bit a chocolate chip cookie between his teeth. "Whatcha doin'? On my bed no less!"

Remus quickly pushed himself up right, brushing his shabby jumper and jeans back into their prior position, as Ashley sat up, blushing hard.

"I'm guessing you made up," Mavis asked, walking in and giving Ashley a wink.

The pink-cheeked girl stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"So!" James said, interrupting the interaction. "Let's pahr-tay!"

He kicked his trunk under his bed and collapsed cross-legged on the ground. The rest of them huddled around the plate of cookies he set on the ground.

"My mum will bring up the hot chocolate later, so for now this will have to do," he told them officially. "Welcome to my humble abode-"

"-you mean mansion-" Mavis interjected.

"Fuck you, Mavs."

"Ditto, Jay, ditto."

Ashley chuckled at the friends.

"Language, James" Remus reprimanded. "What if your mum hears?"

"Then I'll be washing dishes for the rest of the holiday, so you've got a fair point. Merlin I hate it when you're right, Moony."

"Moony?" Ashley asked, munching on a cookie. "Oh! Nevermind."

Remus smirked at her.

"Why do you have all these weird nicknames?" Mavis asked. "They're as weird as Merlin's left buttcheek."

"How would you know?" James asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her with thick innuendo.
"You're sick."

"You're as sick as me and you know it."

Mavis lunged at him, or more specifically his hair. James shrieked in a voice so high-pitched that he sounded like a two-year old girl.

"Not my hair!" James ran circles around the room until he finally dashed out the door with Mavis right at his heels.

Ashley laughed so hard that night that tears slipped out of her eyes. Remus, James, Mavis, and her were up till midnight playing games and just teasing each other until the sugar rush subsided and they were left with sleeping teenagers on the maroon carpet set before James' bed.

Somehow, Remus managed to fall asleep leaning against the bed. His mousy hair was all hanging over his eyes as his head drooped forward. Ashley was curled up in a foetal position with her head resting on Remus' shins. Her hands were covering her eyes limply, as if she worried the light from the windows would attack her in the morning. James was sprawled out in the middle of the room, on his back with limbs all in different directions. His glasses were still on his face and his lips were curled into a slight victorious smile as if he was dreaming of winning a quidditch match or finally winning over Evans. Mavis was laying on her back right on top of James. It was a great mystery to all how she ended up there and fell asleep. That girl had sleeping superpowers.

The group slept peacefully despite a storm that had gathered itself outside and was now performing a siege on the Potters' Manor. Arrows of rain flew at the windows and wind was catapulted at its walls. All was calm within the house until four a.m. when a knock sounded on the front door.