Chapter One:
A Secret Revealed

It was a cloudy day in London when the students were boarding the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾. James Potter boarded with his best mate, Sirius Black, and the two went in search of Remus Lupin who was probably already sitting in a compartment with a book in front of his face. Lily Evans said farewell to her parents and boarded the train as well, followed by her friend Julia Whitby. Peter Pettigrew almost missed the train, boarding just as it started leaving the platform. He panted, making his way back through the hallways until he found the compartment where his friends sat. "Almost missed the train," he breathed, plopping down beside Remus.

"We saw!" Sirius snorted, he and James both howling with laughter. "You should've seen your face when you jumped!"

Peter's cheeks flushed redder, then turned to face Remus. "What are you reading?"

"A book," Remus replied dryly, turning the page.

"I meant what kind," he said, sulking.

"Oh, lighten up, Wormtail," James said, punching Peter's leg. "That was the funniest thing I've seen in weeks. You should be proud."

"Not everyone considers making a fool of themselves to be entertainment, Potter." The boys turned their heads to see Lily Evans standing in the doorway of the compartment, a disgruntled-looking Julia hiding behind her, almost out of sight.

"Evans!" James exclaimed, jumping up to meet her. "How I've missed seeing your face..."

"I'm sure you have," Lily said sarcastically. "I came to see if Peter was allright."

"He's fine, but I'm not," James said, taking Lily's hand in his. He laid her hand on his chest, just over his heart. "I think it's broken. The only way to save me is a date, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're an ass, James," she said, looking at Peter. "Are you ok?"

Peter nodded and muttered, "Fine."

Lily nodded in return and walked into the compartment, sitting on the other side of Sirius, directly across from Remus. "What are you reading?"

"Don't ask," Peter growled, shooting a glare at Remus.

Remus chuckled to himself, then spoke without bringing the book down. "A book on defensive magic," he replied, smiling at Peter for a moment before falling silent again. It was only then he noticed Julia in the compartment. In that moment, it seemed all the happiness had drained from him. Remus and Julia were a couple for roughly four months in their sixth year. It was only when Julia figured out where Remus went every month that she dumped him. He felt hostile towards her for another reason as well, something he wouldn't tell anyone. She kept acting as though she still wanted to be friends with him, but in his heart he couldn't do it.

Julia sat between Remus and Peter, looking over at Remus' book. "Is it interesting?" she asked, looking at him with a smile.

"What do you care?" he replied, keeping his eyes on the page.

"Curiousity," she hissed, crossing her arms in front of her, turning to look the other direction.

Sirius chuckled. "Curiousity killed the--"

"I'd think twice about finishing that, cousin." Phoenix Darkheart stood in the door of the compartment. She was a seventh year in Ravenclaw House with long, raven-black hair and emerald green eyes. Dressed in her usual black tank top, denim jeans, and boots, this pureblood was easily one of the best looking girls at Hogwarts. She was in the top of her class, just behind Lily for the head girl position, and a troublemaker that James and Sirius took pride in.

"Kitty!" Sirius said, jumping up to grab Phoenix's arm. He pulled her over onto his lap, catching her before she fell over onto Lily. "How are you?" he laughed.

Phoenix chuckled. "I was good till just now," she said, glaring unconvincingly at Sirius.

"Oh, come on," he said, hugging her to him. "You love me."

She laughed again, hugging him back. "Of course." She looked over at Lily and smiled, resting her feet James' lap.

"Hey!" James said, pushing Phoenix's feet down. "Do I look like a bloody footstool?"

"I think so," Lily said, smiling over at him. James huffed and sat back.

"So how have you been?" Sirius asked Phoenix. "I haven't seen you since the Summer Solstice Party at your place... and that was a couple months ago."

"I've been good," Phoenix answered truthfully. "Father got me a present for making Quidditch Captain this year."

"What's that?"

"The latest Comet model," she said with a smile, looking over at James. "What about you?"

"Of course!" he said, rolling his eyes at her. "Why wouldn't I have one?"

"'Cause you're a git?" she joked. James tried to take a swing at her legs but she was too quick and moved them, causing him to whack the seat instead. "Missed."

"I know I bloody well missed," he said indignantly. "Why do we keep her around?" he asked Sirius with a whiny tone in his voice.

"Because she's my favorite cousin, and she's clever as hell," Sirius laughed. "Remember what she did to Snivellus when he hit you with that strange jinx last April?"

"Ah, yes," James said fondly, smiling. "Brilliant."

"Yeah, and you two still have to get me some more dungbombs," Phoenix said, pretending to be upset. "Those were the last in my stash. Last of my fireworks, too."

Lily raised a brow. "What did you do to him?"

"She grabbed a bag of dungbombs and added some fireworks," Remus said, chuckling to himself.

"She lit it and tossed it into the hallway where he was standing. He smelled like them for days."

The whole group laughed loudly. "I can't say I agree with torturing him," Lily said, wiping away tears of laughter. "But it sounds like he deserved it."

"Oh, he did!" Phoenix said, her face twisting in anger for a moment. "He jinxed James so badly we had to have Madam Pomfrey sort him out, which took about an hour."

"Well, maybe if you lot didn't torture him so much, he wouldn't jinx you," Julia said, piping up finally.

Phoenix glared at her. The two had always had problems with each other, but after what Julia did to Remus the previous school year, Phoenix truly hated the girl. It was obvious Phoenix had a thing for Remus Lupin, and his "secret" didn't stop her either. She knew very well what he was, and she didn't care. But she was never one for feelings. "Who asked your opinion?" she growled at the blonde-haired Gryffindor.

A silence followed her question. Julia was glaring back at Phoenix, the two locked in some sort of motionless battle. They had a lot of these, but the two were attracting a great deal of attention this time. Remus even put down his book to see who came out victorious. "I was unaware I had to ask for your permission to speak," Julia said, standing up.

Phoenix stood up to match her, ignoring Sirius, who tried to keep her down. He shook his head as Phoenix stepped closer to Julia, clearly challenging her. Then Lily jumped up and stood between the girls, facing Phoenix. "Allright, no fighting," she said, holding up her hands.

"I wasn't going to fight," Phoenix said, smirking. "Just play with her a little."

Julia's lip curled. "You think you're so high-and-mighty, don't you, Darkheart? You're one of those snotty pureblooded--"

"Hey!" Sirius shouted, standing up. "Don't you dare talk to her like that!"

"And what are you going to do, Black?" Julia shouted at him. "You've all got it in your head that you're better than everyone else just because you're purebloods!"

"That's not true," James said, watching Lily's friend curiously. "As a matter of fact, we oppose that sort of thing. You're in Gryffindor with us, you of all people should know."

"We only act like we're better than some other people, and that's because, well... we are," Phoenix said, taking a step closer to Julia, bumping into Lily's hand.

"Er.. you might want to move, Evans," James said, inching forward to grab Lily's hand, ready to pull her away. "She's in her fighting stance. That gives you about thirty seconds... if not less."

"I'm the Head Girl," Lily said, watching Phoenix cautiously. "I can't just move and let her beat Julia to a bloody pulp."

"And what says I'll lose?" Julia protested.

"Oh, come on, Julia! You're picking a fight with Phoenix Darkheart, of course you'll lose!" Lily snapped. "You know her reputation as well as I do, if not better!"

"Fine," Julia said, storming out of the compartment, slamming the door as she went.

"That's better," Phoenix said, brushing her shirt down and taking a seat behind her. James and Sirius sat back down on each side of her, while Lily remained standing.

"What was that about?" she asked, staring down at Phoenix with her hands on her hips.

Phoenix shrugged and leaned back. "She started it."

"Actually, you did," Lily said, sitting back. "You've been really horrible to her lately. Since--"

"Since?" Sirius repeated, smirking at Lily.

"Since always," Phoenix shot in quickly. Sirius was one of the few who knew for a fact that Phoenix liked Remus. Everyone else just sort of guessed.

"Oh," Lily said, putting a hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles.

"I'm lost," Remus said, looking back and forth between the two girls.

"I've gotta go," Phoenix said, her cheeks flushing as she stood up. She pulled a pair of dark sunglasses from her pocket and slid them on. "Duty calls." She smirked and slipped out the door, disappearing into the corridor.

"That means she's going to start trouble, doesn't it?" Lily asked, looking at the boys. Sirius and James looked at each other, then Lily... and laughed.

Phoenix walked towards the back of the train and entered a compartment she sealed before to keep it open for her. She was still fuming over the nerve of Julia. And Sirius... how could he just come out like that and almost tell her secret?

"Phoenix!" She turned around and saw Remus jogging towards her. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, looking back the other way. "It's a little too loud in that compartment."

Stepping aside, Phoenix let him pass. He walked in and sat down, and she did the same after closing the door. Remus sat back and opened his book again, bringing it up in front of his face. Phoenix watched him curiously... waiting. What the hell was he playing at? Surely he came here to do more than read.

After a few minutes of staring, Phoenix finally sat back and sighed, staring out the window. "You're very impatient, you know that?"

Phoenix looked up at Remus, who'd taken down his book and was now smiling at her. She smiled back. "Yeah. It's a curse."

"So," he said, his smile fading slightly as he fiddled with the cover of his book. "What's your beef with Julia?"

She watched him for a moment, trying to figure out if Sirius had disclosed a certain piece of information when she left their compartment. Then she shrugged, looking at Remus's book as well. "Just don't like her, that's all."

Phoenix looked up to see Remus looking at her again. Her cheeks flushed involuntarily, trying to keep her face as straight as possible. "You mean it has nothing to do with why she dumped me?" he asked.
Rolling her eyes, Phoenix leaned forward, putting her elbows onto her knees. "It was bullshit, ok? That's no reason to dump anyone, and if she did that, then she never deserved you to begin with. There are girls who would kill to have a guy like you."

Remus chuckled. "If you find any of those girls, point them out to me, would ya?"

Phoenix smiled, her cheeks brightening a little. "Of course." She stood up slowly, swallowing hard. Part of her wanted to move over and sit by him, but the other part was telling her to break for the door. She kept her eyes on him and he kept his on her, which was not helping her decision. "I... uh..."

"Yes?"

"I have to go to the loo." With that, Phoenix turned and bolted out the door, running in the direction of the bathroom. She tripped over a couple first years and shoved one fifth year accidentally before she actually reached the bathroom, then she threw one fourth year Slytherin girl aside to get in. She locked the door and sat down, breathing quickly. "What the hell?" she asked herself, kicking the sink across from her.

The disgruntled Slytherin was pounding on the door and after a few minutes of calming herself down, Phoenix got up. She wants to be a little jerk? Fine... She pulled a few Waterproof Fireworks from her pocket and lit them with her wand, then used magic to levitate them down into the toilet, back out of view. She grinned and opened the door. "Who the hell do you think you are, Darkheart?" the girl shouted at her, trying to push by.

"Sorry, I just had to go," she said, moving off down the hall. She walked slowly; the fireworks took about thirty seconds to detonate, and Phoenix was counting down in her head. "Three... two... one..." Phoenix fell to her knees laughing maniacally as a small, gargled explosion happened down the hall, and the Slytherin girl came out of the bathroom shrieking.

She picked herself up and ran towards the far end where Remus had been, but James and Lily stepped out in front of her. She couldn't stop quick enough, so she ran into them head-on, falling back on her backside. James caught Lily before she hit, then the two looked down at her. "What did you do?" Lily asked, her hands on her hips.

"Nothing a good Scouring Charm cant fix," she laughed, standing up.

"Details!" James urged, his eyes twinkling mischevously.

Lily crossed her arms in front of her, tapping her left foot. "Yes, details."

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "I just put a few Waterproof Fireworks into the toilet is all."

James started laughing hard, looking at Phoenix. "Please tell me she was sitting on it!"

"Of course!" Phoenix replied proudly.

"It's not funny, James!" Lily scowled, looking at Phoenix. "I'm sorry Phoenix, but I'm taking ten points from Ravenclaw."

Phoenix shrugged. "I'll have them back tomorrow." She walked past the two and entered the compartment she'd run out of before, only Remus wasn't reading. He was laying on his back on the seats, one arm behind his head and the other resting on the book open on his stomach. Phoenix knelt beside him on the floor, smiling softly. She pulled the book out from under his arm and closed it, placing it in his bag. She looked up at him again and her smile faded. Was he smiling? "Oh, Remus Lupin... you ass..."

Remus laughed, opening his eyes as he sat up. "Couldn't help yourself, could you?" Phoenix blushed. "Come here," he said, grabbing her shoulders to pull her up onto the seat beside him. "You're a really bad actress."

Phoenix was shocked enough, but then his last comment confused her. "What?"

Remus shook his head, putting an arm around her to pull her closer to him. He leaned on her a little, brushing her hair back from her ear. "Can I tell you a secret?" he whispered.

"I already know you're a werewolf, Remus," Phoenix said, rolling her eyes. Then she smiled at him. "Or do you have more than one?"

"Well it's not a bloody secret if everyone knows," he said, pulling his wand from his pocket. He waved it at the door, closing it, then stowed it away again. "And yes, I have more than one."

Phoenix smiled. She couldn't believe she was this close to Remus Lupin, a guy she'd always liked, but kept her distance from him for reasons she told no one. "Then tell," she said, cuddling up to him a little. "By the way, I like it when you're friendly like this."

Remus laughed. "I've seen you cuddle up to James like this, and you have no problem," he said.

"Yeah, well I kind of--" Quickly, Phoenix slapped her hand over her mouth. She almost let slip one of her precious secrets.

"Dated him?" Remus asked, smiling. He watched Phoenix's jaw drop. The word "surprise" might as well have been tattooed across her forehead. "Beginning of fourth year... before this whole Lily obsession started."

"How'd you--"

"He told me," he said, unable to stop grinning. "If James has a snogging partner, he's going to tell somebody. And because it was you, he was scared out of his mind that Sirius would find out. So he told me."

Phoenix chuckled. "Sirius keeps becoming more and more like the big brother I never had... or wanted."

Remus chuckled. "I can see why he'd want to protect you, though."

Phoenix looked at Remus, who looked back into her eyes, both of them sitting in silence. His eyes are gorgeous, she thought as she gazed into them. Then she noticed him coming closer to her. What do I do! she panicked. She wanted to lean over and meet him, but at the same time she was petrified of that very thing. Sure, she'd kissed James... but this was different. This was Remus.

Just before his lips connected with hers, the compartment door slid open. Phoenix pulled away quickly, scooting towards the wall. Remus watched her curiously, then turned to look at the door.

"I can't believe what I just saw!" James exclaimed, falling onto the seat beside Remus, laughing. "You just... you almost..."

"Can I help you?" Remus asked irritably.

"Er... yeah," James said, looking back and forth between Phoenix and Remus. "Prefects need to report to their compartment at the front. Evans and I have a speech or something."

"Do you even know what you're going to say?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really," he replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll just follow whatever Evans says."

"Right," Remus said, standing up. James got up and left the compartment, and Remus followed, smiling at Phoenix over his shoulder before he left.

After the Start-of-Term Feast, during which Phoenix sat with her own house, she joined up with her Gryffindor friends, ignoring the ugly looks she was getting from her fellow housemates.

"They hate you, don't they?" Lily asked, watching the Ravenclaws pass them on the stairs.

"Probably," Phoenix answered, nodding. "But I think I'll live. I'll just spend the night in Gryffindor Tower if they give me too much shit."

Julia raised a brow. "And how will you get in without the password?"

"Oh, I know a way," she nodded, rolling her eyes at the girl. "But Sirius gives me the password anyway, which makes things much easier I must say."

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, smacking Sirius on the shoulder. "You've been giving out our passwords?"

"Ow! Only to her!" He rubbed his shoulder for a moment, then looked at Lily. "Oh, come on... she's been doing it for ages. Since her sister left actually. She just comes up to the dorm with us and sleeps with me or James. It's not like we'd do anything." Remus and James exchanged amused looks before turning their attention back to the discussion.

"Speaking of Cserri," Lily said, turning her focus away from Sirius before she got really mad. "How is she? I haven't heard from her in months."

"Wouldn't know," Phoenix said grumpily. "Mum has forbidden her to talk to me and vice versa."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

Phoenix shrugged.

"Nyxie just wants to spend the night with Remus," James snorted. "She almost kissed him on the train."

"Did she?" Sirius asked, his face brightening. "See, Remus... I told you!"

Phoenix stopped completely and the others turned to look at her. "Sirius..."

"Oh, come on, Phoenix... it was only a matter of time before he found out. So I told him over the summer when he was at James' place."

Phoenix slapped both hands over her face, trying to hide her blushing. How could he do this to her! "You told him what exactly?" she asked through her hands.

"Only that you've fancied him for... about five years, right? No... all six!" Sirius turned to Remus and nodded. "Almost six years."

"Sirius..."

"Yes, Nyxie?"

"You have three seconds."

"Until what?" Sirius asked, raising a brow.

"Until I fucking kill you!" Phoenix shouted, charging at him, wand drawn. Sirius yelped and ran down the hall, Phoenix close on his tail. "Damn you, Sirius Phineas Black!"

After they'd disappeared around the corner, the others stood frozen. "Er... maybe we should go after them?" Peter suggested.

"I'm actually leaning more towards the 'run away' option," James replied, tugging Lily off to the side.

"Cheers," Remus added, turning off to another hallway. It was a little longer, but it would save time overall. The last thing he wanted to be in the middle of right now was a fight between Sirius Black and Phoenix Darkheart.

Phoenix and Sirius approached the portrait of the Fat Lady laughing. Remus raised a brow, watching them from the shadows. Their fights were confusing to Remus. They acted like they wanted to kill each other one minute, and the next, they were best friends again. He waited until the two said their goodnights and Sirius vanished behind the portrait of the Fat Lady before he moved into the light. "Boo."

Phoenix jumped and turned to see Remus. "Oh, it's you," she smiled, walking over to him. She leaned against the wall, blushing. "So you know my three biggest secrets: I'm an Animagus, I once dated James, and I've fancied you for... quite a while." She laughed softly to herself. "What do you think?"

Remus smiled, stepping a little closer to her before leaning on the wall himself. "I think..." he began, brushing a strand of hair back from her face, "...that I owe you a secret."

Phoenix smiled and nodded, her cheeks brightening. "Why yes... yes, you do."

He leaned in closer to her, as he had before. He was staring into her eyes again. His eyes... Phoenix felt braver this time around though. She was not panicking, and not trying to get away. Instead, she leaned in towards him, but at the last second, he turned his face upwards and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I fancy you, too," he whispered, stroking her chin with one finger before turning to walk away. He gave the password to the Fat Lady and began stepping through the portrait hole when Phoenix called out to him.

"That's it?"

Remus looked back at her and chuckled, then continued inside. He could hear her swearing still as the portrait hole closed and he continued through the common room, heading up to the boys dormitory for bed. This year wont be as bad as I thought, he thought to himself as he changed into his pajamas. Not bad at all.