Chapter 36: Coincidence

After a few days, things smoothed themselves out. We started to become used to living independently. The only thing that remained real problem was our terrible cooking. We visited Lily's parents often since we could Apparate straight to her house and back. I fear we nearly gave poor Mrs. Evans a heart attack the first time we Apparated into her kitchen while she was cooking dinner. Mr. Evans, however, was fascinated by Apparation. Petunia, we were pleased to hear, had moved out and was engaged to that boyfriend she'd had for years.

I received a letter from Addi one day inviting us to go to a party her school was having after graduation. We all decided to go. The dress was formal, muggle formal, of course. Lily took charge of dressing all of us.

"Hurry," said Lily. "We'll miss the train."

"I don't see why we can't Apparate," complained James.

"Because it's a muggle party!" said Lily. "We can't just Apparate into the middle of it. We're taking the train." So we Apparated to the train station and took the two hour ride to Clearglen School. We arrived and got to the party, which was outside behind the school.

"Now remember," said Lily to James and I more so than Sirius. "Act like Muggles. Don't do anything suspicious, I mean it. No spells. Understand?" James and I nodded.

"Sirius?" said Lily.

"Oh Lil, you know you can trust me," said Sirius, grinning. James and I forced loud laughter.

"Oh shut it!" Sirius snapped, his tone slightly angry. He hadn't been in a very good mood over the last few days. One minute he'd be joking and grinning, and the next he'd be angry, or just silent. We meandered around the edge of the party.

"Hey Moony, I need to talk to Addi alone for a few minutes," said Sirius. "Then I'll bring her over here, all right?"

"Sure," I said, as Sirius set off. James, Lily and I remained at the outer edge of the party. We stood in silence, feeling rather out of place. No one said anything to us. Then, out of no where, a girl came running from the woods and bumped into James.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," apologized the girl, whose strawberry blonde hair was streaming messily from the elegant bun twisted on top of her head. Her long black dress was tattered and dirt stained. Judging from the scrapes and bruises on her face and arms, it appeared she'd fallen. I looked at her more closely. Her face was red and her eyes puffy, like she'd been crying.

"That's all right," said James calmly. "Don't worry about it." He turned away and the girl turned to leave.

"Hey, wait," said Lily, examining her state more closely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the girl said nervously, her voice quivering. "I—I'm fine. Just taking a little jog, th--that's all."

"Are you sure?" questioned Lily, glancing at the girl's platform heels.

"Yeah, really, it's all right," said the girl, frantically rubbing her eyes. "You're not from this school, are you?"

"No," said Lily. "We're visiting a friend."

"Oh," said the girl. "Well, I'm Marianna."

"I'm Lily," said Lily. "And this is James, and this is Remus."

"Remus?" said Marianna, thoughtfully. "You're Addi's boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, wondering how she knew.

"Addi and I are like best friends," Marianna explained. "And she talks about you all the time."

"Oh," I said.

"Well, I'd better go," said Marianna suddenly. "Nice meeting you all." She took off running again.

"Nice meeting you too!" we called.

"That was odd," said Lily. "I wonder why she was really running."

"Girls," said James, shaking his head.

"Hey!" said Lily, acting offended. Just then, a tall, blonde, rather tough looking fellow came running in our direction.

"Fancy that," said James. "I guess people around here like running."

"Where'd that girl you were just talking to go?" he demanded.

"What girl?" said James, glancing around stupidly. "I don't see any girl."

"Don't play stupid, you know who I'm talking about!" he shouted.

"Oohh, her," I said. "I don't remember which way she went, sorry." I glanced in the direction she had gone, making sure she wasn't in sight. I wondered what the guy wanted with her, but he didn't seem pleased.

"I think she went that way," said Lily, pointing in a different direction, towards the woods.

"You sure?" he asked doubtfully.

"Positive," said Lily.

"You'd better be," he answered, running towards the woods.

"Hey watch it!" called James angrily. "Don't talk to her like that!" James groaned.

"What a jerk," muttered Lily. "I wonder what he wanted with Marianna."

"I don't know," I said. "But I think it's good we didn't tell him where she really went."

"Let's go dance, James," said Lily, taking James' hand.

"All right," said James. "See you, Moony."

"Bye," I called, and went to look for Sirius and Addi. I spotted them near the center of the dance floor, dancing together, deep in conversation. I wanted to go over to them, but found myself shaking with nervousness at the thought of dancing with Addi. I drew in a deep breath and began walking toward them slowly, hoping she'd see me first, but she didn't. I walked up behind Sirius and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you, uh, mind?" I asked nervously. Addi grinned at me. She looked beautiful in a turquoise dress that matched her sparkling eyes. Sirius stepped aside.

"She's all yours, Moony," he said.

"Hi Addi," I said.

"Hi Remus," she replied. There was an awkward pause. I realized that we weren't dancing yet, so I put my arms around Addi's waist and we began to dance.

"I'm glad to see you," I said.

"Me too," replied Addi. I looked deep into her eyes. Kiss her, a voice inside my head said. Kiss her. I nervously leaned down and kissed her on the lips. We separated. Addi was blushing and I could feel my cheeks turning red. We both grinned nervously.

"So, how have you been?" she asked.

"Okay, I guess," I said.

"I'm really sorry about your mum," she said, placing her hand on the side of my face. "I really wanted to be at the funeral, but I had finals and I couldn't get out of school."

"It's fine," I said honestly. "I'm all right. So, how have you been?"

"I'm okay," she said. "It's my friend Mari that's worrying me."

"Do you mean Marianna?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Addi. "Do you remember me talking about her?"

"Actually we, er, met her on the way in," I said.

"Really?" asked Addi. "Was everything all right?"

"I guess so," I said. "Why?"

"Well, she's going out with this complete git, Steve," Addi said frowning. "And he's such a jerk. He's abusive and he won't leave her alone." I felt a jolt in my stomach. Everything made sense.

"Well, um, when we met Marianna, I think she was running from him," I said. "And then after that, he came over to us and asked which direction she'd gone in. We told him she'd gone into the woods, so he went in there. But that's not where she went," I said.

"Oh, God," said Addi.

"Don't worry," I said. "Maybe we'll get lucky and a tree will fall on him or something." She laughed. We danced in silence for a while. I noticed Addi staring at something behind me with a worried expression.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," said Addi. "It's just Sirius." She sighed. "I think he's really missing Erin again."

"Want to go talk to him?" I suggested.

"No, he's walking away," said Addi. "Maybe we should just let him have some time alone. How's he been acting lately?"

"Actually, he's seemed pretty well," I said. "We went grocery shopping the other day and he bought half of the store." Addi laughed.

"That's Sirius," she said. "Always hungry, but he's hopeless at cooking."

"Yeah, we figured that out too," I said. "He and James blew up the oven the other night," I said. Addi giggled.

"You have no idea how many times he did that when" she paused. "When dad was still alive," she finished quietly. There was another awkward silence.

"I'm sorry for making you remember that," I apologized.

"Oh, no, no, it's not your fault," said Addi, blinking back tears. "I'm fine." I brushed the tears from her cheeks. She forced a smile and leaned her head on my shoulder as we continued dancing.

The song ended, and another began to play.

"So, where are Lily and James?" asked Addi. "I'd like to congratulate them on their engagement." We found Lily and James standing next to the punch bowl.

"Hey, Lily, James," said Addi.

"Hi Addi," said Lily.

"Hi," said James.

"So, I heard the big news," said Addi. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," said Lily. James just grinned.

"I'm so happy for you two," said Addi, hugging Lily. "Ooh, let me see your ring!" she squealed.

"Girls," said James shaking his head. I nodded.

"Hey, we heard that!" said Lily. James and I grinned.

"You're so lucky," Addi said to Lily.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Remus will ask you," said Lily. Addi shrugged. I felt a stab of guilt. That's what she wanted. I hadn't even done any serious thinking about it yet. I forced myself to keep a smile on my face. Addi glanced off, and suddenly her expression changed.

"Oh God," she moaned. "What is he doing now?"

"What? Who?" I said.

"Sirius," she said, pointing. I saw Sirius standing with a group of girls.

"Sirius always flirts with girls," said James, shrugging.

"No," said Addi. "Look who's holding his hand." I looked more closely.

"Marianna," I said slowly, certain that that's who the strawberry blonde haired girl holding his hand was.

"That girl we met?" asked James.

"Yeah," I said.

"What the hell does he think he's doing!" demanded Addi furiously. "If Steven finds out about this he'll kill Mari, and Sirius! I'm going to go talk to him right now!" She stormed off, James Lily and I trailing behind.

"Addi said that git Steven is abusive," I told them quietly. Lily looked horrified.

"There goes Sirius getting himself into another relationship again," said James, sighing. I nodded grimly. Addi had been right about him missing Erin a lot lately. Every time he missed her, he'd find any girl to go out with, sometimes for a week, sometimes a month, sometimes two days, and then he'd leave them for no reason. But we'd never known him to get involved with a girl that already had a boyfriend.

"Sirius," said Addi, in a calmer tone than she'd just been using. "Sirius, what are you doing?" The rest of us stood awkwardly outside of the group observing. Marianna glanced back and forth between Addi and Sirius, looking thoroughly confused. Sirius shrugged.

"Meet my new friend, Mari," said Sirius, grinning. Addi and Marianna exchanged glances.

"No, no, Sirius," said Addi bitterly. "Meet my best friend, Marianna." Sirius raised his eyebrows. "And Mari," Addi continued. "Meet my brother, Sirius Black."

"He's your brother?" asked Marianna.

"What a coincidence," said Sirius, shrugging.

"Yeah, he's my brother," said Addi. "And he'd better have a good explanation for all of this."

"For what?" asked Sirius. Addi ignored him.

"Mari, where's Steven?" she demanded. Mari remained silent, wide-eyed and nervous.

"Sirius, what did you do?" Addi asked. "Honestly, have you got nothing in that head of yours?"

"Well, actually there could be some air in there, dust, spider webs..." said Sirius. Mari laughed nervously. Addi groaned.

"Why can't you just answer me honestly?" she asked.

"Why can't you ever just leave me alone?" said Sirius. "All of you!" he added to Lily, James and I. "Is it so hard to understand that I know how to take care of myself?" Addi said nothing back to him, but I could see her eyes filling with tears. I glared at Sirius. It made me so angry that he'd shouted at Addi like that, that I started to let out a growl. I caught myself and stopped. It was getting too close to full moon. Addi turned to march away, and I followed. James and Lily were walking off in the other direction. I could hear Addi's sobbing from behind her, but she didn't even realize that I was behind her. She sat down in a chair at the side of the dance floor, tears pouring from her eyes. I sat down next to her, and she barely acknowledged that I pulled her into my arms. She sobbed into my shoulder for a long time, soaking the jacket of my tuxedo. I was furious with Sirius for upsetting her like that. How could he be so selfish and irresponsible? Addi finally lifted her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, noticing my soaked shoulder.

"It's okay," I whispered.

"Sirius can be so stubborn," she said. "I just don't want to see him or Mari get hurt."

"I know," I said. "But everything will work out. It always does, right?"

"I guess so," said Addi.

"Now put a smile on that beautiful face," I said. Addi grinned through her tears.

"That's my Addi," I said. "Come on, let's go dance." I led her onto the dance floor.

"So, you're really excited about the job you were offered?" I asked. "You certainly sounded like it in the letter." She grinned.

"Yeah, it'll be exciting to work for a member of parliament," she said. "But I'm sure it won't be nearly as exciting as what you'll be doing." She grinned. I realized that I'd never told her what had happened with the scholarship.

"Oh, I didn't take the scholarship," I said flatly.

"You didn't? Why not?"

"Well, it wasn't really my decision. I spoke to Dumbledore, and he said that, well, because of—of what I am, that, well, I wouldn't be allowed to accept the scholarship."

"Oh, I'm sorry Remus," said Addi sympathetically. "You must be so disappointed." She pulled me closer.

"No, no, I'm fine," I said honestly. "Dumbledore offered me a job teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, so I'm still going to have a job." I grinned. Dumbledore had been so kind to me. I only hoped someday I'd be able to properly thank him. I expected Addi to have the same enthusiasm, but the smile on her face quickly fell.

"You—you're going to teach at Hogwarts?" she choked.

"Yeah," I said, instantly wondering what could be troubling her.

"So, you'll be away at school all year," she concluded.

"Well, yeah," I said. She shook her head sadly and I finally figured out the problem.

"We never get to spend any time together," she whispered, her voice quivering.

"Oh Addi, I'm sorry," I said. "It's just that, well, this is the only job I'm going to be able to do, and... I promise we'll spend every weekend together, how's that? And summers and holidays?"

"Okay," Addi agreed with an exasperated sigh.

"What's the matter?" I asked, forcing her to face my eyes.

"Do you see Lily and James over there?" she motioned. The two of them were at the edge of the dance floor, tight in each others' arms and lost in each others' eyes.

"Yeah," I replied vaguely.

"They're happy," Addi said.

"Aren't we happy?" I asked, growing worried that something was really wrong in our relationship. She shook her head slowly and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Addi?"

"I love you, Remus." She flung her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder.

"I love you too," I replied awkwardly.

"Do you?" she looked up into my eyes, tears streaming from her own.

"Of course," I replied.

"I thought things would be different now that we're out of school, Remus. I've barely seen you at all in the last three years, and I thought we'd finally get to be together, but apparently that's not going to happen!" She pried herself from my arms and turned away.

"Addi! Addi, look at me," I said. She ignored me. "What is this about?"

"Don't you see? Everything in life is so uncertain, and I just want some sort of certainty. Certainty in us, Remus."

"Addi, we're eighteen years old. We've got plenty of time," I said. "Someday we'll—"

"It's always someday. I—can't—wait forever, Remus. Life is too short, and with the way things are going... I just want someone I can rely on..." Her words echoed in my ears and I was overcome with guilt. I walked around until I was facing Addi, placed my hands on her shoulders, and leaned forward until my forehead was resting against hers.

"You listen to me," I said gently. "I promise we'll be together; you have my promise. I just need a little time to sort things out, okay?" She nodded slowly.

"Forever?" she questioned. A funny sort of uncertainty came over me, but I ignored it.

"Forever." The words escaped my lips. This seemed to satisfy Addi, and we danced the remainder of the song as though nothing had happened.