Chapter 3
"Well that was our last Hogsmeade visit for the year!" Lily said putting her shopping bags down on the table in the Gryffindor common room.
Lisa had pulled her new quill out of her bag and was examining it when Sirius appeared in front of her.
"Had a nice time in Hogsmeade?" He asked. "Get anything exciting?"
Lisa held up her quill.
"All the way to Hogsmeade and you come back with a quill?" He said shaking his head.
"And I suppose you've come back with bags full of fun from Zonko's?" She asked.
"Actually, I didn't go into Hogsmeade today."
"Oh." She said finding this odd.
"Sirius! Lets go, its time for dinner." James called to him from across the room. Sirius waved and left.
"That was weird." Lily said.
"What was weird?" Lisa asked her.
"Sirius. He's never approached any other girl like that before."
"So?" Lisa said.
"Oh never mind. Come on, lets go down to dinner." Lily said getting up and heading towards the portrait hole.
They went down to the Great Hall. When they got in there Lisa waved at James and Peter. Sirius, who had his back to her, turned around to wave at her too. She looked around but didn't see Remus anywhere. She sat down with Lily and they had dinner. Every now and then Lisa would look over to see if Remus had joined his friends but he never did. When the guys left the Great Hall Lisa was a little concerned but she figured that they were going to see where he was. None of the four boys turned up in the common room later that night.
The next day was the last of the term. With her trunk packed Lisa went down to the Great Hall for the end of the term feast. Eating with Lily and her friends in the Great Hall for the last time and listening to Dumbledore give his last speech, Lisa felt very happy. She was excited about going home and seeing her family again. There was only one thing that was bothering her. She still hadn't seen Remus. Peter, James and Sirius were towards the end of the table. They all looked very worn out and tired, as if they hadn't slept for a night. After the feast they all went to the horseless carriages that took them to the Hogwarts Express. Once they had their trunks on the train and found a compartment, Lily and Lisa took their seats, Lily's friends joined them. The train started its way to Platform 9 ¾. When they were well on their way, Lisa's head buried in a book, Sirius poked his head inside their compartment.
"Hey Lisa, want to join us for lunch?" He asked her.
"Sure!" She said dropping her book and getting up to go with him.
"Lily, you're welcome to come too." He added after Lisa left.
"No thanks." She said and he left.
Lisa walked down the train for a little bit and found the compartment where James and Peter were sitting. They invited her in and she sat down next to James.
"Where's Remus?" She asked him. "I haven't seen him for days."
James pointed to the seat behind him. There Remus sat, head against the window, fast asleep. He looked frail and worn. He shifted slightly in his sleep and when his robe fell back over his arm Lisa could see horrible bruises and a large cut. Noticing that she was staring at him James quickly averted her attention.
"Um, what happened to Sirius?" He asked her.
"I don't know." She said. "He was right behind me."
Just then Sirius came into the car. He was smiling and looked extremely pleased with himself.
"What did you do?" James prompted.
"Gosh Prongs you sound like Remus. I just met old Snivelly in the hall. Let's just say that I gave him a little farewell present." Sirius said with an extremely mischievous smile.
Lisa couldn't help but smile back at him. For a moment they held each other's eyes, both alight with their smiles. Something happened inside both of them. They couldn't take their eyes away from each other. Sirius was amazed by the beauty of her smile. He was about the lose control and run over to kiss her when the compartment door opened.
The witch that pushed the lunch cart came into the car. She ran into Sirius with her cart because he was blocking the doorway.
"Out of the way dear!" She said as she tried to get her cart in the compartment again. Sirius sat down next to Peter. They ordered their share of cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs. They were half way through their lunch when the compartment door opened once again. In walked Lily's two friends.
"There you are Lisa! We've been looking all over for you."
"Sirius! James! We didn't know you were here!"
With a disgusted look Lisa left the seat next to James and sat in the back of the car with the still soundly sleeping Remus. The two girls immediately took her seat, sandwiching James in between them. One was all over James while the other was trying her hardest to get closer to Sirius, who was squishing Peter against the wall trying to get away. Some quick talking by James finally got them to leave. Lisa still sat in the back next to Remus, gazing out of the window. Remus stirred and opened an eye.
"Lisa?" He croaked.
"Yes." She said startled. "Remus, are you ok?"
He had sat up, he was looking at her with two bloodshot eyes. There were great big bags underneath them as well. He was trying to sit up straight.
"No, Remus don't." She said putting a hand on his shoulder and gently making him stay put. "What's wrong?"
"I just got a little sick before term ended. I was in the hospital wing for the last few days." He said, then added, "Why are you sitting back here with me?"
"On the pretense of looking for me, Lily's two friends came in and made an excuse to flirt with Sirius and James." She told him.
"Those two are wasting their time." He said resting his head back against the window.
"Remus, go back to sleep." She said, running her fingers through his hair to smooth the ruffled parts.
"If you insist." He said with mock indignation and a sleepy smile.
She patted his knee and got up to rejoin James and Sirius in the front of the car. She sat down once again next to James.
"Can you believe those two?" Sirius said. "I can't believe Lily hangs out with them."
"Complete idiots." James added.
But Lisa wasn't paying attention to them. Her eyes were still on the beaten up, sleeping Remus. Sirius followed her gaze.
"Don't worry." He said, finally averting her eyes. "He'll be fine. He just needs to rest."
He smiled to reassure her. His smile made her feel happy and she was immediately less worried about Remus. The compartment door opened once more. James and Sirius held their breath fearing that Lily's two friends had returned. Instead, Lily herself walked in. James's hand flew automatically to his hair.
"This is a surprise." He said to her.
"I'm hear to see Lisa." She said. "And get away from my other friends who can't seem to stop talking about you and Sirius."
Surprisingly she sat down next to James. Within a minute they were engaged in deep conversation. Sirius entertained Lisa with a game of Exploding Snap while Peter sat and cheered them on. Soon the Hogwarts Express had pulled up to Platform 9 ¾ . They gathered their luggage and were waiting on the platform for their parents.
"I'll write to you ok?" Sirius told Lisa before his parents came up to him.
She smiled.
"Sure. Sirius, take care of Remus please." She called to him as he left with a wave and a smile.
Lily, who had just got done saying bye to James, came up to her. Putting an arm around her shoulder she said, "Time to go home!" And they left with their parents.
