Early morning. It was a beautiful scent.

Sirius smiled. The wind picked up on effervescent strands of honey brown, lightening them to silken love.

Like his love.

Glancing at the drawn bed, he purposefully strode over but took a brief step back to admire the creation that lay in his bed.

Perfection. That was the only word for it.

The cream colored sheet lay on the pale, thin body in sensual drama; it was like a lingering feeling of cherry-flavored something that Sirius just couldn't figure out. He bit his lip.

Sharp, nose that was pressed delicately onto the pillow, thin, nowhere cheeks brushing linen where Sirius longed himself to be instead. He was laying on his front, but his head was to the side; his slim calves peeked out the sheet and his arms lay on each side as if he were feeling every moment of the pristine sheet below him.

Such was perfection.

Like honey-brown hair sprawled over the white density of the pillow.

Like the perfect dip of rib bones to the stomach pressed downwards.

Like the sharp arch from the left leg to the jutting hipbones that were in perfect juxtaposition to the slender dip of his soft back.

Remus awoke to the curtains being drawn and sunlight attacking his eyes. When he finally gained the courage to open his eyes, the person was gone. They had, however, left behind two sets of robes on the bed. One was black and the other was a light brown. Sighing in contentment and all sleep forgotten, he bounded off the bed and ran straight to the bathroom.

To his delight, he found things there he never even dreamed of calling his own. A rustic, cream-colored bathtub stood on four, brass legs that had intricate designs upon them. Fresh, plump towels lay on a brass shelf. Behind it was a deck of sorts, holding different shampoos, soaps and even bubble baths. By the sink, on the marble countertops, was his own toothbrush and toothpaste and the taps were a chromed silver color. Thank God they're not really silver…There was so much to marvel at and every cupboard that he opened revealed something new. Remus still couldn't believe his luck; he had gained everything he had wanted so fast that it seemed like a dream to him. At once he thought about Artemis and wished her well, wherever she was right now.

By the time the little werewolf had finished marveling at his new-found home (he liked the way that sounded in his head) and had finished his morning routine, this time adding a bath to it, Sirius had sneaked into his room.

Remus came out, sopping wet, a towel wrapped around him and one wiping his hair. They were magicked to do so. His eyes set upon Sirius, who was outside in the balcony and he broke into a smile.

"'Morning Sirius."

"Moony! G'morning! How do you like everything?"

"It's great," Remus answered honestly, "Not like back at the camp. It was awful there."

"Camp? What camp?" Sirius asked in curiosity, now coming out of the balcony and into the room. He jumped on the bed and looked at Remus.

Remus turned away from Sirius's gaze and shivered, which made the latter even more curious as to what the camp was all about. "It was….nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, Moony! Tell me what you mean."

"It's- it's a bad place…no one's allowed to smile…or do anything. And it's just for werewolves. And we get very little to eat. And almost no clothes and nothing warm to sleep under. And there's hardly any room for us; it's twelve werewolves for every cell-"

"Cell?!"

"Yeah….it was-"

"Sirius! If you don't come down right now, breakfast will be gone! The elves are cleaning up for your cousins and I'm not asking them to wait for you and your pet, so hurry up!" called Mrs. Black, her voice magically magnified.

Sirius hopped off the bed, throwing the light brown robe to Remus. "We'd better get downstairs or Mum'll have kittens."

Remus laughed and nodded as Sirius left the room. Remus put on his new, crisp-scented robe and walked to his dresser. Just then, Esmeralda knocked on the door and let herself in. "Good morning, Remus. How are we today?"

Remus found himself returning the bright smile; there was something about her he just couldn't help loving her. "Fine thanks. Did you put the robes on my bed this morning?" he asked shrewdly.

She nodded. "Nothing gets by you, does it? Anyway, I thought you might like to make yourself- a bit more presentable when you went downstairs today," she gestured to his messy golden brown hair. Remus blushed and positioned himself in front of the mirror. Esmeralda began to brush the chin length hair, taking out the back knots first.

"Ow!"

"Sorry…"

"S'alright." A pause. Then- "Esmeralda, what are Sirius's cousins like?"

Esmeralda, who was separating Remus's bangs, stopped for a minute while she looked in the mirror at him. "Why? Are you scared of meeting them?" she asked knowingly.

Remus bit his lip and nodded. "A little. I'm not very good with meeting new people. I usually make a bit of a fool of myself. Are they nice?"

Esmeralda sighed and was about to answer when Mrs. Black called out to her. She took a last look at little Remus in the mirror and squeezed his shoulders comfortingly. "You'll be fine," she whispered in his ear, "Sirius won't let anything happen to you."

Remus noted that she hadn't really answered him, but with her last words in his mind bearing an assuring weight, he allowed himself to be steered out of his room and down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Sirius had made sure the elves had saved breakfast for Remus. He had carefully put a cover over the plate so as to not to allow it to get cold while Remus changed upstairs. He served himself some breakfast as well and started to eat as Mr. Black, who was also seated at the table, put down his morning edition of the Daily Prophet and glanced fondly at his son shoveling food in his mouth. "Who's plate is that?"

"Wemush."

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, Siri…." Said his mother as she drifted through the kitchen to pick up her wand and left again.

He swallowed. "It's for Remus, Father. Breakfast for him."

Mr. Black smiled. "Well, that's awful nice of you."

Sirius nodded, not really paying any attention. "I'm going to teach him how to play Quidditch after breakfast. Then he can play with Bella and all of us! Isn't that great?"

"Yes, that's wonderful." Mr. Black's voice turned then turned serious. "Now Sirius, I want you to pay attention to what I'm about to say." Sirius nodded and slowed down eating. When his father adopted this tone of voice, it was best to listen real carefully, he found.

"We bought Remus. You understand that, right?"

Sirius nodded.

"We bought him because he's not really considered to be a human. He's a werewolf; he's a creature and therefore falls under Creature Classification in the Ministry of Magic bylaws concerning half-breeds. We're allowed to sell them as they're not really humans; they have more animal characteristics. They're not considered a part of our kind, though werewolves are also wizards. But of a lesser state; such, that we can buy and sell them."

Sirius had a thoughtful look etched upon his features. "So are they humans? Or not?"

"They are, but Remus is a werewolf. He's a creature. It's perfectly legal to have them in trade."

"I don't understand though," Sirius said, as he put down his spoon in confusion, "It's not their fault that they were bitten. So why should they be classified as creatures if they weren't animals from birth?"

Mr. Black stared and Sirius and blinked. He obviously didn't think his son would go into depth about the matter, would just accept it as he did with all explanations, but Sirius seemed to genuinely care. He sighed tiredly and quickly thought up a good answer.

"Well, just because….."

"Because why?"

"Because it's a law Siri…."

"But why is it a law? Why should it be a law?"

Mr. Black mentally kicked himself for such a bad answer so instead he compensated by making light of the events and turning Sirius's attention to something else; he clearly hadn't meant his reasoning to go this far to the point of there being nothing for him to say in the face of his eight year old son. He ruffled Sirius's hair lovingly. "Someday, when you turn Minister for Magic, you can change that stupid rule, OK?"

Sirius grinned. "OK! And I'm going to make werewolf camps illegal! And I'm going to make it so that every wizard has to know what Quidditch is by the age of five."

Mr. Black looked kindly down upon his son, until what he had said fully sunk in. I'm going to make werewolf camps illegal………but before he could say anything more, Remus shyly came in with Esmeralda, it seemed, guiding him. One hand was on his shoulder as he looked up and offered a shy smile. "Excellent! The robes fit you then Remus?"

"Yes sir, thanks."

Mr. Black waved off the thanks and returned to reading his newspaper.

"Alright, Moony, hurry up and eat breakfast! I still have to teach you how to play Quidditch and it's almost time for them to come!"

"That's it Remus! Now I'm letting the Bludgers out!" Sirius yelled to his airborne friend.

"No! Not both of them!" protested Remus, while swerving to miss a goalpost. The Blacks, being rich, had a mini Quidditch pitch out back. Remus had never known such a wonderful sport existed but even now, as he was soaring through the air on Sirius's Thunderbow, he wasn't sure that the sport was for him. Being timid and bookish by nature, Remus was sure he would've much rather watched Sirius or read about it in a book. There were millions of books, it seemed, in the Black household to devour. He would have to find time to do that as well. Something told him that Sirius's attention span might be a bit of a factor in that though.

He turned his attention right now to Sirius letting both the Bludgers out despite Remus's objections. He grinned as he mounted on his own pride and joy, the Silver Arrow (sent to him yesterday by his Uncle Alphard as a surprise for Sirius). He took off and quickly joined Remus, who was currently being chased by a relentless Bludger.

Sirius grinned and called out, "Remus! Here, catch this!"

Remus whipped around in mid air to catch the Beater's stick just in time. "What am I supposed to do with this?!"

"Get the Bludger with it, mate! Go on! It's right behind you!"

"I know that." Grumbled Remus. Nonetheless, he put on an extra spurt of speed (the Thunderbow was equivalent to the future Nimbus 2000 series) and then did a full 180 in the air. The Bludger was speeding toward Remus as the little werewolf gulped and took a swing.

WHAM!

"Alright Moony! You did it! SEE?! I told you, you could!"

Remus smiled weakly at his companion and wiped the beginnings of sweat on his forehead, through his honey-brown bangs. Shifting them aside, he flew to Sirius's side as both Bludgers came their way.

Sirius looked at it with determination. "Together?"

Remus tried to grasp his broom handle with just one hand, but decided it was too risky; he wasn't that good yet. "Yeah, I think so."

Together, they waited for the speeding balls and swung their bats in time, with almost pinpoint precision.

In this way, the two played for almost an hour more. Sirius and Remus soon forgot about the Bludgers and left them carousing in midair, while they turned their attention to the tiny, winged, Golden Snitch. To Remus, it was nothing more than a work of pure art. For Sirius, it was nothing more than a full one hundred and fifty points.

They released the Snitch and Remus quickly spotted fluttering next to one of the mansion balconies. After about fifteen minutes of this, Remus slowly made his way to the ground and Sirius followed suit. They were both red in the face from all the excitement and as soon as they hit the ground, Sirius and Remus broke into fits of unexplainable laughter.

"That was great!"

"Thanks Sirius."

"For what?"

"For the broom! And the lesson. And everything."

Sirius blushed as he looked up at his friend; he was on the ground and Remus had hoisted himself on one arm. "Oh, that's alright. I didn't do anything. Best friends don't do favors for each other. They just do it, you know?"

Remus grinned in glee. "So, so we're best friends?"

Sirius blushed again. "If-if you want."

Remus felt his cheeks would explode, he was smiling so much. "Well, of course! Friends forever?"

Sirius nodded. "Just like Padfoot and Moony." He whispered and the two silently giggled about their secret stuffed friends.

And then it all happened so suddenly, Remus didn't register anything until Sirius was on the ground, yelling in pain.

The little werewolf sat in the living room quietly. It was stuffy in here; perhaps it seemed that way because his nervousness was being translated, but Remus couldn't help but feel that way all the same. He also couldn't help feeling rather scared and alone now. He wished Esmeralda were here with him. Or even Mr. Black. Mrs. Black was still in Sirius's room, with the MediWizards.

It all happened so quickly, that Remus hadn't even had time to react.

They- Sirius and him- had stood up to go inside for a quick wash before his cousins arrived. And then, a Bludger came pelting out of nowhere. Remus raised his heavy bat, but not in time. The Bludger merely broke the bat in half, whooshed past him, injuring his index finger knuckle. It was, however, no match for Sirius's pain, who had been hit in the head quite severely with the rampaging ball. Remus saw the flash of blood before he took time to comprehend what it meant. Sirius's scream had jerked him back to reality quickly and Remus had himself yelled for help.

Mr. Black had come rushing out. He quickly demolished the loose Bludgers with a violent jab of his wand; they burst into tiny red showers and burnt up into ashes before they hit the sodden grass. Remus barely had time to marvel at the way Mr. Black had captured the gist of the situation so well, when he was asked to help carry Sirius back up to the mansion. He readily complied. After all, it had been his fault…….right?

In any case, he was now sitting here, waiting for the news about Sirius, if any; Remus couldn't help feeling guilty about the entire thing and something told him that Mrs. Black certainly thought so, though she had not spoke to him since, directly at least, yesterday, except for the occasional pat on the head.

There was no more time to sit and ponder on this though, as the next second, Mr. Black entered the living room. Remus immediately sat up straight and did not look up. After a few minutes silence, in which Remus stared at a grass stain on his robes, Mr. Black spoke. "Remus?"

"Yes sir?"

"Won't you ask about Sirius?"

Remus's head shot up eagerly. Of course he wanted to, he thought. He wanted to know everything, how Sirius was, if he would sustain any injuries, what the MediWizard had said. He wanted to rush to Sirius's bedside and tell him how sorry he was, and what a fool he was and have Sirius grin at him and call him Moony again; anything to let him know Sirius was alright. Hopefully, this would lift some of the guilt off his shoulders as well.

In a shaky voice he asked, "Of course! How is he, sir?" Before Mr. Black could answer, Remus was on his feet, not quite conscious of what he was doing. "Is he going to be alright? Does he hurt very much?" the urgency in Remus's voice was now more clear.

Mr. Black took the little werewolf by the shoulders and sat him down. He inwardly smiled at Remus's concern for Sirius and the restraint he had been trying to maintain. "He's going to be fine. MediWizard Durham says that bed rest is what Sirius will need for the next week or so. It hit his head and there's a large lump there so he gets quite dizzy if he stands up or strains himself. We'll just have to be extra careful next time."

Remus's eyes grew wide and he shook his head fervently. "Sorry sir, but I don't think there will be a next time. It's my entire fault. I'm never getting on a broom or playing Quidditch again."

"Now Remus, it's not your fault." Mr. Black sighed, the continued. "Oh dear, I was afraid you were going to take it like this…..Remus, it's not your fault. It's not Sirius's. Accidents like this happen-"

"No!" said Remus in a heated rush. His eyes were dangerously wet now, though he couldn't really understand why. "I told Sirius not to let the Bludgers out, but he didn't listen." His voice was shaky again, this time with fierce emotion. "But, I didn't exactly stop him. I didn't do anything about it. I let it happen. So it's my fault!"

Mr. Black sighed again.

"You can go and see Sirius now, if you'd like." It was Mrs. Black and though she wore a grim expression on her face, her eyes spoke otherwise. She led the little werewolf across the room and up three flights of stairs to Sirius's room. Remus walked strangely on the way there as if half of him wanted to take the stairs three at a time (though his height wouldn't allow that) and the other half felt he should walk in a stately manner due to Mrs. Black's presence. The result was a kind of fast walk with a morose expression on his face while skipping only one stair at a time in compensation.

It was nearly lunchtime when the doorbell rang. After the first ring, several things happened in rapid succession. Mrs. Black, who was overseeing the setting of the dinner table in the grand dining room, shrieked at the house elves to go faster. Two house elves stopped everything they were doing in the kitchen and very quickly ran to get the door. Remus, who was carefully bringing in wine goblets to the dining room, jumped slightly at Mrs. Black's shout and lost his balance because the two house elves speeding past him to get the door. Thankfully, he regained it and averted another catastrophe in the Black household which would have totaled two since he arrived.

He delivered the goblets in all their polished, seventh century, goblin-wrought steel glory (Mrs. Black had taken care of the silver) and he received a smile and a pat on his head from Mrs. Black. Outside, in the spacious foyer, he heard noises, so he crept over to a little protuding wall in the hallway and peeked out.

There were seven children in all. Remus supposed that these were Sirius's cousins, though he hadn't counted on there being so many. He looked closely at them. They were all taking off their coats as frosty November had forced it onto them and carelessly handing them to the house elves standing nearby. There was a small little girl, who seemed to be younger than Remus himself, crying as her sister tightened the little girl's ponytail on either side. She complained to her mother who reprimanded the older, blond girl who responded indignantly by saying that she had only done so as they were drooping and looked unkempt.

"…….Even so, Narcissa, you should have left Andromeda to me. You really not her mother you know."

The little girl, Andromeda, wiped her tears as Narcissa folded her arms angrily and stuck her tongue out at Andromeda. Andromeda looked away to another, taller girl, who looked to be much older. She looked like an older version of Andromeda. She had long, black hair and pale skin with the same face and nowhere nose as Andromeda. Her eyes were a deep, dark midnight blue which were otherwise hidden by her heavy lashes and her voice was bossy and curt.

"Narcissa! Don't tease Andromeda or I'll tell Mother about last week."

Narcissa looked slightly scared but held her ground all the same. "So?" she hissed under her breath. "If you tell mother about that, I'll tell her how you took my chiffon robes for your stupid party at Glade's house!"

The older girl narrowed her eyes and huffed but left the subject alone. Narcissa smiled contemptuously at her sister and stuck her tongue out again.

Remus took that to be sibling rivalry and let his eyes shift to the other children. There was a tall, pale blonde boy behind the older girl. His expression was mild but he looked at the girls as though amused by what he saw. Beside him was another boy, who had a darker shade of blond hair but that the same long nose and face as the older one. He looked to be his brother.

Mrs. Black entered the foyer and Remus watched as she kissed each of the ladies and hugged all the men. It was a strange sight for Remus who had never really been in this kind of social dilemma before.

"……..Elladora!"

" Sheila!!! It's been such a long time, come here darling!"

"Yes, much too long. Things are ever so hectic here what with- with one thing and another."

Mr. Black joined them from the landing of the stairs and picked up little Andromeda and hugging her. Andromeda laughed in happiness and he took out something from the pocket of his robes and gave them to Andromeda and Narcissa, the blond girl, who thanked him and opened the packages promptly.

"Oh, Astin, you spoil them." Said a red-haired woman with the same hooded eyes as the oldest girl.

Mr. Black hugged the woman in response. "Well, seeing as I am their uncle, I would say I have a right to, wouldn't you?"

The woman shook her head and smiled as the last two figures stepped into the house. They were both blond, though one of the men had long sweeping pale hair and the other, short.

The dark-haired woman kissed Mrs. Black and said, "And where's our Sirius? He usually can't contain himself."

"And nothing has changed; but he'll have to learn how to contain himself," Remarked Mrs. Black. "Sirius got hit by a Bludger. We'll see him in a minute. Let's head to the dining room. Astin, would you have Esmeralda bring Sirius down please?" she asked as she ushered everyone, now asking rapidly about Sirius, into the comfortable living room. Then she whispered something in his ear and Mr. Black nodded.

Remus turned away from the scene and breathed quickly. He didn't know what had suddenly seized him, but he knew he had to get away. It was as if he was back in camp; horrible pictures of him hiding as his warden looked for him in the toilets, flashed through his mind. He left his hiding place behind the wall and started to make his way swiftly but quietly to the kitchen. Unfortunately, Mr. Black, who was coming down the spiral, walnut staircase, spotted Remus's honey-brown hair and called out to him. Remus froze.

He could hear his heartbeat rapidly and wondered why Mr. Black couldn't. He couldn't say why he was so scared, and he wouldn't have even known it had it not been for the way his jaw tightened as it usually did when he was scared.

"Remus, there you are." Said Mr. Black as he placed a hand on Remus's trembling shoulder, which didn't go by unnoticed by him. "Are you alright?"

Remus turned around slowly and nodded mutely.

"Are you a scared?"

The little werewolf bowed his head down. "Just a little." He answered quietly.

Mr. Black lifted Remus's chin and smiled his amiable smile; Remus loosened his jaw slightly. "It's alright to be a little frightened. All these new faces all at once are enough to set anyone off. Just remember that they mean no harm. They're all very nice people. And Sirius is coming down as well."

Once again reminded of Sirius, Remus nodded, feeling not entirely sure of himself but much more relaxed at the thought. He allowed Mr. Black to steer him to the living room as Remus didn't trust his legs to work of their own accord and flee again.

Everyone was talking at once to each other but when Remus entered an unnatural silence fell over everyone, especially the children who eyed him curiously. Mr. Black began promptly introducing everyone. There were people whom Remus hadn't even seen.

"This is my brother," he gestured to the short haired blond man Remus had seen coming in last, "Toran Black and his wife Relena Black." Relena Black was the red-haired woman. She couldn't be more unlike her name of Black as Remus observed that most of the Black's had rich, dark hair while her's shone a vibrant red in the afternoon sun.

He pointed to the three girls Remus had seen, next. The oldest one was Bellatrix. Bellatrix, 12, Narcissa, 10, and Andromeda, 6, were blood sisters, all children of Toran and Relena. Next came a tall brunette, taller even than Mr. Black; Elladora Sherman, Mrs. Black's widowed sister. Her one son, Dorian, was 8, Remus age but had the same unnatural height as his mother; he looked to be at least 11.

Remus was then introduced to the Malfoy's. There was Raistlin Malfoy and his wife, Harina and his two sons Lucius, 14, and Malicius, who was ten.

Just then, Sirius came down. Remus quickly moved out of the limelight, as everyone rushed to Sirius's side while he grinned weakly. Remus wanted to go up to Sirius as well, but he was more than aware of the piercing look Bellatrix and Lucius were giving him, so he decided to stay back. After all, this wasn't even his family. Remus suddenly felt hollow inside, as if he were some next door neighbour's kid coming to play with Sirius, the one day his family had turned up for lunch.

Lunch was a horrendous affair. Sirius wanted to sit next to Remus but Andromeda wanted to sit next to Sirius and Remus didn't really want to join everyone so he helped the house elves bring the food to the table. Trouble was, the house elves didn't want him to help and poor little Remus hadn't been around house elves long enough to know it wasn't in their nature to allow anyone to do any work. So when Remus tried to pick up the tray of soup bowls, the house elves tried to take it from him and thus began a relentless tug of war. Some of the soup spilled, much to Mrs. Black's horror (she was sitting with everyone at the table, closing her eyes as though wishing to disappear while everyone looked on in amusement). The house elves, of course, were only too pleased for now they had something new to clean up; Mrs. Black shot Remus an evil glare while Narcissa and Bellatrix smirked at him, so he came and sat down beside Dorian and Regulus, his cheeks burning in shame.

He, of course, had no idea what he'd just done wrong but he knew it must be from the silence in the room and the children, namely Bellatrix, Narcissa Lucius and Malicius whispering hurriedly to each other while occasionally giving him looks. Remus couldn't help but steal a glance at Sirius, who was sitting diagonal to him and was silently playing with Andromeda. Mr. Black cleared his throat at the silence in the room and said, "Well, about that massacre in Kent, eh Toran? Nasty work, isn't it?"

The table broke out into babble fairly quickly and Remus caught Mrs. Black shooting her husband a grateful look. This only further reminded Remus that he was the source of the embarrassment, so he kept his head down and began to eat. That morning, Mrs. Black had instructed him how he was to eat on the table with everyone else. He thought it rather demeaning that she thought he had no table manners but he kept quiet and nodded at everything she said.

After lunch, all the women retired to the living room while the men remained in the kitchen to "discuss" all the latest news over a game of Exploding Snap.

The children all huddled in one corner and Esmeralda took Sirius up to change his bandages. Sirius promised Remus he would be back quickly and left. Left him all alone, Remus couldn't help thinking. To face- to face what? Children? Remus, of course, then stayed in one corner and didn't say anything. He wished he could vanish. But it was too late for that. Bellatrix had caught his eyes and was motioning him to come over. Inwardly gulping, Remus made his way to the group of children. Maybe it was his fear exaggerating everything but Bellatrix and Lucius seemed to be towering over him and he felt as though he could practically hear them cackle evilly.

Bellatrix spoke. "So! You're a werewolf?"

Remus nodded mutely.

"Hah! See, Malicius! He is a werewolf!" Then she turned her attention back to Remus. "Lucius says Sirius bought you at an auction in Hogsmeade. Is this true?" Once again, Remus nodded. She seemed satisfied and gave Remus an appraising look while the little werewolf averted his eyes. "So what can you do?"

This threw Remus off a bit. "I beg your pardon?" For some reason Lucius smirked at this. Bellatrix smiled crudely.

"I mean, Sirius bought you, right? So you're kind of like a……..a pet to him. Or did he buy you as a servant?"

"N-No I don't think so…."

"Alright, so you're his pet. What cool things can you do?"

I can turn into a werewolf, Remus wanted to say but somehow that didn't seem right. He shrugged and looked up at Bellatrix. She snorted. "So you mean to say that Sirius wasted 90 Galleons on a useless creature like you?"

Remus bowed his head down now. He didn't like Bellatrix at all. She was mocking him, or so it seemed. He wanted to give her a good smack on the face but he knew he'd be lucky to get away with his life for that. Lucius, however, put a hand on her and said with a meaningful look, "That's enough, Bellatrix." To Remus he said, "Never mind Bellatrix, Remus. Would you like to play with us?" he asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Um…..if you wanted me to…."

"Of course we want you to! What should we play?"

Narcissa smirked. "You're 14. Aren't you a little too old to be playing?" Lucius shot her a nasty glare and she stuck her tongue out at him again. He muttered something under his breath and Remus missed the look he was giving Bellatrix. A look of comprehension dawned on her pale face.

"Yes, let's play something."

To Remus's relief, Sirius once again came to his rescue, unknowingly, and everyone rushed to his side. They were saying something and there was a look of extreme confusion on Narcissa, Bellatrix and Malicius's face. Lucius smirked to himself as Sirius made happy hand movements. Bellatrix gave Remus a disgusted look that she tried to mask with confusion. Needless, it didn't quite work and Remus tried to shrink into the shadows.

Right then, however, Sirius called out to him.

"OK, let's play something! I thought we could play Quidditch but……now I can't. Me and Moony-"

Bellatrix quickly turned her snort into a hacking cough.

"-were playing before….and I had an accident." He finished, oblivious to everyone trying to hide their amusement at the name.

"Let's play Assassin!" Malicius said.

"Brilliant!" breathed Bellatrix, and Remus noted that she sincerely looked excited about it. Well, maybe, like Mrs. Black, she would take some time to get used to him. "OK, well someone explain it to Remus or he won't be able to play!" she commanded and at once, Malicius beckoned to Remus. Well, maybe she wasn't so bad after all………

Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow, I'm RILY sori bout the like the four month delay but I moved (very recently) and I'v been having a lot of social problems that have taken a lot of my sweat, blood and tears to solve, if u kno wut I mean. Scool has taken so much from me and I'v had to give in so much to it that I haven't time for anything else. After all, no one said doing Gr. 12 stuff was easy! Neways, this is an extra long chapter in apology (if ther's neone evn reading this nemore, lol) Next time will be the quick (and evil) conclusion of this chapter, see what Bellatrix does to Remus (not THAT way, u perv! Lol) how he deals and what other adventures Sirius and Remus embark upon before the important letter and b-day……

THANKS to ALL mY reviewrs fro last chapter! I WUV u guys! huggles

ciaO!