FOUR YEARS LATER…
Shelby's POV…
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter rushed downstairs, headed for the shrieking shack. As they headed down the staircase, Regulus was going up them. He turned a corner and ran into me. I fell down onto the floor…hard. Regulus said softly, "Sorry, Shelby. My fault."
I replied, "No, it's my fault; I should have paid more attention." He helped me up, but pulled a little too hard, and I banged into him again, but his hand on my back kept me from falling again. He held me for a moment, then pulled me closer to him. I made no effort to fight against him, which came as a surprise to both of us. Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed me gently. When he pulled away, I said, "Regulus, you know I still hate you, right?"
Regulus smiled and said, "Good. I wouldn't have it any other way." Just as he decided that he was going to contradict those words with actions, I beat him to it and kissed him, surprising him. He wrapped his arms around me possessively and deepened the kiss.
Sirius ran back up the stairs, wondering what was taking me so long. When he turned the corner, he saw Regulus kissing me. Something inside him flared, like a cobra ready to strike. He said loudly, "Hey! Shelby!"
When we broke apart, our heads banged together. "Ouch," I whispered. I looked at Sirius as I quickly backed away from his little brother. I struggled, "Uh, hey, Sirius, I-umm-what's up?"
Sirius glared angrily at Regulus as he said calmly, "We have some studying to do, or did you forget?"
I shook my head. "No, Sirius, I haven't forgotten. I was on my way. Let's go." With that, I grabbed his hand and dragged him away from Regulus before something bad happened.
We ran down the stairs and out the front door. As we walked in the dark towards the Whomping Willow, Sirius asked in a voice that betrayed his frustration, "So, Shelby, how long have you been dating my prat of a brother? Or are you two even dating? Are you just playing around with him?"
I stopped abruptly in anger and said, "Sirius, you know I would never just 'play around' with anyone. And none of what you just said is true. I am not dating him or playing with him like he's some sort of toy. I hate him, Sirius; you know that."
"Then why would you kiss him?" he asked as he turned to face me.
I blushed, although I wasn't sure why. I replied, "I didn't kiss him; he kissed me. I just didn't fight against him." Staring at Sirius, I saw that his mood was dark, and that he seemed to be really angry about this.
I moved closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He put a hand on my waist and said quietly, "I just don't want to see you get hurt, and I especially don't want to see you get hurt by Regulus."
I said, "Regulus won't hurt me. He'll never have the chance to."
"He had that chance tonight." I looked at him in shock. "Don't look at me like that. I saw you two; I saw the way you returned his kiss. You love him."
I stuttered, "N-no, no, I don't. I told you; I hate him. I even made that clear to Regulus, but he kissed me anyway."
Sirius pulled me closer to him. "Don't lie to me, Shelby. Face it; you didn't fight against him because you love him."
"No, I don't. He's a Slytherin, and I'm a Gryffindor. I could never love anyone in Slytherin, let alone Regulus."
"I don't believe you."
"Then believe this." I leaned in ands kissed him. He pulled me closer to him, his arms around my waist. He pulled away just as a deep growling began behind him. Sirius turned into a shaggy black dog, and I transformed into a red fox. I thought, 'Werewolves. Always have to ruin a good moment.'
