"Sirius, come on!" Rhia whined the next day, dragging her friend through
the crowd at the station. "We're going to be late!"
"We won't be late Rhia, you just want to see Remus!"
"Sirius!" Rhia cried, her ears turning red.
"It's true, just be quiet." Sirius replied. "Hurry up, I need to talk to the others."
"About what?" Rhia asked as they sped up, gaining speed before bursting through the barrier that separated Platforms 9 and 10.
"About none of your business." he retorted, shooting her a look.
"Oh, come on, Sir, I'll find out sooner or later." She whined.
"This is just a thing for us fellows." Sirius insisted. "Come on, put your stuff away so we can get on the train!"
"Rushy." She muttered, putting her trunk in the proper place before following him onto the train and into the compartment where everyone waited, along with Peter, who was unusually on time.
"Finally, we were worried you'd be late." James said, beckoning him into the corner near the window where all the boys crouched.
"What are you doing?" Rhia asked.
"They've been muttering about something since we got here." Lily dismissed them with a wave of her hand.
"They won't even let us have a peek." Annie moaned.
"That's because it's none of your business." Remus shot at his little sister, and she promptly stuck her tongue out in reply.
"Why don't you three just go in another compartment?" Sirius suggested.
"We'll come get you when we're done-" James added.
"James, really-"
"Please?" James gave Lily a pleaded look and her face softened.
"Alright, come on." She nodded to Rhia and Annie, who followed her out to another box.
"I think I've found the perfect plan." James said excitedly, his voice low.
"Will this work, James? The last time you said you had it, we ended up sprouting feathers. Are you sure?" Sirius asked, snickering.
"Yes! I found a book in my dad's library, it explains how to do it, what we need, everything. It's a lot of transfiguration work, but if you know the basic tenants, it's just a potion and an incantation away!"
"You guys, I don't know if this is right... I mean, McGonagall told us all about Animagi in class last year, it sounds really dangerous." Peter whined.
"Well, you don't have to be in if you don't want to, Peter." Sirius shot. "But don't go blabbing to anyone! We could get in trouble for this."
Remus suddenly sat up. "You know, Sirius, you have a point. This is dangerous. Are you sure it's worth it?"
"Remus, of course it is! We're your friends, we will be with you through everything. This werewolf thing is nothing. You're one of us." James said, smiling.
On the other side of the compartment door, Rhia's eyes were deathly wide.
"Oh, my word..." she whispered to Lily and Annie.
"Oh, Rhia..." Annie looked down at the floor. "I wanted...we wanted to tell you, honestly. It's just...."
"Come on, in here." Lily ushered the two into an empty compartment.
"How could you not tell me?!" Rhia cried, slumping into a chair.
"Listen," said Lily as she sat across from her, Annie at Lily's side, "when the boys finally figured out what was going on in our first year, the also figured out about you. I mean, you're both gone at the same time, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."
"But-"
"Let me finish." Lily cut her off. "When we found out, Dumbledore said not to tell either of you we knew."
"Why?" she asked, leaning forward with a mixture of worry and anticipation.
"We don't know. He just said so." She replied. "And that's why we never told you."
"And that's why you must never tell Remus you know." Annie added.
"But-"
"You mustn't." Lily interrupted.
"He's extremely closed off about it." Annie explained.
"How did he...you know?" asked Rhia.
"Annie?" Lily looked to the younger girl.
"I was only about four when he was bitten, so I don't remember much." Annie said. "All I can recall is that he was seven or six and was playing in the woods when it happened. Mum and Father still haven't found a cure. He hides..." Annie looked to Lily for approval. Lily nodded.
"Go on." Rhia encouraged.
"He hides in the Whomping Willow."
~*~
"You see?" Sirius said, pointing to a picture in the book spread on his and Peter's laps titled Little-Known and Complicated Secrets That Have Been Long Forgotten of Ancient Wizarding in Olde England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Other Parts of Britannia That Have Also Been Long Forgotten. The picture showed a man pointing a wand at himself and muttering a long incantation before taking a long draught of a potion he held in the other hand.
"So that's how it's done?" asked Remus.
"That's what James told me." Sirius said, covering for his friend who had gone out to buy snacks from the chubby witch they had turned down earlier.
"And he's been studying this stuff forever." Peter added.
"So we'll try it soon." He whispered with a grin as Rhia, Lily, and Annie walked in.
"We're almost there, you boys should change into your robes," Annie remarked, sitting down primly in a window seat. Lily followed.
"Where's James?" she asked.
"Right here." James walked in, tossing some snacks to Sirius and Peter before planting a kiss on Lily's lips. Rhia jumped on Sirius, grabbing a chocolate frog from his hand and biting its head off.
Lily looked at Rhia ten minutes later as the train was slowing down. Remus was sitting in the corner with James, diligently discussing something. Rhia was standing by the door, absentmindedly listening to Sirius drone on about one thing or another. Instead, she was staring at Remus, her eyes full of longing. Somehow, Remus' eyes would dart to Rhia; - he knew she was watching him - and he didn't seem to mind. Quite the contrary. And yet, Rhia didn't catch it at all. Lily sighed, leaning back into James. Her friends were so blind sometimes.
~*~
"Isis!" Annie cried, waving to her friend as they stepped off the train. A tall girl with dark hair and captivating eyes hurried her way. She was quite beautiful, with a curvy figure and the face of an Egyptian Goddess.
"Annie, I've missed you so much!" Isis hugged her tightly.
"Look at you, you've grown so much over the holidays!" Annie said with a smile as she stood back to look at her friend.
"And you.well, your hair's gotten curlier." Isis smiled and Annie rolled her eyes.
"Who's that?" Rhia asked Lily as they walked onto the platform, straightening their uniforms.
"That's Isis Hawthorne." James said, taking Lily's hand.
"Remus seems to be taking interest, hmm?" Sirius added with a snicker and Rhia shot him a look. Indeed, Remus was looking- staring- at the girl. Yes, she was beautiful, any boy would look at her. She had no reason to be jealous...right?
"Come on, we'll be late for the feast." Lily tugged at her friend's arm, pulling her into a carriage with James and Sirius. Peter and Remus were in the other carriage with Annie and Isis.
"You seem out of it today, Ree." Sirius said, punching his friend lightly in her arm.
"Bug off, Sirius, girls are allowed to be moody." Rhia retorted.
"Oh, is that why you're like this?" James grinned.
"James!" Lily admonished.
"Lily!" James cried.
"Would you two just calm down!" Rhia cried, staring out the window. "We're nearly there, let's all just get along."
They sat in silence, listening to the wind blow about the horseless carriage as they approached the great castle that was Hogwarts. The carriage stopped and they got out, walking into the fortress for another year of schooling, fun, and mischief and making their way into the Great Hall for the beginning-of-term feast.
"Come on Rhia, cheer up!" Sirius laughed later that night, when they were sitting in front of the fire. "You've barely said two words all night!"
Rhiannon turned to Sirius. "You knew... you knew about both of us, but you never told me! Dumbledore never told you not to tell, why couldn't you tell me?"
Sirius stared at her blankly. "What?"
"Remus!" she whispered frantically. "You never told me Remus is a werewolf!"
Sirius' eyes widened. "How'd you-"
"I was listening at the door. I'll admit it! But you, oh, you're supposed to be my best friend! You know about me, and you know how I feel about Remus! How could you not tell me, Sir?"
Sirius leaned back, which was hard considering they had squeezed into one armchair. "Rhiannon, I couldn't tell you. All of us, James and Peter and Remus and I, we made a pact!" Rhia jumped up, almost knocking Sirius out of the chair.
"Oh, the precious Marauders! How dare I think I could interfere with you four!" she cried, drawing the attention from half the room. "Sirius Black... how could you?" Rhia looked at him one last time before bounding up the stairs to her dorm. Sirius moved his gaze to the fire, thinking hard.
Meanwhile, across the room...
"Egypt? Wow." Remus was saying as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"My parents were born there." Isis replied, toying with a piece of her dark hair. "I'm named after the supreme Egyptian goddess, you know."
"No, I didn't." Remus smiled.
"What about you?" Isis asked, putting her hand on his knee. "Do you have any little-known secrets?"
"Me?" Remus glanced about nervously. "Well, I...."
"He plays guitar." Annie covered, quickly walking to her brother's side.
"Really?" Isis' eyes lit up. "How splendid!"
"In fact, he's got his guitar up in his room right now. It's under his bed. He calls it his baby and-"
"That's enough." Remus shot his little sister a look.
"Come on, Isis, let's go to our room." Annie nodded to the stairs. "Night, Remus."
"G'night, Annie, Isis." He replied.
"Goodnight." Isis smiled at him before going up the stairs and finding Annie in their room, unpacking her trunk.
"I'm dead tired." Annie yawned. "So I think I'll finish unpacking and go to sleep."
"Your brother is incredible." Isis said with a little sigh, falling back onto her bed.
"Ew, he's my brother, don't talk about him like that." Annie wrinkled her nose. "Besides, you though Lucius Malfoy was 'incredible' for a while."
"Oh, hush." Isis rolled her eyes, sitting up. "His friends, James and Sirius aren't bad either."
"Well, I can't say anything bad about Sirius, but James is with Lily." Annie smiled, turning down her lamp and getting into bed. The room lay quiet for a few minutes.
"Annie?" Isis' voice broke the silence.
"Hmmm?"
"Does he really call his guitar his baby?"
Annie laughed. "Yes, he calls it his baby, but don't tell him I told you unless you want to lose your best friend."
~*~
"Goodnight Rhia," Lily called from her bed a few feet away.
"Mmmhmm," Rhia answered. She didn't feel like talking at the moment. Her thoughts kept going back to Remus, and the way he kept looking at that Isis girl...
She couldn't stand this. She couldn't stand the suffering in the dark. Silently, Rhiannon got up and made her way down to the common room. Maybe she'd read a book and fall asleep. But when she got down there, she saw the common room wasn't empty like she had hoped.
"Hey Rhia, what are you doing up?" James asked from in front of the fire.
"James... I couldn't sleep." Rhia sat down next to him on the couch. Even though Lily was her best friend, she had never really gotten close with James. They sat in awkward silence for a while.
"So..." James offered, looking over at Rhia. She smiled meekly.
"What are you doing awake?" she asked.
"Thinking about Lily's birthday... I don't know what to do for her that will be really special." He blushed. "She's turning sixteen in December. Muggles place a lot of emphasis on their "sweet sixteen", as she calls it, so I want to make it special for her."
"James, that's really sweet," Rhia offered. They sat in silence once more.
"Something up?" James asked, thumbing through a Quidditch magazine.
"No, nothing really...." Rhia said, sighing to herself softly. "But...."
"But what?" He looked up at her.
"Do you think Remus and Isis make a cute couple?" she lied, hoping he wouldn't see straight through her.
"Kinda, yeah." He replied. "Why?"
"No reason." She said, watching the flames dance merrily in the fireplace.
"Well, I'm going to bed." James stood up. "We've got classes first thing tomorrow." He gave a little grin.
"Night, then." Rhia offered.
"Night," he replied, leaving her alone in the commons area. She sat in the silence, watching the fire die out before standing up herself and going to bed.
"We won't be late Rhia, you just want to see Remus!"
"Sirius!" Rhia cried, her ears turning red.
"It's true, just be quiet." Sirius replied. "Hurry up, I need to talk to the others."
"About what?" Rhia asked as they sped up, gaining speed before bursting through the barrier that separated Platforms 9 and 10.
"About none of your business." he retorted, shooting her a look.
"Oh, come on, Sir, I'll find out sooner or later." She whined.
"This is just a thing for us fellows." Sirius insisted. "Come on, put your stuff away so we can get on the train!"
"Rushy." She muttered, putting her trunk in the proper place before following him onto the train and into the compartment where everyone waited, along with Peter, who was unusually on time.
"Finally, we were worried you'd be late." James said, beckoning him into the corner near the window where all the boys crouched.
"What are you doing?" Rhia asked.
"They've been muttering about something since we got here." Lily dismissed them with a wave of her hand.
"They won't even let us have a peek." Annie moaned.
"That's because it's none of your business." Remus shot at his little sister, and she promptly stuck her tongue out in reply.
"Why don't you three just go in another compartment?" Sirius suggested.
"We'll come get you when we're done-" James added.
"James, really-"
"Please?" James gave Lily a pleaded look and her face softened.
"Alright, come on." She nodded to Rhia and Annie, who followed her out to another box.
"I think I've found the perfect plan." James said excitedly, his voice low.
"Will this work, James? The last time you said you had it, we ended up sprouting feathers. Are you sure?" Sirius asked, snickering.
"Yes! I found a book in my dad's library, it explains how to do it, what we need, everything. It's a lot of transfiguration work, but if you know the basic tenants, it's just a potion and an incantation away!"
"You guys, I don't know if this is right... I mean, McGonagall told us all about Animagi in class last year, it sounds really dangerous." Peter whined.
"Well, you don't have to be in if you don't want to, Peter." Sirius shot. "But don't go blabbing to anyone! We could get in trouble for this."
Remus suddenly sat up. "You know, Sirius, you have a point. This is dangerous. Are you sure it's worth it?"
"Remus, of course it is! We're your friends, we will be with you through everything. This werewolf thing is nothing. You're one of us." James said, smiling.
On the other side of the compartment door, Rhia's eyes were deathly wide.
"Oh, my word..." she whispered to Lily and Annie.
"Oh, Rhia..." Annie looked down at the floor. "I wanted...we wanted to tell you, honestly. It's just...."
"Come on, in here." Lily ushered the two into an empty compartment.
"How could you not tell me?!" Rhia cried, slumping into a chair.
"Listen," said Lily as she sat across from her, Annie at Lily's side, "when the boys finally figured out what was going on in our first year, the also figured out about you. I mean, you're both gone at the same time, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."
"But-"
"Let me finish." Lily cut her off. "When we found out, Dumbledore said not to tell either of you we knew."
"Why?" she asked, leaning forward with a mixture of worry and anticipation.
"We don't know. He just said so." She replied. "And that's why we never told you."
"And that's why you must never tell Remus you know." Annie added.
"But-"
"You mustn't." Lily interrupted.
"He's extremely closed off about it." Annie explained.
"How did he...you know?" asked Rhia.
"Annie?" Lily looked to the younger girl.
"I was only about four when he was bitten, so I don't remember much." Annie said. "All I can recall is that he was seven or six and was playing in the woods when it happened. Mum and Father still haven't found a cure. He hides..." Annie looked to Lily for approval. Lily nodded.
"Go on." Rhia encouraged.
"He hides in the Whomping Willow."
~*~
"You see?" Sirius said, pointing to a picture in the book spread on his and Peter's laps titled Little-Known and Complicated Secrets That Have Been Long Forgotten of Ancient Wizarding in Olde England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Other Parts of Britannia That Have Also Been Long Forgotten. The picture showed a man pointing a wand at himself and muttering a long incantation before taking a long draught of a potion he held in the other hand.
"So that's how it's done?" asked Remus.
"That's what James told me." Sirius said, covering for his friend who had gone out to buy snacks from the chubby witch they had turned down earlier.
"And he's been studying this stuff forever." Peter added.
"So we'll try it soon." He whispered with a grin as Rhia, Lily, and Annie walked in.
"We're almost there, you boys should change into your robes," Annie remarked, sitting down primly in a window seat. Lily followed.
"Where's James?" she asked.
"Right here." James walked in, tossing some snacks to Sirius and Peter before planting a kiss on Lily's lips. Rhia jumped on Sirius, grabbing a chocolate frog from his hand and biting its head off.
Lily looked at Rhia ten minutes later as the train was slowing down. Remus was sitting in the corner with James, diligently discussing something. Rhia was standing by the door, absentmindedly listening to Sirius drone on about one thing or another. Instead, she was staring at Remus, her eyes full of longing. Somehow, Remus' eyes would dart to Rhia; - he knew she was watching him - and he didn't seem to mind. Quite the contrary. And yet, Rhia didn't catch it at all. Lily sighed, leaning back into James. Her friends were so blind sometimes.
~*~
"Isis!" Annie cried, waving to her friend as they stepped off the train. A tall girl with dark hair and captivating eyes hurried her way. She was quite beautiful, with a curvy figure and the face of an Egyptian Goddess.
"Annie, I've missed you so much!" Isis hugged her tightly.
"Look at you, you've grown so much over the holidays!" Annie said with a smile as she stood back to look at her friend.
"And you.well, your hair's gotten curlier." Isis smiled and Annie rolled her eyes.
"Who's that?" Rhia asked Lily as they walked onto the platform, straightening their uniforms.
"That's Isis Hawthorne." James said, taking Lily's hand.
"Remus seems to be taking interest, hmm?" Sirius added with a snicker and Rhia shot him a look. Indeed, Remus was looking- staring- at the girl. Yes, she was beautiful, any boy would look at her. She had no reason to be jealous...right?
"Come on, we'll be late for the feast." Lily tugged at her friend's arm, pulling her into a carriage with James and Sirius. Peter and Remus were in the other carriage with Annie and Isis.
"You seem out of it today, Ree." Sirius said, punching his friend lightly in her arm.
"Bug off, Sirius, girls are allowed to be moody." Rhia retorted.
"Oh, is that why you're like this?" James grinned.
"James!" Lily admonished.
"Lily!" James cried.
"Would you two just calm down!" Rhia cried, staring out the window. "We're nearly there, let's all just get along."
They sat in silence, listening to the wind blow about the horseless carriage as they approached the great castle that was Hogwarts. The carriage stopped and they got out, walking into the fortress for another year of schooling, fun, and mischief and making their way into the Great Hall for the beginning-of-term feast.
"Come on Rhia, cheer up!" Sirius laughed later that night, when they were sitting in front of the fire. "You've barely said two words all night!"
Rhiannon turned to Sirius. "You knew... you knew about both of us, but you never told me! Dumbledore never told you not to tell, why couldn't you tell me?"
Sirius stared at her blankly. "What?"
"Remus!" she whispered frantically. "You never told me Remus is a werewolf!"
Sirius' eyes widened. "How'd you-"
"I was listening at the door. I'll admit it! But you, oh, you're supposed to be my best friend! You know about me, and you know how I feel about Remus! How could you not tell me, Sir?"
Sirius leaned back, which was hard considering they had squeezed into one armchair. "Rhiannon, I couldn't tell you. All of us, James and Peter and Remus and I, we made a pact!" Rhia jumped up, almost knocking Sirius out of the chair.
"Oh, the precious Marauders! How dare I think I could interfere with you four!" she cried, drawing the attention from half the room. "Sirius Black... how could you?" Rhia looked at him one last time before bounding up the stairs to her dorm. Sirius moved his gaze to the fire, thinking hard.
Meanwhile, across the room...
"Egypt? Wow." Remus was saying as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"My parents were born there." Isis replied, toying with a piece of her dark hair. "I'm named after the supreme Egyptian goddess, you know."
"No, I didn't." Remus smiled.
"What about you?" Isis asked, putting her hand on his knee. "Do you have any little-known secrets?"
"Me?" Remus glanced about nervously. "Well, I...."
"He plays guitar." Annie covered, quickly walking to her brother's side.
"Really?" Isis' eyes lit up. "How splendid!"
"In fact, he's got his guitar up in his room right now. It's under his bed. He calls it his baby and-"
"That's enough." Remus shot his little sister a look.
"Come on, Isis, let's go to our room." Annie nodded to the stairs. "Night, Remus."
"G'night, Annie, Isis." He replied.
"Goodnight." Isis smiled at him before going up the stairs and finding Annie in their room, unpacking her trunk.
"I'm dead tired." Annie yawned. "So I think I'll finish unpacking and go to sleep."
"Your brother is incredible." Isis said with a little sigh, falling back onto her bed.
"Ew, he's my brother, don't talk about him like that." Annie wrinkled her nose. "Besides, you though Lucius Malfoy was 'incredible' for a while."
"Oh, hush." Isis rolled her eyes, sitting up. "His friends, James and Sirius aren't bad either."
"Well, I can't say anything bad about Sirius, but James is with Lily." Annie smiled, turning down her lamp and getting into bed. The room lay quiet for a few minutes.
"Annie?" Isis' voice broke the silence.
"Hmmm?"
"Does he really call his guitar his baby?"
Annie laughed. "Yes, he calls it his baby, but don't tell him I told you unless you want to lose your best friend."
~*~
"Goodnight Rhia," Lily called from her bed a few feet away.
"Mmmhmm," Rhia answered. She didn't feel like talking at the moment. Her thoughts kept going back to Remus, and the way he kept looking at that Isis girl...
She couldn't stand this. She couldn't stand the suffering in the dark. Silently, Rhiannon got up and made her way down to the common room. Maybe she'd read a book and fall asleep. But when she got down there, she saw the common room wasn't empty like she had hoped.
"Hey Rhia, what are you doing up?" James asked from in front of the fire.
"James... I couldn't sleep." Rhia sat down next to him on the couch. Even though Lily was her best friend, she had never really gotten close with James. They sat in awkward silence for a while.
"So..." James offered, looking over at Rhia. She smiled meekly.
"What are you doing awake?" she asked.
"Thinking about Lily's birthday... I don't know what to do for her that will be really special." He blushed. "She's turning sixteen in December. Muggles place a lot of emphasis on their "sweet sixteen", as she calls it, so I want to make it special for her."
"James, that's really sweet," Rhia offered. They sat in silence once more.
"Something up?" James asked, thumbing through a Quidditch magazine.
"No, nothing really...." Rhia said, sighing to herself softly. "But...."
"But what?" He looked up at her.
"Do you think Remus and Isis make a cute couple?" she lied, hoping he wouldn't see straight through her.
"Kinda, yeah." He replied. "Why?"
"No reason." She said, watching the flames dance merrily in the fireplace.
"Well, I'm going to bed." James stood up. "We've got classes first thing tomorrow." He gave a little grin.
"Night, then." Rhia offered.
"Night," he replied, leaving her alone in the commons area. She sat in the silence, watching the fire die out before standing up herself and going to bed.