➪ GIGAS ➪

"WE SHOULD TALK."

Loki's breathing stopped at Remus's words whispered into her ear. She paused eating, her eyes staying glued to her page as she tried to internalise her panic. She spared a glance to the boy, his hazel eyes filled with worry. Loki gulped. Whatever he needed to speak about was clearly frightening him as badly as it did her.

"The three of us," he spoke again. Loki felt like she couldn't breathe at his words. Her eyes darted back to her page, licking her lips.

"Now?" She peered at him without turning her head any further. She watched him nod.

"Sirius is waiting for us already," Remus spoke, gathering his bag. He shot a comforting smile at Loki, but it didn't soothe her nerves any further. "I'll wait for you outside, okay?

Loki nodded to him, placing her spare piece of parchment bookmark in the pages. Her hands trembled as she pulled her bag onto her lap, listening intently to the sound of Remus's footsteps getting further away, and opened it. Her book slid in with ease. Loki inhaled deeply. She attempted to calm her nerves, slinging the bag over her shoulder, and rubbed her fingertips together, nibbling on her lip at the same time. Her stomach knotted, and she felt nauseous as she headed out of the Great Hall after Remus.

"Where are we heading?" Loki queried.

Remus looked down at her and frowned, stopping the girl by gently grabbing her arm. Loki blinked, startled, and hastily averted her gaze.

"You don't need to worry, love," Remus told her. "I promise we're not going to break up with you or anything like that."

"That's not what I'm afraid of," Loki muttered, keeping her head down. "I'm just more frightened because I don't know what's going on," she informed him.

"It's fine, Loki," Remus pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead. "Trust me. We're almost there, anyway, come on."

Loki grabbed the hand he held out to her and let him lead her the rest of the way. He looked back at her every dozen seconds, gave her hand a quick squeeze then turned back. Loki felt a smile grow on her face, gently getting into the rhythm of caressing the back of his hand with her thumb. It comforted her to know nothing terrible was happening, suppressing her anxiety, and she held a sneaking suspicion it helped Remus's as well.

The couple finally reached the empty classroom, greeted by Sirius, who tapped his foot against the wooden floor, anticipating their arrival. He heard the door open, and, with a look of relief, walked over to the pair. However, the thick tension didn't seem to dissipate. Remus and Sirius shared a look. Sirius pulled Remus away slightly, murmuring something, to which Remus looked back at Loki and shrugged in a panicked manner. They conversed for another moment or two, leaving Loki to sit in her deepening pool of anxiety, before returning, both looking terrible frightened.

"You two better have a good explanation," Loki spoke lowly, peering up at the pair.

"Yeah, we, uh, we need to tell you something," Remus replied, shuffling his feet. He tugged on the bottom of his shirt before running a hand through his hair.

"Promise not to tell anyone else?" Sirius queried, speaking with a serious tone she'd only heard once before. Loki's eyes widened, and she nodded. "I'm serious. I trust you, we both do, but we need to make sure, okay?"

"Yes," Loki responded, "yes, of course. I promise. I swear, I won't."

"Okay," Sirius nodded.

The room went silent again. The awkwardness was near unbearable.

"If it's too-"

"Loki, I'm a werewolf," Remus rushed out.

"Remus!" Sirius exclaimed, his dark eyes darting to the girl in front of them.

Loki paused. Perhaps her ears deceived her. She couldn't figure out how to breathe properly, as if all the air had disappeared from the space around her. She blinked, her emotions sinking deep into the pit of her stomach. Her brain slowly processed what Remus told her. Her eyes moved from side to side, looking in a zigzag path until her gaze stopped on the floor as she tried to expel the words from her mouth she desperately wished to say. Her mouth dried up, and she licked her lips, swallowing, before finally having the courage to lift her eyes once more.

Remus was watching her, eyes brimming with complex thoughts Loki wished she were able to uncover. It was blatant he was terrified, his hands fidgeting in front of him, his eyes scanning hers as he muttered silent prayers. That was when she finally believed. It was that singular moment of eye contact Loki somehow managed to comprehend more than she thought possible. And despite the crushing feeling of gravity on her body, Loki managed to muster the words she longed to say.

"Thank you for telling me, Remus," Loki's mouth quirked into a soft smile. "I don't think any different of you."

"You..." It was Remus's turn to be shocked by the words he heard. "You don't? You don't hate me? You don't want to never see me again?"

Loki shook her head. "No," she responded. "You're still Remus Lupin, one of the four Marauders, and the bookworm Gryffindor who double bunny-ears his shoes when he ties them. I still love you."

Remus let out a laugh, wiping his face with his arm as the building tears finally flowed from his eyes. He sniffed, looking down at the Hufflepuff in front of him. Loki pulled him in for a hug without another word, squeezing his body tight as she rested her head against his chest. Remus planted a kiss on top of her head.

"I'm not sure whether I should mention the animagus thing now or later," Sirius murmured, looking between the pair.

"What animagus thing?" Loki lifted her head and peered around Remus. Sirius shot her a sheepish grin. "Sirius, what animagus thing?"

"Well, we sort of became animagi, the boys and I, illegally," he answered. Loki blinked.

"If the teachers find out—heck, if the ministry, finds out—Merlin knows what repercussions it could have!" Loki exclaimed.

"They did it for my sake, Loki," Remus intervened.  "They didn't want me to be alone."

"He looked absolutely dreadful, Princess," Sirius pouted, "you can't blame us for wanting to her our best friend."

Loki sighed. "It does explain a lot. And I suppose I can't fault you because you were doing it for a good reason."

"A very good reason," Sirius nodded.

"Thank you for hearing us out, though," Remus smiled.

"Any decent person should," Loki shrugged. She let out a sigh, moving her arms from around Remus's waist and running them through her hair. "I seriously thought you two were going to, y'know..."

"Pfft," Sirius laughed. "You are adorable, Princess," he declared, stepping over to her and wrapping her up in a hug. "And I'm sorry Remus dragged you away from breakfast," he chuckled, poking her stomach when he heard it growl.

"You were the cause, too, Padfoot!" Remus protested.

"Can we please get back to breakfast?" Loki pouted. "I want to get some food into my stomach without having to sneak into the kitchens."

"Alright, Remus, you know the drill," Sirius began to lead Loki out of the classroom, looking over his shoulder to his best friend.

"No, I don't," Remus sighed, trailing after the pair with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose to supress a laugh at Sirius.

"Some boyfriend he is, then, eh?" Sirius commented lowly. Loki giggled, lacing her fingers with Sirius's.

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

first things first, i just want to say how sorry i am for not publishing in a while. i don't have much of an excuse, but i'm genuinely sorry. i wish i could write more, because i miss it, and i miss being able to speak with you all.

happy valentine's though, and i hope you all have one. if you don't have one, i'll be your valentine :)

i don't really have much else to say, but thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. i'll see you next time. bye! :)