A/N: You'll have to forgive me. I have been less than diligent about getting chapters out. Such is life—busy and unpredictable. If you are still following, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling nor do I claim to own anything from the Harry Potter universe. I am simply a fan who loves a great story.

James tossed his Quidditch bag in the corner of the room, knocking over a glass of water in the process.

"Is James Potter blushing?" Peter sprang up from his four poster, almost diligently to mop up the mess.

"Pete, you don't have to do that," came Remus's muffled response, his head buried beneath a pillow. "Make James do it."

"It'll dry," James shrugged as he tossed his gloves into his trunk. "Check your eyes, mate. James Potter doesn't blush."

"But he does refer to himself in third person," Sirius laughed, shaking off one of the drenched spell books.

"Wind chill from practice," James said, tossing himself back onto his bed. "Not exactly warm out today."

"Course," Sirius nodded along. "Definitely has nothing to do with Lily Evans."

James faltered, only for a moment, before propping himself up on his elbows, "What does Lily have to do with anything?"

"Evans," Sirius stressed, "Seemed awfully invested with you this morning."

"Nothing to get your knickers in a twist," James reassured. "Just talking."

"And flirting..." Peter mumbled quietly.

"What was that Wormtail?"

"I do believe he said flirting," Sirius grinned crossing the room. Sirius sat on the edge of James's bed, clutching a pillow dramatically in his lap. "Do tell us more."

"Piss off," James laughed, snatching his pillow back. "James Potter is flying solo."

Remus gave a muffled scoff before shutting the curtains to his four poster. "Wish you would just go to the Hospital Wing!" James called in response.

"He'll cave in," Sirius frowned. "He always does."

Last night was one of the tougher transitions Remus had to face. The nights were always restless, the days after exhausting. Remus was lucky to go an evening unscathed, but the night before left him with a scar on his left cheek. Admittedly, all of the boys were tired, but one didn't abandon a friend, not when he was in need.

Sirius turned back to James, a sheepish grin plastered on his face," I have a favor to ask you."

"A favor?" James snorted. "Really think I'd help you after you mocked me?"

I wouldn't dare," Sirius winked. "Only stating the obvious."

"What do you want?"

Sirius stretched across the width of the bed before rolling on to his side, "I need the cloak."

"Why ask now? You never do" James asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"I was feeling courteous," Sirius shrugged. "That's a yes, right?"

Lou mentally kicked herself for the faint clicks that her heeled boot made against the stone floor. She could feel the small exhales upon her ear as Sirius guided her to the darkened grounds. The cloak didn't do much for warmth, but Lou pulled it tighter around her even still.

"I still don't see why this couldn't have happened a few hours earlier," Lou laughed quietly as she stepped over a fallen tree branch. "The sun serves many purposes...warmth for one."

Sirius smiled down at her, "So curious. You'll thank me later."

Lou shivered but was startled to hear her lips manifest the cold she was feeling into a sort of sigh. Did that sound like exasperation? She hoped not.

"I love that about you, you know that?" Sirius whispered.

"What?" Lou asked, doggedly trying to play it off.

"Your petulance. That adorable little sigh of yours." It was a good thing the sun wasn't out; Lou managed to hide the furious blushing of her cheeks under Sirius' protective arms.

They walked another five minutes, growing farther and farther from the safety of the castle with each step. "Sirius," Lou said. "Where are you taking me?"

"Just a little further now."

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the sloping hill from the castle came to rest at a little knoll. Boulders lined the edge and as she grew closer, Lou could see that it was a good two meters or so drop, at which point one would find themselves crannied between the knoll and the Forbidden Forest, another 10 yards off. It was here that Sirius slipped out from under the invisibility cloak, careful to leave Lou enshrouded.

He got low and hung his legs over the crest of the knoll and dropped down with a soft thwump. Safely at the bottom, he turned and reached his arms out to Lou. "Come on," he said, "I've got you."

Without hesitation, Lou followed suit. Seconds later she was enveloped in his arms again, the beating of his chest warming hers. From here it would be impossible for anyone at the castle to see them, even from the tippy-top of the Astronomy tower.

Lou let the quiet magic of the moment set in. This close to the forest the behemoth-sized roots already began to thread themselves in and out of the ground. They wove an intricate tapestry of twisted, ever-turning firewyrms seemingly locked in battle with the very earth itself. It was the first time all evening Lou felt warm, and the first time in her life the sight of the Forbidden Forest didn't fill her with dread, but with wonder and curiosity...with longing.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Lou whispered, afraid her very voice would shatter the stillness all around them..

"Not quite," Sirius smiled. He took a step back and Lou's arms folded instinctively, a protest at losing the warmth of the moment.

"There's that petulance again," Sirius quipped with a devilish grin.

"Well, get on with it," Lou said, letting the agitation edge into her voice.

"Okay, okay," Sirius held his hands out in front of himself. "Now, I want to show you something, alright? You'll have some questions and I'm ready to answer them, but I don't want you to panic. Can you promise me you won't panic?"

Lou shrugged, "Maybe."

"Hm," Sirius frowned, "Well, I suppose maybe will have to do."

Lou watched on as all at once Sirius's hands—the very hands that were holding her moments ago, that he now held out in front of himself—grew sort of in, rather than out, as growing normally does. Only that wasn't all. Dark fur quickly sprouted all over, not only his hands, but his arms, and his face. It all happened so quickly Lou could hardly process that his entire anatomy was changing before her very eyes and next thing she knew, Lou was staring at a dog buried in a pile of Sirius' clothes!

"Oh!" she exclaimed, quite without meaning to and she covered her mouth immediately. Lou didn't feel any fear at all; it was just the suddenness of it all the brought her world to an instant pause.

Under his clothing, Sirius gave a bit of a wag and a shuffle and Lou dropped to her knees realizing he was trying to shake out from under them.

"How?" Lou murmured as she pulled the clothing from the tip of his wet nose, and for the first time saw directly into his eyes and grew silent. There was no mistaking those eyes. "Oh Sirius," she whispered, cautiously reaching out a hand to ruffle the fur behind his ears.

"It really is you...you really, truly are..." she gave his a kiss on the nose, "you really, truly are...a dog, aren't you?" Lou let slip a chuckle despite herself and Sirius must have laughed too because he rolled on his side and pawed at her playfully.

"But how," Lou wondered as she reached out to rub his belly, which she wondered whether or not would be an odd thing to do. It struck her as completely normal and wonderful. Sirius rolled back over into her lap and nibbled at her fingers when she stroked his nose and she gave him a quick pat, "Ouch Sirius! Being a dog doesn't give you any excuse to act like...well act like a dog!"

Lou chewed on her bottom lip as she took in his form. This wasn't a spell of Transfiguration, but something more. She thought back to her third year when Professor McGonagall demonstrated her feline form to the class, but she was an Animagus, and as for Sirius, he was only a student.

Impossible.

"You're right. I do have some questions," she sighed, as Sirius rested his head upon her knee. Lou's eyes wandered to the pile of clothes in front of her when the thought struck her, "Sirius! You're—you're naked! What will we do about your clothes?!" He lapped at her knees and she gave him a playful shove. "Turn yourself back and get dressed! I'm going to close my eyes and look away, on my word, but you go and put your clothes back on!"

She laughed shaking her head in disbelief. Sirius did as she asked, though Lou found it difficult keeping her promise.

"Where are you taking me now?" Lou asked, picking a fine black hair from her pants. Sirius was leading her around the bend of the woods, the lights from the castle looming in the distance.

"Back to the castle of course," he replied, pulling the cloak over their heads.

"Oh," she said with sudden disappointment. "I just thought—"

"Thought what?" he smiled, raising an eyebrow at her.

"You can't just show me something like that and expect to not at least talk about it," she pouted up at him.

"Who's to say we're not going to talk?" he gave her a small nervous smile, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"It's nearly morning," Lou frowned. "If we go back now there will be no time to talk."

"It is morning. Four o'clock, Saturday morning. No classes, no study halls, no Quidditch matches."

"What in the world are you going on about?" Lou asked.

"Well, it's just—don't you think...I mean to say," Sirius skirted around his words with the meticulous precision of a flamingo dancer. Around the bend came the entrance to Hogwarts, "No one's going to expect us in classes. I was hoping you would come back with me."

"To your dormitory?" Lou frowned. "How are we to talk with the boys around? Do they know that I know? Do they know?"

He gave her a quiet laugh as he cracked open the door, just enough to scoot inside, "They're not there. Not tonight. Plenty of time to answer all of your questions."

Sirius gave her a nervous glance when Lou stopped just outside the opening, "Sirius..."

"Listen, Lou. You don't have to. It's just at this hour, we'd have an easier time getting you back to your dormitory after the curfew is up, don't you think? That way, it'll seem like we went on an early morning walk around the lake, and no one will think twice about it. Unless, you would rather risk being seen sneaking back into your common room."

"Did you plan this?" she asked, hoping desperately the tone she had adopted would mask the flittering of the butterflies that threatened to burst from her stomach at any second.

"No—well yes. But, I promise you my intentions—" he stuttered, running his hand through his disheveled hair.

Lou laughed at the usually well put together boy, "I know. I'll go with you. I suppose it's better than waiting out the curfew outside. It's freezing."

He looked down at her in surprise, before shaking his head, "I never know what to expect with you."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, skipping the creaking step as Sirius led her towards the seventh floor.

"No, it's a wonderful thing."

The two were silent as they made their way to the seventh floor of the castle, pausing occasionally to avoid the Prefects making their rounds. It wasn't until the two stopped outside the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room that Sirius muttered Mugwump to the portrait of the Fat Lady, allowing them entrance. Light was not yet filtering through the tall windows of Gryffindor Tower. A fire burned dimly in the fireplace, casting shadows on the faces of the students asleep on the couch. Sirius wrapped his hand gently around Lou's, leading her up to the boys' dormitory. As promised, the room was empty.

Sirius tossed the invisibility cloak back on to James' bed, gesturing to Lou to make herself comfortable. It had been a few months since Lou stepped foot in Sirius' dormitory. The last time an experience of embarrassment and headache inducing. It was different now as the nerves rattled in her stomach.

Lou ran her hands against the velvet-like fabric that made up Sirius' four poster. His bed was neatly kept, the space around equally organized. Lou had to smile as her eyes wandered to the rest of the dormitory. The personalities of each boy matched that of their living space. James' covered with Quidditch memorabilia and equipment , Peter's slightly disheveled, but charming all the same. Remus', although tidy, covered in parchment and books.

Lou sighed as she shifted onto his bed, "Your beds are cozier than the Ravenclaw ones. Everything is warmer here."

She took his pillow and hugged it to her body, scooting over as he sat down next to her.

"What's your dormitory like?"

"Nothing like this," she said, eyes wandering once again. "The colors are different, but of course you would expect that. Where you have crimson curtains, ours' are bronze and blue, though the Common Room is my favorite part. I wish you could see it—it's beautiful. The carpets are a plush, midnight blue covered in stars."

"Stars, hmm?" Sirius smirked.

"Yes, stars," she laughed, giving him a small push. "The stars reflect onto the ceiling. There's something so special about being able to star gaze without the need for darkness, though I must admit, nothing compares to the view at night."

"Sounds magical," he said, pulling her into him.

"It is," Lou smiled, taking in the comfort of his hold. "But now, you have some questions to answer for me."

"Of course," he said, giving her a nervous smile. "Ask away."

"You're an Animagus."

"Was that a question or a statement?"

"Sirius!"

"Animagus," he said, wiping traces of humor off his face.

The rush of curiosity overtook her features as she took in the information. Any semblance of organized thinking was thrown out the window as a sense of panic hit her.

"You could get hurt. You could get caught," she said, feeling the words stuck in her throat. "Do the boys know?"

He smiled, taking her face in his hands, "They ought to. We did this together. For Remus."

For Remus.

"I don't understand."

"I know that you know about Remus," he said, brushing his lips against hers. "The research you've been doing."

"Did he say—"

"Not a thing. I heard you in the library that day. You kept his secret when you didn't have to. You made him feel, not so out of place. He doesn't feel that often."

"If he's out of place, then we all are," she gave a small laugh. "I still don't understand—what does being an Animagus have to do with Remus?"

"It allows us to be with him when he transforms. Werewolves are only a danger to humans. I can't be certain, but it would seem that he maintains a semblance of humanity when we are there with him—makes the process less lonely."

"Does anyone else know?"

"We're not registered. So, I hope not," he smirked, giving her a wink.

"Aren't you afraid? Of getting caught?"

"You stop being afraid when you realize that your mate matters more. I'd take a life time in Azkaban knowing that Remus or anyone else close to me was able to not suffer, even for just a moment."

Lou let his words sink in and kissed him gently on the cheek, "Well, Sirius Black, your secret's safe with me.

For a time, Lou let the silence hang in the air like some intangible, all-knowing presence between them. The warmth she'd been folded up in at the edge of the Forbidden Forest came rushing back to her and she found herself slipping deeper and deeper into the nook of his shoulder.

"Sirius?" she whispered, when at last the question she'd been wanting to ask refused to remain silent any longer.

"Hm?"

"Why'd you want me to know you were an Animagus? It's something that—well..." Lou looked for the words. "It's not a thing you want just anyone to know."

Sirius let loose a small soft laugh, "You're far from just anyone, Lou," he said, and she felt it. "I wanted you to know because I needed you to know. I need you to know everything about me—absolutely everything, inside and out."

Lou let those words sink in before finding her voice one last time. She wasn't sure if she could, and sure enough, when she did say the word, it was barely a whisper: "Why?"

Sirius reached across the both of them with his free hand and took hold of Lou's, squeezing it tenderly as he did. "Because I love you."

Her voice was once again, caught in her throat and she was almost certain it would stay there—what a fool! She cursed herself—say the words back!
She could feel them so intensely all in the world she wanted was to open her mouth and give them sound, but when she did she couldn't say anything at all. It didn't matter. When she opened her mouth, his found hers and all the words that ever need to be said melted away, as Lou melted into the warmth of his embrace, and the evening slowly faded into the dawn.

A/N: Thank you for reading!