Animal Instincts
Chapter 4 - Invitation
As the sun rose a very tired Remus Lupin along with Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew trudged into the Gryffindor common room. Remus collapsed inelegantly onto one of the couches.
"I can't believe I went after her." He murmured miserably. The others had told him about how he had gone after the train after catching Diana's scent. "What was I thinking! I could have done anything to her while I was like that."
"Calm down Moony; we got you out of there before you cause any damage. She doesn't know it was us." Sirius sat in a chair.
"No, but she knows it was a werewolf. She still thinks you all went to help your sick mother." Lily yawned and joined her friends. "She'll be down in abut ten minutes; she's almost dressed. She was adamant about talking to you guys right away."
"Thanks for covering for me Lily; I owe you again."
"No problem Remus. You know she seemed really upset that you guys left so abruptly like that. She was really worried."
"She was?" Lupin asked a little bit quicker then he wished to.
"Ooh, what was that I heard in your voice Remus?" Sirius was smirking as were the rest of the marauders and even Lily. "Does our little Moony have a crush on Diana?" He teased.
"Shut up Padfoot; I have a headache as it is." Remus muttered and settled into the cushions.
"I think you're right Sirius; have you seen the way he acts around her? I think killing her wasn't what he had on the brain last night." Peter snickered. The rest of the room erupted in fits of laughter.
"It's not funny guys!" Remus yelled suddenly and sat up.
"What's not funny?" Everyone turned to see Diana standing at the base of the stairs with a questioning look.
"I-It's nothing-" Remus blushed a little. Sirius started chuckling when he saw this and Lupin slammed his foot down on his.
"Ow! Damn it Moony-"
"Moony? What's that?" Diana moved closer to them.
"That's our nicknames. Remus is Moony, James is Prongs, Peter is Wormtail and I'm Padfoot." Sirius told her.
"Where'd you get the names from?"
"We, uh-" Sirius saw his friends frowning.
"One of the old teachers used to call them by those names when they were in trouble, that's all." Lily shrugged and glanced at the boys.
"Oh- How's your mother Remus?"
"Hm? Oh she's doing a little better, thank you for your concern." He stood up and tried to escape Diana who was moving closer.
"You're still really pale; are you going to be alright?"
"Yea; it's just the fatigue. It'll pass soon."
"If you say so, but I'm still worried."
"You are?" The whole room chorused in surprise.
"Well of course I am! I only know a few people here and I'd hate for any one of you to fall ill."
"Diana?" Sirius began out of nowhere.
"Yes?"
"There's a Halloween dance tonight and we're all going together; would you like to come with us? We can wear costumes."
"A dance? Well I suppose so; I got a costume while we were in Diagon Alley. Sure I'll go with you guys."
***Later That Day In Potions Class***
"Miss. Aphrodine; since you're new I will be pairing you up with Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black; they have two of the highest marks and should be able to help you catch up." Rang out the Potions Professor.
"Yes! We got Diana!" Cheered Sirius loudly. He moved over to make room between him and Remus for their friend.
"Shh, keep it down Padfoot!" Remus hushed. His cheeks reddened a little as Diana settled cautiously between them.
They managed to keep things going rather well for most of the class. Towards the end though it started to turn ugly. Remus and Diana were carefully adding the final ingredient to their potion when someone approached.
Remus and Diana were too busy measuring the amounts or powdered rat bone that was going into their potion to notice anything until they heard Sirius let out a ferocious, almost canine growl. They finished and then Remus looked up and stiffened immediately at what he saw. Diana turned questioningly.
Sirius was standing before her protectively and in front of him was a boy whom she had noticed when she was being seated. He was rather tall and about their age with shoulder length, greasy black hair and a large nose. His black eyes were shining threateningly at Sirius and his lip was curled up in a sneer.
"Who's he?" Diana inquired as she looked up at the still rigid Remus.
"That is Severus Snape. He's a Slytherin in our year. We- uh- don't get along very well to say the least. He and Sirius especially. He's always trying to get us expelled and almost never talks to anyone. He has no friends."
"Protecting your prize Black?" Severus scoffed.
"What do you want Snape?" Sirius snarled with hatred.
"I merely wanted to speak with that girl," Snape glanced at Diana, "nothing more."
"You'll have to get past me to talk to her you ugly git."
Snape's eyes flashed dangerously. "Why don't you let her decide if she wishes to talk to me? She's old enough to make her own decisions."
"Get lost you bloody Slytherin."
"Sirius-" Diana started but stopped when Remus clamped a hand on her shoulder.
"Leave him be."
Chapter 4 - Invitation
As the sun rose a very tired Remus Lupin along with Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew trudged into the Gryffindor common room. Remus collapsed inelegantly onto one of the couches.
"I can't believe I went after her." He murmured miserably. The others had told him about how he had gone after the train after catching Diana's scent. "What was I thinking! I could have done anything to her while I was like that."
"Calm down Moony; we got you out of there before you cause any damage. She doesn't know it was us." Sirius sat in a chair.
"No, but she knows it was a werewolf. She still thinks you all went to help your sick mother." Lily yawned and joined her friends. "She'll be down in abut ten minutes; she's almost dressed. She was adamant about talking to you guys right away."
"Thanks for covering for me Lily; I owe you again."
"No problem Remus. You know she seemed really upset that you guys left so abruptly like that. She was really worried."
"She was?" Lupin asked a little bit quicker then he wished to.
"Ooh, what was that I heard in your voice Remus?" Sirius was smirking as were the rest of the marauders and even Lily. "Does our little Moony have a crush on Diana?" He teased.
"Shut up Padfoot; I have a headache as it is." Remus muttered and settled into the cushions.
"I think you're right Sirius; have you seen the way he acts around her? I think killing her wasn't what he had on the brain last night." Peter snickered. The rest of the room erupted in fits of laughter.
"It's not funny guys!" Remus yelled suddenly and sat up.
"What's not funny?" Everyone turned to see Diana standing at the base of the stairs with a questioning look.
"I-It's nothing-" Remus blushed a little. Sirius started chuckling when he saw this and Lupin slammed his foot down on his.
"Ow! Damn it Moony-"
"Moony? What's that?" Diana moved closer to them.
"That's our nicknames. Remus is Moony, James is Prongs, Peter is Wormtail and I'm Padfoot." Sirius told her.
"Where'd you get the names from?"
"We, uh-" Sirius saw his friends frowning.
"One of the old teachers used to call them by those names when they were in trouble, that's all." Lily shrugged and glanced at the boys.
"Oh- How's your mother Remus?"
"Hm? Oh she's doing a little better, thank you for your concern." He stood up and tried to escape Diana who was moving closer.
"You're still really pale; are you going to be alright?"
"Yea; it's just the fatigue. It'll pass soon."
"If you say so, but I'm still worried."
"You are?" The whole room chorused in surprise.
"Well of course I am! I only know a few people here and I'd hate for any one of you to fall ill."
"Diana?" Sirius began out of nowhere.
"Yes?"
"There's a Halloween dance tonight and we're all going together; would you like to come with us? We can wear costumes."
"A dance? Well I suppose so; I got a costume while we were in Diagon Alley. Sure I'll go with you guys."
***Later That Day In Potions Class***
"Miss. Aphrodine; since you're new I will be pairing you up with Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black; they have two of the highest marks and should be able to help you catch up." Rang out the Potions Professor.
"Yes! We got Diana!" Cheered Sirius loudly. He moved over to make room between him and Remus for their friend.
"Shh, keep it down Padfoot!" Remus hushed. His cheeks reddened a little as Diana settled cautiously between them.
They managed to keep things going rather well for most of the class. Towards the end though it started to turn ugly. Remus and Diana were carefully adding the final ingredient to their potion when someone approached.
Remus and Diana were too busy measuring the amounts or powdered rat bone that was going into their potion to notice anything until they heard Sirius let out a ferocious, almost canine growl. They finished and then Remus looked up and stiffened immediately at what he saw. Diana turned questioningly.
Sirius was standing before her protectively and in front of him was a boy whom she had noticed when she was being seated. He was rather tall and about their age with shoulder length, greasy black hair and a large nose. His black eyes were shining threateningly at Sirius and his lip was curled up in a sneer.
"Who's he?" Diana inquired as she looked up at the still rigid Remus.
"That is Severus Snape. He's a Slytherin in our year. We- uh- don't get along very well to say the least. He and Sirius especially. He's always trying to get us expelled and almost never talks to anyone. He has no friends."
"Protecting your prize Black?" Severus scoffed.
"What do you want Snape?" Sirius snarled with hatred.
"I merely wanted to speak with that girl," Snape glanced at Diana, "nothing more."
"You'll have to get past me to talk to her you ugly git."
Snape's eyes flashed dangerously. "Why don't you let her decide if she wishes to talk to me? She's old enough to make her own decisions."
"Get lost you bloody Slytherin."
"Sirius-" Diana started but stopped when Remus clamped a hand on her shoulder.
"Leave him be."