Err…I'm really sorry…
"Psst! Jaida!" Jaida heard the young marauders frantic voice and turned slightly in her chair, trying to avoid catching the professor's attention.
"What, Sirius?" she hissed back, seeing him crouching outside the classroom door. He waved his hand frantically, gesturing for her to join him. His eyes were wide and Jaida thought she saw a hint of fear in them. Catching on quickly, she turned to face the front once more. She let out a false cough and saw Lily turn to her suspiciously. "Um, professor?" The ghost professor paused in his monotonous lecture, his opaque eyes gliding to meet hers.
"Yes, Miss…Durint? What is it?" Lily prodded her in the side, asking for some explanation.
"Professor Binns, I'm not feeling well. Can I go to the nurse?" She let out another fake cough rather pathetically He seemed to forget her questions almost immediately.
"Yes, yes, go on." She nodded in thanks and gathered up her things, feeling Lily's eyes on her.
"Can I borrow your notes later?" she breathed to her red-haired friend. Seeing Lily nod confusedly, Jaida swung her heavy bag over her shoulder and skidded from the room, almost colliding with Sirius. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, running down the ancient corridors.
"Sirius!" Jaida said as soon as they were out of earshot, struggling to keep up with his athletic stride. "What on earth is going on?!"
"It's Remus," Sirius said, not looking behind him. She stopped in her tracks and he turned to face her. "He's in the hospital wing."
"Remus?" Jaida whispered, stroking her boyfriend's hair out of his swollen and bruised eyes. She turned to face his friends, seeing James and Peter looking guilty and Sirius staring at her. "What happened?" she demanded. When no one answered, she glared fiercely. "If you lot won't tell me, I'll go ask Madame Pomfrey." She turned on her heel to leave and was stopped by James's strong grip.
"He was…attacked." He said quietly, not meeting her eyes. "Pomfrey said he would be all right but we thought we should still get you because it's been a long time and he hasn't woken up yet. We thought maybe you could…" he trailed off desperately and her anger dissipated somewhat; regardless of his lame responses, he was honestly worried about his friend.
"I don't think I have any way to wake him up that Madame Pomfrey doesn't know," she replied softly, gazing back down at her beaten and sleeping boyfriend.
"He'd want you to be here when he wakes up," Peter interjected quietly from behind them. "Just sit with him for a little bit." Jaida nodded and Sirius, who was perched on the side of the hospital bed, observed her closely.
"Prongs, will you and Wormtail go to the kitchens?" he asked, and the two boys nodded, seeming to understand what their mate was trying to convey. Jaida seemed unaware of this exchange for she was once more running her hands gently down the sides of Remus' face. They left quickly, skiving away from Madame Pomfrey's office.
"What really happened, Sirius?" Jaida turned to her boyfriend's best friend quizzically. "Please, tell me the truth. I deserve the truth."
"James wasn't lying, Jay," his use of her nickname is what made her aware of how grave the situation was. Sirius never called her Jay unless he was saying something she wouldn't like. "But I don't think it's our place to tell you. It's up to Remus to talk to you about this."
"You can't tell me anything?" she asked desperately.
"Miss Durand, what are you doing here?" a sharp voice called from behind the pair. Madame Pomfrey was walking briskly up to Remus' bed. "Why aren't you in class?"
"I went to get her, Madame Pomfrey," Sirius said quickly, willing to take the blame. "I thought she should be here." The nurse narrowed her eyes at the dark haired boy, her expression contemplative.
"Yes, I suppose she should be," she admitted grudgingly. "But next time, Mr. Black, you can wait until after classes have ended to fetch her."
"Next time?!" Jaida inserted quickly. "How could this happen again?" Madame Pomfrey's eyes snapped up at the young girl. "Madame Pomfrey, you'll tell me the truth. What happened to Remus? He's covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts and abrasions…"
"I'm afraid it isn't my place to tell you, Miss Durand." Pomfrey said, tucking the scarred boy's blankets more snugly around him and checking his pulse. "That is between you and Mr. Lupin here. And Professor Dumbledore." She added as an afterthought.
"Professor Dumbl—"
"Jade?" Jaida's head snapped around as Remus's hoarse voice whispered her name. She saw his eyes were open, barely, and his lips were moving, like he was speaking without making noise.
"Don't talk," she said at once, moving closer to him and placing her lips carefully on his forehead. "It's okay, Rem, you're in the hospital wing. Everything's going to be okay."
September.
"That's it?"
"Oui, c'est tout." (Yes, that's all.)
"How can that be all?"
"Everything has an end, Miss Durand. This one just happened to happen sooner than you thought."
"How philosophical of you, Mr. Appoline."
"Shut up, Remus." But Jaida was smiling like a fool. With the steadfast help of her studious boss and the ambition of her (sort of boyfriend) friend, the trio had devised a nearly perfect plan to appeal for Sirius Black's release from Azkaban. Now the only thing they had left was to try and get a sympathetic judge. "So, have we contacted all of our witnesses? Let's make a list."
"Elmer Pines, a wizard who was a survivor of the curse that Sirius allegedly set off." Remus recited, reading from the list they had composed in the past months.
"Maggie DeVry, the woman who lived next to the Potter's when Sirius was living there. Bathilda Bagshot, who can talk about knowing James and Sirius," Jaida continued, thinking hard about how she would phrase her questions for the two women.
"Albus Dumbledore, because he's reliable," Remus said, a small smile gracing his scarred face. "And myself, of course. Though it'll be hard to rely on my help, no matter how concrete it is. Courts don't take well to 'dangerous half-breeds' trying to set their crazy, mass-murdering school mates free from prison."
"Don't sound so optimistic," Mr. Appoline muttered, checking something off on another long list they had penned. Quelqu'un d'autre?" (Anyone else?)
"Maybe Peter's mom?" Jaida asked, though they had been over this questions dozens of times.
"She's still hesitant," Remus answered. He had gone to the Pettigrew's house a few weeks ago with the idea that it hadn't been Sirius who killed her son. "Of course…" he hedged, and Jaida raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, we aren't trying to prove that Peter is guilty yet, right? So she can still testify for Sirius…"
"She's on the 'maybe' list along with Oscar Frome, who witnessed the mass murder along with Elmer Pines but whose memory is a little sketchy. That sounds pretty decent," Jaida finished, observing her legal pad with confidence. "I'll go down the Ministry tomorrow with Dumbledore and you, Mr. Appoline, to appeal for a trial and we'll see where that gets us, yes?"
"Oui." Appoline said firmly, standing up and folding his suit jacket over his shoulder. "The past six months have been very progressive, Miss Durand. I am confident that we will get your friend some justice, whether it is freedom or a lessened sentence. I will see you tomorrow, goodnight." He walked out the door and they heard a soft pop that signaled his apparition.
Jaida walked back to the couch and sat down next to Remus, sliding into his embrace. Their relationship after that passionate kiss back in March was complicated. Officially, they were "dating" but unofficially they were engaged. Somehow they managed to pick up right where they had left off all those years ago, with plans for the future and talk of a family. Remus had been living at Jaida's apartment for the past few weeks, informally; his stuff was everywhere, anyway. However, just after that kiss, they had agreed not to pursue a serious relationship until after Sirius's trial. Weeks, months, years though it may be, this needed to take priority. Remus agreed hesitantly, worried about Jaida running away from him again.
Their conversation about her pregnancy had been surprisingly anti-climatic, for something so serious. She calmly explained her reasoning for hiding it from him and, though he was very angry and anxious, he understood where she was coming from. He found himself dreaming about what it would be like to have a child with the woman he had loved for so many years, how he would rub her growing belly, feeling the life inside of her. How proud he would be on the day of its birth, knowing he had helped to create such a miracle. He pushed his feelings and dreams aside, for the time being, knowing that Sirius's trial should indeed be first in line.
Remus pressed his lips softly against his love's temple, rubbing her back in gentle circles with his free hand. "What do you want for dinner?" Jaida asked quietly, her eyes closed. Remus smiled slightly, tickling her sides playfully.
"You, of course," Jaida giggled against his light touch and nuzzled tighter against him. For the first time in six years, they were truly happy.
"Remus," Jaida panted as his strong hands ripped her skirt down to her ankles and pushed her none-too-gently into the four-poster bed. "Remus, we don't have time," she said, breathing heavy as he tugged her underwear away and started to undo his belt.
"I'm going to explode, Jaida, I need you." He whispered in her ear, pressing his body even closer to hers. "Please," he growled, but he didn't wait for a response. Instead, he slid smoothly into her, and she gasped aloud in ecstasy.
She had been teasing him all day, in fact, driving him up-the-wall, I-need-to-have-you-right-now crazy in her flirty little skirt and lingering touches. It had been a few weeks since they had been together, N.E.W.T.'s were quickly approaching and the seventh years needed to use their spare time for studying, not shagging. This was too much for the young werewolf, however, and he needed to act on his primal instincts before the wolf inside him ravished her in the Great Hall. The pair had found themselves with a whole ten minutes of free time before their next class, and the marauder had seized the opportunity and dragged his girlfriend up to his dorm, pinned her against the wall and prepared himself to feel quite a bit more satisfied for his next tedious double lesson of Potions.
As he brought them both quickly to the edge, he kissed her, hard, needing to be closer. And, reaching his limit, he grasped at her, needing her closer still. She obliged, wrapping her legs around him and holding tight, whimpering as she dropped from her cloud nine.
"I love you," Remus hissed as he finished, light exploding from behind his eyes. "I love you."
I've decided to take requests! If any of you want to see a particular flashback, let me know in a review (hint hint!) and I'll write it! The story is wrapping up, but I'm thinking about doing a little epilogue of requested memories and flashbacks, just for kicks. Anyone game?
Thanks to those who reviewed They all made me smile!