#dramaaa

You send yet another disappointed scowl at the three boys, and Remus can't help the warmth that spreads through his chest. It's been two months of getting to know you, and then once he was sure he could trust you (he was sure after you went on a rant about unfair rights for magical creatures which ended with you sending vicious glares to Malfoy for the rest of the day) he told you everything. He got quieter as he went on, despite your understanding behavior. As soon as he mentioned The Prank, you were ready to go to Azkaban. You were ready to use cruciatus curse on Sirius Black, and then stand in trial and declare proudly why you had done it.

As soon as he'd told you Sirius' excuse, his reasoning, you were ready to add murder to your charge.

You started staying with him in a room hidden behind the tapestry of Billigor the Jolly instead of your dorm, much to the anger of your older brother, who sent a strongly worded letter reminding you of the prank the marauders pulled on you last year, which you promptly ignored and left on top of your trunk, a mistake you don't intend to make again after you walked in on Remus staring at the floor with his head in his hands.

He spent the next three days apologizing and though it was unnecessary, it made you smile.

Remus' hand wraps gently around your wrist, and it sends tingles up your entire arm. "Stop glaring before your face freezes that way" he murmurs. You glare harder. "I'll live with it" you huff, and it makes him laugh. The sound has you turning to him with a small smile, which he returns as soon as he stops laughing.

"Don't look, but the boys are staring" Remus sighs. Sympathy curls along your shoulders, and you huff, standing up and making your way over to the marauders. Remus watches you walk, curious.

"Either stop staring or come sit with us" you state plainly, and Remus frowns from your table. Sirius moves to stand up and you point at him, "not you, Remus doesn't need you, he doesn't need anyone who uses his insecurities as some sort of sick personal gain" you snap before turning on James and Peter. "If you come sit with us, you cannot speak of what happened, you shut up and study, or you apologize and make normal conversation, like normal people. Talk about the weather for goodness sake" you make your way back to your table and Remus welcomes you back with a gentle smile.

"What was that about?" He murmurs as you both watch Sirius pack up James and Peters bags, Peter argues, but James allows it easily, tidying up his essay papers. "It's okay, Rem, just wait" James stands up and makes his way over, but Peter stays sitting with Sirius.

"Hey, can I sit?" Remus sends an unsure look your way when you smile and shuffle closer to Remus to make room for James. "Thanks, I'm James, it's nice to meet you" he introduces himself to you "officially" he adds. You nod, "y/n y/l/n, nice to meet you" Remus shuffles and his knee knocks yours gently. "Officially" you tack on jokingly, and his shoulders relax a little as he let's out a small laugh.

"Moon- uh, Remus?" Amber eyes meet hazel ones, and James smiles weakly. "I'm sorry, I know we shouldn't have forgiven Sirius so easily" he admits, and Remus' hand rests gently on your knee. "It's okay, Prongs, I know he's like a brother to you, especially when you told him you-" Remus cuts himself off, glancing at you before looking back at him. "Y'know" he finishes, and you frown before deciding not to ask. You didn't ask about Remus' scars or why he disappears once every month and turns up in the hospital wing the next morning and he told you in his own time.

James smiles sadly, "yeah" Remus sends you a greatful smile, and sadness prickles at your palms. You're glad Remus has one of his old friends back, but what if he gets them all back and then disappears? What if he gets his friends back and suddenly has no time for you anymore? As much as you hate it, doubt manages to lodge itself in between your ribs.

You continue your alchemy essay on the pidiflud potion, which forces the drinker to say whatever is on their mind, no matter what it is. Hungry? Announced. Insecure? Announced. Busy? Announced. Disgusted? Very much announced.

Remus stops talking to James for a moment, placing his hand on your back gently as his right hand points out a few mistakes, telling you how to fix them. "Thanks" you murmur distractedly, and Remus frowns, staring at you for a long moment.

Remus leans into you, mumbling into your ear, "you okay? You're real quiet" you pause for a moment, almost dropping your quill. "M'fine, Rem, just keep talking to James" you don't mean to sound bitter, but even you can tell that you sound hurt. Remus frowns before chuckling softly, his hand slipping further around your back to dig his fingers into your side. "You want my attention?" He asks teasingly, and you shrug, nodding a little.

"Want as much as I can have before you forget about me" you sigh quietly, and he frowns. "M'not gonna forget about you, y/n, you're my friend now, that's not gonna change just cause I have James again" he assures you, but something in you whispers the opposite, and you sigh. Remus shakes his head and pulls you into his side, resting his chin on your shoulder as he returns his focus on his herbology essay. James sends you a knowing smile as you relax into Remus' side, fixing the last mistake Remus pointed out to you before continuing your essay.

James's knee bumps yours and when you look up at him, he grins cheekily, glancing down and Remus' left hand, toying with the hem of your skirt with his arm wrapped around your back, you frown, confused. Sitting like this is pretty common for the two of you, it has been ever since you found a muggle book on love languages and found that yours is physical touch while Remus' is words of affirmation.

You shrug it off and turn back to your essay, feeling a little more reassured.

☕︎

You miss Remus.

It's been twelve days and seven hours since you managed to get James to sit with the two of you (but who's counting?), and a few days later, Sirius' encouragements convinced Peter to apologize to Remus as well and now both you and Sirius have been left behind. Remus tries making time for you, but he's trying to make up for two months of missed time with two of his best friends, you can't bring yourself to be mad about it, especially when he looks so happy, but he eats with them, walks to class with them, studies with them, and he's moved back into the dorm.

The most time you've spent together over the last two weeks was in alchemy when he sat beside you before being pulled away by professor Featherton, who paired Remus up with some Ravenclaw girl, and watching them laugh together makes your stomach twist.

"You okay?" You jump and turn to face the voice, frowning when Sirius Black stands in front of you, looking tired and miserable. You turn away and start packing up your things. "I'm fine" you mutter, sending one last longing glance at the way Remus leans closer to the Ravenclaw to read over her paragraph. You scoff when she shuffles closer than necessary to ask a question, and Sirius let's out a small laugh. Remus glances over just as Sirius helps you tidy up, frowning when he sees the way you pause before hesitantly allowing him to help you.

"Thanks for caring about Remus, I know it's one of the easiest things in the world, but I'm still glad he has you" Sirius admits as you finish packing your bag, handing you the last essay. You take it with a sigh, holding it close to your chest. "When he wants me, I'm here. Just like I am for everyone else" you smile sadly, and Remus tenses as he hears you. Did you really think you would have to write him first if you wanted to stay in contact? Did you actually believe he was like your other 'friends'? The thought makes bile rise in his throat.

It gets worse when he hears Sirius comfort you.

"I'm sure he's just catching up with the guys, I see the way he is with you, he really cares" Sirius smiles and steps back. "I know I'm not someone you wanna a be around, anyway, so I'll go. But if you ever need anything, feel free to ask. I owe you, even if it wasn't for anyone else" Remus stands up, making his way over to you and tossing an arm around your shoulders.

"Oi, bugger off, yeah? She doesn't want you around" Remus snaps, and you frown. "Remus, I know you're mad at him but he was just helping me out" you huff, pushing his arm off of your shoulders, as soon as his arm falls to his side, you regret it.

"I'm not defending him, but he was just trying to be nice," you add on, and Remus scowls, crossing his arms. "Yeah, bein' nice, that's how he gets girls into his bed just so he can ditch them after." Remus glares at his old friend, and Sirius looks away, ashamed.

"Remus!" You hiss, shocked at his words. The way he said it sounded like he was accusing you of something, and you almost flinched. "Pump and dump, right Pads?" The way Remus spits out the familiar nickname has Sirius clenching his jaw, both anger and guilt forcing their way down his throat.

"Y'know. One and done, love it and leave it, nut and bolt, hit it and quit it, smash and dash" Remus snaps, "whatever you call it, it's still Sirius' specialty, ain't that right, Black?" He asks. It's rhetorical, but Sirius nods once anyway, refusing to look at either of you.

"Remus!" You stare at the - usually - sweet boy, astounded, and disappointed. Remus turns to you, anger flaring in his amber eyes. "What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking. Sirius Black is a whore, nothing new about it" he snaps, and your jaw drops. "Anything to disappoint his family, not that he needs any help with that" Remus growls out.

Sirius delivers the first punch.

"Fuck you, Remus." Sirius snaps back. You gasp and take a step forwards. "Stop it, both of you!" You shout over their insults and threats. Remus steps towards Sirius and you place your hand on his chest to stop him, this is escalating too quickly for you to keep up.

Sirius gently pushes you back before Remus punches him in the stomach, ignoring the part of him saying it was because he touched you, Sirius staggers before punching Remus in the nose.

You try to grab Remus' arm as he stumbles, his eyes watering, but he pulls his arm out of your grip roughly, and it pushes you back.

You trip over your bag, and halfway down, you feel something, and then everything goes black as you briefly hear the two boys fighting.

☕︎

"-all your fault" someone snaps.

"I know, believe me, I know" another answers, voice cracking.

"If you'd just-"

"James, he knows! Get off his back, it was my fault, really"

"No, it wasn't, I pushed her. I should have noticed"

"No, I hit you first, she was trying to stop it, just blame me"

"Great fucking godric! It was both of your faults, now shut the hell up and get over here, she's waking up"

You huff and slowly, open your eyes. The stupid hospital wing ceiling stares back at you, reminding you of the familiar phantom pain the marauders caused so long ago.

Your head pounds and you close your eyes again. Someone takes your hand and you glance at them, pulling your hand out of Sirius Blacks. "What happened?" You sit up. Remus tries pushing you back down gently, but you swat away his hand and look at the four boys surrounding you. You decide to turn to Peter.

"Peter?" He nods and steps forwards, sitting on the edge of your hospital wing bed and explaining what happened when you hit your head.

"I'm so sorry" Sirius mumbles as you lift your hand to brush over the cut on your head, you wince at the pressure and James hands you a small mirror. You thank him and look into it. There's a thin cut along your temple, curling slightly, and surrounded by a harsh yellow and purple bruise. You sigh and place the mirror down, making to stand up. Sirius tries to stop you but you bat his hand away too.

"Quit it you two, I'm fine" you huff, standing easily, despite the pounding in your head. You knew getting between two people fighting was stupid, but you didn't want either of them getting hurt.

You glance at Remus and Sirius, noticing Sirius' bloody knuckles and black eye, and the blood staining Remus' shirt, some left over dried blood just under his nose, his own knuckles bruised to all hell.

"You idiots" you huff, rolling your eyes. "I swear on James' life, if you ever fight each other again I'll whack you both around the head." James sends you his best what-the-fuck-am-i-included-for look and you shrug silently, grabbing the familiar jumper off of the chair beside your bed, and pulling it on, wincing when it brushes your temple. Peter huffs and steps towards you, tipping your head up to look at him, and turning it to the side. "That's my work you're bein' so careless of" he huffs. You'd forgotten he offered to help Madam Pomfrey when she first arrived as the new healer.

"Sorry Pete" you sigh, looking up at the boy. He smiles down at you, his shaggy dark blonde hair starting to fall into his eyes. "You've not messed the tape up, but be careful, Remus said you don't want magical healing so I've tried it the muggle way, it might scar" you shrug as he let's go of your chin, stepping back. "I'll be all cool and tough, like Rem and Sirius" you grin. Sirius pauses, frowning, before glancing down and realizing what you mean. The nasty scar on his wrist his mother gave him the first time she ever use a certain unforgivable on him, he'd fallen into the dining table and shattered an old vase. He doesn't remember much after that.

"These two are friends again" James announces, clapping his hands awkwardly after a long moment of silence, and you scoff. "Men, smack each other silly and you'll be just fine again!" You state, your voice rising a little as you roll your eyes.

Peter shares a knowing grin with James. You certainly didn't need to know that Remus and Sirius both care for you, in different ways, and for different reasons, yes. But care is still care, no matter what kind.

"Yeah, you know us men, a good punch solves a bunch of problems" James snickers.

You send him a suspicious glance and he smiles innocently at you as Sirius and Remus share an awkward smile.

"Boys are so weird" you mutter, making your way past the four boys in question. They follow after you and you allow them, waving goodbye to Pomfrey as you pass by. The boys talk quietly, catching up and making silly jokes, making sure to include you, and warmth spreads through your stomach when James tosses an arm over your shoulder and asks you to hang out with them at breakfast tomorrow morning.

"I guess" you sigh dramatically. "But if anyone throws a punch I'm just gonna watch this time" you joke weakly, but the four boys laugh, and you can't help but grin.

"Y/n? Hey, can I talk to you?" You turn around, and the boys stop as well. "Oh! Hey Corey, " you smile at your alchemy partner. "Ask away." Corey grins and steps closer, glancing nervously at the four boys with you. "Will you go out with me this weekend?"

“Ten years ago, Tethyr was almost exclusively a human nation. All that changed with the upheavals that deposed the royal family. Humans are still the predominant race in Tethyr, but their days of exclusive monopoly are over.

There have always been rumors of a large elf tribe (perhaps several) in the huge Forest of Tethir, but the elves have been reluctant to show themselves in the past. (Given the former royal family's attitude toward elves, this should be no surprise.)”

“ The current ruling family had been in power for over 350 years … King Alemander IV was comfortably ruling from Castle Tethyr, and the country seemed happy enough.

But there was a broad current of dissatisfaction among the people of Tethyr.

Non-humans were forbidden by law to own land, and since most rights and privileges accorded citizens were based on land ownership, they became second-class citizens as well. Things were especially bad for elves, who were driven deep into the Forest of Tethir by royal armies. Alemander IV took land away from rightful owners and gave it to nobles who promised larger contributions to the royal treasury. These social and economic inequities, coupled with several harsh winters and bad harvests in a row, made the time ripe for a change.”

Forest of Tethir

“The Forest of Tethir is the single most important thing that determines the culture and personality of the entire country.

The forest is dark, cool, vast and mysterious and in a land where most of the people live in open, rolling country, the imagery of the forest still dominates the expressions and attitudes of the people.

The forest is dense and dark in the center, though it thins considerably within 10 miles of its edge. The forest is also less thick on the Tethyr Peninsula, because of the rockier ground. Heavy rainfall on the peninsula, however, makes the forest very wet in that area, and a haven for molds, slimes, fungi and other unpleasant things.

There are two major tribes of elves living in the Forest of Tethir. The larger of the two, the Elmanesse, live in the forest in a large area just east of the Trade Way.

Travelers and merchants who report encounters with elves on that road have met the Elmanesse. After years of isolation, this tribe seems ready to reestablish contact with the humans of Tethyr-but only on the elves' terms.

The other major elven tribe, the Suldusk, lives in the southeast area of the Forest of Tethir. Few humans know that the Sulduskoon River gets its name from this elf tribe, and even fewer know that the tribe still exists. This is just fine with the Suldusk, who would as soon be left alone by the outside world.”

Silvanus