A.N—Poor Belle. :( Short Chapter.

Disclaimer—I own a crab-meat and cucumber sushi roll, not Harry Potter.

OoOoO

Chapter Eleven.
Heat

Belle's eyes were still red when she arrived at the platform that would take her back to school. Her father's funeral had been two days previously and she had spent a lot of that time crying. She was still slightly embarrassed about crying on Remus's shoulder only a few minutes after she had danced with him and flirted with him. She was supposed to be keeping her distance from him and yet she continuously went back to him, talked to him and involved him in her life. She knew that she should stay away, that he would only hurt her again.

Besides, she had Harley now. Why should she be thinking about Remus all the time?

"You're not still mad at me about skipping out on the New Year's Ball thing, are you?" Harley asked her, drawing her attention from her morbid thoughts. "Because I said I was sorry."

"I know." she mumbled. "It's just...my dad..."

"Yeah, I get it." he said softly, playing with her hair. He leaned down and kissed her then, and she sighed into the kiss. It was a nice feeling, kissing Harley, but she never felt anything. It wasn't dull, but it wouldn't get her blood pumping or let her see fireworks.

She pulled back and smiled weakly at him. "I'll see you at Easter, okay?"

He winked. He would see her the next day at rehearsal, but that didn't mean Belle wanted anyone else to know that. Mr Fitz was cracking down on all the students and they would soon be announcing what they would be doing for the student workshop. Belle hoped she got a good part.

"See you soon." he promised, waving to her as she got on the train and left. She wandered along the compartments and found Mary, who pounced on her immediately.

"Oh, Belle! It is so good to see you! How was your Christmas? How are your brothers? Is your mum doing okay? Are you doing okay? Have you seen Lily? I can't find her anywhere! Do you—"

"Whoa! Easy there!" Belle said, chuckling despite herself as Mary stepped back "Uh, let's see. It's good to see you too, my Christmas was great, my brothers are alright, my mum is heartbroken, I've been better and no I haven't seen Lily."

Mary looked impressed. "You've improved."

Belle gave a curtsey and Mary giggled before launching into her Christmas story and how she met a totally gorgeous guy.

"Seriously, he's a real fittie, but he doesn't go here." Mary sighed. "I'm going to see him again soon. He promised to write to me."

"What's his name?" Belle asked.

"Cooper." Mary said, sounding dreamy. Belle laughed.

"It's good to see you're feeling more cheerful." Remus said, opening the compartment door next to them. Belle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and refused to make eye contact.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about...well...you know."

Remus grinned. "Don't worry about it."

"You haven't seen Lily have you?" Mary asked. Remus frowned.

"Um, no, not since the platform." He looked behind him and said to his friends. "Any of you sods seen Lily?"

Mary and Belle giggled as Sirius and James got up. "That way!" they said, pointing in different directions and Belle raised an eyebrow. Sirius corrected himself. "I mean that way!"

"Of course you do." Remus muttered, rolling his eyes. The girls followed the three young men down the train, listening as Sirius cracked jokes that were slightly rude, but still hilarious.

"Okay, so there's this man who goes to church every Sunday and he takes it all very seriously, but he always ends up sitting next to this old lady who falls asleep during the service. So after the mass he goes up to the priest and says, 'Father, the woman next to me always falls asleep during the mass. What can I do to stop this?' and so the priest says, 'Every time she falls asleep, poke her.'" Sirius said.

"Oh, god, here we go." Remus muttered.

"So the next Sunday the man goes to church and of course he sits next to the old woman, who falls asleep. The priest asked those gathered, 'Who created the world in seven days?' The man then poked the woman and she was so shocked she yelled out, 'God!' and the priest said, 'That's correct.' The woman then fell asleep again." Sirius continued. "The priest then asked, 'Who was sacrificed on the cross for our sins?' and the man poked the woman again and she was so shocked she yelled out 'Jesus Christ!' the priest said, 'That's right.' the woman then fell asleep again. The priest then pulled out his bible and asked, 'What did Eve say to Adam after the birth of their ninety-ninth child?'"

"Here it comes..." Remus said.

"The man poked the woman a third time and the old woman stands up and yells, 'If you poke that thing into me one more time I'm going to cut it off!'" Sirius cried and the girls and James burst out laughing. Remus grinned but smiled anyway.

Sirius winked. "This is it." he said, sliding the compartment over and letting his jaw drop to the ground. Lily and Stefan were stretched out across one of the seats, snogging furiously. They didn't even pay any heed to their obviously unwelcome visitors.

Sirius slid the door closed with a soft snap and looked at James. "You okay mate?"

James looked pale, his hazel eyes wide behind his glasses and he looked upset. Belle bit her lip as she watched him walk away in a daze, not paying any attention to them.

"If it helps," Belle whispered, "She doesn't hate him."

"She doesn't?" Sirius asked, sounding doubtful.

"She hates that he acts like a prat. He's grown up a bit though, and I don't see how..." Mary left the sentence hanging.

"She's in a relationship now, Mary." Belle said, "And when someone's in a relationship, that usually means they're happy with the one they're with. I'm not saying the Lily doesn't like James, I'm just saying she's not planning on leaving Stefan for him any time soon."

Remus sniffed at her words, knowing that not only was she talking about this situation, but the same situation between himself and Belle.