A/N - Hello everyone, chapter 4 for you. Thanks to all who have been reading and put this story on alert. How about reviewing and letting me know what you think about it? Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Confrontation and Confession

July 1993

Catherine awoke just as the sun was beginning to break over the horizon. She lay in her bed, head turned toward the window as the sky lightened from black to gray suffused with pink and white. It was lovely, but Catherine's mood was anything but. She was exhausted, her sleep disjointed and plagued with dreams and memories she would much rather forget. She rose from her bed and went into the loo, stopping to look at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, dark circles ringing them underneath. The skin of her cheeks seemed to sag and the frown lines around her mouth were more prominent than she had ever seen them. There was a line between her eyes and when she brought a finger up to smooth it out, she found it etched there, seemingly permanently, unless she smiled.

"And smiling is the last thing I feel like doing right now," Catherine mused as she splashed water on her face. Sighing, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, careful not to make any noise to keep her children from waking. As she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see her mother already up and sitting at the table with a cup of tea.

"You're up early," Catherine said as she pulled open the cupboard door and took out the coffee. Tea was not going to suffice this morning, caffeine was definitely the order of the day.

"Couldn't sleep," her mother remarked, as she took a sip of her tea.

"Why not?" Catherine asked measuring out the coffee into the filter.

"Oh, I was worried I suppose," Jane said, looking out the door to the garden.

"Worried?" Catherine said, confused. "What about?"

"You," her mother said simply, turning to look at her daughter. Catherine fumbled with the coffee mug she had been taking out of the cupboard and turned to face her mother.

"Why are you worried about me?" Catherine asked, feigning surprise.

"You forget that my bedroom is right below yours," Jane said with a pointed look. "It seemed you were rather restless last night."

"I'm sorry Mum," Catherine said quietly. "I didn't mean to keep you up."

"It's no bother, Catherine," Jane said waving off her apology. "But will you please tell me what's got you so upset."

"It's nothing Mum, I'm fine," Catherine said, turning back to the coffee pot.

"Bollocks, Catherine!" Jane exclaimed, pounding her fist against the table. Catherine jumped and turned to look at her mother, whose expression was now bordering on infuriated. Catherine stared at her, gobsmacked. Her mother very rarely got this angry and she swore even less. "You're not fine, I can tell by your face. You've been crying and you obviously didn't get much sleep last night, not to mention the last few. Now what is going on?"

The two stood in silence, glaring at each other until the coffee pot began to beep. Catherine turned back and poured herself a cup, then, after a moment's hesitation, joined her mother at the table.

"I've been," Catherine paused and took a deep breath, "dreaming. Dreaming about Sirius and, and that night," Catherine said slowly, after she had taken a sip of her coffee. Her mother nodded knowingly, as if this is what she had suspected all along, and reached across the table to grip Catherine's hand.

"It's all the talk about Hogwarts, I suppose," Jane said. "That's making you remember." Catherine nodded, tears coming to her eyes again.

"I've tried to fight it," Catherine said, as the tears began to make their way down her cheeks. "Tried not to think about it, about him, but the memories, they don't stop." Jane drew her daughter into a tight embrace and rubbed her back.

"Maybe you should let them come," Jane said quietly. Catherine shook her head, pulling away.

"I can't," she protested. "The kids, I can't let them see. I don't want to explain," she trailed off, looking down at the table. Jane sighed.

"Catherine, are you sure you won't look for him?" Jane asked.

"Mum, we've been over this," Catherine said, the tears stopping abruptly, her voice hard.

"Yes, but it was such a long time ago," Jane replied. "Things may have changed since then."

"Then he could have found me himself, couldn't he," Catherine said scowling.

"Maybe he tried, but you were with Daniel then," Jane continued. Catherine turned and glared at her, fury on her face.

"I will not chase after a man that made it clear I wasn't good enough for him," Catherine said through gritted teeth. "Hearing that twice in a lifetime is more than enough, thank you." Then she stood from the table and stalked out of the kitchen and back up to her room.

Jane watched her go and sighed in defeat. Catherine was stubborn, there was no denying that. Still, something told Jane that unless Catherine dealt with these memories of Sirius, perhaps even found and spoke to him again, she would never be able to close the door on the past. She wished again that she had done something more to help her daughter all those years ago. She had tried, but when Catherine had resisted, Jane had left her alone, not wanting to reopen the rift between them that had finally seemed to have closed.

If there were ever a time Jane wished she were part of Catherine's world it was now. She had no idea how she would even begin to go about finding a wizard, or if she even could. Regardless, there was still something she could do to help, even if it wasn't much. Finishing her tea, Jane put her cup in the sink and made her way to her bedroom to ready herself for the day.

Catherine paced in her room, still furious with her mother. How could she even suggest that? Why would she suggest it? Her mother knew, she had seen how Catherine had fallen apart, both times. She never wanted to suffer that kind of pain again, she couldn't. She didn't know if she would make it through to the other side a third time.

Catherine sat down on her bed and scrubbed her hands down her face. The sun was fully up now and it would only be a matter of time before the children were awake. She needed to shower and make herself presentable in order to avoid the questions she knew would most certainly be asked if they saw her in the state she was now. Gulping down the rest of her coffee, Catherine grimaced, then went into the loo to try and pull herself together.

When Catherine had finished her morning routine, she stepped from her room and was surprised to see three empty bedrooms as she walked down the hall. All three of the children were already up, Ellie had even made her bed. Confused, Catherine went back downstairs to find the three of them sitting at the table, dressed and eating breakfast. Her mother was at the stove scooping more eggs into a bowl.

"Oh Catherine, you're back," her mother said smiling. "Sit down and have some breakfast." Catherine did as she was told, picking up a piece of toast and buttering it.

"I'm surprised you three are up and dressed already," she said to her children.

"Mummy, Grandma is taking us to London today!" Miranda exclaimed. Catherine stopped, piece of toast halfway to her mouth, and looked at her youngest daughter.

"What?" she asked having no idea what was going on.

"I thought I would take the children into London for the day," her mother said, spooning some eggs onto Catherine's plate. "We haven't been there in ages and it will give you a chance to deal with some things you've been neglecting here." Jane gave her daughter a pointed look and Catherine's eyes narrowed. Ellie, ever the observant one, glanced from her mother to her grandmother and back again.

"Is everything all right Mum?" the girl asked, concern in her voice. With one last glare at her mother, Catherine turned to her daughter.

"Of course sweetheart, everything's fine," she smiled at her daughter but Ellie just looked back at Jane, her brows furrowed in thought. Catherine glanced around the table and saw that all three of the children seemed to be finished with their breakfast.

"Why don't the three of you go and wash up and get your shoes," she said. "I'm sure Grandma wants to get an early start." Rory and Miranda jumped up and quickly hurried upstairs. Ellie rose more slowly, still looking back and forth between the two adults in the room as if worried they would attack each other once she left.

"Ellie, it's fine," Catherine said again. She reached and put a hand on her daughter's arm. "I promise." Ellie just nodded and left the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder as she reached the stairs. Once she was sure that all three children were out of earshot, Catherine turned back to her mother.

"Do you mind telling me what this is all about?" she asked, her mouth in a tight line, arms crossed in front of her.

"I just thought you could use a day to yourself," Jane said shrugging as she cleared away the children's plates. "Now eat your eggs before they get cold."

"Mother, I am not a child," Catherine said, her voice rising.

"Then stop acting like one," Jane snapped, turning back to her. Catherine's mouth fell open in amazement, then clamped shut in anger. Jane sighed and sat down at the table next to her daughter.

"Catherine," Jane began in a placating voice, but Catherine just glared at her. "Sweetheart, I just thought that you might use a day on your own. To collect yourself or think some things through or whatever you wanted to do. I'm sorry I didn't check with you first, but it was a bit of a last minute plan."

Catherine tried to stay angry with her mother, to be upset at the audacity of her assumption, but she simply couldn't. She was tired and truthfully, a day to herself did sound extremely appealing.

"I know that you don't want to hear this," Jane continued. "But you need to deal with those memories. If nothing else than to be able to talk to your children about Hogwarts without breaking down. You know how observant Ellie is." Catherine said nothing, just looked down at the eggs on her plate, which were now growing cold. Her mother was still looking at her, Catherine could feel it, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Finally, Jane sighed and patted her arm, then rose and continued to clear away the dishes, rinsing them and putting them into the dishwasher. When she was finished, she came and stood in front of Catherine once again. Catherine finally looked up at her mother and gave her a watery smile. She took her mother's hand and squeezed, saying in that one gesture everything she couldn't put into words. Jane squeezed back and nodded, going to the stairs and calling the children down.

"Come along dears," Jane said.

"What no hugs for your Mum?" Catherine asked, standing to the side as her children came pounding down the stairs. Miranda ran to her first throwing her arms around her mother's waist and squeezing tightly. Catherine smiled and bent down and kissed the little girl on top of her head. Rory gave her a quick, one-armed hug around the waist, then ran to the front door. Ellie approached more cautiously, suspicious look on her face as her mother held out her arms to her daughter.

"El, I'm fine," Catherine insisted, putting a hand to her daughter's cheek. "Go and have fun with your grandmother." She smiled, hoping it looked genuine. Ellie must have been convinced, or else she had decided it was worthless to argue, for she quickly hugged her mother and followed her brother and sister to the door.

"Be good, listen to Grandma," Catherine called as the children ran to the car outside. She turned to her mother as the older woman put on her shoes. "Thank you Mum." Jane turned back to her and smiled, pulling her daughter to her.

"Don't be scared to think about things," Jane said quietly. "Pushing things down and ignoring them isn't the best way to deal with them either." Catherine simply nodded. Jane gave her arm a final squeeze and then made to follow the children outside.

"We'll be back by dinner," Jane said as she opened the door.

"I'll be waiting," Catherine replied and then they were gone. Catherine stood for a minute in the silence of the house, wondering just exactly how to go about this. Did she just sit down on the couch and wait for the memories to flood over her? It seemed a bit ridiculous when she thought about it that way.

She tried to pull something to the forefront of her mind, tried to pick up where the dreams had left off this morning, but every time she got close, her mind would shut down and push the memory away. She snorted thinking that here she was, actually wanting to remember, and now she couldn't. Giving it up as a bad job, she turned to the garden door and went outside. She would weed the vegetable patch and trim the hedges that were starting to look a bit shaggy. Just because she couldn't do what her mother wanted, didn't mean she should waste the day.

Catherine walked to the shed and pulled out the hedge clippers. She made her way to the back of the garden where the row of hedges divided their garden from the neighbor's and began to trim. Her thoughts seemed to fall away until she was thinking of nothing at all. The rhythmic snipping of the clippers lulled her into a kind of trance and when she heard the neighbor boy yell out to one of his mates, "Oi, Pete," she was transported back to another time and another boy named Peter.

December 1976

"Oi, Peter," she heard a voice call and Catherine turned around to see Sirius standing at the end of the corridor, his back to her, calling out to Peter who must have been around the corner. Catherine stood and watched as Sirius waited, rather impatiently it looked to her, until Peter walked back to where Sirius was standing. It was three days until the Christmas holidays and Catherine was supposed to be meeting Sirius in her study room to practice Transfiguration.

She had been doing much better in the last couple of months and they had dropped their meetings to once a week. Catherine thought that they might be able to forgo the tutoring sessions all together in a month or two, but the thought of that made her sad, surprisingly enough. She looked back at Sirius and saw that Peter had now reached him and the two were speaking in hushed tones.

Not knowing why she did it, Catherine edged closer to the pair, hiding behind a suit of armor. She could just make out their muttered conversation and while she berated herself for eavesdropping, she couldn't seem to stop.

"No Wormtail," Sirius was saying and Catherine rolled her eyes at the ridiculous nickname. "I told you, it's tomorrow night."

"Oh, right, right," Peter said, his beady eyes darting around the corridor as if they were going to be set upon by someone at any moment. "I forgot."

"I don't understand you, it's been almost five years now and you still forget when the full moon is almost every month," Sirius said exasperatedly.

"S-sorry Sirius," Peter stuttered as Sirius just shook his head.

"So meet us outside, like usual," Sirius said. "Only two of us fit under the cloak anymore." Peter nodded and walked back the way he had come. Sirius turned and walked in the direction of Catherine's study room.

Catherine stood behind the suit of armor for a few moments, waiting until she could no longer hear Sirius in the corridor. Why had they been talking about the full moon? And why would they need to be under a cloak? Catherine's eyes narrowed in concentration, but none of it made sense. She started, realizing she was going to be late if she didn't hurry and turned to follow Sirius' path to her study room.

When she approached the door a few minutes later, Sirius was standing there waiting for her. They had discovered, not long ago, that Catherine's alohomora was the only one that would work on the door. Catherine had questioned this, as usual, but Sirius had just shrugged and said, 'magic' to which Catherine rolled her eyes.

"So, what are we working on this week?" Sirius asked, as he shut the door behind the two of them.

"Actually, nothing," Catherine replied, smiling at him.

"Nothing?" he repeated and Catherine shook her head.

"No, we finished with the guinea fowl into guinea pig spell and that was the last for this term," Catherine said.

"Brilliant," Sirius said, standing. "There are more fun things to do than this anyway." He turned and walked toward the door and Catherine's face fell. So he didn't really like coming here and helping her. She had suspected as much all along. The thought of why he continued to help, if he didn't want to, never crossed her mind, as her anger grew instead. Well, if he would rather be doing something else, fine. She had better things to do than hang around a prat like Sirius Black anyway.

She sat down on the sofa and pulled out her Charms book, intent on starting on the essay Professor Flitwick had assigned for the Christmas holiday. Sirius had reached the door and looked back, but Catherine pointedly ignored him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Charms," she said tightly.

"But, why?" he asked, looking confused.

"Unlike you Black, some of us actually care about our grades," Catherine huffed.

"Black?" he repeated, looking at her stupidly. "You're calling me Black again now?"

"That is your name, isn't it?" Catherine asked.

"Well, yes, but," he broke off, brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at her. "Catherine, what did I do?" She looked up at him, eyes widening in surprise. Was he that much of a git that he didn't realize what he'd said?

"I thought you had better things to do than help me," she said, not looking at him. She tried to read her Charms book, but the words swam on the page. She risked a quick glance upward and saw Sirius standing with a focused look on his face, as if he were trying to recall their conversation. She watched as comprehension slowly dawned and then looked back down at her book.

"Catherine, I didn't mean," Sirius began, but Catherine refused to look at him. He walked towards her and squatted down in front of her, taking the book out of her hands so she was forced to look at him. "I didn't mean that I didn't want to help you or that I didn't enjoy doing it. I just meant that if we didn't have to study, we could find something more fun to do." Catherine looked away from him, embarrassed now.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her lap.

"Don't apologize," he said. "I'm sorry for the way it came out." He smiled at her and stood, holding out a hand. "Come on." She looked at him for a moment, before taking his hand and standing herself.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as he led her to the door.

"You'll see," he said, grinning. "Don't worry about your books, we'll come back for them." The two left the room and Catherine was very aware of the fact that Sirius was still holding her hand. He seemed not to notice though as he towed her along through the corridors, smile still on his face. They made their way back to the main staircase and walked down it, going through a door to the right at the bottom. Sirius stopped in front of a large painting of fruit and reached out and, much to Catherine's surprise, tickled a pear in the painting. The pear giggled and then a door handle appeared in the middle of it. Sirius looked back at Catherine and grinned, opening the door and, finally letting go of her hand, ushered her through. Catherine looked at him suspiciously, but entered, only to be surrounded by more house elves than she had ever seen.

"What can we get for Miss?" one elf asked her, as she looked back at Sirius her eyes wide. Sirius laughed his loud, bark-like laugh that always made Catherine smile. Noticing him for the first time, the elves then surrounded Sirius. "Mister Black, sir, what can we's get you?" the same elf that had addressed Catherine asked.

"Tea and some biscuits, I think, Daisy," Sirius said to the elf, who bowed and turned back to her fellows, who all began to busy themselves preparing the food.

"Sirius, what?" Catherine stopped, unable to say anything else, just turning and staring at everything around her. Sirius chuckled and then led her to a table on one side of the room.

"I told you I'd show you sometime," he said, smiling at her.

"This is," Catherine paused, looking around her again. "This is amazing." She saw the four long tables sitting in the main part of the room and realized they must sit directly under the tables in the Great Hall. "So that's how they do it," she said, staring at the tables in awe.

"Don't tell me the great Ravenclaw hadn't figured out how we got our meals every day," Sirius said in mock horror. "And after more than three years too." Catherine stuck out her tongue at him.

"Muggle, remember?" she said waspishly. "I had no idea what house-elves were until we learned about them in History of Magic."

"You actually learned something in that class?" Sirius asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. She stuck her tongue out at him again and he laughed. "I'm only teasing." Catherine smiled in spite of herself.

Seconds later, three house elves came to the table with trays of tea, biscuits, tarts, scones and pies. Catherine just looked at Sirius incredulously and he laughed again.

"They don't do anything part way," he said.

"I can see that," Catherine replied wryly.

"Can we's get sir and miss anything else?" the elf named Daisy asked, but Sirius just shook his head.

"No thank you, Daisy," he said and the elves bowed again, returning to whatever tasks they had been working on before Sirius and Catherine entered.

"They know your name, I see," Catherine said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh sure, we come down here quite often," Sirius said. "After all, what would a Quidditch celebration be without food? And then I was here quite a bit a couple of months ago." He frowned, remembering his estrangement from his mates.

"You never did tell me what that was about," Catherine said, as nonchalantly as she could.

"And I still can't," Sirius said, smirking at her. Catherine shrugged as if it didn't matter, but she was drawn back to the overheard conversation between Sirius and Peter. Something was prodding at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp the thought. Shaking her head, she turned back to the tart on her plate, deciding to forget about it for now.

She and Sirius made their way back to the study room an hour later, after literally stuffing themselves with food and tea. As they entered the room, Catherine flopped onto the couch and groaned.

"Ugh, I won't be able to eat for a week," she said, closing her eyes and putting a hand to her stomach.

"Told you that last scone was a bad idea," he said cheekily. She opened one eye and looked at him.

"Shut it you," she said, closing it again. He laughed as he picked up her bag and began putting her book and parchment back in it. Then he slung it over his shoulder and held a hand out to her again.

"Come on," he said pulling her to her feet. "I'll walk you back to your tower." She held out a hand for her bag, but he shook his head. "I'll get it."

"Sirius, I'm capable of carrying my own bag," Catherine said, but he waved her off.

"It's no problem." He took her by the hand again and led her out of the room. When they reached the corridor, Catherine expected him to let go of her hand, but he held fast. Something in her middle squirmed, but she was unsure if it was the vast quantities of food she had just consumed or something else. They walked in silence back to Ravenclaw tower and when they reached the door, Sirius stopped and turned to her. He took her bag off his shoulder and gave it to her, still holding her hand. Catherine looked at him, unable to break his gaze. He leaned toward her and she held her breath and then closed her eyes. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and then pulled away.

"Happy Christmas Catherine," he said softly and then turned and began to walk away.

"Happy Christmas Sirius," she repeated watching his retreating back as he made his way down the stairs.

July 1993

Catherine abruptly shook her head, coming back to herself. She gasped in a breath and closed her eyes, wondering just how much more she was going to be able to take, but knowing that the memories wouldn't stop until she had been through them all. She looked at the hedge she had been trimming and saw the huge hole in the middle.

"Wonderful," she said, sighing. Looking down at the branches on the ground, she pursed her lips thinking. Setting down the clippers, Catherine went into the house and walked up to her bedroom. She sat down on the bed and pulled open the drawer of her nightstand. She picked up her wand and held it loosely in one hand. After studying it for a moment, she put on a determined face and went back down to the garden.

Looking around to make sure she wasn't being watched, Catherine pointed her wand at the branches on the ground and uttered 'reparo' under her breath. The branches quickly rose into the air and reattached themselves. Smiling in spite of herself, Catherine looked at the now once again shaggy hedge. She could trim it with magic, she supposed, but she could get caught by a neighbor and she wasn't exactly sure what spell to use or how. Perhaps when she took Ellie to get her school things, she could look for a book on household spells. Deciding that she would save the hedges from any further possible mutilation due to her inattentiveness, Catherine returned the clippers to the shed and went back inside.

She lay down on the sofa, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing her thoughts forward once again, only this time, her mind did not turn them away, but grasped on to them greedily as if feeding a starving man.

December 1976

Myra and Catherine boarded the train, finding an empty compartment and settling into it. Knowing that they would most likely be joined by others at some point in the trip, Myra looked at Catherine.

"All right, spill," she said. Catherine looked back at her, feigning confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, trying to look innocent.

"Don't give me that," Myra said, rolling her eyes. "I know there is something going on between you and Sirius Black, so out with it."

"We're just studying together," Catherine said. "I told you that."

"Uh-huh and you also turned the guinea fowl into a guinea pig on the second day you tried, so obviously you've improved enough in Transfiguration that you don't need his help anymore," Myra pointed out. "Yet you're still meeting with him." Catherine blushed and looked away.

"I knew it!" Myra crowed. "There is something going on!"

"No, there's not," Catherine insisted.

"Yes, there is," Myra returned and Catherine sighed in exasperation.

"Fine, he kissed me all right?" she snapped and Myra's eyes went wide.

"He-he kissed you?" Myra sputtered.

"Why, what did you think?" Catherine asked, cursing herself for her outburst.

"I just thought you fancied him. But he kissed you?" Myra squealed.

"Just on the cheek," Catherine was quick to point out, but she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "After he held my hand. Twice." Myra squealed again and soon the two girls were deep in conversation about what had happened and just what it all might mean.

"He fancies you," Myra insisted for the third time, as Catherine shook her head yet again.

"No, we're just friends, that's all," she said.

"Catherine, he kissed you," Myra replied.

"Only on the cheek," Catherine said. "It didn't mean anything." Myra huffed in exasperation.

"Why won't you even consider that he might like you, for more than a friend," she continued before Catherine could interrupt.

"He's a sixth year, Myra," Catherine said.

"So what?" Myra replied. "My dad is three years older than my mum. That doesn't mean anything."

"I know but he's used to girls with, well, loads more experience than me," Catherine continued. "I've never even kissed anyone before. And besides, he could have any girl in the school that he wants. Why would he pick me?"

"Why wouldn't he pick you?" Myra asked. "Don't sell yourself short Catherine."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Catherine said. "I don't want to be one more notch on his bedpost. And that's all Sirius Black looks for, a snog in a broom closet." Myra opened her mouth to speak, but Catherine shook her head indicating that the subject was closed.

Before Myra could try again, the door to their compartment opened and Ian Cauldwell stood in the doorway.

"Hi," he said shyly and Myra immediately blushed. Catherine smirked, wondering how Myra would feel about having the tables turned on her. "I was wondering, that is," Ian trailed off, his own face red. He cleared his throat and looked at Myra and then Catherine came to his aid.

"Hi, Ian," she said, ushering the Hufflepuff inside. "Why don't you keep Myra company for a few minutes, I was just leaving to go to the loo." Catherine left the compartment, closing the door behind her and walked down the corridor of the train car. She stopped at the end and stood looking out the window at the scenery flying by. She would wait out here for a while, she decided.

Her thoughts returned unbidden to Sirius and what had happened between the two of them. Did it mean something like Myra suggested? Catherine wasn't sure if she wanted it to. While she knew that Sirius could be sweet and kind and helpful, he was still a prat most of the time. The pranks hadn't slowed down any, despite the fact that he had already turned 17 and the rest of his friends were close to it as well. Not to mention the steady line of girls he had parading after him, none of them lasting more than a week or two.

But then there was the swooping feeling in her stomach whenever she saw him and the way she'd held her breath when she thought he was going to kiss her. Her heart beat a little bit faster any time he was around and she was oddly disappointed when he had cancelled on her the month before, saying that he had forgotten something he was supposed to do with his friends that night. Catherine leaned forward to rest her forehead against the glass of the window and groaned. Myra was right, she fancied Sirius Black.

So caught up in her thoughts, Catherine didn't hear the door to the adjoining car open. Still looking out the window, she startled when a voice whispered in her ear.

"Well, if it isn't our resident mudblood." Catherine whirled around and came face to face with Jeffrey Dewhurst. He was a 7th year in her house. Stewart Lancaster, another 7th year, stood next to him. She reached surreptitiously into her pocket for her wand and realized that she had left it in her bag in her compartment. Glancing over the boys' shoulders, she saw they were completely alone in the corridor and while she had no doubt that if they tried anything noisy it would bring people pouring out of their compartments, she also had no doubt that Dewhurst and Lancaster were more than able to cast silencing charms.

"Really Dewhurst," Catherine said, crossing her arms in front of her, trying to look unaffected. "Can't you come up with anything more original? Isn't the whole mudblood bit quite overdone?" Dewhurst's lips narrowed in anger and she saw Lancaster grasp his wand more tightly. "If you'll excuse me," she said, moving to push past the two boys, but Lancaster grabbed her arm and pushed her back against the window. Catherine looked down at the hand on her arm and then back at the boy and smirked.

"Careful Lancaster," she said. "You might catch something. . . foul." Stewart dropped her arm as if burned and she laughed and tried to move around the two of them again. Dewhurst pointed his wand at her and flicked it, causing Catherine to stop in her tracks. She tried to move, but was unable to and realized he had cast an impediment jinx on her. Cursing silently, she glared at the two boys and they both smirked.

"I don't think you're going anywhere mudblood," Dewhurst said and began to twirl his wand lazily between his fingers. "What do you think we should do with her Stew?" he asked his friend and Lancaster just grinned widely.

"Well, Jeffrey, I think we should take this little party somewhere a bit more private, don't you? I don't think we want to risk being disturbed." Lancaster leered at her.

"Too true," Dewhurst replied, looking contemplatively at Catherine. "Of course, we'll have to obliviate her after. Wouldn't want to risk her tattling on us, now would we? I sure hope I remember exactly what to do. It would be a shame if she ended up in St. Mungo's with her mind gone." Dewhurst faked a pout and then sneered at her and Catherine was instantly afraid. She opened her mouth to yell, but Dewhurst silenced her with a wave of his wand before she could make a sound. Catherine's heart began to pound in her chest and her eyes slid left and right, begging in her mind for someone to step out of their compartment. They hadn't been on the train for very long though, people weren't looking for friends yet or needing to use the loo.

Just as Dewhurst took hold of her arm and made to pull her toward the door to the adjoining car, she heard it slide open. The three looked up and saw Sirius Black and Remus Lupin standing in the opening. Catherine felt her eyes close in relief and then her gaze met Sirius'. He was looking at her in confusion, which changed to hard steel as he saw the fear in her eyes.

"I suggest you let the lady go," Sirius said, dangerously quiet as Remus quickly caught on and pulled his wand from his pocket. The four boys raised their wands almost as one, Dewhurst still holding tightly to Catherine's arm.

"Lady?" Dewhurst snorted. "I don't know who you're talking about Black. There's nothing but a mudblood here."

Sirius stepped forward quicker than Catherine could even fathom and pushed the tip of his wand into Dewhurst's throat. Remus kept his trained on Lancaster, who was now looking back and forth between the two Gryffindors almost fearfully, Catherine noticed.

"Say that again, Dewhurst," Sirius growled. "And it will be the last thing out of your mouth." The two continued to stare at each other, but Catherine saw the bob of Dewhurst's Adam's apple as he swallowed.

"Come on Jeff, let's go," Lancaster said. Dewhurst looked to his friend, then roughly pushed Sirius off of him, letting go of Catherine in the process.

"Out of my way, you filthy blood traitor," Dewhurst spat at Sirius as he pushed past him, knocking into Remus for good measure.

"Careful Dewhurst," Remus said as the other boy knocked against him. "You wouldn't want me to take points." Dewhurst glared at Remus as he followed Lancaster. The two Gryffindors watched the 7th years as they passed back into the adjoining car, then turned back to Catherine.

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked, concern evident on his face. Catherine opened her mouth to speak, but realized she was still under Dewhurst's spell. She waved a hand at her throat and Remus, recognizing the problem, pointed his wand at Catherine and said 'finite' and Catherine found she could both speak and move.

"I, I'm f-fine," she said as she began to shake. She wrapped her arms around herself and blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears that were forming from falling. Remus looked at her in concern and took a step forward, but Sirius was quicker, taking her in his arms and holding her tightly. Her hands reached up and fisted in the front of his robes, hiding her face in his chest and sobbing. He rubbed her back and murmured to her, but it wasn't until he kissed her temple that Catherine came back to herself and pulled away from him. Remus conjured a handkerchief and handed it to her. She smiled gratefully and wiped her face.

"Sorry," she said, looking sheepishly at Sirius, her face heating. Sirius waved off her apology and Remus looked at her sympathetically.

"What happened?" he asked. Catherine explained the confrontation and when she was finished, she was surprised to see how angry Sirius was. "Is this what you've been dealing with in your common room?" he asked.

"The name calling, yes," she said shrugging. "It's never gotten physical before though." She shuddered as she thought about the look on Lancaster's face and could imagine just what he'd had in mind when he had talked about privacy.

"Catherine you have to tell Flitwick," Sirius insisted, taking her by the arms.

"They'll just keep doing it if you don't," Remus agreed.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal," Catherine said. "I can handle it."

"It really looked like you were handling it when we came in," Sirius said angrily.

"I left my wand in my compartment, that's all," Catherine insisted. "If I'd had it, nothing would have happened."

"You really think you could have defeated two 7th years, even with your wand?" Sirius asked. "No offense Catherine, you're brilliant, but you're only a fourth year. They would have disarmed you in seconds." Catherine glared at him, but knew he was right. Dewhurst was rather proficient at nonverbal casting.

"They won't try anything at school," she said, pouting.

"Really?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. "After they just attacked you in the middle of the train corridor where anyone could have walked out and seen them?"

"They didn't attack," Catherine began to argue, but trailed off. "Fine, if it gets worse after break, I'll tell Professor Flitwick," she said, irritation in her voice. "Happy now?"

"Immensely," Sirius said, smirking at her. "Come on, we'll walk you back to your compartment."

"You don't need to," Catherine said, still annoyed.

"Humor me," he said, smiling at her. She heard Remus chuckle behind them.

"Fine," she said. The trio walked back to Catherine and Myra's compartment, but Catherine stopped before they reached the door. "Wait," she said.

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked.

"Well the reason I left in the first place was because Myra got a visitor," she said. "Of the boy variety."

"Ah," said Sirius, understanding instantly. He took a small step forward and peeked through the window of the compartment. "All clear," he said, grinning at her when he stepped back. "No snogging in sight." Catherine just rolled her eyes as she opened the compartment door.

"Hey," she said as Myra and Ian looked up. Catherine noticed their clasped hands before they quickly moved apart from one another. Myra looked beyond Catherine and saw Sirius and Remus standing in the doorway and her eyes got wide. Catherine just shook her head and turned back to the two Gryffindors.

"Thanks," she said and they both nodded.

"Happy Christmas Catherine," Remus said. "Myra, Ian."

"Happy Christmas," the three returned. Remus turned and stepped back, but Sirius lingered.

"Please be careful," he said quietly, his eyes locking with hers. His hand twitched towards her, then he looked at the others sitting watching him and he ran it through his hair. "Have a good holiday."

"You too," Catherine said and he turned and walked away with Remus.

Once Sirius and Remus had left, Ian stood and turned to Myra.

"I should probably get going," he said, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"Okay," Myra replied. The two just sat there looking at each other.

"Well, bye then," Ian said. "Have a happy Christmas."

"Thanks," Myra said. "You too."

"Catherine," Ian said, nodding to her and Catherine smiled as he walked out the door. Once the door had closed and his footsteps had died away, Catherine turned to Myra who was a rather impressive shade of red. Catherine studied her friend, tapping her lips with her finger.

"Who was it that was just tormenting me about fancying Sirius?" she asked in mock confusion as Myra looked away.

"Stop it Catherine," said Myra, trying for anger, but giggling instead. Catherine joined in and soon the two were discussing the intimate details of Myra and Ian's conversation.

"He asked me to go with him to the next Hogsmeade weekend," Myra confessed, as her cheeks colored again. Catherine squealed in delight.

"That's wonderful, Myra," she said and Myra nodded.

"Now, enough about that, what about you?" Myra asked.

"What about me?" Catherine asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Sirius Black. Remus Lupin. Coming to our compartment. Ring a bell?" Myra asked, staring at her friend. Catherine looked down at her lap, her expression changing from one of innocence to one of fear. "Catherine what happened?" Myra asked in concern now and Catherine proceeded to relate what had happened in the corridor. When she was finished, Myra stood up and began to pace in the small space of the compartment.

"Those, those, bloody wankers!" she thundered.

"Myra, shhh," Catherine urged. "I don't want the whole school to hear."

"Thank Merlin Sirius and Remus found you," Myra breathed, sinking down onto the seat next to Catherine. "I'm so sorry Catherine," she said, hugging her friend. Catherine hugged her back, a few tears leaking from her eyes before she composed herself and quickly wiped them from her face.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine now and nothing really happened," Catherine said, putting a smile on her face. Myra made to protest, but decided to drop it.

"So, Sirius rescued you then?" she asked, trying not to smile.

"And Remus," Catherine said scowling at her.

"Right," Myra said, covering her mouth with her hand to try and stifle a giggle. Catherine rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Fine, you win, I fancy Sirius Black," Catherine said.

"I knew it!" Myra exclaimed. "And from what I saw when he came in here, he fancies you too."

"No he doesn't," Catherine insisted.

"Catherine, he was going to touch your cheek and he would have, if Ian and I hadn't been here," Myra insisted. Catherine looked sharply at her.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"You didn't see that lame move he made with his hand? Running it through his hair at the last minute?" Myra asked. Catherine shrugged.

"I guess," she said. "Are you sure that's what he was going to do?"

"Trust me," Myra said. "I'm sure."

"Oh," was all Catherine said and then she turned and looked out the window, deep in thought. Myra just shook her head and stretched out on her seat, seemingly content to let her friend figure it out on her own.