Saturday, 18 December 1976

Lena wrung her hands as she climbed into the car. She had been dreading this moment for a week now. She did not want to discuss her poor grades with her parents. It was bad enough owling them about it. Lena didn't think she could bear talking about it to them in person.

Lena swallowed as her father climbed in the car, his hair changing from blue to its natural greying-brown. Her father was a Metamorphmagus and whenever his hair was its natural color, it meant that a serious conversation was about to take place.

Peter knew it too apparently as he reached out to hold Lena's hand.

"Now, Lena. We know that your dyslexia makes things difficult for you," Mark began as he drove out of the car park.

Her mother whipped her around, her face as red as the Gryffindor tie that Peter wore.

"A T, Lena! Did you even study?! Your dyslexia is no excuse for a score so poor! It's un-fucking-believable!" her mother screamed.

Lena flinched in her seat. She wanted to disappear, to jump out of the car, to be numb to her mother's words.

"I mean do you even study at the school? Do you just party with your friends?" Lisa continued.

All I do is study, is what Lena wanted to say.

She stayed quiet, though.

"Why the hell are your father and I wasting money on that school if you're just going to fail?"

Hogwarts is free, Lena thought.

"Are you going to say anything?" her mother screamed.

"I'm sorry," Lena whispered.

"Sorry is not enough! This is gonna be your last at Hogwarts!"

Lena's head started to spin. She didn't know what to do, what to say.

Peter did though.

"You can't pull Lena out, Mum! That's not fair. Everyone did poorly on the exam she got a T on! Even McGonagall said Binns is ridiculous with his exams! And Lena's been doing a lot better in History of Magic. She just got on an O on a paper for the class."

Lisa opened her mouth to say something else but Mark cut her off.

"Why don't we all calm down and talk about this later, yeah?"

Lena fought back tears. She didn't want to cry in front of her parents. She didn't think she could take the embarrassment.

She looked down at her hand that her brother held. She squeezed his hand, hoping he understood it as the thank you she wanted to say out loud but was unable to. She was so grateful to him for protecting her, defending her, being there for her. She didn't know what she would do without him.

Lena laid on bed wrapped tightly under her covers. She locked herself in her room after dinner, which she barely ate. Lena wasn't sure how long she had been crying since she hid under her covers. All she knew was that she did not look her best with her blotchy face, bloodshot eyes, and swollen eyelids.

Lena sighed and clung to her sheets tighter as she heard her door unlock. Sometimes Lena really hated magic.

Lena felt someone sit on her bed.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Lisa said quietly.

"It's fine," Lena responded with no emotion.

"No, it's not fine. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I overreacted."

"I deserved it."

"No, you didn't… I just know how bright you are and sometimes I forget, or don't understand, that exams don't show that because of your dyslexia."

"I find it frustrating, too."

"I know."

Lena felt her mother lie down next to her and wrap her arms around her.

"We're not gonna pull you out of Hogwarts. I shouldn't have said we were."

"Thank you," Lena mumbled.

There was a long pause— not an awkward one, but not a comfortable one. Just a pause.

"Congratulations on the O, love. I'm so proud of you."

Lena didn't want praise, though. She felt like she didn't deserve praise.

"Thank you. Remus helped," Lena said, hoping to somehow return the praise she just received.

"That's nice of him."

"He's nice."

Monday, 20 December 1976

"You look like shit," Sirius said to Peter as he entered Remus' room.

In truth, Peter did look shit. Sunday had been, for the lack of a better word, awkward around the Pettigrew household. His sister was still dejected from the argument with their mum. All she wanted to do was stay in bed and be alone. His mum, on the other hand, had an entirely different approach. She acted as if the fight didn't happen and that everything was normal between her and Lena. Peter's dad was trying desperately to make things right by doting on Lena, trying to make everyone laugh, and cooking ridiculously good meals that were not healthy in the slightest. Much to his and his family's disappointment, Lena remained dejected.

This morning was not any better.

Peter looked at his friends with zero emotion. "You're lucky none of you have sisters."

James gave him a look. "I wish I had a sister."

Peter grimaced and Remus and Sirius burst out laughing. Mrs. Potter had been hoping for a daughter so, when James was little, she would dress him up as a girl from time to time. He had been mortified when he found the photographs.

"Sorry, Prongs. I forgot."

"How could you forget?" Remus laughed. "It's one of the greatest stories I've ever heard."

Sirius kept laughing. "So what happened?"

Peter groaned. "Well, Lena got her period this morning and she has essentially turned into a banshee. Basically, she came downstairs and her hair was a rat's nest, so my dad goes 'Good morning, Medusa.' So she starts fuming and ranting that we all can't be Metamorphmagi with perfect hair."

"Well, that's not that bad," James said.

"It got worse. Lena finished eating her toast with strawberry jam and I thought she had some jam on the corner of her mouth, so I told her to wipe it off. I didn't realize that it was a zit, so she thought I was making fun of her and then she basically went insane. She just started yelling that if she has Medusa-hair and a zit when she goes to Diagon Alley tomorrow, he'll never like her. So, basically, the moral is that girls on their periods are the worst."

At that moment Hope Lupin walked in carrying a plate of bakestones. She placed them on Remus' bed and looked at Peter with her hands on his hips. He sank in his chair. "What was that, Peter?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

Hipe humphed. "Good! Because unless you start bleeding out of your vagina every month just so someone can possibly impregnate you at some point in your life so you can experience a painful childbirth, I don't want to hear about how girls are a nuisance when they're menstruating."

"Yes, ma'am," Peter said, bowing his head.

"And that goes for all of you," Hope said, shaking her finger at each one of the boys.

"Yes, ma'am," the Marauders chorused.

"And you should know better, Remy!" Hope said, turning to her son. "You basically have your own period every month. You experience pain, you're irritable, and you crave chocolate more than usual."

Remus blushed. "I didn't even say anything, Mum!"

Hope dismissed his comment. "Enjoy the bakestones, boys"

"Thank you," the four chorused.

Remus reached for a bakestone and bit into it. He prayed to God he sounded indifferent as he said, "So, Lena has a crush on someone."

"Apparently," Peter nodded. "I didn't even know she liked someone. And my dad's freaking out about it."

"So, who is it?" Remus asked, hoping to keep the jealousy down in his voice.

He both succeeded and failed. Peter did not notice the envious tones in Remus' voice. James and Sirius, on the other hand, did and Remus knew it too as they looked at each other with mischief in their eyes, no doubt planning a way for Remus to ask her out.

"No idea. Maybe it's her friend Raj, though. They're always hanging out," Peter said thoughtfully.

Remus frowned, not liking the idea of Lena liking someone else, and James noticed it.

"Or they're just friends," James offered. "Guys and girls can just be friends. They don't have to be in love with each other to hang out."

"Yeah, and I feel like Lena would be into an older guy, like a sixth year."

James nodded. "Someone really nice and smart."

"And maybe a bit self-deprecating," Sirius added.

Remus groaned internally as his friends described him.

"Ugh, let's talk about something else. I really don't want to talk about my sister's love life."

"Hey Lee," Peter said as he knocked on her bedroom door, slowly opening it.

"Hey, Pete," Lena said, looking up from her sketchbook. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you earlier. I know you weren't trying to be mean."

"It's alright," Peter said, placing an aluminium foil-covered stack on her desk.

"Remus' mum made a ton of bakestones so they wrapped up some for you."

"Really? That's great," Lena said happily, getting up from her bed."

"Night, Lee," Peter said as he closed the door to her room.

"Night, Pete."

Lena opened the aluminium foil-wrapped food and was surprised to find a note on a pile of bakestones and chocolate.

Lena carried the pile of the food to her bed and settled herself against her pillow. Lena picked the note up and started to read it. It took her a while to read even though she knew the author's handwriting so well.

Hi Lena,

Peter said you're feeling ill today. My mum's bakestones and chocolate always makes me feel better when I'm ill (or in any other situation). I hope it makes you feel better, too. Get well soon.

Thinking of you,

Remus

Lena couldn't help but smile as she snuggled into her pillow and bit into the bakestone.