In Hogwarts, class started at nine a.m. Currently, as Steven stood at the bottom of the stairs, a week after the tradeoff happened, asking every girl who passed if Crimson was up yet, it was 8:50, and he was running out of girls. The other girls in their year said she wasn't sick, that she just laid in bed, sleeping or watching the plants that hung from their ceiling grow. She hadn't come down yesterday, something that Steven had written off as her needing a day off, but he wasn't willing to let her off the hook without a fight.
8:55. There was no way he was making it to Herbology, so Steven decided to take drastic measures. One little word managed to make him float a few inches off the ground, enough for him to make it up the stairs of the dormitory.
As Steven was performing his sneak attack, Crimson lay unsuspectingly in her bed. Her hair was matted and her roots had grown out significantly. It was no longer just her irises that were red as the rest of her eyes were bloodshot from sleepless nights. There was not even a hint of motivation to push her to get up, get changed, or go to the bathroom; only anger and defeat were left. Never leaving her bed seemed like a pretty solid plan right now.
"Get up," Steven stormed into her dorm, arms flailing, eyes crazy. "You need to get out of bed. I don't care if you go to class or not, I don't really want to go to be honest, but I'm not leaving this spot until you get out of bed today."
Crimson rolled her eyes at the boy and tucked her face deeper into the pillow. "Not what I had planned."
"We could sneak to Hogsmeade?"
She grunted.
"Okay, well I need to get to class so at least one of us knows what's going on," groaned Steven. "At least come to Care of Magical Creatures? Astronomy?"
He was using the fact her two favourite classes were today against her.
"Astronomy," picked Crimson for no other reason other than it was easier to say.
"Great, now get up."
Steven debated whether it was worth the amount of effort he was putting in to make sure Crimson got out of her room. In helping her get dressed and go to the bathroom, he saw more of her than he ever intended to. He might never look at her the same, but it didn't matter now that she was walking through the halls with him. After a moment of talking to himself, trying to decide where to store her, Steven brought her up to the medical wing and sat her down on the bed next to a sleeping boy. He snored softly and each breath blew a stray curl off his forehead a few inches before it fell down.
"Madam Pomfrey is out, but I doubt she'll mind if you spend the day here."
And he was gone, off to Care of Magical Creatures. Crimson slouched on the edge of her bed, unmoving, for a moment before she let gravity slump her on her side. It was surprisingly comfortable for an infirmary bed. She closed her eyes and imagined it was her bed at home, and her uncles were downstairs cooking dinner and arguing over the latest football match. A loud breath interrupted her fantasy; it came from the boy next to her.
Once Crimson sat up and gave him a good look, she realised who he was. Remus Lupin laid in the bed next to her with fresh cuts over his face and wide eyes.
"I forgot yesterday was the full moon," hummed the girl before she properly crawled onto her own bed and laid on her side facing him. "How was it?"
Remus was stunned for a moment and forgot how to speak. "I-It was awful, as usual." He decided it wasn't worth the effort to ask her how she knew. It was Crimson, of course she knew.
Crimson nodded thoughtfully. "Hope that you boys figure it out soon. It's honestly not that difficult."
Another stunned moment passed. "Oh, uh, well… James can't find the recipe on how to make the potion, so they've just put it off for a while, though I'm pretty sure they still have the leaves in their mouths." Remus scratched the back of his head nervously. He could not believe the conversation he was having with Kooky Crimson Reeds of all people. She hardly said a word to anyone other than Steven outside of class.
"I can give you guys the recipe, but I don't just do shit for free," she said, giving Remus an unnerving look. "Don't think those leaves were a favour."
Remus was hesitant to agree to anything without the boys present. He knew that once they were in debt to her things would only get worse for them.
"Think about it." Crimson turned over so she was lying face down into the pillow and ended their conversation. He began to worry that she would suffocate in her sleep, but she shifted slightly so she could breathe and he got over it.
Sirius was gonna be pissed once he heard about this.
Astronomy class was once a week with the entire year. It was the only class where all four houses were together, and it was one of two classes Crimson Reeds actually liked. Unlike most Hufflepuffs, Crimson Reeds was not a fan of Herbology. Things of the ground did not interest her in the way things of the sky did. Oh, how it fascinated her; the ways the stars could be seen and used to tell seasons, fortunes, stories. Oh, it was one of the most beautiful things in the world to her.
On nights like these, where Crimson was grouchy and depressed, she could always count on the stars to level her mood. Steven knew better than to press her after pushing her buttons all day long, so he sat as a barrier between Crimson and Lily Evans. Hopefully, the redhead would mind her business and leave the two alone.
"Tell your friend that she needs to start coming to class if she wants to keep up her perfect grades."
It appeared there would be a problem. Crimson never stood up for herself. She just grinned manically every time someone tried to say anything disrespectful towards her and let Steven argue for her. They were a dynamic duo.
"Why do you care about what she does?" Steven snapped. What did she know about what his best friend was going through? "Aren't you perfect enough, Lily Evans, that you don't need to be butting into someone else's business? Or are you just jealous that Crimson does better than you even after missing a week of school?"
Lily recoiled in shock at the words, although Steven didn't know why. It wasn't like their arguments were anything new.
"Oi! Stebbins, watch yourself!" the irritating voice of James Potter shouted across the tower making all three students roll their eyes–a common enemy.
"Mr Potter, do not shout across my classroom," Professor Cygnus, an old man with failing eyesight and a beard that rivalled Dumbledore's, scolded.
"What classroom?" another student chimed in.
"In astronomy class, anywhere under the night sky is my classroom."
Steven and Lily continued to glare at each other from the sides of their eyes while Crimson stared at the sky, not even needing her telescope. Her skills went beyond observing the stars as she had become skilled at astrology, something she had picked up from the centaurs.
"How odd, Venus is in retrograde… keep an eye on that…"
"What nonsense is your girlfriend muttering about not," Lily jeered.
"Nothing, just predicting your death, bitch."
"Crimson?" The weak voice interrupted the arguing and both parties turned around. "Could you help us?" Remus Lupin twisted his fingers in front of him, glancing between Steven and Lily and Crimson. He looked over his shoulder to where Peter held his head in his hands and Sirius was loudly trying to explain Saturn's moons to him and James.
Crimson scribbled something on her paper before nodding. "Of course Remus." She leant over to whisper in Stebbin's ear, "He's pretty fit, isn't he?"
Steven gaped at her as she walked away with Remus and sent a wink back to him. Since when did Crimson Reeds call boys fit? Since when did Crimson Reeds call boys fit?
