𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝑊𝐸𝑁𝑇𝑌 𝑆𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁

➪ SILVER ➪

"ARE YOU EXCITED?"

Sirius grinned and turned his head to face Loki. She frowned, unsure of how to respond. She clasped her hands together, tapping her thumbs together.

"What for?"

"Christmas. No classes. Free reign of the castle," Sirius listed them off on his fingers. "Presents. Um, what else?" He tapped his pinky, trying to think of the last thing. "Oh, yeah! Spending time with me." He winked.

Loki flushed and averted her gaze. Sirius laughed at her reaction, nudging the girl teasingly. She refused to look up at him. How she wished Remus would appear to save her, but he'd left them, saying that he'd just remembered he needed to return a book to the library and rushed off.

"I mean, I guess Christmas is very exciting. I can finish off my assignments and essays, and we basically get free reign of the castle anyway, so that's not new." Loki desperately tried avoiding the answer she knew Sirius wanted to hear. "Presents... well, of course, I get thrilled about them."

"It's starting to sound like you don't want me around, Princess," Sirius pouted. "Or are you just too embarrassed to admit that you love having me around?"

"I--" Loki stopped herself. She turned to Sirius, feeling a burst of confidence, and shot him a broad grin. "You caught me. I love having you around."

"There we go!" Sirius laughed victoriously. Loki cocked her head, wondering how exuberant Sirius truly was. "I'm glad I get to hang out with you, Princess. It's fun. And it's a bonus you're pretty."

"Oh." Loki was surprised by his comment. "Re--Really? Um, thanks, Sirius."

"Just the truth, " he shrugged.

"What are you two talking about?" The sudden appearance of Remus caused Loki to shout in surprise.

"Just telling Loki she's pretty," Sirius replied, unfazed by her shout.

"Oh," Remus nodded. "Okay."

Loki felt a little disheartened by his response. He looked over at her, his eyes widening at the look on her face. The words began to pour out before he could stop them.

"Ah, Loki! I'm sorry. I--I--I think you're pretty, too. It's just that Sirius is usually the one to compliment people, so I just follow along." He explained, his words rushed.

"No, no, no, it's fine! I wasn't expecting you to compliment me at all!" Loki was quick to say, shaking her head and waving her hands at the boy. "You--you don't have to compliment me ever!"

"But I--I--I want to!" Remus stuttered.

He and Loki paused, both flushing several shades of red. They turned their heads away, both suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Merlin, talk about awkward," Sirius commented. Loki heard a soft thump, followed by Sirus grunting in pain. "Remus!" He whined.

➪

"IT'S SO PRETTY."

Remus and Sirius watched Loki's eyes widen in wonder as the snow began to fall again. She gasped, her gaze trailing down towards the forest, landing on a small patch of white barely visible between the thick treeline. If she wasn't at the Astronomy Tower with Remus and Sirius she would immediately have headed to investigate.