⠀ ❝ 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...
[ "Since when did you believe in love, Lupin?" She shot him a mocking look. ]
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An envelope sat on the table in front of her. It was a plain thing; a simple manila envelope with the penmanship of her mother curved carefully on the front.
Katie didn't know why she felt such a reluctance to open it. Surely the photos stored inside would prove to her that her parents did love each other and that the picture she'd seen in Tolbert's office was merely a trick — that there must have been a reasonable explanation. Even with her sudden change in perception for her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after a detention just a mere few days ago, the memory of that picture still made her head spin from the implications.
"Hey," said a familiar voice. Turning her head, she was met with the face of Gideon Prewett, his characteristic grin holding firmly on his lips.
"Gideon," Katie greeted. She craned her neck to look behind him, her brows furrowing. "Where's Fabian?"
He shrugged, taking a seat beside her. "Detention. Talked back to Vector. She didn't quite appreciate it." He eyed the letter that still lay unopened in front of her. "What's that?"
Katie clasped her hands together, sending Gideon a close-lipped half-smile. "Letter from my mum." She tried not to say too much; this wasn't really a matter she wanted too many people knowing about.
"Does it bite? You seem like it could bite you," he said, that familiar lilt present in his voice.
"Who knows, maybe they do. Though I suspect that paper teeth wouldn't hurt too much," she mustered out, her natural charm falling between her words. Katie realized with a shudder that maybe she and James were more alike than she thought.
Gideon's lips turned just slightly upwards, and Katie felt a pang of guilt. She wished that he didn't look at her like that, like she was a firefly that was constantly flying out of his reach.
"Then what are you so afraid of opening it for?"
Before she could answer, she heard Remus' voice reach them as he approached. "Kate, is that your mum's letter?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gideon's head tick ever so slightly. "Yeah, Vic delivered it a while ago."
Remus nodded. "Gideon," he said, addressing the redhead next to her with what looked to be an attempt at a friendly thin-lipped smile playing at his mouth. To anyone else, that smile was friendly, but there was a barely noticeable tense on the curve of his lip that was Remus' giveaway for being annoyed.
"Remus," Gideon replied amicably enough. Out of the four Marauders, Remus had the hardest time clicking with Gideon. It seemed to her that the feeling was mutual between them. It wasn't a noticeable difference, but it was enough for the air to crackle with awkwardness between them. Katie stared at them both, afraid to be caught in whatever odd staring competition they seemed to be engaged in.
