WILD & WICKED / © yllwjckts
026 ⸻ Three's a Crowd

November 24th, 1977 ✦ Hogwarts

The awkwardness of the lessons with Fulk and Lux was not easy to ignore, especially when the girls she shared a dorm with had little restraint when it came to hounding her on the topic, Lily especially. While all Lux wanted to do was ignore the problem — the argument with Fulk and the looming presence of the Coven, it had proven itself to be an impossible task.

At least she was safe inside the castle from the group of vampires. Vigorous interrogations from her friends, however, she would never truly be able to free herself from.

"What's going on with you two?" Lily asked for the umpteenth time when they exited the final lesson of the day. Remus, she had noticed, was absent in all their shared classes throughout the day, though when she whispered to Sirius inquiring on the issue, he simply shrugged. He'd seemed to have gotten a sour night's sleep, given his delayed responses and bags under his eyes, so she didn't press on the issue.

"I don't know what you mean," Lux answered as they turned the corner, the same answer she gave her and the other girls every single time they asked about it.

It wasn't like they could prove anything on the contrary, all they had to go on was his hesitancy in so much as looking in her direction, and her refusal to participate in anything class related. It could've been anything, and as long as she kept her mouth shut, it would remain such.

The only person who did know what had happened, other than Dumbledore, anyways, was Snape. He'd seen it in her mind the next day they'd had their lessons, and spent the rest of it teasing her on the subject until she'd snapped and stormed out, flipping him her middle finger as she did.

She felt significantly less guilty about it than when she'd taken her emotions out on Lily, perhaps due to the fact that Severus Snape most certainly deserved every ounce of her ire.

"I don't believe you," Lily said, though when she looked at Lux, she pressed her lips together in an evident retreat. "But you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"Thank you," Lux forced a wobbly smile at her, and though she could tell it didn't give off the effect she desired from it, she sensed Lily was grateful nevertheless.

"I'm trying to be better at being less nosy," Lily proclaimed as they made their way through the halls, headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. Lux's stomach grumbled at the idea of all the food she could not consume, and considered slipping out into the forest for blood, but she couldn't be sure Fulk wouldn't have the same intentions.

She'd rather starve than deal with him, and starving she certainly had been, limiting her blood intake significantly.

"You're not nosy," she attempted to assure Lily, though she knew it fell flat. She'd called her as much before, if anything was going to convince the redhead of the contrary, it wouldn't be Lux's word.

"I am," Lily insisted with a nod. "Everyone's always said I am. But I don't mean to be, I don't mean to like...be a gossip, or anything of the sorts. That's not my intention. I just want to help people, but it comes off the wrong way, like I'm inserting myself into drama where I don't belong."

"I don't think you need to change," Lux said, finding that she meant her words.

Lily's lips curved into a smile, though she kept her thoughts to herself as they entered the Great Hall, moving to sit in their usual spot, with Lily next to James, and Lux across from the couple.

She shifted as she met James's brown eyes, though it didn't last for long before Sirius was taking a seat at her left, letting out a yawn as he did.

"Bad night's sleep?" Lily asked, though she was staring at James as she spoke.

He nodded. "Had a ringer, all of us. Pete's snoring is killer. Suppose that's what Remus is up to now, catching up on some much needed sleep."

Lux frowned, recalling a conversation she'd had with him at the beginning of the month, in the midst of her tears over the very first lesson with Snape. "I thought he had a family thing today."

"Yesterday," Peter said almost instantly, through a mouthful of his porridge, though she didn't miss the way James and Sirius both stiffened at her earlier inquiry. Maybe Remus had a bad home life, she thought with a bitter sort of chill at the idea, thinking about the scars that stretched across his face.

None of her business, she supposed, turning her attention towards her empty plate.

"So Luxie," Sirius started, causing her head to pivot towards him. "Pete and I came up with a theory yesterday."

She raised her eyebrows. "A theory? Do tell."

"You're the result of a spell on a bean sprout gone wrong."

Lily spit out her tea, the liquid dripping down her chin and staining her robes. "Bloody hell, Sirius! A warning next time, yeah?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, keeping his head fixed towards Lux. "So, am I right?"

She was silent, simply staring at him as she struggled to comprehend what it was he'd even said. "A...a bean sprout?"

He nodded. "Well, you're tall for a girl, and skinny. And you quite literally never eat — I swear, I've never seen you actually consume a single meal, yet you haven't dropped dead yet, so we think you photosynthesize rather than eat, you know, human foods. Since you're a bean sprout."

"I've thought this for a while," Peter added with a grave nod, and in the back of her mind, Lux could vaguely recall him suggesting this to her once before.

"So, we think some old grumpy man cast a spell on a bean sprout, and it accidentally became a sentient teen girl. Well, I think you're sentient. Are you?"

"Obviously she's sentient, Black," Lily leaned in, swatting him with the napkin she'd been dabbing on the spilled tea splattered across her robes. "And she clearly is not a bean sprout. I don't think that's even possible."

"Anything's possible with magic," Sirius insisted, grabbing the napkin out of Lily's hand before chucking it at her. When his attention was back on Lux, she was biting down on her lip to keep herself from laughing. "Even if you are a bean sprout, I'll accept you."

"I'm not a bean sprout, Sirius."

He seemed oddly disappointed by this.

"Excuse me," a voice echoed from behind her, and she turned around. A young Gryffindor boy, a first or second year, with a frizzy blonde mop atop his head stared at her through wide brown eyes, causing familiarity to spike in her.

Her stomach sank. If Dumbledore called for her again...how more could he ruin her life? She may have been living in ignorance, yes, but there was a kind of bliss such a state of mind.

"Are you Lux Erzsebet?" The boy asked, and Marlene peered around Lux to get a good look at the boy.

"Kevin?"

"Hi, Marls," he grinned at her through bright, shiny teeth, before turning back to the vampire. "I've got a letter from Professor Slughorn for Lux Erzsebet."

"Thanks," Lux said, relief slipping from her as she took hold of the letter.

The boy stuck his tongue out, aimed directly at Marlene, before skipping away, back to his spot at the table, near the very front.

"My brother," Marlene explained when he was out of earshot, and Lux began tugging on the wax seal holding the letter together. "He's a first year. Bloody annoying that he got into Gryffindor rather than far away from me."

"He means well," Dorcas scolded, though she was grinning.

"He'll get better once he's older, trust," Mary assured Marlene with a sympathetic pat on her shoulder. "It was the same with my brother. You've met him, haven't you?"

The seal finally gave way, leaving Lux to scan the letter.

Lux Erzsebet,

I would be greatly honored if you would join me and the rest of the Slug Club for a meal in my office tonight at 6pm. You are more than welcome to bring a date.

My apologies for the delay in sending this letter. Truthfully, I was debating if you would even wish to attend, given the unfortunate events of the last Slug Club, but I figured it was best to extend the invite.

- Professor Horace Slughorn

"Slug Club invite?" Sirius asked, peering over her shoulder to get a read of the letter.

"Nosy much?" She shot a playful glare at him.

"It says you can bring a date," he pointed out, jamming a finger at the words for good measure, hard enough that it formed a creased dent into the parchment.

Her glare intensified. "So you can read after all? Good to know."

"Who are you going to bring?" He asked, placing his chin atop her shoulder. While she found herself feeling the urge to shake him off, something stopped her, a comfort in his touch.

It was impossible to fully ignore the shift in dynamics between Lux and those two boys, a shift that had grown so vastly over the past few weeks that even Lily had brought it up on occasion, asking why it was that Lux suddenly got on with them.

This time, she didn't have the answer herself, nor did she want to push her luck by delving into the potential reasons on her own.

"Well, Remus is out of the picture, since he's ill," she began, setting the letter down in front of her. As she did, she met James's eye for a brief moment, those piercing brown orbs staring into her as if attempting to discern her intentions by mere observation.

More than aware of all the eyes on her, not only James but just about their entire friend group watching the scene go down, she continued with a subtle, "I could bring you, I suppose."

She expected him to light up like a Christmas tree, but Sirius had long since caught on to her games, the way she pushed and waited for a push back, fearing the fall yet dangled over the edge anyways, awaiting the final shove only he could provide.

"I could look into clearing up my schedule. I'm awful busy these days, Luxie. You know, Quidditch, coursework, theorizing about bean sprouts..."

"For fucks sake!" Lily cried as she once again spat out her drink, laughing as tea dripped onto the blouse she'd just managed to clean. "Take your bean sprouts elsewhere, yeah?"

"I do have to get going," Lux admitted as she rose to her feet, stomach grumbling. "I've got a question for Binns."

"What, how to survive for an eternity without eating?" Marlene jibed, earning an elbow in her gut from Mary. "Bloody hell, I'm just joking!"

"It's not a big deal, really. Like Marlene said, just jokes," Lux assured an annoyed looking Mary, dark eyes shooting daggers at Marlene. Something told her there was more to it, the anger she could see radiating from the curly haired girl, something she didn't want to get in the middle of.

She was out of the Great Hall and halfway down the corridor when a hand fell on her shoulder, tugging her attention away from the intended journey into the Forbidden Forest, stomach clenching from a hunger she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"What do you want, Sna—" Lux began, cutting herself off when she made eye contact with the person who had grabbed her, the person who couldn't have been further from the presumed Severus Snape.

James's eyes narrowed in on her. "Why would you think I'm Snape?"

"I wasn't going to say Snape," she lied, tugging herself out of his grip. Before he could press her on her lie, she spat, "Do you want something, or can I go?"

His answer was simple. She should've expected that, James was not like her, dancing around problems, poking the fire with a stick until they blew up in everyones faces. "You're messing with my friends again. Why can't you leave well enough alone?"

"I'm not—" she began, then cut herself off, knowing denying it wouldn't make James change his mind. With a shake of her head and a deep inhale, she said, "I don't understand what you want from me. You didn't want me to leave, and yet, you're upset I'm staying."

"I don't know what you want, that's my problem. I thought..." He ran a hand through his hair, quickly losing his composure. "Fuck, Lux, I thought you loved them, and I thought they loved you. And maybe you all do. But you've been...different, the past few weeks. It makes me wonder what you're up to."

"I'm not up to anything," she insisted, wringing her hands, knowing there was little use in claiming a lack of love. Even if it was certain, even if she knew she couldn't possibly love the two of them, it was once again something she found little use in denying to the boy in front of her.

When he was silent, she continued, "Why must you always assume the worst in me, Potter? Haven't I done enough to make up for my previous bullshit?"

"I just want my friends to be happy. That's all."

"I know. And I do fancy them, truly, I do, and know I'm going to have to choose between them, but I—"

"What?"

Lux blinked. "What?"

"Why would you have to choose between them?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She countered, bafflement now clear in her, eclipsing any prior emotions of annoyance or anger or hunger. "I can't cheat on them, I know you don't want me to do that. That would be cruel."

James opened his mouth, then closed it again, appearing just as confused as she felt. When he spoke, however, it had nothing to do with the subject he'd brought forth between them, instead stating, "You're squinting."

"What?"

"Do you need glasses?"

"Do you need medication? What does that have to do with anything?"

He shrugged, adjusting his own glasses as he did. "I was thinking about how you must have to be blind to not see what's right in front of you, then noticed you were squinting, and thought that perhaps you're actually blind."

"I can see just fine," she insisted, crossing her arms. "What do you mean what's right in front of me?"

She watched as he rolled his eyes, releasing a halfhearted scoff. "Listen, Lux, I'm sorry I shouted at you that day. I shouldn't have raised my voice, or called you names. But I'm not sorry for the rest of what I said. You all love each other, and the moment you all figure that out, the moment we can all go back to normal."

When he walked away, disappearing down the way he'd come Lux had the feeling settle in her gut that her mere existence had somehow managed to fuck up all of what James Potter held dear.

An apology tugged at her (for what, she couldn't discern in the moment), but it was too late. He'd vanished down the corridor, leaving her alone with her empty stomach, no longer hungry at all.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

Lux got dressed in silence, hidden away in the bathroom as per usual. The other four girls doted on Lily, the only other one of them to get an invite, helping her with her hair and makeup, dolling her up into even more of a goddess than she already was.

She felt awfully inadequate when she stepped out of the bathroom in a long sleeved yellow dress she'd snagged from Mary and a failed attempt at a braid running down her shoulder. It was a difficult task indeed, to style ones hair, when they could not see themselves in a mirror to test how it looked.

Even so, the four girls gave her kind smiles and assured her she looked great. Lux wondered how often they'd said the same lie to her, now that she was certain of her poor appearance, but opted to keep her mouth closed on the issue.

"You're going with Sirius, right?" Mary asked as she ran the brush through Lily's hair one final time. She was wearing it down, something Lux bitterly regretted not doing.

"Who else would I be going with?" She asked, though knew her question was foolish the moment she did.

The four girls flashed her a grin.

"You're going to have to pick between them eventually, you know that, right?" Marlene said. She'd finished helping Lily, returning to her own bed and was now flipping through the newest edition of a Quidditch magazine.

"Course I do," Lux murmured, finding her attention now ensnared with tugging on a loose string at her dress.

"Don't do that. You'll tear it," Mary reached over, swatting Lux's hand. Leaning in, she lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "Don't listen to Marlene. She's just bitter because whoever she's seeing won't let her be public about it. You don't have to do anything, got it?"

Lux nodded, unsure what exactly Mary meant by that.

"You girls have fun, yeah?" Dorcas said with a wink. "Not too much fun, of course. Keep the lads at a respectable distance. We've got to make it past graduation without an unexpected surprises our way."

It took a moment for her to understand what Dorcas was hinting at, but when she did, a furious blush crept across her face. "I won't...I'm not..."

Lily, on the other hand was laughing. "You don't have to worry about me, love. James, for Merlin knows what reason, intends on waiting until marriage."

Mary's head pivoted towards Lily, green eyes wide as though hearing the most shocking thing of her life. "James Potter is waiting until marriage? The James Potter?"

"Found that out at an unfortunate time, if you know what I mean," Lily mused with a nod, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Wearing a playful grin, she turned to look at the vampire, green eyes sparking. "I expect Lux won't have the same issue. I don't think Sirius has a patient bone in his body."

"Have you and Sirius...? " Marlene asked, watching the conversation go down with a keen interest.

"Oi," Dorcas threw a sock at her, as Lux somehow managed to go even more red than before.

Through the embarrassment that had sunk its teeth into her, Lux shook her head. "We haven't. Probably not for a while."

"You're holding back, then?" Marlene tilted her head to the side, genuine curiosity laced with a hint of concern.

At the notice of the latter, Lux glanced at Lily, heart rate picking up as she did. She hadn't said anything, had she? No, she wouldn't, not Lily.

Lily's nose twitched, meeting Lux's gaze for a moment, before turning to Marlene. "I don't think Lux's sex life is any of your business, since you won't give up who you're seeing, Marls."

The blonde rolled her eyes, turning over onto her back. "You're so mean."

"She's right, though," Mary pointed out, applying lipstick as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Not that she was invited to the Slug Club, Lux imagined she was going somewhere with Dirk Cresswell, as she typically did in the evenings. Alleged study sessions that resulted in poor grades on Mary's end, and instead frizzy hair and rose tinted cheeks.

She concluded with, "When you let spill on your mystery man, we'll tell you about what goes on in our sheets, yeah?"

Marlene groaned in response.

Lily turned to Lux, outstretching a hand. "Shall we?"

When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, very reminiscent of the first time Lux had gone to the Slug Club with a date, the two boys hovered at the bottom, both in blacks suits and chins held up high. The only difference was this time, each boy held a small bouquet of flowers, James's a row of lilies, and Sirius's a bundle of light purple roses.

"Thank you!" Lily squealed, reaching for the flowers and inhaling deeply. James returned her thanks with a kiss on her cheek, and a whisper in her ear of something Lux couldn't quite catch.

Instead, she focused on her own flowers, taking them in her hands with a soft smile. "They're beautiful," she told Sirius, finding she didn't have to lie. "Thank you."

"No more pretty than you," he assured her, flinging an arm around her back, hand placed atop her shoulder. When James did the same, and then began to walk out of the portrait hole with Lily under his arm, they did the same, following behind them as they sparked their own conversation.

"How's Remus doing?" Lux found herself asking without thinking, the question slipping off of her tongue before she could stop it.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, though he didn't seem offended at her bringing up another boy on what was supposed to be their date. Instead, he appeared as though he'd been expecting it, amusement dancing in his eyes. "He's well. Should be back in class on Monday. Why, do you miss him?"

She rolled her eyes, refusing to dignify him with a response.

"It's alright, you know?" Sirius continued at her silence, voice uncharacteristically soft.

She lifted her eyebrows. "What is?"

"To miss him."

Her posture stiffened. "Well, I don't. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"I just..." He bit down on his lip, considering his words. A rarity for him, Lux figured, and observed as he did so. "I fancy you both, and I'm sick of you two pretending you don't fancy me and each other as well. I know how you all feel, so wouldn't it be better if we all just snogged it out? That hug worked wonders on you and Remus, so I reckon snogging would fix it all."

"That's cheating!" Lux declared, louder than intended. James and Lily both turned their heads around, frowning as they looked at them, to which Sirius flashed them a carefree grin.

When they turned back around, Sirius tightened his grip on her shoulder, hugging her tight against him. "It's not cheating if everyone consents to it."

"I don't...I don't quite understand what you're suggesting," Lux lied, struggling to sound normal with the dryness of her mouth. Of course she knew what Sirius alluded to, heard of people like that during her time in the Coven. People who didn't limit themselves to one partner. Even so, the murkiness of morality was not lost on her.

"Don't play dumb, Luxie," he scolded her. "Why can't the three of us just...be happy together? Who's stopping us, other than ourselves?"

She released a breath, grateful that they'd arrived at Slughorn's office. Shrugging Sirius's grip off of her, she greeted Slughorn with a forced smile and a polite nod before taking a seat in front of an empty plate and a glass of water, both of which would remain untouched by the time their dinner was over.

Sirius was at her side within moments, taking a seat at her left, with James on his other side, and Lily on his. They were some of the first students to pour in, with the professor going on about who he had invited this time around.

"No Mulciber, of course, given his expulsion. Unfortunate situation, really. I'm not sure he's legally allowed to step foot in Hogwarts, if I'm being honest. Would have to ask Dumbledore about it — we have tea sometimes, every other week or so, just to catch up on the goings on of the castle. No Rosier either, she didn't come to the last meeting, so I presume she has little interest in this one. No matter, no matter, come on!"

Next in were Barty Crouch Jr. and Regulus Black, both of their faces seemingly imprinted with a permanent scowl. She expected them to sit as far away from the estranged elder Black brother as they could, but Barty instead made a beeline towards her, taking a seat at her right. Where he went, it seemed, Regulus was bound to follow, begrudgingly sitting down next to his mate.

"Erzsebet, always a pleasure," Barty said with a cheeky grin, almost a taunt of the knowledge of what the three had gotten up to.

Though she wasn't looking at him, she knew Sirius was shooting daggers with his eyes at the boy. "Careful, Crouch."

Barty either didn't hear or didn't care enough to respond, turning his attention to Slughorn. "What's for dinner, Professor? I'm bloody starved."

"Whatever your little heart can fathom," Slughorn answered, grinning ear to ear. "I've got the house elves making everything on the typical Hogwarts menu, seeing as my Christmas party is canceled this year."

"Why's it canceled?" Lily asked politely, the tone of her voice suggesting she was genuinely upset at this.

"I've got something else I need to attend to, beginning early enough into the winter break that preparation is needed." Slughorn cleared his throat, before turning his attention towards one of the younger students. "Say, Mrs. Vance, how is the Hogwarts Press going?"

"He's being vague, isn't he?" Sirius leaned in and whispered into Lux's ear, sudden enough to make her jump ever so slightly. When she turned to him, brow creased, he elaborated. "Didn't you see the way he changed the topic immediately? He's hiding something, don't you think?"

"Suppose he could be," Lux agreed, biting down on her lip. "Maybe he's got family matters."

Sirius rolled his eyes, tossing his hair over his shoulder. "Please, as if old Sluggy has family."

"Everyone has family," she said, before realizing it was a lie she hadn't meant to tell, not this time. Picking at her nails, she too changed the subject in the same way Slughorn had. "Will you be having the chicken or the steak, then?"

"What does it matter to you?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "It's not like you'll eat any of it."

Once again, she was biting on her lip, hard enough to draw blood. It seeped into her mouth, staining her tongue and sending a grumble through her stomach. "I'm just making conversation."

"Just changing the subject," he pointed out, then leaned in again, his voice returning to a low enough volume that only she could hear it. "But I'll bite. Why do you suppose Crouch is greeting you like an old friend?"

"We had a run in," she responded, whispering herself. "It's no big deal, really. We just know each other now."

His eyebrows lifted, though before he could say a word, Barty was nudging her with his elbow, an attempt to get her attention away from Sirius. "Oi, Erzsebet, isn't that your dad?"

She gulped, panic seizing her like a fist as she turned towards the door, where Fulk strutted in with the confidence of a man who owned the place. Long gone was the ambiance he had held previously when in her presence, one of a scolded dog, shy and beaten down, knowing what they did was wrong and desperate to appease their master.

But Lux was no master. Fulk always held the power within their relationship, and he'd grabbed onto it with a newfound sense of entitlement. Blue eyes scanning the room, they met hers for a brief moment, in which she hoped her own gaze showed the sheer amount of hatred she felt burning off of her. Hatred, combined with a hurt so deep, she could physically feel the burns on her skin from what he had left her with.

He turned away shortly after, responding to a greeting Slughorn had given her.

"Still not on speaking terms?" Sirius asked her, reaching out a hand to find hers, clamping down softly on it once their grips were entwined. In any other situation, she might have pulled away, but his touch provided a comfort that she was not yet used to, a comfort she craved in the same way she still craved Mary Erzsebet all these years later.

"That's not any of your business, is it?" She muttered, though the lack of irritation in her voice suggested she cared very much whether or not he cared. The question itself, she couldn't begin to answer, but the irritation she usually felt when met with such inquiries had vanished, replaced with a warm feeling in her gut.

"Just asking a question, Luxie," Sirius said, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "If you want to remain a grump forever, that's your choice. Not that I mind. Your everlasting pessimism is certainly cute."

She found herself rolling her eyes.

"Erzsebet." Barty nudged her with his elbow, diverting her attention towards him. In the process, she spared a glance at Regulus, who held his chin up high as he focused on whatever it was Slughorn was going on about, the long winded conversation he'd sparked with Fulk something Lux had long since tuned out from.

"What?" She asked, lifting a lazy eyebrow.

"Can you touch your tongue with your nose? I can."

She blinked.

Barty wasn't deterred by her lack of reaction, grinning ear to ear before showing off his tongue trick, touching the tip of his nose with his tongue as though it were nothing to him.

Lux gagged, turning away. "That's disgusting, Crouch."

"It's cool!" He argued, tone suggesting he was highly offended at her dismissal. "Why are you so boring? I thought we were supposed to be best friends."

"Best friends?" Sirius frowned, leaning against the table to get a good look at the kid. "What are you on about?"

"Nothing," Lux insisted, voice sharp. When she was given an unconvincing stare, she sputtered out, "I just...I have to use the loo."

It wasn't enough to get away from Barty, from Regulus, and thus Sirius's suspicious stares, she had to put as much distance between her and Fulk as possible as well. She could feel those piercing blue eyes of his digging into her skin even as she shut the door behind her, muttering excuses to no one in particular as she did.

She was halfway down the hall when she heard the door far behind her open once again. Lux didn't have to look to know who it was that approached her, their steps quickening to match her own, only coming to a reasonable pace once they were at her side.

"Since when do you know Barty Crouch Jr.?" Sirius questioned, a hint of an accusation in his tone. "Know enough to consider him your best mate, at that."

She increased her pace, internally groaning when Sirius did the same. "He was joking. Obviously he's not my best friend, Black. I've spoken to him once."

"Is he the reason you rejected me?" He questioned, such a ridiculous notion that Lux came to a sudden halt. Sirius did the same, stopping in his tracks to keep himself next to her.

"I won't be mad," he added when she was silent. "Just tell me the truth."

"I hardly know the kid," Lux promised, slowing her words so he could properly take them in. "He's younger than me, anyways. We...we had a chance encounter, a bit ago. Got to talking. That's all."

"What was the encounter about?" He asked, though before she could get a word out, he was continuing, "You do know he's best mates with my brother, right?"

"I've seen them interact, but..." She hoped her lie came off with the shrug she gave him. Even so, her stomach was twisted into knots of guilt as she continued to spew out half truths, "It isn't a big deal, Sirius. Really. We talked once, went about our ways. Suppose he thought it would be funny to try and, I don't know, make you jealous."

Sirius paused, running a hand through his hair. "I am coming off as awful jealous, aren't I?"

"I wasn't going to say it, but..." Lux shrugged again. Then, because her tongue now had a mind of its own when around Sirius Black, she asked a question too. "I don't understand how you can be jealous of a boy you have no competition with calling me his best friend in an obvious joke, but with Remus, it's all okay."

"It's different with Remus," Sirius said, the answer she was expecting.

"But how?"

He thought for a moment, as though he hadn't quite considered it until now. "Three's a crowd with Crouch. It isn't like that with Remus. With him and you and me, it's just the right amount. Everything else feels a bit...empty, wouldn't you say?"

"Does it feel empty without me?"

He nodded. "Always. I won't get into specifics but...the end of fifth year, Remus and I almost stopped being friends entirely. I really fucked up, hurt him awful badly. Sixth year, he never really got over it, not that I can blame him. But I think you coming in saved our friendship, weird as it may sound."

Lux shook her head, a heaviness in her chest. "All I've ever done is complicate things with you two."

"No. You complete us."

The heaviness waned. "I don't..."

"Christmas is coming up, isn't it?" Sirius changed the subject, though the sparkle in his eye told Lux whatever he had to say would be worth it.

"In about a month, yeah."

"Come with me to the Potter's. You and your father are fighting, so I doubt he'll mind if you sneak off for a couple weeks. Trust me, it'll be a load of fun."

"I don't think James would like that."

Sirius frowned, and she instantly regretted saying a thing. "Why wouldn't James want you there?"

"He doesn't like me. Suppose he has his reasons, but I wouldn't want to intrude on his family holiday."

"I'm his family too," Sirius pointed out, shooting down her excuse, much to her chagrin. "Maybe not by blood, but we all know blood is bullshit anyways. His parents are my parents, and he's my brother, and I'm allowed to invite people over for break, and so I'm picking you."

Lux had never celebrated Christmas before, not since she was a human, anyways, and the presentation being thrust at her gave her all the incentive to break that tradition.

"I wouldn't want to upset James," she pressed, running a hand through her braid, twisting the end around with her finger in a nervous habit. "Even if you think it's okay, it might not be. Not to him. The last thing I'd want to do is ruin someone's Christmas."

"Why do you think he doesn't like you?"

She shook her head, images of those blasted letters flashing through her mind, something the boy in front of her had no need to know about. Best he was left in the dark. Knowledge wasn't always what it cracked up to be, more often bliss came in ignorance.

"I just have the feeling. I suppose it's related to all the messes I've caused with Lily."

Not a lie either, she supposed. Truly, as Lux delved deeper into her mind, she came up with little reasons why James Potter would have a single positive thought regarding her. She'd ruined his friend group, belittled his girlfriend, and upset the people he loved the most. She wouldn't like her either.

"He's a forgiving bloke, trust me. Just...come on. Please?"

The puppy eyes he flashed her were impossible to say no to. With the release of her breath, Lux gave him a reluctant nod, despite the gnawing sensation in her stomach telling her she ought to stay as far away as possible. For everyone's sake.

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they're slowly but surely getting somewhere!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───