The first day of Giselle's seventh year arrived with warm, bright sunlight filling the room. She urged herself to get up extra early to prepare for her first day back in order to calm the rush of anxiety that had buried deep in her stomach overnight. She had to reintroduce herself into the student body, the threat of violent encounters overwhelmed her and she tried to steer her thoughts away from worst case scenarios.

I can do this, Giselle thought as she scrubbed her face clean in the shower, just pretend that he doesn't exist. Don't look at him, don't speak to him. She scolded the butterflies inside her and focused on getting ready.

Pulling on her Hogwarts robes felt right, Giselle couldn't stop grinning as she buttoned up her shirt and secured her tie around her neck. The elegant blue uniform she had to wear at Beauxbatons was pretty, she appreciated how much the silk emphasized her voluptuous curves but it just didn't feel right; her Hogwarts robes were way comfier. As she tugged on her stockings, making sure she stayed within the dress code, the room came to life when Lily's alarm clock chimed.

"Good moooorning roomies!" chirped Giselle brightly, beaming at the sleepy faces poking out through their curtains. Mary looked exhausted, Lily sprung to her feet with urgency, and Marlene couldn't believe her eyes. Giselle was fast asleep by the time she returned and in her own sleepy state she hadn't noticed the extra body.

"G-Giselle?!" spluttered Marlene, utterly lost, "what?! When did you get here?"

"Last night," Giselle said, curling her long eyelashes in her mirror, "I snuck in after the feast. I tried to stay up and wait for you but damn, Mckinnon! Staying out past two o'clock? You're a wild woman."

Marlene caught her breath and shot her a shy smile as she tried to tame her bouncy blonde curls. "What can I say? A lot has happened since you've been gone. How come you're back?"

Giselle scoffed and turned to face her, flashing her a cheeky smile. "Not trying to get rid of me already, are you?" To her surprise, Marlene didn't say anything. Before she could process her old friend's reaction, Lily gasped and swore profusely, carelessly shoving on her school robes.

"My clock's wrong! I'm supposed to be in the Heads meeting in five minutes!" she groaned, thoroughly disappointed in herself. "As if I need this on the first day!"

"Chill out, I'm sure Potter will be late too," convinced Giselle, handing Lily her books in an attempt to help her. Lily puffed out her thanks and rushed out of the room, her loose tie trailing after her. Hoping to avoid the awkward stare from Marlene, Giselle quickly followed.

"Hopefully my meeting doesn't run over," shouted Lily over her shoulder as she ran down the spiral stairs, "I'll be down for breakfast in no time!"

"You're ditching me?!" gasped Giselle, rushing to catch up, "no!"

"Not for long though! Don't worry!" promised Lily as they reached the bustling common room. The first day of school was always busy, no one wanted to be tardy for the first class of the year.

Giselle narrowed her eyes and scowled at Lily. She wasn't convinced.

Lily blew her a kiss and mouthed 'Sorry!' as she rushed off, leaving Giselle alone in the common room. The anxiety got worse as her eyes darted towards the entrance to the boys dormitories but she angrily shook her worries away and stormed out of the Gryffindor tower, her mind now on the mouth-watering spread that was waiting for her in the Great Hall.

Walking through the castle felt very surreal, she couldn't stop smiling at everything she passed. Her feet automatically led her down towards the ground floor, her muscle memory had kicked and helped her on her way, she was in a serene daze and the butterflies melted away.

As she strolled past the fourth floor, she heard something that made her freeze.

"-not cause to cancel our bloody meeting! You'll see her at breakfast!" Lily's voice floated down the hall, catching Giselle's attention.

"It absolutely is a cause to cancel our meeting! It's literally the first day of term, there's nothing to talk about!" complained James Potter, equally as loud as his shouting partner. A powerful shudder rocked Giselle when she heard his voice and alarm bells went off in her head. Don't mention him, don't mention him, don't mention him-

"There she is!"

Giselle turned to greet the Head Boy and Girl with a cheesy grin, all of her panic disguised as glee. James was much taller than them both, the past two years had been very kind to him and she couldn't but admire his broad shoulders - perfect for barging into the opposition during a game. He scooped Giselle into a tight hug, almost crushing her spine in the process with his newfound strength and the scent of broom polish and musky mens cologne overwhelmed her and she was immediately taken back in time. All those hours spent on the Quidditch pitch after dark, skipping classes to practice their dives from the west towers, the hundreds of hours dedicated to creating their celebration dances. It was like being reunited with a favourite sibling after years of estrangement.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" rasped James, eventually letting her go. His face was lit up with every emotion and he rubbed his eyes to make sure she wasn't a hallucination.

"I snuck in, no one knows I'm here," she said, deadpanned. "Don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me," he teased automatically, sending her a wink.

"Does this mean your meeting is over?" asked Giselle hopefully.

"Hell no!" gasped Lily.

"Hell yes!" exclaimed James.

"Perfect! Let's go eat!" encouraged Giselle, pushing her friends towards the stairs. Her stomach had been rumbling for the last five minutes and she couldn't ignore it any longer. Now she had company, the awkwardness of entering the hall alone faded away and she embraced James' warm appearance.

"Pray tell Giselle," sighed James, positioning himself between the girls so he could drape his arms over their shoulders. Lily immediately pushed his arm away, "what marvellous if not psychotic plan did you conjure to induce your return?"

Lily caught her eye and clamped her lips shut, refusing to give away her knowledge. Giselle gulped. "Uh, you know me, I just asked Daddy very nicely."

He let out a loud bark of laughter. "Yeah right! What did you really do? C'mon, you can tell me," he said with a charming smile.

"I didn't do anything!" Giselle protested, feigning innocence with a flutter of her eyelashes.

James looked to Lily for an answer but she instinctively blushed under his intense gaze. Her eyes flicked to his lips momentarily but with a furious shake of the head Lily diverted her crimson stare. "I'm not saying anything."

"It seems like I need to do some old-fashioned research then, you can't hide from me forever Elle," he sighed in defeat, disappointed with the girls' actions. Giselle fought the urge to simply spit out the truth to save herself from any embarrassment but before she could open her mouth, James tightened his grip on her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"OI GUYS!" he bellowed suddenly, shouting at someone on the ground floor. The panic was back. Don't be him, don't be him-

James shoved Giselle towards the railing, giving her a chance to spy her new audience. "I found a plot twist!" he added, grinning at the two boys. "The Gods have blessed us with a toy!"

Remus and Peter couldn't believe their eyes, speechless at the sight that met them. They exchanged looks of disbelief and waited in silence as the trio joined them on the ground floor. Giselle thanked the universe for not ruining her day with his appearance and assumed a friendlier demeanour as she reunited with her old friends. She much preferred to talk to them away from their fourth gang member.

"I swear to Merlin, James, did you plan this?" asked Peter, massaging his temples.

"Oh no mate, although I really really wish I did because it's just… I can't… No words!" James was over the mood, he bounced around like an excited puppy and shook his friends' shoulders. "It's Giselle! Look!"

"You're the blind one, I can see her," sighed Remus, waves of genuine happiness rolling over his face. Giselle was frightened of Remus, Peter, and James' reactions to her arrival, she expected them to despise her just like he did but clearly whatever his problem with her was hadn't been passed onto them. They still liked her, that was a huge win in her books. Her cautious smile widened and she laughed as Remus dragged her into a bear hug. "I can't describe how happy I am to see you," he muttered into her ear.

Giselle closed her eyes and breathed him in, resting her forehead against his chest as she enjoyed the fruity smell of his soap. "Likewise Remus, it's so good to see your face," she admitted quietly. She drew away and scanned his face, tracing the deep scars lining his cheeks but the fresh-looking cut above his eyebrow softened her smile. An old secret nudged her subconscious and Giselle bit her tongue to stop herself from voicing her concerns. He thought she was oblivious to his problems but she kept it under wraps; she shouldn't have known in the first place but she did.

"You've grown!" commented Remus, using his shoulder as a tool of measurement and Giselle clutched her chest in admiration.

"Thank you for noticing!" she said pointedly, scowling at James and Lily who hadn't commented on her extra inch. She was one of the shortest people in their year and she hoped that she would at least reach the average height group when puberty struck but sadly that didn't happen.

"You're still short though," teased Peter.

"You're one to talk!" laughed Giselle, comparing his stature to hers with a dramatic hand wave. He was only two inches taller than her.

"You've certainly grown in other ways though, damn Crouch!" noted James, wiggling his eyebrows and dropping his gaze to her arse in an attempt to embarrass her. Lily slapped his arm before Giselle could react and he laughed, holding his hands up.

"What?! I'm just stating facts!"

"Anyways," interjected Peter to cover up his friend's stupidity, "Welcome back Giselle! What the hell are you doing here?" She accepted his warm hug and rolled her eyes, irritated by the repetition of questions.

"If one more person asks me why I'm here I'm going to freak out," warned Giselle, "I told you I would find a way to come back, you should never have doubted my power."

"Elle did what she did best and pissed off her father. Now you know, let's end this little reunion and go - we have to help McGonagall with dishing out the timetable James," ordered Lily, assuming her Head Girl facade and dragging the Head Boy away from the circle. James blinked exaggeratedly at her physical touch and revelled in his grin, deciding to keep his mouth shut in case he ruined the moment. He failed instantaneously.

"Whatever you say, Lily," he sighed, feigning indifference but he winked at his boys before Lily whisked him away.

"How long have they been doing that?" Giselle questioned the remaining pair as they followed the Heads. Remus ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and looked to Peter for help.

"The 'calling each other by their first names' part or the 'touching each other' part?" asked Peter, fighting a smirk.

"Both," clarified Giselle, delighted that this was, in fact, a thing.

"They started addressing each other properly last year but the touching is completely new," revealed Remus, smiling to himself. "I told him playing hard to get would work."

"That was playing hard to get?!" scoffed Giselle, gazing after the bickering pair. Lily showed him something she had written in her notebook but James stole the book and refused to give it back, Giselle watched Lily pretend to struggle against him but she only watched her hands; they didn't move from his biceps. Her jaw dropped. Oh my Merlin, she fancies the pants off him!

"Remember, this is James we're talking about," reminded Peter, sympathetic for the boy's lack of subtlety.

"It's never been this obvious though, Dumbledore totally set them up, look at her feeling him up!" whispered Giselle, pointing at her friend's feverish hands. Remus snickered and clapped her on the shoulder, agreeing with her sentiment.

"That's exactly what I said! It's good to have you back, Crouch!"

The Great Hall was buzzing with breakfast-goers and the Gryffindor trio made themselves at home at the end of their long table. She felt a few dozen eyes land on her face and the whispers spread throughout the hall like wildfire, eager to discuss the new student amongst them. She didn't have the confidence to inspect the Slytherin table for her brother or his fellow sixth-years, she didn't know if she had the energy to fight him this early on in the term. Her plan was to avoid Junior for as long as possible and she hoped he wouldn't hunt her down for another confrontation. Their last conversation involved Giselle asking him why she caught him in Knockturn Alley with a known Death Eater and he responded with an attempted Imperio curse and several stinging hexes; she wanted to carry on where they left off but doing so in the public corridors was not an ideal situation.

"We have so much to talk about," babbled Remus, interrupting her thoughts as he poured steaming tea into his mug, "I don't know where to start. How are you? What's Beauxbatons like? Do the Wood Nymphs really sing at every meal?"

"Great now I'm here, very French, and yes they do no matter how many times you ask them to stop," answered Giselle as she absently reached for the pile of croissants. "The palace was very over the top though, Hogwarts is much prettier in my opinion."

"I figured as much," sighed Peter, buttering his toast, "was the 'no Quidditch' rumour real?"

Giselle nodded sadly into her pastries, blinking her large inky eyes at them innocently. "Yeah, they didn't appreciate all of my petitions to reinstate the sport either so it turns out the French have a 'no humour allowed' rule too," she told them.

Remus clutched his chest sympathetically and reached over the table to pat her shoulder. "Poor girl, my condolences," he said seriously.

"I bet they just loved you!" chuckled Peter, giving her a proud nod.

Giselle immediately thought of the roaring fire that engulfed half the palace and summoned a pretty grin. "Yep! They were sad to see me go, they begged me to stay but I couldn't possibly grace them with my presence for another year."

"You got expelled, didn't you?" Remus called her out. Giselle flushed.

"I got expelled," she confessed grimly.

Her company burst into laughter, congratulating her on succeeding in her task. When they parted two years ago she left them on Platform nine and three quarters with a vow that she would do everything in her power to get herself expelled, the small flashback made Giselle smile but it slumped into a scowl when his revolting, idiotic face popped up again, spouting lies and showering her with false promises.

"I must say, I'm rather impressed," said Remus, noticing her grimace. Giselle lightened up and winked at him.

"Rather?! I was expecting a round of applause," she teased.

"Oh no, not from me - I'm a mature, sophisticated student now," announced Remus, puffing his chest out slightly so the glimmer of his prefect badge caught Giselle's eye. "No more nonsense from me, I'm a changed man, a whole new Remus Lupin."

"That's funny," snorted Peter, eyeing his friend suspiciously, "tell another joke."

"First James is Head Boy and now you're a prefect?!" spluttered Giselle, her eyes bulging when she spotted the metal shield pinned to his robes. "Has the world gone mad?! What next?! Peter's lead soprano in the choir?!"

"No way!" gasped Peter, adjusting the collar of his shirt nervously before mumbling under his breath, "…I'm an alto."

"Unbelievable!" said Giselle, exasperated.

Eventually James and Lily rejoined the table with their new timetables and Giselle tried to hide her panic as she compared her classes with those around her. She had a hunch about which of her lessons were potential war zones but she didn't want to acknowledge her glaring problem - they were going to have to sit in the same room whether she liked it or not.

James cleared his throat and leant forwards, pushing Remus' plate of food out of his way to kickstart the conversation that had been purposely ignored. Giselle looked up from her parchment and pouted at him, his smile was too mischievous for her liking.

"What?"

"I'm gonna be the one to say it," James said directly, locking eyes with her, "what's going on between you and Sirius?"

The thud of hatred hit her harder than expected, hearing his name come from Potter's mouth wounded her and she battled with her emotions to remain passive and calm. The four around her watched her carefully, it was blatantly obvious that they weren't as informed as she thought they would be and it confused her even more. What had he said to them?

Giselle licked her lips and assumed a perfect resting bitch face. "Who?"

James, Remus, and Peter guffawed and swapped looks of incredulity, not quite believing her response. Lily shrugged and sipped her tea, choosing to stay out of the discussion like the good friend she was.

"You know who," encouraged Remus but immediately cursed as Giselle exclaimed, "who, Voldemort?!" and it echoed slightly.

"Elle!" scolded Lily, her cheeks turning pink as heads turned their way in horror.

"I don't know who you're talking about," sighed Giselle, preparing to run away. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and jumped up from her seat but the three boys copied, they weren't going to let her get away that easily.

"Uh Giselle don't you dare-," James started to say, yanking his long legs from under the table in a panic.

"I've gotta go, lots to do, totally unrelated to whatever you guys are talking about," chatted Giselle, racing to beat James as she hurried to gather her possessions.

"You knew this was coming!" countered Remus, gulping down his scalding tea as fast as his oesophagus would allow him, "don't play dumb!"

"Bye! See you in class, Lils!" squeaked Giselle. She sprinted away from their cries, refusing to glance back as she knew they were on her tail. She pushed past a few Hufflepuffs and puffed out a quick 'sorry!' before dramatically changing her path to throw them off her scent by flying down the stairs towards the dungeons.

"You can't keep running! We will talk about this!" James shouted after her. Giselle continued to blank him and dove down a corridor that looked slightly recognisable. She knew there was a secret passageway here somewhere but her memory started to fail when she heard their footsteps get closer.

In a blind panic Giselle frantically patted the tapestries lining the wall and thanked the universe as her arm plunged through the picture of a flock of owls that guarded a crooked staircase. She whizzed up the stairs in record timing and burst into a dark, shrouded alcove lined with broken gargoyles that acted as a break in the passage. The exaggerated expressions of the statues looked vaguely familiar and she gasped when she realised she was now on the second floor, only a few dozen feet from the Charms classroom for her first lesson. Proud that her plan weirdly worked, Giselle used her hesitance to catch her breath but the sounds of three sets of feet on the stairs below felt like a kick to her knees.

"We're still coming!"

With a squeal Giselle ran down the passage and came face to face with two identical doors. She chose one at random, threw it open and went to dive inside but she suddenly realised that the cupboard it led to was currently occupied.

Giselle thought she died, she physically felt her soul leave her body as she locked eyes with Sirius Black for the first time in two years, a strong sense of whiplash had stolen her breath and she forgot how to function. He was tall like his friends but his chest and arms were thicker, vividly taut with new muscle, and his features were sharper than she remembered but the shadow of facial hair made him look much older and more intimidating. She hated how hot he had gotten, her attraction to him was a harsh slap in the face and Giselle violently stuffed that feeling to the back of her mind. He was standing directly in front of her, his shirt was unbuttoned and his striped tie was loose around his neck as he stroked Marlene's blonde curls but the pair jumped apart when the door burst open and Giselle noticed that Marlene's hands were stroking his-

"FUCKING HELL?! GISELLE?!" croaked Sirius. silver eyes wide in bewilderment. He jerked his body and rushed to zip his trousers up but he didn't take his eyes off of Giselle's - the staring contest was incredibly intense yet she wanted him to feel her anger. The longer she took in the details of his face the hotter her fury burned, the urge to attack him was stronger than she thought but she rejected the scandalous idea, she couldn't fight him straight away.

"Ew!" gagged Giselle, disgusted at the vulgar display of affection. Marlene yelped and stood up straight, mortified that they had been caught. Her pretty face flushed bright fuchsia and she turned to snap at their audience to go away but she never got the chance.

Giselle slammed the door in their faces and ran away, traumatised by this new revelation. That explains Marlene's shock this morning...

EDITED 23-08-21