Chasing the Lion's Tail Chapter 2
21. Midnight
They were sitting around a parchment. It was in the middle of the night and they should be in bed, but today was the day they were going to try if their work had paid off. Remus raised his wand and pointed it at the parchment. Somewhere the clock chimed, it was midnight and the marauders map revealed itself for the first time.
22. Confessions
The look on Remus face was one of utter surprise. When he had found them in the boys dorm room, Peter with long front teeth, James with antlers and Denebola with paws he had been horrified so they had to let the cat out of the bag and tell him what they were doing. His voice was hesitant when he asked them why and his three friends exchanged looks, before answering together, telling the flabbergast boy, that he was their friend, werewolf or not and that that alone was reason enough.
23. Crush
Denebola froze in the middle of the hallway causing Remus to run into her, when she realized, that the reason her eyes had been following that asshole for the last month, was not disgust or any other negative emotion. The warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach and the urge to giggle were proof enough. She had a crush. She started walking again and ignored the questioning looks of her friends. Never would she speak of this. Never would Lucius Malfoy find out, that she had a crush on him, hopefully she would get over it soon.
24. Chocolate
It was once a month, that Denebola hated nothing more than being a girl. The first one to figure out what was wrong with her after they brought her to the hospital wing was Remus, the second Peter and James was the last one. He was however the first to realize how to deal with it, he bought her chocolate, did as he was told and let her curl up against him in the common room. Denebola was pretty sure he asked his mother.
25. Alone
Summer holidays where something that children usually looked forward to, but as Denebola stepped of the train and walked towards her mother she saw her friends being welcomed by their families lovingly, while her own mother simply gave her a curt nod. That evening Denebola sat in her room and started counting the days until she would return to Hogwarts.
26. Rain
The day she and Regulus left for Hogwarts it was raining. Her mother was checking if her brother had truly managed to pack everything and her father and brother where talking quietly in his study. Giving the last instructions on how to behave like a proper Black, Denebola mused while she leaned against the window in her room and watched as her breath fogged up the glass.
27. Letters
It is on a Thursday morning during breakfast in the great hall, that she realizes that she wishes that Regulus had never come to Hogwarts. Because as long as he was still at home they could still pretend that nothing was wrong, unlike now when they don't even dare to meet each other gaze in the hallways.
28. Cold
The atmosphere at home is getting worse with every year that passed, at first her parents, especially her mother had simply been displeased, but as time passed and Denebola started to fit in with her classmates, as mudbloods changed to muggleborn in her mind, things changed again. For the worse. It was, as if with each friendly word she exchanged with the people her family disapproved of, she lost them a little more.
29. Dark
The first time the marauders joined Moony on the night of the full moon, Denebola understood just why people feared and hated werewolves so much. It was scrutinizing them with his amber eyes and sniffing the air, saliva dripping from his fangs. It fit the classification in their coursebook to a T. Then it wagged it's tail like a dog and looked at her questioningly. Denebola took a second to understand that it wanted to play. A dark creature indeed.
30. Addiction
The feel of the wet grass, the soft drumming of her paws and running in the forbidden forest in the middle of the night. When Denebola came to Hogwarts she had never expected this, not even in her wildest dreams. But here she was and the exhalation of running with Moony, because the wolf was not Remus and will never be Remus, was utterly enticing and she longed for the next full moon as soon as the night was over.
31. Flower
Denebola loved her best friend dearly, but his behaviors was getting worse every year. At first she had laughed at his adoration for his Lily-flower, but as time passed, she came to hate the nickname he had for the girl. It would take her almost a year to understand why.
32. Snow
The big snowball fight had been a tradition from their first year in Hogwarts, when James and Denebola had decided, hat it would be a good idea to attack their classmates when they where building a snowman. The teams had not changed since then and while it was always funny, Denebola noticed in her fifth year, that her and James fight against the rest of them got harder with every year that passed. They would only loose once and the winter after that Denebola spent in Azkaban.
33. Temptation
Being raised as a daughter of the Black family meant that Denebola was quite knowledgeable of the dark arts whether she wanted or not. She had studied them even before coming to Hogwarts and even if she stopped using them her magic knew them and the temptation of power would stay with her till the moment she died.
34. Autumn
Even with the war outside of Hogwarts the students know very little of the terrors being protected by the ancient walls of the castle. Someday it is like the world outside of Hogwarts does not exist. And then there are days that are utterly perfect, like her birthday that year. They had come back to the school not too long ago, the sun is shining and the leaves of the forbidden forest look absolutely beautiful.
35. Unity
The quidditch final that year wold go into Hogwarts as History, but years later it would not be the game itself that Denebola would remember in perfect clarity, but the prep talk before the game. They were standing in a circle their shoulders bumping against each other and in that moment Nothing could have torn them apart. They were a team.
36. Hurt
It hurt a lot more than she had expected when she realized, that her brother no longer talked to her, not even when he needed help. It hurt more to know, that he was only in his unfortunate position because she had been sorted into another house, causing his housemates to ridicule and torment him. But what hurt the most was the fact, that there was nothing she could do.
37. Truth
Denebola knew that she would not be able to attend her cousins wedding from the moment on, that Andromeda announced her intention to marry a muggleborn wizard. It was the moment she congratulated her cousin, that she knew, that she would never see eye to eye with the ideals of her family ever again.
38. Rogue
She would never admit it to anybody but herself in front of a mirror, behind lots and lots of privacy charms, but every time James messed up his hair even more then it already was, Denebolas heart skipped a beat and she had to fight the blush threatening to rise on her cheeks.
39. Champagne
Maybe it had been a bad idea, but the marauders had decided to celebrate the end of their OWLs not only by making fun of Snape, but also with a bottle of champagne. The only time Denebola would ever touch that drink again was on Lily's and James' wedding.
40. Tulips
Denebolas favorite flower was a tulip, despite the fact, that almost everyone seemed to believe that she preferred roses. Maybe it was because roses compared to tulips were a lot more elaborate and fitting of a girl of her birth. but she would always be more fascinated by spring flowers than roses.