The Collision Theory | Remus Lupin

73. Brothers

"You really are scaring me, Novak," Remus grumbles, "I'm starting to believe that you're actually trying to walk me to death. I mean, my legs hurt and I think I might just die from hunger."

"Remus, you've eaten three bar of chocolate, you'll live."

He pulls me to the side, with the intention to rest on the windowsill. "Please! Have mercy!"

"We're almost there-" I drag him round the corner, but immediately wish that I hadn't. At the same time, Miriam is pulling Sirius down from the other end of the corridor. I spin Remus around and quickly redirect him quite forcefully to the windowsill. "On second thoughts, have a rest."

"Aylin..." He frowns, giving me that look with the suspicious squinty eyes.

"Reeeeemus." I copy his tone, elongating his name or emphasis. Childish, I know.  

"You're hiding something." Despite groaning and grumbling about sore limbs for the entire journey here, he's lightning quick to get to his feet, and slips out of my grasp, skidding around the corner.

"Remus no-" I begin, but the corridor is empty, save for us. Sighing in relief, I plaster on a wide grin. "I'm not hiding anything."

"This is getting ridiculous."

He turns to retreat the way we came, but I grab his hand, adding quickly, "But there is something for you in the classroom on the right."

"What do you mean?" Remus' brows knit together in confusion. 

I lead him to the classroom door, but before I open it, I turn to him. "Just trust me on this, alright?"

"Alright." He nods slowly, and I usher him through the door.

REMUS

The classroom is dimly lit  compared to the corridor outside, and it takes a few seconds to get used to the light. To add to my confusion, Miriam skirts past me, slamming the door shut behind her. "Hey! This isn't funny!"

"Fancy seeing you here, Johnny." An all too familiar voice echoes around the room, ad I turn slowly, to find Sirius on the other side of the classroom, lounging on the teacher's desk.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?" 

"Sitting."

"If I was in the mood for sarcasm, I would have made it known," I sigh, and when he flinches at my tone, I immediately want to apologise. But I don't, instead keeping his gaze with nothing but a frown that dissolves the smirk on his face.

Sirius hops off of the desk, instead pulling out a chair to sit on. He gesture me to join him, but when I don't merely shrugs. "It seems that the ladies outside would like us to go over a few things." 

AYLIN

"You know," Miriam says, pausing from her humming as braids my hair. "I think that you would be absolutely lot without me."

I wince as she tugs another strand into whatever she's doing to my hair. "Please, do elaborate."

"Well, for starters, I'm a pretty cool younger sister-"

"No, you're the worst younger sister." She tugs a little too hard on my hair. "Ow!"

"As I was saying," She clears her throat. "I also save friendships in your nerdy group of friends with my brilliant plans."

"I'm sure locking to people in a room until they are friends again would have come to me at some point as well."

"I don't think so," Miriam sighs, her tone matter-of-factly. "I did inherit the brains of the family."

"You also inherited a big mouth," I retort. She's about to snap back when a series of thuds resonate from the classroom opposite us. "What in Merlin's beard..."

That's exactly when a shrill scream pierces the air. I almost trip in an attempt to get up, Miriam on my heels. "Alohamora!"

I half expect to find Sirius bleeding out on the ground, with Remus towering over him with a murderous weapon, but what I see confuses me. Miriam is the one to voice my thoughts. "What the Hell?"

Remus and Sirius stand on desks, wands out, in fighting stance but with delirious grins on their faces. Sirius turns to us, and I see that his cheek has gone red, like someone hit him there. Probably explains the scream. "Ladies! We were just going through some much needed bonding."

"Bonding?" I try not to shriek at them. "It sounded like someone was being murdered!"

"I threw a book at Sirius because he's a dumb shit." Remus shrugs, and Sirius only grins wider. I'm about to scold him when he adds, "He suggested it."

Miriam glances between the two, squinting at them skeptically. "What? So everything's fine now that you've attacked each other?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose," Sirius says, his smile dropping a little. "What I did was stupid, and I'm just trying to show that I deserve everything I get. Even getting hit in the face with an Arithmancy textbook."

I nod slowly, trying not to overthink the Marauder mentality too much, lest my brain explode. They may be a bunch of asshats, but I'm happy that they're talking again. "So, you're okay now. Friends, again. That's great!"

Remus nods, watching Sirius' grin widen. "Brothers."