Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forever and Always	By : cls2256 Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6832 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 42
- 43
- 44
Life seemed to be returning to normal as the weather shifted warmer. Mia’s sessions with Helen had been proving to be effective, her anxiety growing less intense as she applied Helen’s ‘homework’ to her daily life. After her discussion with Susan on alcohol consumption, Mia made every effort to stay away from the bottles on the counter when she was feeling upset or anxious. Rather, she turned to Remus— crying in his arms clutching a picture of her and Sirius, and to Penelope— when Remus left for the next full moon, sealing her and her fears inside the flat with the wards he and Kingsley designed to keep her in, and Fenrir Greyback out.
Thankfully, things had been quiet when it came to Greyback or Dolohov. Not a peep had been heard about Dolohov coming back for Susan ever since Voldemort tortured him for making a spectacle of his vendetta, and Greyback hadn’t been spotted ever since he paid her a visit in Diagon Alley. Fear still loomed inside Mia, knowing at some point she would come in contact with both of them again.
Penelope seemed to be gone from the flat more and more, still not budging with any details as to where and who she was seeing. Remus had gotten extremely angry with her one evening (albeit the night before the full moon), raising his voice about how irresponsible it was for her to go out and not tell at least someone where she was going. She had retorted with a crude gesture, quips about how she can take care of herself and he could mind his own business (he was not her boyfriend or her father, as she informed him), and slamming the front door shut before apparating away from the flat. She had stayed gone until she came home from work the next day, avoiding Remus until he had gone for the cycle. She had found Mia hiding in her closet, wand gripped tightly in her hand, just in case Fenrir Greyback decided to collect on the bite or two of her that Dolohov promised him.
They had spent that full moon in her bed, Mia crying over her fears as Penelope apologized profusely for not coming home sooner. All seemed to be forgiven in the morning when Remus came home, as he and Penelope were cordial to each other, not speaking of nor seemingly still upset about their fight. Despite their argument, Penelope continued to go places without informing either of them of her location. Eric had quit calling the flat for Mia, a detail that neither Mia nor Remus had connected with Penelope running off to see a secret date.
An Owl came in the beginning of April, announcing that Kingsley and Tonks’s son had arrived, and they had delivered at St. Mungo’s. Walking through the halls of the hospital with one arm linked with Penelope’s, both of them nearly skipping with joy as Remus walked behind them, Mia was ecstatic to meet the child of two of her best friends. Walking into the maternity ward, they were greeted by the other members of the Order and Tonks’s parents, all huddled around Tonks sitting on her hospital bed, cradling a sleeping infant.
“They’re here, now you can tell us!” Molly said excitedly
“Tell us what?” Mia asked, her face lighting up when she saw the small newborn was bundled in a blue hand-knitted blanket, certain it was Molly’s handiwork.
“Zee baby name!” Fleur cried, her eyes sparkling.
“Alright alright” Tonks said, raising her free hand. “Shut up you lot”
She looked up at Kingsley standing to the left of her bed. He smiled brilliantly, and nodded.
“We are happy to announce the arrival of our son, Reginald Volturnus Tonks-Shacklebolt”
Everyone clapped enthusiastically; Susan had tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as she hugged Kingsley and kissed him firmly on the cheek.
“Bit of a mouthful, don’t you think?” Mia teased, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Well, yeah, but so is Nymphadora…” Tonks said, shooting her mother a sideways glance. “We’ll call him Reggie.”
“Reggie, I love it.” Mia smiled
“Amelia, move- I need to hold this child…” Susan interjected, pushing Mia from her seated position.
Mia made her way back over to Remus and Penelope as Susan took the baby from Tonks, her eyes lighting up as she cradled him.
“Who do you think he looks like?” Mia asked
“He’s 5 hours old, he just looks like a baby” Remus teased.
“I’d be curious to see if he is a metamorphmagus as well” Penelope said, eyeing the infant curiously. “Does the trait run in families?”
The stood around and made idle small talk for a few minutes, Reggie being passed around from person to person, everyone eager to hold the new baby. Just as it was almost Mia’s turn to hold him, Kingsley shuffled over to her and Remus, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.
“Can I speak with you two privately?” he asked; his deep voice just above a whisper.
They followed Kingsley to the edge of the ward, pulling them into a quiet corner.
“What’s going on?” Remus asked, his brow furrowing.
“Dora and I were wondering if you two would be Reggie’s godparents” Kingsley said, a small smile spreading on his face.
“Oh, Kingsley, wow— you sure?” Mia asked.
“Absolutely, Dora and I have talked about it for months. We can’t think of anyone we’d rather ask”
She was overwhelmed with honor and adoration at this request. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to put into words how much it meant to her.
“We would be honored” Remus said, shaking Kingsley’s hand firmly as his other arm wrapped around Mia’s waist. “Congratulations to you and Tonks”
“Thanks. I don’t know the first thing about babies, so we’ll see how well this will go”
Stop, please, don’t hurt him!
The screams in agony coming from her father were too much; she couldn’t stand to see him in this kind of pain.
“Mia??” she heard a woman’s voice say through his screaming.
You want me to stop his pain? Dolohov yelled over her father’s shrieks, his twisted face grinning eagerly.
“MIA!!!”
Her eyes flew open, only to find herself in her dark bedroom with Penelope standing over her— a terrified look plastered to her face.
“You were screaming” she said, her face drained of color.
Mia wiped cold sweat from her brow, sitting up in bed. She felt disoriented, unsure of which scene was a dream or reality.
“Are you ok?” a male voice asked, Mia just now noticing the man standing shirtless in the doorway to her bedroom.
“Eric??” Mia said incredulously, squinting at him.
“I told you to stay in my room!” Penelope hissed
Eric stood there looking at her intently, only wearing a pair of black boxers, and his usually neat blonde hair bedraggled from sleep. Penelope’s color flooded back to her face as she looked back at Eric and then to Mia again.
“What is he doing here…?” Mia asked; her brow furrowing.
“Eric spent the night,” Penelope said quietly “but what’s more important is you. Are you ok?”
“I’m fine” Mia grumbled, sitting up straighter. “Since when are you two fucking?”
Penelope and Eric both chuckled awkwardly, Eric giving Penelope a sly grin.
“Turns out that little truth or dare date was better than we expected it to be” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“Wait— so every date you’ve been on has been with him??” Mia asked, her mouth hanging open “He is who you have been sneaking off to see?”
“Yeah…” Penelope said sheepishly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“How did he get through the wards?” Mia lowered her voice so Eric couldn’t hear her.
“Since I brought him through he was able to enter— I was going to sneak him out before Remus got home”
“I can’t believe you would bring him here— a muggle— on the full moon, when we are supposed to be sealed in.” Mia’s tone was stern, almost angry.
“That’s why he stayed here, I didn’t want to leave you but I wanted to see him…” she said awkwardly.
Mia’s eyes moved back and forth between Penelope, and Eric, who stood in the doorway, brows knitted together as he observed the girls intently.
“uhm, anyway— Can I get you something to help you sleep?” Penelope said, changing the subject.
“No I’ll get it” she muttered, pulling the covers back and standing up.
“Fuck, Mia!” Eric cried, the color draining from his face.
Mia’s heart began to pound—she forgot she wasn’t wearing pajama pants; she had kicked them off in the middle of the night when she got hot. Eric’s eyes were glued to her thighs, his eyes as large as saucers. She stood there in her panties and tank top, bearing 4 long scratch scars on her hips and thighs, with no way of explaining to a muggle as to what they were. His horrified stare made her feel ugly; her body defaced with such devastating marks.
“Shit” she swore under her breath, grabbing her pajama pants off the bedroom floor and put them on hastily, Eric still staring at her legs despite the scars now covered.
“Is that what I felt at your dad’s wake?” he asked, his eyes bugging
“Eric, don’t…” Penelope said, putting a hand on his chest and trying to push him out of her room.
Mia walked into her bathroom and began rummaging in the medicine cabinet, looking for the sleeping draught she kept in emergencies.
“Penny, I can’t just forget about her looking like she was mauled by a bear. Is that why she was ‘sick’ after her dad passed?” he mimed air quotations at the word sick. “Why was she screaming for someone to stop?” he demanded, holding his ground firmly. “Did the sugar daddy do this—”
Mia rounded on him, storming out of her bathroom and pushing him in the chest firmly. He stumbled backwards, Mia continuing to advance on him, shoving him towards Penelope’s bedroom.
“He isn’t my sugar daddy!” she hissed through gritted teeth. “Now get the fuck out of my room!”
Mia stomped back in to her room and slammed the door shut. She downed the sleeping draught in one gulp and crawled back in bed, anger seething. She felt everything fade as the sleeping draught kicked into effect, and she fell into a dreamless slumber.
The next morning, Penelope and Eric sat at the dining room table, both of them reading the muggle newspaper while they sipped on cups of coffee. The familiar crack of apparition sent a flood of dread through Penelope, and caused Eric to nearly jump out of his seat.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” Eric hollered, starting at Remus incredulously.
“Shit” Penelope and Remus both muttered under their breath, realizing he just apparated in front of a muggle
“What’s going on?” he asked an edge to his voice as him and Eric locked eyes. “Where’s Mia?”
“Sleeping” Penelope said “she needed a sleeping draught last night— woke up screaming”
Eric looked at Penelope as if he had seen a ghost, his face drained of all color and his mouth hanging open slightly.
“And what’s he doing here?” he asked with a sneer, talking about Eric as if he wasn’t sitting right in front of him. He walked into the kitchen and began pouring a cup of coffee.
“He spent the night. Anyway, we need to…” Penelope began
Remus whipped around quicker than she could finish, anger flashing across his expression.
“What?!” he snapped, his eyes shooting daggers at Eric.
“WITH ME! Remus, with me” she said quickly, a blush creeping up her neck.
“Wait— what?” he said, blinking at her in shock.
“How did you just appear here??” Eric squeaked; his voice almost an octave higher as his mouth continued to hang open.
“We’ll get to that in a minute.” Remus said flatly. “Now why on earth did he spend the night with you?” his attention turning back to Penelope.
“We’re, uhm… dating” she muttered, shifting uncomfortably.
“You’re…what?”
“Dating”
“I’ve only been gone 12 hours…” Remus whispered into his coffee cup, shaking his head in disbelief as he felt like the world he knew turned upside down. “Is this who you’ve been sneaking off to see?” his voice stern, almost fatherly.
Penelope nodded, looking between Remus and Eric awkwardly.
“I cannot believe that you would bring him here, last night of all nights…” Remus said, seething with irritation as he restrained raising his voice.
“Ok, someone needs to tell me what the fuck is happening. How did he appear here? What the hell happened to Mia’s legs?” Eric interjected, looking at Penelope with a very puzzled expression.
“How did you— ” Remus hissed, slamming his coffee cup down, advancing on Eric.
“She got out of bed without pants on, it was an accident!” Penelope cried.
“If I find out you tried to get fresh with her last night….” Remus said to Eric, his voice low and dangerous as he pointed at him.
“Stop!” Penelope hollered. “Remus, he saw you apparate— what are we supposed to do? He’s a muggle”
“A what?” Eric scoffed, but was ignored.
“Well, if you are ‘dating’ like you say you are it was only a matter of time before you needed to tell him about you anyway. You might as well start from the beginning.” Remus said irritably, throwing his hands in the air.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Eric blinked at the two of them vacantly. “What about you, Penny?”
“Sit down, Eric; this is going to be a lot to take in.”
Mia walked out of the bedroom to find Remus, Eric and Penelope sitting at the table in silence. Eric looked pale, almost like he was going to be sick, and Remus his usual post-full moon sickly. Mia poured herself a cup of coffee, feeling uncomfortable by the silence.
“When did you get in?” Mia asked Remus, slinking into a chair next to him.
“Maybe a half hour ago; I apparated in to find Eric had spent the night here.” Remus said flatly.
“REMUS!” she hissed, her eyes widening.
“Yeah, we’re past that” Penelope said, looking at Eric, who remained looking like he was going to hurl.
“So… you can do magic too?” he asked her vacantly
“Fuck” she whispered, running her hand through her hair awkwardly. “Yeah, I can”
“Can one of you show me?” he asked, taking a sip of coffee.
Remus pulled his wand out and transfigured his coffee cup into a rat. The rat squeaked as Eric screamed like a small child. Remus sniggered, watching Eric panic over the rodent in front of him. Penelope shot him a disapproving glare, making him quickly transfigure the rat back to its original state.
“Remus, that wasn’t funny” Penelope snapped
“Yes, actually, it was” he said softly, taking a sip of his coffee with a smug smile.
He felt a small pang of triumph as he watched Eric stare at his cup wide eyed, his mouth ajar.
“What the fuck” Eric said under his breath.
“Eric saw my scars last night” Mia said quietly, looking at Remus with uncertainty.
“Yeah, Penelope told me about your nightmare, I’m sorry I couldn’t’ve been there”
Mia shook her head to dismiss him, kissing him gently and ruffling his hair. “You look peaky, need a pain potion?”
“No, I’m alright” he said with a small smile.
“Why does he need a pain potion?” Eric asked “is that like Advil?”
“Full moon” Mia said casually
Eric blinked at her vacantly, scrunching his brows at Penelope for her to explain.
“You guys didn’t get into that yet…?” Mia asked slowly
“No, we only got as far as that there are witches and wizards, and that we’re some of them, and we went to school to do magic” Penelope said.
She chuckled, resting her chin on Remus’s shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him “You want to tell him about your furry little problem, or should I?”
“His what?” Eric asked
“I have a— well— a condition that ails me once a month…” He began awkwardly.
“Oh don’t beat around the bush!” Mia said as she rolled her eyes, holding her hand up to silence him “Remus is a werewolf”
Eric silently stared at the three of them for a moment intently, until he burst out laughing.
“Ok, now you guys are just pulling my leg” he said between laughter “There’s no such thing”
“You muggles think that” Remus muttered darkly, sipping his coffee.
Eric continued laughing for a moment, but stopped when no one else was laughing with him.
“You’re not kidding… are you?” he said, eyeing Remus suspiciously.
“No, we’re not kidding” Penelope said softly.
Gears were turning in his brain as he processed the things they were saying. Werewolves, wizards, magic, this had to be either a sick trick, or he was dreaming. He figured dreaming, as he had no logical explanation as to how his cup turned into a rodent, and how Remus just appeared out of thin air in the middle of the flat. Yes, it must be a dream. He pinched himself, but alas, did not wake.
“Is that how you got those marks on your legs, some weird wolf bestiality shit?” Eric asked, cringing.
Mia and Remus burst out in laughter, Mia laughing so hard her sides hurt. “No, we’re not into ‘weird wolf bestiality shit’” she said, regaining composure. “Those marks did come from a werewolf, but not Remus.”
She took a breath and shifted her posture. “It’s a long story, but it starts with my dad. My dad didn’t die of a heart attack. He was murdered, by dark wizards….”
Mia told Eric about the Order, and relayed the events of her father’s death, and his memory modification. Eric looked utterly confused the entire time she spoke, having a hard time comprehending what she was saying.
“I don’t understand though, the General said he had a heart attack. I found him unconscious in his office...” Eric said
“Because that’s what yours and every muggle’s memory was modified to think. Think about it— He was 45 and in great shape, and there’s no heart disease in his family line. Curious, how he could’ve died of a heart attack, don’t you think?”
“Pre-existing heart condition?”
“He wouldn’t’ve been allowed to serve in the military if that was the case” Mia said simply.
“You’re right, that doesn’t add up.” He said softly, his brow furrowing. “But I found him, I remember!”
“Your memory was modified! You remember what the Ministry of Magic wanted you to remember!”
“Well, I want my memory back then; can you give it to me?”
“You don’t want it back, I assure you” Remus said
“I don’t get it, I fucking remember finding him” Eric said under his breath, going to take a sip of coffee that Penelope had freshly poured just a moment before, but hesitating, fearing it would turn back into a rat.
“Mia was planning on teaching me a new spell today, why don’t you stay and watch? I’ll be able to explain some more, help you make sense of… all this” Penelope said, taking Eric’s hand.
“Actually, I was thinking Remus should teach you the patronus charm” Mia said with a small smile, kissing his shoulder playfully. “He’s an excellent teacher.”
“Expecto Patronum!”
Penelope was irritated. She and Remus had been at it for over an hour, and she hadn’t gotten at least a single wisp to leave her wand. Eric sat on the couch and watched eagerly as Mia was curled up in the armchair adjacent, nose deep in her wandless magic books attempting to light a candle without her wand. Just as Penelope hadn’t had any luck with her patronus, Mia was unable to get the candle to light.
“Don’t beat yourself up; this is extremely complex magic…” Remus began
“What is supposed to happen?” Eric asked thickly.
“A silver mist should erupt from the end of her wand, however, if the spell is performed well enough, the silver mist will take on the form of an animal” Remus explained to him
“I can’t produce a corporeal patronus if I can’t even get a silver wisp!” she said, throwing her hands in her face. “And I can’t focus with Mia muttering ‘Incendio’ over and over!! Just use your damn wand like everybody else!!”
“Sorry…” Mia grumbled, snapping her book shut and rolling her eyes.
“Why don’t you take a break, you can’t focus on a happy memory if you are frustrated” Remus said, motioning for her to sit down.
Penelope plopped down on the couch, Eric putting his arm around her.
“What is this silver stuff supposed to do?” he asked Remus as he kissed Penelope’s forehead
“It’s supposed to repel dementors, a dark and dangerous creature that sucks out your soul”
“That’s fucked up” he said under his breath. “Can both you and Mia do this spell?”
“Expecto Patronum” Mia and Remus said in unison, and two silver wolves erupted from their wands, leaping around the living room for a moment before dissipating.
“They make it look so easy!” Penelope cried irritably.
“Remus and I both have wolf patronuses, but Tonks’s patronus is a jack-rabbit.” Mia explained “everyone’s animals are different. I’ll be curious to see what Penny’s is”
“What is my patronus?” Eric asked
“You don’t have one, you’re a muggle”
“So what, you guys get cool animals and I don’t? I want one. Can mine be an eagle?”
“Sure, Eric, yours can be an eagle” Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes
“Fuck yeah!” he said, pumping his fist in the air, Penelope giggled at him.
Mia got up from the armchair and wrapped her arms around Remus’s torso playfully and kissed his shoulder.
“That was a good lesson, Professor Lupin” she said softly.
“I miss being called that” he said with a small smile.
“Do you?” She said, her brow raising
“I do, I really miss teaching”
“What else will you teach us today then, Professor Lupin?” She bit her lip mischievously, leaning in to speak into his ear. “Will you teach me how to suck cock, Professor Lupin?”
“Ok! Ok,” Remus jumped away from her, flushing a deep shade of scarlet. “Maybe I don’t miss being called that”
Mia cackled manically as she walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. “Feel free to stop by my office hours anytime Miss Roswell” she called mockingly.
“MIA!” Remus growled as his flush turned from scarlet to plum “I’m sorry— she has a horrid sense of humor”
“Can we call it a sense of humor when we actually shagged during your office hours?”
Eric looked to the three of them puzzled; Penelope blushed and gave him a sheepish smile, as she never told Eric how Mia and Remus met.
“Yes, Eric, if you are putting two and two together, I fucked my teacher” Mia said with a wry smile “Let’s all take a moment to thank our dear Head Boy, Percy Weasley, for being a fucking wanker and giving me detention with Professor Lupin here” She gestured to Remus with a grandiose bow, snickering.
“I didn’t know he was your guys’ teacher!” Eric whispered to Penelope “is that why he doesn’t teach anymore?”
“I can hear you, you know” Remus said flatly. “I don’t teach anymore because it got out that I was a werewolf—parents wouldn’t want someone like me teaching their kids, so I resigned.”
“Did you sleep with him too?” Eric asked Penelope, his face twisting.
“No, ohmygod no!” Penelope cried, her nose crinkling at him
“It was only Mia” Remus sighed heavily “After it happened the first time, I had no intention of it happening again— it was an impulse mistake”
“But I had every intention of it happening again” Mia said slyly, wrapping her arms around him again “and I’m a woman who gets what she wants”
“I was weak, what can I say” he chuckled softly.
“We kept our office hour fuck sessions on the down low” Mia said to Eric “Penelope didn’t even know until after we graduated”
“Yeah, thanks for not trusting me by the way” She added snottily
“Uh, Miss perfect Prefect and girlfriend of the biggest wanker ever? Yeah, sorry, you were way too pretentious back then; you would’ve went straight to Dumbledore and you know it”
Penelope gave a guilty expression, knowing she probably would’ve turned Remus in had she found out what he was doing with a student behind closed doors
“I wouldn’t’ve blamed you, we broke a lot of rules doing what we did” Remus said to Penelope quietly.
“I knew there was more to you guys” Eric laughed “had any of what I’ve learned in the past 12 hours came up in my research, I’m not sure what if I could’ve made sense of it all”
“Research??” Penelope said puzzled.
Eric turned slightly pink and shrugged “well, yeah, I was looking into Remus for a while and I…”
“What??” Penelope asked, crinkling her nose.
“He was investigating Remus after Christmas, but couldn’t find any information on him because he wasn’t part of the muggle world. I told him back off” Mia said
“You didn’t tell me that…” Remus whispered to Mia, his tone sharp and irritated.
“I thought he was faking his identity or something…” Eric chuckled awkwardly as he ran a hand through his hair “When I hit a dead end with him, I started looking into the rest of you guys”
“The rest of us?” Penelope asked, her face twisting more and more by the second.
“Yeah, you, Mia, that Tonks chick; I don’t actually know her first name— something weird— but the only Tonks I found a record of was a Ted Tonks…”
“That’s her father, who is muggle-born” Remus said, eyeing Eric intently.
“So what did you learn about me in this investigation?” Penelope asked, her tone a little pointed.
“Just basic stuff, your full name, birthdate, place of birth, parent’s names and that you work at the wine and cheese shop…”
“All the stuff you pretended not to know about me” Penelope stiffened, she began to feel extremely uncomfortable. “Did you agree to go out with me so you could get more information on all of us? To get closer to her?”
“Well, er, when you called me and asked I saw it as an opportunity…” Eric began
“So you’ve been seeing me this whole time to closer to her? To learn all of our secrets?”
“No— I had a really good time with you that night and we had a ton in common…”
“And you figured if you got me into bed then I’d start spilling all Mia’s secrets, so you could ‘figure out’ what is was you were looking for by investigating us”
She mimed air quotations around the phrase ‘figure out’, then put her hands on her hips, shooting daggers from her eyes.
“No, that’s not fair— Come on— you only asked me out because Tonks dared you too!!”
“But I didn’t have ulterior motives! It was an innocent date on a Friday night, even if I thought it would be strictly platonic! You’ve been playing me to get to Mia, using me for your— your— sick agenda!”
“No Penelope— it’s not like that now, I swear”
“Get out.”
“Come on—“
“GET OUT!” she roared, tears now streaming down her face.
Remus and Mia felt as if they were now intruders on a very personal conversation, both of them slinking off to the side of the room, wishing to not be flies on the wall at this moment.
“Penny, please— just listen to me…”
“Get. Out.” Penelope whispered dangerously, her voice wavering and nostrils flaring “Eric so help me, if you are not out of this flat in 5 seconds…”
She pulled her wand and pointed it at Eric, who jumped off the couch with his hands in the air.
“Can I just explain?” he cried, looking to her wand in terror.
“OUT!!!!” she roared, sending a flash of pink right past his head, singeing the wall behind him.
Eric took off running for the door, grabbing his shoes and throwing the door open as Penelope’s jets of pink light missed him by inches each time. The front door slammed shut as Penelope began to shake and sob into her hands.
“Penny…” Mia started, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t touch me!” she snarled, ripping her shoulder from Mia’s grasp and storming into her bedroom. “Of course I would come in second compared to you!”
The door slammed shut, making all the photo frames and décor on the walls rattle. The tension in the room was awful as Mia and Remus looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed from here.
Mia knocked softly on Penelope’s door, pressing her ear against it to see if she could hear inside. A cup of chamomile tea— a peace offering— was in her hand, steam rolling off the top as the cup warmed her palm.
“Penny, can I come in?” She called softly
“sure” Penelope muttered, her response muffled by the door in between them.
Mia and Remus entered to find Penelope sitting on her bed, eyes puffy and bloodshot, hugging her pillow. She had a pile of used tissues next to her, neatly gathered together in a small heap.
“I brought you some tea— chamomile, with some honey” Mia said sweetly.
“Thanks” she grumbled, outstretching her hand to accept the piping hot cup.
Mia sat on the edge of the bed as Remus remained standing, leaning back against the dresser. There was a moment of silence between them as Penelope stared at her decimated tissue mountain..
“So, you got pretty upset with him” Mia started, breaking the silence.
“I can’t believe I trusted him” Penelope sniffed “I should’ve known he was using me to get to you”
“Are you sure he was?” Mia asked “He seemed to be trying to say once he got to know you he liked you more”
“He was investigating us!” she hissed “I bet he figured if he got close enough I’d start letting him spend the night here, and he’d be able to spy on us more closely”
“Well, I never did like the little shit…” Remus muttered
Mia shot him a warning look to shut him up, which worked. He raised his hands apologetically and stopped speaking.
“You must’ve really liked him to be as upset as you are” Mia said gently “I haven’t seen you this torn up since Percy”
“Fuck Percy” Penelope whispered, wiping her eyes roughly.
“Yeah, fuck Percy!” Mia agreed with a cynical grin “He was a pretentious git— you were way too good for him.”
“He thought opposite— thought our relationship would hold back his career” she muttered with a sniffle.
“It’s his loss” Remus said gently.
“You were different with him, Penny. I couldn’t talk to you because I didn’t think I was confiding in my best friend anymore, so I stopped talking to you about things.” Mia said “Percy breaking up with you was the best thing for you; because you became much more of yourself again once his influence was gone”
Penelope sniffed and nodded, she had most certainly gotten caught up in the ‘being a Prefect is the highest honor’ mentality during her days of being Percy Weasley’s girlfriend. She had always been the responsible, sensible one, but never snobbish about it until she started dating him.
“But Percy is old news; we need to talk about Eric.” Mia said.
Penelope nodded, rubbing her eyes as she blinked away a few tears.
“Eric and I had a really great first date. We got to talking about our aspirations for travelling the world, he told me all about his engineering degree— that he wants to specialize in bridges and roadway design when he gets out of the Air Force, and he loves movies just as much as I do…”
She chuckled slightly as Mia shifted to sit next to her, putting her arm around her.
“He seemed so attentive, it was nice to have someone pay attention to me, and I haven’t felt that in a long time.” She said as her voice wavered “After Percy broke up with me, I was so lonely. I didn’t really talk about it because you were so happy Remus and you were getting back together, but it was really hard for me—for months.”
“Oh Penny, I didn’t realize…” Mia said, feeling guilty that her happiness of getting Remus back the winter after they graduated might’ve been a slap in the face for Penelope.
“It’s ok” she said “Sirius and I were both lonely people, us writing to each other helped a lot. We wrote each other at least twice a week, if not more”
“I know, Frankie would come in the window with a letter and you’d get all flush faced and stupid over it.” Mia jeered “Running into your room to read your dirty letters”
“They weren’t all dirty!” she cried, giggling slightly. “But then— he died.”
All of them fell silent for a moment as they all thought of Sirius, all three of them missing their friend terribly.
“I was lonely again, after that. You had shut down completely, half starving yourself to death as you pushed everyone out” Penelope said “Remus had no one to talk to, so I let him lean on me”
“Thank you for that, Penny— It meant a great deal to me” he said softy, with a small apologetic smile
“Of course” she sniffed, nodding to him “but I didn’t have anyone to talk to, and I felt so alone”
“You could’ve leaned back on me” Remus offered. “You know I am here for you”
“I know, but you had your hands full with her” she insisted, gesturing to Mia.
“I’m sorry” Mia whispered, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.
“I know, I forgive you” Penelope said “So when I thought Eric could be someone I could be with, I didn’t feel lonely anymore, I really took to him”
“Do you love him?”
“It’s too soon to say that— was too soon” she said as she began to fidget with one of her used tissues “I think I could’ve though”
Mia nodded, pulling her friend closer to her. “Why did you say you always come in second to me?”
“Because I do” Penelope sniffled “I guess there’s always been a part of me that’s been envious of you; your looks, your grades, your personality— I mean, pretty much all the guys liked you at school,”
“Not Percy Weasley” Mia teased
“No, Percy hated you” Penelope chuckled “but everyone else liked you— you were nearly 40 slots ahead of me on Trevor’s hot list”
“Fuck Trevor Greentree— I wish I’d knocked his teeth out!” Mia spat, throwing her hands in the air “and fuck that list, it was bullshit”
“The hot list?” Remus asked; his brow furrowing.
“It was this stupid list that Trevor Greentree made in our 4^th year, it ranked the 58 girls in our year by hottest to ‘nottest’” Mia explained.
“Mia was 4th” Penelope grumbled “I was 47th”
“and I told you then and I say it now, the only reason he put you so low was because Michael Bobbitt was pissed you wouldn’t let him feel under your shirt in the broom closet, and he asked Trevor to move you lower on the list to upset you” Mia said “You were way hotter than Rachel Goldstein, and she was 17th, or whatever”
“I mean, her nose was largely proportioned for her face…” Penelope said with a small laugh.
“Penny, I was always jealous of you” Mia said with a smirk “Prefect, the perfect logical Ravenclaw, had a real boyfriend first”
“You had boyfriends!” Penelope interjected “Scott Tisdale, Evan Smith, Brogan Murphy….”
“All of whom I ‘dated’ maybe three months a piece, the sex sucked, and they really only wanted to call me their girlfriend because of Trevor’s stupid list” Mia said flatly. “Percy and you loved each other— it was disgusting, watching the two of you snog by the lake as I studied”
Penelope laughed and gave her a guilty smile “we needed you to keep watch for Flitwick or McGonagall…”
“Yeah, I think I’m permanently scarred by those experiences, thanks” Mia teased. “Can I take a page out of Penelope Clearwater’s book for a moment?”
“Sure”
“I think you should talk to Eric. Hear his side, and then make an educated decision once you have the full story.”
“That is a very ‘me’ thing to say” Penelope muttered with a small smile.
“Yes, Helen slings that same bullshit at me weekly—‘talk about your feelings’ ‘talk it out’” Mia teased, using a mocking tone as she imitated her counselor “But it has yet to fail me”
“I’m not ready yet— to talk to him” Penelope sniffled “I need time”
“Take your time” Mia smiled, giving her friend a tight hug.
“Well, if you ask me, I think he’s a cocky little wanker that needs his ass handed to him…” Remus started
“Remus!” Mia hissed, glaring at him “You’re not helping”
Remus rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, averting his gaze to the window to his left.
“He’ll come ‘round” Mia whispered, gesturing slightly with her head in Remus’s direction. “Come on, you want to watch a movie? We can send Remus out for some cheesecake”
“Alright” she whispered, a hint of a smile creeping across her face “I want a pizza too”
“You heard the woman, Moony— pizza and cheesecake”
“I can do that” He nodded
Mia hopped off the bed, smiling at Penelope “alright— get yourself cleaned up, you’re covered in mascara.”
She took Remus’s hand and made to exit the room.
“I’m sorry!” Penelope called “for snapping at you…”
Mia turned back and rolled her eyes playfully “Shut up— don’t think on it for another second”
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Forever and Always