"Oi, Luxie, where are you off to?"
Lux sighed, stopping in her tracks as she turned around to look at Sirius, who was chasing after her from the Great Hall. Dinner had just commenced, and while Remus had slid out of the Great Hall early, Lux had been stuck in a conversation with Lily for the entirety of the meal, in which the redhead tried, and failed, once again to get her to eat something. At this point, Lux was tempted to, just to throw up all over the girl and traumatize her for life.
"Detention." She responded simply, and when he cocked an eyebrow, she continued. "With Remus."
"For what?"
"When we left my father's class during…during the boggart." She cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably at the mention of that lesson, and how humiliating it had been, how it had brought back such horrific memories… "We got into trouble for ditching. So…detention."
"Your own father gave you detention?"
Lux shrugged. "I'm not subject to favoritism here."
"I see." Sirius tilted his head to the side, smirking at her. "What time does your detention end? Maybe we could study or something together afterwards."
She pressed her lips together to contain the smile that was threatening to slide onto her lips. Then, when she realized what she was doing, her eyes grew wide. Was she actually smiling at the concept of spending time with Sirius Black? Merlin, had those kisses from their time together that night after the match infected her brain? She didn't smile at people, not boys, not humans.
Not people who could leave her like Elias did.
"It'll be late, I imagine. Don't wait up for me." It ached for her to say, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't let herself get attached to another human, only for him to be ripped away from her.
Sirius, he could find someone better, someone that wouldn't remain stagnant in age while he grew into adulthood. He deserved someone he could be with, and that would never be her.
"Tomorrow, then?"
"Busy." She lifted her shoulders in what she hoped seemed like a casual shrug, though her muscles were so tense, she feared that they might rip with any harsh movement. "Ask Lily. She's always trying to study with me. Maybe you two would have fun."
"Come on Lux." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't play coy. You know I don't want to study with Evans, as great as she may be."
"I have to go to detention. I don't want to be late."
Before Sirius could get another word out, she sped down the hallway, leaving him standing there as she disappeared from sight.
When she arrived to Fulk's office, he had several massive boxes pulled out from their shelves and lined across the floor, each of them filled to the brim with paper. Remus was already there, standing in front of Fulk's desk with his hands folded neatly in front of him. When Lux shut the door behind her, his heat shot up, and his eyes narrowed at her.
"Lux, you're late." Fulk mused.
She glanced at the clock hanging above his desk. "By a minute."
"Still," He smirked up at her. "You and Mr. Lupin will be sorting through old Hogwarts detention records, and arranging them by date, oldest to newest. I have dinner with the Headmaster, so I will not be here to monitor you. I trust you'll get everything done without any issues."
At the mention of a meal with Dumbledore, Lux raised her eyebrows, but before she could inquire on it, Fulk had stood up and exited the room, shutting the door behind him as he went.
"Right. Let's get started, then." Remus cleared his throat as he knelt down on the stone floor, in front of one of the boxes. Lux did the same, kneeling down several feet away from him, her heart pounding. "You take that box, and I'll do this one, yeah?"
"Alright." She had no idea where to start, there were so many bloody papers, but she began by tipping the box over and pouring all of them out.
"What are you doing?" Remus watched with wide eyes.
"Wouldn't it be easier to do it this way?" She shrugged, looking down at it. "Pour them all out and then organize them by date? Seems easier than filing through them all."
"You're probably right. Not to mention getting paper cuts."
Lux's stomach grumbled at the idea of Remus getting a paper cut, the mere concept of a drop of his blood sending her into a craving. She'd feasted in the forest the night prior, but even then, she remained in a near constant state of hunger. She'd become quite good at numbing it, but when reminded of blood, it proved to be difficult to ignore.
"Hungry?" He asked, staring at her while he emptied his own box. Oh Merlin, had he heard that? She thought she might just die of embarrassment.
"Er…no. Just have a stomachache. Must be something I ate messing with me."
"Right. Because you eat soooo much." Remus rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the paper now scattered across the floor. "Why don't you eat? Are you trying to lose weight?"
"No." Lux frowned. "What, do I need to lose weight?"
"No, your body is great." He said, before realizing what he'd just implied, and his entire face went a cherry red. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…you're all right. You don't need to lose weight."
It was Lux's turn to roll her eyes. She'd have to take his word for it. "Right. Thanks, I suppose."
"These are quite interesting." Remus commented after a long moment of silence, staring down at the detention slips. "I mean, people were getting detention for the craziest things in these times. And Merlin, they go back far. These are from the sixteen hundreds."
"Nice." Lux shrugged. She had no interest in history, no matter how good she may be at her History of Magic class. Most of the history covered at Hogwarts she'd been alive to witness — the rise of Grindelwald, the formation of the Ministry of Magic, the Goblin Revolt, the Scottish Witch Trials that had taken her life…
Her mouth went dry, and she swiftly returned her attention to sorting through the detention slips. The box she was going through was from the time of the foundation of Hogwarts, a time when even she wasn't alive. Fulk would've been around one hundred years old at the time, perhaps a few years more. And Philip and Adelais, well, Merlin knew how old they were. Perhaps as old as time itself.
"What the fuck?" Remus breathed, causing Lux's head to shoot up. She turned to look at him, watching him frown as he examined one of the slips in his hand, reading it over and over.
"What is it?" She craned her neck to get a good look at it, but it was only just far enough that she couldn't see.
"It has your name on it." Remus let out a breath, shaking his head. "Why does a detention slip from the sixteen hundreds have your name on it?"
"What?" Her cold, dead heart seized in her chest, and she reached over to snatch the piece of paper out of Remus's hand.
Sure enough, written on the parchment was,
10/18/1627
Lux Erzsebet — Hufflepuff
Caught out of bed after hours
Served detention with: Linus Flemming
Cleaning the trophy case
"It…it m-must be an ancestor of mine." Lux sputtered out, knowing the moment the words left her mouth, they wouldn't be believed. She never stuttered, never ran over her words, yet here she was, panic filling her void veins and snatching at her skin like fire. "I guess Lux is a family name."
"Lux isn't a common name." Remus said, eyeing her. "You're the only Lux I've ever even heard of. And both being not just part of your family, but having the same last name?"
"What are you implying, Remus?" She cocked an eyebrow up, hoping he didn't notice how she was shaking as she set the piece of parchment back on the ground. "I'm not a time traveller. It must be a different Lux Erzsebet. That's all."
"Tell me why I don't believe you."
"You think I'm a time traveller, then?"
"I don't know what you are." He spat, eyeing her up and down through the harshest gaze she'd ever seen. It was as though he wanted to devour her whole. He rose to his feet, towering above her and looking down as though she was a spec beneath his shoe. "But I'll find out."
"There's nothing to find out." Lux sighed, running a hand through her hair as she stood up as well. "There's nothing special about me. Nothing to know. And I suggest you lay off, before you regret it."
"Why would I regret it? Unless you're hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything. But Fu—my father, is very powerful. If you start messing with me, you won't only have to deal with me, but with him."
"You're going to set your daddy loose on me? I'm so scared. Honestly." He rolled his eyes, taking a step towards her. "You don't scare me, Lux Erzsebet, and neither does your big bad father."
"We should." She stepped towards him this time. Only inches apart, she could feel his breath on her, feel the way his gaze wanted to set her on fire. But she managed to hold her ground, keeping her chin up high to look him in the eye. "We should scare you more than anything."
"You have no idea what I'm capable of." He let out a cold, dry laugh, shaking his head. "I could tear you apart, and you would be dead before you even knew what happened."
"I'd like to see you try." Lux retorted, tilting her head to the side.
"You're truly out of your mind, Erzsebet." Another step towards her, their faces nearly touching, He wasn't much taller than her, and if they moved any closer, their skin would brush against each others. "Truly fucking mental."
"You're the one making a big deal out of a slip of parchment with some funny words on it." She lifted her shoulders in a mocking shrug, her voice raising ever so slightly as anger built in her, anger and fear and anxiety in a massive bubble. "Maybe you need to—"
Remus cut her off, not by hitting her or shouting words of his own, but by reaching behind her head and slamming his lips against hers.
Lux was a woman possessed, the moment his lips crashed onto hers without any rhyme or reason, filled entirely with pure passion and zeal, as she immediately melted into his rough touch. She'd never been even remotely attracted to Remus Lupin, if anything, she was terrified of him, but the moment their lips met, it was as though she'd been taken over by a version of her that wanted nothing but to touch him, to feel him. Something was wrong with her, but she didn't care, all she wanted was the kiss to never end. It was nothing like with Sirius, who was so damn gentle, or with Elias, who hadn't really known what he was doing. If anything, it was like Philip, rough and passionate and forceful, except this time, Lux wanted it. She craved it, like how she craved sunlight and blood and freedom.
She reached around him, grabbing chunks of his hair with her hands and pressed him closer to her. He bit down on her bottom lip ever so gently, and she moaned, leaning in for more. Remus had become some sort of drug, and after one hit, she was entranced.
Though as quickly as it came, it left, when he suddenly pushed on her chest, shoving her off of him.
"What the hell?" She cried, reaching up and placing a hand on her lip, as if to confirm what had actually happened. When Remus said nothing, she continued, demanding, "Why did you stop?"
"Why did I…why did we do that?" He sputtered back his own question. His face was flushed, whether from the kiss or embarrassment, Lux didn't want to know.
"I don't know, you tell me — you were the one to kiss me!"
"I don't know why I did that." He breathed, shaking his head. "I'm…I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have done that. Fuck, Lux, you can't tell Sirius."
Sirius. Right. She'd nearly forgotten about him, about the boy who trailed after her like a lost puppy. It would tear him apart, if he found out his best mate had kissed her, the girl he so desperately fancied. She shouldn't care about him. She shouldn't give a damn about the boy and his feelings.
But she did, and her stomach churned. They weren't even together, they'd only snogged once, but it felt as though she'd committed a great betrayal.
Why had Remus done that? Why had he kissed her? Had he always harbored an attraction towards her? If so, why was he so mean to her, so bloody annoying and untrusting? Was it some sort of hateful attraction, the kind of passion only pulled off in movies?
Lux wasn't sure, but she knew one thing; this couldn't happen again.
"I need to go. I have to go." She shook her head, taking a step backwards. "Tell Fulk I got ill, if he questions where I've gone off to."
"Lux—" Remus called out her name, but it was too late. She was already gone.
Sirius was seated on one of the large chairs in the common room, mulling over his homework, which proved to be a near impossible task. Transfiguration, who gave a damn about the subject? It was so boring, and when would he ever actually need to turn a mouse into a cup anyways?
He was just about to give up, call it a night and head to an early sleep, when the portrait hole swung open, and in stumbled Lux.
He shot up, eyes wide and a grin sliding onto his lips. "Luxie, you're back earlier than I expected. Where's Moony?"
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug, and when he took a closer look at her, his smile faded. Her skin was flushed, her lips swollen, and her hair messed up, as though she'd been in some sort of fight. But worst of all, her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, with slow movements as they attempted to focus on Sirius, but seemed to look through him rather than at him.
"Are you okay?" He took a step towards her.
"I don't feel well." She managed to say, her voice pinched. "I was coming back from detention and I…bloody hell, I'm dizzy…can you stop spinning?"
"I'm not spinning…" Sirius frowned, reaching over and grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's sit you down."
But as he began to pull her towards one of the couches near the fireplace, her legs didn't move. Instead, they fell out from beneath her, and she collapsed into a heap on the floor.