Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! but i do own the Blackwood family, the Caw family, and the Beckett family

ENJOY!!

11

Months passed and soon the end of the year was upon them. Sirius and Arena hadn't uttered a word to each other since the incident on the train. However, one morning Arena woke up to find a heart shaped necklace laying on the table next to her bed. She smiled, she didn't need a note to know who it was from.

Lily and James had grown closer over the passing months. Arena smiled happily whenever they were holding hands who cuddling on the couch. She frown, however, because whenever they noticed she was watching they would stop. Just because her and Sirius weren't together anymore doesn't mean they couldn't be together.

Arena had forgiven Remus and the two became closer friends than they were before. Remus had indeed woken up in an empty compartment with no memory of Peter being a traitor. Arena had kept to her promise and hadn't told anyone what she had seen. Mandy had distanced herself from the group after Arena had forgiven everyone. She didn't talk to them unless they spoke to her first and she began to spend her time with a different crowd all together. After a couple of months she was named the Gryffindor Whore.

Arena and Lily discussed various topics as they finished any last minute packing. Even when packing Arena found herself glancing at the ring on her finger, wishing more than anything that she could take it off. In a little over a week she would be picking out a wedding dress and standing at the alter.

"Try not to think about it," Lily told her when she saw her glancing at the ring once again.

"I try Lily, I really do," she sighed, "But I can't help but think of it. I can't help but think about how much is going to change."

"Nothing between us will change though, I promise you that," Lily told her.

"You can't promise that," Arena sighed, "After I'm married I'll be his property. After I'm his wife I'll be expected to produce his heir. Even if I wanted to see you it would be next to impossible."

"Not impossible. We'll figure it out." The two then went back to packing, the thoughts of the future still fresh in their minds.

After a while Mandy came sauntering in, her hair a mess and love bites littering her neck. She said not a word to her former friends and instead went straight to her things. Arena and Lily only stared for a moment before going back to their things. They were used to Mandy looking like this now, she slept with one or two guys a day. Suddenly Mandy turned around from what she was doing and faced the other two girls.

"Well," she said with a smile, "This is the last time we might all be together."

"Maybe," Arena said as she watched her friend with silent embarrassment.

"Arena, you're going off to get married to Beckett, should be fun."

"Are you okay Mandy?" Lily asked with concern.

"Okay? I'm great, I'm happy for you! Lily you're probably going to marry James, you know the guy you betrayed your best friend for!"

"She didn't betray me!" Arena told her friend, "I'm truly happy for her and James." it confused her to know that Mandy was more upset about the bet incident than she, herself was.

"Maybe she didn't betray you but both of you betrayed me!" she screamed at them before pointing her wand at her two former friends.

"What are you talking about?" Arena asked, not truly confused.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" she asked, "Well lets think, shall we?" Arena and Lily glanced at each other for a second before turning their eyes back to their betrayed friend.

"You Lily stole James away from me," she told the red headed girl, "I loved him since first year, but did he see me? No! he only saw his precious little Lily-Pad."

"Mandy…," Lily started.

"No!" Mandy interrupted, "I'm not finished yet. See after I realized that I couldn't have James I thought maybe the Gryffindor heartthrob would be better. So I went out with Sirius but after we shagged he decided we weren't meant to be."

"Mandy…," Arena tried to say but still Mandy wouldn't let anyone speak.

"And then you came, Arena," Mandy turned her gaze to the black haired girl. "You came and all of a sudden Sirius was heart struck. He didn't want any other girl but you, he still doesn't!"

"But you were happy for me…," Arena trailed off, she was as confused as ever.

"I played the happy little friend because I was trying to be a good friend. I figured you and Sirius would go out for a little while and then you'd brake up and I'd get my chance at him again. I pretended I hated him, just for you!"

"Mandy…"

"After I saw James was most definitely off the market I went after Sirius again, but who do I find snogging him?" she pointed her wand at Arena, "Little Arena Blackwood, the girl who was the bet!" As Mandy glared at Arena, Lily quickly took advantage at being forgot and took out her own wand. In a moment Mandy was disarmed and knocked unconscious. Arena and Lily stood about her with hurt in their eyes.

"I had no idea we were hurting her so much," Arena whispered as she wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"She was really good at hiding it," Lily told her, "Come on, she'll wake up before the train leaves." The two girls then shrunk their trunks and left their dorm for the last time. They never saw Mandy again.

Two hours later The Marauders sat on the train, oddly quiet. This would be their last time seeing Hogwarts and their last time on the Hogwarts express. Everything was going to change when they left the train.

"I'm really going to miss it here," James suddenly voiced.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss seeing Minnie's face every time we pull a prank," Sirius laughed.

"I'm going to miss sneaking out late at night to go to Hogsmeade," Remus chuckled.

"I-I'm going to m-m-miss the food," Peter squeaked and the Marauders laughed in agreement. Hogwarts food was definitely going to be the most missed thing.

"Hey guys," Lily came in, Arena trailing behind her.

"Hey Lily-Pad!" James called and scooted over for her to sit next to him. Arena took a seat by Remus.

"Promise me something?" Lily asked James.

"Anything."

"Never call me Lily-Pad again," she sighed sadly. Remus asked why and Arena quickly relented the entire tale of what happened only hours ago.

"Wow," Remus breathed, "She seemed nice."

"We all thought that she was, and I guess she was trying to be a good friend but I think she finally cracked," Lily told the others who nodded in agreement.

An hour in the train ride home they were all laughing as they remembered their past years at Hogwarts. Suddenly Sirius asked if he could talk to Arena alone. She hesitated but agreed none the less.

"What is it?" she asked softly, her blue eyes staring sadly at his gray ones.

"After this I'm probably never going to see you again," he told her.

"I know," she whispered, "Guess we just weren't meant to be after all."

"I wanted to tell you that I will always love you, Arena Blackwood."

"You say that now," tears pooled in her eyes.

"And I mean it," he whispered as he pulled her body closer to his. Soon his face was nuzzled in her hair.

"I remember that you promised me that you wouldn't allow them to marry me off," Arena tearfully chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm going to be breaking my promise."

"I guess under the circumstances I can allow you to break it just this once."

"Arena, I'm making you a new promise," Sirius suddenly told her, "One day, I don't know when, but one day I will save you from your forced marriage." Arena looked up at him and softly kissed him on the lips.

"I hope you keep this promise," she whispered to his lips before pulling away. Right before she walked back into the compartment she turned around to face him again.

"And Sirius," she said, "I'll love you forever, too."

Several hours later Arena Blackwood hugged her Hogwarts friends goodbye and went off with her family. No one noticed the silent tears that leaked out of her water blue eyes.

XOXOX

Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be the epilouge. This was a little short, I know. The epilouge is, sadly, shorter. After this is up I'll be uploading the epilouge.

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