The Japanese kabocha squash grew in nicely, Eva noted as she paced around the vegetable gardens with her arms crossed behind her back.

She remembered when Professor Sprout had asked her star student what she thought about harvesting the imported autumn vegetable. Eva had listened intently as her professor went on listing the difficulties that it would face, but if she did happen to be successful, they would not only have a very scrumptious Halloween feast, but also be one of the first to attempt and prosper at growing the plant so far away from its homeland.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Eva had urged her furtively. Though initially she had doubted its ability to succeed in the Scottish soil, it seemed that it had proven everyone wrong and prospered. They were now plump and round just like their gardener. The corners of her eyes lightly lifted up at the thought.

"Am I late?" Eva looked up from where she had been bending down, her fingers pausing momentarily over the prickly peppermint plant's leaves. She had planted it herself just over two years ago, and it had grown to be her most prized possession at Hogwarts. Starting off as just a seed, it now stood over a foot tall, overshadowing the bird eye's chili.

"I don't know, are you?" she responded faintly, not bothering to pay him any mind. Truthfully, she hadn't been keeping track of the time, for once in her life, she had intentionally arrived early. She loved the vegetable garden, just like she loved the green houses, and could spend all day there if they would allow her.

"I think so." Remus' breath was short and heavy. He hunched over slightly, his hands placed on the slopes of his ribs, attempting his best to keep his lungs inside his chest.

"You shouldn't have run," she said passingly, beginning to stand up. She looked down at her dirt-stained hands and clapped them together to brush the soil off.

"Yeah, thanks," he retorted in a huff. Eva looked up through her eyelashes to watch him as he coughed into a hand.

"You should drink some water," she suggested, ignoring his biting tone. But he wasn't watching her anymore, instead, his eyes flittered around the grounds, darting from the Whomping Willow, to the foggy greenhouses, and all the way down to the trees lining the edge of the forest.

He brought his hand back up to his mouth and let out another dry cough.

Maybe some water wouldn't hurt, he told himself, promptly sliding his wand out of his pocket. Leaning his head back, he placed the pointed wooden edge so that it laid gently against the corner of his lips.

"Aguamenti infirmi," Remus conjured as best as he could with an open mouth. A quiet trickle of water suddenly sputtered out of his wand, destroying the desert in his throat. When was the last time you drank water, you bloody git? he reprimanded himself while relishing in a lake of the cooling liquid.

Eva blinked and silently gazed on from the opposite side of the herb patch. He had pulled the wand from his mouth, extinguishing the spell, as a jumper-laden arm reached up and rubbed off the few water droplets running down his chin. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his desperation, and how shamelessly he pranced it around. Eva was unsure of whether she felt disgusted, offended or amused by his grunginess.

Remus licked his lips and straightened his back. He brought himself to meet his partner's gaze, roaming over the scene played out in front of him. Her icy stare and the cold water caused a shiver to run up his spine, his head shaking as it dinged at the top.

"Excuse me," he apologized nonchalantly.

"No worries, I have all day."

"Really?"

"No," she firmly quipped, her voice matching her stare.

"Ah," he hesitated, searching for the right words, "well, I suppose we should get going, then. Not gonna' to get any younger." He tried his best to jest, and even forced a helpless smile, but it faltered as she responded by discontentedly crossing her arms. "Right," he muttered in an undertone. He looked around for a bit, awkwardly distracting himself from anywhere but her face.

Beginning to feel horribly naked in his current position, he turned away from her and initiated their descent.

She's either going to follow me or not, he concluded rationally, convincing himself that he had chosen wisely.

She didn't move, but instead shifted her eyes to where his head bobbed up and down the hill. Eva had never witnessed such insouciance before, not even her drunk uncles could shine a light to the boy. Everything he did, from his words to his actions, was a risk. He thought about nothing before he acted on it, and it made her wonder if he even had to.

Is he so privileged that he can live so freely? she asked herself. She had been raised to believe that she was the one who with all the advantages, and maybe she was, but after this unexpected introduction into a completely different mind, willingly or not, she riskily began to doubt those circumstances.

And which is better? she continued, setting her foot forward to finally follow in his path.

Admittedly, she had expected him to continue without her. But she had been wronged, for there he was watching as she jolted and bounced down the hill. His eyes were slightly glazed over, and though he had them placed right on her, she knew that he couldn't really see her.

Either a daydreamer or an over thinker, she observed, removing her eyes from him as quickly as she had put them there.

Remus heard the dirt and pebbles crumble and shift as she climbed down, alerting him and shaking him back into focus. His eyes re-concentrated on the witch approaching him. For the first time, he surprisingly found that she was a great deal shorter than him. He had always thought her to be amongst the taller girls of Hogwarts, but it seemed that her perfect posture and high chin did indeed work its magic.

"It's rude to stare, Lupin," she scolded him.

"My bad," he responded insincerely.

Eva quickly turned to look at him, rapidly blinking as she found herself at a loss for words. How does he permit himself? she sneered at him in her head. Eva knew a lot of things about a lot of people, things that people would pay good money to keep locked away. She was a good listener, and over the years she had grown smart enough to realize that listening intently may one day save her. But no matter how many conversations she had eavesdropped, or how many times some random witch rambled meaningless gossip, not once had she heard a peep about this wizard and his terribleness. She had been convinced when they had named him charitable and good-willed, but he was nothing of the sort. He was rude and disgraceful, and he had no sense of manners or respect. He's just a half-blood bottom feeder, she jeered internally.

"So, these berries," he clapped his hands together, waking Eva back into reality.

She relentlessly continued to fixate her cold gaze on the shifty young wizard. All he could do was watch as she scrutinized him, and eventually began to wonder if his scars had suddenly come to surface. Did I forget? he nervously attempted to recall, suddenly doubting a religious routine he had kept since the days Lily had taught him it.

Completely ignoring him, she swirled about on one foot so that she faced the Forbidden Forest. She carefully came to approach its border, pausing as she looked along it, left and right. Without another thought, she climbed through the dense shrubbery that lined its edge. As she pushed herself through the thickness of it, she became mesmerized with the colors. It was the color of the world under her feet, of the living monuments that had withstood so many of man's wars, never surrendering. They always said that red was the color of passion, of fire, but the color of the earth beneath their very fingertips merited so much more than what it had been given.

From behind her, Remus noticed her momentary pause and assumed that she had been hesitant about going into the forest.

She isn't wrong, he thought. There were intimidating creatures hidden within the forest walls. Ancient beings and mischievous critters that would reek havoc if they could get their hands on her. Remus, however, knew that nothing would be bothering her today. Unlike his peers, the beings sheltered in the forest recognized who he was, what he was. They could smell it in his blood, in his sweat, and because of that, most of them kept their distance. No need to worry today, dear Eva, he jested in his head, snorting quietly enough so that she'd mistake it for the crackling of the branches underneath her feet.

"They should be around here," she mumbled offhandedly, just loud enough for him to catch it as they trampled throughout the outer edges of the forest.

She came to a sudden halt, throwing Remus off and causing his chest to bump into her back. Eva jerked forward, but managed to balance herself as the boy behind her instinctively reached out to grab her waist.

"Let go of me, Lupin," she growled.

"Sorry about that," he replied meekly, a red shadow climbing up his neck.

"You are by far the clumsiest human being that I have ever met," she hissed through her teeth.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm the clumsiest, but I'm sure not the most graceful," he chuckled nervously, trying his best to make light of the situation. He stretched his hand back and clamped it around his neck, rubbing it as he waited for his partner's response.

"Just... look over there," she dismissed him, her voice unmistakably thick with frustration and impatience.

Though he had heard her instructions, he couldn't help but stall and take the time to observe her. She had moved over to the various moss carpeted stones scattered on the forest's bottom. She had a set jaw and an alert gaze, taking her time to look carefully behind, around, and under everything that stood in her path as if it was her first time seeing such things. However, unbeknownst to him, Eva actually did know exactly what she was looking at. She could recall the name, family name, and latin name for everything her eyes fell upon. Nature was her home, and like a home, she knew exactly where all her possessions sat.

"It's a low plant, no?" Remus eventually broke the silence. Though he already knew what he was supposed to be looking for, he had taken the opportunity to jab at a conversation with his newest enigma.

"Like poison ivy, not blueberries," she brushed him off, continuing her search through the undergrowth.

All to pot for that plan, he frowned.

"Okay, I'll just look over here, then," he announced, still watching her as she walked around a tree. He was testing her, seeing how far he could go before she bothered to look his way. I could pass out cold right now and she wouldn't even notice, he betted with himself. But unlike their previous encounters, this time she wasn't belittling him in her own discreet way, and for Remus, that was a point in the success column.

"We may have to go deeper," she sighed, still observing a small clump of moss sitting contently on the grey rock. Winter moss, she noted to herself, nearly smiling as she watched the little sprouts dancing in the light breeze that swung by. They reminded her of little children playing and dancing during the summer festivals. So innocent, a delicate sadness pricked at her heart as she remembered when they once let her dance lazily and foolishly with her cousins.

"That's a scary bunch in there," Remus responded, cocking his head smugly as she turned to look at him over her shoulder. He raised his eyebrows as their eyes met. "What? You don't know about the nymphs?" Remus bit down on the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from chuckling. Her face didn't help a bit as she looked on incredulously, unsure to take him seriously or not.

"Dryades," she mentioned flatly, relaxing her neck so that she could still see him out of the corner of her eye, but that she wasn't straining herself to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"They're called dryades. The ones that live in the forest, they're a different branch of nymph."

Remus knew exactly what the difference was, and he knew exactly who they were. He had met them on several occasions, and the Marauders had told him that, sometimes, during the warmer months, they would come out and join him on one of their escapades. As a thank you, he had sometimes sought them out and given them some of his chocolate, and though he declined every time, they never failed to repay him with flower crowns and bee pollen.

"They're irritating, but far from dangerous," she finished.

"I wouldn't know," he teased.

"Of course," she mumbled lowly.

"What are we waiting for then?" he began to hike over the thick tree roots and travel further east.

In these parts of the woods, the forest was deep and dark. There were still leaves tied to the branches, and so the sun could just barely reach through. A dampness overtook his body the further he dove, his skin beginning to feel wet even though it was chilly outside. He looked back to his partner who was watching the ground and the plants she passed intently, somehow gracefully skipping over all the obstacles that he didn't notice until too late.

"You do this often?" he called out to her, growing bewildered by her calmness. She showed no signs of fear or agitation as the castle began to disappear behind them. Even some of the bravest wizards he knew wouldn't dare wander into these parts of the forest.

She looked up momentarily from her spree, but then decided to ignore him. She didn't understand why he was asking and why it was important to their task. In reality, Eva did not come to these parts often. Once in third year she had wandered off during a Care of Magical Creatures class and had come upon a herd of unicorns that had been drinking water by a stream. She sat there all day, hidden from them as she awed at the ethereal beings. When they had picked themselves up again to travel on, the sun had begun to set. She remembered the sky being a light purple, and how not even the impending darkness could scare her. Remarkably, she had found her way back, and no one had even noticed that she'd been gone. As if they ever, she thought.

Remus looked over his shoulder again when he didn't hear anything from behind him. A loud sigh left his body as he watched her blatantly write him off. Though they had probably been walking for a few minutes, he felt as if time flowed like cement. As he trudged , he continuously gazed upwards to the small patches of sky that peeked every so often through the branches. There was nothing else he could do to make the experience more interesting.

I have a partner who can't be bothered, I visit these woods monthly, he began listing off. There was nothing new or exciting for him, and he wouldn't have minded a bit of conversation, he didn't despise the girl like she did him.

"Here," Eva finally announced. They came to a halt at a modest clearing where trees danced around early fallen leaves and pine needles caught in clumps of moss. Both couldn't help but notice how unsightly it was. There were wood beetles bumbling across fallen logs and branches and a certain gray cast that made everything look humid.

"Look by those trees over there," she advised him.

Remus turned to see where the witch was gesturing and followed her gaze to the edge of the circle, where the trees leaned drunkenly against each other. By the time he had looked back to her, she had already turned around and was making her way to the insect infested wood. He shrugged his shoulders and ambled around the circumference. He walked around trees, cracked twigs in half, all while lazily searching for the berries.

Where are my mates? he thought as he yawned. He knew for a fact that if they had been there, this would have been a memory of a life time. Instead, he was stuck with what seemed to be the most frigid witch in all of Europe.

But as the thought passed through his mind, he leaned just past the tree trunk to discretionally watch the witch who was now bending down, her knees deep in the dry mud. She was lifting up the logs without a care in the world about what crawled over her, simply swatting it off as a second thought.

What in Godric's good will, he cursed internally.

"They're not going to be under the logs," he informed her. She looked up with wide eyes, and though he regretted interrupting her from something that seemed quite important, he couldn't help but grin at the sight. He had never seen her caught off guard, and he wasn't all too sure what he had expected her to be, but her almond eyes emphasized her surprise and made her look like a startled owl.

To his bewilderment, she had begun to stand up, brushing off the dirt that had accumulated on her covered knees. Her lips were pursed and a barely noticeable pout was beginning to mature on them. She looked around where she had been searching with a disappointment that he only saw on James a week after he'd lost a quidditch game. For the first time, Remus saw a human within that frozen coffin, and something began to churn deep in his stomach.

"Yes, I know, but they're newly fallen, and I thought they may have been squashed underneath," she sighed, warily looking around her.

He continued to watch her. His eyes ran over her high cheekbones, the braid that ran down her spine like a shiny black rope, and the velvet emerald cloak that sat elegantly across her shoulders. She looked foreign to him, like she didn't belong there, in their school, in his country. She belonged somewhere warm, somewhere where she could sit out on a terrace all day and drink wine and eat fresh cheese. Her bones were too small for their heavy woolen dresses, and her body too delicate for their strong whiskies.

"Hey, I think I found them." Remus' eyes caught something red waving in the distance. It stood mischievously behind Eva, only visible when the wind pushed it out from behind the massive yew.

Eva quickly looked up and followed his gaze. He had begun advancing towards her, stopping when they stood next to one another. A breeze cut through and rustled the leaves above them. From the other side of the trunk, Eva could now see the red bells swinging with the air.

He watched her braided hair bounce against her body as her feet pressed down against the forest floor. She had nearly pranced towards the hidden twigs, and Remus could swear he had briefly seen a smile threaten the corners of her mouth before she had set off.

"Will these be enough?" he asked as he came up behind her.

"We'll need enough for two viles," she answered as she plucked them off their thin stems. "Here, hold this would you?" She twisted her body around and offered him, with cupped hands, what she had been able to pick. Without hesitation, he immediately cupped his own hands and let her drop the berries into his palms. His eyes followed her hands as they reached into her cloak's pocket, procuring a little green velvet pouch.

"Put them in here," she gently directed him, nothing forceful about her tone. She watched the berries like they were children as he tilted his hand to let them fall into the sac.

"Why two? I thought we only needed one." Remus pulled his eyes away from her fingers, which were now pulling the silver string to close the pouch.

"Just in case the first one goes bad," she replied absentmindedly, seemingly lost within their new treasure. Remus went to respond, his mouth left ajar as he pondered her words.

Good point, he realized, closing his mouth before she noticed.

"Here, collect whatever you find and put them in the pouch," she said to him as she turned back around to pick off more clusters.

"I'll be on this side," he informed her, crossing over to her left so that he could have access to whatever remained. Imitating his partner's position, Remus bent down and began thumbing the round red berries, pulling them as delicately as possible from their stems. Though poisonous, they seemed harmless. He let one roll around in his empty hand, tilting and lifting it every so often as to measure it.

Lighter than a feather, he noticed.

"Are there anymore on that side?" he heard her pipe up after a short while. He looked up and their eyes met. For a brief moment, he couldn't help but notice how much greener they looked amidst all that surrounded them.

"Uh, no, I think I've got them all." His eyes followed her head as she slowly nodded. "They're more than enough," he assured her, obvious that she had expected to find more.

Stretching upward, he felt his legs ache and groan. He continued to stretch until they were content once again, even though the sticks and branches were so abundant that they poked and pricked at his ankles. He made his way back over to his partner and reached down to pick up the pouch sitting next to her. He thought that she would have turned around to see who the intruder was, but he had been wrong. She continued to pick at the remaining berries, the ones that had initially resisted joining the rest of their cluster. He plopped the berries into the sac and mesmerized himself with the way her hands danced between the leaves, swiftly and daintily plucking the fruit.

"Make sure you gathered all of them."

"I did."

"We don't want the others to find them," she justified . Remus' eyebrows lowered and pinched together. He had never been the competitive type, that was something he often left to James and Sirius, but even they weren't so extreme as to deprive others of a natural resource. Remus found himself, once again, dumbstruck and irritated with her words.

"We don't need all of them," he countered sharply, watching her furtively.

"You don't know that," she bit back, mimicking his tone.

Ridiculous, he wanted to cry out, but decided to save himself the trouble. He had already wasted too much energy on the girl, and it was obvious that no matter how convincing his argument, he would always lose in her eyes.

"Okay, I think we're done here," she deduced, standing up and taking a few paces backwards to observe the plant from afar. It looked so different now. Once it had been a piece of artwork splattered with red, now it stood just like everything else around it, nothing to set it apart from all the other million stems and twigs that climbed and waltzed around it.

Remus ran a hand through his hair, the pouch drooping lamely against the side of his leg. He realized that he had been too long in the witch's presence, and it was being to itch at him. His neck ached, and all he wanted was to lay down on his bed and enjoy the warmth of his dormitory. The forest was a dark reminder of what he was, and the days were only growing darker and colder. Usually, it wouldn't have bothered him so much, especially if his friends had been there, but Eva Manasse was an ominous fog that had now entered for whatever reason. No matter how hard he tried, there she was, impossible to ignore.

As he watched her move towards him, he lifted the pouch up to her and held it open. Without thanking him, she pushed the spare berries so that they sat with the others. Once they were placed safely inside, Remus shook the bag lightly to make sure there were no air pockets and then pulled the silver string to close it.

"Here." He held it out to her, hanging it by his index finger so that it swung like an unwanted outcast between them.

"You'll be responsible for them," she stated bluntly. Remus titled his head and furrowed his eyebrows. "You must, they need to stay in the sun until we brew them. Seeing as you have actual windows, you will place them on a clean cloth by it in your dorm," she added when she saw him struggling to understand her decision.

"Uh, sure," he fumbled, bringing the pouch and his hand back to his side. He hadn't expected her to trust him with the task, or with any task.

It's because we have windows, he reminded himself, realizing that she would never if the circumstances were different. Nevertheless, he took the small gesture as a victory, as a step towards a more trustworthy partnership. Don't kid yourself, an internal voice snorted.

"Right," Eva nodded tightly, brushing past him to begin their return back to castle grounds. Her eyes roamed over the different plants, having memorized what had been where in order to get themselves back to the school.

However, she didn't know that Remus also knew his way around the forest. Though he wasn't adept at botany, he, too, had familiarized himself with the different areas. He knew exactly where the oak grew and where the pines bred. He knew where there would be chipmunks and where there would be beaver burrows. That's why it was no surprise when they eventually happened upon the humble groundskeeper's, Hagrid's, garden.

Unlike Remus who had momentarily paused to smile upon the homely sight, she continued hiking up the hill. At this point, she didn't care if he followed or if he went off on his own. Remus looked back and forth twice, surprised by how fast she had managed to scurry off. Deciding that he would come back another day to visit his friend, he set off to follow in her footsteps.

The all too familiar hill was devastating to his lungs as his breath grew heavier. The dangerous dryness from before clung to his throat.

It'll all be over soon, he encouraged himself, pushing himself to continue. She was a good couple of feet ahead of him, but from behind he couldn't tell if she was struggling the same way he was. He never took her to be an athlete, but then again there was nothing about her that could surprise him anymore. He realized that there were no expectations with her, that everything was possible.

Though the hike seemed endless, it eventually came to a stop as the ground began to level out. From up top, he could turn around and see everything. He could see the woods stretched out for miles below him, and the lake that looked black and gloomy because of the scarce sun. He was thankful, however, when the grass turned into cobblestone, the ascent officially marking its end.

"Is that it then?" he nearly croaked, attempting to hide his heaving. They had now entered the entrance hall, where several different hall tributaries and staircases led to different parts of the castle. She turned around to look at him.

"Yes, for today that is. The potions lab is reserved for us on Thursday at five," she informed him, pursing her lips as she eyed him up and down. He tried his best to compose himself.

Get on with it, will you? he pleaded her, wanting more than anything to pass out on the stairs, but knowing that he would have to wait until she left.

"Fine, yes, whatever," he rushed.

"You're available then?"

"Huh?"

"You aren't engaged?"

"What? On Thursday? No, no," he replied hurriedly.

"Very well," she nodded again. After what seemed like a lifetime, but really had only been a handful of seconds, she gracefully turned back around to make her way towards the main staircase leading into the dungeons. He watched on for a while, forgetting about his body's needs as he watched that same braid bounce and tumble against her small back.

Thirsty, mate, you're thirsty, he reminded himself. As soon as he saw her emerald cloak disappear down into the darkness, he pulled out his wand like a madman, sat down on the nearest step he could find and replenished his thirst. Thank Merlin she left, he thought to himself as the water trickled down his throat, gifting him with the nectar of the gods for the second time that day.

"What are those?" Peter inquired, completely muddled by the red marbles that lined the western window of his dorm.

"What is what?" chimed in Sirius who had just swaggered through the door. The boys had just returned from the Gryffindor quidditch practice, where they had had a banging time making fun of the fourth years tumble and fall as bludgers whizzed just past their ears. Sirius had managed to sneak some cold ale and butterbeer popcorn past James, who, despite Peter's protests, he knew wouldn't have even bothered to look over at the stands.

As Sirius approached Peter's side, his forehead began to wrinkle. He watched his friend curiously run his stubby fingers over the fruit, rolling them about like a child would when they had just found a perfectly round stone to throw into the ocean, or rather, chew on.

"Are they berries?" he awed, picking one up and bringing it closer to his eyes so both him and Sirius could wonder at it.

"I don't know, why not try it?" Sirius shrugged his shoulders and went to grab one. As his mouth opened to plop it in, Remus ran into the room, causing the door to swing open and aggressively bang into the wall adjacent to it.

"DON'T EAT IT!" he yelled, reaching out one hand as the other held him up against the door pane, his chest dangerously puffing and billowing. Both Sirius and Peter turned around wide eyed at their flustered friend. "They're poisonous," Remus wheezed as he made his way over to his friends, plucking the berries from their hands and putting it back with the rest.

"What? Why in Merlin's name do you have poisonous berries?" Sirius huffed incredulously, slightly disappointed that he couldn't experiment with his friend's new find.

"It's for potions," Remus answered, running his hands over the red stones to make sure his friends hadn't destroyed them. You should have put up a sign, he told himself, knowing damn well that a sign would have only encouraged them to defy it.

"Hiya," they heard another one of their roommates walk through the completely open door. "What's everyone looking at?" Gideon Prewett approached them, his entire body damp through his quidditch uniform.

"Poisonous berries," casually replied Peter, as if it was everyday that he dealt with them. He shifted to his side to allow Gideon a better look as he got closer.

"Oh no, mate," he turned with wide eyes towards Remus, "where'd you find them?"

"Somewhere in the forest, east of Hagrid's place."

"Mate, you've got to spare me some," Gideon pleaded as he continued to look at the berries with desperate eyes. Remus pursed his lips. Under different circumstances, he would have been more than happy to accommodate his friend, but knowing his partner, she had probably counted every single berry to make sure they returned to her all healthy and full. And, if you give to Gideon, you'll have to give to James, he realized, suddenly feeling stuck between two worlds.

"I don't know, mate," he replied weakly.

"Oh, don't give me that," Gideon continued, his eyes growing even larger.

"If it was up to me, I really would, but it's not," he tried to explain. From behind him, he could hear Sirius snort as the mattress squeaked beneath him.

"Darn, I'm really sorry you got stuck with someone so buggered," Gideon shook his head and patted Remus on the back. "Sod it, I'm going to hit the showers, if any of you birds would like to join me," he chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'll be right there, sweet pea," sang Sirius, making all the boys laugh in unison.

"Oi! Why didn't you take a shower in the quidditch loo?" Peter questioned, still grinning.

"A shower you mean?" Gideon clarified, Peter's mother's Ulster accent being too foreign for the copper headed wizard. Peter nodded quickly, a red blush gracing his cheeks. "Privacy, mate," Gideon winked, closing the door to the bathroom. Sirius let out a hearty chuckle and Remus frowned at the thought.

He turned back around to the window, his eyes adjusting as the setting sun peeked behind the clouds and shone blindingly into their room. After what seemed to be the first time that day, Remus sat down with throbbing thighs onto his bed. As he rubbed his knees, he noticed how the room now had an orange tint to it, making it seem like Godric himself was going to appear from the sun's rays.

"So that's where you went today," Sirius intruded Remus' thoughts. He looked away from the sun, and squinted his eyes as they readjusted to the shadow.

"What?" Remus puzzled. His face dropped and became cold sober as he noticed Peter biting his nails, his eyes darting between the boys rapidly. "It was only for an hour or so," muttered Remus under his breath, relinquishing himself from Sirius' maliciously glacial stare. He could feel a heat crawl up his neck and onto his ears, and he hoped that the sunlight would help disguise it.

"You said you were going to the library," Sirius reminded him.

"I did."

"How do I know you're not lying to my face?" Sirius accused callously.

"Because you can ask the librarian."

"Fine, but you also went to trollop around the forest with her," he continued.

"You wouldn't have approved, and I really needed to get this done," Remus tried to explain.

"I wouldn't approve?" Sirius snorted. "I don't approve that you lied to me. Bloody right I wouldn't have liked it, you shouldn't be fannying about helping her. But you lied to me, you lied to us, ditched us, and went off with her," Sirius spat out, causing Remus to wince at his harsh accusations.

"I'm sorry, it was wrong of me," Remus admitted without hesitation. He knew lying to his friends was immoral, but there was no point in fighting for why. Sirius didn't see the world with so many colors, he was rather black and white when it came to things. To him, Remus had lied, he didn't care why, all he knew was that he did and that was it. No matter what proof or argument Remus came up with, he would not win. Sort of reminds me of someone,he grimaced.

"Save it, obviously you didn't care enough before. Besides, it's not me you have to worry about," Sirius stated, flipping himself on his side so that his back faced Remus. From his own bed, Remus shot his eyes up at him, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What?"

"It just looks suspicious, that's all," Sirius finished.

"Sirius," called out Remus, trying to get his attention. He knew he wouldn't get anything out of his friend though. Once Sirius had decided to block someone off, they were blocked until he decided that they had served their due time. He reminded Remus of his father's grandmother in that sense, more stubborn than a goat they were.

Remus continued to stare at Sirius' back for the minutes that ensued. He didn't even bother to look back up as Peter awkwardly scuttled over to his own bed. That was the problem when one of them fought with the other, it resonated with the entire group.

Pursing his lips, Remus eventually gave up and lied down on his back. The tenderness of the comforter welcomed him, and he could feel his muscles relaxing after such a long day. He couldn't believe that after everything he could finally relax. Well, he glanced over at Sirius, but decided that he would deal with it later on. For now, he could feel himself struggling to keep his eyes open. Soon enough, he would leave that world to momentarily join another.