Chapter 4
September came very quickly and soon Platform 9 ¾ was buzzing with students trying to catch the Hogwarts Express back to school. Lisa and Lily arrived together, Lisa having spent the last two weeks of the holiday at Lily's house. Lily's parents bid them farewell and they both started off towards the train. Before they got half way there Lisa heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned around to see a grinning Sirius running toward her.
"Hi." He said suddenly feeling awkward. "Did you, uh, get my letters?"
"Yes," She said. "Did you get mine?"
"Everyone of them." He said still grinning.
Suddenly James came up from behind him. He walked right over to Lily and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Hullo James." She said and she kissed his cheek.
"Should we find a car them?" He said and they took off towards the train hand in hand, leaving Lisa and Sirius gaping open mouthed at them.
"So you found out about James and Lily did you?" Remus said coming up to them.
This shook Lisa out of her shocked trace.
"Remus!" She cried throwing her arms around his neck.
"You look so much better than when I saw you last." She said letting go to get a good look at him. "I've been worried sick about you."
"I'm fine Lisa dear. You needn't worry." He smiled. "I'm going to get on the train now. You two should as well." He said and followed the path that James and Lily took.
"Reckon they should have at least gave us a warning?" Sirius asked her talking about James and Lily.
"A small one would have been nice." She replied.
"So...er...have you and Remus been writing a lot to each other over the summer?" He asked her trying to be casual.
"We wrote a few times. I just wanted to make sure he was ok. I got a few letters from James too, but I mostly wrote to you."
That made his insides jolt. He had experienced a pang of jealousy when she had hugged Remus, he wished that she had hugged him. Hearing that she wrote him the most made him very happy.
"We should probably get on the train now." She said.
"Yeah let's go." He said touching her arm to lead her forward.
His touch sent tingles into her body. She tried her hardest to ignore it. She had been thinking about Sirius all summer. She knew how incredibly good looking he was and she convinced herself that they would be nothing more than friends because good looking guys didn't go for her. After all, he hadn't shown anything but friendly signs towards her. She tried her best to forget about the butterflies she got in her stomach every time she received a letter from him, the increasing fluttering she felt now that she saw him, and the incredible wave of happiness she felt when he touched her.
Once in the train they found Lily, James, Remus and Peter in a compartment towards the back. Upon entering Lisa found that Remus had situated himself in the back of the compartment once again and was already asleep even though the train hadn't even started moving yet. Lily and James were sitting together in the next seat, holding hands and sitting as close together as the possibly could with Lily's pink shirt overlapping onto James's green jacket. Peter was looking at them with a shocked expression telling Lisa and Sirius that he has not been told about their sudden union either.
"Is Remus sleeping? The train hasn't even started moving yet." She asked, sitting down next to Sirius.
"Its like a tradition for Remus, he always sleeps on the train." Sirius told her.
Soon the train was speeding its way back to Hogwarts.
"So did everyone get their O.W.L results?" Lisa asked.
"I got seven." Lily said. "Three were O's."
"I scraped a few." James said trying to be modest for Lily's approval but held up eight fingers behind Lily's head for everyone else to see.
"I passed most of mine!" Peter said. "Thanks to you Lisa I even passed Transfiguration."
"I got eight." Sirius said. "Two E's and the rest O's." He added immensely pleased.
"What did you get Lisa?" James asked.
"I got eight Outstandings." She said slightly flushing. She felt like she was bragging just stating her results.
"I think that's what Remus got too." Peter said.
They all talked for a while about their summers. For most of the summer Lily was on vacation with her parents in Paris. She complained because she had to share a room with her sister, Petunia, who hated her because she was a witch. James and Sirius had spent the summer together. Sirius was forced to help James practice Quidditch in the open fields next to James's parent's house. Remus had spent the summer with his mother, he had woken just long enough to add his summer to the conversation then drifted off to sleep once again.
Before they knew it they were pulling up to the Hogwarts castle. The night air was crisp and cool. There were millions of stars set into the sky. Once the four boys and two girls settled themselves into two horseless carriages they started towards the castle. Once inside they took their seats at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. The ceiling in the Great Hall shone with the same millions of stars. After the Sorting and Dumbledore's start of term speech they all had a magnificent dinner. When they had all eaten to their heart's content they left the Great Hall and headed towards Gryffindor tower.
"I'm beat. Nice, soft bed here I come!" Peter exclaimed leading the group.
"Potter!" Professor McGonagall called. "I need a word with you."
"We'll wait for you up in the tower." Lily said and edged the group forward.
"Not even at school for a day and already he's in trouble." Lisa laughed.
Once in the Gryffindor common room Lily, Lisa, Sirius and Remus sat by the fire to wait for James. Peter was not at all anxious about what Professor McGonagall could want with James and went straight up to the boys dormitories. Sitting on the couch between Sirius and Remus, Lisa found it hard to keep her eyes open. Sirius kept sneaking glances at her. He thought that she looked so pretty sitting there with her eyes closed. He began to grow worried because the further she drifted into sleep the closer she was getting to Remus. He felt that any moment now she would rest her head on his shoulder. He knew he would be insanely jealous of Remus if that happened.
Finally James came running into the common room, waking Lisa up. She looked at Sirius who at that moment had been watching her. He quickly looked away and looked at James.
"You'll never guess what!" He said, standing in front of them as if he were on stage.
"Out with it Prongs, we're tired." Sirius said very annoyed.
"I've been made Captain of the Quidditch team!" He said throwing his arms up dramatically.
"That's fantastic James." Lily said through a huge yawn. She got up, kissed his cheek, and headed straight for the girls dormitory.
"Good for you mate." Remus said getting up. "Night Lisa." He said patting her shoulder as he left. She slumped over pretending to be asleep. Remus laughed at her.
"Come on, get up." He said grabbing her hand and pulling her up.
"I don't want to." She complained. "Carry me."
"I'll carry you." Sirius said, pulling her hand out of Remus's and taking her into his arms.
"Its ok Sirius, I'm up now." She said flushing furiously.
"You sure?" He asked still holding on to her hand. She nodded and he let go.
"Congratulations James." She said to James, giving him the hug that he needed.
"Thanks Lisa." He said returning her hug.
"See you in the morning!" She said and disappeared up the stairs.
"Night Padfoot, night Prongs." Remus said going up the boys staircase.
Sirius grumbled.
"What Padfoot?" James asked him.
"Everyone else got a hug." He mumbled.
"Aw, is that what you want a hug? Ok!" James said and threw his arms around Sirius.
"James! Get off!" Sirius yelled. James let go and burst out laughing.
"Ok," James said putting on a serious face. "Why don't you just tell her?"
Sirius sighed and looked up at the girls stairs where Lisa had last been.
"I will." He said. "Soon."
The next morning they all sat together and enjoyed their first breakfast back. Schedules were passed out and Lisa and Remus were pleased to learn that they had every single class together. They immediately started working up a studying schedule. James teased them while Sirius faked a smile. He couldn't help being sad that he only had Lisa in two of his classes. He was also a little worried that her and Remus had so many classes together. When they finished their breakfast they went their separate ways. Lisa and Remus had their first class together while James, Sirius and Lily had theirs, Peter was the only one taking a different class.
The first few weeks of term went by in a flash. Before anyone knew it, they were a month and a half into the school year already. Remus and Lisa were exhausted the first few weeks from their work load. Everyone knew that they were both taking all the hardest N.E.W.T classes. By the second month though they had themselves adjusted. They helped each other manage their time wisely. Except for the few days that he would disappear entirely, Remus was able to keep anyone from distracting him. Lisa on the other hand was easily distracted by one person only, Sirius. Though this didn't stop her from being curious about Remus's frequent disappearances.
Usually you could find Sirius sitting next to Lisa with her pile of homework laid out in front of her. She would be laughing at something he said while complaining that her ink kept drying on her quill. She never once told him to leave her alone so that she could work. They always seemed to be in a world of their own when talking to each other.
The next months passed even more quickly. Christmas was just around the corner. Sirius, Remus, Lily, James, Peter and Lisa decided to stay at the castle for the winter holiday. They enjoyed having the common mostly to themselves as everyone else had gone home for the holiday. They all awoke Christmas morning to find many presents at the foot of their beds.
"Wake up Lisa!" Lily called throwing a pillow onto Lisa's bed. "Time for presents!"
Lisa sat up in her bed and crawled over to the end, trying to decide which parcel she should open first. She finally just picked one from the top. It was from her parents. She opened it to find a new sweater in a beautiful blue (a Muggle gift from her father) and a shiny new telescope (from her mother whose favorite subject while at Hogwarts was Astronomy). She also got a life size replica of a Snitch that flew around in circles from James, a handful of Chocolate Frogs from Peter, a large collection of Muggle lip gloss from Lily ("Thank you Lily! These are my favorites!"), a hardback copy of her favorite book with gold lettering from Remus, and a bouquet of everlasting flowers that changed with the seasons from Sirius. She had chosen to open her gift from Sirius last. When she opened it she was amazed by the beauty of the flowers that had a slightly perfumed smell. She carefully placed them in a vase on the nightstand next to her bed. She looked at them adoringly.
"Snap out of it!" Lily called to her. "We should get dressed and go down to the common room."
Lisa put on her new sweater and a pair of jeans. She decided that she wanted to dress like a Muggle today. She ran a brush through her long brown hair and put on some of the Strawberry flavored lip gloss Lily had given her. Then she followed Lily down into the common room where all of the boys were waiting. James was the first to meet Lily at the bottom of the stairs and enveloped her in a hug with a thank you for his gift. Then he hugged Lisa.
"A Broomstick Servicing kit! Brilliant! I love it." He said letting go of her.
Remus came up to her next. They both laughed when they saw each other.
"What's so funny?" James asked.
"We got each other the same thing." Lisa told him.
"Well, great minds do think alike." Remus said smiling and embracing her in a hug.
Lisa went over to Peter and hugged and thanked him for the Chocolate Frogs. She then found Sirius sitting on the couch playing with the toy model of a motorbike she had given him. She went over to him and draped herself over his shoulder.
"The flowers were beautiful." She whispered in his ear. He flushed as she walked around the couch and sat next to him.
"This is bloody brilliant!" He said holding up the motorbike. "One of these days I'm going to get me a real one. I'm going to do lots of fun things with it. Who would have guessed Muggles could make something so cool!"
Lisa beamed at him. She was so happy that he liked her gift. The group lounged in the common room till it was time for the Christmas dinner. Lily and James were sharing a chair by the fire, close together, occasionally sneaking a kiss. Peter was setting up the new Wizard's Chess set he had received from his mother. Remus, Lisa and Sirius were sitting on the couch, Remus running his fingers over the gold letting of the title.
Lisa smiled as she watched him.
"You look lovely in that sweater Lisa." Remus told her looking up from the book.
"Yes, it matches the color of your eyes." Sirius said mad at Remus because he voiced the very thought Sirius had been debating over whether he should say.
Lisa blushed and murmured a thank you. Soon it was time for all of them to go down to dinner. Because so few students remained over the holiday the long house tables had been set aside and there was a smaller one set in the middle instead. They had a hearty dinner with the Hogwarts staff members and the few other students who remained over the holiday. Professor Dumbledore passed around crackers and everyone wore festive hats. After dinner everyone climbed back up to the Gryffindor tower, full to bursting point with good holiday food. The group talked in the common room till late hours. Then they finally said goodnight to each other and went up their separate dormitory stairs.
The next day Lisa went down to the common room to find it completely empty. She sat in an arm chair reading into the afternoon when Sirius, Peter, and James came through the portrait hole. They were whispering to each other and didn't notice Lisa until she said something to them.
"Where have you guys been all morning?" She asked. They immediately stopped talking amongst themselves.
"Er...just out running around the castle." James said.
"Oh..." She replied. "Where's Remus?"
"Um...his mother is sick so he went home for a few days." Sirius told her.
"But don't worry, he'll be back soon." James added.
With that the boys excused themselves to their dormitory. Lisa worried about Remus and was slightly suspicious of the other guys' behavior. Especially when she didn't see them for a whole night and when she did they were all tired looking and kept to their dormitory. She put it out of her mind when the rest of the school started to come back from the holiday. Remus reappeared the day before classes resumed. Lisa decided that she wouldn't question Remus about his absence, she didn't want to pry and it was obviously something that the four boys didn't want to talk about.
A few weeks of classes flew by once again packed with the usual amount of study time, finding Snape hanging upside down and watching James play Quidditch. One night Lisa was sitting in her usual arm chair with her homework laid out in front of her. She had been waiting for Remus to join her, as he usually did, but he never showed. She started to work on her homework on her own when she heard familiar laughs coming from the other side of the common room. She looked over to find Remus, Peter, James and Sirius huddled together over a table. She stared at them, laughing and arguing over what seemed like a piece of parchment, Sirius looked up and over at her. He gave her a wink and a smile. To prevent herself from blushing she gave a quick smile in return and went back to her homework. Sirius stared at her, still smiling.
"Oy Padfoot!" James yelled at him from across the table. He turned around to see what Sirius was looking at.
"Are you ever going to tell her?"
"Well, I was thinking about asking her to Hogsmeade this weekend. But that's the night of the next full moon." Sirius said.
"So?" James said.
"So, if I have to leave her suddenly that night she might get suspicious." Sirius answered.
"I think this might be worth the risk. Don't you think so Moony?" James asked Remus.
"Course. This is something very important." Remus said smiling.
Sirius beamed. "Now what should the incantation to show the contents be?"
"I've got a great idea for what it should do if a teacher tires to figure it out." James chuckled.
"Sirius, I think you should go ask Lisa to Hogsmeade right now. Before she makes plans with Lily or something." Remus suggested.
"Good idea Moony! Go on Padfoot!" James encouraged.
Sirius rolled his eyes but got up from the table and went over to the armchair where Lisa was sitting. He sat in the chair next to her. She put down her quill and looked up when he sat down.
"What are you boys up to over there?" She asked.
"Oh, just working on a little idea that we had." He said grinning. "So...er...I was wondering, would you like to go into Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
Her insides jolted.
"I'd love to." She finally managed to get out.
"Great." He beamed. "Well I should get back. Don't work too hard."
He left his chair quickly and rejoined his friends at the table.
"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" James said.
Sirius glared at him.
Lisa counted down the days of the week until the weekend finally came. She was excited and nervous but determined not to show it. She dressed carefully Saturday morning, brushing her hair over and over again and trying to decide which lip gloss smelled best. Lily laughed at her running around the room. It was only when she heard Lily's laugh that she snapped out of it.
"You're right, I'm acting silly." She said. "Lets go down to breakfast."
They went down to the Great Hall. They took their places among James, Peter and Sirius. Remus was once again absent. Lisa noticed this but decided not to ask. She knew that something was wrong but felt it wasn't her place to be inquisitive.
"Good morning ladies." James said as they sat down.
"Morning James." Lily and Lisa chorused.
Sirius smiled at Lisa from across the table. She smiled in return but felt her face grow hot. They had a chatter filled breakfast and soon it was time for those departing to Hogsmeade to join the throng of students flooding the hall, getting their names checked off the list of those who had permission to visit the wizarding village. Sirius and Lisa got their names checked off and made their way towards the village. Once they got there they walked around the various shops. Pausing to purchase a few items in Zonko's and Honeydukes. They walked and talked with each other, huddling close together to keep warm and have an excuse to touch each other. They found themselves near the end of the village.
"There's a café over there." Sirius said. "Should we try that or make our way back to The Three Broomsticks?"
"The Three Broomsticks is so far away. Lets try this." She replied.
They walked into the café and sat at a small table in the back. A witch came over and took their order and returned quickly with two hot chocolates. Sipping their hot chocolate and talking together quietly they suddenly grew very warm, contrasting the bitter cold they had been walking in outside.
"This place is very...uh...cozy." Sirius said looking around. Lisa looked around too. It was then that they noticed that the café was filled with nothing but couples looking very romantic. Realizing this at the same time they met each other's eyes and shared a chuckle.
"This is so silly." Sirius began. "There is something I need to tell you."
He went into a well rehearsed version of how amazing he thought she was. How he looked forward to seeing her every morning at breakfast and how he sighed when she left the common room at night. How he had missed her horribly all summer and how he got jittery every time he got one of her letters. He told her how beautiful he thought she was and how he thought every night as he went to bed just how he would tell her all of this one day.
She could feel her heart beat wildly insider her chest as she told him that she felt the same way. That when he smiled at her she melted and loved every second they spent near each other. She confessed that she had always thought that they would be nothing more than friends. He laughed at her sweetly, saying that he thought the same since he'd been so scared to tell her.
"We've been so silly." She said. He reached over and took her hand.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"How thick are you to think that I wouldn't fall for you like all of the other girls who are hopelessly in love with you?" She teased.
He laughed and put his arm around her. "Your so special I wasn't sure." He whispered in her ear. She smiled and rest her head on his shoulder, marveling at how perfect it felt.
"I've been waiting to do this for a long time." He said, gently tipping up her chin and brushing his lips against hers.
When they arrived back at Hogwarts both of them were positively glowing, not just from the cold. Sirius escorted Lisa on his arm like she was a queen. Sirius was so giddy that he found himself not wanting to be back up in the common room, he was thankful that tonight was a full moon. When all of the students and teachers were gone from sight Sirius quickly pulled Lisa into an abandoned classroom.
"What?" She asked him, noticing the glint that was in his eye.
"I want to show you something." He said, pulling out a piece of parchment.
"Its blank." She said looking at it.
His smile became mischievous. "So you think." He touched his wand to the parchment and said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Before her eyes line began to spread all over the parchment. When they had finished she saw that she was looking at an exact map of Hogwarts, showing every secret passageway.
"Is that what you boys were making the other night?" She mused.
Sirius nodded and began pointing out the great features of the map. He pointed out that any student not in their common room would appear on the map and that the whereabouts of the teachers were always documented. He let Lisa examine and admire the map for a little longer than he should have. It wasn't until he saw the dots labeled James Potter and Peter Pettigrew sneaking out towards the Whomping Willow did he say a quick "Mischief managed!" and wipe the map clean.
"I have to go." He said. "The coast is clear for you to get back up to the common room."
He gave her a quick kiss and left the classroom in a hurry. She stared at the door after he left. She smirked a little as she watched it close. Such was typical of Sirius to go running off like that with no explanation. Though she had a feeling he had a very good reason. So she made her way up to the common room by herself. When she stepped in the portrait hole Lily came rushing up to her.
"Had a nice time?" She asked a little breathless from her run across the room.
Lisa smiled and nodded.
Lily's face suddenly took on a shocked expression.
"He kissed you!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Lisa said feeling highly embarrassed because now half the common room was looking at her.
"I can tell, he kissed you!" Lily said.
"How can you tell?" Lisa asked her as they made their way towards chairs in the common room.
"You just have a glow about you." Lily grinned. "So tell me all you did!"
The start of the week was the best on Lisa had ever had. Though when she saw Sirius again he was dead tired and refused to say why. Peter and James had the same look about them but Lisa figured she would get the same response if she questioned them. Remus was missing for a few days. She sorely missed his company when she was doing her homework and worried about him constantly. He finally showed up back in classes on Wednesday. He looked worn and colorless.
Though Lisa was still worried she was glad to have her study partner back. They sat in their usual spot in the library that night trying to finish a particularly difficult essay for their Potions class. Lisa became stuck on a part and tossed her quill down is disgust. Remus soon followed suit.
"Let's take a break, shall we?" Remus suggested. "Perhaps some fresh air would help our minds."
Lisa nodded and they made their way to the stone courtyard outside the Great Hall. It was a crisp night but a welcome change from the stuffiness in the library. Remus looked at the sky and began to point out the constellations they learned in their astronomy class.
"Stop. I don't want to think about school work right now." She said pulling down his arm. When she touched it he winced. She looked at him but he did not meet her eyes. She carefully pulled up the sleeve of his robe. She saw cuts a bruises all over his forearm.
"Are you ever going to tell me what is wrong with you?" She asked softly.
He continued to look at the sky. He figured that there was no way out of it. That he should tell her. That she deserved to know the truth about him.
"Well," He began uncertainly. "I have this condition."
"Remus, are you a werewolf?" Lisa asked quietly.
He put his head down and nodded. He was never more afraid in his life as he was at that moment. He wasn't even this scared when Peter, James and Sirius had found out. He respected Lisa so much and he was frightened that she would never speak to him again. A loss like that would destroy him. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He didn't want to see the shock and horror that he knew would be on her face. He felt her raise from the bench beside him. He knew that she would probably run away from him. He almost felt like crying.
Instead he felt a soft tug on his arm, pulling him up next to her. He still had his head down. He was so scared to look at her. When he finally did he saw that she was close to tears herself. She looked at him then flung her arms around his neck pulling him close to her.
"It must be so horrible for you. I've read about how painful transformations are." She said holding him tightly.
He winced but didn't want her to let go. If he had wanted to cry before he almost couldn't control himself now. He felt tears swelling up in the back of his eyes. He looked down at the creature holding him. This creature so full of compassion to be kind to him when he had just revealed that he was a horrible blood-thirsty killer. He had never been more thankful to be him in his whole life. He felt her lips brush against his cheek before she squeezed him tighter and finally let him go.
"I was afraid you'd never speak to me again." He sighed.
She laughed.
"Don't be thick!" She said.
He smiled at her. She smiled back. He took her hand and held it in his.
"I was so afraid. Afraid that-"
She cut him off. "Afraid of what? That I'd think you're a horrible monster and never talk to you again? That I would be afraid of you? That I would change the way I think about you? It'll take more than you being a werewolf to get rid of me Mr. Remus J. Lupin. You are an amazing person and nothing can change that."
He pulled her to him and hugged her once again. She giggled and returned his hug.
"I'm surprised you didn't find out on your own." He said as they headed back inside the castle.
"Well...I have noticed the signs for a few years now. I ignored them, thinking that it was completely impossible for them to be true."
"There you were wrong." He said with a smile.
As they packed their bags with their books and their essays Lisa suddenly giggled.
"Moony." She said looking up at him. "I would have thought your friends would be a little more original."
He laughed.
"Sirius has told me why you call him Padfoot. I assumed that Prongs and Wormtail have similar meanings. Now it makes sense as to why they would want to become Anamagi."
"I'm surprised Sirius didn't tell you my secret himself, he wants to tell you everything about him." Remus mused.
"Yeah, well I think that is mostly just him showing off." Lisa said as they walked through the portrait hole.
