Chapter 48: Admitting Feelings

It was currently Octavia's fifteenth birthday but instead of celebrating it she was packing her trunk to return to Hogwarts tomorrow, she had been too sore when she moved to even consider packing but today she had no choice, she needs to pack. She couldn't even get Dinky to do it for her because Dinky claimed she had too many jobs from Ophelia and Keyon and wasn't able to help her.

Octavia knew what her parents were doing, they were punishing her for defying Voldemort but Octavia would do it again if it meant she didn't betray her friends.

"I don't remember you being this sore last time," she jumped at the sound of Sirius' voice, not having heard him enter her room.

"I think it was longer this time, Mr Longbottom also said I would be sore for a few days."

"Move let me do it," Sirius spoke as he moved closer to where she was standing in front of her trunk.

"Don't Pads, if I can't even pack my trunk how the hell am I going to go at Hogwarts, what if the Professors say something."

"Easy, you were attacked by Death Eaters."

"I'm not going to sit there and go through another round of questioning, I still can't believe someone got the Aurors out to question me about the attack."

"I believe it may be protocol Snow," Sirius sat down on her bed and watched as she slowly but carefully moved around her room.

"I can barely move, they're all going to notice that something is amiss." Octavia complained as she threw her robes on the floor.

Sirius didn't say anything as he got off the bed and picked her robes up before placing them in her trunk for her.

"Just sit down, what do you have left, your books?" he questioned and she nodded as she walked over and sat down on her bed.

"Thank you," she spoke softly and Sirius smiled at her before continuing on collecting her books, grateful they were taking the same subjects so he knew what ones she would need.

"Now where are the books I know you have on Dreamers?" he questioned, having not found them.

"They're in the bottom, I never take them out." She explained and he nodded before closing her trunk and walking over to sit beside her.

"Happy birthday by the way."

"What a great birthday, I'm still in pain and can barely move, my parents have disappeared and I have no idea if Al and Am are coming over for dinner."

"I'm here and that's all that matters."

"Then where's my present?"

"You're kidding right? I just packed your trunk," Sirius teased but it just caused a smack from her and resulting her complaining from the pain it caused her.

.oOo.

"Tell me something Snow, how did you convince Padfoot to carry both yours and his own trunk?" Lilith questioned as she bounced in beside Octavia.

Octavia let out a laugh before looking over at Sirius, they knew why he was carrying it but had come up with an agreement as to why he was doing it.

"He lost a bet is all and as my prize I requested he carried my trunk," she grinned at Lilith and the other girl laughed.

"You cheated and you damn well know it," Sirius complained and both girls laughed, standing there as Sirius pulled both trunks on to the train.

"Where's your trunk?" Octavia questioned Lilith.

"Already in the compartment, I came out looking for you or the others."

"Found anyone else?"

"Nope, Moony and Prongs should be here soon and as always Peter will turn up right as the train is leaving." Octavia nodded to Lilith's explanation, it was always the same.

Lilith, Octavia and Sirius always turned early, Lilith because her parents were always set on arriving early while Octavia and Sirius wanted to get away from their families quickly. James and Remus took a bit longer, taking longer to say goodbye to their parents while Peter turned up last minute.

The Marauders were sitting in the compartment laughing and talking about their summers, it was when they all stopped laughing that James turned and looked at Octavia.

"What do you want Prongs?" she snapped, not enjoying him staring at her.

"Is too early for us to talk about what Snivellus did?" he questioned wearily and she laughed.

"Depends, ask the growling dog." She teased and when they all looked at Sirius, it was obvious he wasn't happy about the new topic of discussion.

"He almost killed her Prongs."

"I know that Padfoot, but I want to know how he did it. You said she was hanging upside down, that's not your typical levitating spell."

"He has a point," Lilith pointed out and Sirius looked at her before looking at Octavia.

"You think that the Death Eaters are making their own spells."

"We have no idea if he is or isn't a Death Eater Padfoot," Remus threw in.

"Fine, do you think potential Death Eaters are making their own spells?" he rephrased and Octavia couldn't help but laugh at how he was reacting, but she stopped mid-laugh to wince in pain.

"Snow?" James questioned, noticing the action.

"I'm fine, just too much laughing. Now the Slytherins and making their own spells?" she reassured them, refusing to look at Sirius, knowing full well he would want to question her later.

"Maybe it just doesn't make sense, I remember when Snow levitated me but even then I wasn't upside down. I get her magic is different but essentially the spells aren't, so wouldn't one think that he made the spell up or got it from someone else who did?"

"He has a point and it makes sense," Octavia responded and they were all deep thought.

"Whatever it is, I want to know." Sirius had a grin on his face.

"So what you can kill someone like Snivellus almost killed me?" Octavia snapped.

"I also happened to knock him to the ground before he put you down, who knows what happens when the person in the air is put down properly. I'm not stupid enough to go and test it on some Slytherins even if I want too, we don't even know what this spell is yet." Sirius replied and she nodded as the compartment door was pulled opened.

"What do you want Evans?" Octavia questioned spotting the other girl standing there.

"I want to know which one of you it is," Evans replied and they all looked at her strangely.

"What are you on about Lily?" James questioned.

"I know what she's on about, which one of you prats was made Prefect?" Octavia questioned, knowing it wasn't Sirius because he would have mentioned it by now.

"Said prat," Remus spoke softly and they all stared at him.

"It make sense, one of you had to get it and he's the one that spends the least amount of time in detention," Lilith replied with a smirk on her face.

"Well I was kind of hoping that our year would be different, that we would only have one Prefect and that would be Evans and that was it because honestly, just because Moony doesn't spend as much time in detention as Prongs and I, he still spends time in detention with us." Sirius spoke and Octavia noticed Evans still standing there in the doorway.

"What do you want Evans? You know Remus is the Prefect, what else do you want?" she snapped.

"Snow, don't be like that. There is a Prefects meeting at the front of the train, it's probably why she came here in the first place." Remus explained as he stood up and left the compartment.

"Can we ditch him now?" Sirius questioned jokingly.

"You're the prat Pads." Octavia teased.

.oOo.

Dumbledore had just dismissed the students and they were all slowly heading back to the Great Hall, Remus was with Evans since they had to direct the new first year Gryffindors to the Tower while Lilith and Octavia had taken off claiming something about girl talk and Peter disappeared saying he needed to use the bathroom and told the other two not to wait for him, just head straight to the common room.

So that left James and Sirius alone, James also had a bone to pick with Sirius and he found now was the perfect time.

"So when were you planning on telling me you had feelings for Snow?" James spoke, Sirius looking at him in shock before shaking his head and looking around them as to who else was around.

"Don't know what you are on about mate."

"Really? Do you want to try telling that again without the look of shock written across your face? I was there all summer remember, I saw the signs and I saw the way you were looking at her. You would become jealous whenever you saw her laughing or smiling at something your brother said."

"Says the person who becomes jealous every time he spots Evans hanging around Snivellus." Sirius spat out and James shook his head.

"Don't be like that mate, I thought we were best mates, there is no reason to be like that with me. If you did like Snow, do you honestly think I will go telling her?"

"If I admit it will you shut up about the whole bloody thing," Sirius muttered with a scowl on his face but James just smirked.

"Maybe, do I get to ask a billion and one questions about what happened during your summer?" the scowl turned into a glare.

"Nothing happened, nothing will ever happen while we live under our parents ruling."

"Maybe you should just suck it up and kiss her mate, you've kissed everyone else." James teased and Sirius put him in a headlock as the two of them continued to walk down the corridor.

"How about this, you kiss Evans and I will snog Snow in front of everyone in the Great Hall."

"You're on, now let me go." James tapped Sirius' arm and he was finally freed from the grasp.

Lilith and Octavia were standing in the bathroom of their dorm getting ready for bed, hoping that Evans and Blake didn't come barging in and allowed them to continue their conversation.

"Alright spill what happened between you and Padfoot after the ball." Lilith questioned and Octavia choked on the toothpaste in her mouth, she spat it out and faced her best friend.

"Nothing happened, nothing can ever happen."

"I saw you two dancing when partners were switched, the way he looked at you…"

"Don't Lilith, I mean it nothing can happen. Why don't you understand that when we both say nothing can happened between the two of us because it means we lose the friendship we have? Our parents are already suspicious of the friendship since we are at that age and look what happened? I fell for him anyway." Octavia spoke, her voice wavering and Lilith walked over to hug her.

"I'm sorry, I just want you to be happy and if that's with Padfoot."

"I know but it's not allowed to be with Padfoot, if we went to a school with no one else that could report home to our parents', maybe I could consider it but we don't."

"It'll be alright, it will all work out." Lilith spoke softly and Octavia nodded before pulling away and wiping away the tears that had escaped before leaving the bathroom and curling up in her bed with the curtains shut.

.oOo.

Regulus sat there at the Slytherin table for breakfast waiting for Slughorn to bring around the timetables for the new school year.

He looked over at the Gryffindor table and instantly spotted her, it wasn't like it was all that hard with her bright red hair.

He was jealous of his older brother for being able to spend as much time as he did with Octavia, he was grateful for the summer and the Young Ladies of Society Ball that he was forced to be a part of because it meant he was able to spend more time with her than what he usually got to.

He knew he always felt something different towards her but it wasn't until the information that Sirius delivered to him the past June about how Snape almost killed her, it was like a kick to gut.

It was then with that information that he realised something, what felt towards Octavia was more than friendship.

He knew that she would always see him as Sirius' little brother, he hated it, but knew it was true. It didn't matter if she still treated him the same as she always had, despite the differences they now had. She always put aside the whisperings Sirius must be putting in her ear and still spoke with him, he had decided it was better to not say anything bad about Sirius to her, with fear of losing her.

He saw her laughing with her friends, she was completely happy, he loved that Hogwarts made her that happy. He rarely saw her be completely carefree like this when they were at home, he put it down to the fact that her parents were displeased with her sorting, he noticed the same things with his own brother.

"I'm sorry what did you say?" Regulus spoke, noticing the look Barty was giving him from across the table.

"I said, what are you planning to do to your brother this time?" Barty spoke and Regulus placed a smirk on his face.

"You know I never tell you the plans I have for my brother, did you manage to find out what Snape did to Carrow?" Regulus questioned, Barty had been more than eager to jump at the idea of finding out what Snape had done.

Barty had been placed in the wrong house, his father was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement within the Ministry, nearly every single one of the students within Slytherin were wary of him, wondering if he was a spy within their own house.

So to prove to them that he wasn't a spy, well he was becoming a spy for them, doing whatever missions they had for him without question and because of that, he happily accepted the one Regulus had for him.

"He claims he made his own spell something called Levicorpus, that's what he used on her."

Regulus nodded his head before looking over at Octavia again, happy that she was perfectly fine after almost dying. "Thank you Barty,"

"Why did you want to know what he did Carrow so badly?"

A smirk was plastered on Regulus' face as he lifted his goblet to his lips, "we can't let Snape have all the fun now can we?"

"Why, what do you plan on doing?"

"Let me think it through before I share my secrets," Regulus spoke once more and Barty nodded, the conversation going silent.

He looked up the table at where Snape was sitting with Avery and Mulciber, he hated those three, there was something off about them and the fact that Snape was openly friends with a muggle born wasn't helping the situation.

There was something off about Avery and Mulciber, there was something cold and harsh about the two of them, the conversations Regulus had heard between the three of them was unsettling.

He had met a couple of the Dark Lords Death Eaters and knew they all had something that the Dark Lord was interested in, whether it be money, power or connections. But there was something about those three that made him wonder if they were truly accepting of the Dark Lords views or if they wanted the prospect of fighting in a war.

"I will meet you in class, I have to send an owl home," Regulus spoke and Barty nodded.

Regulus knew that he would most likely be late, he was betting on Slughorn not caring or if he did Regulus hoped the mention of sending a letter home to inform his father of his favourite Professor might make Slughorn more inclined to not give him a detention. The letter couldn't wait he had to send this owl first before he forgot or before it got too late.

The spell he used was Levicorpus.

It was small and simple but just hoped she would understand what he was trying to get across.

He walked over to Octavia's owl Bellamy, knowing the owl was more inclined to deliver the letter like he requested

"Take this to Octavia during dinner, don't give it to anyone else." he petted the bird before leaving.

.oOo.

Octavia entered the Great Hall, late to dinner, she had told Sirius she was going up to the Hospital Wing to ask Pomfrey for a mild pain potion, she couldn't take the barely sleeping anymore, she needed a good night's sleep for once and hoped with a mild pain potion it would happen.

She walked over and joined her friends, only to notice her owl sitting there in the middle of the table. She noticed her name written on the envelope and instantly recognised the hand writing, snuck a glance at Sirius knowing full he would have seen the hand writing.

She reached over and grabbed the letter opening it, shocked at it's contents.

"Here," she handed it to Sirius.

He read it and she knew he was unsure about the information they were just given, Sirius was wondering if he could truly trust Regulus.

Sirius ripped up the parchment before putting it in his pocket.

"What was so bad about the information of that letter that it deserves to have it ripped to shreds?" James questioned, Octavia shrugged before grabbing some of the roast chicken in front of her.

"It wasn't the information as such, just wary as to if it can be trusted is all." Sirius looked at Octavia and she shrugged again.

"You know where I stand, it's up to you…" she trailed off knowing he would know what she was planning on say next, 'he's your brother.'

"Moony pass the potatoes," was all Sirius said and a pointed look from Octavia made James drop the topic of the letter.

.oOo.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who continues to read, set alerts and review my story it means a lot to me but reviews mean even more.

Sir Tiuri thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. As for the speed of my writing, I personally don't believe the is the issue at hand, I believe your issue is my posting schedule.

lizyeh2000 thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. Ah yes the ring of fire, something which may be looked into more in the future. As for Voldemort being interested in Octavia, he is, very much so and has been since the summer after her first year. I always try to reply to reviews, I myself hate it when I don't get a response.

Raven that flies at nightthank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. I'M SORRY! It's all I can do, but then again my story isn't exactly a fluff piece full of happiness, rainbows and nothing wrong with their world, yet anyway.