The next day, Noelle was still not feeling that much better. She was restless and bored. Madam Pomfrey fussed over her like a mother hen. Finally, Noelle was by herself. She checked her watch. Severus should be coming in soon with her afternoon potion.

Right on cue, he walked in, slowly as not to spill the contents of the goblet. He set it carefully on her bedside table, and then sat on the chair next to her bad. She reached for and took a swallow.

Making a face, she said, "Ugh. This stuff is terrible."

Severus chuckled. "I'm sorry you don't think much of my potion making."

She laughed. "You know what I meant."

She took another swallow.

"Feel like talking a little?" he asked.

She stared at her hands. "I do not know what you want me to tell you Severus. I told you yesterday, and that is all." Noelle murmured.

Severus leaned over and hunched his shoulders.

"Noelle, I imagine that your parents took you to a Muggle hospital when you were diagnosed, right?"

She slowly nodded. "Well, we wizards know things that Muggles don't. I think I have an idea about a potion that might help you."

Noelle raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Severus, I know you are a wonderful potion maker. But the best healers are baffled by my case. There is nothing I can do except wait."

Severus smiled slyly. "Yes, but I know something they do not. Essence of the root of the wormwood plant. It's a natural decongestant, but not many people know about it."

She gazed at him with a puzzled look. He shrugged.

"I had a really bad cold last year. I was mixing a potion, and I coughed. My hand slipped and a half flask of the oil poured into my cauldron. The steam that rose went right into my lungs. Instantly, I felt better. I could breath, and my coughing stopped. So I wrote down exactly what was in the potion. Every time I get a cold, I make it, and it goes away."

Noelle laughed a little. "Oui, but Severus, this is not a cold. It's a disease."

He shook his head impatiently. "I know that, Noelle. But with the right ingredients, and some experiments, I think I could make a potion that would at least allow you to live a more normal life."

He grabbed her hand. "If I made it, would you be willing to try it?"

His dark eyes shone with hope. Noelle nodded.

"Of course I would be willing to try it. I would try anything at this point."

He relaxed and sat back, a genuine smile on his face.

"Noelle, I promise you. I will find something to make you better. I swear."

The determination on his face warmed her heart. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek.

"Thank you Severus. You do not know who much that means to me."

In the hallway, Sirius heard Noelle's last words. What the hell was she doing, talking to Snape like that? He knew she was friends with him, but he had just heard real affection in his girlfriend's voice. And Snape! What was he talking about, something to make her better? Noelle wasn't Snape's responsibility, she was his responsibility! He clenched his fingers angrily. He peered around the doorway, just in time to see Noelle embrace Snape. Rage like he had never known before built up in his soul. With his blood boiling, he entered the room.

"Sirius!" Noelle exclaimed, with the happiness to see him apparent in her voice.

Her smile instantly made him feel better. She loved him, and not Snape, that much was easy to see. He berated himself for thinking otherwise. Leaning down, he kissed her deeply, causing Snape to shift his weight uncomfortably.

"Oh, Snape, I forgot you were still here." Sirius said innocently.

Severus gritted his teeth. "I was just leaving. Noelle, I'll talk to you later."

She smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Bye now." Sirius said.

I'll deal with you later, he thought to himself as Snape left.

Turning his attention back to Noelle, he took the seat that Snape had just vacated.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel much better. Severus has made me some Strengthening potion, and it has worked very well." She said.

Even as she spoke, her voice was much stronger than the day before.

"I would like to see if Madam Pomfrey will let me leave later today."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You don't want to get sick again."

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Sirius, I feel fine! I promise!"

He still looked doubtful. So she pouted. Finally he relented.

"Fine. I'll go get her."

He heaved himself off of the chair and strode to her office.

She came bustling out.

"What is he going on about; you want to go back to the tower? You're not strong enough yet!"

Noelle met her eye, warning her not to say too much.

"Tommorow, Noelle. Is that reasonable?"

Reluctantly, Noelle agreed. Sirius cleared his throat.

"Would you like me to bring you some of your textbooks, so you can catch up?"

Noelle groaned. "I do not even want to think about how much work I have missed."

Sirius chuckled. "You'll be fine, it's not that much."

She nodded. "Très bien. Thank you Sirius."

She yawned delicately.

"Do you want me to leave you to sleep?" he asked.

Yawning again, she nodded. "Are you upset that we did not have a long visit?" she asked.

He was quick to shake his head. "Not at all. I'll be back in the morning to walk you to breakfast, okay?"

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, watching his broad shoulders leave the room.

In a way, Sirius was sort of glad that Noelle was staying the night in the hospital wing. This was the full moon, and since Remus had told him that she knew about them, he felt awkward around her at the full moon. It had taken him and James the better part of the last two years to become Animagi, and the end results were well worth it. He remembered the look on Remus' face when they had told him that they had accomplished it. It had brought the three friends even closer together, if that were possible. Granted, it wasn't always easy, keeping Remus in control, but thankfully he and James could almost always manage it. Slapping his hands together in excitement, he rushed back to the tower.

Later that night, as he and James carefully sneaked out of the castle, he felt a slight tremor of panic. Thinking it was just nerves, he shrugged it off. Pointing his wand at his chest, he transformed into the large black dog. Beside him, James had already turned into an enormous white stag. He reared up on his hind legs and galloped across the yard with Sirius close on his heels.

Up in the Astronomy tower, a few Hufflepuffs were trying to finish their star charts before the next day's class. A short, pudgy boy with scruffy blonde hair reached around his telescope to jot down a note. As he lifted his head back to the eyepiece, he pushed it out of focus.

Clumsily, he tried to maneuver the instrument back to its proper position, but it was stuck facing the grounds. He peered through the viewfinder and saw movement on the grounds. Sharpening the focus, he realized who it was. James Potter was charging across the lawn with Sirius Black at his heels. What were they doing out of bed so late? He wondered to himself. Professor Sinistra had had to agree to chaperone the small group of Hufflepuffs. Just then, James and Sirius both disappeared, leaving in their places two very large, very different animals. With a cry of shock, Peter Pettigrew jumped back from his telescope, hardly believing what he had just seen.

The next morning, Noelle stretched luxuriously in her hospital bed. The early morning sunshine warmed her face and she smiled widely. Today Madam Pomfrey was allowing her to go back to the tower and resume her classes. She reached for the pitcher of water on her bedside table and poured herself a glass.

Slowly getting to her feet, she pulled her robes off of the bedside chair and tugged them over her pajamas. She stuffed her feet into her shoes and padded to Madam Pomfrey's office. She looked up when she heard Noelle at the door.

Sighing heavily, she said, "Yes, yes, child. You may leave." She shook her head in frustration. Noelle laughed and swept out of the hospital wing.

Back in Gryffindor tower, she took a long hot shower. The feel of freshly laundered clothes felt wonderful against her skin. She tugged a comb through her long hair, and twisted it into a braid. She pinned it to the back of her head and studied her reflection. She was so pale. Pinching her cheeks to give them a little color, she was finally satisfied. She grabbed her bag and hurried down to breakfast.

Lily was already in the Great Hall. She smiled widely when she saw Noelle enter. Noelle dropped onto the bench next to her friend and reached for the coffee.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked.

Noelle shrugged. "Pas mal. Just a little tired."

Chewing on a piece of bacon, she searched for Sirius. Neither he nor James was in the hall. She looked at Lily, but before she could answer, Lily responded.

"Haven't seen them. I think they're still sleeping."

Noelle glanced at her watch. "They had better hurry or they will not get breakfast."

As Noelle was finishing the last of her toast, Sirius and James finally burst into the hall. Both looked exhausted. Comprehension dawned on Noelle. Last night had been the full moon. James sat across from Lily and reached for the platter of eggs.

"Better hurry, Prongs. Class in five minutes." Sirius managed to say from behind a mouthful of sausage.

Noelle shot him a disgusted look and he swallowed.

"Sorry, Noelle."

He gave her a winning smile and she melted.

"So you're feeling better?"

She nodded. "Oui, I am much better."

Just then, the bell signaling the beginning of classes rang. As they stood up from the table, Lily laid a hand on James' arm to ask him a question. He winced painfully and drew back. Lily's green eyes went wide.

"James, what's wrong with your arm?" she questioned.

His hazel eyes shifted around nervously. "Nothing. I got hit by a bludger the other day at practice."

Lily seemed satisfied and continued to ask her question. Behind them, Sirius saw Noelle's eyebrow rise suspiciously. She locked those navy searchlights on his face, silently asking a question. He put a puzzled look on and shrugged. She didn't buy it, but walked toward the exit, still gazing skeptically at them.

Thankfully, Noelle wasn't nearly as far behind in her classes as she thought she would be. Her teachers took the time to go over all the notes she had missed and gave her extra time to finish the assignments. Not looking forward at all to catching up, she headed to the library while the others went to Transfiguration.

Severus was seated at a table by the window, so she made her way to him.

"Wow, Noelle, you recovered nicely." He said with a smile.

She grinned back. "All thanks to your wonderful potion making skills."

She said with a flourish, leaning down to brush his cheek with her lips. He blushed slightly, but covered it.

"Speaking of my potion making skills, I'm actually working on that potion we talked about." He said in a low voice.

She leaned forward to read his notes and found she couldn't understand them at all. She looked at him questioningly.

"I wrote them in German. My mother is German, and I always speak it with her. I just didn't want them to fall into the wrong hands."

She nodded with understanding.

"Anyway."

He cleared his throat. "I'm making real progress. It won't be long before I have a test potion to have you try."

Her eyes widened with surprise. "Already?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded proudly. "I told you, this means a lot to me."

She blinked back tears. "It means more to me. Thank you, Severus."

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the cheek again. As she pulled away from him, the emotion in his eyes startled her.

"Are you alright, Severus?" she asked gently.

He shook his head slightly. "Of course. It's just that, you are very affectionate, and I'm not used to that."

She blushed this time. "Oui, I am, but it is because I am French. We are a very passionate kind of people."

He laughed. "Noelle, I don't mind it, not at all."

She raised an eyebrow. "Seeing as how you are German, I am sure you do not!" she murmured, causing him to roar with laughter.

When he had recovered, he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"So I'm guessing it will be about another week or two. Then we can try it."

She nodded. "Bon."

Checking her watch again, she groaned. "I have to finish my History of Magic essay."

He snorted. "Better you than me!" She playfully whacked him on the arm and pulled out her notes.

In Transfiguration, Sirius and James were barely paying attention. James was in serious pain from the deep scratches he had received from Remus the night before, but he insisted that he would be fine. Over and over they rehashed the night's events. Slightly behind them, a mousy boy was carefully listening to their clandestine conversation. He could only hear snippets.

"...dragged him down..."

"...it was risky..."

He strained to hear more, but Professor McGonagall called the class to order so she could assign homework. As the class was dismissed, Peter tagged behind the two popular Gryffindors. He would give anything to be as well liked as James Potter and Sirius Black were. He scratched the assignment on a scrap of parchment and stuffed his books back into his bag.

As he was leaving the classroom, James and Sirius were just ahead of him, still whispering furtively. He quickened his step to catch up with them, and promptly tripped over an untied shoelace. Red with embarrassment, he got to his feet. The students that were milling around the corridors burst out laughing. Ducking his head shamefully, he scurried back to the Hufflepuff common room.

Dinner that night was a cheerful affair, at least for Noelle. She was so happy to be out of the hospital wing. Bouncing in her seat, she chatted animatedly with Lily and the boys.

"Hopefully, I will be able to catch up on my work in about a week, n'est-ce pas? There is not too much to do." She said.

Lily nodded. "And you can have my Charms notes, you'll probably need them to do the homework." Lily responded as she poured herself some pumpkin juice.

Noelle nodded gratefully and thanked her friend. She took a bite of her chicken and gazed around the Great Hall. James, Sirius and Remus were talking quietly a little ways away with their heads bent together. She saw James' hand go to his sore arm and gently rub it, while Remus looked remorseful. James patted Remus on the shoulder companionably and grinned.

Noelle shook her head slightly and resumed her perusal of the hall. Severus was eating by himself, reading and taking notes from a very old book in front of him. Colin was holding court over the rest of the Slytherins.

Inwardly, Noelle was relieved that her reputation seemed to be old news, and no one had bothered her in a while. As her eyes scanned the Hufflepuff table, she spotted Laura sitting morosely with her silly friends, occasionally looking wistfully at Sirius. Noelle laughed to herself as she thought of how the girl still tried to get his attention.

Passing her gaze over Laura, she noticed a pudgy boy staring fixedly at the Gryffindor table. As her eyes locked on him, dread filled her chest, spreading like ice over her heart. Every ounce of her being was instantly on edge. Something about his boy was not right. She swallowed slowly, feeling as if she would choke. She searched for exactly what he was studying so intently. Fear gripped her again as she realized that whatever he was staring at was sitting beside her.

"Hey?"

There was a hand on her thigh and she jumped a foot.

"Noelle? You okay?"

Sirius' grey eyes were full of concern. She blinked hard and saw that the boy had stopped his attentive fix on her friends. The ice began to lift from her heart and she finally began to relax. Nodding slowly, she spoke softly.

"Oui, I am fine."

He gave her an odd look.

"You sure? You look like you've just seen the devil incarnate." Sirius joked.

Noelle's navy eyes grew even darker while the others laughed.

"Oh, come on Noelle, it was a joke...you know...funny...ha, ha.."

Still she stared at him unblinkingly.

"You should not joke about that." She said darkly.

The laughter died on Sirius' lips and he took her hand.

"I'm sorry, but it was only a joke."

She smiled slightly. "No, I am sorry. I am far too serious sometimes."

He planted a kiss on her forehead and replied, "Don't worry, I'm goofy enough for both of us."

She laughed and he continued.

"I think that's why my parents named me Sirius...they knew I was going to be anything but." He said thoughtfully.

The others at the table roared with laughter at this enormous understatement as Noelle playfully whacked him on the arm.

After they had recovered, Noelle peered down the table, looking for some rice.

"James, could you pass me the rice?" she asked.

He nodded and stretched his right arm out to her. As he did this, the sleeve of his robes slid up and Noelle could see four deep slashes on his forearm. They were dark red and looked seriously infected.

A look of horror passed uncontrollably over her face and she drew back. James quickly glanced down and saw what she was looking at. He yanked the sleeve back over his arm, his eyes silently begging her to keep her mouth shut. Against her better judgment, she snapped her mouth shut and scooped rice onto her plate, shooting him a fierce look as she did so.

"Later...I'll tell you later." He mouthed to her.

She nodded curtly and focused herself on her meal, forgetting the disturbing events of earlier.

Back in the common room, James headed for his dormitory before she could confront him. Sirius was yawning widely, but he was trying to stay awake to spend some time with her. Finally, after his chin had hit his chest one too many times, Noelle urged him off to bed. Gratefully, he kissed her goodnight and staggered towards the stairs. Lily was the next to head to bed, and eventually Noelle was alone with Remus.

"What happened last night, Remus?" she asked sternly.

Remus bowed his head. "I don't know. I can't remember it exactly. All I know it that I attacked one of my best friends."

She could hear the regret in his voice.

"I am not going to tell you that it is too dangerous for them to be with you, because I know you are well aware of it, and nothing I could say to you would make you tell them not to. But Remus, you could have killed him!" Noelle exclaimed.

His shaggy brown head came up. "Don't you think I know that, Noelle?" he demanded sharply.

"Well, use your common sense. I know James has little, and Sirius is completely lacking in it, but you have lots. Use it." She said firmly.

"Noelle, they won't stop coming out with me. They're my friends, and they're the best ones I've ever had!" he said.

"If they are your best friends, then you wouldn't want to lose one of them, would you?"

As she said this, she felt a heavy sense of foreboding fall over her. She shook it off and continued.

"Remus, I do not mean to lecture you. But not only are they your best friends, Sirius is my boyfriend, and James means more to Lily than she will ever admit. And you! You are the first person that I shared my secret with! I do not want to lose you, either." She said emotionally.

Remus quickly wrapped her in a hug. "You're not going to lose any of us, Noelle. We'll be more careful. I swear."

He held his right hand up, and she smiled weakly.

"D'accord. I will take your word on it then."

She glanced at her watch. "It is late. I need sleep."

She hugged him one more time and turned to go to her room.

"One more thing. Be careful about where you all talk. People listen."

He raised an eyebrow and said, "People listen? Like who?"

Noelle shook her head. "Just people. Be careful."

Still trying to shake off the dreads, she scurried up the stairs to her room.