𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝐹𝐼𝐹𝑇𝑌 𝑁𝐼𝑁𝐸

➪ ATOLL ➪

"AW, THAT'S ADORABLE."

"Oh, shut up, Sirius," Loki rolled her eyes, pushing the boy away as she tried her best to conceal her blush.

"No, come on!" Sirius moved Loki's hands from his chest, engulfing the girl in a hug. "Come on; you look adorable. Remind me one of these days to buy you a mirror."

"Oh Merlin," Remus snorted, looking up from the book he rested against his knees, shooting Sirius an amused look. "Soon you're going to have her admiring her reflection almost as much as you do."

"And what's wrong with that?" Sirius challenged. "I don't see why she shouldn't be admiring herself." He pressed a kiss to Loki's cheek.

"Hmm," Remus shrugged.

Loki let out a laugh. Remus looked over at her, a smile playing at his lips. The pair locked eyes. Loki grinned at the Gryffindor. He allowed the smile to pull his lips upwards, a tint of red forming on his cheeks.

"I think coming out here together to study wasn't that good of an idea," Sirius hummed, still holding Loki in his arms. "We're all getting distracted."

"You're the one distracting us, Sirius," Remus replied. "Loki and I have actually been doing work while you've been talking."

"Wait, really?" Sirius frowned, looking over Loki's shoulder to her discarded bits of parchment, noticing the scrawl on them. "Oh."

"It's fine, Sirius," Loki smiled, moving the stray strands of hair that fell into his face. "I can help you later if you want." She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Sirius looked back at her, a smirk on his lips. "You're too good to me, Princess."

Loki went to reply to him, but noticing movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned with a frown, her eyes locking on a bird flying in the air, coming closer to the trio. Loki, near immediately, identified the owl. It was her brother's.

"Princess?" Sirius inspected the girl's face. "What's wrong?" Remus sat up, peering at the pair.

"It's my brother's owl," she replied, her eyes locked on the animal. "I'm confused as to what it's doing out here."

The three watched the owl as it flew closer, finally spotting the envelope it gripped. It dived, expertly dropping the letter in Loki's lap after Sirius let her go. She hastily ripped it open, her eyes scanning over the parchment inside. Her face went through a flurry of emotions in a matter of moments. She was confused, angry, curious and sad. Sirius and Remus waited for her to speak, but she never did.

"Princess?" Sirius gently placed his hand on top of hers.

"Loki?" Remus vocalised when she didn't reply to Sirius.

"I have to go," Loki spoke, pulling away from Sirius and gathering her things.

"Wait, no, why?" Sirius grabbed her hand, pulling her attention back to him.

"My brother wants to talk to me," Loki replied. "I have to go."

"After what he did with Marcel?" Sirius raised his eyebrow. "Princess, are you sure you want to speak with him after he tried to off you to that git?"

"He protected me from Marcel, too," Loki replied her voice soft.

"After he tried to force you to marry him!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I'll be fine," Loki spoke, smiling reassuringly. She gently took Sirius's hand off hers. "I'll be back before you know it, Sirius." She turned her attention to Remus. "Please?"

"I don't like the idea of you being alone with him, but I can't stop you," Remus sighed. "I'll make sure Sirius doesn't follow you."

Loki smiled at him. "Thank you."

➪

"I'M SORRY, LOKI."

Thor fiddled with his fingers, his head hung. Loki shifted from foot to foot, her green eyes darting from her shoes to her brother, feeling her body quiver with anxiety.

"I just wanted to get that out of the way first," Thor spoke. He cleared his throat, lifting his head and sparing a glance at the girl in front of him. "I've come to understand, now, that what I was doing with Marcel wasn't right. What I did to you wasn't right. You're a human being, and you're my sister, for Merlin's sake." He ran a shaking hand through his hair, beginning to pace the small section he stood in.

"Thor," Loki frowned, the inner area of her eyebrows lifting as she gazed at her brother sadly. "It's okay, now. After you protected me from him."

"Just once, though! It was once! Every other time I did nothing. I stood back and watched." The siblings stared at each other.

"He wasn't as bad those other times, Thor. He never got that bad. He yelled, sure. He may have grabbed me, but you knew if he hit me, it wouldn't be good. You knew it was wrong," Loki tried desperately to reason with her brother. She knew he wasn't an evil person.

"Why do you trust me so much?" Thor asked, frightful confusion displayed on his face. "Why?"

"You're my brother," Loki replied. "We fight and disagree on a lot, yes, but at the end of the day, we're still family. I want us to be a family that still hangs out over Christmas and celebrates birthdays together. I want us to be able to hang out."

"You've changed a lot," Thor spoke up after several moments if silence between them. "I don't know what it is, but you've changed."

"And you can change, too," Loki smiled, taking a step closer. "You didn't have to hang out with people like Marcel anymore."

"I don't think Marcel wants to hang out with me anymore anyway," Thor spoke. Loki could sense the tone in his voice.

"Did he... he didn't hurt you, did he?" Loki queried. She was suddenly anxious about her brother. "Thor?"

"Nothing I didn't deserve." The Ravenclaw kept his gaze off his sister. "He hasn't touched you again, though, has he?"

"No, I haven't seen him around at all."

"Good." Thor shuffled around, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. "I should get going. Thanks for coming to meet me Loki." He spoke, walking to the staircase.

"Wait, Thor," Loki called out. He turned around, blue eyes locking with her green ones. She smiled at him, "I should be the one thanking you. If you ever want to talk, I'm still here for you. I'm just an owl away."

Thor averted his gaze to the ground. He didn't move or go to speak, letting the words sink in. When he did look up, Loki could notice the glassy look in his eyes. He sent her a soft smile back before turning and continuing on his way. She watched him leave for what she hoped was the last time.

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

hey, how are you all? i hope you're doing well, and if you haven't been, then i hope it gets better :) make sure you're drinking plenty of water.

i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and i would like to thank you for taking the time to read it. i love you so much, you mean so much to me :)

I'll see you next time, friends. farewell!