⠀ ❝ And in the back of her mind, Katie knew that her words were a lie. Because if her nightmares could creep up into her mind and become her reality, she would be damned if this Remus Lupin - his lips, his hands, his ragged breath, his willing rec...
[ But her tumble was met with a strong pair of arms, wrapping carefully around her waist. ]
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"What have you two been up to? Can't believe I went an entire summer without the James Potter and Sirius Black," Katie said teasingly.
James snuck a glance at Sirius, asking him a silent question. A look of surprise clouded his eyes when Sirius answered Katie's question in a lighthearted daze.
"Ran away from that dreadful place," he beamed. "Mum got into one of her real sour moods .. told me she wanted me out. Merlin, you should've seen the look on her face when I actually got up and walked straight out of that door. Looked like she'd just seen a ghost," he said, a playful glint in his eyes. Katie's eyes lit up in recognition at the way he was smiling earlier.
"And so you went to live with James," Katie deduced, stating the sentence more for her understanding than anything else. "That's why I hadn't seen you with Regulus this morning," she said, more clearly this time.
James cut in. "We tried sending you a letter but Victoria fell ill that week and mum thought it was unwise to send her out when she was weak."
Sirius looked around, a faked looked of curiosity on his face. "That's right ain't it? You went to Australia the whole summer. I'd almost forgotten." Sirius stared off, with his head tilted, avoiding eye contact with Katie.
His smile broke his act as he began to grin, finally looking to her, unable to hold back the chuckle that escaped his lips at the way she was looking at him.
Leaning back onto the cushion of the sheet, she relaxed her muscles. "Keep working on your acting skills Sirius, you'll get there someday." She stared at them both. "Now what I would like to know is how you two didn't manage to burn down the Potter household."
James reclined back as well, placing his feet on Sirius. Sirius quickly threw them off in fake disgust as he stuck his tongue out. James reciprocated the action. Katie just stared at them wildly.
James cleared his throat. "Now, as I was trying to say ... Remus and Pete came over some days. Remus would go 'James, what would Kate say'. Probably saying it more for himself than us. Merlin knows how - "
"What is it that Remus would say?" A different - but familiar - voice echoed through the compartment as all three heads turned toward the young man opening the compartment door.
