Back in Cannes, the girls carefully hung their new robes in Noelle's vast closets.

"When is this ball?" Lily inquired.

"It is next Friday night." Noelle said distractedly, flipping through the racks of Muggle clothes in her closet. "Do you feel like going out tonight? My birthday is tomorrow."

Lily turned to her friend. "I didn't know that your birthday was tomorrow. Why didn't you tell me?"

Noelle shrugged. "It is nothing. I have never really celebrated it very much."

Lily smiled widely. "Of course we can go out tonight. Where do you want to go?"

Noelle thought hard. "There is a night club downtown. Many witches and wizards go there. We could try that."

Lily nodded. "That sounds like fun." "Bon. Let's do that. We'll eat dinner and then get ready."

The girls ate dinner rapidly. They rushed back to Noelle's room, whispering furiously about how they were going to get out of the house. Finally Noelle said,

"We will just go. They will never find out."

Against her better judgment, Lily agreed. As they dressed. Noelle was slightly nervous. She had never sneaked out of her house before. She selected her clothes carefully. They needed to look at least eighteen. She pulled a jean skirt and a red tank top on. She piled her long hair on top of her head, and then curled the strands that fell loose. She desperately wished she could use her wand on her hair; using a Muggle curling iron took forever. She smudged a little eyeliner around her eyes and stroked her lashes with mascara. Adding a touch of shiny pale red lip gloss, she turned to Lily. Her friend looked her over critically, then nodded.

"Definitely eighteen."

Noelle checked the mirror one last time, then eyed Lily. Lily was wearing a short white skirt and a tight black tee shirt. Her long red hair hung down her back, and her bright green eyes were lined softly in black. They both definitely would make the age requirement.

"Alors, shall we go?" Noelle asked, checking her purse for money.

They both slipped out of the doors that led to the balcony off of Noelle's room. They crept down three sets of stairs and dashed across the lawn.

They hopped over the low wall that bordered the property and hurried to the road. Once there, Noelle checked over her shoulder, expecting to hear shouts coming from her house. Nothing. She smiled widely. Laughing happily, she grabbed Lily's hand and scampered down the road.

At the door of the club, the girls tried not to fidget as the bouncers studied them carefully. Noelle smiled charmingly as he eyed her up and down, inwardly disgusted at the way he took her for a piece of meat. Finally the bouncer reached for the velvet rope. She let her breath out in relief and grabbed Lily's hand.

Inside the room was dim and the music was thumping. Young witches and wizards were crowding rthe large dance floor, moving their bodies to the music. Noelle quickly veered to the right and headed to the bar. Shouting to make herself heard, she ordered two butterbeers while Lily found an empty table. She hurried over to it and handed Lily her drink. She sipped slowly and scanned the room. She didn't see anyone she knew at first, but then her eyes locked on Nicolette, one of her best friends from Beuaxbatons. She jumped to her feet and flung her arm over her head, waving frantically. Nicolette spotted her and hurried to her side. They chattered rapidly in French until Noelle remembered Lily. She introduced her two friends, and motioned a waitress over. As she was ordering the drinks, she reached for her purse to get some money.

"I'll get that."

A familiar voice rang out over the thumping music. Noelle turned is disbelief. It was Sirius.

The tall boy smiled slyly as he dropped coins on the waitress's tray.

"And we'll have three more butterbeers as well."

The waitress nodded and headed to the bar. Noelle was dumbfounded.

"What are you doing here?" she managed to ask as she recovered from the shock of seeing him.

"Staying at Remus' aunt's house. James' parents decided to go to the Bahamas, by themselves. So we came here."

Sirius pushed his dark hair out of his face and studied Noelle. She looked amazing, even more beautiful than he remembered. She looked nervous.

"I didn't realize that you would be here, honestly Noelle. But it's really great to see you."

Her face relaxed into the smile that he loved.

"It is good to see you too, Sirius. Lily is here as well."

She turned to find her friend and saw that James had beaten her to it. Nicolette was standing of to the side, looking slightly out of place. Sirius caught Remus' eye and inclined his head toward the tall French girl. He gathered his courage and approached Nicolette. The girl's eyes widened with interest, and within minutes, they were following Lily and James to the dance floor. Sirius stood next to Noelle and raised his bottle to his lips. He shoved his right hand deep into the pocket of his khakis. He glanced at Noelle out of the corner of his eye. She was watching her friends, and occasionally sipping her drink. She body swayed slightly to the music. He took a deep breath.

"Noelle, can we go somewhere and talk?"

At first she didn't say anything, then she nodded apprehensively. She pointed to a door at the rear of the club, and followed Sirius outside.

The night was warm, but there was a slight breeze coming off the water. It lifted her hair and made the loose strands dance around her face. They stood in silence, looking out at the sea. Finally, Noelle turned to Sirius expectantly.

"Well?"

He took a deep breath before he spoke. Still facing the waves, he spoke.

"About last year? And the way I treated you?" He paused and turned to meet her eyes. "I'm really sorry about it. I was...well, I was an ass."

Noelle nodded thoughtfully. "Oui. You were."

Sirius' hands clenched the railing. He stared at his feet for a moment, then looked at her again. There was a smile playing around her lips. She was teasing him.

"That is all?" she said.

"What more can I say?" he sputtered.

She pretended to think very hard. "Beg my eternal forgiveness." Her eyes twinkled. He reached over and tickled her ribs. She squealed and jumped away. He chased her around the patio, still tickling her.

"Stop...STOP!!" she sadi breathlessly. "I forgive you!"

He stopped, smiling wryly. Noelle caught her breath, and gazed at him.

"How's Laura? She asked, even though she really didn't want to know.

Sirius blushed slightly. He didn't want to talk about Laura with Noelle.

"She's fine, I guess."

Noelle eyed him suspiciously. He shrugged.

"I really haven't talked to her." He lied.

Noelle looked cheered by this, and he felt horrible for lying to her. Just then Lily and James burst onto the deck, their cheeks flushed from dancing. Lily fanned her red cheeks.

"Oh this breeze feels nice." She said, leaning over the railing.

James was standing there, looking mesmerized by the pretty redhead. Inwardly, Noelle smiled. It amused her that they were so taken with each other, but neither one would admit it. Kind of like how much she liked Sirius, and wouldn't admit it. Remus and Nicolette came out shortly after. Now those two look like they're hitting it off nicely, Sirius thought to himself. Nicolette was a very pretty girl. She spoke English with a thick accent, just like Noelle had when she had first come to Hogwarts. Noelle's accent was fading, but still noticeable. Remus didn't speak French at all, but they seemed to be managing just fine.

"Let's go dance some more!" Lily pleaded, tugging on James' hand.

He allowed himself to be pulled back inside, and Remus and Nicolette followed them. Noelle looked at Sirius. He had a terrified look on his face the second Lily had mentioned dancing. She decided to give him a break.

"I do not feel much like dancing, do you?"

He chuckled and bowed his head. "I never feel like dancing." He said ruefully.

Noelle laughed and pointed to a table that had just opened up. "Do you want to sit?"

He nodded and followed her over to the table.

He pulled a chair out for her, and she gracefully sat.

"How has your summer been?" he asked while they were waiting for more drinks.

She made a face. "It was very boring, until Lily got here. Then it got fun."

She didn't mention the week long battery of tests that she had been put through in Paris. She still wasn't about to tell anyone at Hogwarts about her illness. She made a mental note to tell Nicolette not to say anything to Remus either.

"How has yours been?"

Sirius leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chest. "Well, it started off with my parents not being at the station to meet me, not like I was expecting them to. So I went home to get clothes to stay at James' and got into a huge fight with both of them. So I packed my stuff and left. Haven't talked to them since then."

Noelle looked concerned. "You do not get along?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. We don't see eye to eye on many subjects."

His voice told her that was the end of the subject and she didn't push him any further. She crossed her slim legs and put her bottle to her lips, finishing her drink in two sips. She motioned to the waitress again and ordered two more. She looked at Sirius and his eyes were locked on her legs. He appeared to be hypnotized. She leaned over and put a finger under his chin to raise his head. He blushed deeply and looked away. She put her hand on his knee, and he practically jumped at her touch.

"So, have you been having a good time with Lily?" he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. "We've gone to the beach every day, and gone riding. We've had a blast."

He smiled at her accent. "I see that we've corrupted your English."

She laughed and took another sip of her new drink. She eyed him thoughtfully.

"What?" he finally asked.

"I was just thinking. What happened to make you apologize to me?"

He shifted his eyes from her penetrating stare. He didn't want to answer that question. "I don't know...I just felt bad I guess."

She didn't look satisfied with that response, but he was saved by the lack of beats coming from inside the club. "I guess that's our cue to leave."

He stood and held a hand out to help her up. She wobbled slightly. He caught her.

"Whoa...steady there."

She put a hand over her eyes. "I think I had too much to drink." She said thickly.

She allowed him to lead her back inside. James and Lily were standing near the front door. Lily didn't look much better than Noelle.

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked.

James grinned wickedly and inclined his head to the left, where Nicolette and Remus were kissing in a dark corner.

"Way to go, Moony!"

Sirius and James exchanged high fives. When Sirius let go of Noelle to slap James' hand, she wobbled again, almost losing her balance. He caught her again, and she leaned heavily against him. He glanced at Lily, who was also being held up by James.

"Time to go."

James nodded and tightened his grip on Lily. Sirius whistled sharply for Remus, who tore himself from Nicolette. The three boys waved goodbye to her as they helped Lily and Noelle walk out of the club. Once outside, Noelle perked up long enough to blearily tell Sirius where her house was.

As they were walking, he was practically carrying her.

Finally, he said, "Here, this is easier."

He easily swung her into his arms, her weight hardly a burden to him. She slung her arms around his neck. Burying her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder, she breathed deeply. Her breath caused chills to run down his spine and goosebumps to pop up on his arms.

"You smell nice." She murmured against his warm skin.

Her lips brushed his neck when she spoke, and he went weak in the knees. He held her closer as they made their way to the house. Lily whispered to go around the back. They crept up the three staircases and Remus quietly slid the balcony door open. James said goodbye to Lily reluctantly. Sirius gently laid Noelle on her bed and removed her sandals. He pulled the covers over her limp body. Gazing into her navy eyes, he brushed some hair off her face. She smiled weakly at him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Good night, Noelle."

As he pulled away, she was already asleep.