The healer bent over Noelle's inert form. He listened to her heart and her lungs, then looked up at her parents. Both of them were standing with absolute shock on their faces.

"She needs to be in the hospital right now. Preferably the one in Paris."

Catherine Lemieux nodded and rushed off to pack a small bag for each of them.

The healer took in the stunned look on François' face.

"What exactly happened, monsieur?"

François swallowed thickly. "There was an argument. She became hysterical, and she collapsed."

The healer raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Catherine hurried back into the room. The healer gently picked Noelle up and Apparated to Paris, with her parents right behind him.

By the time Noelle was comfortably ensconced in a private room, it was well after midnight, and she was still unconscious. The healer made some notes on a chart and tucked Noelle's blanket around her tightly. The petite girl stirred briefly, but remained asleep. He sighed deeply. Her prognosis was not good, and now she had been unconscious for over three hours. He knew there was more to the story, and that her father was definitely not telling him something. Checking her stats one last time, he lowered the lights and eased out of the room.

The next morning, Catherine rose to get a cup of coffee. As she was paying for her drink, her eyes fell on that morning's newspaper. Her eyes widened with shock and she almost spilled her coffee. On the front page was a picture of Noelle, with the headline,

"Ambassador's Daughter Stricken Ill Last Night".

With shaking hands, she paid for a copy and rushed back to the room she was sharing with her husband.

Wordlessly, she held it out to him. They read it quickly together. Thankfully, the newspapers did not know much. All the article said was that Noelle was ill with an unknown ailment. It didn't mention her chronic lung condition whatsoever. Catherine touched her husband's hand.

"Perhaps she has awoken, François."

Her husband looked at her with dead eyes. "I was a monster last night. What happened?"

Catherine shrugged. "You were thinking of what is best for her. You always do."

He grasped her hand. "Do I?"

They sat in silence, before briefly embracing. He wiped his hand over his face and rose to shower.

They had been at the hospital only moments when an urgent owl was delivered to Noelle's room. François skimmed it briefly.

"I need to return to America. There is an emergency."

Catherine nodded. "I shall go with you."

He looked surprised. "You will not stay with Noelle?"

Catherine's blue eyes filled with tears. "I cannot bear to see her like this."

She cast an uneasy glance to the bed where her daughter lay motionless. They bid their daughter goodbye, and hurried from the room.

From deep inside her coma, Noelle was haunted. She kept reliving the events of the night before. She saw herself being restrained from following Sirius by her father. She heard the argument between herself and her father. She desperately wanted to talk to both Lily and Sirius, but she could not wake herself. She felt as if she was experiencing the worst parts of her life over and over again. She screamed inside, but there was no sound. So instead of trying to force herself, she curled up in a ball in the corner of her mind and waited for it all to end.

Outside, Sirius squinted at the sign; sure he had found the right place. He had read the article that morning, and without a word to his friends, had taken the Floo network into Paris. It had taken all of them hours to calm Lily down last night, but finally she had regained enough composure to tell them what had happened. Three times, Sirius had gotten up to go do battle with Noelle's father, but he had been restrained by James and Remus. Eventually, they had all fallen asleep, out of pure exhaustion. Sirius had stayed awake, his grey eyes glowing with the thought of revenge. At the desk, he asked for Noelle Lemieux.

"I am sorry, Monsieur. Mademoiselle Lemieux is not permitted visitors right now."

Sirius smiled disarmingly, and said, "I have traveled all the way from Britain, as soon as I heard. Please, all I ask is five minutes."

The witch at the desk thought, and finally said, "Tres bien. But only five minutes."

Sirius ran for the elevator.

On the fourth floor, he scanned the numbers on the doors until he found her room. He peeked in, not knowing what to expect. Noelle was very still on the bed. Her blonde hair was limp around her face, and her skin had a greenish tinge to it. Her chest was barely rising. He covered his mouth with his hand and quickly diverted his eyes. After a moment, he recovered and slowly walked to her bedside. He sank into the chair next to her and carefully picked up her hand. With his free hand, he delicately touched her face. Her skin felt so cold.

"Monsieur! You do know that she is in a coma? She does not know what is happening."

Sirius turned to face the healer. "I didn't know she was this bad."

The healer placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder while the dark haired teenager tried not to cry.

"You care for her very much." The healer stated, and Sirius chuckled in spite of his grief.

"Is it that obvious?"

The healer smiled. "She will get better, I am sure of it, once she realizes that there are people who care about her."

Sirius laughed bitterly. "I see you have met her parents."

The healer nodded slowly. "I was not impressed, but everyone handles their grief differently." He checked his watch. "I must make my rounds. I will return in 30 minutes to check on her."

Sirius nodded, and the healer left. Alone with Noelle, he scooted closer to her bed. Her breathing was shallow. He leaned closer to her ear and began to spin a wonderful life for the two of them.

"We will have a beautiful home, right on the sea. There will be a tower, so you can always look at your precious stars. We will be the envy of the wizarding world, Noelle, I promise."

From far away, Noelle heard his voice, almost in an echo. She fought through the darkness towards the sound of his voice. She struggled to open her eyes. Sirius saw her lids flicker. He tightened his grip on her hand a little.

"Come on Noelle, open those pretty eyes."

They flickered again.

"Come on baby, just for a minute." He pleaded with her.

This time they flickered and stayed open. For a full three minutes, they stared deep into each other's eyes.

At first glance, Sirius knew Noelle had been to hell and back. She ran her tongue over her parched lips and tried to speak. He poured her a glass of water and held it to her lips. Her voice was raspy,

"You came back to me."

Sirius cupped her face in his hands. "Noelle, I would do anything for you. I would give you anything you asked for. If you asked for the moon, I would go crazy trying to get it for you."

Her eyes rimmed with tears, and so did his.

"Noelle, I meant what I said, I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible."

His voice was heavy with emotion .From the doorway, the healer watched the touching scene. The dark haired boy and the blonde girl bowed their heads so their foreheads were touching. They whispered to each other, so softly he could not make out what they were saying. He cleared his throat and the two reluctantly pulled apart.

"Well, Mademoiselle, I am glad to see you have decided to join us, thanks to your young man here."

Sirius blushed and Noelle looked at him adoringly.

"However, Monsieur, now that she is awake, there are tests that must be done."

Sirius nodded with understanding and stood. Noelle locked her midnight blue eyes on him as he leaned to kiss her.

"I'll be back later, I promise."

She smiled and he blew her a kiss as he left.

Noelle tried to sit up straight as the healer checked her lungs. The effort exhausted her. Finally, the healer finished.

"Excuse-moi, but where are my parents?"

The healer looked extremely uncomfortable. "They had to return to America."

Noelle blanched. "They left? Without making sure I was alright?"

She knew her parents had a hard time accepting her illness, but she could not believe they would just leave her alone, unconscious in a hospital.

"Did they say when they would return?"

The healer shook his head sadly. "Non, mademoiselle."

Noelle swallowed thickly and turned her head away from him so he would not see her cry.

Later that day, Sirius entered her room, humming softly. He carried a bouquet of yellow roses. Slowly he lowered them to his side. Noelle was turned toward the window, her navy eyes blank. There were dried tear stains streaking her cheeks.

"Noelle? What happened?"

She turned to him. "Nothing is wrong."

Sirius raised his eyebrow skeptically. He didn't believe her for a second. She stared at him unwaveringly. She swallowed before she replied.

"I am sure there is nothing wrong."

He had no choice but to accept it. He took a seat next to her bed and picked up her hand. She squeezed it as tightly as she could, which wasn't very tight at all, and resumed staring out the window.

A few hours later, Sirius awoke to voices in the hallway. He shot a glance at Noelle. Her eyes were wide with panic and her breathing was shallow.

"It is my parents! Hide! Quickly!"

Sirius shot out of his chair and ducked into the bathroom.

Noelle tried to compose herself as her parents entered the room. Her mother swept over to her and kissed her forehead. Noelle stayed rigid against her pillows, not returning her mother's affection. Her father was nervously pacing around the room. Noelle caught his eye and stared unflinchingly at him. He avoided her eyes completely. He cleared his throat.

"The arrangements have been made. You will attend a public Muggle high school in Massachusetts. You will live with your mother and I."

Noelle was slowly shaking her head. "No, Father. I will be returning to Hogwarts in September."

Her father began to get angry. She cut him off abruptly. "I know you feel that you know what is best for me. You do not. You care only what others think of our family."

She took a painful breath. "I will return to Hogwarts, no matter what you say, with your blessings or without it."

She gazed confidently at her parents. Her father was silent. When he finally spoke, it was through tightly clenched teeth.

"Noelle, you have been nothing but insolent and rude to us since you came home from Hogwarts! How dare you speak to us this way? That Lily is a bad influence, and that obnoxious boy is nothing but trouble!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius emerge from the bathroom, with fire in his grey eyes and his fists clenched. She pleaded with her eyes for him to stay hidden.

"Now, I order to you to sever all ties with these people."

Noelle smiled incredulously at him. "You cannot make me forget them. They are my friends! And that 'obnoxious boy' you speak of? I love him! I love him more than I've ever loved anyone!" She shouted, completely forgetting that Sirius was in the bathroom.

Her father laughed scornfully "How can you love him? He is not nearly good enough for you! You have a family name to protect!"

She glared at him and swore, "Damn this family name! I refuse to leave Hogwarts, for once and for all. I am staying with my friends."

She spit the words at her father.

François practically rose the ceiling with his thunderous voice. "You will do as I tell you to do, or mark my words Noelle. You will no longer be a part of this family!"

Catherine Lemieux, who throughout the entire discussion had remained silent, gasped and covered her mouth. She pulled on her husband's arm.

"No, François! Please no!"

He shushed her with an impatient wave of his hand, his dark blue eyes, so like his daughter's, still locked on Noelle. Noelle set her chin proudly.

"Father, if that is your wish, so be it. I will no longer be your daughter."

She barely succeeded in keeping the tears out of her voice. Her mother wailed in anguish. Her father was taken aback, but recovered quickly.

"Very well then."

He spun on his heel and dragged his wife out of the room.

Noelle raised her eyes to the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. Sirius poked his head out of the bathroom and checked for her parents. Seeing that they had left, he emerged, shaking with anger.

"How dare he call me obnoxious? My family is just as respected as yours!"

Noelle reached a hand out to him, desperately needing his reassuring touch. He hurried to her side and sat on the edge of her bed. She bit her lip, her eyes growing wider with panic every second.

"What have I done?" she managed to say.

Sirius snorted. "You have done the right thing."

She laughed bitterly. "The right thing? Are you mad? How is that the right thing?"

He swung his eyes away, not entirely sure of what to say. Hot tears poured out from behind her lids. She quickly looked up. She refused to cry over this. "I cannot believe what just happened." Sirius reached over and turned her face towards him.

"Hey?"

She looked into his eyes sorrowfully.

"I will take care of you, Noelle." His voice trembled with emotion. "I can give you a good life."

She squeezed his hand. "Sirius, I appreciate that, you know I do. But I can take care of myself. My grandfather left me a large trust fund. I will be fine."

He looked at her intently. "Noelle, maybe you didn't understand me. I want to take care of you...forever."

She drew her breath in sharply. "Sirius, you do not know what you are asking."

He stared at her. "Noelle, I love you. I love all of you, the good and the bad." She laughed again.

"There is so much you do not know." He tightened his grip on her hand. "Then tell me, Noelle."

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Not tonight, Sirius. I have had too much excitement for one day." She smiled sadly at him.

He looked upset, so she was quick to reassure him. "I promise, I will tell you."

Her chest contracted at the thought of telling him her secret. He met her eyes.

"When?"

"Soon." She promised. She gazed at the clock. "It is late. I need to rest."

He nodded and slapped his knees. "I'm staying in Paris, at the Georges V. If you need me, contact me there."

She smiled and nodded. He leaned down and brushed her hair away from her pale face, kissing her lightly on the forehead. She looked trustingly into his grey eyes.

"I love you Noelle. I will be back in the morning."

He headed for the door, blowing her a kiss over his shoulder.

After he had left, she exhaled heavily, and then laughed out loud. She had just been disowned, and she was laughing. The entire situation struck her as extremely humorous. She was wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks when her mother silently entered the room. Noelle abruptly stopped.

"What is it?"

Her mother stood at the door, not speaking.

"Well?" Noelle pursued.

"Your father does not know I am here." Her mother finally whispered. "Noelle, what happened tonight did not need to happen."

Noelle sighed. "Yes, it did Maman. If it did not happen tonight, it would have happened another night. He cannot run my life any longer."

Her mother laughed lightly. "He does not try to run your life, cherie."

Noelle looked at her in amazement. "Yes he does, Maman. He does it to you, too."

Her mother shook her head in denial, but Noelle persisted.

"Yes he does, Maman! What was last decision you made in our family, besides what china to use for dinner, or what color robes to wear?" Noelle cried out.

Her mother tried to meet her eyes, but could not. "If I only have a short time left in this world, I am going to live my life in just that way! For the first time ever, I have friends that do not care that I am Noelle Lemieux! They do not care who my father is! They like me! Me!"

Noelle's voice was becoming shrill and she was shaking in frustration. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Tomorrow, I expect the keys to my vault, the vault that Grand-pere Andre left me, to be delivered here. I will make my own way, and live my own life. Finally, my own life!" she screamed.

Her mother wiped her face and began to beg Noelle to reconsider.

"Maman, I have had enough! Get out of my room!"

Noelle picked up the vase on her bedside table that held the roses Sirius had brought her and threw it at her mother.

"Get out! Now!"

In tears, her mother fled the room. Noelle stared at the beautiful yellow roses in the floor amidst the broken glass. Her mouth opened and closed and not a word came out. In horror at what she had just said, she slowly covered her mouth with her hands, and sobbed.

The next morning, the healer entered in a cheerful mood. He pulled the curtains back to let the sunlight in, and Noelle groaned when it touched her eyes. Sitting up groggily, she blinked a few times.

"Good morning, Noelle. Good news, too. You are being released today."

Noelle breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, and your owl arrived, with a package for you."

She anxiously reached for it, and ripped it open. In a plain envelope was her key to her vault. There was no note. So this is what it will be like, for the rest of my life, she thought. Strangely enough, she felt comfortable with it, finally feeling free. She carefully rose from her bed, searching for her bag. Spotting it in the closet, she extracted a set of lavender robes. She grimaced when she saw her reflection. Twisting her hair into a braid, she sat to await the arrival of Sirius.

He was there in twenty minutes, amazed to see her out of bed.

"Good news, cherie! I am being released!" she sang as she embraced him.

He gently picked her up and swung her around, kissing her lips.

"And you are coming home with me. You are not going back to those gits you call parents."

She looked at him reproachfully. "I must go back...at least to collect my belongings."

He reluctantly nodded, "Fine, but I am going with you."

She shook her head. "No, I am going alone."

He opened her mouth to protest, but she silenced him with a look. "Sirius, you are not going to fight my own battles."

He didn't like it, but finally he agreed. The healer entered the room and handed Noelle a clipboard with a piece of parchment and a quill. She eagerly reached for it and scratched her name. The healer smiled at her.

"You are free to go, Mademoiselle."

Noelle happily hugged him and pulled Sirius out of the room.

At Sirius' hotel, she tried to make herself as presentable as possible before she traveled to the French Ministry of Magic to travel to her house. It was hopeless, she still looked wan and pale. She pulled a face and turned back to Sirius.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

He took her hand and led her out the door. At the Ministry, they were ushered to the nearest fireplace. She took a deep breath and stepped into the flames.

She emerged in the living room of her home, alone. The house was like a tomb it was so quiet. She scurried up the stairs to her room, and quickly began to pack. She was almost finished when she heard a noise behind her. Whipping out her wand, she whirled around. Her father stood there.

"Going to hex me, Noelle?" he asked.

She glowered at him. "I am almost finished. I will be gone shortly."

He sighed. "Last night, we all made rash decisions. We all said things that we did not mean."

Noelle lowered her wand slowly and chose her words carefully. "I meant every word I said last night, but not exactly the way I said them."

Her father was stunned. She turned back to her trunk and slammed the lid shut.

She met her father's eyes and said, "Good bye, Father." She heaved her trunk downstairs and left her home behind her.

Once back in Paris, she met Sirius pacing nervously in the lobby of the French Ministry.

"All set?" he asked her.

She smiled winningly at him and gestured toward her trunk. He picked it up easily and they walked outside. He sharply whistled for a taxi and placed her trunk in the boot of the taxi. When they arrived at the hotel, Noelle's jaw dropped.

Lily rushed to her friend and wrapped her in a hug.

"We were so worried!"

Noelle hugged her back tightly, and then hugged James and Remus. She tried to prevent her tears from falling as she hugged her friends. This is my new family, she thought. They are all I have. James finally interrupted the tear fest.

"We're expected at my house tomorrow. We should probably leave today."

Noelle looked at him with a question in her eyes. He shrugged sheepishly.

"I told my mom what happened, and she insisited you stay with us. What can I say, she's a sucker for helping people."

Noelle didn't know whether to be offended or relieved. She chose relieved.

"Thank you James. I was wondering where I was going to go until school."

"Well, we don't have long...we have to be back next week." Remus said.

For some reason, he kept giving Noelle odd looks. She brushed it off.

"So, we should go soon."

Lily grinned, "We're already ready."

James made a face as the taxi arrived at Orly, the Paris airport.

"Mom said that flying is the quickest, non-magical way to get home."

Noelle nodded thoughtfully. "Oui, it is. I love to fly."

Sirius shuddered beside her. She laughed at him and boarded the plane.

The flight passed quickly, because they all slept. Once at Heathrow, they quickly found their luggage. Lily nervously whispered,

"We should have changed into Muggle clothes...I didn't think of it."

Noelle glanced around her, and noticed the funny looks they were receiving.

"Oops." She shrugged.

The taxi ride to James' house sped by. Once the towering roof of the Potter estate was visible, Noelle relaxed. This was her new home, at least for the time being.