➪ CITRUS ➪

"KEEP SMART, KID."

"Don't get into any trouble, I know." Loki laughed, pushing off Nicolas's hand from the top of her head. "Go, before the carriages leave without you and your mum sends me a howler. I'm going to say goodbye to Lily and Marlene."

"Okay, bye!" Nicolas brought his hand up swiftly and tousled her hair once more. "Oh! Don't forget to eat, too, if you're painting. I know how concentrated you can get sometimes."

Loki nodded. She beamed after him as he headed over to Lydia, interlocking their hands. Lydia sent Loki a wave before the couple headed onto the carriage.

Loki tore her eyes elsewhere, making her way to where Lily and Marlene were. She lingered for a moment, seeing Lily conversing with a dark-haired boy she hadn't seen before. By the way James and the boys were glowering at him from where they spoke, they didn't like him. Even Marlene struggled to hold back her scowl.

"Oh, Loki!" Marlene scampered to the girl as soon as they made eye contact. "Thank goodness! I really didn't want to be stuck over there with Snape whining about James. He's in love with Lily, but Lily can't see the obvious." Marlene sighed, toying with the end of her blonde braid.

"Oh, poor thing," Loki couldn't help but feel slightly empathetic for him. "Is that why James hates him?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Marlene shrugged. "I mean, there seems to be something else going on, but I have no idea what it is."

"James!" Both girls whipped their heads around, simultaneously with a dozen other students, to see Lily glaring at James as Snape marched off.

"We better head over." Marlene didn't give the girl any time to object before hauling her to the groups.

Actually, that's the opposite of what we should be doing, Loki thought. Walk away from them. No drama!

"Well, I'm sorry, Lily!" James huffed, lifting his arms in the air. "He's not exactly the greatest guy!"

"And neither are you!" Lily retorted. She groaned, turning to Marlene and beckoning the girl to accompany her. "Don't expect me to sit in the same train car as you, much less the same compartment."

"What did I walk into?" Loki muttered in confusion as Marlene and Lily headed off.

"James got jealous because Snape was hanging out with Lily, " Remus explained. He glanced down at the girl, smiling. "Guess you're staying here with us?"

"Yeah," Loki replied. "Dad's gone on a business trip. That was the letter I got." She gnawed her lip, recalling the contents.

"Then why's your brother heading out?" Loki turned to Sirius, then followed his gaze to see her brother climbing in a carriage.

"Um, he's probably gone to stay at his friend's. Or he'll stay with our Aunt," Loki shrugged, hastily turning away.

Remus's eyebrow raised as he gazed at the girl's brother. From where he stood, there appeared to be no resemblance. He shifted back to Loki, noticing her balled fists.

"Well, now you're here," James settled his arm on top of the girl's head. "You're going to keep these two out of trouble for me, right?" James queried, pointing towards Remus and Sirius. "I can't have them cleaning cauldrons when we've got to be planning pranks."

"James, you're the one who always gets us in detention," Remus snorted. "You and Sirius. Which means I should probably be staying away from him if you want that."

Sirius scowled at Remus, his eyes narrowing at him. Loki bit back a grin.

"Anywho, you'll do that for me, right?" James ignored Remus's comment.

"Yeah, " Loki agreed. "I'll keep them out of trouble."

"This is why I'm glad you're around," James smiled, patting the girl on the head.

Loki flinched at the action, frowning. She cleared her throat, plastering back on her grin.

"Oh, James," Peter squeaked, his eyes flicking up from the watch on his wrist, "we should probably get going now if we don't want to miss the carriages."

"Ugh," James huffed. "Well, I guess we'll see you after the break. And don't forget to watch my boys."

Loki laughed. "Your boys? What are they, your children?"

James shrugged. Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes at him, both of them shooing him away. They shoved him towards the carriage despite his teasing comments and protests.

Loki turned to Peter. "I'll see you when the holidays are over." She smiled. "I'll miss not having you around."

"I--I--I'll miss you, too," Peter stuttered, giving the girl a timid half-grin. "Bye."

"Bye."

Loki waved at Peter as he headed towards the three boys. She watched as Peter stepped around James and Sirius, who were playfully wrestling each other while Remus watched, and climbed into the carriage. The sight made her laugh as now Peter stared at his two friends.

"We'll continue this when I come back," James laughed, shoving Sirius off him. "Later!"

"See you," Remus grinned.

Sirius and Remus made their way back to Loki, talking to one another happily. For a moment, Loki found herself reminded of the past when Remus and Sirius didn't even know who she was. The thought caused a knot of sadness to form in the pit of her stomach. She refused to let the boys see her frown, so she focused back on them, and a smile wormed onto her face in an instant.

Sirius and Remus knew her now; she didn't have to worry about it any more. They knew her and enjoyed her company. It was more than she could have hoped for.

"What are you smiling about, Princess?" Sirius queried, a smirk on his lips. "Me, right?"

"Don't flatter yourself too much, Padfoot," Remus grinned at him.

"I—I mean, he's not wrong, " Loki muttered, quickly averting her gaze. "I was thinking about the three of us hanging out and stuff."

"Aw." Sirius poked her cheek and grinned in amusement when her cheeks flushed. "Well, we've got the entire holiday to hang out and stuff. Hope you're not going to get sick of us."

"I've stuck around you for this long, haven't I?"

Remus laughed. "That's true."

"So, Loki, what should we do first?" Sirius asked, swinging his arm over the girl's shoulder. He leant down slightly to get a better look at her.

"Um," Loki nibbled her lip at the thought that popped into her head. "Can—can we go get some food before anything? I only had a piece of toast for breakfast, and my stomach's been grumbling all morning."

"Of course, Princess," Sirius nodded. "What the lady wants, the lady gets."

"To the kitchens!"

Sirius's arm slipped of Loki's shoulders. He beckoned her and Remus to follow, quickly heading off down the corridor.

Remus sighed. He turned his head to Loki, only to find her looking at him. He smiled. She returned the gesture.

"Come on, you two! We have a kitchen to raid!" Sirius called to the pair.

"Coming!" Remus shouted back.

Without thinking, Remus took Loki's hand as they followed Sirius.

"Uh, Sirius?" Loki frowned, looking behind her, then to the boy ahead of them. She tried not to notice the warmth of Remus's hand in her own.

"Yeah?"

"The kitchens are the other way."

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

hi! i'm sorry for not updating in a while, but it's been really awesome and motivating to see all the comments people have left. you're all so sweet and amazing and my heart can't take it sometimes.

i hope you're all doing well and staying safe. don't forget to take a break, drink some water, have a snack. do your homework if you have any.

thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed. i love reading and responding to comments. until next time! :)