Vita Mortem

Scarlet watched as Ravan took a long drink from her water bottle, a smile on her face as Ravan gulped it down. “What?” Ravan frowned, seeing the smile on Scarlet’s face, “Do I have something on my face?”

“What’s your middle name?” Scarlet asked instead, confusing Ravan with the non-sequitur.

“Hope,” Ravan said, blinking in shock. “Wait, I’ve been refusing to answer that question every time you ask it. Scarlet, what’s going on?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

“It’s time for you to talk,” Scarlet stated, crossing her arms and pushing Ravan down to sit on a bench behind her.

“I don’t understand,” Ravan whispered quietly, looking up at Scarlet. “You could’ve asked me about anything. Why did you resort to this?”

“So, you’ve figured it out then,” Scarlet replied.

“Of course I figured it out. What else could make me tell the truth other than Veritaserum?” Ravan scoffed.

“Do you want to know why I did it?” Scarlet questioned, moving into Ravan’s face, “You didn’t tell me.”

Ravan frowned, “Tell you what?”

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t remember. A little talk with Professor Lupin?” Scarlet asked, the smile she’d had on quickly disappearing.

Ravan stared at Scarlet before shaking her head. “He was supposed to tell you,” she murmured, looking into Scarlet’s eyes.

“But why didn’t you?” Scarlet yelled, finally snapping. “You are my best friend, my sister in all but blood! You knew!” Thunder roared from the sky, over the Quidditch Pitch.

“It wasn’t my place to tell you. It was your dad’s place to tell you, not mine,” Ravan snapped back, eyes going dark as she clenched her hands into fists.

“You should have told me Ravan,” Scarlet whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at the ground. “The fact that you didn’t is what makes me so angry.”

Ravan stared at her friend for a moment, frustrated that she had to take responsibility for a secret that wasn’t even hers to tell. Finally Ravan calmed herself down enough to speak, breaking the silence, “sorry Scar,” she whispered in defeat.

“Is it true then?” Scarlet asked shakily, “Is Professor Lupin my father?”

“Yes,” Ravan sighed, watching Scarlet.

Scarlet simply blinked, slowly making her way over to where she had forced Ravan to sit, before laying down and placing her head on Ravan’s legs. She lay there for a moment, then started to cry for what she had lost and what she had learned, the sky crying with her as raindrops hit the roof. Ravan simply held her as her friend wept, waiting until she had calmed herself down before trying to lighten the situation.

“Do you know what this means?” Ravan asked softly, causing Scarlet to turn her head to face Ravan.

“What?” Scarlet sniffled.

“You have someone to beat up any boyfriends to treat you badly, and someone to walk you down the aisle when you marry George,” Ravan grinned cheekily.

Scarlet hiccupped before laughing, tears streaming from her eyes as she fought the sadness that threatened to envelop her. She stood, her knees clicking from the time spent unmoving, as she gave a hand to Ravan. “We’d better get to the castle, the weather seems to be acting up. It’s kind of weird,” she remarked offhandedly, “it’s like it has a mind of its own.”

“Oh, it’s not that weird!” Ravan smiled brightly, “It’s just one of the many things that comes with being an-” she slapped her hand to her mouth as Scarlet looked at her.

“Being a what?” Scarlet questioned, intrigued.

“Oh, nothing!” Ravan waved it off, laughing nervously. Scarlet simply shrugged as she walked out of the changing rooms. “Thank goodness it wore off,” Ravan muttered under her breath, pushing a hand through her hair as she followed her friend through the door frame.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, the last two to leave the Quidditch Pitch. Approaching the castle that was bathed in the last few minutes of dying light given by the sun, Scarlet whirled to face her friend suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Ravan asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Finally going to confess to George?”

“No!” Scarlet replied adamantly, “I want to ensure something.” She inhaled deeply before continuing, preparing herself. “I don’t want you to ever keep something like that from me again. A lot of heartache could have been avoided.”

“Fair enough,” Ravan noted, “I swear I will tell you if you have another dad.”

Scarlet groaned, walking away from Ravan once more. “Not what I meant!” she yelled, causing Ravan to grin.

“I know,” she yelled back, taking the time to enjoy the walk to the castle.