WILD & WICKED / © yllwjckts
009 ⸻ Implications of Choice

September 12th, 1977 ✦ Hogwarts

"Snape's looking at you."

Lux jumped from where she was seated, nearly dropping her wand as she'd been preparing to cast a spell during Charms class. Whipping around, her eyes narrowed in on Sirius, who was hovering at her left, having stood up from his own chair and made his way across the classroom. While his voice was lowered to a whisper, she wasn't positive Snape hadn't heard him, as his gaze darkened the moment she flickered her eyes to look at him.

"He's allowed to stare," was all she could come up with in response. Gritting her teeth and clearing her throat, she moved her wand once again, but just before she could cast the spell meant to vanish a mouse, Sirius spoke again.

"It's weird though, wouldn't you say? He's been doing it for like...a week now. Snape's never cared one way or another about Mary or Marlene or Dorcas, so why's he staring at you?"

She shot him a furious glare, tucking her wand into her pocket as she understood this was going to turn into a long conversation. "I don't particularly care."

"You should," Sirius began, leaning in so his mouth was only an inch away from her ear. She felt her heart seize in her chest, a hand clamping down and squeezing on the muscle until it was nothing but mush. "Snape's bad news, Luxie, and if he's got a thing for you-"

"A thing for me?" She cut him off, her shock sending her voice loud enough that several heads pivoted towards them. Lowering her tone back to a whisper, she hissed, "Severus Snape does not have a thing for me, I can assure you that much."

"So do you know why he's staring at you? Because the only reason I can think is he has a thing for you. Or maybe he's plotting your murder with Mulciber."

At this, her spine stiffened. Unlike Snape, she hadn't spotted Mulciber staring at her as of late, which both had her relaxed and unnerved. Either he'd given up on his quest for revenge against her, or was planning something. Given the nature of the boy, she had to presume the second option was more viable.

"Padfoot, stop bugging her," Remus groaned, rising from his chair as well and stepping over to the pair. Her stomach tightened into knots as he grew near, eventually stopping at Sirius's side.

"Class is almost over anyways," Sirius argued, giving Remus a playful, almost knowing grin. "Why shouldn't I grace the most beautiful girl in the school with my presence? Obviously she finds me just as charming as I do her."

Lux scoffed as Remus rolled his eyes, though she sensed a deeper turmoil within him at the way his jaw shifted and gaze darkened ever so slightly. Even so, her heart flipped at his words.

"You wish," was all she said, but before Sirius could protest, Flitwick dismissed the class.

"Where's Peter, anyways?" She asked as she rose onto her feet, referring to the one of the so called Marauders she actually completely liked.

"Ill," Sirius sighed with longing for his absent friend. "Unfortunate, really. He's been on and off sick since last term."

"Poor kid."

"Mind if I escort you to your next class?" Sirius rushed to follow her fast pace as she shoved out of the classroom and into the hallway, Remus remaining behind with James. Even so, she could feel the boy shooting daggers into her back from his glare, and a shiver ran up her spine at the sensation.

"It's at the other end of the school," Lux pointed out rather than answer him, part of her wishing to tell him no. Not because she wanted him to leave, though, she was once again feeling the urge to push and push and see how long Sirius could take it, to see how much he would push back.

She wanted him to stay, she realized, a horrible sensation oozing into her stomach when she did. Just like Lily Evans, she wanted Sirius's attention, and even enjoyed the bantering with Remus when he wasn't scaring her with his menacing glares.

"Potions, I presume?" Sirius asked with a funny sort of hop in his step as he kept to her left. When she nodded, he sighed, for the first time his humor seeming to release from him, "You ought to be careful, Luxie. I really don't like how Snape was looking at you, and we all know how good he is at potions."

"You said he fancied me."

"I was kidding."

"Are you ever not?"

He shrugged, and her heart sank and stomach twisted. Maybe it was all some sort of joke to him, then. He gave her attention not because he thought she was pretty, but in fact quite the opposite. After all, she didn't know her own appearance to confirm such a statement.

She'd never been foolish enough to think she could trust the likes of Sirius Black, he was loose lipped and extravagant and clearly had never been told when to be seen and not heard, but part of her had enjoyed the attention he put upon her. Years of isolation had crept up on her with a need for it, a hunger she hadn't noticed until the abyss within her gut was so empty, all she could do was feed on the looks and words of others until there was nothing left.

Sirius's eyes narrowed on her, and she instantly realized she'd made the mistake of allowing her expression to shift. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," she said, stiffening her posture and lifting her chin up. With a cordial nod, she kept her gaze averted from him as she said, "I appreciate the warning regarding Snape, but I'll be fine. I can walk myself to class on my own as well."

"But-" He began, but it was too late. She was already rushing past him and turning the corner.

Potions class went about as well as it typically did - Lux spending the majority of it making small talk with Lily under her breath, while avoiding the stares of both Snape and occasionally Mulciber. Despite not desiring to speak with Lily more than needed, it was evident she couldn't avoid the girl just as she couldn't avoid sunlight and air and blood, and allowed her to ramble on and on about various topics. She had a nice voice, anyways, so Lux didn't mind too much. It was soothing, listening to Lily go on and on, not making her speak in return. It reminded her of Elias, in a way.

When the class was dismissed a few hours later, Lux stood up to make a beeline out of the classroom, but her journey was cut off when Slughorn called out her name. "Miss Erzsebet, if you wouldn't mind a moment alone?"

Frowning, Lux flashed a look at Lily.

"Don't worry," Lily assured her, placing a hand atop her shoulder that sent jitters throughout her body and giving her a kind smile. "Slughorn probably wants to compliment you on your Drought of Living Death potion. It was fantastic."

Giving her a thumbs up as she backed away, Lux found her gaze sliding to Mulciber, who simply raised his eyebrows as they made eye contact. Almost as though he hadn't a care for her.

Maybe Snape had been lying in his warning to her, but something in her gut told her otherwise. No, Mulciber was simply biding his time as he waited for the prime time to attack.

She tore her gaze away as she walked up to Slughorn's desk, waiting for the rest of the students to clear out of the classroom before she asked, "Is everything alright, Professor?"

"Alright? Yes, of course. It's brilliant, my dear, brilliant."

He seemed a bit nervous, and she gave him a wavering smile.

"Say, Lux - it's alright to call you Lux, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"I have this little club of sorts, for students who I deem to be a bit...exceptional. I dare say you fit this criteria."

Her brow furrowed together. "Why?"

Slughorn gave her a sheepish smile, which caused her frown to increase. "Don't play coy, Lux. Come on, it'll be fun. I have a dinner planned for Sunday night in my office - you're more than welcome to bring a date as well. Miss Evans will be there, if that's any incentive to you attending."

Her mouth went dry at the implication. "I..."

"I've extended an invitation to your father as well," Slughorn continued, either not hearing her or opting to speak over her anyways. "I hope you both will attend. It's at six, but if you're late it's no big deal."

"Right." Lux exhaled a breath. "Thank you for the invitation, Professor."

She didn't give him a chance to get another word out before exiting the classroom, shutting the door behind her.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

"I spoke to Professor Slughorn today."

Fulk let out a barking laugh, tossing the dead deer he'd had his fangs buried in the neck of to the side. It landed on the forest floor with a thud, and Lux cringed as its dull, forever open eyes seemed to make contact with hers.

"About his club, I presume?"

"It sounds pathetic," Lux exhaled a breath, moving to kick a rock with her foot. She felt a stray trail of blood drip down her chin, and she moved to wipe it away with the sleeve of her robe.

"Of course it does. Anything that comes out of that man's mouth is pathetic."

It was her turn to laugh.

"Are you going to go?" Fulk questioned when she was otherwise silent.

"No. Why would I?"

"If he invited you to join, he has good reason to. I've spoken to Dumbledore regarding the invitation I received. Apparently, it's quite unusual for him to ask members of staff to join. He must truly see something special in us."

"Do you think he knows...?"

"Possibly," he admitted with a shrug. "If he does, I don't see a problem. He asked us to this club of his because he wishes to be allies, not foes. It would be wise of us to accept his offer. We needn't make an enemy out of him."

"You think he'd be a valuable asset?"

"Dumbledore said it himself, Slughorn likes to collect people. He himself may be a useless, overall pathetic man if I've ever met one, but his associates are certainly much more than that. He has connections everywhere - the Ministry, the Aurors office, I've heard he's even got Voldemort himself in his back pocket. Of course, he'd never admit to that now, but...he took an interest in Voldemort back when he was simply Tom Riddle."

"Tom Riddle," Lux repeated, frowning. "I know that name."

"Where from?"

She shrugged, exhaling a breath as she retreated from the crevices of her mind. "I don't recall. But I've heard it before, I swear I have. That's not a name one easily forgets."

"I've been doing digging into this Voldemort character," Fulk continued. "Dumbledore will only tell me so much, so anything I've had to find has been on my own."

She cocked an eyebrow. "And what did you come up with?"

His lips curved upwards in a smirk. "He was a halfblood."

"A halfblood? Isn't his whole deal being anti-muggle and muggleborns?"

He nodded. "I was able to trace his origin to the Gaunt family, if you've heard of them."

She thought long and hard, but this time, she could recall the most vague of figures, a boy with dark hair and light skin that sat behind her in Charms class, three hundred years prior. "I think I went to Hogwarts with a Gaunt. He used to pull my hair."

"Did you tell him off for it?"

"I don't recall," she lied. Lux would rather die than admit she hadn't fought back even then, even against the smallest and most harmless of boys.

"Do you know what's more interesting about the Gaunt family, than having a bully with an affinity for a young girl's pretty hair?"

She clicked her tongue, praying he'd leave the subject at that. "What?"

"They're directly descended from Salazar Slytherin."

At this, she perked up. "Does that mean-"

"Tom Riddle is Salazar's direct heir, yes."

"Salazar," Lux repeated. "You say the name with such familiarity."

"We crossed paths a few times in our youth. We were humans at the same time, in the same area." Fulk attempted a casual shrug, though she noticed a hitch in his breath.

"How can you be so casual about such a thing? Salazar Slytherin was-"

"-a tyrant," Fulk finished for her. "It's simply fact to me. Nothing more or less interesting than your affiliation with Philip."

Her jaw shifted, gaze moving back to the dead deer, and for the first time, seeing the briefest glimmer of her reflection within the brown fur. "I had no affiliation with that man. Affiliation implies choice."

For a long moment, they were both silent.

Then Fulk spoke, exhaling a deep breath as he did, "I didn't mean to imply-"

"I need to go," she interjected swiftly, rising back to her feet from the rock she'd been lounged on. "Homework."

Fulk sighed, a hand running through his hair. "Lux-"

But it was too late. Her back was already towards him, and she was walking away.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

September 13th, 1977 ✦ Hogwarts

"Are you going to ask anyone as your date, then?" Lily asked as she stared at her reflection in a hand-held mirror, applying a coat of lipstick to her already perfectly colored lips.

"To Slughorn's dinner?" Lux frowned, looking up from her book. When Lily nodded, she shrugged, returning back to the pages spread out in front of her. "I didn't intend on it, no."

"You got invited to the Slug Club?" Mary giggled from where she was on her own bed, painting her toenails a bright orange. When Lux nodded, she laughed again, giving her a sympathetic smile as she did. "Good luck, Lux. Slughorn is notoriously fucking annoying."

"He's not that bad!" Lily attempted to protest, but one funny look from Mary had her shoulders sagging. "Right, yeah, it's bad. He can drone on for hours. But they can be a fun way to socialize."

"You know who you should invite," Mary began, wiggling her toes as she attempted to air dry them and pointing her nail polish brush in Lux's direction.

"Who?" Lux indulged with a sigh.

"Sirius."

She frowned. "Isn't he your former boyfriend?"

"Yes, but that was years ago, so it's no big deal. Really, I'm totally okay with it. It's clear he's into you. Always going on and on about his beloved Luxie. Missing you at meals, in the classes you don't share, blah blah blah."

She shook her head. "Don't be silly. He's just joking around when he says those things."

"He does do that a lot," Lily admits with a frown. "It's hard to tell when he's being genuine."

"I know him better than both of you," Mary insisted. "He fancies you, Lux, I'm sure of it."

Another shake of her head. "I don't buy it. Besides, it's been two weeks since we've met. No one can possibly develop feelings for someone in such a short amount of time."

It was quicker with Elias, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. She'd loved him the moment his lips met hers for the first time, soft and gentle and all too caring.

(A different voice inside of her wondered if she'd ever loved Elias in the first place, or just the freedom he provided her. A way out, after three hundred years with a monster not under her bed, but in hers, tucked beneath the blankets with an arm around her at all times. Elias Hyde had been the embodiment of freedom, Eve's apple, of which her teeth had bitten into and ripped out his jugular.)

"Ask Remus then," Mary suggested.

Lux nearly laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, Peter's still really sick, James is obviously off limits, and since you're so opposed to Sirius..." Mary shrugged her shoulders. "All the rest of the boys in are year are kind of shit anyways, minus Dirk, but he's obviously also unavailable. Remus is a good guy, too."

"The worst thing that can happen is he says no," Lily said, though she didn't seem very convinced. As if to prove she meant what she said, Lily rose onto her feet, rushing over to Lux's bed and grabbing onto her hands. "C'mon, the boys are always in the common room around this time. Let's go find Remus and ask him, yeah?"

"Are you going to ask James?" Mary questioned when they were halfway out the door.

Lily frowned. "I should, shouldn't I?"

"Of course you should!" Mary exclaimed, and Lily rolled her eyes.

Don't, Lux wanted to plead, get down onto her hands and knees and beg. Please, don't.

But she was no better, no braver, and most certainly a hypocrite. How could she in good faith wish for Lily to avoid James in favor of her, while now less than subconsciously craving Sirius's attention as well? What was wrong with her?

"Fine," Lily conceded, flashing Mary an annoyed look. "I will. But you won't hear the end of it from Dorcas. She'll consider it a great betrayal."

"On second thought-" Mary began, but Lily had already opened the door to their dorms, and had descended down the staircase.

Lux flashed Mary an apologetic glance before following in suite, nearly tripping from nerves the moment she was far enough down the stairs to spot Remus in his chair. James was seated on the couch across from him, attempting to engage in a conversation with the boy, but he was far too busy scanning the pages of a textbook to notice.

Sirius was standing up, hovering behind Remus's chair as he gestured wildly in the air, clearly mid conversation with a much younger boy in front of him. As he was doing this, his eyes fell upon the two girls, and his grin expanded.

"Luxie! Lily! To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Lily turned to Lux, then grinned. "Lux and I had a question for those two." She motioned a slender finger back and forth between Remus and James, the latter of which was now staring at them with his jaw dropped and glasses slowly falling off the bridge of his nose.

Remus barely looked up, only meeting Lux's eye for a brief moment before turning the page of his book. "What is it?"

"The Slug Club," Lily began. "We get to bring dates."

"And you've come to ask...Remus?" Sirius clarified, attention fixed on Lux.

She nodded. "I have."

A thud echoed through the common room, causing Lux to jump as she pivoted towards the source of the noise. Remus had dropped his book, and was now scampering to pick it up with reddened cheeks, the first time she'd seen the boy even remotely close to flustered before.

"Sorry, sorry," he murmured, tucking the book onto the chair as he rose onto his feet. Glancing first at Sirius, then at James, he finally met Lux's gaze, one she prayed was as void and hardened as she wanted it to be. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go."

"But-" Sirius began with a haughty sort of tone, but was interrupted.

"Padfoot!" James snipped, having now finally regained a semblance of consciousness. Rising to his feet as well, his eyes were fixed on Lily as he grinned. "You didn't have to ask me, Evans. I'd say yes to you any day."

She rolled her green eyes, though Lux spotted a blush creeping across her cheeks.

"I'm glad we've settled this." Lily flashed Lux a grin. "Come on now, we've got to go study."

She reached over and gripped Lux's hand, gently pulling her towards the portrait hole. But all Lux could focus on the bizarre looks being thrown at her from both Sirius and Remus, and how she couldn't possibly begin to know what to make of them.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

September 14th, 1977 ✦ Hogwarts

It was times like these in which Lux ached for the ability to look into the mirror and see herself. As a human, she'd found the act of spending more time than needed looking at one's reflection a sign of vanity, but perhaps vanity was a forgivable vice. It certainly wasn't that bad, in the grand scheme of things, to admire the way you looked.

It took everything in her not to punch the mirror hanging above the bathroom sink and smash it into little tiny shards as she stared into it, willing to see herself reflected back.

The dress she wore felt fine on her skin, tight in the places it should be and loose in others, but lord above, Lux wished she could know. Wished she could do her own makeup, instead of having Mary apply hers for her. Wished she could tell if she really was as pretty as those around her had said, or if it was a lie meant to make her feel better about herself.

With one final glare at her absent reflection, she glanced down at the dress she'd fitted herself in - a nice green thing she'd borrowed from Dorcas, who was about a similar height and weight to her. Most important of all, it fully covered the scars on her back, concealing them from any prying eyes.

She exited the bathroom, finding Lily was already dressed as well, and adding some final touches to her makeup. Swiping a pink powder over her cheeks, she stood up from the bed and showed off her blue dress, spinning around in it. "How do I look?"

"Like a fucking goddess," Marlene mused from behind her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. "As per usual."

"Thanks!" Lily grinned at her, before turning her attention back to Lux. "Do you suppose the boys are ready?"

She shrugged. "Are we meeting them there?"

"Don't be silly," Lily said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "They'll meet us at the bottom of the stairs, like proper gentlemen."

"I went with Sirius once, back when he and James were still getting invites to them," Mary commented as she scribbled down her essay. "He was late to picking me up at the stairs, and he got us kicked out. Neither of us, nor James have been invited back by Slughorn ever since."

"What did Sirius do?" Lux questioned, though she wasn't sure why.

"He called Severus Snape's date a desperate gnome, and said he had a micropenis. It proceeded to start a food fight." Mary recalled with a sigh.

Lux held back a laugh.

"Come on, we don't want to be late." Lily grabbed onto Lux's arm and pulled her out of the door, practically dragging her down the stairs.

As Lily had predicted, the boys were already at the bottom of the stairs, James seemingly giving a disgruntled looking Remus a pep talk. Even as he gestured in the air and beamed wide, the scarred boy didn't look at all interested in being there, instead shooting daggers at everything his eyes landed on.

Even Lux was subject to this furious stare, though it was far less enthusiastic the moment his eyes scanned her low cut neckline. She watched, observing Remus as he gulped and ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncertain where he wanted his gaze to focus on.

"Lily, you look absolutely ravishing," James greeted with an outstretched elbow for her to accept. When Lily did, he glanced over at Lux, smiling through the thin glasses he had balanced on his nose. "And Lux, you're stunning as always."

"Thank you," she gave him a wobbly grin, though her eyes were fixed on Remus. He was handsome too, she figured, the scars only adding to the already more than decent features he was adorned with. Overall, he may have given her the worst sort of bad feeling known to humankind, but at least he looked good while doing it.

She'd rather have a handsome date who she was afraid would tear her into pieces, she supposed, instead of an ugly one.

James elbowed Remus in the side, hard enough that the boy let out a grunt. When he pivoted to glare at his friend, James mouthed something that looked an awful lot like be nice.

Remus inhaled a breath, reverting his attention back to Lux. "You look lovely."

"So do you," she forced a smile.

When he extended an arm, she took a deep breath in an attempt to settle those awful nerves telling her she needed to run. No matter how much she feared him, she'd never be able to avoid Remus Lupin entirely. Perhaps it was for the best - she could do what Snape had proposed to her. If Remus was an ally to her, then she had less things to fear regarding him.

She swiftly understood why Snape had been so desperate to make an alliance with her, and as she did, she nearly laughed. Despite his apathetic nature, he was afraid of her.

"Something funny?" Remus frowned at her, observing her humored expression. There was a hint of accusation in his tone, causing her to wonder just how far she'd allowed her mask to fall.

Lux shook her head, reverting her face back to normal. "No. Just thought of something."

"Right," he exhaled a breath. "Let's get going, then. We don't want to keep Slughorn waiting. He'll take it personally if we show up late."

"Will he really?" Lux turned to ask Lily, who nodded.

"He kept Sirius and I around long enough, so he has to have some semblance of patience." James shrugged.

"I heard you two had a food fight with Severus Snape," Lux asked him, raising her eyebrows.

"Well to be fair, we were like...fourteen years old," James attempted to reason, but this only caused Lily to laugh.

"I think we learn not to play with our foods at a much earlier age than fourteen, Potter," she said, swatting his shoulder.

James went a beet red, but seemed to take this as an encouragement. "It was mostly Sirius, anyways. I only got a meatball or two in. Mary wasn't happy at all, though. Broke up with him a week later. He was fine, though. Saw him snogging Benjy Fenwick a week later."

Remus shifted his posture, inadvertently pulling Lux closer to him with his arm. She bumped into his side, inhaling a sharp breath as she did.

"Sorry," he murmured.

She gulped, stomach already aching from anxiety.

He's an ally, Lux told herself firmly. Or...will be. And a valuable one, once he is.

Fulk would be proud of her for thinking this way, a part of her thought, before she shook her head in an attempt to banish any thoughts of him. Thinking about him and that odd conversation from two days prior had her heart aching in her ribcage.

While curiosity still nipped at her, it was apathy she'd learned long ago was the best way to experience the world around her, so it was apathy it would be.

By the time they'd arrived at Slughorn's office, the ache was gone, but the emptiness that had replaced it wasn't much better.

"Lily, Lux!" Slughorn greeted with a bright smile and a booming voice as they entered the room. His office had a massive circular table with twenty or so chairs placed around them, the majority of which were occupied by other students that Lux didn't recognize. They were the only ones from their year invited, it seemed, and she nearly groaned when she realized she'd have to part from Lily and James.

She glanced at Remus, who seemed to have noticed the exact same problem - the lack of four consecutive chairs in a row for them to sit at, but he said nothing as he began to walk towards one of them. She followed, finally releasing the grip she'd had on his arm, and she watched as he exhaled a breath at the loss.

She did too, not realizing she'd been holding her breath until she felt the release of air from her lungs.

Pulling out a chair, Lux was sandwiched in between Remus and a Slytherin boy with dark hair and a thin face. He was a year younger than her bodily age, two at most, with an aristocratic aura and an evident pride complex. He glanced at her, grey eyes meeting hers for a brief moment, before reverting back to watching Slughorn as he greeted James.

It was minutes before the door swung open once more, and another person sauntered into the classroom.

Fulk Ingelger had somehow managed to slick back his hair on his own, the gel in his hair framing his face in a way Lux had never seen on him before. His blue eyes flickered towards her for a brief moment, his smirk remaining stagnant as he did, before his attention was back once more on Slughorn.

"My apologies for being late. I lost track of time."

"No worries!" Slughorn boomed. "Please, take a seat."

He did, sitting down in between two girls Lux didn't recognize.

"Since when were Professors invited to this?" She heard James whisper loudly to Lily, who rolled her eyes.

Slughorn beamed, answering the question despite it not being directed at him. "Professor Ingelger is new to these parts, so I figured it was best to invite him. And of course, his lovely daughter." He nudged towards Lux, who did her best not to shrink under the gazes of all those people.

"We're only waiting for one more student, but I doubt he will have any problem with us starting our meal without him," Slughorn said, and with the wave of his wand, the table was covered with all sorts of food. It was like a miniature feast in the Great Hall.

For once, Lux was glad to not be next to Lily. She knew the girl wound hound her on why she wasn't touching her meal even as everyone else dug in. Everyone but Fulk, of course, who had the same vampire stomach she did.

Remus was shoving food into his mouth at a record speed, half of his plate already devoured when the door was opened one final time, and Lux's stomach dropped.

Thomas Mulciber had his posture stiffened, gaze harsh as he scanned the room, eyes settling on Lux and his lips curving upwards. "My apologies, Professor," he said, though he was looking at her the entire time, his hands dipped into the pocket of his robes as he spoke. "I got caught up with my essay, lost track of time."

"No problem at all, m'boy!" Slughorn grinned at him, motioning towards the only empty seat remaining - one on Fulk's left. "Come, join us!"

He did, though he took a long way around instead, passing up behind Lux. Just as he was right behind her, the sudden sound of a glass breaking had her jumping out of her seat and nearly falling onto the floor, only just managing to keep herself upright by grabbing onto Remus.

Remus froze, observing how she held onto him. While he didn't help her as she sat back up straight, he didn't pull away either, maintaining a confused sort of general disinterest.

"Sorry!" James apologized, and when her eyes shot over towards him, she noticed his cup had somehow shattered into a dozen or so tiny pieces in his grip. Luckily, none of the glass had sliced his skin, so there was no blood to trigger Lux's already aching stomach.

She glanced at Fulk for a moment to see if he had the same relieved reaction, before remembering she was supposed to be mad at him, and tore her gaze away before he could notice.

Something in her gut shifted as she glanced back down at her full plate. Of course she'd fought with Fulk, that was natural with twenty years of isolation between the pair. But never before had any animosity between them lasted this long. Fulk was a fixer, discovering a problem and demanding they resolve it before she could even fully sit in her anger.

But now, there was no effort on his end to mend the crack he'd dug between them.

Maybe he'd simply stopped caring. Maybe he'd been honest when he'd told her that the only reason he'd saved her was to cure his own loneliness, something he was no longed ailed with. He had a ring to block the sun, and thus no further use for her.

"Ahem," Remus cleared his throat, derailing her train of thoughts, and then causing her to go red when she realized she was clinging to him still.

"Sorry," she murmured an apology as she released her grip on his arm, returning to glaring at her plate and the array of food she could never eat.

Slughorn was waving his wand, casting a spell to revert the glass to its original state, giving James a pleasant but concerned smile. "Must've had a tight grip on it, aye?" Slughorn offered.

James shrugged, still pale and shaken up. Hands still in his pocket, a frowning Mulciber took his seat next to Fulk, who shot him an unreadable look.

Remus glanced at Lux, then back at his food. Through a mouthful, he commented, "That was odd. James is typically a gentle giant."

"He doesn't typically shatter glasses with his grip, then?" Lux asked with the lift of her eyebrow.

He let out a laugh, swallowing down his foot. "No. That was...out of character."

"He's probably nervous from being around Lily," Lux offered.

Remus shrugged, finishing off his plate. "I don't think James Potter has a nervous bone in his body, but if he did, it would be Lily Evans who triggered it."

For a long moment, the pair were silent, listening to Slughorn now conversing with Fulk. "So it's just you and Lux, is it?"

Fulk nodded, expression dull. "It is."

If he noticed the indifference Fulk was expressing, the Professor didn't show it, as he pressed further, "What about her mother? She carries her last name instead of yours, correct?"

"Yes," he nodded again, gaze briefly meeting hers. "Lux's mother passed when she was very young. It's just been the two of us ever since. We kept Erzsebet as Lux's last name to keep a part of her with us."

"That's so beautiful," Slughorn mused, and for a moment Lux worried he may begin to cry. Even she hadn't been moved to tears at the memory of her mother for several years, let alone a falsified one.

She felt Remus's eyes on her.

"And what made you decide to bring her to Hogwarts for her final year, instead of continuing with homeschooling?"

This time, a crafty smirk slid onto his lips. "Well, Headmaster Dumbledore presented me with the wonderful opportunity of teaching here, and I accepted. Obviously I couldn't homeschool her when I was off in Scotland, so after some great discussion with my daughter, we agreed to have her final year of magic be taught under the leadership of someone as great as Albus."

"And Lux," Slughorn turned to her with a smile. "How are you finding Hogwarts so far? Do you have regrets, not coming here sooner?"

Lux remembered what Fulk had said two days ago, regarding Slughorn and his connections. That getting on his good side was the best, and she knew the proper way to do that was by means of flattery. Slughorn was a man with an ego larger than he was, and feeding into it would cause it to expand onto her.

"I think my time being educated by my father was valuable," she answered, hands placed on the table. "But Hogwarts is also a wonder, and it's been a pleasure getting to know those around me. It's hard to say. But I've truly enjoyed classes here as well, Potions especially."

"We've all enjoyed your company too," Slughorn said with a beam.

She smirked to herself as the professor went on to discuss Quidditch with the boy at Lux's side.

"So, Regulus, how have you been enjoying being Slytherin's Quidditch captain? Most don't get that role until their seventh year, so seeing you succeed in your sixth is truly admirable."

The boy called Regulus somehow managed to make his posture even more stiff as he forced a small, pleasant smile that failed to meet his murky grey eyes. "It's been a wonderful opportunity, Professor. I'm very thankful."

"And your brother," Slughorn pressed, causing the boy to stiffen. "How is he?"

Next to her, Remus stiffened, inhaling a sharp breath, and from across the room, Lux watched as James's fingers clenched around the glass he held, and she braced herself for another explosion.

"I wouldn't know. I have not spoken to him in a while."

"That's a shame." Slughorn clicked his tongue. "Well, if you do see Sirius, tell him hello from me."

Lux's head snapped up. She recalled James referring to Sirius's brother once before, but she'd never thought further on the topic.

A blood supremacist, he had claimed Regulus was, like the rest of the Black family. Scanning him, she searched the boy for any sign of an oddity, any hints that something may be wrong with him, but she came up with nothing. The only peculiar thing she noticed was a tattoo only just peeking out from beneath his sleeve, a sort of half skull half snake that had her stomach churning.

She instinctively moved away from him, and thus towards Remus. Remus, who when she looked up at, was shooting daggers through his gaze at Regulus.

But his gaze was moving downwards as soon as he seemed to notice Lux's stare, returning to his empty plate, then shifting to hers. With a frown, he nudged towards it and asked, "Are you not going to eat anything?"

Any irritation she'd set aside towards the boy returned by a tenfold. "I'm not hungry."

For a long moment, he simply stared at her, as Slughorn shifted the topic of conversation once again, this time towards a pretty Hufflepuff girl that Lux didn't know the name of.

A chill ran up her spine, every nerve telling her to run. Run, flee, leave Fulk behind and save herself. She could live in the Forbidden Forest, where Remus could never find her. Never so much as look. He was preparing for an attack, with a look like that, he was-

"Could I have your chicken then?"

She blinked. "My chicken?"

He silently nudged towards her plate.

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Go ahead."

With a forced grin, he reached over and grabbed her chicken with his fork, moving the slices onto his own plate before he began to shove it into his mouth at a pace far too fast to be human. It almost reminded Lux of herself in the blooming days of being a vampire, with a rush for blood and no means on how to rein it in. Philip, despite his cruel nature, had taught her the patience she now bathed herself in, alongside the reminder that life was now forever. Anything she desired would be met, in due time.

"Wait-" A familiar voice called out from somewhere across the room, but no one paid it any mind, as a loud coughing interrupted it.

She turned around, frowning as she glanced at Remus, whose face had gone as red as Lily's hair as he hacked into his clenched fist. "Are you alright?"

He wasn't choking, she could tell by the heaves in his chest and the occasional spasms that ran through his body. No, something else was wrong. Water down the wrong pipe, perhaps?

When it didn't stop, her heart rate grew faster.

"Remus!" She repeated when he didn't answer, continuing his now increasingly aggressive coughing with a held up hand. Her eyes darted to his cup of water, which was still filled, before returning to him just in time to see his chair topple over, him alongside it.

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