Annabelle smiled politely at Sirius as he took his seat next to her at breakfast. The awkwardness hadn't faded; in fact, it was like the elephant in the room. She wished he would just talk to her, even if it was to tell her he was over her and moving on. But he just made small talk with everyone at the table, and she did the same.
Later on, as Annabelle did her shift in the library, she found herself missing him terribly, but she reminded herself that she wasn't allowed to be selfish. His parents were vicious and quite possibly he wanted to protect himself for a change. And maybe he should. Next was Potions, where she'd have to endure the strangeness for an entire class period. She pulled the heavy library doors shut behind her and turned around to go to class.
"Boo," Sirius said.
She merely jumped as it wasn't his usual strong effort to startle her, but she didn't mind. He was there, still thinking of her.
"Hello," she said.
"Hello. I came to walk you to class."
Annabelle smiled. "They're gone, you know. You don't need to-"
"I want to. Besides, they have plenty of friends who were disappointed to see them go."
"It's better for you not to be seen with me," she said as they started walking.
Sirius took a few steps away from her. "I'll walk over here, then."
After several feet, Annabelle grinned and said, "That looks convincing."
Sirius laughed and stepped back over to her. They walked to Potions, side-by-side, but without another word.
During Potions, they listened quietly to the lecture. Sirius thought briefly that it would be about Polyjuice Potion, which would simultaneously amuse him and embarrass the hell out of him, but it wasn't anything that complicated. Even Annabelle understood the potion, which meant one thing, the holiday was coming and the professors wanted a break.
When it came time to collect their ingredients, Severus passed Sirius on the way to the supply cabinet and from the look Sirius gave him, Annabelle thought he might attack him. James was there as well, smirking and instigating, and Annabelle realised that Severus' part in what happened had marked him and they weren't going to let it go. Thankfully, Sirius continued past him and headed back to their table.
"Ignore him," she said, and Sirius nodded. Annabelle stole a glance at Severus afterwards, and she couldn't quite read the expression he returned to her. Was it contempt? It sure looked like it. Where did he get off after what he'd done? Annabelle just shook her head at him and averted her eyes.
At lunch, the discussion turned to the Slug Club holiday party, which Lily was invited to, but had no desire to attend.
"You used to love going to Slug Club meetings," said Alice. "You haven't been to one all year."
"That's because she realises it's a bunch of dorks sitting around with Slughorn for a giant mutual arse-licking," said James. "Can you blame her for not wanting to go?"
"I don't feel comfortable going anymore," Lily replied. "Especially not after what just happened."
Sirius and Annabelle shifted uncomfortably at the mention of it.
"I think you should go," advised Alice. "You're allowed to bring a guest, so bring James. Severus won't come near you with him there."
"That little shit," spat Peter. "I say we all go to the party and school Snivellus at the same time."
"We're not invited, first of all," said Alice. "Secondly, Dumbledore made it clear he wanted no harm to come to him. You will only get Sirius into trouble if you mess with Severus."
"She's right," said Lily. "And we can't be sure he knew anyway. Remus even said Elsinore called him naïve when he overheard her in the dungeons. Maybe she never told him what the potions were really for."
Sirius asked, "Do you honestly believe that, Lily? That he had no clue that they were planning on using them?"
"I am not sure what to believe," replied Lily. "All I know is that bothering him will only make things worse. Is it worth it?"
Sirius and James exchanged glances that subtly suggested that it was, to them.
"Well, I also think you should go to the party," said Annabelle. "Professor Slughorn has always respected your talents, and you should be proud that you are skilled enough to be in the Slug Club."
"Skill? Really?" demanded Fairfax. "No offence, Lily, because I hear you are great at Potions, but half the students in there are nitwits whose parents have connections."
"Then why isn't Sirius in it?" asked Peter. "His parents are well-connected," then turning to Sirius, said, "Not that you aren't good at potions too-"
"He asked me to join three years in a row," replied Sirius. "I just don't want to hang out with a bunch of geeky suck-ups. No offence, Lily."
The boys all snickered, and Lily rolled her eyes and smiled good-naturedly.
"If being good at potions makes someone a geek then I am surrounded by geeks as we speak," said Annabelle. "I feel a bit left out, actually."
"Don't worry Annabelle, you are plenty geeky," said Peter. "Just not in potions."
"You're one to talk," said Johnny B. "You are the primary reason the Slytherins call us Gryffindorks."
Everyone laughed, except Peter, who continued with his line of questioning.
"I mean, how did you even pass your Potions O.W.L. to be admitted into the class?" he asked.
"Why is it any of your business?" asked Remus.
"No, it's fine," replied Annabelle. "I crammed for two nights straight and passed, barely, with an 'Acceptable.' Slughorn said he saw potential, so he let me in the class anyway. More like twisted my arm into taking the class. He said it would be useful to improve my skills."
"I think he wanted to be able to say he taught advanced Potions to Darien O'Neill's grandkid," said Peter. "I can't believe he didn't force you to join the Slug Club."
Sirius narrowed his eyes and said, "Watch it, Peter."
"Yeah. It's like you're mad keen on embarrassing her," added Caradoc.
"What? I'm not saying it to be rude," he said. "It's just an observation."
"It's all right," said Annabelle. "I actually agree with you Peter, which is why I turned down the invitation to be in the Slug Club. I'd rather be in it for the right reasons. But it doesn't matter now because my potions skills have improved this year. Sirius has been a better teacher to me than Slughorn ever was."
"Awww," said Johnny B. "Professor Black helping our Annie pass Potions. I can't take it."
Sirius grinned while Annabelle blushed hard. She kicked Johnny B. under the table.
"Ouch!" he cried out. "That was a double assault!" As usual, Alice, had kicked him as well.
"You have a day to think about it, Lily," said Alice, ignoring Johnny B. "But don't let these tossers influence your decision."
The boys pretended to be offended, but Alice just shrugged and smiled. Things were starting to feel almost normal again.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Once classes were finished for the day, there was a bit of time before dinner, so Lily, Annabelle, James, and Sirius decided to tag along with Remus and Claire to the library to get some work done. The quickest way for them to get there from their last class was through one of the open-air cloisters, and even though it was cold, they decided to take that route for some fresh air. As they were quickly shuffling along, the door opened at the other end of the passageway and Severus Snape walked through, coming in their direction.
"Wonderful," Annabelle muttered under her breath, and she eyed Lily who also appeared anxious. Of all the different routes to take in the entire bloody castle, it figured they would end up in the same one as him.
James smirked slightly, but Sirius didn't. He was too angry for that, and didn't want to play games.
"Remember what Dumbledore said," warned Remus when he saw Sirius' shift in demeanour.
James was on the outside where Severus would have to pass him, and as he did, he shouldered him hard, causing Severus to turn around and draw his wand in indignation.
"Touch me again, Potter, and you'll see what happens."
"Don't worry, Snivelly, I have no interest in touching you," replied James. "I'd be scrubbing the grease off myself for days."
"Let's keep walking," said Lily, trying to pull James away. "Please, don't do this."
James pretended to be done with him, but because he was standing so close to him, it made it easy to wrench Severus' wand from his grasp.
"Give it back, Potter," Snape demanded.
Instead of giving it back, he tossed it to Sirius who promptly winged it out one of the open arches into the snow below.
"Walk away, now," warned Remus again. "Don't lower yourselves to this nonsense."
"I hear you like making potions to hurt people," said James, ignoring Remus' sage advice and instead acting on years of loathing for the glowering young wizard before him. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," replied Snape. "I had no idea what those potions were for."
Sirius laughed scornfully, and took a few steps toward him.
"You just won't quit, will you, you spooky little shit," he said. "I know why you have it in for me, but what did she ever do to you? Nothing!"
"You think you are going to get me to admit something," Severus said. "But it won't work. I told you I had no idea-"
"You're lying!" Sirius thundered through gritted teeth as he grabbed him by the shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "You could have just punished me, but no, you had to drag an innocent girl into it!"
"Sirius, let go of him," Remus said as he tried to break them apart. "You don't want to do this."
Annabelle approached his other side and tried to get him to loosen his grip. "He didn't win, did he? They didn't win," Annabelle said. "Let him go. It's not worth it."
"James shouldn't have saved you last year. He should have let him tear you limb from limb," Sirius snarled, his face inches from Severus' face.
"You don't mean that, mate," said Remus. "You know it, and I know it. Come on, before you say or do something you'll regret."
Sirius gave Severus' collar a tight squeeze and cautioned him, "Stay away from us."
After one last slam against the wall, he reluctantly let him go and stormed off toward the library.
"I suggest you heed that warning this time," said James to Severus, as he walked backwards, staring him down.
Lily was trying to get him to turn around and said, "It's over, James, let's go."
Remus looked at Severus with a mix of pity and disdain. Claire was frightened by the encounter, so he gently took her by the arm and led her away after the others. Even he didn't believe Severus' story, but he certainly didn't want his friends to get in trouble over it.
Once they made it to the library, Annabelle could see that Sirius was shaken and agitated. He was too angry to just sit down and crack open a book.
"Come upstairs with me?" she asked. "Let's talk?"
Lily, who heard the suggestion, nodded discreetly in approval, and as the others sat down at a study table, Annabelle led Sirius to the second floor storage room. Madam Wigworthy never bothered to walk up there herself, preferring instead to send Annabelle on any upper level errands, so she knew they could talk privately there with no fear of interruptions. She closed and locked the door behind them as Sirius sat down on one of several surplus desks littering the small, cluttered room. Annabelle sat on a desk just across from his.
She looked at him for a moment as he stared off angrily, and she felt compelled to wrap her arms around him and hug the anguish out of him, but she spoke to him instead.
"You can't let him get to you," she said. "He would love nothing more than to drag you down. Don't let him."
Sirius hung his head forlornly, then he said, "Dumbledore won't punish him… because of me. Because of something I did to him last year. In fact, it's probably the reason he agreed to make the potions for them in the first place."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked. "Only if you want to, of course."
"I think I should, so you'll know how my actions most likely played a part in his involvement. I am actually surprised you don't know, since we were sure he would have told Lily all about it."
"She might not have felt it was her place to tell me," Annabelle said. "She has a tendency to be protective of him, or at least she used to."
"Well, be warned. You may think differently about me when I'm done telling you this," he said.
He paused and pushed his hair back behind his ears before dropping his hands and beginning his story.
"It was last spring, right around when James and Lily had just barely started talking to each other again. Severus was constantly hovering around, as though she needed protection from James, trying to ruin it for him. But you know all that, I'm sure….
Annabelle nodded. She remembered all too well how Severus tried to tighten his hold on Lily when he realised her interest in James wasn't going away. He had already been chumming around with some dark characters though, and Lily didn't want to be associated with people like that. People like Malachi and his crew. He might have actually convinced her that James was nothing but a cruel tosser after James had humiliated him with a spell of Severus' own creation, but when Lily came to his defence, he had tried to look tough by shooing her off and calling her a mudblood. It only served to alienate her further and convince her of his involvement in the dark arts. Annabelle had been disgusted by the lot of them; James for being a smug jackass, Sirius for laughing and encouraging it, and Severus for being a possessive git that couldn't leave well enough alone in the first place.
That prank had seemed like a fluke, though; their days of running the school seemed to be waning, as they just weren't as interested in childish games anymore, so both Lily and Annabelle had been surprised when it happened. It was also the last cruel prank any of them played on Severus that Annabelle was aware of, but clearly it wasn't the one he was referring to now.
"He had been palling around with Malfoy and Carrow," Sirius continued, "and that whole gruesome lot. They had caught us a couple times in the hall at night and we almost did real damage to each other while duelling before we'd hear Filch or someone approaching. It's almost like he missed the days of us pranking him and wanted to get us going again now that he had big scary friends to protect him. Except it was really violent, like they wanted to see how far they could go before someone was gravely injured."
Annabelle shook her head in frustration. Deep down she knew that it was no longer about boyish pranks and mischief. It was a deeper, darker magic compelling Severus and his friends to lash out at them.
"The final straw, and perhaps the worst part of it, was his obsession with Remus," Sirius went on. "He figured out that he was a werewolf, because he had nothing better to do with his life than chart the days when he was absent, in addition to spying on him, looking for signs to prove his theory, and sneaking around on full moons trying to catch him. The hateful little git just wanted to expose him, solely for the sake of ruining him. Remus, of all people, the nicest chap around, and he wanted to hurt him.
"So one full moon as we were leaving the Great Hall after dinner, I saw him sneaking out there; I knew where he was going - straight to the Willow to figure out how to get inside. Madame Pomfrey was due to escort Remus there in another few hours; he wasn't actually there yet. James and I had joked with each other that if he ever figured out how to get in, anything that happened as a result would be Karma for being so nosy and scheming to begin with. Seeing him out there though, so bloody intent on exposing Remus, well it…."
He paused as if the memory of it was too much to stomach.
"It upset you," she finished for him. It upset her, hearing about it. Why would anyone want to cause Remus suffering? Sweet, shy Remus who never fell in with the bullying. Saying Severus was misguided would be a gross understatement.
"Yes," he said. "James had run off to talk to Lily so I slipped outside and asked him what the hell he was up to. He gave me some snarky answer about minding my own business which I told him was precious since he wasn't minding his, and that snooping around would only get him hurt. He told me he knew already what Remus was, and that he'd seen him enter the tree before, which led me to question why he was out there then, if he already thought he had all the answers. He said he wanted to see for himself... Now, tell me Annabelle, what kind of simpleton wants to see a werewolf?"
"Maybe he's as naïve as people have been saying," Annabelle said, shuddering at the thought.
"He was determined to have proof so he could have him thrown out of the school. He couldn't do much to James or me, so he went after Remus instead. He even said it once, that werewolves have no business among humans, like Remus isn't human. But I let my temper get the better of me and I did something that I never should have done, had absolutely no business doing; something I regret."
"Sirius… what did you do?" Annabelle asked slowly.
"I told him how to get inside the Whomping Willow."
Annabelle's eyes widened.
"It didn't occur to me that he would actually attempt it. It was just meant as a tease, like… not something I ever anticipated he'd actually do, because as I said, who in their right mind wants to come face-to-face with a werewolf? I just wanted to see him stew over it. Which is why I walked away and forgot about it. But there is no good excuse for it… I just wasn't thinking; it was an angry impulse.
"I went back inside the castle and later on, after Remus had left, I got a bad feeling about it and told James what I'd done. He, unlike me, didn't underestimate the stupidity and desperation of Severus Snape. He said he was going to tell Dumbledore that Severus had figured out how to get inside on his own, and let him handle it from there, but apparently he changed his mind on the way and went out there himself, hoping he wasn't too late. Sure enough the idiot had gone inside and Remus had almost completely transformed by that point. He would have been toast if James hadn't dragged his bony arse out of there."
"Wow," Annabelle said. "No wonder he has it in for you."
He hung his head miserably. "Not only could he have been killed, but James could have been killed as well, and Remus would have been the murderer through no fault of his own. I could have destroyed all three of their lives, and I would have deserved Azkaban, which is where I would have ended up had James not succeeded in saving him."
"No," said Annabelle. "Granted it would have been extraordinarily awful, and you may have been expelled, but you don't go to Azkaban just for giving out the locations of werewolves. You didn't force him to go in there."
"Still," he said, "It would have been utterly tragic for all of us. If Remus had killed James, because of me and my rash decision, I would have asked for a Dementor's Kiss. I promise you that."
Annabelle didn't know what to say. She could understand why he was blaming himself, but she could also see that Severus would have been just as much to blame if tragedy had occurred since he chose to seek out Remus in his werewolf form in an attempt to destroy his life. They had both been wrong in what they did.
"And now, because of me, Severus knows that Remus is a werewolf. Dumbledore swore him to secrecy, but still. It's like I confirmed it for him."
"You didn't think he would go in there," Annabelle said. "He was barking mad. Is it your fault that he was so intrusive and vengeful that he'd risk his own life to prove a theory?"
"I should have known he'd be too curious for his own good," he replied. "I should have thought about how it could hurt Remus if Severus was daft enough to try it. But there you have it. The likely reason he agreed to help those toe-rags with the potions, and the reason Dumbledore most likely won't punish him for it."
Annabelle was silent for a moment as she took it all in. It had been terribly rash of him to reveal the way into the tunnel and he was right, it could have been tragic if things hadn't gone the way they did. But she knew that in his heart he had been upset for his friend, and until a couple days ago, he really had changed his behaviour toward Severus. He had been avoiding him as much as possible, but the git was still stirring the pot with him.
"What are you thinking?" Sirius asked.
"That you were brave to tell me that, and that everyone makes mistakes," she replied. "Everyone."
"Not like that," he said.
"I have."
"Right," he said sarcastically.
"What? You think Dumbledore's Darling is above making mistakes?" she asked, teasing him.
Sirius winced at the name, and said, "I'm really sorry about that one, Annabelle. But if it's any consolation at all, it was Peter who coined the phrase, not me, even if I did use it once in a while."
"Eh," she said with a wave of her hand. "It doesn't bother me, because it isn't true. I am much closer to Professor McGonagall if the truth be told," she said with a wink, lightening the mood.
He grinned sheepishly. "So, are you going to tell me this awful thing you did?"
"Might as well, even if it is royally disgraceful," she said. "But, I can't have you thinking you're the only muck-up around here. It was also last year and there was that exchange student from Beauxbatons, Marcel Baptiste; do you remember him?"
"Of course," Sirius replied. "You girls all went crazy for him. We were all glad to see him go."
"That's the one," she confirmed. "Well, he was really flirty with all of us, but he started focusing extra attention on Dominica and me. I liked him a lot, but so did she. One night, he came looking for me outside the common room, telling me he fancied me and wanted to get to know me better and all that. I didn't trust him though."
"As well you shouldn't have."
Annabelle smiled and continued. "He told me he'd like to go to a broom cupboard with me, just like that, and when I said no, that I barely knew him, he kept trying to persuade me. He was a little too eager if you know what I mean."
Sirius wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"I had serious doubts about his intentions, so I told him he'd be better off asking Dominica if that was all he was after, because she'd probably say yes. Secretly, I was hoping he would lose interest in her if he knew what she was like. I wanted it to be me he fancied, and not that he just wanted to… well…you know."
Sirius nodded. "You were testing him."
"Exactly!" Annabelle exclaimed nervously, wishing she hadn't decided to tell the story. "Merlin, I was so high and mighty, not even aware of how my words could affect someone else. Anyway, I went back up to my room to read for class. A while later Dominica came in looking really troubled. She told me Marcel had asked her to join him in a broom cupboard-"
"He certainly didn't waste any time," Sirius said.
"No, he did not. I guess I was naive too, because I was surprised by how quickly he turned to her. And of course, she went with him just as I'd predicted she would. She told me that he had been awful to her in there, saying nasty things, calling her slag, dirty whore, and other charming words of that nature."
"Did he hurt her?" Sirius asked, horrified.
"No, thank goodness," Annabelle said. "He was just attempting the whole 'dirty talk' thing, not knowing how naff he sounded, or maybe because I'd arrogantly implied that she was those things? Yet she stayed in there with him, giving him what he wanted. I asked her why she didn't tell him to get lost, why she didn't just leave, and she said she didn't know."
"That's actually quite sad," he replied thoughtfully. "But, how is it your fault? She chose to go in there with him and put up with his disgusting talk, correct?"
"Yes, that's true, but what if he had assaulted her or…" she couldn't even bring herself to say the word, "something worse? Don't you see? I fed her to someone who might have been just as dangerous as a werewolf, all for my own selfish purposes. We were friends at the time, not that I should do that to my worst enemy, either."
"I guess I see your point, but you had no idea he was such a scumbag. If something worse had happened it would have been Marcel's fault. It's not like you set out to hurt her like she's been doing to you."
"And you had no idea Severus was so bloody daft, nor did you believe he would go in there."
Sirius could see she was trying to alleviate some of his guilt. It didn't work, but he appreciated the effort.
"Did you tell Dominica what you had told him?" he asked.
"No, but I probably should have, right?" she asked, eyes wide with remorse.
"Absolutely not, Annabelle. Nothing good would have come from you telling her. She just would have known what you thought of her and she'd have felt worse."
"Yeah, maybe you're right," Annabelle agreed. "My shame will have to be my penance. Of course she doesn't realise it, but she got me pretty good for it with this whole Polyjuice fiasco. Anyway, at least you can take comfort in knowing you're not the only careless wanker that can't be trusted around your friends. I'm right beside you there."
"Right," he said, smiling. "I guess we are a match made in Wanker Heaven." They both started laughing when he said it.
"We're the Wanker Elite of Hogwarts," Annabelle chimed in. "We could start our own club, and throw parties for a select few with Wanker connections."
"Or our own Quidditch team," Sirius suggested. "Wankers United, and we could recruit the fearsome five to play with us. Oh wait, two of them are expelled already."
"So disappointing really," Annabelle said, still laughing. "It was a good idea though."
Sirius sighed and said, "Although, I'm still not convinced that what you did qualifies you as a total wanker."
"It was pretty bad."
"Yeah, it was," he laughed. "As bad as it was, I think I respect you more for not being perfect, and for admitting it."
"I'm far from it."
"You're not that far from it," he said, glancing at her timidly. He wanted so badly to hold her, to fix everything and never look back.
Annabelle blushed. Merlin, those eyes.
"No matter what was done before, they are the ones keeping it going now," she said, trying stick to the topic. "No one should be forced to pay for their mistakes forever. Dumbledore even acknowledged that you've been trying your best to avoid trouble with Severus. Our relationship wasn't hurting anyone… except for your parents, and you definitely don't deserve what they dish out… You know that, right?"
Sirius nodded and looked down at his hands. After an awkward silence, it was her turn to ask.
"What are you thinking?"
He shook his head dismally, and said, "I'm thinking I don't know how I can ever make this up to you. I don't blame you if want to keep your distance, though. I will understand."
"Sirius," she said gently. "I don't want to keep my distance. I'm just worried about the consequences, you know?"
"You don't want to fall victim to any more of their scare tactics," he replied. And I don't blame you."
"It isn't that. It's you I'm worried about. I'm scared of the consequences for you. What is going to happen to you in a few days when you go home?"
"Annabelle, listen to me," he said. "I knew what I was getting myself into with you. I knew exactly how my parents would react. It didn't stop me, did it?"
"Elsinore suggested you were with me just to aggravate them," she mumbled, lowering her eyes.
"Elsinore was mistaken. If that was the case, wouldn't I have gone out with multiple mixed-bloods and muggle-borns over the years? Why would I have waited if I just wanted to get my parents going?"
He had a point there. It wasn't like he couldn't have got almost anyone he wanted to go out with him. Now she felt awful for bringing it up.
"Please tell me you know me better than that, and that you don't believe it," he implored.
"I don't believe it," she assured him. "It was just part of her plan to break us up, to plant seeds of doubt everywhere. I was foolish to fall for it even a little bit, and I'm so sorry for that."
"My parents are aggravated by my mere existence these days, Annabelle. They are looking for reasons to justify that, and if not you, then it would have been something else. Or they would create a reason to harass me."
She had a feeling his parents might argue with that. Mudblood friends were one thing, but he'd upped the ante with a mudblood girlfriend, even if he hadn't planned it.
"But maybe if they think we are through, they will go easier on you," she said as tears filled her eyes. "Maybe it's safer for you if we just go our separate ways for a while."
He stood up and took her hands in his.
"Please don't talk of separate ways, Annie," he said, a desperation consuming him, his own eyes brimming with tears. "I can't face them without you in my corner. I'm sorry for the awful things I said to you over the last two days and I'm sorry I doubted you for a second. I couldn't see beyond my own sadness…."
"I'm sorry too," she said as she began to cry. "I know you are nothing like Elsinore, and I know you only said those things because you were hurt. I will never doubt you again. And I'll be here for you when you return from the holiday. I promise..."
Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. Sirius stepped away from her instinctively, even though they were doing nothing wrong.
"It's dinner time!" called Lily. "We'll wait for you!"
"We're on our way," Annabelle called back toward the door as she hopped down off the desk.
The knock had disturbed their outpouring, and they felt self-conscious all of a sudden. They faltered momentarily, trying to regain their composure.
"We can talk more later if you'd like," he said, heading toward the door and wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
"All right. If you'd like."
He opened the door for her and she started out, but Annabelle couldn't wait another moment. She turned around and guided him back into the room, shutting the door behind her. She turned back to face him, and for an explosive moment they just stared at each other. A few seconds later they flew into each other's arms, kissing each other's cheeks, foreheads, lips… salty tear-filled kisses of the happiest kind.
"I love you, Annie. I couldn't stop if I tried," he said between kisses.
"I never stopped loving you either. Not for a moment."
After a couple minutes of catching up on the previous days' lost kisses, there was another loud knock at the door. This time it was James.
"After all that's happened it wouldn't be prudent to tick Dumbledore off by disappearing from dinner. The man is on a mission and heads will roll. We are waiting for you downstairs."
Sirius and Annabelle starting laughing after they thought he'd gone.
"I hear you laughing at me in there. That's not very nice you know!" James teased.
"All right, mate, we're opening the door now," Sirius said.
Annabelle stepped out first, her face tear-streaked, but grinning from ear to ear, followed by Sirius, who looked about the same.
James was puzzled as they began heading down the stairs and said, "I can't tell if you're happy or sad."
"Happy," said Annabelle. "Definitely happy."
"It's a nice change, isn't it?" Sirius remarked.
"Indeed, it is," she replied as he squeezed her hand.
Now, if Annabelle could just convince Sirius to stay at the castle for Christmas, or even to go to James' house; everything would be perfect. Even as she thought it, she knew it was fruitless, and that she'd just have to hope that nothing bad would come to pass. If only happiness was all it took to protect those that we love. But as she linked her arm through his and headed to the Great Hall with her friends, she knew that it couldn't protect him, and neither could she.
A/N: What are you thinking? ;) Please let me know!