Author's Note: I know this is short, but I'm extremely busy and wanted you to know that I am working on this. Just be patient cause I've got 9 stories I'm working on and 3 aren't even posted yet.
Disclaimer: Christine and Rachel are mine, the others aren't.
By the next day, everyone had heard about the incident that had happened in the Forbidden Forest. Professor McGonagall had apologized to Sirius about a million times, but she could not apologize to Rachel. She had locked herself up in the girls' dormitory, not letting anyone come in, and she wouldn't come out.
Rachel had been taken up to the infirmary to be helped with her wounds. She discovered that the claw marks on her face had left scars as Sirius had predicted. The others were worried about Rachel, But Sirius was beside himself.
"It's not your fault." Lily had told him.
"I could have prevented it." he said, staring straight ahead.
"You couldn't have known." replied Christine calmly.
"Yeah, don't beat yourself up about it." said James.
"She'll be okay in time." said Remus. It had not been a full moon, so nobody could blame Remus.
Rachel would not come to classes on Friday and Dumbledore let her have the day off. She was trying to cover her scars up. She had taken off her necklace and laid it on the vanity table. Looking in the mirror, she suddenly could not contain herself, and she threw a hair brush at it, shattering it to pieces. Rachel got up, sat on her bed, and started to cry.
She heard someone come in. She tried to stop crying so she wouldn't embarrass herself, but she cried even harder. She looked up and found that it was Sirius. She turned away not wanting to let him see her like this. The next thing she knew, he was kneeling down in front of her. She looked down at him, and she read his eyes. She saw that he was worried about her, and her stomach went on vacation.
He took his hand and lightly traced the scars that were etched upon her face. She started crying all over again. As she closed her eyes, she felt him cradle her head in his hands. "Don't." she whispered.
"Why?" he asked, in the same quiet voice.
"I don't want you to see me like this." she whispered back.
"Do you think I care about how you look?"
Rachel didn't say anything. She just kept her eyes closed. The next thing she felt was his lips lightly brushing against hers. "No." she said in a hoarse voice, touching his hands that still framed her face. "I don't like you like that."
"Are you sure?" he whispered.
"No." And Sirius kissed her again. She put her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, tears still flowing down her cheeks. The necklace lay forgotten on the vanity; glowing green.
Rachel and Sirius did not tell anyone about that day. Neither of them knew why they didn't tell anyone, and they hadn't spoke to each other about it either.
Sirius came running up to Rachel in the hallway. "Rachel." he said, trying to get her attention.
She heard Sirius' voice calling her name. She didn't want to talk to him. She was mad at herself for letting him kiss her the other day. She felt like she let down her emotional shield. She slowly turned around and faced him.
"I've got to talk to you." he said, looking her in the eyes.
"Well I don't."
"I don't care." he said, grabbing her wrist. He pulled her out of the school, and led her to the lake where Sirius made her sit down. Rachel said, "I don't want to talk to you Sirius. Leave me alone!"
"Why are you being like this?!" Sirius asked, agitated.
"You wouldn't understand." she said, looking away.
"Try me."
"It's not that simple." she said looking down at her hands. Sirius moved closer to her. She could feel his body next to hers. Rachel sighed. "About two years back, I had a crush on a muggle boy. I finally got to go out on a date with him . . .but, he did something that no one should do to another human being." she said, trying to hold back her tears. Sirius sat there silently and listened. "I'm afraid that if I let myself fall in love again, it'll happen all over again. And that's why I'm so scared . . .because I'm in love with you." she whispered the last part.
She looked up at him, and he could see the tears rolling silently down her face. Sirius stroked her hair, trying to think of something to say. "Do you think I'm like that?." he asked.
"I don't know. I just don't want to get hurt again." she replied.
"I would never hurt you."
Rachel smiled.
