Chapter 16

James and Sirius were actually nowhere near the hospital wing. Within minutes, they, along with Remus, were frantically searching for a secure place to discuss what Sirius had been told. Still white as Nearly Headless Nick, he hadn't said much to either of his friends, just that they needed to talk. Fast.

In the trophy room, the three Gryffindors huddled into a corner, nervously looking over their shoulders for signs of anyone eavesdropping. Gulping for air, Sirius put his head in his hands and rocked back and forth.

"Dammit, Padfoot, what the hell is wrong with you?" James finally asked.

Picking up his head, Sirius looked Remus directly in the eye. Instinctively he knew that he would get a less dramatic reaction from Remus than he would from James.

"A random Hufflepuff found my Charms notebook." He said in a low voice.

James groaned and Remus looked confused.

"So? What's so important in your Charms notebook?" Remus asked.

"What's in his Charms notebook? Only every single note we've ever made about becoming Animagi. Or shall I say, every single illegal note we've ever made about becoming unregistered Animagi." James seethed.

Remus felt his stomach contract as if he had been sucker punched. Sirius hung his head even lower. James paced angrily around the room, every so often running his hands through his unruly black hair.

"Well, did you get it back?" Remus managed to ask.

Sirius shook his head slowly.

"He wants James and me to meet him, in the Charms classroom tonight at eleven. He said it was to 'discuss the terms of our agreement'. I don't know what the hell he's talking about."

James rolled his eyes.

"Padfoot, are you really that thick? Obviously, he wants something from us. Who is it?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I don't know. I think his first name is Peter, or Paul...I'm not sure." He looked down and checked his watch. "We have an hour."

James took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Do you think we can buy him off?"

"With what? Galleons? No, if he wants something from us, I guarantee it's got nothing to do with money." Remus stated.

Sirius stood on shaky legs. His chest contracted painfully at the thought that he had betrayed his friends, albeit inadvertently. He slowly made his way over to the window and gazed out over the grounds. Just last week, he and James had galloped across the lawns, eager to meet Remus in the Shrieking Shack for a night of prowling the countryside. Had it only been last week? So much had changed. It was only last year that they had figured out how to become Animagi. A voice broke through his mind.

"So what do we do?" Remus asked.

Sirius straightened up to his full height, which was considerably taller than both Remus and James.

"I was the one who lost the notebook. I'll take care of this." He said, even though he had no idea how he was going to do so.

James was already shaking his head.

"No way, mate. Like it or not, we're all in this together. If you're going down, we're coming right behind you." James said with a slight smile on his face.

He stuck his right hand out.

"Deal?"

Remus and Sirius didn't hesitate for a second. They instantly covered James' hand with their own.

"Deal."

Noelle lay sprawled on her bed, staring lazily up at the vaulted ceiling of her dormitory. She closed her eyes and heaved a small sigh. That daydream she had had in Charms had really gotten to her. She was anxious to know what it was all about. She doubted that it was a real vision per se. As far as she knew, there had never been any Seers on the Lemieux side of her family, or the St. Martins, which was her mother's family. True Seers were so rare that if one of her ancestors or relatives had been one, she was sure that she would have known about it. Stop thinking of it, Noelle, she told herself. Prying her eyes open, she gazed around her room. Lily was sitting at the dressing table, trying to weave her uncooperative hair into a braid to keep it away from her face while she studied her Charms. Noelle giggled at the redhead's frustration. Pointing her wand at Lily's head, she murmured under her breath.

"Plaitori Intricato."

Lily's copper strands instantly wove themselves into a very secure braid, taking Lily by surprise. She made a small 'oh!' of shock as the ends of her hair fastened together and pinned the whole braid to her head. She whipped her head around, marveling at how not a single piece of hair moved from its braided rope. Noelle hid a smile with her hand as Lily pretended to be angry with her.

"A little warning next time, perhaps? I swear, you're becoming more and more like Sirius everyday!" she huffed.

A loud burst of laughter escaped from Noelle's mouth and through her fingers as she tried to keep it all in.

"Moi? Becoming like Sirius? Lily, you have to be kidding me. Sirius would have turned your hair blue, or made it all fall out, or something terrible like that. I merely was trying to assist you." Noelle said, feigning being hurt.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Nice try, but you're losing your touch. There's absolutely no way that what I said made you feel bad."

Once again, Noelle couldn't keep her laughter in.

"You're right; I've used all my acting skills on he-who-I-must-baby-sit. The more I pretend that he is making me upset, or sad, or angry, the less he does it. I see my reverse psychology doesn't work on you. Pity." Noelle said, shaking her head with false remorse.

Lily snickered. "Not hardly." She paused and checked the mirror.

"What was that spell you just used?"

Noelle replied, "Plaitori Intricato. Just make sure you say it right, or your wand will be spewing your last spells into your hair, and it takes a very strong shampoo to get rid of some of the spells they make us do."

The two girls stared at each other for a moment, trying hard not to explode in laughter. It was useless. The mirth bubbled over, and before they knew it, people were yelling up and down the staircase for the both of them to shut up.

Steeling himself, Sirius rapped loudly on the heavy door of the Charms classroom.

"Let me do all the talking." He said from between his teeth.

"Oh, that's a bloody brilliant idea." James said sarcastically.

Sirius shot him a withering look and pushed open the door. They had agreed that Remus should stay out of this as much as he could. After all, he was a prefect, and he really couldn't afford to get in any trouble, especially not trouble of this magnitude.

Seated behind Flitwick's desk was Peter Pettigrew. He looked up as the two well-liked Gryffindors approached him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sirius rapidly cut him off.

"Well, we're here. What do you want?" Sirius asked curtly.

"I thought it would be obvious. I want you to show me how you managed it." Peter said simply.

"You mean all you want is us to help you become an Animagus? That's it?" James asked swiftly.

Peter nodded.

"What's the catch?" Sirius asked suspiciously. "Cause there's got to be a catch."

Peter shook his head.

"There's no catch. Just show me how to do it, and that's it. I'll give you your notebook back, and there's nothing lost on either side."

Sirius studied the mousy boy for a moment and then swung his gaze to James.

"Give us a minute."

Peter nodded and walked slightly away from them as they whispered furiously in the corner.

"I don't know Sirius. This seems far too easy."

"James! All we have to do is show him how to become an Animagus! Nothing could be easier! Then once he's got it, we take the notebook, and we walk away! Simple as that!"

James sighed. "Fine. If you think it's the right thing to do."

Sirius nodded his head vehemently.

"Alright."

Sirius called Peter over to them and he scurried to their sides quickly.

"You've got yourself a deal, mate." Sirius said, sticking his right hand out and offering the nervous Hufflepuff a winning smile. Peter eagerly grabbed for his hand and shook it vigorously. Then he took James' even though he hadn't offered it. James shook it quickly and then stuffed his hand deep into the pocket of his robes.

The three boys headed towards the door when Sirius stopped in his tracks.

"You know something? I don't even think we know your name."

Peter's dull brown eyes glazed over slightly.

"It's Peter. Peter Pettigrew."

"Sirius William Black, and this is James Patrick Potter."

James kept his hands in his robes while Sirius and Peter shook again. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It read nearly midnight.

"Padfoot. Time to go." He motioned with his chin at the wall clock.

"Good call. Peter, don't get caught going back to your room. We'll talk to you tomorrow at dinner, alright?" He slapped the Hufflepuff on the back as if they were old friends. Peter nodded gratefully and headed down the hall.

Sirius whistled softly while they climbed the stairs to the tower.

"Wow, that wasn't so bad. All we have to do is teach him some simple spells, and we're home free." He turned to James with an expectant look on his face. James snorted.

"Simple spells? Have you already forgotten how much work it was to learn those spells? It took us nearly a year to get them right, and I'm sorry to say, but I get the feeling that old Peter isn't exactly the quickest broom in the shed!"

"James, you're overreacting! Everything will be fine, I promise! What's the worst that could happen?" Sirius said lightly.

"We could both be arrested and expelled. Oh, and don't forget thrown in Azkaban for being unregistered Animagi." James said darkly.

Sirius laughed. "Like that would ever happen." He punched James lightly on the shoulder. "You worry too much, Prongs."

The next day was the hottest yet. Noelle had worn just a short-sleeve white shirt with her tie under her robes and she was still sweltering. Lily's hair hadn't been taken out of its braid since the night before.

"Trust me, if I take it down, it'll be so frizzy that it'll take up the whole tower." She had muttered.

Noelle hadn't even bothered to dry her long hair. While it was still soaking wet, she had separated it into two braids and wound them around her head, in order to keep the heavy strands off of her neck. She found herself actually looking forwards to Potions, just because the dungeons were the coolest spot in the castle. She sank heavily into her seat and pulled her robes off of her shoulders. Balling them up, she shoved them into her bag. Severus motioned across the room at her and she hurried to his side before class started.

"Here's the recipe for your potion. If you need help, I'll show you exactly how to make it. It's not very complicated, but it takes a month to mature. You should always have some on hand." He instructed.

She smiled and covered his hand.

"Thank you, Severus." She dropped her head and studied the list of ingredients. Her head came up rapidly.

"Wormwood root? There's quite a bit of that in here, non?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes. Why?"

She swallowed thickly. "Well, wormwood root is used in making absinthe. You know, it's a green liquor that if you drink too much, it can make you hallucinate."

His dark eyebrows shot up. "No, I never heard of that before."

She smiled weakly. "Oui, it is true. It explains a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I just had a very strange day dream right after I took the potion. Now I know why."

"Well, it worked didn't it?"

She nodded. "Oui, it worked very well."

"So, you might have to put up with them until your system gets used to it."

Noelle sighed and tugged at a loose strand of hair.

"If it means that I can lead a normal life, I can deal with them."

Severus smiled.

ProfessorValenti entered the classroom at that moment and shot Noelle a warning look. She smiled sheepishly and scurried back to her seat beside Lily.

At dinner that night, Noelle ambled towards the Gryffindor table with her head down. She was hot and she was tired. Neither condition put her into a good mood. She picked her head up as she approached the bench where James, Lily and Sirius were already seated. Surprisingly, her usual seat next to Sirius was already occupied. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline when she realized who it was.

"I think I'm in your seat again, aren't I?" Peter said.

"Oui, but it is alright. I can sit next to Remus." She said, slightly put out.

She climbed over the bench and reached for the jug of pumpkin juice. Leaning towards him slightly, she whispered into his ear.

"Remus, why is he sitting here?"

Remus shrugged, but she knew that he knew why. He sighed and spoke two words.

"He knows."

"He knows? How? You told him?" she asked, stunned.

Remus nervously glanced down the table.

"Sirius and James, you know they're Animagus." She nodded. "Well, all of their notes are in a notebook."

"Sirius' Charms notebook." She finished. He nodded. "So that is why he was so desperate to find it."

"Peter found it, and all he wants is for them to teach him how they did it."

Noelle looked skeptical.

"That cannot be all he wants."

"That was the deal. They teach him, they get the notebook back, no questions asked."

Down the table, Sirius was watching them out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that Remus had told Noelle what was going on, and from the anxious look on her face, she didn't like it. He smiled at her reassuringly. She tried to smile back, but found it difficult to do so.

"Sirius?"

He turned his head towards her, a questioning look in his grey eyes.

"Vous sont sûr qu'est tout il veut? »

He tilted his head and gazed directly into her face.

"Oui, pourquoi?"

With a sick feeling in her stomach, she shook her head and smiled. He smiled boyishly back at her and returned to the conversation that he had been having with Peter. She glanced at James, who while talking to Lily, had been watching Sirius and Peter with wrinkles in his forehead.

"James does not agree at all, does he?" she asked Remus.

Remus chewed a piece of roast beef thoughtfully before he answered.

"No. I don't think James trusts Peter at all."

"And you? What do you think of all this?"

"I wasn't the one who illegally became an Animagi."

"But if you were not a werewolf, they would not have become Animagus." She said sensibly.

"Maybe. I bet we would have anyway though. Sirius has a certain lack of respect for the rules, and James doesn't hold much to them either. I've always been a by the book kind of person. But they probably would have talked me into it." Remus said, with a slight smile. He placed his hand over hers. "They're my friends, Noelle. The best friends anyone could ever hope for, especially someone in my shoes. I trust them to make the right decisions."

She squeezed his hand. "I know you do, and I do as well. Sometimes, I just wish that Sirius would act a little more his age. It is like he does not want to be an adult."

"He had a pretty rotten childhood. His parents don't think too much of him, and his brother is a slimy git."

Noelle's navy eyes scanned the Great Hall.

"Which one is his brother? I've never even met him. Sirius never talks about him, and James has only mentioned him in passing."

Remus' head turned like a hawk surveying the horizon. He discreetly pointed.

"There. Sitting between that blonde girl and the boy with red hair."

Noelle spotted him easily. She couldn't believe that she had never noticed him before. Regulus Black was the spitting image of his older brother, right down to the dimpled cheek and the cleft in his chin. But there was something different about the cold, hard way his grey eyes were empty of emotion. It was as if he had no soul, nothing good in his life. He looked so bitter. Sirius was so gregarious and warm that it made the physical resemblances between the brothers less obvious. After studying Regulus for a few moments, she saw that just by the look in his eyes, he looked nothing like his brother. Almost as if he had sensed her staring, he locked his harsh eyes right to hers. She gasped and her hand went to her throat. Quickly she looked away. Remus nudged her gently.

"See why Sirius has nothing to do with him? It's like he's not even human."

Noelle nodded, still trying to calm her nerves. She pushed her plate away, her appetite completely gone. Sirius noticed her do this and smiled at her.

"Going upstairs?" he asked.

"Oui. Care to join me?" she said, hoping her voice wasn't shaking as much as her knees were.

"You better believe I do."

She smiled, her breathing returning to normal.

Sirius dropped his napkin on his plate and spun around, swinging his long legs over the bench.

"Peter, I must escort this beautiful young lady up to our dormitory. Care to continue our discussion tomorrow?"

Peter nodded. He had hardly said a word throughout the entire meal. He had been so nervous. He was sitting next to Sirius Black, and across from James Potter. Even though Potter hadn't said very much to him, Sirius had made him feel welcome. He couldn't believe his good luck.

Sirius clapped him on the back.

"Good man, Peter." He crooked his arm so Noelle could take it, and she blushed slightly. "Milady?" he said pompously.

She giggled and took his arm. He steered her out of the hall, while Peter watched, the jealously bubbling in his gut.

At the door of the Great Hall, Sirius gallantly pushed it open, and then stood aside to let Noelle through. Abruptly, she stopped, causing Sirius to run into her. Directly in front of her, leaning casually against the stone wall, was Regulus Black.

He pushed his body away from the wall with his shoulder, smirking arrogantly.

"Well, well, well. It's my least favorite relative, and his, shall we say, infamous companion. Nice to see you both." He sneered.

"Shove it Regulus." Sirius said from between his teeth.

"Older brother, hasn't Mother taught you better than that? You should watch your language around ladies." He looked around. "Oh, never mind. I don't see any ladies here."

Noelle's fists clenched tightly and next to her, she could feel the heat radiating from Sirius' body.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Sirius said sharply.

Regulus looked up and down Noelle's slim figure, lingering around her chest.

"Well, at least I can see that my brother has taste, even if you are a Gryffindor, and you are French." He said with false sincerity. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Shame on you, Sirius." He extended his right hand and Noelle looked at it as if it were diseased.

"Regulus Black."

She kept her left hand on Sirius' arm and didn't give his brother her right.

"Noelle Lemieux." She said calmly.

"You are Francois Lemieux's daughter, right? I remember seeing your picture in the Daily Prophet a time or two. Weren't you engaged to a Roussard?"

Noelle's face paled.

"Non. I was never engaged."

"Must have read it wrong. Well, I'll let you two be on your way. I'm sure you're eager to, how can I put this delicately, get some rest." He said, a licentious smile on his handsome face. "Good night, dear brother." With that, leaving a trembling Noelle and a fuming Sirius behind him, he sauntered off toward the Slytherin common room.