#pushover remus

[neongreenllama]

Prompt: Alpha

@wolfstarmicrofic - 645 words

“He’s just so hot. I mean have you seen him? Of course you’ve seen him, what am I asking. His bouncy curls and his pretty eyes, and, oh, his nose is so cute, and his hands. I mean come on, no one should be allowed to have hands like that that’s just unfair …”

Sirius babbled distractedly while James tried hard to look halfway interested and not make fun of his mate for being whipped. He’d listened many a times to James’ own poetics about a certain redhead, and now it was time to return the favor.

“… how is anyone supposed to concentrate when he looks like that? And it’s not just his looks, I mean it’s Moony, you know what I mean. He’s lovely and kind but he’s also so strong and mysterious and …”

James’ eyes drifted over his best mate’s shoulder as a scrawny guy crossed the corner to their hallway, carrying a bunch of books as he weaved through the other students. To James he just looked a bit tired as usual, maybe a bit sickly. But then again, that was also as usual.

“… Merlin, I bet he’s a real animal in bed. He has to be what with the wolf in him. I bet he’s dominating. D’you think he bites? I bet he bites. Ugh, I want him to bite me,” Sirius continued needily as Remus tripped over his own shoelaces, stumbled into a group of girls, and scattered his books everywhere. He immediately started apologizing profusely.

Sirius, who was still unaware of the presence of the object of his desires, sighed dreamily. “He’s such an alpha.”

James watched as a Slytherin kicked one of the books the dangerous alpha werewolf was trying to collect from the floor out of his reach. “Watch where you’re going, Loopy Lupin,” James heard him call. If it wasn’t for the pitiful sight he probably would have laughed at the complete lovesickness of his friend.

“I just –“ Sirius sounded dejected now. “Why doesn’t he want me? What am I doing wrong? D’you think he already has someone? Oh no, he probably shags the whole school except for me,” he groaned. “They’re probably all lining up. Who doesn’t want a piece of Remus Lupin?”

A few other students had now started up the familiar chorus of “Loony Loopy Lupin.” More joined in, and not just Slytherins to James’ absolute chagrin. They’d have to do something about that. He’ll have to talk to Lily.

James tore his attention away from the scene and patted his best friend’s shoulder who had buried his face in his hands, looking very distraught.

“You’re alright mate, I don’t think he has anyone else.”

Sirius’ head at once shot up with big, hopeful eyes. “Really? How do you know?”

“Just a feeling.” He glanced once more at the werewolf who looked more like a beaten puppy or a very tired seventeen-year-old boy lacking important vitamins. “Actually I think he might fancy you back.”

Sirius’ eyes got impossibly bigger and more hopeful. “You think?”

“Yeah, you’ve just got to be patient. Don’t give up yet. You know how it was Lily.”

“Yeah.” Sirius nodded as if to convince himself. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, mate.”

James clapped his shoulder. “Anytime. Now how about you start by helping him carry his books.”

He turned his friend around in the direction of one alpha werewolf Remus Lupin walking with his shoulders hunched over to appear even smaller than before. At the sight of him, Sirius’ posture immediately straightened up, and he put on that lazy smile and sauntered over, only his lovesick eyes betraying his self-assured attitude. As soon as Remus spotted him, his mouth tugged up in a dopey smile and his shoulders visibly relaxed. Which was a mistake because the tower of books lost its balance again and toppled over once more.

[acewitch-writes]

I'm gonna break the mould and write a fic where Sirius unapologetically abuses the fuck out of Remus. As a treat.

[criticalrolo]

You CANNOT tell me the Remus posting was in 2021,, bleasee, please not the passage of time and remembering the sad little meow meow like it was yesterday

im so sorry to tell u this but this is the First Remus Post and it's from October 2021, two solid years ago:

https://criticalrolo.tumblr.com/post/666166298049445888/am-working-on-a-new-guy-this-is-remus-he-is-a

I UNDERSTAND. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER

[elysianymph]

whoever slanders remus lupin will get beat up by me. get out of here

[lexithwrites]

i can't read remus lupin as anything other than the most gentle soul, and im not trying to make him 'boring' by doing this but he just,,,isn't mean. he isn't a pushover or naive, but he will never raise his voice unless he has to, he's never aggressive or nasty or bitchy, he probably covers his ears when other people are gossiping. he's a gentle giant that walks around with a cane and a knee brace on his worst days and the sweetest smile on his best, he loves listening to music and playing video games and reading and writing and he LOVES learning even if he isn't the best at paying attention and has to take countless notes. he's the most loyal friend, he loves buying people gifts and is so shocked when he gets a gift in return, he remembers every little thing about sirius and uses it for birthdays and anniversaries, he likes tidying his flat and humming songs to himself, he likes taking the bus, he likes serving elderly customers at his cafe and helping kids carry over their cakes and drinks, he carries change for the homeless, he will always offer to walk someone home, he gets giggly and sleepy when he's drunk, he's so attentive during sex he will always want to do better and he's addicted to making sirius feel good, he's an AMAZING kisser to the point that everyone is jealous of sirius tbh, he wears too big jumpers and folds the sleeves up because otherwise they get in the way, he loves coffee and hot chocolate and baking the recipes his mum showed him, he visits his parents every sunday for a roast dinner and always brings over flowers for them to put on the table, remus lupin is an angel.

[mrstellmeafuckingsecret]

currently thinking about mary 'female casanova of gryffindor tower' macdonald & sirius 'casanova of gryffindor tower' black and their LOSER partners. marlene is scared of dragonflies and gets attached to worms and remus is a complete pushover who's so scared of hurting people he stays alone and quiet. UGH. im SICK.

[holdupjack]

Death Row

——————

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Fem!Reader

AU: No Magic/Prison AU

WARNING: MENTION OF SA/ABUSE/MURDER/DEATH

——————

Third Person P.O.V:

July 11th, 2008

Y/n sat on her bed in the Death Row Cell Block A, watching the open food tray slot on her door as guards walked by every twenty minutes or so. It was quiet for the most part, she could hear one of the other inmates' radio playing some oldies from somewhere nearby.

If she had counted correctly, then today marked her eighth year in prison. She supposed that celebrations were in order. Maybe she could convince one of the guards to give her a muffin for the occasion.

Y/n stood up and walked over to the door, grasping the bars on the small window that gave her some access to the hall. She could hear a set of footsteps coming towards her, so she stuck out her arm and waved it.

"Good morning, Y/l/n" a gentle voice calls back as she puts her arm back in the cell and watches as a recognizable face comes into her view.

"Good morning, Remus" she replied as he looked at her with a kind smile. He was one of the few guards who were nice to her during her stay in this 6 by 9 by 12 space.

"Guess what today is?" She asks with a smile and he ponders for a moment, before finally speaking.

"Meatloaf Monday?" He asks and she rolls her eyes at his remark. He smiled back at her as he watched the young girl try not to chuckle at him.

"Well, yes, but that's not all! If I've counted correctly, then today should be my eighth anniversary in this place" she hums and Remus nods as he crosses his arms and thinks for a moment again.

"Has it really been that long already? Time sure does fly" he hummed back as he got closer to the door and whispered to her.

"I'll get you one of those muffins that you like as a gift," he says and her smile grows.

"You read my mind" she whispered back as he chuckled and stepped back from the door. His back suddenly straightened, and that was enough for Y/n to know that he wasn't just doing his regular rounds.

"Please step back from the door," he says and Y/n does what is told, walking back to stand next to her bed as he unlocked the cell and pulled out his handcuffs.

"A field trip? Well, aren't you full of surprises today" Y/n says as she turns around and puts her hand behind her back, already knowing the drill by now.

"Since your last checkup with the doctor, it seems you've begun to lack the necessary vitamins to help your body," Remus says as he cuffs her and places a firm hand on her shoulder as he guides her out of the cell.

"So, I need more sunlight?" Y/n asks as they begin to walk down the hall. Another guard, a rookie named Quirrell, stood posted by a locked gate ahead of them.

"Not exactly, the government had decided to issue you shots for you to take, so make nice with the nurses" Remus chuckled as Quirrell opened the sliding steel door, he had an annoyed look on his face as he kept his eyes on Y/n. Nobody really liked Quirrell, he was a prick and a pushover at the same time, and it was hard to get a grip on him when you needed to.

"Don't mind him Y/n, he rolled out on the wrong side of the bed this morning" Remus chuckled as they walked through the doorway and followed the signs leading to the hospital wing. It took them a few minutes, but when they did arrive, Y/n took immediate notice of a new person on staff.

"Why, hello there" she greets as Remus rolls his eyes and uncuffs one of Y/n's hands, but soon connects it to the steel bar next to the examination bed. A young woman, a brunette, and around the same age as Y/n, turned to them with a small hesitation.

"You must be Nurse Granger, I'm Officer Lupin but please, call me Remus," he says as he sticks out his hand and greets her kindly. She shakes his hand and bows her head slightly, but her eyes continuously flicker over to Y/n in a nervous nature.

"I don't bite...unless you like that?" Y/n teases and Remus sighs and waves a hand in her direction.

"This is Y/n Y/l/n, Death Row inmate 7991. She is one of our nonhostile prisoners, and won't give you any trouble. I honestly think the worst thing you'll get out of her is her corny pickup lines" he mumbles as Y/n looks at him in disbelief at his hurtful comments. The nurse let out a small laugh as she seemed to calm down slightly.

"Corny? You taught them to me!" She defended as he rolled his eyes and walked over to the door, opening it slightly before looking back at Nurse Granger.

"I'll be right outside, just give a holler if you need help," he says before closing the door behind them. Leaving the both of them alone together. Y/n looked over at the brunette and raised an eyebrow at her.

"So, Nurse Granger. What's your first name?" Y/n asks as she watches the medical professional pick up the clipboard on the table and read it over. Their eyes met for a moment but then disconnected again when she looked back at the paper.

"Does it matter?" She asked as she walked over to the cabinet across the room and gathered some equipment. Y/n hummed in thought and then shrugged.

"I suppose not, since I'll be dead eventually," Y/n says with a smirk as the other girl turns with a face of horror. She obviously had not meant it in that manner, but Y/n couldn't resist the easy teasing.

"That's not what I meant! I was just saying that since I have to remain professional-" she began to ramble, but soon just took a deep breath to cut herself off.

"Hermione. My name is Hermione." she sighed as Y/n began to grin and sat up on the examination stable. There was a playfulness to Y/n that made Hermione slightly uneasy, considering what cell block she was in.

"Hermione? Pretty name." Y/n says as the nurse grabs the stethoscope from around her neck and cautiously walks up to her.

"I don't bite" Y/n chuckled as Hermione closed her eyes and rolled them, just in case this prisoner was violent.

When she opened them again, she was greeted by Y/n biting the air in front of her, which made the brunette jump back. The prisoner began to howl with laughter as Hermione's face turned a bit crimson at the way she had been exposed to still being nervous.

"Not funny. Don't make me call in Officer Lupin" Hermione states to which Y/n continues to fight back her chuckles. The nurse finally worked up the courage to place a hand on Y/n's shoulder as she steadied herself.

"You're no fun, you're going to be like Nurse Umbridge, aren't you?" Y/n asks and Hermione has to stop herself from gagging at the mention of her superior's name. That woman was a piece of work, and it seemed that the inmates knew that as well.

"That is for me to know, and for you to find out," Hermione says as she places the cold metal against Y/n's back and listens to her heartbeat. It was steady and strong, but nothing sounded out of the ordinary. Which was good, obviously.

"Ooo" Y/n snickered as Hermione switched to the front of her chest and listened intently.

"Take a deep breath," she asks and Y/n does as she says, watching as Hermione focuses and moves the metal part of the instrument along the top of her chest. A slight chill ran up Y/n's spine as the woman's nails scraped along her skin as well.

"Exhale" she states, to which Y/n listens again.

When Hermione stepped away and placed the stethoscope around her neck, their eyes met again. She didn't seem as nervous as before, but the guarded aura was still prevalent.

"Everything sounds fine. So, now that leads me up to the questions" Hermione says as she pulls the rolling chair over to her and sits down, looking over the clipboard again.

"Questions? You're very thorough" Y/n says as she plays with the handcuff around her wrist. Hermione chuckled softly as her eyes flickered up for a moment before looking back down at the questionnaire.

"It's my job" she replies and Y/n just hums softly at her response. She had only been here less than a decade now, but none of the other nurses or doctors had even asked her if she had symptoms of anything when she had a cold. They usually just gave out pills willy-nilly.

No wonder the druggies love getting 'sick'.

"Alright, how are you feeling today? Any illnesses I need to be aware of?" she asks, Y/n just shakes her head as the clock on the wall ticks by slowly. It had only been around five minutes, but it seemed longer to both of them. Maybe it was because Hermione wanted to get Y/n out of here or maybe it was because Y/n was having such a fun time teasing the newbie.

"Do you suffer from any disorders or diseases that could affect the performance of the shot you will be taking from now on?" Hermione asks and again, Y/n shakes her head. She didn't really know what else to say, but she did want to ask more personal questions. Yet, it didn't seem like Hermione wasn't in a sharing mood at the moment.

"I suppose not" Y/n hums as Hermione nods and rolls herself over to the small box that lay on the counter near them. She grabbed it and pulled out a skinny syringe with a neon red liquid inside, there was condensation on the plastic, so it must be fresh out of the fridge.

Hermione rolled back and held out her hand, to which Y/n instinctively placed hers in it, they looked back at one another. Hermione raised a brow at the other girl.

"You know, holding hands is more of a date three kinda thing" Y/n teases as Hermione fights back the urge to roll her eyes and trailed her hand up to the inmate's arm, pulling up the jumpsuit sleeve.

"I wanted your arm" she mumbled and Y/n just laughed softly as the nurse tied the rubber band tightly around her bicep. Hermione cleaned off a spot just under the band with a disinfectant wipe.

"So, does this go into a vein or?" Y/n asks and Hermione shakes her head as she puts the shot on a small metal table near the examination bed. She rolled over to the door and pulled out a pair of latex gloves that hung in a box near it.

"Just in the skin" Hermione hummed as she rolled back and picked up the shot again, she pulled off the cap that protected the needle, and looked back at Y/n.

"Ready?" She asks and Y/n just nods as she turns her arm towards Hermione for a better angle. The brunette placed her hand on Y/n's shoulder and hovered the needle over the disinfected skin.

"One, two, three" Hermione says calmly as she injects the shot, and then pulls out the syringe. She threw it away in the nearby garbage can and then wiped the small amount of blood that came from the puncture wound. The rubber band came untied with a quick pull and fell to the ground.

"How many times do I have to get this?" Y/n asks as Hermione tells her to hold the wipe while she gets a bandage. She stood up this time, walking over to one of the cabinets and looking inside.

"Every one to two days for the next two weeks, then we'll do a check-up to decide if we continue for a few more days or we begin with only once a month" Hermione explained as she pulled out two different bandages, there were the basic one, and a SpongeBob one. The nurse turned to her with a raised eyebrow, and Y/n just grinned.

"You know which one I want" she replies, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle as she put the basic one away and walked over with the others. As she sat back in the rolling chair, Y/n had a debating look on her face, before finally saying something.

"Can I give you some advice?" Y/n asks and Hermione looks up at her as she unwrapped the bandage. If it was medical advice, then this was going to be a waste of breath, but she decided against saying anything.

"Don't place anything sharp near prisoners, then turn your back on them. You did that with the needle, and I could have easily just..." Y/n trails off as she gives a demonstration, showing she could have just reached over to the metal table and grabbed it. Hermione felt her throat close, as she realized how stupid that really was.

"Why didn't you?" Hermione whispered as she placed the bandage on the injury, and looked away from Y/n. The inmate sighed as she watched the nurse throw away the scraps of paper and plastic.

"You're nice, and I'm already on Death Row. What help would that do me?" Y/n chuckles as Lupin walks back into the room. Hermione stood up and gave a nod to him as she threw away the latex gloves as well.

"All done?" He asks.

"Yes, and make sure she eats and drinks something when she gets back to her cell," Hermione says as she takes a deep breath, and leans back on the counter behind her.

"I got the food part covered" he chuckled as he pulled out a wrapped muffin from his pocket, which made Y/n grin.

"I knew you liked me!" She chuckled as she tried to grab it, but her held it from her grasp and put it back in his pocket. She frowned as he un-cuffed her from the bed, but then put her hands behind her back.

"It's all yours once we're back to your humble abode" he replied. Y/n looked back at Hermione and gave a smile.

"Catch you in a few days, Hermione"

——————

July 25th

Hermione yawned softly as she looked over her schedule for the day. Her eyes fell to a familiar name, and she cocked her head to the side as she read it.

'BLOOD WORK ON Y/N Y/L/N (INMATE 7991)'

Ah, that's right, the two weeks were up. That means she gets to do something other than shots and pill distribution. She missed being an intern at a real hospital, but at least she didn't have to change bedpans as much as she used to.

Over the last few weeks, she had gotten more comfortable with Y/n, but only to be calm enough to smile at her attempts at jokes. They were very flirty, but what else was to be expected? Y/n was on death row after all, it wasn't like she got to regularly interact with other women besides the few guards.

So Hermione dealt with it, but she'd be lying if she said they didn't make her face hot from time to time.

She sighed and stood up from the small table in the staff lounge. Her hands crumpled up the trash from her lunch and dumped it in the garbage as she walked out of the room.

"Ms.Granger?" An irritating voice calls out.

Hermione rolled her eyes but soon turned towards the person with a smile. Dolores Umbridge had a devilish smile on her face, which meant that she had bad news to give. The younger girl was almost blinded by how bright her pink scrubs were.

"Yes?" She replies as the older woman walks up to her and hands her a file, Hermione raises a brow and opens it, only to realize it was Y/n's. Why would she give her this?

"This is Y/l/n's. If this is about her B12 shots, I'm doing the blood work today-" she was cut off as Umbridge shook her head and tapped on where the name of her primary physician in the prison would go.

'Primary Physician: HERMIONE GRANGER'

Her eyes widened.

"W-Wait, I can't be her Physician! I'm just a Nurse Practitioner!" Hermione exclaims and Umbridge just shrugs with that evil smile of hers as she looks her up and down.

"The inmate requested that you be the first person to aid her from now on, and I saw no problem since you have more than enough training than the regular Nurses" the older woman chuckles as she walks away, giving an over-the-shoulder glance as she does.

"Good luck!

Hermione fought back the urge to chuck the file at her head and instead took a deep breath. This had to be against the law to some degree, but she didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. So, she just walked away and stepped into a private room.

She laid the file on the counter and sat down on the rolling chair. Her eyes scanned the area, making sure the equipment and room were clean still since the night shift left.

Clean enough.

Hermione stood up and grabbed a few disinfectant wipes from the supply under the sink. She began to wipe down the medical equipment out of habit, and her minor clean freak ways. It wasn't until the door opened again, did she stop.

"Oh honey, I'm home to play doctor"

Hermione gave a soft breath of a chuckle as she turned towards the door to find Y/n being brought in by Officer Lupin. The older man rolled his eyes as he cuffed her to the metal bar, and sighed softly.

"Do you want me to stay in the room? She's been very playful today. I think she gets excited when she realizes it's time to go see her favorite nurse" he hummed as Hermione looked at Y/n with a smirk. For once, Y/n hid her face. Schoolyard crush, it was a sweet gesture, but it wouldn't go anywhere. Not on Hermione's watch.

"I think I can handle it" she replies as he just nods and looks back at Y/n. He pointed a finger at her as he smiled.

"Be nice" he states, to which Y/n crosses her heart and holds up a Boy Scouts salute.

When Officer Lupin backed away and left the room, Hermione crossed her arms and looked at the girl with an annoyed glare. Y/n noticed immediately and chuckled nervously.

"Would you care to explain to me how you got Nurse Umbridge to agree to me being your on-call Physician?" Hermione asks and Y/n plays with the handcuff around her wrist with an anxious demeanor. The nurse sighed and pulled her hair into a ponytail, tying it with one of her hair ties.

"I told her that I'd say 'hi' to her mom in hell" Y/n joked as Hermione huffed and rolled her chair over to the latex gloves box. As much as she did want to laugh, this was important.

"Y/n, this is serious! I am not a Doctor. I am a Nurse Practitioner" Hermione says as she pulls the gloves onto her hands and stands up, pushing the chair over to Y/n with her foot.

"So? Isn't that basically the same thing?" Y/n asks and Hermione scoffs as she walks over to the small rollable metal table, where she had sterilized and set up everything she needed to draw blood.

"No. That isn't even close to being the same thing." Hermione sighed as she rolled it over to Y/n and sat back down in her chair. The prisoner just shrugged as she didn't really know what else to say on the matter, other than that her boss might hate her.

"I trust you more than Umbridge. So I don't see why it's such a big deal." Y/n mumbled as Hermione wrapped the rubber band around her bicep, but much tighter than the other times.

"I legally can't even call myself a doctor, so how do you think it'll work out for me to be your Physician?" Hermione huffed as she took ahold of Y/n's forearm and turned it upwards. Then something caught her eye. There were burn scars, but nothing like she had seen before.

Y/n saw her reaction.

"Pretty cool right? I used to tell the other foster kids that I got them when I would beat up the lava monster in the basement. They were so gullible." Y/n chuckled as she watched Hermione touch them delicately, almost like she thought they still hurt.

"How did you really get them?" Hermione asks as she looks back at Y/n, who seems torn now. She then shook her head lightly and laughed at the fact that she was nervous again.

"I think it's a little early in our relationship-"

"Friendship" Hermione corrects.

"Tomayto/tomahto. Anyways, I think it's a little early to tell you the reason I'm on death row" Y/n says as Hermione looks back at her forearm, deciding to leave well enough alone. She took her thumb and searched for a good vein to draw from.

"I already know why" she replies and Y/n nods slowly. Hermione pressed her thumb on the vein so she wouldn't lose it, and grabbed the disinfectant wipe, cleaning the area.

"You know the media version" Y/n countered and Hermione hummed in response as she picked up the needle from the table. She supposed that was true, but did she really want to hear her out?

"I know you killed three people, and I think that's all I need to know" Hermione states as she punctures Y/n's skin and vein, beginning to draw blood into a vial.

"That's fair. I wouldn't trust the word of a killer either if I were in your shoes" Y/n says as the conversation falls into silence.

Hermione ended up giving the duty of providing Y/n her B12 shots to another nurse on the night shift after this encounter, and they didn't speak until the next time they met, but it was in much less desirable circumstances.

——————

September 19th

Hermione raced to her car at three A.M, stumbling slightly as she fought off the sleep from her eyes. Umbridge had called, telling her that Y/n, technically her patient, had been shanked on her way to the night shift Nurse for her shot.

She had been told that Warden Snape would tell her more details when she arrived back on the premises. The brunette felt guilt form in her stomach, knowing that this probably wouldn't have happened if she had pushed away her judgment and just did her job.

"God dammit" she whispers as she got into her car and drove off.

When she did get to and into the prison, it was on lockdown, and guards patrolled the halls nervously. Hermione walked down to the emergency area of the building and found Warden Snape standing outside one of the rooms with his regular, emotionless face.

"Warden" Hermione greeted as she stopped in front of him. He nodded and gave a tight-lipped sigh, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Officer Ronan was taking Y/n Y/l/n to the nurses station for her monthly B12 dose, when Officer Gale was taking Inmate Bellatrix Lestrange down to solitary confinement due to indecent behavior the last few days. From what both Officers have told us, is that they had both prisoners hugging either wall as they passed one another when Bellatrix lunged at Y/n and procured a shank from somewhere on her body. They were able to subdue her, but it wasn't until Y/n had been stabbed at least four or five times." Warden Snape says in his monotone voice, and Hermione takes a breath. She expected the worst, but then he spoke again.

"Luckily, the razor wasn't secured properly into the makeshift handle. So it broke off in her body in the first stab, but Bellatrix's pure strength was able to make small stab wounds with the handle alone." He explains and Hermione puts up her curls with one of the hair bands on her wrist.

"How bad is the wound with the razor?" Hermione asks and Warden watches her for a moment before answering.

"It wasn't as deep as we thought, so there was no need to send Y/n to an outside hospital. Nurse Carrie is stitching her up right now, and will monitor her throughout the night." Snape says and Hermione quickly speaks up.

"No. I'll do it. She's my responsibility in the first place" she says and he nods, following her with his eyes as she walks past him and into the emergency area. The curtain around the bed at the end of the room hid most of Y/n.

When she got close enough, she snuck around the cloth and saw the Nurse taking care of Y/n, sloppily stitching her up. Hermione almost smacked her hands away to stop her but refrained. Y/n's eyes were shut, but flinched at every pull and tug the doofus of a medical 'professional' did.

"Hey Carrie, I'll take over. Go take a break." Hermione says with a fake smile as the girl grins and stands up. Y/n still didn't open her eyes at the sound of her voice, Hermione guessed it was a way to show she was displeased with her.

"Thanks, Hermione!" Nurse Carrie says as she walks around the curtain, faster than the brunette could say 'no problem'. Hermione quietly sat down and put on a pair of gloves before she began to untie the stitches, being careful as she did so. The door opened and shut as Carrie left, announcing they were alone.

Hermione threw away the old stitches and her gloves as she stood up to wash her hands. Y/n still didn't say anything, her heart rate was slightly high, but not audibly noticeable on the monitor. The brunette had a million thoughts going through her mind as she washed her hands thoroughly.

When she came back to the chair and sat down, she put on a new pair of gloves and looked over the injuries. Y/n laid in only her pants and bra, both had blood on them, but nothing super concerning. Hermione instinctively traced her fingers around the five puncture wounds on her stomach.

"These aren't even washed out properly! That idiot!" Hermione whispered as she stood up again to grab a washout bottle. Y/n couldn't help but let out a chuckle due to her nurse's frustration with her coworker.

Her eyes opened to find Hermione mumbling to herself as she filled a bottle with water at the sink nearby. Y/n laid her head back down as she watched her walk back over and sit down. She does a double-take when she realizes that Y/n has opened her eyes.

"Hi," she breaths out.

"Hi," Y/n whispers back as Hermione pulls her chair closer to the side of the bed. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she spoke again.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asks but soon realizes how stupid that sounds.

"Like I've been stabbed" Y/n replied with a chuckle as Hermione took the squeeze bottle and gently cleaned out each wound. Y/n hissed, and Hermione gave a soft 'sorry' under her breath.

"Y/n, why did this happen?" She asks as her other hand dabbed a cloth around the wounds to catch the water.

"I don't know. All I know is that this is why they shouldn't allow guards to cuff violent inmates with their hands forward." She sighed, to which Hermione agreed with wholeheartedly. This had actually been brought this up in a staff meeting just a month ago.

"I agree" she sighed as she put the bottle and cloth onto the metal table, and moved over the suturing needle. Y/n turned tense as she watched Hermione, who caught her body stiffening up from nervousness.

"It's alright" Hermione whispered as she gave a comforting smile. She grabbed the unopened numbing cream, which that ditzy nurse either forgot to use or did on purpose.

"L-Lupin said that tomorrow was your birthday, which makes it today," Y/n said through gritted teeth, her eyes looking around the ceiling in a pained way that almost looked like panic.

"I'm twenty-nine as of today," Hermione says as she unconsciously lays her forearm atop Y/n's hand, she grabs it gently. Not too tight, but not too loose.

"I always liked older women," Y/n says as she seems to calm down, her fingers caressing the underside of her forearm in a slow and steady motion. Hermione knew better than to let her do this, but it was the only way to keep Y/n calm.

"We're only a year apart" she chuckled as she looked over the wounds one more time before falling back to the metal table as she unscrewed the cap on the numbing cream.

"I'm going to numb the small gashes with this, but the big one has to be done now. I can't wait for the cream to start working to stitch it up, I don't want to run the risk of infection" Hermione explained as Y/n just nodded and closed her eyes again. She listened as Hermione moved around for a few moments, calculated but soft.

A cold cream is spread around the smaller wounds, which makes Y/n shiver slightly. Hermione chuckled at that as she put the tube down and changed into a clean pair of gloves again.

"I'll be as gentle as possible," Hermione says as her eyes sorta wander for a moment, taking in Y/n's body. Hey, even nurses can appreciate a good-looking body when they see one. Granted, this probably isn't the best time.

"At least buy me dinner first" Y/n replied as she opened her eyelid slightly and caught Hermione staring for a moment before she cleared her throat and grabbed the needle and thread from the table.

"How about a muffin from the staff room?" Hermione asks as she pinches the skin together before she starts the process. Y/n grunted and nodded at her offer, always happy to get her favorite treat.

Hermione soothed her with quiet shushes and a caress of her wrist against her side from time to time. It was innocent. Obviously.

——————

It was late in the morning now, and Y/n had crashed from her adrenaline high. She was fast asleep as Hermione carefully covered her handy work with gauze. She took a deep breath and cleaned up the area around the bed before finally washing her hands and taking a seat in the recliner chair in the corner. Her eyes were on Y/n as the sun began to shine through the window.

She should be tired, but Hermione had too much to think about. Like how she had let her judgment go too far, to the point that Y/n could have died from a random attack of violence. She wasn't taking her job seriously, and she was ashamed of herself for it.

"I'm sorry" Hermione whispers to Y/n, who just snored softly on the hospital bed. Even though she knew that this could have happened whether she had been her nurse or not, it still irked her that she had been so uptight.

The door at the end of the room opened, and in walked Officer Lupin. He had a stressed and confused look on his face as he quickly walked over to Hermione. She stood up and put her finger to her mouth before she spoke, nodding her head over to show the sleeping inmate.

"How is she?" He whispers as Hermione guides him back towards the door so they won't disturb Y/n as she sleeps. She wasn't all the surprised to find Lupin so worried about Y/n, he had taken a liking to her after all. Almost in a fatherly sense.

"She'll live" Hermione replies as she leans against one of the counters near the door. Officer Lupin sat down in one of the chairs, and let out a deep sigh.

"You know, in the eight years she has been in my cell block, she has never caused any problems." He started as he crossed one leg over another and took off his cap, it now lay in his lap as he took a deep breath.

"Now don't get me wrong, most death row inmates don't cause much trouble, but she's different. Never asks for outlandish things like a radio or TV in her cell, hell, she didn't even ask for a new blanket after it was forgotten by the laundry crew" Officer Lupin chuckled as Hermione smiled softly back at him. Y/n seemed to be a favorite for a lot of different staff members. She was kind and respectful but was prone to give a few inappropriate jokes around the females, but Hermione was already aware of that.

Most of them didn't seem to mind it.

"I read the report on her. I actually read it five separate times" he says as his eyes stare at Y/n's feet. He wore a sad look in his eyes, which caught Hermione off guard. She expected a disgusted look.

"Every gruesome little detail."

Hermione took the seat next to him and looked at him from the corner of her eye. She never decided to look into the record on Y/n, she knew enough from when the whole case went down back in 97'. It was the talk of the country.

Her mother even took a day off work to watch the trial on TV in 2000. She had told Hermione multiple times her feelings about the whole thing.

"That town had it out for that poor girl, god forgive me, but good riddance to that foster family"

Maybe it was time to look into everything.

——————

October 31st

Hermione followed Officer Lupin as he guided her down the hall of Death Row Cell Block A. No one paid them any mind, most were watching TV, listening to the radio, or reading a book. In the middle of the hall, they stopped in front of the door.

She couldn't help but look over the Officer's shoulder as he unlocked the door, Y/n sat on her bed with her nose buried in a book.

"Y/n, you have a visitor," Lupin says as he opens the door and moves out of the way for Hermione. She gave a soft smile as she hid the bag behind her back and stepped inside. Y/n's eyes widened as she marked her page and placed it on the table beside her bed.

"I'll check on you in five minutes," Lupin says as he shuts the door behind her and locks it. Y/n kept her distance as she stood up, there wasn't really enough space to be far apart, but she didn't want to scare Hermione.

"To what do I owe the pleasure? My next dose isn't till a week or so from now" Y/n says with a smile as Hermione sits down at the table and shows the bag she had been hiding. It was fast food.

"I decided to take my lunch break with some company," she says as Y/n sat back on her bed and scooted until her back pressed against the wall.

"I think that this is slightly illegal and probably unprofessional," Y/n said with a teasing smirk, but Hermione just shrugged as she handed her a burger and fries.

"I'm already your unlicensed Physician, so I don't see a problem with adding more to my plate" she replies as Y/n just chuckled as she looked at the already cut-through burger, it was obvious that Lupin had made sure that Hermione wasn't hiding something within it.

"No drink? You're a terrible date" Y/n chuckled as she unwrapped the burger and took a bite of it. Hermione rolled her eyes as she popped a fry into her mouth, dusting off her hands with a napkin.

"I thought I was pushing my luck with drinks, so I brought the next best thing," she says with a small smile as Y/n takes the cups she gets for free, and fills them both up with water.

"And what would that be?" Y/n asks as she places the cup next to Hermione's hand and sits back down on her bed. The brunette dug back in the bag and pulled out a muffin, Y/n grinned happily.

"You're starting to like me, admit it," Y/n says as Hermione waves her off as she eats another fry and takes a sip of water. Their eyes met again, but Hermione didn't seem nervous or apprehensive like she usually did.

"I'm dealing with you," she says as Y/n chuckled to herself and took another bite of her burger. It had been so long since she had fast food. It felt like a warm hug.

"Well, I know you didn't just bring me food to have a chat. What do you really want?" The inmate asks, and Hermione just sighs as she leans her arm against the table and thinks through her words carefully. She was alone with a killer, so who knows what could set her off,

"Can you tell me...what happened that night?" She asks softly, and Y/n stops chewing for a moment. She placed the burger on her thigh and looked at Hermione with an almost...scared look in her eyes.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked as she took a sip of water to calm herself. Hermione took a breath and then nodded.

"I want to know everything" she sighs, to which Y/n raises a brow at her.

"Everything?"

"Every gruesome little detail," Hermione says, repeating what Lupin had said months ago.

(A/N: LAST WARNING: DNI IF TRIGGERED BY ABUSE OF ANY KIND OR VIOLENCE)

Y/n sighed again, looking down at her food. She seemed to lose her appetite as she placed it away from her on the bed and took another sip of water. It was silent for a few minutes as Hermione took small bites of her food. She didn't want to rush in case it ended up coming back up.

"The Dursleys were picture-perfect to everyone outside the home, but that wasn't the case. There were thirteen of us kids living in that foster home, not including the three of them." Y/n starts as her eyes dart around the room, almost like she is reliving a memory. Hermione put her food down and focused all of her attention on the inmate.

"The youngest was nine, and I was the oldest at seventeen" Y/n continued as she pressed her back against the concrete wall, she could feel the divots in it. Hermione nodded as she waited patiently for her to speak again.

"Those Dursley's were mean sons of bitches. Even their son. He was a year older than me, I think"

Their eyes meet again, but Hermione can only see a scared 17-year-old now. She wanted to tell her to stop, that maybe she shouldn't know more than what the media has said, but she kept her mouth shut.

She needed to hear Y/n's side of events.

"I had been living there for about five years up until that night, and I kept my mouth shut about what was happening to us all...like a fucking coward," Y/n said with gritted teeth as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hermione didn't say anything, only her eyes flickering around her body to take in her body language.

"You know, Mr.Dursley never touched anyone, but he had a thing for putting out his cigars on our skin. It didn't matter to him if I screamed and cried for him to stop, he'd hold my arm till he got his fucking rocks off." She scoffed as she instinctively rubbed her hands over her forearms. Hermione felt her hand twitch, but she stopped herself from reaching over and looking at the scars again.

"I broke my arm one time while trying to get away from him. I think I was twelve, so my first year there?"

Hermione's stomach began to churn and twist itself into knots. She knew the details were about to get a lot worse.

"Mrs.Dursley loved having kids around the house because she didn't have to do the housework. She was like a drill sergeant. If she had to do the chore because you didn't do it correctly, then you couldn't be surprised when Mr.Dursley would come to your room with a belt later that night" Y/n said with a chuckle, almost like she was trying to lighten the mood.

"And the boy?" Hermione asks. Y/n went silent again, her fingers picking and pulling at the scars on her arms. The brunette slowly reached over and grabbed her hand, making her stop. Y/n slowly pulled herself to the edge of the bed, placing her feet on the ground and they sat closer together.

"Take your time" Hermione whispers as their knees touch and her hand begins to touch over the scars again. Y/n's body shook slightly like she was lost in the memories. So the nurse dipped her fingertips into her cold water and touched her skin again.

Y/n stopped shaking, her eyes focusing back on Hermione.

"Dudley...Dudley was the worst. Only because his parents turned a blind eye to the behavior, and even encouraged it sometimes" she whispers as Hermione traced her skin with water again, her eyes falling to the droplets that floated on top of it.

"He was the reason I snapped that night"

The room turned cold. As cold as someone placing a cranked-up fan in front of them in winter. Hermione waited for her to continue, but first Y/n moved closer and rested her forehead on her shoulder. The brunette tensed up for a second but relaxed as she noticed that Y/n wasn't trying to hug her, but instead seeking a small bit of comfort without scaring her.

"What happened Y/n?" Hermione whispers as her free hand reaches up and touches the back of her head. This was very unprofessional, but she didn't want to ignore the small ask. It wasn't like she was asking anything, really.

But Hermione wasn't blind to context clues.

"It was late at night, I think it was almost morning. I could hear the Dursleys talking in their room since mine was right next to theirs. Dudley had gone in there to ask them something, but I couldn't hear what it was about." She mumbles as her fingers trace the hum of Hermione's scrubs.

"Then their door opened. It creaked like it usually did, and Dudley walked out" Y/n says as Hermione looks down at her and scratches the back of Y/n's neck.

"How did you know it was him? Did you see him?" She asks.

"Not immediately. His footsteps aren't as soft as his mother's or heavy as his father's." Y/n explains as she thinks for a moment. She could still smell the iron in the air.

"I realized he walking down the hall. There were only bedrooms where he was going, and I knew there was nothing for him there. He had the whole attic for himself. So I got up and walked over to the door, opening it enough to peek my head through." She says as presses her forehead more into Hermione's shoulder, slipping up to the crook of her neck.

"When I saw what door he had opened. I mentally just...broke" Y/n whispers as she sits back up and looks Hermione right in the eyes. The brunette took a breath and saw how Y/n seemed to hold a lot of anger behind her eyes, but it wasn't directed at her.

"The nine-year-old. It was her room. I told him he could do whatever he wanted to me as long as he didn't touch any of the other kids and...I saw the sinister smile on his face as he walked inside. I knew that look all too well" she says as he head twitched to this side. A nervous tick.

"I quickly went into the room across the hall, the twin boys, fifteen at the time. They had a fireplace in their room, so I grabbed the fire poker and ran down the hall."

"Y/n, what's the matter? Where are you going with that?"

She shook her head and looked away, down at her uneaten fast food as it began to get cold. That night haunted her dreams, not because of what she did, but what she realized had been happening under her nose.

"I opened the door and..." her voice caught in her throat as she took a ragged breath, tears falling from her eyes as she could still see her foster sister's face.

"That bastard was already on top of her. He laughed in my face and said to wait my turn" she seethed as she pulled her hands away from Hermione's scrubs and white-knuckled her sheets.

"The two boys followed after me as I grabbed him by the hair and threw him onto the ground. He didn't say anything. I didn't give him a chance."

Hermione felt the back of her neck stand up on its ends, but it wasn't from fear, but from being horrified at what was being told to her.

"I don't know how many times I hit him with it, but I stopped when a piece of his skull came out with the curve of the poker," Y/n says as she backs up, hitting the wall again. Tears ran down her cheek as she looked somewhere other than Hermione.

"No one said anything as I walked out of the room and into the hall, where the other kids now had their heads peeking out of the doors. Yet I just ignored them, instead, I walked into the Dursley's room and..." Y/n trails off as she looks back at Hermione, who still waiting patiently. She didn't look scared or disgusted, she didn't even seem to hate Y/n more than she probably does.

"I killed them. I caught Mr.Dursley off guard and bashed his head in a few times. Enough to incapacitate him. Mrs.Dursley screamed and tried to run out of the room, but I was able to trip her with my foot."

Hermione took a sip of her water, she could almost taste the blood, and it made her slightly nauseous.

"After I was done, I shut the door to their room and found all the kids looking at me. They didn't look scared, but I couldn't really comprehend what was going on." Y/n says as she looks at the light in the ceiling. It flickered and buzzed softly.

"Take...take everyone downstairs and call emergency services"

"Then the cops came" she finishes as Hermione straightened her back and stayed silent for a moment. She wondered what to say, but there was a question she wanted an answer to.

"I read the reports, and it said that they found thirteen different sets of fingerprints on that fire poker. Yet, only you were ever sentenced for the crime. How did that happen?" Hermione asks and Y/n nods slowly as their eyes meet.

"Did you ever hear the story of the 19th-century Chinese goldsmith? He lost a lot of money for his goldsmith buddies due to his shady business practices. So they decided to kill him. By biting him to death. One hundred and twenty-three goldsmiths took a bite out of the victim, ensuring no one individual could be blamed for the murder. For who would know which one administered the lethal bite?" Y/n says as she looks down at her hands, Hermione raises her brows in surprise. It seemed loyalty went far within those kids.

"If you went down, so did the others?" She asks and Y/n nods again, the room doesn't feel as cold as it did before. It was almost back to a comfortable atmosphere.

"I didn't know that they had done that. I had left the poker on the floor near Mrs.Dursley when I had gone downstairs to wait on the porch for the police. Thankfully, they all are still free." Y/n sighed as she found her appetite again and took a fry from its bag. Hermione just stared.

"Do you regret it?"

Y/n looked up and gave a shake of her head.

"The only thing I regret from that night is letting my foster sister watch me kill Dudley. I wish I had made her run out of the room."

Hermione felt broken.

——————

December 27th

Y/n was woken up by the sound of her door being opened. She sat up and found Hermione being let in by Officer Lupin. She had a small smile on her face as Y/n sat up and yawned.

"What time is it?" She asked as Hermione sat down on the table and checked her watch. Y/n noticed she was wearing a new perfume, it was much fancier than usual.

"5:53 in the morning" she chuckles and Y/n just nods as she yawns again, cocooning herself in the blanket. Hermione just stared, finding her sleepy face very endearing.

"I needed to talk to you about something" Hermione states as Y/n laid back down, but nodded, showing that she was listening. The nurse rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, hovering over her as she looked down at Y/n with a serious gaze.

"This is serious" she muttered and Y/n raised a brow, blinking away the blurriness in her eyes. Hermione had become much more comfortable around Y/n since that talk in October, even going as far as to playfully flirt back.

"Are you going to ask me to marry you? Because I need to be your girlfriend first before that happens." Y/n says as she stretches, her arms biting the wall above her head as she does so. Hermione just smiled and shook her head as she took in Y/n's features, they were so carefree. It's like she didn't realize where she was.

"As much fun as that would be, I'm talking about your case being looked over again by a new judge." Hermione states and Y/n sighs as she rolls her eyes, turning on her side and looking away from her friend.

"I'm tired of talking about it. Everyone knows that I'm getting that needle, and I've accepted that." Y/n says and Hermione huffs as she pushes the inmate back onto her back, catching her off guard. She looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Now you listen to me Y/l/n. Do you know how lucky you are to find a judge who wants to review this case and its evidence? This could literally be life or death for you. So I recommend you take it seriously." Hermione says as she pokes Y/n's chest with her finger. The inmate smirked and nodded slowly, her hand grasping the nurse and pulling it up to her lips.

Y/n had become very comfortable as well.

A little too comfortable.

She just stared into Hermione's eyes as she kissed her knuckles. The brunette tried to act as if it didn't bother her in the slightest when in reality, she had an angel and a devil on her shoulder whispering different things.

"You're pushing your luck" Hermione hummed as she watched Y/n just kiss her knuckles again. They were soft, and kind.

"Then pull away" Y/n whispered back and Hermione just stared back at her, her eyes dilating rapidly with every little kiss that was pressed to her skin. This was dangerous. She would lose her job if they were caught.

How did this happen? Was it because she was a vigilante in a sense? Did she have an attraction to a killer, or was it a 'bad girl' appeal? Either way, it spoke volumes about her mental health.

Y/n kissed down to her wrist, a shuttered breath left Hermione's lips as watched her. Her mind told her to back away, but the rest of her body said otherwise. Her other hand grasped the sheets of the bed beside Y/n's head as she loomed even more over her.

Her hair fell around them, and a golden glow from the oak tree curls cascaded across Y/n's face. Hermione was in such an awkward and twisted position, that she thought Y/n was doing this so she would lay on top of her to relieve the knot in her spine.

"You're dangerous" Hermione whispers as Y/n smirks and nibbles on the space between her hand and forearm. That expression basically said 'not dangerous enough for you to run away'.

"Remus will be back soon," she says again, trying to find an excuse to go before she did something she couldn't take back. Y/n just hummed, continuing to kiss her skin. She had no care in the world.

She has lived so carefully all her life, but now Y/n doesn't mind the consequences anymore. She looked safe while silently worshiping Hermione's skin. She had the same look on her face as a druggy looking into stain glassed windows.

Hermione's back pleaded for her to untwist, it stung like steel nails being pressed into her spine. So she slowly turned her hips to the side, but then Y/n struck. She pulled Hermione onto her, the nurse gasped softly as her other hand broke free and landed on the bed beside the inmate's face.

Their noses bumped against each other, Y/n still wore that smirk that screamed 'got you'. It made the nurse's face began to feel as though it was right next to a space heater. Her chest pressed against Y/n's, pounding out to the other heart that seemed steady compared to hers.

"You...you are pushing your luck" Hermione repeated with a shaken voice and Y/n just hummed softly as her eyes scanned her face slowly, methodically. A gentle laugh left her lips as she looked up at Hermione innocently, almost too innocently.

"You have already said that" Y/n hums as one of her hands found their way up to the brunette's mouth, dragging her thumb across her bottom lip ever so slowly. Hermione felt like smacking her head into the concrete walls, just so she could get a grip on herself!

Back away.

Back away!

Then she heard footsteps and a jingle of keys.

Hermione suddenly stood away with a sharp exhale. Her back almost slammed into the wall as her heart pounded like a jackhammer, and Y/n slowly sat up on her forearm.

As the door opened, and Remus looked at them both with a raised eyebrow. Hermione cleared her throat as she took a breath, pointing her finger at a smirking Y/n, who feigned innocence still.

"Talk to a lawyer. Please" she says before quickly walking out of the cell. Remus watched as she kept her head down and sped walked down the hallway. He looked back at Y/n and let out a soft huff as the inmate looked back at him with a smile.

"What did you do?" He asked and Y/n just shrugged, Remus sighed softly.

"We were just messing around" she hummed as she laid back down, and rested her head on her arms. The officer leaned against the doorframe and hummed back in disbelief, the man on the moon could see Hermione's flush from here.

"Sure, Y/n. Just don't run her off" he says and the girl waved him off with her hand and turned to go back to sleep for a bit. Remus rolled his eyes as he shut and locked the door again.

As he began to make his rounds again, he couldn't help but find the situation a little cute. Granted, maybe he was a hopeless romantic. Then again, maybe there was something there.

Time could only tell.

——————

February 19th

Hermione sat in the observation room, writing down little notes for herself about medications and treatments that she had lined up for other patients. Yet, her mind was on Y/n.

God. It always was.

She was beginning to think she was going stir-crazy. Can you blame her though? To fall for a killer was something she would hear from the news, not expecting to actually experience it!

So after that encounter in Y/n's cell, Hermione tried to date a few people she had met prior. It was no use, however, for the death row inmate had her fingers hooked around her neck like razor wire, and the nurse actually enjoyed it.

"Something is wrong with me" Hermione whispered as she stood up and checked that she did in fact have Y/n's shot ready for her. She was a little bit airheaded today.

She had left her lunch at home and lost one of her prescriptions that a patient of hers needed for their depression. Hermione wasn't having a good day, and another mess up would definitely have her on the bad end of Umbridges lecture.

The sound of the door opening had caught her attention, she slowly glanced over her shoulder to see Y/n being brought in by another Officer, the little dipshit, Quirrell. He shoved her into the room and quickly latched her to the table, he didn't even bother saying anything as he stepped out of the room, the door shutting rather loudly behind him.

"What's his problem?" Hermione asked as she rolled over the small table and sat down on her chair. Y/n sighed and leaned back slightly, one of her hands holding her up as Hermione prepared the other arm for the shot.

"He hates me. I think he might have known the Dursleys" Y/n says with a shrug as Hermione's eyes pop back up to her in surprise. If that is true, then who in their right mind would let him anywhere near Y/n?

"What? How? Are you sure?" Hermione asks as she slips on a pair of gloves, and grabs the shot from the table. Y/n just sighed again. She looked out of it today. Two of a feather.

"I'm not positive, but I swear I've seen him before, before this place" she explains as Hermione inserted the needle into her arm and released the vitamins into the muscle. Y/n flinched slightly, but relaxed soon after.

"Maybe he just looks like someone else you've seen? It's like how I think that one actor from CSI has been in more stuff I've seen, but he hasn't" Hermione says as she throws the needle and other garbage away. Y/n chuckled and watched her for a moment.

"Probably" she hummed as they fell into a comfortable silence.

Y/n watched Hermione like a hawk, it sent a shiver up the Nurse's spine, but not because she didn't like it. She kept her back towards her, trying her best to keep her cool as she cleaned the small spaces she had touched.

"Hermione?"

She froze, but soon took a breath and looked over her shoulder. When their eyes met again, a warmth spread through Hermione's stomach, almost like a heating pad had been placed over it.

"Yes?" She replied.

Y/n thought for a moment and gestured her over, closer to her. Hermione took a few steps towards her, her breath rising a little faster than normal.

Was she scared of Y/n? No, that wasn't it. She didn't feel like a scared kid, she felt like a schoolgirl. This was wrong, but then again, why did being close to Y/n feel so right?

Y/n craned her head up to keep eye contact once Hermione now stood directly in front of her. Their breaths were moving in harmony as they stood in silence for another minute.

It seemed as though neither of them knew how to continue the conversation, or Y/n was playing a small game with her. She didn't know entirely.

"When was the last kiss you've had?" Y/n asks and Hermione blinked in surprise as a flush began to rise from her neck. That was such an inappropriate thing to ask! And she was going to tell Y/n as such.

"That is not an appropriate question to ask in the workplace" Hermione responds as she clears her throat and tries to step away, but Y/n gently grabs the front of her scrubs to keep her still.

"I don't work here, so is it really being inappropriate if I'm just a...well I'm not a civilian, but let's say tenant of this establishment" Y/n chuckles as Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat. She was right in a way, but it was against the law anyway. Hermione won't risk her freedom for a quick flirty feeling.

"Still" she replied and Y/n just hummed as she let go of her scrubs. Y/n won't force her, she wouldn't do that to one of the few friendly faces in this place. Yet, Hermione didn't move away.

"Did you talk to your lawyer? To see if you could file an appeal on your sentencing?" She asked and Y/n leaned back again, both arms propping herself up on the examination table.

"This is my last appeal, and my lawyer is for warning me to wait on it. She doesn't think that using it after only being here for eight years would help me" Y/n says, to which Hermione furrowed her brows in both confusion and anger. That lawyer may have a point, but it didn't matter in the brunette's eyes.

"What happens if your execution date is set? Then what the fuck will she do?" Hermione asks in a huffed tone, to which Y/n raises an eyebrow at. She hasn't been expecting her to get so defensive. Wait, that's not it. Attached?

"There's probably an emergency appeal she could send out, they usually tell the inmates a few weeks beforehand so they can prepare themselves" Y/n replied as she shrugged again. That angered Hermione more. How could she act so nonchalant? Her life is literally on the line, and she's just fine with it.

"How are you so calm? I would be shaking twenty-four-seven if I was in your shoes" Hermione says as she pulls her chair over and sits down. Y/n thought for a moment and shrugged again.

"I've had eight years to be afraid, but after the first few, you learn that you can't be terrified of something that will come eventually. Granted, I don't have a say in the matter, but this is my consequence." Y/n says with a sigh as she rolls her neck to the side, it cracked slightly. Hermione nodded along, understanding that she had come to terms with death. It was a part of life after all.

Another question loomed in her mind.

"How did you feel when you were sentenced?" She asks and Y/n pauses a moment, a faraway look in her eye. There was so much emotion behind it, yet her face didn't express any of it.

"My mind kinda blanked when the jury sentenced me to the death sentence. All I really remember is one of the bailiffs coming over and cuffing me while the other foster kids began to cry and yell at the jury...it was chaos" Y/n said as she took a deep breath out. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek, trying to figure out how to backpedal on such a deep conversation.

She didn't want to stress Y/n out, and the convict took notice of her nervousness.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks, to which Hermione nods, a soft 'of course' coming from her lips.

"What was college/university like?" Y/n asks as she sits up slightly, a small smile forming on her face. Hermione was surprised again, honestly thinking that it was going to be another super personal question.

"Well, uh. It was difficult, getting my degree took a few years longer than most." Hermione explained and Y/n nodded along. She actually seemed very interested in what Hermione had done in school.

"Did you want to get your degree?" she asks, but immediately regrets it. That was a stupid question. She forgets that Y/n is a convict most of the time, then bouts out questions you would ask people outside of a prison.

"Actually, yes. Except, I just wanted to party" Y/n snickered as Hermione smiled softly. Of course, she did. She seemed like one of those people who would love to drink till they blacked out behind a KFC.

(A/N: personal experience btw, went to a party in Chicago and woke up behind a KFC in Indianapolis the next morning. To this day, I still don't know how I got there 🤷🏻‍♀️)

"Ah, sounds like you were going to be a troublemaker" Hermione chuckles as they get deeper into the conversation. It wasn't till an hour or so later, after Officer Dingbat finally came back from his lunch break, that they parted ways.

Hermione found herself checking inventory later into the day, a clipboard in hand as she made sure all her patients had their needed medications. That was when she realized that only one shot was left for Y/n.

"I better request more...directly" she groaned as her head dropped a little. Hermione really didn't want to talk to Umbridge again, but if she didn't, then it was likely that Y/n's needs would go unchecked. Even if she were to highlight it on the order form.

So, she begrudgingly trudged her way to the main offices and found the menace sitting at her desk. Her hair was still styled like it had been this morning, compared to Hermione, whose locks were how in a messy ponytail.

"Ma'am, may I have a word?" She asked as she cleared her throat and tried to keep an attitude out of her tone. Their eyes met for a moment before the smaller woman looked back at the forms on her desk.

"Yea, what is it?" Umbridge sighs.

"Well, we need a new shipment by next month of Y/n Y/l/n's B-12 shots" Hermione replied, but her face turned to shock as her superior waved off her request.

"That won't be necessary" Dolores sighs again as she signs off on some vacation request forms. Hermione was puzzled. What did she mean that it wouldn't be 'necessary'?

Obviously, it wasn't a secret that Umbridge was very cruel to the inmates in non-law-violating ways, but refusing her vitamins was a bit...bitchy.

"May I ask why?" Hermione asks, and Dolores looks up, a small sinister smile growing on her face. The younger girl instantly swallowed the spit in her throat.

"She is set to be executed"

[wafflinglumos]

No I absolutely agree! I also think people should do whatever they please with fics. I think it’s just a slight pet peeve of mine really, but I do absolutely agree on the Snape thing too, he was an interesting character as a child but that interestingness for me became a great disdain as he became an adult.

I also think it’s just important to Sirius’ character; and there again is so, so much angst potential with him doing it in an non remorseful way, but again people should do whatever they please with these characters, I was looking at it from a canon perspective.

(Which I know is ironic considering this fandom skips over canon and I do that too lol)

Guys, Sirius canonically did not care about the prank.

He shows ZERO remorse for what he did, I don’t know why this fandom absolutely adores absolving the marauders of their flaws, but it’s quite annoying. Sirius, canonically, did not care or feel remorse for what he did, he in fact justified what he did, and I love Sirius, he’s one of my favorites but come on, he sucked as a teenager, as did all the marauders.

I’ve also seen a lot, a LOT of people try to make Sirius’ actions come from a place of self defense, or some type of retaliation for something that Snape did but that’s also incorrect. His exact reasoning is(down below)

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled..." -Sirius in POA

After that Remus remarked that Sirius did it also because he found it amusing, and Sirius did not interject to disagree.

Also, a lot of people forget how important the prank was to James’ character, up until that moment James was to put it bluntly a complete dickhead to Snape, and vice versa sure but James was a dick, however he went out of his way to save him, and sure you could argue he did that for Remus more than Snape, but he still saved Snape. Diminishing the prank to just wolfstar angst is objectively incorrect.

Anyways, I still like “the prank” angst, but really guys, he did NOT care like at all. I also feel like there is so, SO much more angst potential with Sirius’ canonical feelings, rather than the angsty “it was a mistake” route that the majority of this fandom takes.

[hp-debates-ramblings]

I now present:

SIRIUS DESERVES BETTER THAN REMUS. ALWAYS:

Remus lacks emotional stability and maturity.

James was right there.

Remus didn't match Sirius' vibe as James did.

Remus DARED to suspect Sirius as the spy.

He's selfish.

He's not James.

James exists

He didn't care for Harry,

James Prongs Fleamont Potter

His name is not James.

He makes being a werewolf his whole personality. Sirius fights the world's perception of him, but Remus not only falls into it, he lets it shape him.

Remus believes the world on what Sirius is/isn't instead of what he knows.

He thinks Sirius betrayed. The James Potter.

His surname isn't Potter.

His middle name isn't Fleamont.

His name's meaning has something to do with wolves and moons.

His first name starts with R instead of J.

He's not the guy that went above and beyond and everything else for Sirius (hint that guy is Harry's Dad)

He can't challenge Sirius. Academically or otherwise.

He's not Mr Best At Transfiguration became an animagus at 15 (hint it's Sirius ACTUAL bestie for restie)

He is NOT the guy Sirius ran to when he couldn't deal with Grimmauld place (read: Prison Palace)

He is not the guy Sirius went to EVER.

He is not the guy Sirius missed throughout his Azkaban sentence.

Also he did not try to free him.

He also doesn't respect Sirius. Or James. Or Harry.

He isn't Harry's Dad.

He doesn't once attempt to listen to Sirius until the Marauders' Map forced him to open his eyes.

Sirius doesn't once try to talk/seek him out. EVER. Like he is risking life to see Harry play and not once does he think that Remus exist lol.

Not Lily's husband.

Not Sirius EVERYTHING

He is not James Potter.

Also not a true Gryfindor (He is a coward no I won't change my mind)

He keeps secrets. Lots of them. From everyone.

Also basically becomes the slave of anyone who looks at him in not-disgust for even one second (Read: ALBUS DUMDOOR)

Not James Potter.

James exist.

Just not it.

Nowhere near Sirius level of anything.

Too much like Regulus.

A pushover.

Not James Potter.

Abanondoned his wife (i get it fight and alll TELL YOUR WIFE COWARD)

makes the literal target of oldy baldy his sons godfather! And then basically tries to get himself killed.

isn't Sirius-like enough

Felt sadder at Dumbles death than Sirius

Doesn't try to comfort/reach out to Harry ONCE

Essentially says that he never participated in anything with Prongs and Padfoot and isolates himself to look good infront otf one's kid and anothers godson like dude

301

James is better. And so is Sirius.

(Thanks @cassiaallen for letting me know I wrote godson instead of godfather)

[aanoia]

No

James Potter x reader

Summary; James won't give up until he gets a yes

Warnings; James is lowkey and pushover and I'm pretty sure asking someone to go out over and over again is harassment so that too

Words; idk man

Pt. 2

“No.” I said sternly, returning to my book.

“Come on, Y/n, please. One date, then you can be done with me forever.” James pleaded, an easy smirk resting on his face.

“James, I’d rather be done with you right now.” I persisted.

“But you can’t. So, a date?”

“You know this is harassment right?”

“I am very aware. Does tomorrow sound good?”

I scoffed and shook my head, “No.”

He smiled proudly and began walking away, “Tomorrow it is. Meet me in the common rooms at 10, baby.”

I rolled my eyes as Remus laughed quietly beside me as he listened to the interaction.

“Are you gonna go?” He asked quietly.

“Nope.” I sighed and went back to reading.

“I don’t believe you, like at all.” Sirius deadpanned as he sat on the couch in the common room, his fingers gently threading through Remus’s hair who had his head on his lap as he quietly read his book.

“I’m serious, Sirius.” James said, waiting patiently for his date.

“No, I’m Sirius, James.” The boy responded.

James rolled his eyes as the clock rang out, signaling the new hour. It was officially ten. James stood up excitedly, knowing Y/n was always perfectly on time, never early and never late, with the exception of class where she seemed to get there before the dismissal bell even rang. He waited patiently, however the girl never came.

“Oh, Prongs, I knew you were lying.” Sirius said.

“No, she’s coming. She must just be late.”

“She’s never late.”

James ignored him and continued watching the stairs from the Girl’ dormitory. Thirty minutes passed before James sat down with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, James. She probably forg-” Peter paused as he looked up, expecting to see a sulking James, instead, the boy had a smirk on his face, already planning the next way he was going to ask the girl out. It was going to be big this time.

Y/n sat quietly in the Great Hall, working on a potions essay as her friends laughed around her. The mail owls swooped in but Y/n ignored them, not expecting anything. She jumped slightly in surprise when a piece of folded up parchment was dropped in front of her.

“I thought you weren’t expecting anything, Y/n.” Her friend said and Y/n cautiously held the paper in her hands.

“I wasn’t.” She told them and gently opened the paper.

‘Look up.’ It wrote and she furrowed her brows before doing as told. The moment she looked, flower petals of all kinds dropped around her like an endless rain. A small gasp left her lips as she felt her clothes change and she looked down to see herself in a beautiful white, flowy dress. Petals began sewing themselves into the dress, creating pink and red flowers. Her hair had been taken out of its usual ponytail and had been let down and slightly curled as the raining petals weaved themselves into a flower crown around her head. Loud music began playing as students burst into the Great Hall with instruments, causing her to jump slightly. She looked down the table as she heard the Marauders hollering at her with large smiles on their faces.

James stood on the table in a slightly tattered tux, probably from his dad. He held a large sign in his hands. Once Y/n saw what was written she stood up angrily and walked to the end of the table, the petals following her as her dress swished violently behind her.

“Y/n!” James said excitedly and jumped off the table. She didn’t say anything, instead she roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the Great Hall. She led him outside, where the sun was setting.

“What is wrong with you?” Y/n questioned, raising her voice slightly as anger flowed through her veins. “I’ve said no a million times! Why can’t you just take no for an answer and leave me alone! I am so sick and tired of this, James!”

James smiled softly at her. It was different from his usual smirk, this was sweet and adoring.

“You’re beautiful.” He whispered and the girl was slightly taken aback, having never received that compliment from anyone other than her parents and close friends. Never from a boy. “And I will always, always ask you out. Until you say yes, I always will.”

Y/n let an angry sigh from her nose, “I’ll never say yes.” She told him.

“I don’t believe in never.” James said.

“I don’t believe in always.” Y/n countered.

“Well, opposites attract.”

“Never.” She raised her brows.

“Always.” He finished, smirking

[neongreenllama]

Prompt: Watermelon

@wolfstarmicrofic - 357 words

Remus at last relented to the boy’s begging, handing little Harry the box filled with watermelon slices.

“But be careful, don’t get your things dirty,” he cautioned, despite knowing it was probably hopeless anyway.

At least if the boy had his snacks now, it meant Remus could focus on gathering the rest of their things for the trip back home. They had to be at the station in twenty minutes, and he did not want to be two hours into a train ride to Wales when he remembered he’d forgotten something important like his wallet or, heaven forbid, Harry’s favorite teddy in London.

His ruffling through the bag was accompanied by the loud crunching and smacking of a watermelon being eaten, and the happy giggling that always came from Harry whenever Padfoot was around.

Being sure they had thought of everything, he turned back around, only to be witness to the dog taking a big bite from a half-eaten slice of watermelon from the boy’s hand, crunch his way through it, juice tripping out of his mouth (probably more landing on the floor than in his stomach), and then sloppily lick Harry’s face.

The little boy was obviously delighted by Padfoot’s shenanigans as always, giggling almost hysterically.

By the state of them both, that’s what had been happening the whole time Remus had been the responsible adult and guardian. Harry’s face, hair and clothes were smeared with juice and slobber, and Padfoot’s fur looked no better, his whole head and neck visibly wet.

“Padfoot,” he warned, and the dog at once stopped licking the little boy’s face to look at Remus with attentive ears and big, innocent eyes. The dog licked his lips, gathering up some of the juice still dripping from his muzzle, and swallowed, so painfully obviously guilty of his crimes.

Remus was about give him a stern lecture, he really was, but then he just sighed, defeated.

It was already too late anyway.

Nothing else to do but wipe them clean so they looked at least half-presentable and hope for the best.

A dirty child was a happy child, or whatever it was they said.

[thevampireslovelywife]

YES James potter was a people pleaser

YES James potter had anxiety

YES he was a bit of a goofball

BUT JAMES POTTER WAS NOT DUMB, OR WEAK

Like akshshvsjsvsjsbdj

Ahhhhhh I feel like some ppl will equate people pleaser to being weak and it pisses me off

They're anything but weak imo but that's besides the point

To an extent yes, James Potter did let a lot of things slide that shouldn't have but he was NOT a pushover

He knew when it was needed to stand up for himself or others, even if it scared the shit out of him and he wanted to do anything but

ALSO

James potter could clap back, if he so chose

You think the boy can't after being around Remus, Sirius, and Regulus for so long?????

It was bound to rub off on him

And as for him being dumb

THIS BITCH WASN'T DUMB

He always made himself seem like it, acting silly, always asking for help on his hw(in a goofy kind of way which made it seem like he actually needed help)

But he was SO smart omfg

He knew all the stuff he was learning, he just had to explain it to himself because he would either 1. Get distracted in class cause ✨Adhd ✨ or 2. The teachers just didn't explain it the way he needed

But he most always understood what they were learning and in fact probably helped the others out with their HW cause he was so good

He just acted dumb so much they all forgot he was smart until they saw his grades (they never dropped below a 90 or an A if your grading system is like that or however tf Hogwarts grades)

But yeah

thanks for listening to my Ted talk LMAO

@themortalityofundyingstars @starmanbutitsregulusblack

[trashland-llamas]

I'm just imagining Remus and Sirius dating up until the events of the Prank and then he ends up dating Regulus a year after. At the very least, it's a wake up call that he shouldn't be so much of a pushover. That there has to be other people out there that would accept him for his lycanthropy. Especially as his so-called friend was willing to let him potentially maim someone because he thought said person was annoying. Like it's all funny but not in a 'ha ha' way. Rather fate is a cruel mistress and they are in fact fucking with you type of way.

[marauderseraconfessions]

I hate the way that the Marauders fandom likes to shred characters up beyond recognition and take out everything that makes them interesting.

Remus went from being a mild, pushover, quiet, cowardly guy to being a jackass 'casanova' with anger issues who smokes all the time and is hypermasculinised. (If that sounds familiar it's because how most fics used to write Sirius.) We get the most time with him. You can find details on him on the HP Lexicon. You can find the books pretty swiftly online, too. (🏴‍☠️, or even scans people put online. They're out there, you don't gotta give JKR money lol.)

And Sirius. Oh Sirius. Right now the popular characterisation for him is either damn near offensively stereotypically queer who can't do a damn thing without his bf, or he gets raked over the coals for absolutely everything and bashed to hell and back. Am I saying he is perfect? No. But god please let him be the well intentioned but flawed, SMART person he is.

James will always remain Perfect, the sunshine, the does-no-wrong mum friend, despite the fact that of the three, we see him LEAST. Quite funny how 'oh we can just make up stuff to make them actually be interesting' doesn't seem to apply to one of the most important characters.

And Peter, I hear you ask? As ever, he still fades into the background or has all the imperfect bits about his character carefully removed.

- 🐞 (sorry for the yap session lol)

ᯓ★

[wolves-and-stars]

Remus in his Element: FIC REC LIST

(A list of fics where the authors dont fuck up remus lupin, the most brilliant, wonderful man to have existed.)

Okay i would like to preface this by saying that i went throught the 2014 remus lupin is a nerd era (and thats not to say he isn't, just not thr way they made him out to be) and it was the worst. So, here are some fics that give REMUS LUPIN.

1. Subtlety, Thy Name is Sirius Black by rekahneko (ffnet) 21k

Remus thinks sirius needs to be more subtle with his flirting, sirius thinks remus is full of shit. So they make a bet to see who's right. Remus has to manage to subtely get the girl (cough cough) he has a crush on to ask him out, before sirius can agree someone else to ask him out.

Remus is so self assured and comfortable with who he is and what he wants without comprimising on his affection and actual personality.

Fire fic.

2. The lad that loved you by mollymarymarie (ao3) 81k

Remus and Sirius get into a relationship, naturally the next step is to pretend they hate each other and give james a heart attack.

Remus is so sexy in this one. The final chapter is (SPOILER) so fire when he punches snape.

3. Ten reasons (to go to michigan) by greyeyedmonster18 (ao3) 59k

Remus is a newly divorced and a best selling author, unfortunatley he has nothing left to write. So, he books a flight to the upper peninsula where he grew up. He happens to meet a starnger in a coffeeshop, who happens to change his life.

There's a scene with his ex husband, where he throws down his credit card and it is such a breath of fresh air with all the pushover remus characterizations.

4. Dating Remus Lupin by children_of_the_shadows (ao3) 83k

You will never find a fic with such brilliant characterizations of all of the marauders. All 4 of them are so unique and funnily written. Sirius is so unhinged its crazy. Hes giving bimbo, but deliberate bimbo yaknow? And remus. Ohmygod remus in this fic.

He is so emo, aloof, nonchalant. And it drives sirius up the wall. Remus gives so hard in this fic.

5. Sex pistols by Artificialaorta (ffnet) 86k

Remus is the lead gutairist for belladonna a punk rock band. His character is so cool and so sauve, but irl he is not so cool and not so sauve about sirius black, lead singer for pop band the marauders.

I love fics that dont put his character down by making him someone that just gives into everything sirius and james say and do. But still manage to keep him, himself you know?

6. Stalking sirius by remuslives23

Remus is very self assured and confident in the way he acts in this. Hes a journalist that stalks sirius and happens to be the only one that gets under the mysterious mans skin.

7. Highland Fling by Picascribit (a03) 38k

Sirius goes backpacking through scotland and happens to meet a cute bartender at the pub. Except hes staright, lives in america, and set to be engaged.

Again self assured remus. No insecurity or digs at his personality.

8. This is the Life by 1electricpirate (ao3) 15k

After the war, Sirius becomes an uptight, high-ranking Ministry official; but when an old childhood friend comes unexpectedly back in his life, he learns what it is to let go and live and love once more - the question is, will Remus let him?

Love remus in this one.

9. Rumor has it by Remy_writes5 (ao3) 15k

No student had ever figured out why Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin seemed to hate each other so much, and at this point in the year the seniors were done trying. All they had time to focus on now was finals and graduation, although the annual class trip provided a welcome distraction. Three days on a lake with their four favorite teachers and plenty of time to gossip had to be a good time, right?

10. The London Underground Book of Love by Children_of_the_Shadows

The cardinal rule of the London Underground is to never, ever make eye contact. It is a rule that, among many others, Sirius tends to follow despite his otherwise rebellious, non-rule-following nature. So the first time he makes eye contact with a human being in the subway comes as much of a shock to him as anyone else. Especially when he's unable to look away.

Remus is so cute and fluffy in this.

11. Everything's Connected by mizdiz (ao3) 44k

When he's seven years old, Sirius Black has a brief encounter with a strange boy in the woods, who, in their short exchange, teaches him an important lesson about the nature of the Universe, only to then disappear without a trace.

Nine years later, Sirius, along with his two best friends, is a student away at boarding school, with a brand new transfer student as his roommmate--a foul-mouthed, astronomy nerd named Remus Lupin.

Between school, hormones, relationships, and the fact that he is keeping a (magical) secret away from everyone--Sirius' year starts to go a little off the rails.

Not to mention, there's something familiar about that Remus Lupin kid that he just can't seem to shake...

Remus lupin is magic in this one.

12. Play Dates by DeathjunkE (ao3)

Remus and Sirius are Single Parents who meet by chance and become interested in one another.

Remus is just a simple, good, kind, baker.

13. Wizard beat by eprime (ao3) 6k

Sirius is a fanboy.

14. Remus Lupin's Guide to Successful Courting by Children of the Shadows (ffnet)

Remus has lived for twenty five years now. Due to his incapability to emote or feel many complicated things at the same time, he has always maintained a straight face, his facial features sitting at an angle of approximately a hundred and seventy four point two d though he has practiced it many times before in front of the mirror, Remus has truly never smiled.

[fauna-flora11]

Never trust Severus Snape

Pairing: James Potter/Lily Evans

Warnings: cursing

Hurt/comfort ish

1k words

Summary: Lily snaps at James, calling him out for all his unwanted confessions and acts of love. Is that really what she wants though?

The sun was setting, streaks of orange and red painting the sky. It was a beautiful day, most people out on the last day of the weekend. Laughter echoed in the air, and James sauntered over to Lily Evans, confidence in his gait. She was sitting next to Severus Snape in intense conversation. James heard bits of 'He's horrible-' and 'using you -'. James scoffed. As if that was enough to setter him "Hey, Evans!" his voice rang out in the ground. "I wanted to ask you something. Will you go out wit-"

Lily whirls suddenly , stomping the ground."Enough! Merlin, Potter! Do you not know how to take a hint? You have been hounding me this whole year, actually, for the past 3 years, and I have continuously.been.rejecting.you! Do you not know what that means? " Lily fumes, "What does a girl have to do to stop some perverted wierdo making advances on her?! Sev is right, you know. You're a douchebag who doesn't know anything. Hail Potter, the fucking loser who thinks he's so great but you're actually nothing. A nobody who only has one friend that tried to kill my best friend." She pokes him in the chest, nose scrunched in fury. Though she doesn't push him very hard, James stumbles back as if she had punched him. An eerie silence had taken over the moments before laughing ground. "I hate you, James Potter."

James takes a step backwards, tears shining in his eyes. "I-I'm Sorry," A tear falls down his face. "I'm so sorry." And he takes off, only turning back once to the girl he thought would be his forever.

Back in the Gryfffindor dormitory, James sobs into Sirius' shoulder,surrounded by pillows. He murmurs soft nothings into James' ear and soothingly runs his hand in circles around James' back. Remus sits next to him, cooling down a cup of Chai, knowing James needs the taste of home. Remus frowns, "Look, I know Evans is my friend, but that was so unnecessary and so fucking rude. If she wanted you to back off, we all know she's not some pushover that can't voice her thoughts, she would've told you so!" Sirius pulls back, nodding vigorously, "She led you on mate! She let you take her on dates, hang out, giggle whenever you told her you loved her, and now this!?" he made a noise of disgust in his throat. James sniffed, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. "But still, I feel like it's my fault. I should've known, she's right. She has been rejecting me for years. I'm just the one who's daft enough to continue trying." Remus scoffed, handing James the now cool cup of Chai, "Please! She was lapping up your attention, giggling and twirling her hair. Besides, it's a loss for her, losing a guy like you. You're literally head over heels for her."

This just makes James return to the comfort of Sirius' shoulder. Remus leaves to refill James' cup and Sirius tucks him in to his bed. He sits next to James, running his hand through his hair and doing such ridiculous things that he coaxes a watery laugh out of James once or twice. Remus had gone to class, but Sirius had forbidden James from going. "You'll only get more upset when you see her mate. It's not worth it." After a while James suddenly hugs Sirius, murmuring into his hair, "Thanks mate. Thanks so much," Sirius just smiles. "That's what I'm here for, aren't I? What would you do without me?"

When night had well and truly fallen, James gets up, pulling on a coat. "Where are you going?" Sirius calls. "Just-walking. Need to clear my mind." "Want us to go with you?" Remus asks. "Nah, I'll be back in a bit."

James still has an hour left for curfew, but he still brings his invisibility cloak in case he needs it. Walking down the winding path to the lake, he finally settles under a tree next to the bank of the lake. He rests his head on the tree, thinking. He hears a rustle on the grass beside him,and his head snaps to attention. There, he sees Lily walking towards him, and she settles on the grass beside him. "Hi," She says, a wary look on her face. "Hey." James turns away, knowing if he looks at her any longer, he'll start to tear up, which isn't something he wants to do right now. "James, look. I wanted to talk about earlier today and-" "No, Lily, I wanna talk about today. Not only today but the past few years. I want to apologize. You're right. I've been annoying you for the past 3 years and I know it's my fault. I really should've listened, or payed more attention to your obvious discomfort. It's my fault, and I'm really, really sorry. I-I should've known. " Lily looks at him,"No-James, listen, you don't need to apologize I really-"

"Lily-please. Don't," his voice cracks, and he runs a tired hand over his face. "Don't do that. Don't be nice because I'll hope again. You're kindness is one of the many things that made me like you, and if you do it again, I'll never be able to get over you, because, merlin, lily, I love you so fucking much. If there's even a sliver of hope that you might still like me even a little bit, I'll cling on to it. I can't help it, because you're like a magnet. I can't help but be attracted to you. So please, please just hate me, scream at me again, shout at me, but please, don't give me that hope. " Lily looks at him, tears in her eyes. " James, listen. I will give you that hope because I do love you. I've loved you for a while, I just didn't know it. I'm so sorry for today. I was in a shit mood since morning, and everything was annoying me. On top of that, Severus was egging me on about how I shouldn't even speak to you because of that prank you and your mates pulled on him but what he failed to tell me was how he was saved. I should've never listened to him James, Proffesor McGonagall told me later in transfiguration what actually happened. I'm really sorry. Please, forgive me? "

James looks at her, obviously surprised but a sliver of doubt shines in his eyes." Was that out of pity?" Lily sobs, smiling through it."James Potter, you are such an idiot." She flings herself at him, locking him in an embrace and kisses him. And suddenly, all of James' worries melt away.