James and I had reached the stair cases and I was constantly tripping over my own feet and falling in and out of consciousness.
"Uh Red?" I faintly heard him say. My eyes kept flickering open and closed. "Okay I'm getting you to Madam Pomfrey."
"You said take, not man handle," I replied after he once again picked me up into his arm.
"Ah come on you prefer it this way," James said with a laugh waiting for the stair cases to change and we could head back down through the castle. I was pretty thankful to be off the ground.
"You're right James, it's not Rem its you James, I love you," I said in a joking manner. But it was at that exact moment the staircases changed and I was faced with someone I should not have even been surprised by now, Remus freaking Lupin. And oddly Prosper was behind him, seriously was I magnet for that guy or something? And since my sarcasm never translated, who knew how my friends and person I hated more than anything would take it.
"You've got to be kidding me right?" Prosper said shoving Remus out of the way so he was closer to James and me.
"Nope," I smiled. "I love James Potter he's the reason the world spins," I didn;t have a clue why I continue with teh facade, mainly to piss orf Prosper which had become my favourite pastime and maybe because I hoped Remus could hear and maybe he would step in or at least find the whole thing amusing. And then there was how James would react.
"It's true," James said lightly pressing a kiss to my forhead, causing me to stifle a laugh. James and I had really always been like this, and I his favourite pastime was also pissing off prosper. Well minus humiliating Severus in a new way.
"So you're telling me, even though I was your first love and the only person right for you since the moment you had your first kiss, you want to be with this tosser?" wow this guy never gave up did he?
"Okay first things first," I started annoyed. "You were none of those things, loving you would be torture to anyone. And aside from the fact I dated two other guys before you, the first guy I kiss was this one right here."
"WHAT?" Prosper yelled at the same time as Remus, and hippogriff sticks I had forgotten he was there. What a way to screw up. But who cared I wasn't dating either of them so they shouldn't have the right to care. Even if I really wanted to be with one of those guys...and the other I wanted to rot in a cell in Azkaban.
"I'm pretty certain you heard me," I said.
James and I were huddled by the fire after the big Quidditch final third year and we had been a dynamite team out there. I was on fire, scoring at least half of the goals and James the other half. Ravenclaw caught the snitch (barely) and we still won the match.
"Look I know I kicked some serious ass out there, but come on Red you were on freaking fire," he told me for the seventh time. "No pun intended."
"Uh nope," I said pointing a finger in his direction. "If anyone was the hero out on the field it was you, I mean it lasted a freaking hour and-" I was cut off by him pressing a finger to my lips so I wouldn't continue to conversation déjà-vu.
"Exactly," he smiled. "An hour and you scored almost all of the goals and were the reason the other ones made their way there." I didn't know how we had gotten into an argument about who played better this season. We both had pretty big egos when it came to Quidditch yet both of us were trying to justify who was better.
"James you were the hippogriffs pyjamas," I said and he gave me a funny loo. "Now stop trying to unjustify that."
"Red," he sighed.
"James," I replied locking eyes with him.
"Red," he said again softer than the last. He was leaning in slightly closing his eyes and cupping my face in his hands. And then his lips pressed against mine and I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
"What?" another voice asked form behind us and I easily recognised it as Lily.
"Crap," James and I uttered under our breath, this was about to ruin the small amount of progress James had made with her. Also known as Red screwing up love in new and exciting ways. "Can I?" he asked me.
"Please do," I nodded as he put me down on the ground and trying to keep my balance I gripped the railing tight. James was running up the stairs to catch up with Lily who had sped of faster than I could.
"Well this just became a lot less interesting," Prosper shrugged pushing past me and heading towards the dormitories.
"So," I said a little awkwardly tracing my hands up and down the railing. "How's it going?"
"Yeah good," he said giving me a slight smile. "Woke up in the forest though."
"I know," I said with a smile. Screw the bro code, I was exhausted.
"You know?" he asked me, pulling the most adorable puzzled face.
"Do you remember what happens when you change?" I asked losing my grip and stumbling down a step and falling to the ground. Though Remus was quick to grab my arm and help me down to the ground.
"Are you okay?" he asked me concerned.
"Yeah," I said softly. "Fine."
Remus
"Fine," she said in time with falling down towards the floor properly now.
"Woah," I couldn't help but say, catching Red so she would hit her head. "Same old aren't you Reds."
"What happened?" she asked blinking rapidly. What did she mean by long night?
"You fell," I stated with a smile.
"Fell as in I tripped like always or fell as in faint?" she had asked with the most gorgeous confused look on her face. We had been talking and acting like normal just like any other day before this whole Prosper thing had happened. Yeah knew I was forgetting something.
"More of the second on," I said putting all the past behind me and just listening to her and letting her talk. And she was smiling so sweetly up at me.
"Do you think you could take me to the hospital wing?" she asked rubbing her forehead the usual red of her hair changing to a bland brown. Not the affect I used to have on her.
"Sure but can we uh talk?" I asked little lamely scratching the back of my neck unconsciously.
"About?" she asked me a little nervously avoiding all eye contact and suddenly finding her hands so interesting.
"Listen," I began.
"I'm sorry," she said at the same time, looking up at me with a small smile on her soft red lips.
"Why? I've been a complete ass to you," I said.
"Yeah," she laughed. "But I kissed Prosper and went insane for a little bit, or at least more so. And I mean granted all of this was because of a certain curse but it's still shouldn't be that hard to break right? I mean it is and that's how it was created and all," she started. I had missed her rambling.
"Look we can talk all about the ins and outs, but I really only just want to do this," I said cupping her face in my hands and leaning in to kiss her. I felt her smile onto my lips as they touched.
"Wait," she said breaking out and putting her hands against my chest to break the kiss. "I just I can't."
"What?" I asked and I had to admit it I was confused.
"I just can't okay," She repeated using the rails to steady herself as she stood. "I can't go through all of that again ok." And then she started heading down the stairs, though it wasn't long before they had to change causing her to stand there.
"What do you mean?" I asked her standing opposite to her praying she wouldn't fall, she had been so tipsy lately and I wish I knew why she was so exhausted.
"All that," she rushed out gesturing around her as if that was some kind of indicator to explain all that. "I, I just can't okay." Her voice was soft and breaking and she looked close to tears. Her hair had changed to a light blue colour and that clearly meant she didn't want to continue talking, but to be honest for a smart guy I could be a bleeding idiot most of the time. Namely right now.
Red
I didn't know how to answer him t all, I was just gesturing in the air lamely as if that would explain anything. But there was tears forming in my eyes and my hair had lost all pigmentation.
"Everything ok?" he asked me, and I was tasty salt. Great so I was actually crying now. This was rubbish, the one thing I was trying to fight happened to be the one thing I ended up doing. And he was just being all well him like. "With us okay it was great, truly amazing. But then everything with Prosper happened and I can't be with you if you can't trust me and you don't seem to be able to. And I don't want to see you hurt okay."
Thankfully the staircases changed, but despite how much I wanted to run down them and avoid all emotional responsibilities. I just felt so weak and every step was hard. Where was James when you actually needed him?
"Wait, before you said he used a curse on you," he said and I felt the rest of my colour drain out of my face.
"No," I said shifting awkwardly and sitting back down on the floor, resting my head on my knees.
"Red," he said softly taking a seat beside me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I raised my head form my knees and let it fall onto his chest.
"I'm sorry," I said again burying my head deeper into his chest, while his hand carded through my hair.
"Hey it's okay," he said stroking the side of my face. I just felt like a mess. I hated him seeing me like this.
"No it isn't, not even a little bit. It's not an impossible charm to break I could've tried harder, something inside of me was screaming to break it, I just didn't."
"They're called unforgivable curses for a reason Red," he said calmed pressing a kiss on my forehead. "It's not that you didn't want to, you couldn't."
"Well I could have tried harder okay, Remus I love you, there clearly was something I else I could have done instead of just being his, his butmoney," I said staring up into his warm blue eyes.
"Back up a second," he said with a smile. He looked so handsome when he smiled. "What was that?"
"Butmonkey?" I asked confused. It wasn't exactly my greatest insult.
"Just before that," he said leaning in closer, his nose coming into contact with my own. He was smiling so wide, in this cute goofy way I had missed.
"Prospers an ass?"
"True, but after that."
"I love you," I said softly knowing he was close enough to hear me as clear as day; especially since we were in an empty part of the castle on an early Sunday morning. He closed the gap between us, and this time I had no plans to break the kiss. Though he did, far too quickly in my opinion.
"I love you to," he smiled and I grabbed his colour and pulled him back to me, smiling into the contact.
"Oi," I heard Sirius call from behind me. I swear he really loved ruining moments between myself and Remus. "As fantastic as it is to see you two being, well you two for lack of a better word again. Somebody needs a bed like stat." He said pointing to me.
"Why are you so out of it?" he asked me looking concerned as he stood up.
"Bro code sorry," I laughed out taking his hand, but feeling a wave of dizziness wash over me.
"Ok, we'll try this then," he said picking me up like James had earlier. But with him it felt more right. Everything with Remus did. Yep I as officially a walking cliché, and taking out a page of one of the ridiculous movies Georgia watched. But who cared anymore. I was tragically in love with a werewolf.