"i mean, sure, i have my bad days, but then i remember what a cute smile i have"

*

Remus gripped his books to his chest as he wove his way through the crowded hallway, trying to simultaneously block out the noise and not pass out. Just a few more minutes until you make it to the common room. Just a few more. Distracted, he bumped into a pair of Slytherins and dropped his books.

"Watch where you're going, Lupin!" One of them jeered while the other laughed. Remus ignored their teasing and bent down to collect his textbooks. A slim hand appeared on his, and he looked up at Eva's kind smile. She didn't say anything, just helped him with the books and took some to carry herself.

"I could still hex them if you like," she offered, shooting a terrifying glare at the boys now behind them. "I know a few nonverbal spells that would send them running."

Remus gave her a small shake of his head. Even the simplest movement ached. "No. It's the last day before summer. Don't do that. They're not worth it."

Eva somehow managed to tuck a curl behind her ear while balancing all of her books and most of Remus' in her arms. "If you're sure."

"I am," he said tiredly. "Where are you headed?"

She turned the question around. "Where are you headed?"

"The common room," he answered.

"Me too," she said automatically. Truth be told, she actually intended to stop by and say goodbye to Professor McGonagall for the summer, but he was more important. "Lucky we ran into each other, huh?"

Lucky.

It wasn't a word Remus Lupin usually associated with himself. His splitting headache certainly didn't feel lucky. Looking in the mirror, his scars didn't look lucky. Tonight in the Shrieking Shack, his howling wouldn't sound lucky.

But when he noticed that Eva carried the majority of his schoolbooks and had also switched the direction she was walking before running into him, he realized that maybe he was lucky.

"Yeah. It was."

The two walked in relative silence, her peppering the quiet with occasional comments. Eva knew from her reading that his senses all heightened near the full moon and didn't want to be too loud or irritating. When they came upon the portrait hole, she quickly gave the password and hurried in to drop the heavy load of books on a table, almost tripping on Alice Fortesque's cat as she did so.

Remus collapsed on the long red couch, rubbing his forehead as if the movement would banish the pain. Eva sat on the edge of the couch and tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.

"Anything I can get you?" She whispered, guilty that she couldn't really do anything for him. He shook his head. "I'll go, then."

"No, wait." He turned to face her, his barely open eyes pleading. "Stay."

She smiled a bit. "Okay."

"Talk to me."

"About what?"

"I don't know. I don't care. Just keep talking."

"Um, okay. Ringo hit another window today. He's a little banged up, but Hagrid says he'll be fine."

Soft laughter erupted from Remus' lips. "You really picked a winner with that owl, Eve."

"I like him!" She defended, resisting the urge to playfully slap Remus. On any other day, she would have. "He's sweet. And overeager. I think I need to train him up a bit this summer, though. Teach him what a window is."

"Might be wise."

"I think so, too."

"You rag on Ringo for not knowing what windows are, but you're seventeen years old and I've never seen you make it down a set of stairs without falling."

"You know, you're mean," she commented through a smile. "If you weren't so out of it, you'd pay for that."

He raised his eyebrows sarcastically. "Oh, I'm sure that I would."

Sirius came running down the stairs, looking completely frazzled. He didn't greet either of them. "Remus, where's Francis?"

Remus shifted on the couch so that he was facing his friend and shook his head. "You lost him?"

Sirius ran a distressed hand through his hair. "I can't find him anywhere! He's gone!"

"I didn't see him this morning. Sorry, mate. Did you check the Map?"

"It's not in the dormitory. James had it today, and I don't know where James is either."

"I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry."

"I don't know what to do!" Sirius exclaimed. "We're leaving tomorrow! I won't have time to pack tomorrow. I've got to find him!"

He ran back up the stairs, mumbling in what Eva suspected was French. Eva squinted at where her boyfriend had stood seconds before. "Do I want to ask?"

Remus smirked. "Francis is his potted plant. He lives on the windowsill. Lily gave him to Sirius two Christmases ago. He loves that plant like you love your loopy owl."

Eva smiled at yet another reason to find 'bad boy' Sirius Black more endearing than ever. "And he named it Francis?"

"Peter did, actually. It stuck."

"And you can track a potted plant on the Marauders Map?"

"We call him the honorary fifth Marauder."

The portrait hole opened to reveal Marlene and James, who were arguing about the odds of the Quidditch World Cup.

"Here, we'll settle this once and for all," James said, holding his hands up for a truce before addressing Eva. "Blondie, who's going to win the Cup?"

"The States," she answered, having researched both teams extensively over the last few weeks. "No question."

James pumped his fist in the air in triumph. "Thank you!"

"Remus, are you okay?" Marlene asked, eyeing him curled up on the couch with concern. She still doesn't know, Eva thought to herself. Remus just gave her a simple thumbs up and she thankfully didn't comment. Even their friends who were unaware of his lycanthropy noticed when he wasn't feeling up to anything and no one pressed him about it. "I've got to finish packing. See you tonight for the feast."

Once she was upstairs, James plopped down on his usual armchair and frowned. "Moony, you okay?"

"No, but I never am," Remus muttered. "By the way, I don't know what you did with Francis, but Sirius is two minutes away from a panic attack."

Leaning back on the chair, James cracked a grin. "Rather bold of you to assume it was me."

"I've shared a room with you for six years now. Plus, you took the Map this morning on purpose. I know it was you."

"Drat," the bespectacled boy said, snapping his fingers at his foiled plan. "Well, I plan on holding Francis hostage until he agrees to name his firstborn child after me."

Eva pulled a pen out of her pocket and began to write a packing checklist on the back of her hand, knowing that she'd probably lose whatever parchment she wrote it on. She lived by the philosophy that losing a piece of paper is much easier than losing a hand. Therefore, write on the hand. Always write on the hand.

"His firstborn, huh?"

"Yep. Prepare to have a child with the best name in the world. Male or female."

Her pen slid across her skin, leaving a black line. Eva's head snapped up to James, whose face lit up with glee for getting such a good reaction. "Excuse me?"

James grinned mischievously and rested his head on his hand. "I mean when you and Padfoot get hitched, your firstborn will be named after me. Guaranteed."

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. Since when are Sirius and I getting married?"

"If you guys can spend six-plus years planning a wedding for Lily and me, then I think it's more than fair for me to reverse it."

"I guess that's fair," she admitted, a smile spreading across her face again. She crossed her legs and shot him a playfully inquisitive look. "You guys talk about that?"

"Mostly jokes. That kind of stuff comes up when we get into weird future talks at three in the morning. You know, the only acceptable time to talk about fairytale endings and sentimental crap like that. Those futures where we all get married and have jobs we love and never have to worry about anything again."

A soft snore interrupted his explanation. Remus has fallen asleep on Eva's shoulder. She shifted a bit to a position that made her more uncomfortable but would be better for him.

Eva looked back up at James, a worried expression on her face. "You guys will be safe tonight, right?"

"Come now, Blondie, when have you ever known me to be reckless?" He laughed as soon as the words came out of his mouth. "Yeah, we'll be fine. We've been doing this for two years now. Relax."

"It's rotten luck that the full moon ended up tonight," Eva remarked. "You guys will miss the feast!"

"Luckily, I know someone who can steal me some desserts." He winked, then sprawled out further on his chair. Placing his glasses on top of his messy curls, he said, "I like brownies, by the way."

"Noted. Just promise me you'll be careful."

James stood up and gripped her hand tightly, a comforting smile on his face. "Okay, I promise."

Eva also stood, moving Remus so he continued to sleep on the couch. She wandered over to the window, watched the rain pour down the glass panes. "Everything's going to change, isn't it?"

"What makes you say that?" James wrapped an arm around her shoulder and stared outside too.

"Just a feeling. You've seen the papers. People are dying, James. There's really going to be a war. And I noticed how you boys have been more protective around Lils and I. Thanks, by the way." The last she said quietly, because while she knew she could handle herself, she also appreciated how much they cared.

James sighed. He wanted to tell her everything would be all right, that everyone would be safe and happy like he wished they could be, but it would be a lie. In a way, Hogwarts shielded them from the outside world, and in one year, that shield would disappear.

"Yeah, there is gonna be a war," he finally said. "And we signed up for it."

"Was that stupid of us?"

"Maybe."

"Do you regret it?"

He shook his head. "I'm never going to regret it."

"Me either."

They were too young, barely adults. Both of them knew it. Neither of them cared. The fight belonged to them.

A war was coming.

"JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER, I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE FRANCIS IS, YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN!"

Eva and James burst out laughing. A war was coming, but it wasn't there quite yet.

*

Hundreds of students flooded out of the castle doors the next morning. The mob ran to the Hogwarts Express at top speed, but Eva hung back, taking one last look around the Great Hall.

"Ah, Miss Taylor! You're going to miss the train if you don't leave soon." Professor Slughorn ambled over to her with a happy smile.

"I know. I was just thinking." She picked up her trunk in one hand and Ringo's cage in the other. The miniature owl hooted excitedly. "I'd better get going, though."

He shook an endearing finger at her. "Take care of yourself this summer, my dear. One year left and you'll be off to great things, mark my words."

She brightened considerably at his compliment. "Thank you, sir. Have a nice holiday!"

"Eva, come on!" Lily called, running inside. The redhead grabbed her arm and began to drag Eva out the door. "Bye, Professor! See you next year!"

Slughorn waved good-naturedly to the girls before returning back into the hall, a fond smile on his face.

Lily loosened her grip on Eva once they were following the trail of students again. "Sorry. The boys are holding the compartment for us, but who knows how long they'll be able to sit still and not get into trouble."

"The record is six minutes and forty-three seconds," Eva joked. "Remus timed it."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lily's expression changed to something tenser. Leaning closer, she quietly said, "whatever you do, do not mention Remus looking like a train wreck or him not being at the feast last night."

"Why?" Eva questioned.

"He and Kriss had a fight," she explained in that same soft voice. Eva's eyebrows shot up. "They're okay now, but I still wouldn't bring it up."

"What happened? They're so good for each other!"

"They got into the argument yesterday afternoon. She wanted to spend time with him yesterday before we all left for break, but of course he couldn't. And Remus is the worst liar out of all of us, so you can imagine how that went." She cringed and pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket, sliding them onto her face.

"He hadn't told her yet?" Eva frowned. She understood Remus' apprehension, but at the same time, it just made her sad. They all loved him. Why couldn't he see that?

"It took him six years to tell you, and you're one of his best friends," Lily pointed out. "He's only been dating Kriss for a few months, and it's going really well. I just think he's scared to lose her."

The pair walked onto the platform where the Hogwarts Express waited for them. Friends exchanged addresses, couples kissed as if they weren't going to see each other on the train. Eva spotted her own boyfriend in the crowd.

"Sirius! Are you coming?" She jumped up to give her some extra height, trying to get his attention. Sirius turned on his heel and smiled but shook his head, waving her to go on without him. She nodded, and Eva and Lily disappeared inside the train.

Sirius made sure the two girls safely boarded the Hogwarts Express before turning around again and searching through the crowd for a specific face. He still wasn't even sure this conversation would go well, but he didn't care. After the day with the boggart, he made up his mind, and once he made up his mind, nothing could ever change it.

Spotting the very person he was looking for, Sirius wove his way through the crowd, ignoring the girls that giggled as he passed, until he stopped at the end of the station.

"Reg, a word?"

Regulus glanced at his brother, surprised. Around him, some of his fellow Slytherins glared at the newcomer.

"Yeah, all right," Regulus mumbled, separating himself from the group.

Sirius grinned at Lucius, who seemed very irritated by his mere presence. "Oi, Lucy, are you and Cissa tying the knot this summer? I can't wait to miss it!"

Regulus groaned and dragged his older brother away before he could start a fight. "Are you mental? It's one thing ruining your relationships, but don't mess with mine! Not everyone just runs away to escape their problems!"

"They aren't relationships. They're spiteful, all of them. I'd get out while you can." Sirius sent a distasteful look at Lucius, who turned up his nose.

"What, like you?" Regulus spat, brushing a dark curl out of his blue eyes impatiently, before sighing deeply. He let out a deep, rattling breath, one that sounded like fear and felt like it too. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm not in a good mood now, but it's not you, I swear. I have a lot on my mind."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't have time to be a psychiatrist. We've got a train to catch." Sirius leaned casually on the train as if it wasn't about to pull away from the station any minute. "I got a place."

"Oh." Regulus swallowed, trying to hide his disappointment. The younger Black son tended to be the better one at putting forward false emotions, but Sirius saw the sadness cross his eyes. Embarrassing as it was, Regulus worried when he thought of a summer at home alone. "That's great. Good for you."

"Yeah, I know. It's in Diagon Alley. I have no idea how it's going to go, but we'll see," Sirius laughed. He pulled a slip of parchment out of the pocket of his leather jacket and held it out to his brother. "Here's the address. If anything happens, if you need somewhere to go, I want you to come see me."

Regulus' fingers gripped the paper. Sirius didn't miss the slight tremble in them. "I can't. You know I can't."

"Yes, you can," Sirius said gently, in the voice he usually reserved for Remus after a transformation or one of his friends after a bad day. "I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but I don't care. You could come with me now and I wouldn't care."

"You don't understand," Regulus muttered. He shook his head and pulled the sleeve on his left arm down further. "We- we can't be like this. We're not on the same side anymore."

"No. We're brothers. That comes first." Sirius waited until they made eye contact again before he continued. "You don't get it, do you? There is no such thing as good guys and bad guys. We're all messed up, Reg. We just make different decisions based on the crazy stuff going on inside of us. You and I... well, we made different decisions, but that doesn't just erase everything that was there before."

"I can't," Regulus repeated. He wanted so badly to believe Sirius, to believe that they could simply be friends and brothers like they used to be, but he couldn't. His head tilted down. "I'm sorry, but I can't. It'll just make things worse for both of us."

Sirius closed his eyes briefly, trying to push away the pain Regulus' words brought him. Wordlessly, he pulled his brother into a tight hug. It felt all too familiar from that night Sirius ran away from Grimmauld Place. "Write to me, will you?"

"I'll try," Regulus said hesitantly. Part of him didn't want to pull away from his embrace, but he did. Hagrid yelled over the chattering students for everyone to board the train. "Take care of yourself, Siri."

"Don't I always?" He cracked a grin, but it faded as his eyes flitted over to the Slytherins waiting for his younger brother. "Stay sharp, Reg. My door's always open." Sirius walked away without another word, a sad smile on his face.

Regulus watched him board the train, and as he did, the anxiety growing in his chest stilled for a minute. Only a minute, but it was enough.

"Thanks," he whispered before returning to his friends.

*

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 & 3/4, Eva made sure to hug every single one of her friends. As much as she loved her mother, she couldn't wait for the two weeks to pass so she could see them again.

The Quidditch World Cup was a plus, of course.

"Blondie, over here!" Sirius called, a sly smile spreading across his face. She joined him, butterflies filling her stomach. "I was hoping for more than a hug."

Eva pulled him down a bit so she could kiss him. Everyone moved around them, but the two couldn't have cared less. They finally separated, and Eva wrapped her arms around Sirius, breathing in the scent of his leather jacket one last time. A silly thing to miss, she thought, but we miss the silly things most of all.

"Have fun in the Muggle world," he said with a smile. "See you in two weeks."

"Careful in your new place. Write to me if something happens, okay?"

He chuckled and pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, causing her blonde curls to tumble down to her shoulders. "Don't waste your worries on me. I can take care of yourself."

"We all can, Sirius. It's just nice to be taken care of."

He kissed her again on the cheek. "You're too good for a world on the brink of war. Don't ever change."

"I won't if you don't."

Sirius stuck out his hand. "Deal."

Hi! What did you guys think of this chapter?