𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍.
chapter three; Blooming Friendships
" I'll be right next to you. "

  MADELINE DIDN'T DOUBT for a second Bluebelle would really drag her kicking and screaming to lunch. But, due to her apparent luck with meals, she was not going to allow this to happen.

  She'd be somewhere Bluebelle would never look for her. She didn't calculate the other occupants.

  "Madeline?" The girl groaned, her forehead meeting the cool wood of the table with a loud thump. "It wasn't as bad as you think."

  "It was terrible, horrible. Completely, hauntingly, humiliating."

  "No one's talking about it anymore." Madeline turned her head to see Lily Evans standing over her table, the girl's red hair falling forward as she looked down. "Okay, a few people are, but me, Dorcas, Hestia, Mary, and Marlene have been telling anyone off who says anything about it."

  "Thanks, Lily," Madeline sighed, sitting up fully, "I'm sorry James bothers you so much, you're a really nice girl."

  "You're sorry? I'm sorry, you have to live with that."

  "Don't get me started."

ϟ

  James Potter knew he screwed up. Rarely, if ever, had he admitted to doing something wrong, especially when it came to his sister. But this time it was clear, to him and all the Marauders, after Madeline had disappeared.

  The angry shouts and sounds of books hitting James Potter's hard skull had become rather familiar to the boys, but in the absence of this, they were left only to think of what they'd done.

  "It's not your fault," Peter was the first to speak up, "We didn't know she'd be sitting there."

  "It's sort of his fault." James glared at Sirius, "It's all of our faults! I'm just being honest!"

  "We should say sorry, right?"

  "Apologies don't fix much with Maddie," James sadly informed Remus.

  "It's a good place to start, right?"

  The boy searched everywhere for the Potter girl. Using their secret passageways just in case Madeline had in fact figured out their Map two years ago, only to come up short in every classroom, courtyard, and corridor. Though, they did manage to find the closest thing possible.

  "She what?"

  "You lot embarrassed her," Bluebelle rolled her eyes, "Don't be so shocked."

  "Well, can you make her come down?" Sirius questioned.

  "No one can make Maddie do anything," Bluebelle laughed shortly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look she's really upset—"

  "I know, and I want to say sorry to her."

  "Maybe you should just stop messing with her." The blonde scoffed quietly, shaking her head before hurrying down the corridor away from the boys.

  "What do we do now?" 

  "Guess we've got to wait," James mumbled, "She can't stay up there forever."

  Bluebelle was quite shocked to find their dorm empty because while she had not been actively looking for Madeline, she hadn't seen her best friend anywhere. There was only one person whose efforts weren't futile, finding the girl that didn't want to be found.

  "Maddie?"

  The Ravenclaw was sitting beneath a large tree by the shore of the Black Lake. Her thin arms wrapped around her knees, pulling them to her chest and resting her chin upon them. The black robe, decorated only with a blue crest was bunched up beside her, an unopened book laying on top of it.

  "Leave me alone, Lupin."

  "I just really wanted to apologize," Remus said, tugging on his sleeves. "It was a pretty shitty thing to do."

  "You could say that again," Madeline mumbled, crossing her arms, "Look, I don't want to talk to James, so—"

  "I wasn't. . ." Remus cleared his throat, lowering himself onto the grass beside the girl, "I wasn't here for James."

  "Oh."

  The duo remained staring at each other awkwardly, the breeze that carried whispers of autumn fluttered Madeline's brown locks.

  "It wasn't meant to be you." The girl furrowed her brows at Remus' statement, "I know it doesn't make it. . . better. But it was supposed to be for Declan."

  "Why do you all hate Kai so much?"

  "To be fair, he doesn't like us all that much either," Remus shrugged, turning to look out at the lake, "James seems to think there's something going on."

  "James is an idiot." Remus snorted at Madeline's blunt statement, "I've been telling him since second year, we're just friends."

  "Hey, do you want to go eat?"

  Madeline lost her amusement, face falling quickly, "I don't think I can face everybody."

  "I'll be right next to you."

  The Great Hall fell quiet when Madeline Potter and Remus Lupin entered. No one had seen the girl since the unfortunate prank that morning, which only perpetuated talk of it.

  "James, James!"

  "What?"

  "Remus is with Maddie."

  Both Sirius and James were dumbstruck, staring at the duo. Remus could tell how utterly terrified Madeline was, and because he knew the feeling all too well, he grabbed her hand. Instantly he regretted it, nervous she'd think it, and consequently, he was weird.

  But Madeline squeezed his hand tightly.

  "What the hell?" James mumbled, watching his best friend and sister walk hand in hand to the blue and bronze table, "Remus wouldn't. . ?"

  "Course not," Sirius scoffed, before his expression morphed to one of confusion, "Would he?"

  "James might kill me," Remus spoke softly as the duo took their seats.

  "That's a shame, you're starting to grow on me."

  The meal was an odd one. Remus kept receiving looks from every Ravenclaw that passed them, not that he paid them any attention as his main focus was keeping Madeline in a good mood. Sirius and James had barely stopped staring them, Peter joined as seemed just as concerned with the situation, and it seemed Madeline had sworn off pumpkin juice altogether.

  "Maddie?" The girl looked up, only to meet the nervous eyes of Kai Declan. Remus glared at the boy, Madeline would've made a comment about how impressed she was that Remus even had the capability to do so, but she didn't. "Can I talk to you?"

  "Sure," Madeline sighed, offering Remus a smile, "I'll be back in a minute."

  "Alright."

  "She's walking away with Declan—"

  "I can see what you do, Sirius."

  "I'm really sorry, Maddie," Kai sighed once they arrived in a nearly empty corridor, "I shouldn't have just laughed, it was—"

  "Fucked up?"

  "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

  "Kai."

  "I know," He frowned, "I'm just trying to say I'm sorry for being such a shit friend."

  "As long as you know you're a shit friend," Madeline smiled faintly, tugging the boy into a hug. "You're forgiven. I probably would've done the same thing."

  "Nico was asking about you."

  Madeline groaned, "I forgot about that."

  "He wanted to know if you were okay."

  "Really?" Madeline's lips stretched out into a smile, "I mean, yeah, that's—"

  "Mads," Kai laughed, pulling away from the hug, "I know you fancy Keeler."

  Madeline clapped her hands over his mouth, glaring ferociously.

  "Do not."

  "Do too."

  Madeline whirled around only to see Bluebelle grinning at her best friends.

  "Shove off!"

  Remus offered Madeline a small smile as she reclaimed her seat beside him, this time Bluebelle and Kai took seats opposite the duo.

  "Rem?"

  "Hm?"

  "Thanks for sitting with me," She mumbled, Bluebelle and Kai were already busy with a conversation so they didn't seem to notice the girl chatting with Remus, "You're a good friend."

  Remus couldn't help but light up at that.

  "Thanks, Maddie. You are too."

( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
This is easily my favorite story
I'm writing, 'cause it HONESTLY 
isn't even that good but it's 
SO MUCH fun to write so there's 
no stress about messing it up oof