aurélia

james potter.

this boy's experience with christmas has always been magical. his parents had always made sure the day was special for him, particularly as he's an only child, and it's something he's made sure to carry with him throughout his life. he ensures everyone around him has an equally magical christmas as him. he loves to host his friends at christmas, being the time where he can ensure everyone stays together, and he can celebrate the day with the people who mean the most to him.

he does christmas to the nines. his house is always that one on the street which goes excessively all out. despite whatever area he may live in or how lowkey he is trying to be amidst war. he will never not decorate his house, both internally and externally. he loves the thrill of the adoration from people stopping to watch the animated displays in his front lawn, appreciating the hard work he put into it.

for james, christmas starts on november first. and he'll hear no argument toward it. november first is when he puts his christmas tree up, and best believe he has multiple scattered throughout his house, tinsel hung around every lampshade. and so, his partner is naturally included in these traditions he has. if he isn't spending christmas and the christmas period with his family, then its with his partner and his friends. even though he considers his friends his family so everyone crams into the spacious potter estate.

he'll encourage his partner to participate in kris kringle, and shower them with festivities. he loves to be surrounded by the people he loves, and his partner is one of them. he makes sure to start his own traditions with his partner, lifelong traditions which he'll make sure to pass on to any family they have with one another.

james potter loves christmas. and he makes sure to pass that love on to everyone surrounding him.

sirius black.

for sirius, christmas is the one time a year he's guaranteed to find joy. even when he lived with his parents. his parents, though frowning upon muggle festivities, always made sure to celebrate christmas. he could never quite understand why, but he wasn't ever going to question it. it was the one time of year, the one day of the year, his family, including his extended family, tolerated one another. he always found it strange how his family abandoned their arguments and hatred of one another to celebrate some muggle holiday.

christmas always confused sirius. he didn't understand the grandeur of it all. even at his time at hogwarts he never truly understood why poeple loved the holiday so much. but he always found peace in the joy he could allow himself to feel. although hesitant at the temporary joy that was bound to come of the month of december, sirius always found himself willing to participate in the silliest traditions and help his friends pull off the most elaborate pranks, terrorising the whole school.

when sirius gets a partner, he's sure to make a more active effort in throwing himself into christmas. he wants to make sure they can experience the same joy from it that he does, even if like him its isolated. he always goes full out with his partner, sure to decorate his house, or his dorm with the festivities, making a day of any decorating they do.

sirius learns to adore christmas, both from his childhood and from his partner. and he ensures that the joy he learnt to feel from christmas is passed on to everyone around him. he wants to make sure that his partner can experience the joy which december brings him.

remus lupin.

christmas has always seemed special and magical to remus. it seemed like a luxury to experience. he never truly got to experience what christmas meant; the christmas spirit, the decorations, the music. none of it. so upon his arrival to hogwarts, he didn't understand how everyone around him had had the opportunity to experience christmas as often as they had, nor how regular it had seemed to them. remus had probably experienced the true depths of christmas once or twice before going to hogwarts. in fact, because of this, he was more than happy to stay back at the school over the christmas break.

it was like he was perpetually in awe of the holiday. even into his adulthood he carried a love for christmas, albeit reserved. but his love for it was there nonetheless. he loved his friends too, which is why he put up with james' enthusiasm around this time of year, his insistence to decorate every spare space festively. even though secretly he adored the holiday in its entirety, he would never admit that.

the first time remus experiences christmas with his partner is strange. he's become accustomed to spending that period of time with his friends, but never with someone in a romantic sense. it opens his eyes to the nuance of each of the little muggle traditions. however, unlike any other time of the year, any other holiday, he's always filled with an immense sense of dread. because of the time of year, his transformation happens either right before or right after christmas. yet with his partner, christmas is a welcome distraction.

originally, the entire group had decided to stay back over christmas together. rather than travelling to the potter estate to be hosted. this christmas was meant to fall over a full moon, and they had collectively decided to stay so that remus could receive all he needed over that period. and truly no one minded. until, marlene had mentioned her parents had offered to take her, lily, and dorcas to somewhere in europe to visit distant relatives. it was strange the invite wasn't extended to y/n, who had figured it was a matter of space at the relative's house.

sirius had unexpectedly been told he needed to go back to his parents house, alongside his brother. this had initially shocked the group, especially when sirius had brushed it off with so little as a roll of his eyes and began to pack. peter followed suit, claiming it was best he spend the holiday with his family, particularly if the others had already decided to leave too. there wasn't much protest to that, his reasoning stood. james and y/n would be there to look after remus after his transformation, and without the entire group it'd seem crowding if there were more than a couple people to look after him.

and so, the day when the hogwarts express left hogsmeade station had come. james, y/n and remus had come with their friends down to the platform to see them off. the goodbyes were quick, as it would only be a couple of weeks until they would be reunited.

the trio made their way back up to the castle with hagrid, who had walked the first years to the platform, before all making their way to the great hall ready for dinner to be served. banter flowed between the three as they walked, filling the space of the absence of their friends. except for y/n and james. they chose to speak through remus, or hagrid when he still walked with the group. they never spoke directly to one another, and if they did it was with a certain bite to both of their tones. internally, remus rolled his eyes at their petulance. it was immature, yet not unusual of them. 

y/n and james had never really seen eye to eye. she was sympathetic to lily, who merely wanted to defend snape against james' relentlessness, and he disliked that she agreed with her. however, a permanent stake was driven between them in third year when james had called y/n a 'supremacist sympathiser' in the midst of an argument between them over the slytherin boy. she never understood his dislike toward snape; no one truly enjoyed his company, but that didn't warrant bullying him. to y/n, james' behaviour was unacceptable, and him brushing it off as mere house rivalry in recent years had left her dislike of him nearly indisputable.

as the day of remus' transformation approached, he'd spent less time with y/n and james. this meant that the two spent more and more time around one another, which had meant more arguments between them. they had both been catching up on reading for different classes when the girl suddenly spoke.

"hey" james looked up from his book expectantly, "did you know that we're learning about the creatures in the black lake next term?" she asked innocently, pointing mindlessly at the paragraph she'd just read.

"well, duh. obviously" he voice was sharp, tone biting.

"that was unnecessary," she stated, mirroring his tone. "i didn't do anything!" the bespectacled boy closed his book with a thump and gestured wildly, like a child.

"your tone was unnecessary," she scolded him, "i literally asked you a question and you spoke at me as if i'd spat at you," she scowled at him, her voice raising slightly.

"whatever," he huffed, reopening his book and trying to find his page once more.

the tone they both take into conversation with one another wasn't uncommon, in fact it was expected. even for people they didn't know, across the whole school.

throughout the next few days, they'd managed to go longer and longer without arguing unnecessarily with one another. going as far as to spend a day wrapping presents together, ready to set them off with their owls to their friends. they'd even managed to share the scissors. a mundane gesture, but huge when it came to the two of them. there wasn't even an argument over it. more small gestures between them had popped up, in quiet moments only few bore witness to.

but, notoriously they didn't like one another, so it wasn't long until they'd had another blow up argument. no one could even suggest a cause for it, let alone what it had progressed into. which is why it was strange that night when they'd both gone down to the great hall for dinner, they could be found exchanging a civilised conversation. they were calmly debating the affects of stirring a potion in the opposite direction to the recipe.

they'd gotten stares from some of the other students at the table, who were irked by their affability to one another. seeing them get on was uncanny. even if they were still technically arguing.

the flow of their debate was disrupted when james suddenly said, "you know, you're not so bad when you're not arguing," a smile from ear to ear followed his sudden statement.

"and you're not so bad when you're not picking on someone relentlessly," she quipped back almost immediately.

instead of rebutting, he just smiled to himself, huffing a small laugh and thanking her sarcastically. they each thought that perhaps the other wasn't so bad after all.

most of the students had gone home from hogwarts over the christmas period. they were to return at the end of the following week, however, with the students that had left the school, it seemed as though the magic had too. the mundane things remained, yet the perpetual whizzing and buzzing throughout the corridors of the older students practicing spells for their classes.

he longed for the chaos that had surrounded him all term. his friends had left to go back to their families as they celebrated the holidays. looking longingly out of his dormitory window, he spotted the lively wizarding town neighbouring the boarding school. smiling to himself, he watched fireworks charmed to dance in the sky, rocket into the darkness above them. the people of the town played music and danced, excitement radiating between the aged stone buildings in celebration of the pagan holiday.

this routine repeated for several days, remus dragging his feet to gryffindor tower shrouded in silence, before spending hours and hours into the night watching over the little town in their traditions as christmas fast approach.

until it was christmas eve. the boy had decided he'd had enough of merely watching the joy of hogsmeade. using james' cloak of invisibility, which he had thoughtfully left behind for instances like this, remus had made his way to the passage underneath the statue, walking through the tunnel into honeydukes cellar. pushing the trapdoor upwards, he crawled through the space, immediately hit with the familiar sugary smell. smiling at the thought of the last time he had come here, with his friends, he swiftly placed the trapdoor back in its original space and climbed the creaky wooden stairs.

undetected, remus had made his way out of honeydukes. he had found himself in the middle of the village, surrounded by the townsfolk as they danced and feasted with one another. it was unprecedented to anything he'd ever experienced before. he watched the scene in front of him, enthralled as snow began to patter down onto the cobbled streets. eagerly, his eyes darted through the streets, spotting someone who must've been around his own age. he smiled at them, lifting his hand to wave subtly but shocked as the person whipped around to hide behind a corner.

thinking nothing of it, he approached a stand and grabbed a churro. at the sound of a loud bang he turned around, stunned as more fireworks filled the sky. he watched the display, entranced by the scenes which would briefly dance in the sky. he caught a glimpse of the person he had seen earlier, just before they had moved swiftly out of sight once more.

his brow furrowed. yet he was still intrigued by who the person was. he was sure that they mustn't go to hogawarts because no one he knew at the school lived in the neighbouring town. questions filled his head as he was distracted by the christmassy displays. through the festivities, the night had begun to speed by. remus was captivated by everything going on around him, caught up in the celebration the school had lacked since the majority of it's students had departed on the train back to london. throughout the night he had seen the person his age hovering over the outskirts of the celebrations, but quickly made themself invisible whenever he had spotted them. he wondered if they were doing a similar thing to him, eager to be surrounded by magic once more.

a bell tower in a nearby building suddenly chimed, signalling the late hour, drawing his attention away from the cup of hot chocolate he'd been drinking from and his watch over the town. his stomach sank as he realised what the time had meant. it was time for him to make his way back to the castle. his shoulders deflated as he pulled james' cloak over himself and made his way back to honeydukes. he followed the same path he had taken to get to the town, as he made his way back up to hogwarts. his steps felt heavier and heavier the further and further he got from the magic he'd experienced.

the boy had reached his dormitory, sitting on his bed and looking out the window as he watched the celebrations proceed further into the depths of the night.

snow surrounded the potter's estate, the jukebox charmed to hum merry melodies as christmas decor was wrapped throughout the entire house. james had invited his friends around to his parent's house for christmas, a tradition started in the early years of their time at hogwarts, and had continued through to their adulthood. it was something that in spite of whatever loomed on the other side of the door had kept the group together.

sirius and james had been running around the house, boxes of decorations in hand as they put hung ornaments throughout the house. the sweet smell of eggnog and gingerbread lingered between the rooms as james' parents had busied themselves with cooking festive treats in the kitchen whilst remus and y/n decorated the main tree in the living room.

boxes were strewn around the room, various red, green, and gold spilling from them. she danced and swayed to the beat of the music, hanging ornaments methodically throughout the faux pine needles. digging through a box in the corner, remus glanced up for a moment, watching the way y/n found joy in the tradition, eager to make the potter estate feel cosy at christmas. a small smile had found it's way onto his face, the same way it had in first year when she made sure that she was included in the maraudic group's antics. she glanced over at him as if to show pride in her progress with the tree, reciprocating the smile already on his face.

"have you seen the garland with the little holly's on it?" he suddenly asked her, standing up fully.

"uh.." she hummed in thought, "have you tried to box over there?" she said after a while, pointing to a box closer to the fireplace. she herself moved over to it, crouching to sift through the contents of it. remus shook his head, before moving to a different box to look for the remaining garland for the entryway.

"aha" the girl exclaimed joyously after a while, excitedly pulling the holly garland out of the box she had been searching and showing it to remus. she walked over to him, handing it to the boy with a small "there you go"

"why thank you" he mused, moving away to string it up and complete the display as y/n put the star at very top of the tree. just as she did so, james and sirius had made their way down the stairs, laughing amongst them and carrying empty boxes as a receipt of their work.

as the night went on, euphemia and fleamont had finished their preparations for christmas day. the fire crackled as it was stoked, the potter's and their guests having fun into the night, perked up on the anticipation of the day to follow. eventually, the owls began to coo and the trees began to rustle, signalling that it was time for everyone to take themselves upstairs to get ready and into bed.

the six of them climbed the stairs, and manoeuvred through the corridor before forking off into different corridors or rooms until it was just remus and y/n left. a blanket of silence was wrapped around them as the moved through the house, until remus' door was in sight. he paused in front of it, hand hovering over the brass handle as he fought an internal battle. however, he soon moved rather quickly, muttering a quick 'wait here' before disappearing behind the door he had just been hesitating in front of.

after a beat, he reappeared from the void of darkness in his room, a colourfully wrapped box in his hand. "here you go," he rushed, holding the box out to y/n, "merry christmas," he smiled at her.

"oh, remus," she said quietly, "thank you," she moved to detach the card on top of the box, only to frantically told to open it once she gets to her room. with a nod and an awkward farewell, she turned on her heel and walked the rest of the way down the corridor to her bedroom.

pushing the door softly shut behind her, she leant against it, fingers making delicate work of opening the box. she revealed a necklace, with a singular pendant of a wolf on it. smiling, she clasped it on herself, bringing her hand to it as she read the card that had been attached. a smile was etched on her face as she realised he had written her a letter, in his signature scrawny writing, as he detailed the depth of his feelings for her.

determination in her step, she marched back down the corridor, softly knocking on remus' door. it swung open in front of her, and she wasted no time wrapping her arms around his shoulders. confused, yet relieved, he wrapped his arms around her waist, sighing in relief as the charmed jukebox hummed faintly in the background, the clock ticking over to midnight.

"...sweet dreams of holly and ribbon..."

last christmas, r.l. "i wrapped it up, with a note saying 'i love you' i meant it," in which after years and years of friendship, he's nervous to confess his feelings.

christmases when you were mine, r.l. "everything i want is miles away, in a snow covered little town," in which he longs for the magic he cant' have outside of hogwarts, when sneaking into an event held in hogsmeade.

santa baby, j.p. "santa honey, one little thing i really need," in which both staying back at school over the christmas period forces them to realise that they feel more than content with one another's company.

silent night, r.l. "all is calm, all is bright," in which against all odds they're able to spend the festive season together, in spite of all else being against them.

christmas must be something more, s.b. "what if ribbons and bows didn't mean a thing," in which he can't understand why christmas means so much to her, why it is such a magical time of the year.

white christmas, s.b. "to hear sleigh bells in the snow," in which the two of them explore the town together over the christmas period, drinking in the muggle traditions.

christmas tree farm – old timey version, marauders. "in my heart is a christmas tree farm, there's a light in the barn," in which the marauders spend their first christmas together after school finishes, relishing in one another's company.

a nonsense christmas, r.b. "here's a lil carol i wrote, it's about you and me," in which he speaks to her in poetry, and lives to see her smile, conveying as much as they spend christmas with one another.

buy me presents, r.l. "better treat me like a star," in which through the holidays, she's assured that his treatment toward her is pure, as though she hung the stars.

cindy lou who, j.p. "the snow's gonna fall, and the tree's gonna glisten," in which they experience their first christmas together, not understanding the extent they both enjoy the holiday, both haunted by ghosts.

santa doesn't know you like i do, s.b. "i've been there through the good and bad, know how to make you laugh," in which they end on bad terms, not having seen each other since breaking up, yet are forced to put on a happy and civilised front as they celebrate christmas in their joint friend group.

is it new years yet?, s.b. "small talk in the kitchen, dated dumb traditions," in which she's invited to spend the holidays with his family, under the condition of the repression of his family.

merry christmas, please don't call, marauders. "and the toughest part is that we both know what happened to you," in which they go their separate ways, unable to fathom seeing each other again after the end of the first war.

"...mistakes are forgiven..."

james potter

james potter loves halloween. aside from christmas, it's probably his favourite time of the year. there's nothing this boy loves more than celebrating halloween, particularly as its the point which muggle tradition and wizard tradition converge. muggle magick practices and the celebration of the supernatural combine with the reality in the wizarding world.

whole heartedly i believe that james would go full out with the halloween antics. dressing up, no question. he has a bowl of sweets already waiting by the door for eager trick or treaters. best believe he tries to guess each child's costume, revelling when he guesses correctly. he always calls his partner down when he hears the telling knock on the door to show off their coordinated costume to the kids, and probably more so to the appreciation of the parents accompanying their children out and about.

james would dress up with his partner as something like batman and robin, or danny and sandy, or coraline and wybie, or mr and mrs incredible. he loves to throw himself at halloween, and fully will commit to any character he dresses up as. he would let his partner style him entirely, buzzing with anticipation because of the joy he finds in this holiday.

if his partner didn't particularly fancy the whole event which was halloween, i think he would tone it down slightly, but also try to get them in on the halloween spirit. if they weren't budging he wouldn't take it to heart, just enthuse enough halloween celebration for the both of them. (though i don't truly think he would be with someeone who wouldn't match his freak)

the end of october is his favourite time of year because it connects both him and his partner and himself to his community. particularly upon moving to godric's hollow, where muggles are unknowingly intertwined within the wizarding world. other than christmas it is the time which james thrives the most, injecting the spooky spirit into everyone he encounters.

sirius black

sirius has a tricky relationship with halloween. he doesn't feel particularly strongly about the tradition – primarily because his family never really cared for it, and more than anything frowned upon it because of its non-magical origins. he doesn't understand it. as he begins his time at hogwarts his entire world is flipped when october inevitably arrives. the school is donned in festive decor; singing jack o' lanterns lining each of the halls and bats migrating to live closer to the activity of the students, sleeping among shadowed corners of the halls.

during christmas break when he returns to grimmauld place, his parents express their distain for both christmas and halloween traditions. they down talk their experience with halloween at hogwarts, and how it must've dampened their experience when they were at school. that was the first time he was unsure of how right about everything his parents were. that was the first time he doubted his parents.

so naturally, when he gets a partner who adores halloween, its a massive culture shock. even if his partner just wants to have a bowl of sweets to hand out to the children of the neighbourhood who come knocking. after a while, he begins to get more into it. he could probably be convinced to dress up, but it would take a while to convince him to do anything that remotely matches. however, if his partner adored halloween, he would put up with it – be way more into it then he'd ever admit – for them.

remus lupin

remus never experienced halloween in his childhood. he never truly understood what it even was. that was until he got to hogwarts and it was thrust upon him in his third month at the school. immediately he fell in love with the holiday. he loved the fact that it celebrated otherness, and that he got to watch the muggle world around him celebrate lycanthropy. even more so because they were so unaware of the dangers and nuance of it surrounding them, so far from the fiction they knew.

he got one day a year where he fit in with his peers, who all dressed up, despite being the faces of the muggle holiday. this is until a full moon falls on the thirty-first of october. he then resents the day and the agonies it reminds him of for the years to come, yet the discovery of his condition by his friends leads him to have a new appreciation for the day, and the beauty he had initially found in it at eleven.

him having a partner equally as enthusiastic of the holiday is a must. he wouldn't necessarily be prone to dressing up, but would adore the holiday and appreciate it more so away from the capitalistic origins. however, i believe he wouldn't give them too much grievance if they disliked the holiday for whatever reason, as long as it wasn't to the degree of loathing it. i think he balances precariously between loving and hating halloween, and can be easily swayed based on where he is at in his life, rather than holding a more fixed opinion of the spooky season.

their shoulders were touching as they sat together in transfiguration, looking over the textbook inbetween them whilst mcgonagall explained some elaborate concept. behind them sat sirius and james, who incessantly threw animated pieces of parchment at the pair, making fun of their relationship.

y/n whipped around at them both, scowling, before turning back round and smiling at remus who laughed at his friends and continued to scrawl notes.

"your friends are ridiculous," she giggled quietly, as not to draw the professor's attention.

"they're your friends too," the boy smirked, reaching his hand up and ruffling the hair at the top of her head, to which she pushed his shoulder gently. "perhaps, but they indoctrinated you first," he expression didn't falter with her quip.

"touché."

before they knew it, the bell in the old clocktower rung out through the school and the class was ordered to gather their belongings. remus and y/n had taken their time, ignoring the hollering of their friends and taking their time in one another's company. both slung their book bags on their shoulders.

joyous gasps of laughter filled the atmosphere as they linked hands, swinging them together whilst walking to their next class. she couldn't help herself from cracking cheesy jokes to the boy about anything she saw. the simplicity of it warmed remus' chest, never imagining to feel so much lust toward one singular person.

the two had met in their third year in the library. remus had rushed there after having a fall out with his friends, their discovery of his condition only angering him as they offered pointless sympathy and offers in search of a solution. he had left to the library to find some quiet, and maybe even try to find one of the upcoming required reading books.

though sanctuary was not found in the library as it appeared nearly every other student at the school had decided to utilise the library at that exact same moment. frustratingly, he couldn't find any of the books he had been in search of either, and so he settled for a fictional book written by a wizard who speculated on the lives of muggles. and after settling for the book, the only available seat had been next to a girl he had recognised from his year, though he couldn't recall her name.

hesitantly, he walked over, asking for the seat. and eventually both their books were discarded and they had gotten to quietly talking as to not disturb madame pince, who despite her youth was a very angry lady. they had come to realise they were both very much alike, and hadn't separated since.

it was unimaginable to see how such a fitted match had found one another in their lifetime.

rain pelted down on the awning above the window of the bookshop. the bell to the shop rung out as remus pushed the door open. he wiped his feet on the bristled mat on the floor and shook out his umbrella before placing it on the rack.

y/n, the owner of the bookshop, peaked her head out from around the corner to greet whoever had entered her shop, a friendly smile on her face. although, upon seeing remus, she hesitated. unsure why, she had recognised him from somewhere. though she quickly shook her curiosity away and greeted the familiar man with her best customer service smile.

"it's miserable out, isn't it?" she said as she moved from the back of the shop to behind the register to organise paperwork.

"hm? oh yeah, its horrid outside," the man smiled at her, before resuming his search amongst the shelves. the shopkeeper smiled to herself before looking back to her paperwork. as she worked, remus glanced back toward her, turning to grab the first book he saw and approaching her.

"hey, whatd'ya think of this one?" he held the text up so she could read the title.

"uhmm, from what i can remember, it was a very intriguing read, though it isn't for everyone i'd say," she smiled, her service voice still in full swing, as a clap of thunder sounded shakily outside, the awning aggressively thumping against the window. smiling at her, remus turned the book over so that he could skim the blurb, though he had already read the book before, he wanted it to seem like the information was new to him from her response.

"would you like some tea...." she prompted for his name.

"remus" he smiled.

"would you like some tea, remus?"

the sound of cars honking along the busy streets of london ricocheted through the office. the clacking of the keyboards blended in with the chatter amongst the space, men in suits leaving meeting rooms as important people to the company made their way in and out of the building.

but, in a quiet corner of the space, remus and y/n sat in adjacent cubicles sending post-it note paper aeroplanes with crude messages on them, looking up from their desks in time to see the reaction has. giggles swarmed the atmosphere as their higher ups walked through the maze of cubicles, passing them both without any idea of what they were doing.

they had seen people be warned in the past, by human resources about what had been labelled as 'office romances' and how it was now considered a case of strictly romeo and juliet. not that either of them were in any sort of position to consider getting into a career jeopardising relationship. they were both in their early twenties, it wasn't a smart move. but they were in their early twenties, so the thrill of having something so hidden was insurmountable.

their dynamic worked. but they were never as secretive as they had thought they were. and naturally everyone in the office knew. at least everyone who didn't have the power to reprimand them.

eventually, remus' lunch break rolled around, being staggered half an hour before y/n and so the girl finally got around to do the work she was being paid to do. her fingers danced across the keys as she typed various statistical sentences and read over reports as footsteps echoing on the carpet approached her.

"y/n!" remus spoke as he adjusted his tie. "hey, rem," she looked up from the screen briefly to smile at the boy, "how was your break?"

"yeah, not bad.... lonely, though," he spoke with a coy smile.

"oh no? was no one else on break at the same time as you?" she questioned, the pause in her work became longer as she looked back to him, resting her chin in her hand.

"they were, but none of them were you," he leant down on the dividers between the offices, a self assured smile now gracing his face. y/n moved her hands to cover her face, "you're so silly, remus," a small laugh left her lips.

"what do you mean?" he stood back up, amusement evident.

"you're just such a flirt, this isn't allowed," she stated plainly, removing her hands from in front of her face and smiling up at him as he just shrugged.

"well, maybe getting in trouble would be worth it,"

the classroom collectively sighed as professor slughorn drawled on about an entirely derailed story, on the time one of his students went on to discover some rare sort of magical plant, rather than explaining the effect which adding dittany to a potion. yet ignoring the inevitable sidebar which the professor found himself on, y/n had opened her textbook and was scrawling notes on parchment with direct reference to the book.

across the room, the boisterous group of gryffindor boys silently joked with one another, mocking what their teacher was saying. until remus looked over james' shoulder, catching the eye of the girl taking notes. she smiled shyly at him before resuming her sentence, though his gaze lingered.

swiftly he was drawn back into the conversation by sirius hitting his shoulder, "oi moons, what'cha staring at?" he laughed, drawing the attention of peter and james, teasing smirks already strewn across their faces.

"nah, nothing pads," he huffed a laugh, and turning back to where slughorn still stood pacing at the front of the room. his eyes drifted back to where y/n sat, her eyes still fixed on her parchment.

throughout the rest of the lesson, the boy's eyes periodically drifted over to where she sat. he admired the way that her attention had refused to break, despite the distracting environment surrounding her.

eventually the clocktower's aged bell rung out through the school, signalling the conclusion of the session. slughorn's students gathered their stuff with a sigh of relief as they all begun to exit the classroom. remus noticed the way which y/n paused in front of the ingredients to examine them before they left.

sirius slammed his hand across his stack of books and scooped them up, "oi james, pete, i think moony has a crush!" he exclaimed expressively, as they entered the corridor to the dungeons.

"no i don't!" remus defended annoyedly, slumping his shoulders as he adjusted his satchel.

he quickened his pace as he spotted her ahead, ignoring the hollers from his friends with an eye roll. "hey! y/n!" she turned around at the call of her name, and smiled a greeting as she spotted remus.

"i noticed you checking out the dittany at the front of the room at the end of class, did you need help with its properties–" he thought for a beat, "not that i don't think you understand the content, but we both know how slughorn likes the sound of his own voice," he laughed awkwardly, bringing his hand behind his neck to scratch at the bottom of his hair.

"no, i know what you mean, that'd be really lovely, remus,"

the popping sound which followed an apparation echoed through twelve grimmauld place. a group hogwarts graduates stumbled through the corridor, the murmuring of animated portraits was muffled by laughter as they made their return from a mission ordered by dumbledore.

their boots thumped as they entered the dining space, observing the long wooden table already set with cutlery.

"oi what's for dinner mckinnon?" james shouted across the room, causing her and someone else he didn't quite recognise to turn sharply toward the boy.

"pumpkin pasta," y/n, who stood next to marlene, answered for her, the bespectacled boy to move his focus to her. he paused for a moment, marlene chuckling to herself as she turned around to continue stirring the simmering pot.

eventually the boy turned around and followed his friends as they moved to one of the sitting rooms, joining in with their loudness which followed behind them. the sounds of their chaos echoed through the house, still being heard from where both girls were.

the faint call of james harassing lily could faintly be heard through the walls. sure that the boys were far enough away from the pair, marlene turned to y/n and laughed amusedly.

"what," she reciprocated in the same tone.

"james, i've never seen him like that before," the blonde waved her wand and summoned bowls to serve the pasta in.

"what do you mean?"

"he was like a deer in headlights when he saw you," a smirk ever present on her face, as she continued her preparation for supper, stepping behind her peer and summoned one of the black family's house elves and asked them to fetch some wizarding wine from the cellar.

the house elf agreed, and disappeared promptly with a pop.

"i'm sure that's not true, he's just gotten back from a mission so i'm sure that he's just disoriented," y/n justified to the blonde.

"mhm.."

soon enough, everyone who had been at headquarters had been called for dinner and the kitchen-dining room was filled with loud chatter from every corner of the room.

y/n had been seated next to dorcas and marlene, and coincidentally, by the time the boys who had made an entrance before had sat themselves opposite her. james flashed the girl a smile as they sat down, before reaching for a goblet and taking a swig and grabbing his cutlery.

she smiled back at him, before resuming her conversation with her friends.

"...prongs?" remus asked, a curious smirk on his face as he followed his friends line of sight.

james' head quipped around faster than light, "yeah remus?"

"pads wanted to know your thoughts on putting a new spell on the map," the werewolf clarified whilst sirius stiffled a snort.

"i mean we could definitely look into it, sounds good moons," he had already turned back around, trying to figure out where he knew y/n from.

he mulled over it from the ending of dinner, to when a meeting was called the next day. grimmauld place had never been so full, or at least not that james had seen it. even dumbledore had been present, which was a talking point for most as they entered the drawing room.

the black family tapestry almost seemed full of scowling portraits as the head master of hogwarts began to boom, "hello–"

"right, we've not got time for nothing profound, lets get straight to it," alastor moody cut off his superior, ignoring the look of shock on the old man's face as he hobbled to the centre of the room. james immediately locked eyes with y/n, sharing a smile with her as she tried to surpress her laughter.

"we've had some new comers, here at headquarters. i assume most of you know one another from hogwarts; lets give them a warm welcome," moody began a round of applause.

"alright, alright moody, let's get to business," kingsley shacklebolt cleared his throat before he spoke, clasping his hands together assertively and looking to dumbledore to lead the meeting.

throughout the meeting james and y/n kept making fleeting eye contact. which eventually led to james weaving his way through the room inconspicuously until he ended up standing next to the mysterious girl.

"hey,"

"hi," she swivelled slightly to look at james, before returning her attention, at least in part, to dumbledore's extravagance.

"i dunno why they can't just send us an owl with our objectives on it," he tried to jest, only to see her expression pinch, "well what if they get intercepted, i wouldn't put it past the opposition,"

"right, well– that makes sense actually," he laughed through his nose.

"what'd you want, james," the eyeroll which followed was evident from her tone alone.

"no, nothing, uh... i just haven't seen you at headquarters before, or any of the safe houses for that matter..." james gasped dramatically, are you a spy?" surprisingly, no one had noticed his movement yet, at least not outwardly.

"no, unfortunately– sorry to disappoint," she chucked silently. the pair continued to talk through the rest of the meeting, ignoring the responsibility that came with the encroaching war. remus would surely fill them in on anything important anyways.

after what could've been a lifetime, they parted ways, y/n immediately rushing off to marlene who couldn't hide her amusement.

meanwhile, remus was lurking around the corner knowingly.

"merlin, moons, goodness, what 'as that for," james laughed in reponse to almost jumping out of his skin.

"what're you playing at, james," he cut straight to the chase, "you know you shouldn't be pursuing anyone from the order, unless its a pre-existing relationship.. we're going into a war james,"

"'m not, i was just curious," he put his hands up defensively, "i know the rules, i haven't seen her since we graduated s'all," he faked a look of innocence before walking away.

"keep it professional!" remus shouted after james, rolling his eyes at the brushed off response his friend gave.

their relationship had been fairly new. they hadn't even knew one another that long, and everyone was convinced that she was a distraction for the boy, away from his infatuation with lily evans. the relationship was destined to be short lived.

and so the girl didn't get her hopes up.

but she had been having a bad day, and she hadn't seen her boyfriend all day. nor, had she seen her friends, or anyone she could truly reach out to. the girl felt stuck, like she was trapped in a never ending cycle of classes and overcrowded hallways.

until the clocktower had chimed for lunch. she was able to make a swift exit from her current class, and dart toward the openness of the great hall. yes, there would be chatter and she would likely be equally as overwhelmed, but the space wasn't as constricting.

she had reached the hall, stepping through the threshold of the large oak doors. her shoes clicking across the flagstone as a particular group of gryffindors had watched her enter.

"uhm, james.." peter squeaked anxiously, gathering the bespectacled boy's attention rather effectively.

"yeah, pete," the boy brushed off, still picking at the food on his plate.

"is that, uhm, your girlfriend? by the door?" he asked, gesturing with his head in the vague direction of the entryway.

james might as well have given himself whiplash with the haste which the boy turned his head around, a goofy smile dancing on his lips. pushing himself away from the gryffindor table, he bound over to her, a spring in his step as he oozed with excitement.

as he approached, he could see the discontent on her face, his own mirroring her expression in an attempt to locate the cause.

"heya y/n," james excitedly exclaimed, opening his arms to her as he became at arms length. she jumped at the opportunity to hug the boy, resting almost her entire bodyweight on him.

"hey jamie," she mumbled into his shoulder, released an exasperated sigh as they continued their embrace. "are you alright?" he pulled his head away from her slightly, to examine her face, a mild look of annoyance still present on her features.

"yeah, today's just been a lot, sorry jamie," y/n used the nickname once more, which further instilled his worry toward her. he ushered her back to where his friends were situated, putting food on her plate and making sure she ate, deciding to try to unpack her feelings later in the day.

however, once staying in his presence over their lunch period, the girl felt herself relax. and his friends observed as the boy became equally relaxed upon seeing her calm.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

rain pattered rhythmically on the cobbled stone pathway as james and his friends began to make their way back to hogwarts castle from hogsmeade. his arm was slung over y/n's shoulders as they dodged the open air underneath the awnings. the boys laughed with one another, referencing several of their inside jokes.

the village was a ghost town, each of the people of hogsmeade were taking refuge in their houses as they waited out the rain. the only people who appeared to be out as the street lamps flicked on were themselves, and other students who had stayed out slightly too late.

the music shop stood across the road. string instruments charmed to softly play a melodic rhythm to match the sound of the rain. y/n began to sway as she walked through the village, matching the beat of the music she played.

stepping away from james, she grabbed his hands, and swung them in time with her swaying.

it didn't take long for james to understand that she was trying to dance to the music, and he removed himself from the conversation with his friends.

he pulled her out from the safety of the awning, and into the pattering of the rain. he moved his hands down to her waist, and clasped her hand with his other, swaying her gently in a slowed waltz. his friends noticed their sudden silence, sharing a laugh amongst themselves for a beat, before continuing their walk back to the castle.

the pair continued dancing with one another romantically, in the rain, the tempo of the charmed music changing to match their rhythm as their surroundings faded away and all he could see was her.

the corridor was soundless compared to the chirping of birds in the courtyard, leaves rustled through the wind as it whipped through the windowless arches. not a student was in sight, the school being left near barren as half term commenced. even the school's poltergeist, peaves, didn't leave a trail of sound in his wake. though the peace was disrupted when the pitched sound of dress shoes walking across the aged flagstone erased the sounds of the night as a storm swirled distantly.

sirius hadn't gotten on the train at hogsmeade station with his friends, instead, he decided to stay back. though not before saying a final goodbye to his three friends at the station, bidding them a goodbye, before making the lonely trek back to the castle with hagrid, who made sure the first years had made it onto the train safely. the air between them had been left sombre.

at least this way his parents wouldn't be disappointed that he was spending his half term with blood traitors, he had bitterly thought to himself as he traversed the empty hall. his steps increased in pace the more he continued to think, on a mission to climb gryffindor tower and cosy up in his four poster bed.

however, his plans were immediately disrupted when he had heard a second set of steps, moving toward him. his attention piqued, though he kept his head down. who would still be out and wandering the halls at this time? probably some second years taking full advantage of the prefects not enforcing rules, because it's half term, sirius assumed.

he was quickly disproven when he caught sight of a familiar face, perking up at the prospect of not having to spend the next week and a half alone.

"y/n?" he verbally questioned, adjusting his posture as he paused his movements. her head quipped up, from her stare to the ground, rain filled the silence rhythmically.

"sirius?" she parroted, face pulling together in confusion, "i thought you left already? with everyone else?"

"nah, decided to stay back this time, don't really fancy getting another howler from mum and dad," the boy laughed off, stepping closer to the girl, as they still remained on opposite ends of the corridor.

"do you usually get a howler during half term, are you not going home?" she wondered, mimicking sirius' efforts to close the gap between them.

"well when i stay with james 'n' stuff i do, yeah," the boy somewhat mumbled, looking around in avoidance.

"oh right."

"yeah," silence fell between them, a sudden tensity between them at the tail end of the conversation.

another beat, rain continuing to patter through the archways.

"why're you staying back this time, that's not like you," sirius pointed out, a small smile on his face as it scrunched. "y'know, things to do, people to see," the girl laughed at her words, before further elaborating on her plans to study for the term ahead, with the inevitable disruptions soon to come.

an illuminating flash of lightning eerily casted shadows across the two, followed by a loud clap of thunder. even the insinuated conversation of whatever may be looming in their future was an unspoken thing through the school, the stands of great knights' armour sharing a knowing look of what was to come.

subconsciously, y/n took a step toward sirius, looking outside at the swirling storm. his hand gently went to her arm, a comforting gesture as another loud rumble filled the space.

"should we go inside," he suggested, taking a step in the direction of gryffindor tower. wordlessly, the girl agreed, following the boy closely as he made his way toward his home common room.

on their walk, his arm ended up around her as the intensity of the storm increased. their typical playful banter filled the air, the portrait's not bothering to tell them off for their disturbances. the tension in the girl eased the more they both talked with one another. and sirius could tell. which only encouraged the jokes he had cracked.

without the pressure of the other boys, the two could act without consequence. and the more the night progressed, the less careful they had both become. the fire of the red and gold commons crackling, as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the red pleated couch. idle conversation bounced between them until pin-drop silence overtook them.

"i'm glad you're here," sirius suddenly spoke, a shy smile on his face as he glanced over at y/n, gauging her reaction. "half term would be so lonely without you," he continued shamelessly, trying to rebuild his nonchalant facade.

"me too, it'd be weird being here by myself, or with anyone else. m' glad it's you," she replied, looking over and replicating his expression.

"really?"

"yeah," she paused, "plus, it'd be so awkward if james was here, he'd take the piss so bad if he saw us right now," she suddenly laughed, hand moving to hover in front of her mouth.

he grabbed her wrist gently, moving her hand down, her laughter simmered down at his actions. they stared at one another in silence, the rain picking up as it hit the tempered windows harshly. he leaned in ever so slightly, again waiting for her reaction before he moved forward. his energy became hesitant for a moment, until she closed her eyes inhaling, shuffling closer to him. he followed suit, closing his eyes and leaned closer to the girl.

their lips connected, heads turning to a diagonal as they breathed each other in. breathlessly, they pulled apart, searching the other's faces for a reaction.

"are you sure you want to do this," she asked him, still trying to regulate her breathing, her face flushed.

"yes. definitely. but you know that this changes everything," he smiled at her, eyes darting over her face, his own equally as beat red.

"yeah, that's okay. i want that."

"good," he said, leaning in to capture her in another kiss.

james potter

james grew up surrounded by love, particularly from his parents. for him, this was a fundamental part in shaping the way he views romantic love, and the way he approaches romance through the duration of his time at hogwarts. the boy was so loved growing up that he doesn't quite understand when his friends don't experience the same thing or feel the same way towards love, at first, but then quickly comes to the realisation that he can step into the roll his parents served in loving him as he grew up. this makes him fill in the emotional roll of a parent within his friend group, which is why he becomes so full on toward lily in their second year.

he becomes persistent in his want to impress her and have her validation. in his second year of schooling, she teaches him to validate himself, even if that lesson came from her lack of attention toward him and her friendship with severus snape.

however, over the course of the next four years, for better or for worse, he wore lily down, eventually getting into a relationship with her. their relationship was the definition of healthy, until it wasn't. in the beginning, they were inseparable, they could be mistaken for almost the same person. though that was very quick to fade out as the intensity of their final exams began to weigh on them.

this breakup hit him hard, because of the idea of her he had in his head for almost the entirety of his schooling. he was forced to let that go, and so he grieved the relationship and his attachment to her. though, she did teach him lots about love, and the importance of communication in relationships, especially romantically, which he carried later into his life. this is why his next relationship is probably one of the healthiest relationships that anyone around him had ever seen.

sirius black

on the entirely opposite end of the spectrum, sirius never had a good role model of a relationship in his youth. his parents' marriage was one of convenience, it was loveless, which was expected because they were cousins. as a child, it was the kind of relationship he expected to find himself in when he became an adult. he expected to be married off, probably to one of his cousins, before he had even finished his schooling at hogwarts.

he hated the idea of being in a relationship just like his parents' one. they seemed to loathe each other, but because of their allegiance to voldemort, they had to constantly be in each other's corner. they had taken their indifference and dislike for one another out on both sirius and regulus, which was formative to their perception of a healthy relationship. though, this was until sirius had met james, and then had met his parents. his world was flipped upside down, his perception of what love looked like was completely changed.

so, in his aspiration for rebellion, he had decided to become a heartbreaker. and he did. part of him felt bad about the girl's he had lead on. but he knew it made his parents upset. he absolutely didn't, he just hoped when he returned during half term that he had reeked of mischief. although, he was changed when he had his first serious something with mary macdonald. she had taught him to be patient, and that not all relationships are as upsetting and distressing as his parents. that love can be something exciting and that is isn't meant to be heart wrenching.

unfortunately, as the war began to rage on, they were dawn apart. the order's agenda was rigorous, they were more frequently than not sent on opposing missions, especially because sirius was promised to voldemort by his parents, and eventually it drove them apart. and he descended into madness, suddenly he had no one he could trust. trust had become so important to him, but when he loves next, he loves ten times as hard. because he doesn't want to feel so alone again.

remus lupin

similarly to sirius, remus never had a solid example of what a healthy relationship looked like. especially not with his condition. and as a result of this, his relationship with his parents was strained, to say the least. though he never outwardly said it, from a young age, remus had known that his father feared him. he grew up surrounded by people in relationships, but none of them seemed truly happy. and he could feel the contempt both of his parents had for him, of course, his mother did love him, before the attack, and he held on to that, it's what got him through his years prior to hogwarts.

at hogwarts, this boy was very quickly loved, and frankly adored, by those around him. particularly, from james and sirius, these two boys showed remus, for the first time in a long time, what it was to be loved. and he cherished the feeling that the knowledge provided. they had taught him how to be a regular kid, a revealing revelation for remus. james and sirius taught remus the joy of causing mischief, how he felt like a normal kid after watching his friends at quidditch practice, and then they'd play fight and roll through the mud.

romantically, this boy had only observed that sort of love. he saw the admiration in his friend's eyes when someone they fancied walked past, or the hushed whispers of some of the girl's in the common room gushing over which boys they found the most attractive. he knew that love was delicate, but ultimately, in a romantic sense, he never had someone to directly show him how to feel it. though, he supposed it wasn't all that different to the love he felt for his friends, or when he thought he fancied one of his classmates.

this man loves in such a wise, and committed sense. truly beyond his years with how mature of a relationship he desires, and in the way he loves.

the meetings end was uncharacteristically abrupt. chairs screeched as the members of the organisation were dismissed, not even an ambient conversation filled the stagnate air in the great hall of the manor. eeriness loomed outside of the houses walls, it felt haunted, like they weren't alone. though the silence was soon shattered by a husky voice,

"regulus, you stay behind, boy," it's owner's tone was authoritative, making the boy still in the archway of the room. he inhaled sharply before turning around and retracing his steps back into the room, posture assured yet his shoulder's slumped.

"my lord," his voice was suddenly adolescent, like he was back home and talking with his parents. a stark contrast to the boy that many who lingered on the other side of the heavy door had known.

"i have something to ask of you.." the older man alluded, "and who better to trust than a member of one of our world's most loyal families," he held a snide smile as something akin to cunning glistened in his usually stoic expression.

"what is it, my lord," the boy nervously questioned, though his voice never wavered and he rolled his shoulders back in faux confidence. the air in the room became stagnate when the dark lord revealed the favour he asked of the younger boy. surely it couldn't possibly be so simple, the trade of a house elf for unwavering trust.

he had apparated back to his parents home, releasing a hesitant breath as his ancestors discussed conspicuously about the agenda of the meeting. summoning his beloved house elf with a small pop, he commanded kreature to serve the dark lord for as long as voldemort deemed to be suitable.

regulus caught the exchange of words from several of the portraits, questioning how he could be in such close quarters with voldemort, speculating if he would copy the betrayal of his brother. he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing he turned toward the staircase, ascending them and walking toward his bedroom.

using his fireplace, he travelled the floo network to the leaky cauldron, where he was set to meet with someone. she sat quietly in a corner of the pub, a stein of butterbeer in front of her as she watched the entrance. her eyes moved over to him, a smile gracing her face, meeting her eyes as he strode over to her.

he shouted at tom, the pub owner, for another round of butterbeer before he seated himself opposite her. "hey," he smiled shyly at her, thanking the barman for bringing their drinks over.

"hi," she replicated his tone, taking another sip from the glass in front of her. she began to ask about the death eater's meeting, her tone becoming swiftly hesitant as he features hardened, her voice soon trailing off.

"it was good, i think," he began, eyes looking around in avoidance, "i got tasked with something, finally," his expression lightened at the prospect of his importance. surprise graced y/n's face,

"really? that's really good, reg, i'm proud of you," she smiled, "how did your parents react?" she queried with a small smirk.

"oh, uhm 'haven't told them yet," he mirrored her expression. "well i'm sure they'll be proud."

"yeah."

a beat of silence lingered in the space between them, each taking the opportunity to fill it with a sip of their drinks.

"just don't wanna disappoint sirius, you know," he spoke after a while, avoiding eye contact.

"you won't, he'll be happy so long as you're happy, i'm sure of it," the girl spoke softly, extending her hand to him, squeezing it in response to him taking it. he nodded solemnly, smiling briefly at her before suggesting that they take their leave from the pub and spend the rest of the evening in town.

with a hum in agreement, she stood up from the table as the pair made their way to the bar to pay, before making their way into town.

"i am really proud of you, you know?" she exclaimed comfortingly.

green light flashed briefly through the living room in the potter's house before the room went back to it's dimly lit atmosphere. crackling from the fireplace echoed through the room as the soot settled on her coat. bag in hand, she hesitantly stepped onto the carpeted floor, footsteps following the commotion into the room.

"hello?" an all too familiar voice spoke as he continued to move in the direction of the floo network, hearing the pop and whoosh that came with travelling by floo, "y/n? you're here," he exclaimed moving excitedly towards her as his friends sauntered in behind him.

"james," she responded with a smile, giving him an affectionate hug before he insisted on taking the bag she was holding.

"hey boys," she waved to remus and sirius, smiling at them both as she briefly embraced each of them, before smoothing down the front of her outfit. the boys reciprocated the girl's greeting and the four fell into a natural conversation. quickly, the fireplace magically resumed its comforting light, small crackles filling the empty space of the room as a wood stoked fire appeared.

"how've your holidays been?" remus plainly asked the girl, who responded positively, returning the question to the rest of the group. though it wasn't long before they were settled in another living room space, chatting and laughing over several packets of leftover honeydukes sweets from term time as they played several rounds of exploding snap.

laughing into the night, they were soon interrupted by a small pop, and a nervous voice speaking sweetly to the curly haired boy, "master james, dinner is ready for him and his friends," the house elf was blunt, avoiding the lingering glances of the other three in the room.

"oh, thank you lucky," james smiled at the nervous house elf, who upon the response disapparated with a small pop. he stood up, straightening his trousers, turning back to his girlfriend and holding his hand out for her to take before leading the group to the dining room.

"i didn't know you had a house elf, james," y/n spoke quietly as they walked through an aged wooden archway.

"yeah, mum doesn't necessarily support it but she likes the extra help, i guess," he spoke, looking at her, pulling her seat at the table out for her. with a pop, the food appeared on the table, along with crockery and an array of cutlery next to it. mr potter walked through another archway leading into the room, supposedly from the kitchen.

the man laughed, throwing his head back as light laughter echoed behind him. the boy's parents sat down opposite himself and his girlfriend, remus and sirius seated at each end of the table. swiftly, the meal commenced and slight chatter began to rise throughout the room, several conversations filling the space.

sirius and remus pulled faces at one another, whilst james' parents looked gleefully to each other. the boy watched his parents, as they seemed extraordinarily happy, exchanging what seemed to be an old inside joke between them as they erupted into loud laughter. james looked to y/n, who seemed to also be watching the couple, a delicate smile upon her face as she admired their contentment. he replicated her smile, looking back to his parents with a happy sigh, he moved one of his hands to rest over her own, squeezing it slightly.

his parents had always seemed happy throughout his whole life. it was something he aspired to achieve for himself. something he had thought was possible with lily, yet something he found rather comfortingly within his girlfriend, who seemed equally as admirable of his parents relationship, how they still openly joked childishly, and seemed to be in their own bubble of love.

and it was that moment which the boy concluded that he would give y/n the same happiness his parents shared.

the noise of the wind chimes ricocheted throughout the kitchen as the wind made them dance outside. she watched the sea, as the waves came and went, the almost methodic movement becoming entrancing. her eyes moved toward the whistle kettle sitting on the stove top and then to her mug which was readied with a teabag. quietly, the boy entered the room, passing by his girlfriend and squeezing her hip before reaching into a high cupboard for a glass.

"g'morning," he greeted as he ran the sink and filled the glass, moving to turn the dial on the radio, adjusting it as it bounced from several muggle radio stations, until the persistent repetition of the order's mission call; detailing their main agenda using an obscure code.

"morning," she smiled brightly at him, bringing her now poured and steeped mug of tea to her lips. remus moved next to her, leaning against the countertop as he watched her continue to watch the ambience of the early morning. the noise of the radio filled the comfortable silence between them for a while,

"do you think that all of this will be over soon?" she quietly uttered, not looking toward him, but rather at the contents of her mug. the rest of the house remained stagnate, still yet to wake for the day. uneasiness radiated between both remus and y/n, the boy searching for an answer.

"i hope so," his tone became melancholic, flashing the girl a small smile, "the end seems to be in sight, i think," he concluded, placing his glass on the side behind him.

waves lapsed the sand outside the window, as a flock of birds flew overhead, capturing the girl's attention momentarily. headquarters had never been a stable place to be, constantly on the move and constantly under threat, making the tranquility of the house a scarce comfort. remus followed her line of sight, also watching the seafront.

he knew he was lying to her, he knew that this war was far from over, but everyone was in need of comfort most recently. his was reassured of this as the radio began to list the known death tolls both for muggle and magical folk all around england. his heart sank as he turned, moving his hand to rest on her lower back. both remus and y/n sharply inhaled as many names of their former classmates were read out.

"i don't know how much more of this i can take," she cut the tension the radio emitted with a sigh, leaning into her boyfriend, who rubbed his hand up and down her arm comfortingly.

"i know," his voice equally as small as hers, "me too," he kissed the top of her head, before pulling away, hearing some of the headquarters other occupants descending the stairs.