Unfortunately, I couldn't hide away in Remus' bed with him forever. I spent as long as possible with him before he walked me back to my common room. Without much thought, I wrapped my arms around his middle and kissed his cheek. I thanked him repeatedly until he turned so red I thought he was going to explode on the spot. It was sort of adorable.

Lacey tried her best to act like things were normal when I came back, but I saw her glancing at me a little more than normal while we got ready for bed. I didn't want to yell at her again, I still felt guilty for blowing up on her earlier. I knew she was watching me to make sure I didn't have a total meltdown now that I was on my own without the support of Remus. I appreciated her attention, it showed how much she cared, but it was starting to get suffocating.

When it was finally time to sleep, I could've cried in relief. I loved Lacey, but it was nice to breathe for a few minutes. Unfortunately, it also gave me time to worry about everything. Dumbledore found me after Remus and I left his dorm to grab some dinner from the kitchens. He told me the Ministry needed more proof to charge the three of them with sexual assault, but they were being watched. Slytherin also got docked 100 points in response. I had to see the three of them around the castle and hear the crude rumors I'm sure they were going to spread about me with the help of their vapid girl house mates.

Basically, there was nothing he could because the Ministry had his hands tied and I needed to deal with it on my own. The only thing that reassured me was I had a friend in all my classes so I'd never be alone. The thought of Potions tomorrow with all three of them made my stomach flip, even Remus being there didn't make me feel better. Speaking of Remus, I missed him more than I cared to admit, but that wasn't the point.

With all that on my mind, I fell into a fitful sleep that resulted in me having huge bags under my eyes the next morning. My hair was also limp and oily despite my shower so I braided it back and covered up my bags, making it look like nothing happened to me and I was the same person as two days ago. Basically, I was being a complete liar to the world and possibly to myself.

Lacey linked our arms and we headed to the Great Hall together while our roommates looked at me out of the corner of their eyes when I walked past. They'd already heard rumors and were trying to decipher if there was any truth to them. I needed to get used to that look, I'm sure it'd be flashed at me more than a couple times before today was over.

I knew it was stupid and untrue, but I felt like every single eye in the Great Hall was on me the second Lacey and I walked in. My eyes were starting to burn with anxiety-induced tears when they landed on Remus. He was sitting at the Gryffindor table with the other Marauders, waving at me happily. His lips turned up into a smile and the tears vanished, a sense of safety enveloping me.

"Can we sit at the Gryffindor table this morning?" I asked Lacey desperately.

She nodded and I tried my best to not run over to him. I ducked down onto the table and slowly felt people looking away. I let out a relieved breath and poured myself some juice, sliding closer to Remus to allow Lacey to sit beside me. I felt Remus rest his hand on my knee and sat up straighter, his warmth soaking into me.

"So, how are you, Hathaway?" James asked as I put eggs and toast onto my plate. "You look better."

I felt Remus shift and James suddenly jolted before he said, "Not that you looked bad the other day! You just look like you slept well."

I rolled my eyes and told him, "Yeah, makeup is a wonderful thing."

Thankfully, he started talking to the boys about a prank as I looked over Peter's shoulder to the Slytherin table. Rosier, Aubrey, and Wilkes were all watching me with matching smiles. They weren't a bit sorry for what they did and were rubbing it in my face they got away with it. My stomach flipped and I pushed my uneaten breakfast away, hunching over so Peter was a shield from their probing eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Remus asked, eyeing me anxiously.

"I just overestimated how good I felt this morning," I told him, figuring it was easier to keep the real reason to myself.

Even with the little time we'd spent together, he could read me like a book and it was a bit unnerving. "I'm so sorry they're still here and you have to look at them. Dumbledore knows you're telling the truth, but their parents won't let them be expelled. They went over his head to the Ministry and ensured they can't be kicked out without concrete proof of what happened."

I felt myself pale and knew my hair did too, making my stomach fly to my throat. "I hate this. I don't want my hair to change colors anymore."

Remus reached up and pulled the end of my braid over my shoulder, twisting it around his finger before dropping it to rest there. "Don't let them ruin that for you, I think you're pretty with white hair and with pink hair and with strawberry blonde hair."

The pink hair thing made me raise a brow in confusion, nausea momentarily forgotten. "What are you talking about? You've only seen my hair turn white before."

It was his turn to be anxious for once, looking at me with big eyes as he tried to come up with an answer. "Uh, yesterday, when you were napping, it turned pink."

My face slowly started heating up as I broke his intense eye contact and took a drink of my juice. My hair only turned pink when I was infatuated with someone or something. Lacey and I went to a David Cassidy concert last summer and my hair flared pink in the middle of it when I swore he looked at me and winked. Was I infatuated with Remus that much?

"Oh, it happens sometimes whenever I'm emotional," I told him lamely, grabbing my bag and hoisting it onto my shoulder. "I think I'm going to head to class."

"Thea, can I walk with you?" Sirius asked, surprising all of us.

I just nodded dumbly and stood, the two of us meeting up at the end of the table. We fell into an awkward silence that stretched until we were nearing the dungeons. He ran a hand over his face before stopping with me doing the same.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you at the party, it wasn't fair," he blurted. "I think you're gorgeous, but we can't do anything. I should've handled it better, but I was frustrated we couldn't shag when I really want to shag you even though you're off limits. I also sound like a complete prick wrinkle and I'm sorry about that, too."

I felt my brows knitting together as I looked at him before my stomach hit my feet. "Are you only saying this because you think I'm sucking off half the castle and want your turn?"

He blanched and held up his hands in surrender. "Merlin, no! I didn't want you to hate me anymore, plus Remus would have my ass if I didn't apologize."

"Sorry, I'm just on edge about everything," I told him, biting my lip nervously. "I forgive you, I did a while ago actually."

"Careful, Black, she'll suck you off and then go crying to Dumbledore about how you forced her to do it before you can even bust a nut on her face," Rosier sneered from across the hall at us. "And we all know she begged for it."

I didn't have the courage to bite back anymore, I just tried to make myself smaller until he went away. Sirius didn't feel the same, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Rosier. His eyes were hard steel and his mouth was set in a severe line. He looked deadly.

"Just because you were dumb enough to turn the little slut down doesn't mean you can punish those of us who weren't," Aubrey said, taking attention off his counterpart.

"Diffindo!"

"Entomorphis!"

I shrieked as sparks flew across the hallway and Sirius was thrown backward. I didn't see who'd been transfigured into an insect, I was too busy trying to stop the bleeding of Sirius' shoulder. I was pressing down, putting as much pressure on it as possible and still feeling the blood seep out from between my fingers.

He hissed and I heard McGonagall shouting down the hall, "What in Godric is happening here?"

"Black turned Rosier into a cockroach!" Aubrey shouted, running up and down the hallway trying to find him while Wilkes was nowhere to be seen.

"Professor!" I cried from beside Sirius. "Sirius is hurt!"

"Miss Hathaway, please take Mr. Black to the Infirmary Wing," she instructed. "I'll inform Professor Slughorn where you are."

She helped me pull him to his feet and I saw him wink at her, even though it took a lot. "Just part of my plan to get you to fall in love with me, Minnie. I know how much you love a damsel in distress."

She looked at him with a displeased expression, but I think I saw the flicker of a smile behind her eyes. I supported Sirius as we hobbled to Madam Pomfrey. She wasn't surprised we were there, but she immediately started fussing at Sirius for being so careless. I didn't miss the way she smiled at him though, it was like he had every girl in this school wrapped around his finger.

She'd given him something to mend the torn tendons of his shoulder and instructed me to watch him while she did some errands. "It's like you're in control of every girl at Hogwarts."

He made moves to brush it off but winced when it pulled at his healing shoulder. "One of the perks of being devastatingly good looking. You should know."

I frowned and pulled my robes tighter around me. "No, it's different for girls. If we don't put out, boys start rumors that we did. If we do put out, they tell their friends and it gets around school like wildfire. There is no middle ground. And sometimes being pretty makes you a target for really awful boys and their grabby hands."

"Blimey, I didn't even think before I said anything. I'm sorry for being a prick wrinkle, again," he told me quickly. "Merlin, you have a way of bringing a man to his knees, ya know that?"

I furrowed my brows and looked at him in mock-disbelief, mostly just poking fun at him now. "Godric, that wasn't what I meant! I don't know what to say! Please say something so I shut up and stop babbling!"

"I never thought I'd see the day a girl made Mr. Black nervous," Madam Pomfrey said, announcing her presence.

That made me snort and cross a leg over the other as I smirked, feeling like myself for the first time since the incident. "You and me both, Madam Pomfrey. It's kind of nice, isn't it?"

She smiled at me before focusing solely on Sirius' injuries. I was surprised she hadn't sent me to class already, she never let people stay unless they were injured. Then I realized she must be under orders from Dumbledore to no let me go anywhere by myself and felt myself blush. Even if I wanted to be angry and argue that I was an independent woman who could take care of herself, I liked having someone with me because I didn't feel very independent as of lately. I just felt weak and terrified. Case and point, Sirius lying in a hospital bed with a torn shoulder while I cowered in fear when Rosier even spoke to me.

"You'll live, Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey told him after she finished wrapping his shoulder and repaired his shirt. "I think the two of you even have enough time to rejoin Professor Slughorn."

"Poppy, baby, is that really necessary?" Sirius asked, turning on the charm and cranking it up to 100 as he looked at her coyly.

I saw her cheeks turning red and snorted, I can't believe I used to want to shag him. He was ridiculous and I was completely over him. That was good, it was sort of pathetic wanting to shag someone who didn't return the feeling -at least not in an attainable way. I had enough things to deal with right now, I didn't need to add anymore.

The two of us ended up heading back to the dungeons together but not before he flustered Madam Pomfrey terribly. I just shook my head and allowed him to put his good arm around my shoulders. I only tensed a little bit and he gave me a second to test if I was comfortable before leading the way down to the dungeons.

"Mr. Black, Miss Hathaway," Slughorn announced when I pushed open the heavy door and the two of us made our entrance. "Alas, you're too late to brew the potion so write me a parchment over Golpalott's Third Law by next class."

We nodded and sat at an empty desk together, me nervously tapping my fingers against the desk. Even if they were on the other side of the classroom, Rosier and his gang were far too close to me. They couldn't do anything outright, but I had no doubt they didn't care to be punished because they knew it'd be a slap on the wrist.

"I preferred him as a cockroach," I whispered to Sirius, making him snort with laughter.

Remus' eyes looked back at the two of us and his lips tilted down in a displeased frown. Instead of letting it sting, even though it did a little bit, and flashed him a small smile. The change was instantaneous, his frown turned into a smile and my stomach clenched.

"God, you two are gross," Sirius moaned quietly.

"You're such a, what was it again? Prick wrinkle?" I asked him, pushing his side playfully. Then I sobered up and looked him fully in the eye when I said, "Thank you for earlier, defending my honor and whatnot."

He brushed me off, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was nothing, I got to protect you and try out the 'Entomorphis' hex all at once. It was a pretty interesting morning, plus chicks dig scars. Isn't that right?"

Before I could reply, he glanced up at Remus and back to me. He knew I sort of, kind of, maybe fancied his best mate and he was teasing me over it. To be fair, he did tell me Remus fancied me even if he didn't know it. I guess it was only fair he knew about my possible feelings, too.

"Can you keep that under wraps while I figure out how I feel?" I asked in a quiet voice. "I haven't even told Lacey yet because I don't know if it's real or just because he saved me, ya know? I don't want to hurt him or lead him on."

"I'm honored, are we best friends now?" he teased. "Because, I'm down."

I just rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time as we waited for James and Remus when the bell rang. Even if it was a bit excessive, the three of them walked me to Ancient Runes and waited until I was safely sitting beside Alice to make their way to Transfigurations, bowing dramatically to me as they made their exit.

What dorks.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all of you who review and those of you in ghost mode.