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eruden-writes · 1 year

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Scent Match - Part 3

(Note: Started with an anon asking for the phrase prompt, “Oh. Oh.”)

Summary: When Amber Dyer decided to attend a Creator Con, she never expected to run into Of Wolf and Blood lycan hearthrob, Augustine Prime.

But, there he was, stooping over her table, asking to buy the unflattering drawing of his character. Valuing integrity over taking money from a celebrity and running (though she was sorely tempted,) Amber finishes the sketch and delivers it to Augustine.

However, he continues to doggedly pursue her and entwine their lives.

All because of her scent.

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First Part | Previous Part Masterlist

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The VIP lounge was simultaneously underwhelming and overwhelming. While the environment was remarkably drab - reminding Amber of a sad office party with business-grade navy carpet and neutral grey walls - being in the midst of celebrities brought her anxiety to a heart pounding ten. She was just thankful to have Addie by her side, helping to field questions

She just had to focus on calling the actors by their actual identities, rather than their character's names.

"So, did you think you'd get the Augustine Prime's attention with this drawing?" From across the coffee table, Tarias - Theo Delaney - leaned forward in his chair. A smile spread over his features, his eyes alight with amusement. On the table was the aforementioned drawing.

Amber glanced down at the piece, ignoring how Augustine - from his spot on the floor - watched her so... closely.

For the most part, Augustine simply basked in Amber's presence. He was thankful she agreed to venture into the VIP area. At the time of his request, he hadn't realized he'd be able to inconspicuously take in her scent for an extended time. Augustine had merely wanted her to stay near him.

Now, not only was he committing her scent to memory, but Amber's mannerisms. The way her gaze bounced from one companion to the next, trying valiantly to give them all her attention. She even turned slightly toward whoever spoke, making them aware she was listening. Augustine found his eyes often wondering. Taking in her straight back, but slumped shoulders and the way her hands shifted, her feet fidgeted.

He wanted to skim his hand down her back, release her tension. Or bring her hands to his lips, brush light kisses over her knuckles to still her nerves.

"I didn't know it was him talking to me at first. I was focused on my drawing." As Amber admitted that, Laira - Delilah Moonsbayne, Amber reminded herself - barked out a laugh from her armchair next to Theo. The actress made a flippant comment on Augustine's lack of presence, but Amber didn't acknowledge it.

With her heart still pounding, Amber simply smiled weakly at the woman and let her momentum continue to propel her words, "If l had known he was lurking about, I might not have chosen Montos for vent art."

At her words, Augustine's ears twitched with concern, but Theo beat him in asking, "What were you frustrated about?"

Theo Delaney's intense look of concern brought a soft, awkward laugh to Amber's lips and a lick of heat over her cheeks. It felt odd explaining her everyday gripes to a celebrity.

Thankfully, Addie took over talking duties as she threw an arm over Amber's shoulders. "Despite how talented Amber is, their work - particularly their webcomic - hasn't gotten the attention it deserves."

"I'm not the best at marketing, so it's really just my fault." Amber winced and gave another weak laugh, trying not to sound too self-deprecating.

At her knee, where Augustine had opted to sit on the floor, the actor suddenly snapped his fingers. He smiled up at her, craning his neck as he excitedly asked, "Weren't there books at your table? Hell's Bells or something?"

"Hell's Promise," Amber corrected with a nod. Honestly, she was surprised he'd seen anything other than her little drawing of Montos, given how focused on it he had been. She was lucky he even remembered the commission, let alone invited her into the private realm of celebrities.

He seemed to perk up more, wolfish ears turned toward her in full attention. Something in Amber shivered under his undivided interest. Augustine leaned closer to her, subtly taking in her scent as he prodded further, "Do you have a copy with you?"

Also on the floor, Dsidere - Camry Vainglow - leaned over Augustine. Interest sparked in their wide green eyes as they waved their hand, like a kid hoping to be called on in class. "Yeah! I wanna read it, too!"

Before Amber could break the news that no, she didn't have any of her comics on her, Addie tapped her shoulder repeatedly. "I have some!"

Surprise flicked over Amber's features, turning to her friend. The other woman was riffling around her messenger bag excitedly looking for something. "You do?"

"Yeah, I figured if Augustine actually had come around, I should grab some merch." Triumphantly, Addie withdrew a small stack of Hell's Promise. As she leaned over to hand them to the celebrities, she shot Amber a wink. " You never know! He might become a fan and post about it online, which would be a boon, right?"

"Very smart!" Camry nodded sagely as they and Augustine accepted a book each. Amber tried to hide her surprise and delight as Theo and Delilah also took copies. Along with the books, Addie handed out some stickers, pins, and additional copies of Amber's business card.

Trying to shove off her own excitement - it wasn't even guaranteed they'd even read her comic - Amber opted to give further information. "You can also find the comic online at the website on the back of the book. Online is obviously more up-to-date than hard copies."

Flipping through the pages, Delilah tilted her head to the images before asking, "So what's the story about?"

"Hell's Promise is about a world where witches get their familiars assigned to them and our protagonist gets a hellhound. Which is, like, completely unheard of in this universe." Once again, Addie took the verbal reins, leaning over Amber as she spoke to Delillah with pure excitement. "So the witch starts poking about and unravels a long forgotten prophecy which may or may not involve saving the world."

"Interesting," singsonged Camry as they flopped onto the floor, stomach to the carpet and Hell's Promise splayed open for reading.

"I like to think so," Amber said, just before her phone went off. She blinked, momentarily rerouting her thoughts before realizing it was her own device. Digging it out of her pocket, the phone continued chiming as more notifications rolled in. Confused, she stared at it, trying to understand what was going on.

"Wow, someone is popular." Addie leaned closer, peeking curiously at the device vibrating in Amber's hand. "What's going on?"

"I honestly don't know." Amber's eyebrows furrowed, realizing it wasn't just one app going off. It was all of her social media. If it had just been her texts, it could have been an emergency involving her friends or even the few family that still spoke to her. However, it was as if someone lit a fire in all of her apps.

Why was she suddenly getting so many notifications? Had something she posted riled up people to the point of hunting her down online presence down across multiple platforms? She couldn't even think what she had last posted that would be met with any level of vitriol, specific or general. That didn't mean much, though.

When she realized the reason for the attention, her heart jumped while her stomach plummeted.

She was tagged across multiple platforms by @TheAugPrime. The post, in question, was a selfie of Augustine - taken mere minutes ago - holding up her comic and flashing an attractive grin to his camera. The caption read "Check out this comic by @AmbDyArt! Just got a copy and can't put it down." Following his statement, he even linked to the places Hell's Promise was hosted on.

Startled, her eyes wheeled to Augustine. Embarrassment and dismay, among other indescribable feelings, spiked a fire up her spine. "That's not even true. You haven't even read it!"

"It's not a lie, either. I haven't put it down, since Miss Kline handed it to me." He winked with a grin, waggling the still-held comic in the air. Immense pride puffed out his chest over that little workaround.

Beside Amber, Addie gave a giggle-snort. "He has a point."

"B-but he hasn't read it yet." Amber briefly turned to her friend, shock and betrayal faintly coloring her voice before she turned back to Augustine. "What if you don't like it?"

He gave a lackadaisical shrug, but his smile never faltered. Even as an inkling of uncertainty colored the far parts of his thoughts, a part of Augustine couldn't help but enjoy her reaction. It was unbearably adorable. While he hadn't read the comic yet, he had flipped through it and could feel Amber's care put into the art. "I'm sure I will. You made it."

"You don't know that though!" She wanted to grab him and shake him. How could he just give her a free recommendation so easily? What if he read her comic and found it to be utter trash? Hell, what if his fans read it and deemed it garbage? Further "what ifs" spun around her head with every notification buzz her phone shuddered with.

Something in her expression must have finally struck Augustine. His ears drooped a little, confusion and hurt softening his features.

Oh, he had fucked up. Something in his chest sank, staring up at Amber's flustered horror. Before he could think of something to say or apologize, Delilah had reached over to Amber, patting her on the shoulder. "Sweetie, don't try to make sense of him. He does shit like this all the time."

"Would you like me to delete my post?" He held up his phone, thumbs poised over the screen as if it would just be a matter of thumb taps to erase the posts. Causing her strife had been the furthest thought from his mind. Augustine knew what his celebrity endorsement could do for a small brand, though. He had just wanted to help her.

"I... I don't know." Conflict swarmed Amber's thoughts. It just felt like a lie, but wasn't that marketing? He hadn't actually lied, hadn't given an actual review. Just posted a photo of himself with the book. That alone had her own social media suddenly aflame.

Even if he deleted his posts, there were bound to be screenshots already circulating. Some of those emails pouring into her inbox might be from news outlets, as well. She didn't even want to think about the rumor aspect in what he had just done.

Staring helplessly at her phone, she watched as notifications rolled in from ExaGram, Bumblr, Cheepter, and more. With a shake of her head, she sighed and set her phone to Do Not Disturb mode before tossing it back into her bag. She'd deal with the mountain of notifications later.

"You should've asked before posting that." From beside Augustine, Camry nudged his side. He glanced down to his co-star, still sprawled on the floor with the comic book open. "Some people don't like their timelines blowing up, all because of your mug."

Again, Augustine realized he should have known better. He often forgot. Even when he barely started his acting career, his family's notoriety and wealth - and predisposition to conventional attractiveness - meant he'd always had a following. With drooping ears, he sighed and cast an apologetic look to Amber. "Sorry, Miss Dyer."

"It's fine! You were just trying to be nice." Augustine's puppy dog eyes worked on someone, at least, as Addie wrapped an arm around Amber's shoulders. She gave a laugh, giving her friend a little shake as she pointedly said, "Right, Amber?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm just..." Amber sighed once more, pressing her hands to her warm cheeks. Her cool palms helped to ease the fires of anxiety still churning inside her. She suddenly felt foolish for her reaction. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she centered herself before allowing her hands to drop and looking at Augustine once more. "I'm not used to so much attention on my socials."

Augustine rose to his knees from his crosslegged position, edging closer to Amber again. She tensed, seeing his hands rise briefly to touch her knee. Some sense made him drop his hands, but earnestness still glittered in his eyes. "Let me make it up to you by treating you to dinner."

"Weren't you going to ask her out anyway?" Delilah grinned as Augustine shot her a dirty look. The fact she sat in an armchair and he knelt on the floor razed at his pride, but he ignored it. Just because he planned to eventually ask Amber out to eat didn't mean his colleague had to throw him under the bus like that!

Blessedly, Amber's friend ignored Delilah's interjection. She was all excitement as she bounced a little on the couch. "Food sounds great! We were just talking about what to get for dinner before you caught us!"

Watching Augustine's features shift from somber to excited made Amber feel a little bad for how she had reacted to his post. With that feeling, another wave of frustration swept through her. She'd been acting ingracious to him and the other OWaB cast. After all, just because they were celebrities didn't mean they weren't persons, with flaws and feelings and understanding. Other than talent and luck and connections, they were no different from her. Mostly.

With that thought in mind, Amber turned to the others and smiled, determined to extend the olive branch of friendliness. "Are the rest of you going to join us?"

No one caught the momentary fall of Augustine's expression when Amber posited her question. Nor did they see his further gloom as his castmates chimed affirmatives. It was only a blink of disappointment, before he schooled his expression back into a smile.

There'd be time to talk to Amber alone, he reminded himself. He was just happy for the continued time together.

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#werewolf #lycan #exophilia #exo writing #monster lover #monster fucker #monster x human #werewolf x human #fantasci #fantasy romance #contemporary fantasy #augustine #amber #scent match #poor boy #his plan was thwarted and now he has to wait longer until him and Amber are alone #she's so unaware of his feelings #to be fair he is smitten fairly fast

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ellecdc · 2 months

Note

Part two of feisty slytherin reader where it’s just the boys being like kinda in love with reader and everything you can pick how reader responds

this ended up taking me way longer to complete than I thought it would! it also ended up way longer than usual. here's the lead up to our infamous poly!marauders x feisty!slytherin reader!!! 🫶

poly!marauders x feisty, fem slytherin!reader CW: head injury - not graphic or detailed but mentions blood.

“Okay Moony, if you’re going to help us win over Y/N, you should know she does not like dramatic public displays of appreciation.” James said sagely as he walked into their shared dorm room.

Remus spared Sirius a confused look from his seat in the chair, but from the way James was currently rubbing his arm Sirius had a pretty good idea of what just took place.

“Yeah, erm, I don’t think you have to worry about that with me, bubs. Thanks for the heads up though.” Remus added bemusedly.

“Let me guess.” Sirius taunted, rolling over onto his stomach so that he faced James. “The charmed roses following her around the halls wasn’t a hit?”

“No, but she did...” He sulked, pulling his uniform shirt off to expose a small albeit quite red welt on his upper arm.

“Awe, poor Jamie. Come here bubs.” Remus cooed at him, opening his arms to invite the boy into his lap.

James obliged all too willingly and snuggled up to the werewolf like he was a small toddler and not a giant beefy man-baby.

“Don’t mollify him when he’s out here botching our grand plans to woo the girl of our dreams.” Sirius said, causing Remus to roll his eyes and James to scoff indignantly.

“Well at least I’m working on it! What are you doing to woo her?” James retaliated.

Sirius offered him a wolfish grin. “Oh, I’ve got a little trick up my sleeve.”

You had to get out of the castle. You could still feel everyone’s eyes on you, ogling you like you were some kind of freakshow.

You don’t know what kind of game those Gryffindor’s were trying to play, but you were not about to be the butt of whatever sodding joke this was.

Roses, really? Charmed to follow you around the castle as Potter smirked from the sidelines. Did he have any idea how humiliating that was?

So, yeah. You walloped him. In the arm. With your fist. Hard. But what else were you supposed to do!? You’d confronted him and demanded that he end the charm and all he said was ‘you look so cute when your nose scrunches up like that’.

He and Black have always been a bother – seemingly having taken some kind of interest in you for whatever reason. Lupin had always been more reasonable; one would think that he’d have evened those two out during their relationship, but apparently that was an impossible task. You supposed it was because he was all but one man.

But lately, even he was starting to stare at you a little too long, smile a little too softly, find too many excuses to be in your vicinity. It was infuriating.

So, you were outside.

It was nice outside.

Well, it was nice enough outside.

You packed yourself some snacks in your book bag, two blankets and an extra jumper to go sit by the Black Lake. You figured you should be able to enjoy some peace and quiet out here on your own.

You unfolded one of the blankets to lay onto the ground before sitting on it and then laid the second blanket over your lap. You could hear other students on the grounds in the distance and the soothing sound of the water lapping gently against the shore.

As luck would have it, a certain dog with long-black hair would set out to disrupt that.

“What are you doing here?” You asked the dog as it approached you calmly. You wondered for a moment if you should be scared before it stopped at the edge of your blanket to sit and tilt its head at you, his tongue falling out of his mouth haphazardly.

He didn’t look too scary, ignoring his size.

You craned your neck to look around, checking if perhaps he was here with someone, but it appeared that you were, in fact, alone on this side of the lake.

You felt something cold and wet nudge your pinkie, and you turned to see that the dog had laid down beside you with his head between his paws, nose next to your hand.

“If I pet you, are you going to bite me?” You asked him. He answered by nudging your hand again and offering it a little lick.

“You better not have fleas.” You muttered as you scratched behind the dog’s ears. You would have sworn he had furrowed his eyebrows at your comment if dogs could do such a thing. You noticed then that the dog had startling silver-blue eyes.

“Where are your people?” You asked, glad no one was around to see you conversing with a dog. He answered you by rolling over for belly rubs.

You scoffed out a laugh but acquiesced. “Fine, you can stay. But I came out here for peace and quiet, ‘kay?”

The dog seemed fine with that plan and let you read through two chapters of your book, only interrupting every paragraph or so for more pets. Eventually however, it grew too cold, and you decided to pack up.

Confirming your suspicions, the dog began to follow you towards the castle. You pretended like you hadn’t noticed or perhaps just didn’t care until you were near the greenhouses.

“For future reference, Black,” you said, turning to the dog who seemed to pause mid-step as you considered him. “I really am more of a cat person.” You smirked, turning to walk back to the castle alone.

“Here, let me get that for you.” James said, opening the door for you rather chivalrously in Sirius’ opinion.

“I’m not a delicate flower, Potter, I can open a door.” You muttered angrily, storming past him into the classroom.

James deflated a little as he followed you in, but perked up when Remus placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I thought that was very sweet of you, Jamie.” He placated.

James gave him a half smile in response. “Thanks Moons.”

“I mean, what are we supposed to do? What bird doesn’t like dogs!?” Sirius grumbled, opting to ignore James’ whining.

“Don’t call her a bird, Sirius.” Remus chided.

“Probably didn’t help you’re a big ol’ mangy mutt.” James muttered petulantly.

“Oi!” Sirius called. “That’s not what you say when Padfoot snuggles you to sleep.”

James had the good graces to turn a little red at that.

Their conversation was interrupted (quite rudely if you asked Sirius) by Professor McGonagall as she began the instructions for today’s Transfiguration lesson: turning buttons into butterflies.

Sirius stole a concerned glance towards James to see Remus doing the same; they were horrified to see a mischievous look adorning their boyfriend’s face.

“Prongs...” Sirius warned, whilst Remus whispered a “remember what we talked about.”

But they both knew it was too late; there was no stopping him once James set his mind to something.

Sirius is quite sure it was the fourth butterfly that did you in; you seemed to consider the first a fluke, the second was annoying, the third made you suspicious, but by the fourth you’d had enough.

With little to no warning you turned and lobbed a large hard-covered tome at the group.

“I don’t know which of you tossers are behind this, but it reeks of Potter. So help me gods I will gut you and string you up to the rafters from your intestines if you don’t leave me alone!” You screeched.

“But how else will you know I’m crazy about you?” James pouted, causing you to groan exasperatedly.

“If you’re looking for some cutesy princess who will swoon at your sodding roses and butterflies, then you’ve got the wrong witch.” You spat.

Sirius smirked. “Oh, we have exactly the right witch.”

“I swear to Circe if you don’t leave me alone, I’ll sic Barty on you.” You threatened.

Sirius and James both scoffed whilst Remus smirked.

“Please dollface, you insult me. I’m not afraid of Junior.” Sirius taunted.

You narrowed your eyes at him menacingly before realization dawned on you. “Fine.” You said simply, giving Sirius a distinct uneasy feeling. “Perhaps I’ll tell Regulus.”

Sirius slammed his fist on the table and leaned forward. “You wouldn’t.” He seethed.

You smirked deviously. “Just try me, Black.” You sneered in response.

Did...did Sirius have a degradation kink?

Sirius was ashamed to admit that he had to take a very cold shower after that.

You had been sitting in the library trying to work on your Potions essay. You had felt fairly safe here seeing as the Gryffindor’s (at least the most problematic ones) had been sanctioned from using the library during quiet study hours on account of their typical foolishness.

Except one.

“Mind if I sit here?” Lupin’s lilting voice sounded from your right side before he sat down without waiting for your response.

“Why bother asking if you were just going to sit anyways?” You grumbled.

“Well, it was the polite thing to do.” He said, turning to face you. You held his gaze (his gaze, your glare) until he finally sighed. “I’ll leave if you want me to.”

You considered him for a moment. You couldn’t deny he was the least buffoonish out of the so-called Marauders though you’re not sure that amounted to much.

But he was quieter, kinder, softer around the edges. And he had been far more polite to you than his boyfriends.

“Are you going to flirt with me?”

One of Remus’ eyebrows (the one with the scar running through it, you noticed) raised expectantly as he considered you.

“Let me rephrase that.” You barked quickly, realizing your mistake perhaps a touch too late. “You may sit here, but if you flirt with me, I will stab you with my quill.” You punctuated your threat by blotting his hand which rested on the table with ink from the tip of your quill.

Remus smiled at the sight before returning his amber coloured gaze to yours. “Fair enough. I promise to try to restrain myself, but perhaps you ought to hold onto this hand for me just in case I slip up.” And he – the absolute sodding bastard – slid his left hand comfortably into your right.

You’d never seen someone make a move so assertively and smoothly before. There was nothing to say that any of this even affected Remus as he immediately turned his attention to his book. Was it hot in here? Your hand felt sweaty. Your throat felt tight. Your mouth was dry. Why didn’t you think to bring a bottle of water?!

“Erm,” you started, having to pause to clear your throat. “Just how am I supposed to get my work done with your hand in mine, Lupin?”

You had tried to sound threatening, but based off Remus’ smirk, you’d only managed to goad him further.

“You’re left-handed. Figure it out.”

These boys were going to be the death of you if you didn’t end up killing them first.

“You held her hand!?” James screeched in their dorm room that night whilst Remus smirked to himself. Sirius would make fun of James for his dramatics if he wasn’t just a pissed off about this.

“I’ve been working at this the longest out of either of you, and she lets you hold her hand?” He continued.

“She doesn’t like dogs,” Sirius grumbled, gesturing to himself, “she doesn’t like James. But the werewolf? Really. No offence Moons because I absolutely get the appeal.”

James snapped his fingers as he had a eureka moment. “I’ve got it! Remus; bite me!”

“James!” Remus scolded.

“It’s not fair.” James muttered as he fell onto his bed in defeat. “I’d be so good to her.”

Any ire from Sirius and Remus drained at that as they both moved to join their boyfriend on his bed.

“We know, bubs.” Remus conceded.

“We just...have to give her time. I’m sure she’ll come around, yeah? I mean, with Remus’ smooth moves, my undeniable charm, and your muscles? We’re unstoppable.” Sirius added, eliciting a smile from Remus and a gentle chuckle from James, though his usual light was diminished.

“We’ve just got to be patient, Jamie.” Remus concluded, causing James to groan.

“Patience.” He spat spitefully.

“A 'James ADHD Potter' special.” Sirius winked before kissing any further protests away from James’ lips.

“We’ve got Moony on our team now, bubs. We’re unstoppable.” He whispered, truly believing what he was saying.

If anyone could break through your hard candy-coating shell to reach the chocolate inside, it was certainly Remus Lupin.

You’d had the lovely idea of sitting outside on one of the few sunny days that Scotland got to see this time of year. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else had the same idea too.

A few Hufflepuffs were playing with a charmed muggle football, kicking it back and forth between the two of them and chasing after it when it opted to fuck off on its own. You didn’t understand the objective of the game, nor did you care to.

Remus and Peter Pettigrew sat on a bench not too far off playing a game of Wizarding Chess that, from where you were sitting, looked like Remus was winning.

You got so caught up in watching Lupin’s game with Pettigrew - in the way that the tendons in his wrist and hands flexed as he moved pieces across the board, and the way that his honey blonde curls fell in front of his eyes causing him to have to blow air upwards so he could see the board - that you noticed something flying at you far too late.

“Look out!” One of the dumb Hufflepuff’s shouted far too late as their charmed football soared into the side of your head, knocking you clean over where your head cracked painfully against a root of the tree you were sitting under.

You scrunched your eyes tight and tried to will your heart to start beating again and your lungs to cooperate, every part of your body seeming to have tensed out of instinct to protect itself.

“L/N! L/N! Come on, dove, open your eyes.” You heard a voice above you.

Why was the voice so worried? How long were your eyes closed? A gentle hand grabbed your chin and wiggled your head back and forth, causing you to hiss in pain.

“Sod...off.” You gritted through your teeth.

The voice chuckled and wiggled your chin once more. “There she is. Open your eyes for me.”

You hated being told what to do but decided to comply anyways.

You probably should have kept your eyes close because the sight made you feel dizzy for a completely different reason.

Hovering above your frame was Remus Lupin; his knees on the ground beside your elbow, one hand gripping your chin and the other gently moving hair away from your face and head.

“Atta girl.” He said with a smile.

“Get away from me.” You grumbled as you moved to sit up. Though Lupin hissed in protest, he helped you sit up nonetheless.

“Is...is she okay?” a timid voice spoke from somewhere behind Lupin’s shoulder causing his expression to darken considerably.

“You stupid wankers are so dead.” You spat as loudly as you could manage, though in your current state – that wasn’t very loud at all.

Your message was received loud and clear, however, as the two Hufflepuffs took off in fear.

“My sentiments exactly.” Lupin muttered as he turned back to you, jaw still tense.

You snorted indelicately as you brought a hand to your head. “Please, don’t tell me you actually care about me, Lupin.”

You hissed in pain as your hand came in contact with something warm and wet and slightly sticky. You pulled your hand back in front of you to inspect, only for Lupin to grab your hand rather harshly and wipe the blood away with a handkerchief.

“Is it so impossible to believe that we could actually care for you?” He muttered quietly, eyes focused on your hand, pointedly avoiding eye contact with you. You watched as his curls bounced with each wipe of his hand against yours. You thought of his gentle hands brushing hair away from your wound moments before. You thought of him begging you to open your eyes. You thought of him being the first one at your side when you were hurt.

And you thought about Black finding ways to be with you even when you staunchly refused his company. You thought of him taking time out of his day to tell you how ‘smoking hot’ you looked that day, even though he said it every day before that, too.

And you thought about Potter who always held the door for you, saved you a seat even though you never accepted it, showered you in affection even though it was public and quite embarrassing. And you thought of the way he always had a smile to give you, even when you gave him no reason to smile at all.

It wasn’t hard to imagine the three of them caring for anyone, quite frankly. Caring seemed to come second nature to those boys.

“No.” You admitted quietly. “It’s not impossible to believe that you could actually care. It’s just impossible to imagine why.”

He stopped rubbing at your hand and met your eye, seemingly contemplating what to say.

“Let’s get you to Madam Pomfrey.” He opted for. “Pete, let the boys know where I’ve gone when they’re finished with practice?” Lupin called over his shoulder.

“I can walk myself, Lupin.” You grumbled as he helped you up by your elbow.

“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbled back. “You’re not a delicate flower, we know.”

The two of you more or less muttered back and forth to each other the entire way to the infirmary, Lupin supporting more of your weight than he likely needed too but you didn’t feel the need (nor desire) to complain.

Madam Pomfrey was in the middle of looking after a first year Potions class who accidently set off an explosion of incorrectly brewed Cure for Boils which ultimately left each student (and Professor Slughorn) covered head to toe in painful boils.

“Mr. Lupin, if you could clean the wound for me. And Miss. L/N, drink the pain potion. Do not leave until I’ve had a chance to do a proper examination, okay?” She ordered as you positioned yourself more comfortably on the bed after she determined you weren’t about to die (or currently crying, as most of the first years were).

You took the pain potion dutifully and placed it back on the table beside your bed before you startled at the sudden cold wet cloth on your head.

“You are not seriously doing this right now, are you?” You spat.

Remus’ eyebrows drew together as his hands continued on in their task. “You heard the matron; I’m supposed to clean it.”

“I can clean it myself, Lupin; I’ll conjure a mirror.” You argued, causing the scarred boy to scoff.

“I do what I’m told L/N, and quite frankly, the matron scares me more than you do.”

“I must be doing something wrong then.” You sighed, thinking you hadn’t said that loud enough to be heard, but a startled laugh escaped Lupin’s lips.

“Why do you act so volatile?” He asked amusedly.

“It’s not an act.”

“I call bullshit.”

“Well, you call wrong, then, Lupin. I’m an arse and I find everyone exhausting. Deal with it.” You snarked sharply.

Lupin breathed a laugh through his nose. “Maybe we can find out what the hell your problem is over dinner sometime, then.”

Rotten bastard and his smooth talk...

“WHERE IS SHE!?” a voice echoed through the corridor just outside the entrance to the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey needn’t even look up from the boil she was currently draining of puss to know who she was about to scold.

“Mr. Potter, I will have you banned from this infirmary so fast if you raise your voice above so much as a whisper, do not try me. That goes for you too, Mr. Black.” She barked; eyes still focused on the first year’s arm in front of her.

Sure enough, a mop of curly hair, impossibly more wild than usual due to the flight on his broom, poked around the privacy curtains a second before it was joined by a fuming looking Sirius Black.

Potter’s eyes flew to where Remus’ hands were positioned on your head and your stomach lurched at what looked like tears pooling in Potter’s eyes.

“Potter...please, erm, please don’t cry?” You asked awkwardly, leaning away from Remus’ touch as you suddenly became very uncomfortable with this amount of attention.

“She’s alright, Jamie.” Remus sighed, pulling you back over to him gently by the shoulder and continuing his prodding at your wound.

“Who did it?” Sirius spat, arms crossed defensively across his chest and jaw tight as he stared hard at the wound on your head. You were horrified to admit to yourself that he was hot. You’d never really seen it before, how all the girls in your year (and other years) fawned over the long-haired boy.

But he was currently standing in front of you still adorned in his quidditch gear, hair pulled back into a low bun - though he had many fly-aways on account of his recent time in the air - his cheeks still dusted pink from the assertion, and he was currently fuming on your behalf.

Yeah...he was hot.

“Easy.” Remus warned.

“Answer me!” Sirius spat back.

“Pads. I mean it, leave it.” Remus said with finality.

Your eyes darted nervously between the two boys currently staring each other down, but Potter’s eyes were still steadfast on you.

“Let me, Rem.” He finally said gently – the most gently you’d ever heard from the rambunctious boy as he gently moved Remus aside and took over.

“I’m okay, you know.” You offered, not liking how worked up these boys were currently over you.

“I know.” He agreed. “I just hate to see you hurt.”

“Why?”

“Yeah, why.” You pressed. James looked like you just asked him to calculate the distance between the galaxy of Andromeda and our solar system using the measurement of broomsticks.

“I... I don’t want to see you hurt?”

“You want to see Snape hurt.” You countered, causing James’ face to harden.

“Snape’s a tosser.” He muttered darkly.

“I’m not any nicer than Snape.”

“See, Y/N. You’re so smart and lovely and perfect, but you are way off on that front.” James said through a laugh. “Snape is prejudiced, vindictive, and a racist blood supremist. You’re just combative.” He explained, punctuating the word combative with a gentle boop of your nose.

You wanted to break his finger.

But that would be combative, and you would rather die than prove Potter right, so you opted to roll your eyes instead.

“Did they even hang around to see if she fucking survived or did they just take off to avoid detention?” Sirius spat at Remus, not looking any calmer than he did when he arrived.

“They stayed.” You answered tiredly. “They took off afterwards, and not to avoid detention, but to avoid me.”

“And me.” Remus muttered quietly, looking dangerously close to going back out there to find them himself.

“Did you threaten them?” Sirius asked severely, though you weren’t sure who exactly he had asked.

“Yes.” You and Lupin both answered exasperatedly.

Sirius looked between the two of you before letting out a sigh. “Fine, but if I run into them, I’m hexing them into oblivion.”

“Not if I get to them first.” You growled.

Sirius’ face finally softened as he sat on the end of your bed and cautiously touched your ankle under the blankets.

“You sure you’re okay, Y/N?”

And you aren’t sure what did it.

You weren’t sure if it was the softness you saw in Sirius that you were sure you could have never even imagined possible from a person, let alone someone related to the infamous Black family. Or if it was the eyebrows of Remus Lupin that were furrowed in concern as he dutifully watched his boyfriend finish plastering a bandage to your head, or if it was the unbelievable softness of James Potter’s touch – in complete contrast to his fast, rough, bouncing personality that you were usually subjected to.

But dammit, you felt a tear slip down your cheek.

You wiped it away quickly and nodded your head in yes.

You braced yourself for the teasing, the cooing, the dramatic displays of affection. But Sirius quickly stood and disappeared behind the curtains, James began pouring you a glass of water, and Remus reached into his bag for something.

Remus returned to you first, breaking off a square of chocolate for you. “It’ll help.”

You were too embarrassed to argue and took it, popping it into your mouth dutifully.

“Here.” Sirius said as he appeared back at your bedside, handing you a vial.

“What is it?” You asked, your voice taut with emotion.

Sirius’ eyes softened again as he offered you a sad smile. “Calming draught. You can’t have any more pain potion, but this might make you feel better.”

“And if not, maybe you can convince Moony to share more of his chocolate.” James commented with a soft smile.

You grimaced at the taste of the potion and chased it with the water James had poured for you.

“Thank you.” You admitted quietly, shame colouring your tone as you looked to your lap.

“None of that.” Remus said as he handed you another piece of chocolate.

You took it skeptically. “Why do they call you Moony?”

No one said anything for a moment, but you could tell that neither James nor Sirius were moving a muscle as they watched Remus who in turn watched you.

“Because of my lycanthropy.” He said plainly.

You looked at the various scars before you started to laugh. Sirius’ face drained of all colour while James visibly tensed.

“Of course you are. Remus Lupin. Named after a man raised by wolves and the lupus, or wolf constellation. Oh gods, it was predestined, clearly.”

“Are...are you laughing at me right now?” Remus asked incredulously.

“It’s a little funny...no?” You asked back.

He looked as if he were torn between laughing and crying. “I pour my heart out to you – my deepest darkest secret, and you laugh at me?” He asked again, some amusement colouring his features.

“I told you, I’m an arse.” You said with a shrug of your shoulders.

“Does it bother you?” Sirius asked cautiously from the end of your bed, face appearing impassive for all intents and purposes.

“I don’t see why it should, it’s none of my business.”

“It could be.” Remus input.

“You don’t want me. I’m no good, Lupin.” You stressed, looking back down at your hands.

“Neither am I.” Sirius agreed.

“Me neither.” Remus added.

“I’m n-” James started.

“So what if the only one of us worthy of love and affection here is James?” Sirius said, cutting James off. “It’s not going to stop me from cherishing what I can get - deserved or not.”

You groaned and threw your head back onto the pillow, cringing at the effect the fast movement had on you and the pain that the movement elicited in your neck.

“Okay, what about this.” James conciliated. “You don’t have to agree to be with us, just give us a chance? The time of day? One Hogsmeade trip to let us fawn over you.”

You looked up at his deep brown eyes that felt so warm you wanted to make a home in them. Sirius, in all his bravado, looked pained as he waited for an answer, and Remus smiled encouragingly at you.

“Fine!” You acquiesced with a groan. “One Hogsmeade trip.”

Much to your chagrin, though not really at all, it ended up being way more than just one Hogsmeade trip.

Thank you to @unstablereader who gave us the library handholding prompt 🫶

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