*FLASHBACK*
"Mira, what the hell are you playing at? Mum and Dad are gonna kill you!" Seven year old Sirius gasped, looking at the wall before him. The little girl in front of him covered in paint giggled. "I'm gonna finished it for Mummy- she'll be happy."
Sirius doubted that very much. His stomach twisted unpleasantly, and he looked around, desperate. He wasn't old enough for a wand, and even if he was, he wouldn't know the proper spell to fix this. Their mother had been repainting the spare room a pale green colour, and she'd gone out to get some more- but Mira had decided that she, desperate to please her mother, would try and finish it for her. Using bright yellow paint she had found under the stairs.
"Okay… okay go upstairs and wash yourself off." Sirius said weakly, swallowing hard. Mira's face dropped, clearly not understanding, "Why? I'm not finished…"
Sirius stared at her little handprints on the wall, wondering how much trouble he'd be in. A lot, that was for certain. He turned to look at her again, face stern, "Go- now. I mean it Mira, I'm not playing around anymore."
Mira hated it when her brother was annoyed at her. Her innocent eyes filled with tears, because she didn't understand why he was upset with her. She thought she was helping, doing a good thing. She turned and plodded out the room, going up the stairs to the bathroom. Sirius sighed- he hated to be the one to make little Mira cry. He got along with Regulus, but Regulus was stronger than his sister. She was so full of love and innocence, and it made him want to protect her more. He picked up the yellow paint and rubbed it on his hands, arms, and smeared it on his face. He heard the front door open and close, and heard the sound of footsteps and voices. His stomach twisted again and his heart thumped, wondering how they'd react.
Mira jumped whilst she was washing her face, hearing a loud harsh crack, and a scream that sounded awfully like Sirius'. She panicked, jumping off her stool from the sink and wrenching the door open, running down the stairs, "SIRIUS!" She cried, and Regulus grabbed her wrist. He shook his head at her, "You don't want to go in there. It's all /your/ fault Sirius is getting beaten. He took the blame for you, he always does. When are you going to grow up, Mira?"
She stared at her twin brother, wondering how he was so much smarter than her when he was the same age. She felt a pang of guilt and hurt, feeling very responsible for what was going on in that room. She wept and wept and waited for her favourite brother, shivering. Even when he came out, bloody and bruised, he put his arm around her and cuddled her, telling /her/ everything would be okay.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Mira sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, watching a group of house elves re-paint one of the large walls. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. The only time she had ever seen a house elf happy to work, was if they were working for Albus Dumbledore. She glanced over at her head teacher, who shared a knowing smile with her- it was as if he could read her thoughts, sometimes. Mira wouldn't be surprised if he was able to do just that.
"Penny for your thoughts?" A cheerful voice interrupted, and Mira jumped slightly.
"Oh, hey Lily- what's a penny?"
"It's a muggle expression- I suppose it'd be 'galleon' or 'sickle' for your thoughts here though…" She trailed off. Mira stared at her blankly.
"Never mind- everything alright? I heard you had a run in with Lewis Flint last night." Lily observed, grabbing herself a couple of slices of toast. Mira snorted.
"News travels fast here, doesn't it? It was nothing big, he was just being his usual prat-ish self. Bloody Slytherins." She scowled, thinking about her brother. She took a stab at her bacon, and Lily raised an eyebrow.
"What did that pig ever do to you?"
She sighed, "Sorry Lily, I just—I got some pretty bad news about my brother yesterday." She glanced around, and lowered her voice, "He's joined up."
"Huh?"
"You know… joined /up/" She emphasised the word 'up', still receiving blank stares from Lily. Then it clicked.
"Oh Merlin- are you serious? Isn't he far too young?" She paled, staring at Mira, who merely shrugged in response, "Probably. But they're so desperate for followers, I wouldn't be surprise if they offered free memberships to the first years too… he's got the mark and everything, Lily. When we were younger, me and Reg were close. Ish, anyway. He was always a bit of a suck up to Mum and Dad, but I thought that was just because he was /scared/ of them. I never thought he actually… well, believed in what /they/ believe. I thought he was like me and Sirius." She looked down at her breakfast, sad. Lily's eyes softened, and she reached out and put a hand on Mira's forearm in comfort.
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all walked into the Great Hall together, as the Marauders did every day. James' eyes automatically scanned the table for Lily, "You reckon it'd be too clingy to sit with Evans? I know we only had our first date last night but—"
"Mate, we sit with Evans every morning. I think it'd be weird if we /didn't/." Sirius snorted. James frowned, "Only because /you/ sit with McKinnon- who's not here, by the way."
"She probably just overslept."
"Again."
"Oi—"
"Hey- look." Remus frowned, nodding over at Lily and Mira when he spotted them. There it was, that same sad look on her face that was there last night before the rounds. What was going on? Where was her usual spark gone?
Sirius knew. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration- he /knew/ it had upset his sister more than she had let on, and he resented that. Mira was his priority, but he knew he couldn't protect her from everything- especially not the truth. He hadn't told his friends about Regulus just yet. "She'll be okay- just family stuff. I'll tell you later." He muttered, and walked over to join them.
He sat beside Mira and smirked at Lily, deciding the best thing to do was break the damp atmosphere, "So, James told us you put out on the first date—"
"I did not, you prat!" James exclaimed, hitting Sirius over the back of the head as he passed. Sirius rubbed his head, "Y'know Prongs, violence never solved /anything/…"
"Yeah? It's still worth a try." He scowled, sitting beside Lily. Lily raised an eyebrow and shared an amused look with Mira, who smiled for the first time all morning. Remus couldn't help but glance at Mira every so often, both worried and curious.
"Hey Mira- you coming to Herbology with us?" Her dorm mates, Kayla and Claire hovered close by, their arms full of books and…
"Is that a mandrake?" Remus blurted, a little stunned. If that thing started screaming…
"Relax- they're dead." Kayla rolled her eyes, and giggled. She was a little pink in the cheeks, "We're dissecting them in class today."
"Oh… yeah, I remember doing that last year." Remus smiled, "It was fun until Peter managed to blow his up…"
Kayla and Claire laughed, and Peter frowned, "It was an accident!"
"It was funny" Interjected Sirius, smirking.
"Was bits of Mandrake flesh on my face funny?"
"Yes."
"You /would/ say that…"
Mira giggled, and Remus looked over at her, finding himself smiling at /her/ smile. Kayla tugged Mira's arm, "C'mon- we picked up a Mandrake for you too, we don't want to be late."
She rolled her eyes and picked up her bag, swinging it over her shoulder. She smiled at the others, "See you later guys…"
"Bye everyone… bye Remus." Kayla smiled shyly, and Claire let out a little knowing snort. Lily raised an eyebrow, not missing this. And neither did Mira- did Kayla fancy /Remus/? Since when?
"Seeya later." Remus replied, returning to his breakfast. He was apparently oblivious to Kayla singling him out in her goodbyes. As soon as the three girls disappeared, Sirius nudged Remus, "Mate, she /well/ fancies you…"
"What? No she doesn't, why would you say that? I don't even fancy her" Remus snapped defensively, assuming he was talking about Mira. Sirius blinked, "What's wrong with Kayla Scott? She's fit! Bloody hell Moony, calm down…"
Remus stared at him, realisation sinking in. "R-right, sorry. It's nearly /time/." He muttered, using the full moon as an excuse. Which wasn't really a /lie/, it was only one day away, and he /had/ been feeling funny recently, which probably explained all these sudden new feelings towards Mira.
"Don't worry mate, take it easy." Sirius nodded, understanding. He felt awful, knowing what Remus had to go through every single month- and how it affected his social life, especially his love life.
He's cute, isn't it?" Kayla gushed- she had always been a bit of a flirt, and quite often jumped from boy to boy. Apparently this time, Remus was the new target.
"Who?" Mira asked innocently, pretending not to know. But it wasn't difficult to guess, especially after the way she had acted in front of him earlier.
"Remus Lupin! I've never really noticed him before, but he's well, quite fit really, isn't he?"
Claire rolled her eyes, not really into all this 'boy talk' malarkey. She sat down at their usual desk near the back, getting out her book, and dumping the mandrake on the table. "Kayla, you don't even /know/ the guy…"
"So? I know enough about him. He's good looking, intelligent, he's… well he's tall!" Kayla concluded, as if that justified it all. Mira frowned.
"You don't know anything about Remus. There's more to him than just being 'tall'…"
"Since when did you become an expert on Remus Lupin?" Kayla raised an eyebrow, and Mira shrugged. "He's my brothers best mate. I know more than /you/. I just don't think you two would be a good match. Remus is… well, he's more reserved and- and quiet."
"So… he's Claire's type?"
Claire's eyebrows raised, "Don't involve /me/ in this…"
"I… guess so." Mira replied weakly- though, that was /not/ what she was trying to get at.
"We should set them up!" Kayla continued enthusiastically. Mira was thankful that Claire seemed to be against this idea.
"No way! I don't want to be set up, it's ridiculous…"
"Why not? Even Mira said you'd be a good match—"
"That's not what I said."
"It's basically what you said."
"No, I said—"
"Will both of you shut up?" Claire exclaimed, "I don't want to be set up with Remus Lupin- and Mira's right, you and Remus would make an awful match." She scowled, slumping down in her seat. Kayla blinked, then looked at Mira.
"Why don't you want either of us to go out with him?"
Mira stared at her, a little taken aback by the question, "What? I don't care who you go out with."
"Exactly- you've never cared before, so why now? Oh my Merlin, /you/ like him don't you?" Kayla grinned, her eyes lighting up. Suddenly, Mira felt very hot.
"No! Of course I don't! He's my brother's mate, that'd be /weird/!"
"Yes you do! You've gone all red! Bloody hell" She giggled, loving this. Mira hated it.
"I do not fancy him!" She shot back defensively, wanting the ground to swallow her. Why did everyone think she fancied Remus all of a sudden? Was it because they patrolled together now?
"Do do do!" Kayla responded childishly, but was thankfully 'shushed' by Professor Sprout. Though, Professor Sprout could not stop Kayla from sending Mira knowing smirks for the rest of the lesson.
Bloody hell.
Mira collapsed on the common room sofa that evening, exhausted. She had endured double Herbology, Potions with the Slytherins, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures- which she normally enjoyed, until she got bitten by one of Hagrids mysterious, wacky pets. She winced holding her left hand in pain, and closed her eyes. Ah, peace and quiet…
"Mira?"
She nearly jumped out of her skin, glancing around quickly. "Bloody hell Remus you nearly gave me a heart attack…"
"Sorry- sorry. You just looked sort of… in pain?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side and watching her. She groaned, "Yeah- one of Hagrids weird pets bit me."
He frowned and sat beside her, "Yeah? You been to the hospital wing?"
Mira nodded "Yeah- but I got my bandage all wet so I took it off, and now it really stings." She pouted slightly, feeling a bit sorry for herself. Well, it /had/ been a long day. Remus took her hand in his, examining it. Mira felt a shooting, tingling sensation in her hand, which was nothing to do with her injury. He reached into his pocket and got out a handkerchief, and smiled, "It's clean, promise—" He wrapped it round her small hand, and gently tied a neat knot. "There- that should do."
She couldn't stop herself smiling at the sweet gesture, and looked up at him, "Thanks…"
He felt himself smile back, his eyes flickering down to her lips for a second. Mira noticed and flushed, her heart thudding as they shared a look—until the moment was ruined, with James, Sirius and Peter walking through the common room portrait, obviously in a heated debate.
"You're a cannibal, mate- face it." Sirius smirked, looking at a very frustrated looking James.
"Eating venison doesn't make me a cannibal! It—" He cut off, seeing Mira… who was unaware of their animagus forms. He scratched his head awkwardly, "We were just uh… well my patronus is a stag, so by Sirius' logic…" He gabbled, trying to cover himself. Peter snorted, amused, but Sirius was frowning slightly, noticing how close Remus was to Mira. Remus glanced down at himself and moved apart quickly, "Mira hurt her hand- I just bandaged it up for her."
"Couldn't Madam Pomfrey have done that?"
"Sirius!" Mira exclaimed, noticing the edgy tone in his voice. Remus forced a smile, "Her bandage got wet… uh, we still on for later?"
"Sure mate… let me just go get changed." Sirius said, walking up to his dorm. James watched him go, wondering what was up, and followed.
Once the boys dorm door was shut, James folded his arms, "Pads… what's bothering you?"
Sirius turned round to face James, unsurprised that he had noticed. Those two were so close, they were as good as brothers. He sighed, "You're gonna think I'm nuts but… do you think Moony's got a thing for my sister?"
James stared at him, "That's what you're worried about? Because I'm pretty sure Moony's asexual…"
"That's not true. He had a crush on Hannah Bush in fourth year." Sirius reminded him. James nodded, "True… but that's /it/. I don't think Moony's very interested in girls or relationships, mate. You don't have to worry. I mean yeah, I've noticed that they talk a lot and hang out sometimes, but that's only because they patrol together. I mean, they /have/ to talk a lot. Right?" James shrugged, not having observed the situation properly. Sirius sat on the edge of his bed, "You're probably right. It's just something Marlene said to me that made me wonder… I mean, she reckons Mira's got a thing for Moony- but they're so different. Mira's… well, she's Mira. She's loud and-and adventurous, more out going and unpredictable. Remus is kind of a 'make a plan' sort of guy. He likes books, not girls."
James snorted, "I reckon he definitely likes girls- he just doesn't tell us."
"Why not?"
"Because he knows we'll make fun of him for it."
"True."
"Listen mate- don't worry about it. Even if she /does/ fancy him and he fancies her back, you know he'd never do anything about it. For obvious reasons." James added, a little guiltily.
"Yeah, you're right… I'd just feel weird about one of my best friends fancying my sister. It's a bit odd." Sirius replied. James shrugged, "Well, you're dating one of /her/ friends. It's probably how she felt at first."
He had a point.
"Yeah but- this is different." Sirius replied stubbornly, and James grinned, "If you say so- c'mon, lets go get Moony and Wormtail."
