chapter seventeen; the astronomy tower

TEMPEST THATCHER WAS ANGRY AT REMUS LUPIN. It was a strange sensation, one that she'd never felt before. Sure, she'd been annoyed at him when he made snide comments, but she hadn't ever wanted to throw her hands around his neck and squeeze. Every time she entered a room, he found a way to leave. In classes they shared where they sat close to one another, he would move seats or avoid speaking to her completely. It was petty and useless, and Tempest didn't know how to handle it.

"He's mad at himself, Tempest, not at you," Peter insisted, trailing behind the angered teenage girl once they left the Herbology greenhouse. Him and Sirius were the only two people she had been speaking to over the last few days, as she was also furious that James had gone against her and punched Severus Snape in the face so that Remus' secret would remain a secret.

"I don't care who he's mad at," Tempest huffed, holding her books to her chest as she and the shorter boy walked through the school. "He doesn't seem to understand that none of this was his fault."

"Afternoon!" Sirius' cheerful voice appeared as Peter and Tempest turned the corner leading to the Great Hall. He was holding his charms textbook in one hand and a newspaper in the other. James was at his side, though he seemed to purse his lips upon seeing the dark haired girl. "How are we?"

"Fine," Tempest mumbled, easily avoiding eye contact with the Potter boy.

"Hello, Tempest," James attempted to greet the girl, but she chose to ignore him.

"I'm sitting with Willa today," she grumbled without acknowledging the boy, her jaw tensed and eyes narrowed. Sirius stepped forward to protest, but Tempest had already whipped around and marched into the hall with a deep frown etched onto her face.

She sure knew how to be dramatic.

★☆

"My parents will be fine with it, I'm sure," Lily exclaimed, her arm locked with Tempest's. They were walking through the grounds that evening, as they hadn't been able to speak that day and they had admittedly missed each other's company. Lily always seemed to have the best advice, much better than Sirius or Peter, or even Marlene. "And you can finally meet Petunia!"

They were speaking about their plans for summer, and how Tempest was going to spend a month at the Evans' Worthing home, which was only an hour away from hers. Tempest was ecstatic, as she knew that meant she wouldn't have to remain trapped in a house with a busy mother. Tempest could invite her muggle friends, Michael and Bhavna, to the movies or to the wharf when they had free time. She knew James had made an offer to house her during the holiday, but she had no idea if that promise still stood.

"I'll bring her some chocolate frogs and fizzing whizzbees," Tempest responded with an amused smile. She had heard an awful lot about Lily's sister, and how horrible she could be when she wanted. The mere prospect of being able to meet her excited the dark-haired girl, as annoying others was one of her greatest talents.

Tempest then fell silent after chuckling for a second, her eyes focused on the ground. Lily frowned a little, nudging her side. "What's wrong?"

Tempest didn't really know how to respond. "I don't know. I just...I'm so angry at everything lately. I don't know what's wrong with me, Lily."

Lily watched her quietly, waiting for any elaboration. When she understood that she wasn't going to receive any, she sighed. "Tempest, anger doesn't solve anything. It builds nothing, but it destroys everything."

Tempest didn't respond.

"I noticed you aren't speaking to James and Remus," Lily continued. "I'm not going to ask why because it's clear you aren't ready to talk. Just think about all the time you're wasting. Maybe you should apologise to them."

"But I didn't do anything!" Tempest groaned, hanging her head back. "Why can't they apologise first?"

"Maybe you should let them know that you're hurt, rather than being mad at them," Lily tried to reason, as if she were some wise old lady. "Because soon you're going to say something to them that you'll regret."

"Thanks, Lily," Tempest smiled lopsidedly as they stopped. The air was slightly nippy around them, and the friends huddled together a little bit. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably get in a lot of trouble," the redhead replied easily, to which Tempest chuckled. The clock began to chime as the two girls entered the courtyard, seven rings echoing through the large space. Lily exhaled softly as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"

Tomorrow. Tempest's sixteenth birthday fell three days before Halloween, and she had honestly forgotten. It had never been an important thing for her, so when her friends mentioned it she had always shrugged her shoulders or rolled her eyes. She was grateful for the things they did for her, she just didn't understand why they did them.

"I know you want me to say yes," Tempest mumbled slightly sheepishly. "But no, I'm not."

"You never are," Lily scoffed, though her lips were slightly upturned. Then all of a sudden, her shoulders dropped a little and she chewed the inside of her cheek. "I have something to tell you, Tempest."

"What is it?" Tempest asked, her eyebrows furrowing a little in confusion. Lily hummed uncomfortably, her eyes travelling up to the twilight sky. "Lily."

"Gryffindor is planning something for you," the girl admitted, her breathing growing a little heavier. Tempest's eyes widened a little and she leaned forward slightly in bewilderment. "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you know how terrible I am at keeping secrets! Even McGonagall is letting it happen because you got such good results in your mid-term test, and because you did so well in the quidditch game a couple of weeks ago."

"What is it supposed to be?" Tempest asked quickly, suddenly feeling a bit sick. She hated surprises, and Lily knew this, which was why she had let it spill a little.

The redhead squirmed. "I can't say, or Marlene and Sirius will be mad at me."

Marlene and Sirius. A dangerous pair of names.

Tempest swivelled on the heel of her foot and her face contorted into an irritated expression as she entered the doors leading to the Great Hall.

"Tempest, wait!" Lily squeaked, realising what she had done. She always seemed to forget how good her friend was at storming off, so it took her a while to catch up with her. It was too late though, as Tempest had already reached the Fat Lady's painting, and was muttering the password. Lily panted as she came to a halt, wheezing a little as she tried to stop her. "Tempest, hang on a minute-"

The portrait swung open and Tempest took a step inside, though she was caught off guard by Remus exiting at the same time. His mouth slacked a little in shock and his eyes flickered between her and Lily, who was waving frantically behind her, trying to tell him that her role in the planning of Tempest's surprise had failed abysmally.

Remus cleared his throat and swerved Tempest, shoving something in his pocket and rushing off down the hall. Tempest watched him leave, her jaw clamped a little at how silly he was being. She noticed how his eyes had fallen on the scar he had left on her face, and she knew he felt self-conscious about it. She didn't blame him though, he just didn't understand.

Tempest inhaled sharply as she tried to compose herself, before she stormed into the common room to see Sirius, James and Marlene hunched over some parchment at the coffee table. The raven-haired girl crossed her arms and cleared her throat as she stepped up behind them.

At the sudden sound the three seated teenagers' heads snapped back to see her, before their eyes were all wide and terrified. They all sprung into awkward action, James diving across the table to cover the parchment, Marlene leaping in front of him to cover his actions, and Sirius jumping over the couch to pull Tempest away. "Hey, Pest. How are you?"

"Fine," Tempest narrowed her eyes suspiciously, not just at the fact that there was something being hidden from her, but also because James had decided to involve himself. She was hoping he'd mind his own business until he'd gain the courage to apologise to her and Severus Snape, but it seemed he was doing the exact opposite.

"We were just finishing some transfiguration homework," Marlene piped up as Tempest looked over Sirius' shoulder. The fair-haired girl was grinning far too broadly to be believable, so Tempest shot an unimpressed look her way.

"Of course," Tempest responded blankly, before plastering a smile on her face and taking a step back. "Well, I'm going to turn in early tonight. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Sirius glanced back at Marlene with wide eyes, and she waved him off, trying to act natural. "Night, Tempest! Love you!"

★☆

Tempest gasped as her duvet was ripped from on top of her. Her body coiled up as the chill hit her instantly, and she began cursing angrily at whoever had just wronged her. She didn't know where she was or what time it happened to be, all she knew when she shot up with crazed eyes and messy hair was that she was annoyed.

"Hey, Tempest!" Marlene grinned, holding out a navy blue dressing gown alongside Lily and Alice, who was one of the other girls in their year. They were all wearing their pyjamas from what Tempest could see in the lamplight, and she groaned once she vaguely realised what was going on. "Come on, out of bed!"

Tempest whined as Lily and Alice dove forward, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her out of her warm den of comfort. The raven-haired girl had a priceless frown on her face as Marlene helped her into the warm robe. "What time is it?"

"It's quarter to midnight," Lily responded, and Tempest hung her head as she was led out into the common room. It was empty, and she furrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion.

"Where are we going?" She asked in a monotone voice, as she genuinely didn't have the energy to be interested. "Can't this wait till morning?"

"Nope," Marlene shook her head excitedly, tugging the girl out the entrance of the commons and into the freezing corridors of the school.

"Surely we'll get in trouble for this," Tempest insisted, and even Lily didn't flinch in fear. Instead, she giggled quietly, the sound high-pitched and incredibly annoying to the the Thatcher girl. She just wanted to go back to sleep; her tangled locks and droopy expression making that clear. When they turned in the direction of the Astronomy tower, her heart dropped at the sight of all the stairs she had to climb. 

No one said anything as they lugged themselves to the very top of the tower, the only sounds were Tempest's groans as she felt Lily try to tidy her hair. The redhead soon gave up when they reached the top, allowing her hands to fall by her sides defeatedly. 

"Why are we up here?" Tempest asked as they reached the doors after over ten minutes of climbing. Marlene grinned, placed her hands on the wooden entrance, before pushing them open. 

"Surprise!" A dozen voices chimed through the open area of the tower, and Tempest felt herself stumble a little in shock despite having assumed the party already.

Silver and crimson streamers had been strung across the barriers and walls, and balloons of the same colour were scattered across the floor. Fake snow fell from the ceiling and music played softly from one of the corners of the room. A number of her peers were there, even individuals such as Dorcas Meadowes, Benjy Fenwick and Edgar Bones, whom she shared a number of her classes with.

"Happy birthday, Tempest!" Marlene shouted, throwing her arms around her friend and squeezing her tightly. 

"Thank you," Tempest smiled slightly, as though she was still utterly exhausted, she was grateful for the effort that had been made to make her happy. 

Everyone had squealed and embraced the girl as she passed them, until she reached the Marauders. James and Remus stood beside Sirius awkwardly while Peter had his back turned to the snack table. Tempest hesitated in walking towards them, though when she did she stopped and crossed her arms. "Evening."

"Evening," James muttered in response, his eyes avoiding hers. Remus did the same, and Tempest sighed, glancing over at Sirius who shrugged. She crossed her arms and stared at the boys who had treated her wrong, waiting for them to say something. When all that stood between them was silence, she scoffed and spun on her heel,  not wanting to deal with them. Why were they even there? If they didn't want to say anything to her, they should've just stayed in the dormitories. 

"Tempest, wait," she felt Remus grab her wrist, to which she snatched back to her side. James rushed up to her other side and looped his arm with hers, and she groaned audibly as Remus then did the same. "We need to talk to you."

"Why, have you finally come to your senses?" She retorted, and the boys hesitated, before giving in and nodding. Tempest was slightly taken aback. She allowed them to drag her to the empty balcony, where they were watched observantly by Sirius and Marlene, who stood at a slight distance. 

"Tempest, we just wanted to say that we were sorry," James scratched the back of his head, his eyes cast to the ground as Tempest crossed her arms. "I shouldn't have threatened Snape, you were right. Who knows what he might have done if I had caused any damage. I...should have listened to you."

"And I shouldn't be ignoring you like I have been," Remus mumbled slightly awkwardly. "I had hurt you, Tempest, and I couldn't live with myself if it had happened again. Do you know how awful it was to see the mess I had inflicted on one of my best friends?"

"Next time just talk to me, and listen," Tempest responded after a moment, which caused both of the boys to smile. Tempest's lip twitched a little as she fought the urge to give in. "I know I'm annoying sometimes, but I'm also usually right."

"So, do you forgive us?" James asked, his eyes wide and pleading. Tempest pondered for a moment, before nodding. The two boys before her were now over the moon, which was quite pleasant to see, though Tempest didn't let them know that. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought you'd be hating me forever!"

"We got you something," Remus interjected, shoving a box in Tempest's direction. She recognised it from earlier; it was the one he had hastily shoved in his pocket upon seeing her previously that day. The lanky boy shoved his hands in his pockets anxiously, his wide, hopeful gaze set on her. "F-For your birthday, of course."

"And as an apology," James piped up, and Remus nudged him slightly. 

Tempest carefully opened the packaging and lifted the lid of the box up, before her face lit up in surprise. She reached into the case and slowly pulled out a silver necklace chain, with a small black jewel dangling at the bottom. Onyx.

"Do you like it?" James bounced up and down, as Remus was unable to form the words he wanted to say. "We got it made special at Hogsmeade, down at the jewellers who act all snobby whenever people younger than eighty step inside."

"What?" Tempest gasped, her eyebrows furrowing together. "That place is far too expensive!"

"Not to worry, we saved up," Remus said proudly, and Tempest nearly burst into tears. She knew how tight Remus' financial situation was, but she also knew how wealthy James was. It touched her to think that they had put so much effort into a gift she didn't expect, and she was ever so grateful. She brought them both in for a hug, tears nearly spilling out of her eyes. 

"Thank you," she whispered, to which both of her friends squeezed her a little tighter. In that moment she realised how lucky she was to have people in her life like James and Remus. They had gone to the farthest measure to gain her forgiveness. She wasn't bothered about the necklace, no, she was more appreciative of the fact that despite being angry, they had still done something kind, something thoughtful for her. Though they were quite idiotic and careless at times, they had enough good in their hearts to save the world from turmoil.

★☆

ehhhh

this was super average my apologies

i'm trying to get back into the jist of things but it's genuinely been really hard but i'm giving it my best shot fellas so pls don't be too hard on me lol