musical mood: lurk - the neighbourhood

"Where are you off to?"

Remus turned around, eyebrows arched as he met eyes with Lily Evans, who was staring at him with a concerned expression.

"Er…just meeting the lads." He shrugged, hoping his lie didn't stand out. Well, it wasn't a lie, technically, but it wasn't the full truth either. Of course, Lily could never know the full reason as to where he was going, so the half truth, half fib would work for now. "Is everything alright?"

"If it isn't a bother, could we talk?" Her green eyes were wide, and she was biting down on her lip, as if nervous.

Well, the full moon wouldn't be out for another couple hours, Remus figured as he glanced out the window and at the still sunny sky. He could spare a chat with Lily, as long as it didn't run too long. The other three boys would still be waiting for him, of course, but they could handle a slight delay.

"Of course. Is everything okay?" He took a step towards her, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm probably being stupid." She pressed her lips together in a thin line, glancing around the Gryffindor common room, as though to make sure nobody was listening in on them. "I'm just…I'm worried about Lux."

"Lux?" His brow furrowed together. "Why would you be worried about her? Did something happen? Did she hurt you?"

"Hurt me? No, of course not." Lily rapidly shook her head, her eyes somehow growing to be even wider than before. "It isn't like that at all. No, I'm just…worried she isn't fitting in. I've been trying to befriend her, but I don't think she likes me very much. That's okay, but I don't want her to go without friends. That would be miserable, wouldn't you say?"

"She'll be fine." Remus attempted to brush off her concern, but Lily let out a breathy sigh, signaling irritation. An irritated Lily was never a good thing, he knew that from five years of friendship with the girl, so he continued, "Lux is…well, I don't think she's good news, Lils. Something about her gives me bad vibes. I think it's best if you stay away."

"Don't say that! She seems absolutely lovely, Remus. Just a bit…aloof." She insisted, though she didn't seem fully convinced of her own words. When Remus raised his eyebrows, she let out a breath. "Okay, okay, I see what you mean. She has a strange aura to her. But I think she's just traumatized."

"Traumatized?" For once, he had no idea what she was on about. "What on earth does she have to be traumatized about?"

"I don't know. I mean, she hasn't said anything to be, but I can tell she's been through something really bad. Remus, she's yelling in her sleep just about every night, tossing and turning with nightmares. It wakes Mary, Marlene and I up. And she's so standoffish, I worry she's afraid we're going to hurt her or something. Not to mention the fact that she never eats a thing — do you reckon she has some sort of eating disorder?"

Remus let out a sigh of his own. "How would I know? It's not like I talk to her often. If you're concerned, you should go to Sirius. He's the one that's obsessed with the girl."

"Well, I couldn't find him." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Why do you hate her so much, anyways? What has Lux ever done to you? Why can't you be nice and help me help her?"

"I don't hate her. I just…don't like her. Lily, I'm being serious. You need to stay away from her. She's…there's something wrong with her. I just know it."

"Wow." She shook her head, taking a step backwards. "I figured you, of all people, would understand what it's like to be different."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded, a tremble in his voice. Did Lily…know? Of course, he'd always thought Snape suspected him of being a werewolf, but would he have told Lily before they stopped being friends last year?

"Nothing." She ran a hand through her fiery red hair. "Never mind. Forget I said anything. I'll help Lux on my own, since you want to be a big prat about it."

"Don't. I'm serious."

"I'll do what I want. God, to think I actually thought you were the nice one out of those fools you call friends…frankly, I'm disgusted with you, Remus."

"Lily, wait—" He began, reaching out to grab her wrist, but she was too fast, and before he knew it, she'd slid back up the stairs and into the girls dorms, leaving him alone, and filled with regret.

"What took you so long, mate?" Sirius asked by way of greeting as Remus stepped inside the shrieking shack. The three boys were sprawled across the floor, Peter and James playing a game of exploding snap, while Sirius lounged on his side, resting a head in his hand and eyeing the werewolf up and down.

"Lily wanted to talk to me."

At the mention of Lily, James's head shot up. "What was it about? Was it about me?"

"She was probably begging Moony to get you to leave her alone." Peter said with a laugh, earning a shove on the shoulder from James.

"Shut it, Wormy." He glared at him, though he wore a smile all the same. "Evans will love me eventually, I know she will."

"Yeah, and Moony will fall in love with a vampire." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Seriously, what did Evans want?"

"Nothing important." Remus shrugged, taking a seat on the hard wooden floor next to Sirius, kicking his legs out and leaning against the wall. "She just wanted to talk about Lux. Lily reckons she has an eating disorder."

"An eating disorder?" Peter repeated, frowning.

"I could see it." James lifted his shoulders. "She really doesn't eat much, if at all, from I've noticed. And she's so bloody pale."

"I don't think skin tone has anything to do with how much food you consume, Prongs." Remus said, rolling his eyes. "I don't see why it matters, anyways. It's just some new girl. Honestly, the way half of you lot bend over backwards for her is ridiculous."

"Ah, yes, why should we care that a girl new to our school is clearly struggling?" Sirius shook his head. "Honestly, Moony, you're supposed to be the nice one, not me."

"Love has clouded our dear Padfoot's brain." Peter gave Sirius a pat on the shoulder, who nodded in agreement, a bright grin on his lips.

"Alas, I have been struck by Cupid's arrow. Lux is the one for me, and I'll have no one else."

"You sound like James." Remus groaned, running a hand through his brown hair. "I swear to Merlin, if you start proposing marriage to her in between classes, I'll pitch myself off of the astronomy tower. I can't bare having two lovesick fools as friends."

"You'll have me, at least." Peter pointed out.

"Thank the lord. At least I can always count on you."

Lux always preferred being alone, to surrounding herself with people. Even back in 1628, even as a human, she was always drawn to solitude. Maybe it had something to do with never getting time alone back at home with her parents and siblings, but when she'd gone to Hogwarts, the few friends she'd made in Hufflepuff knew not to bother her more than necessary. When she was in the Coven, it was rare for her to get time to herself as well.

Which was why she felt more at peace than she had in ages at Hogwarts. As paranoid as she was, especially about that Lily girl, at least she wasn't constantly surrounded by people. She could easily slip away into the library or an abandoned classroom, and relax on her own.

So, while the full moon shone brightly through the window of the library, she strolled though the bookshelves, eyeing the textbooks in search of anything that seemed of interest. Back in 1628, reading had been her favorite pastime, but in the Coven, she rarely had the opportunity to read, and while on the run with Fulk, books were difficult to come by.

Now that she had access to all the books she could ever want, she didn't think she'd ever be able to let them go.

"Are you looking for something?"

Lux turned around to face the source of the noise, and was met with a boy, perhaps a year or two younger than her, with wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked oddly familiar, though she couldn't place her finger on why.

"Not really, no." She shrugged. "I was just browsing."

"You're Lux, correct? The new girl. Ingelger's daughter."

"I am." She cocked an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Regulus Black." He answered, holding his chin up high, as though his name meant something. Right, this must've been the brother Sirius had mentioned a while back. Regulus seemed to hold some regal authority, unlike his brother, who was all swagger and no class. "Do you have a moment to discuss something, Lux?"

"I suppose so." She folded her hands in front of her. "What is it?"

"It's about my brother. Sirius, I know you know him. And his friends. I know you're friends with that group of boys."

At this, Lux raised her eyebrows. "I'm not friends with them. Where did you get that impression from?"

"I've seen you with them."

She couldn't help it — she rolled her eyes, a smirk sliding onto her lips. "Unfortunately, your brother has some sort of obsession with me. I have no interest in any of those boys — except perhaps Peter. He seems kind enough, compared to the company he keeps."

Regulus mirrored her smirk. "I see. My brother is annoying like that. I'm sorry that he's been bothering you."

"It isn't any fault of yours. Maybe he's given up on me — I haven't seen him tonight, after all."

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Well, I simply wished to warn you about my brother. He's not a good person, Lux. But if you dislike him already, then I suppose I have nothing to worry about."

At this, she frowned. Sure, she didn't much like the boy, but he seemed perfectly decent, other than calling her Luxie and following her around wherever she went. But of course, Regulus would know better than her about the nature of his brother, as opposed to her. "What has he done, that makes him a bad person?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. Just…heed my advice, yeah? Be careful around him, and his friends. They're bad news, to put it bluntly. They're bullies, especially Potter."

While Lux wanted to press further into the subject, she figured Regulus would continue to be vague about it, and she didn't have the energy, or the care. If this boy said Sirius was bad news, she had no reason not to believe him. Unless, of course, he was saying that to gain her trust, then try to hurt her…

"I have to go." She said swiftly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Thank you again, Regulus."

Before the younger Black brother could say anything, she'd walked off, leaving him alone in the bookshelves.

Lux was certain she'd had a bad dream. When she'd open her eyes, she'd be back in her bed, her mother would be tending to the livestock, her father out at his job building the newest monastery, and her siblings curled up in the bed with her. Or maybe they'd have woken up already, and were doing their chores.

Because if she'd been burned alive, how was she still alive? Unless she was in heaven, of course, but there was no way an abomination like her, a witch, would be going to heaven. She could be in purgatory, she supposed, but then what was that amazing smell…

She opened her eyes.

She was not in her bed, not at all. Instead, she was on the ground, strands of grass tangled in her hair, and stone above her. A cave, she realized as she slowly sat up, her entire body aching. She was in a cave. How had she wound up in a cave? Had she escaped the flames somehow? But no…she remembered it all. She remembered the burning, the agony, as she felt her body melting away while still fully conscious.

"She's awake." A voice she didn't recognize called out, and suddenly, a swarm of people surrounded her, each paler than the next. Their skin was practically white, even the ones with darker pigments were tinted grey from what must've been lack of time in the sun. Did they spend all their time in this cave?

In front of the crowd stood a boy, only a few years older than her, with dark, yet pale skin and a strange sort of smile as he examined her through chocolate brown eyes. The smile he wore signaled that he was amused by her situation, and this made her skin crawl.

"Where am I?" Lux murmured, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "What's going on? Who are you?"

"Does she not remember?" A girl's voice spoke next, eyeing a different man up and down. This man, unlike everyone else, seemed to be vaguely familiar, though she couldn't tell where she'd seen him before. He had icy blue eyes, eyes she knew were similar to hers, and dark hair, like the midnight sky.

"She was delirious when I fed her my blood, in that dungeon cell." The man explained. "She had not eaten or drank a thing in days, from what I could tell. It makes sense that she would not remember what I did to her."

"What do you mean?" Lux frowned, her voice pinched. "Fed me your blood? What are you speaking about? What happened to me? What did you do to me?"

"What is your name?" The man with the smile asked her, not answering her question but instead proposing one of his own. He knelt down to meet her level, staring into her eyes with a piercing gaze that told her not to cross him. If she wanted to make it out of this situation alive, she had to cooperate with this man, and the dozen or so of other people.

"L-Lux." She sputtered.

"Lux, what a beautiful name." He grinned at her, reaching out a hand and touching her chin, stroking her skin with his thumb. It took everything in her not to pull away. "My name is Philip. Welcome to the Coven."