In this Chapter:

Rita starts to realize she's fallen in with the wrong crowd. Remus makes a mistake he can't take back. Lauralie and Severus have a heart to hear. t Slytherin fighting action. Start of the Quidditch match, but who's REALLY on the team?

Lauralie Black and the Dragons of Yorkshire (YEAR 2)

Chapter 5: Varied Encounters

Rita Skeeter was hiding out in the Library. She found it was the safest place to be at that time.

She knew the glares would die down. This hadn't been the first time she'd managed to piss off the rest of her housemates. Even though it was the first time that one of her rumor victims struck her.

Evan Rosier and Richard Wilkes walked into the Library. They made a beeline for her table, sitting down in the vacant chairs.

"What do you want?" she hissed. "Haven't you got me in enough trouble?"

"No one forced you to start that rumor," Rosier said. "You would have done what you did anyway, we merely… encouraged you."

"It was your idea to tell her brother," Rita said. "It was your idea to exaggerate. I just wanted to tell everyone that Lupin had a crush on her."

"Because you were afraid of angering Lauralie?" Wilkes asked.

Rita sputtered. "I am not afraid of Black!"

Rosier sneered. "You should be."

"What is with you two and that girl?" she asked. "If you respect her as much as you seem to then why did you want me to start that rumor about her?"

"Because we don't respect Remus Lupin," Wilkes answered.

Rita caught on. "You wanted to murder their friendship," she said. "But why?"

"We have our own reasons for that," he replied. "Which we aren't likely to share with the Hogwarts gossip queen."

"That's all I am to you people," she growled. "Your little tool, I spread the rumor, I take the shit for it, and you get what you want."

"Catching on aren't you?"

"You can't treat people like that!"

Rosier laughed. "And using them as entertainment like you do is any better?" he asked. "We're Slytherins, Rita. Don't delude yourself about that. We do what we have to do to achieve our goals. We even use whomever we have to. That is what Slytherins do. You are just hacked off because for the first time you are on the receiving end."

Rita couldn't think of a response to this. She found herself staring at him as the two boys stood.

"We merely came her to tell you that your contribution will not be forgotten," Wilkes said, placing on the table what appeared to be a coin. "A thank you present," he said before the two boys swept out of the room.

Rita reached out and picked it up. It was a medallion, small and silver. It depicted a skull with a snake protruding from its open mouth. Inscribed at the bottom were the words: "Mors mordre".

"What the hell?" She turned it over in her hands. What have I gotten myself in to?

* * *

Remus was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. The sounds of Sirius' snores drifted through his scarlet curtains.

He hated the couple days before the full moon. Where he didn't go through the full change but somehow wasn't fully himself. He was more unpredictable, almost animalistic and abrasive.

His mother used to jokingly call it "Wolfie PMS".

Fortunately the guys learned quickly to avoid conflict during that time. Other uninformed individuals sometimes fell victim to his moodiness.

The fight with Lauralie was a prime example. Never in a normal state of mind would Remus have agreed with her accusation. Normal Remus wouldn't have let her walk away.

Normal Remus versus Moody Remus tended to lead to horrible conclusions.

But how could he ever explain all of that to Lauralie? Revealing to her his dark secret wasn't an option. The less people who knew, the better. Not to mention that it would ruin any chance he had with her (not that the chances weren't ruined already). Being friends with a werewolf (like James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily) was very different than dating one.

He rolled out of bed and went to sit on the window ledge. He gazed down onto the grounds.

A flicker of motion caught his eyes on his left. Up high on the Astronomy Tower a figure was sitting. Squinting he realized the figure was wearing a green and silver cloak.

Now if he'd paused and thought it over he probably would have realized what he was about to do wasn't the best idea. Not the night before the full moon when Moody Remus was in full control.

He crept silently to James' trunk, opening it and removing his friend's invisibility cloak.

* * *

Lauralie sat on a ledge high atop the Astronomy Tower, a sketchpad in her lap.

Her sleeping habits over the past month had not improved much, other than the fact that she was slowly adapting to the lack of rest.

She was so lost in her drawing that she didn't hear Remus' footsteps creeping up the stairs, nor did she see him remove the invisibility cloak.

"So this is where you come when you can't sleep?"

Lauralie started.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

"How did you know I was up here?" she asked.

"I saw you," he said. "From my window. Thought you might not mind the company, but if you'd rather I left…" He took a step back towards the stairs.

"No, it's alright," she said.

He smiled and took a seat on the ledge next to her. There was an awkward pause. "You know, your brother snores like a wild bear."

Lauralie laughed. "I know," she said. "Once when I was eight he and I kept fighting over toys and other such nonsense and mom got so fed up with us she made us live in the same room for a week. I lost so much sleep."

"You would think I'd be used to it by now," he said.

It felt very odd to be up at three am sharing small talk with a girl he hadn't spoken to in a month.

"I hear Duncan McConnaugha made Beater," she said.

"Does ANYTHING stay a secret in this place?" Remus asked.

"Some things," she said simply. "How did his sister take it?"

"She wasn't upset that he made the team," he answered. "But she was very mad that Gilderoy wouldn't even let her try out."

"You know, since Gildie is a girl you would think he'd be more willing to accommodate for others."

Remus laughed. "Who is filling your Chaser spot?"

"If I told you that I'd be forced to kill you," she answered.

"You Slytherins and your bloody secrets!"

"I just would hate to ruin the surprise."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry I accused you of starting that rumor," Lauralie said. "I was hacked off and not thinking."

"S'Ok," he replied. "I'm sorry for being a smarmy git when we were talking in the dungeon."

"I guess everyone is entitles to be a git occasionally."

"I wasn't myself."

"Are you ever yourself?"

"Sometimes."

There was another brief silence, and that was when Remus made his cardinal mistake. He leaned down and kissed Lauralie right on the lips.

He could have recovered from this had he let go when she tried to pull away. Unfortunately he didn't, he held her tightly by the arm, his lips still pressed to hers.

She finally wrenched herself away, slapping him square across the face."

"What in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing?" she hissed, standing up.

The sting of rejection settled on Remus, turning quickly into bitterness.

Normal Remus would have apologized profusely. Normal Remus would have spilled his guts to her about how much he cared about her and that he didn't mean to cross the line.

But this wasn't Normal Remus. This was Moody Remus. Hurt, rejected and angry Remus.

"Like you didn't expect that," he growled. "Don't act as if you didn't want it."

Lauralie scowled at him. "I don't think you can tell what I do or do not want," she hissed. "What is wrong with you? Where is the Remus I know?"

"You don't know me. You never knew me."

"I guess I didn't," she said, her voice had grown soft. "I wanted to. I have wanted to get to know you for a while." She paused, looking away. "But now I don't even want to know you at all Remus Lupin."

If he had looked closer in that moment he would have realized her eyes were glimmering with tears. But he didn't have a chance, because in an instant she had vanished.

"Join the club," he said.

* * *

She burst into the common room angrily. She kicked one of the trashcans sending it flying across the room. She let out what sounded to be a strange mixture between a sob and a frustrated scream.

Severus stood up from behind the chair he had been sitting in. "Who's there?"

Lauralie realized that she was still invisible. She considered for a moment fleeing up to the girl's dorms but the idea of a late night talk with Severus was too appealing. If anyone could make her feel better he certainly could.

She willed herself into visibility once more and they stood staring at one another for a moment.

"What horrid act did the garbage bin do to deserve your fury?" he asked in his trademark silky voice.

"I was imagining it was Remus Lupin's head," she said. Severus was having trouble reading the emotions in her eyes. Since they had met he had become quite good at it, they could look at each other and know how the other felt. But now it was all jumbled, a mixture of sadness, anger and despair.

He moves swiftly across the room towards her. He slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders, expecting to be pushed away at any moment.

She didn't, however, push him away. Quite the opposite, she leaned her head gently on his shoulder.

"You know I just expected him to be better than he is," she explained. "I guess sometimes people just aren't what they seem."

Severus was having issued really thinking with Lauralie so close. Even if to her it was just for friendly purposes and nothing more.

"What happened?" he asked finally.

Lauralie sighed. "He kissed me."

Severus' grip on her shoulders tightened involuntarily. He was sure that steam was going to start billowing out of his ears if he wasn't careful.

"I take it he did so against your wishes," he said in as calm a voice as he could manage at the moment.

She nodded.

I'll kill him.

She pulled away from him. He let go only reluctantly.

"I am going back to bed," she said. She started to walk away but stopped. She turned back and gave Severus a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Sev."

"Any time Laur," he said, feeling his face begin to flush red. "Goodnight."

"Night."

She trotted up the stairs on the girls' side leaving Severus alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Remus was grateful that the next day was Saturday, and the night of the full moon as well. It was easier to avoid the Slytherins and then he would be gone to the Shrieking Shack till Monday.

If any of his friends had noticed the marked change in his attitude they had failed to mention it. The talk at the breakfast table was nothing out of the ordinary.

A great deal of conversation centered around the coming Slytherin versus Gryffindor match that would be taking place on Halloween. Matches between those particular houses were always of great interest since it was generally between the two of them who would get the Quidditch Cup. Not to mention that everyone was curious as to whom Slytherin was going to use to fill Bulstrode's Chaser vacancy.

A couple Gryffindors suspected it was Mike Sater, a Slytherin third year. But Remus was having a very hard time believing that, as Mike was a bit of a runt. He was shorter even than many of the first years.

He, of course, made up for this with an incredibly wacky sense of humor. Most of the third years remember the time Mike "mistakenly" made Confusing Concoction instead of Clarifying Solution. So while every else was finding clarity, his partner thought he was a frog and hopped all around the classroom.

Mike just didn't seem serious enough to be put on the Slytherin team.

He gazed casually over at the Slytherin table. There were only a handful of students sitting there, all up early, he guessed, for a Slytherin Quidditch practice. Sure enough Mike Sater was among them. Then against so were Lauralie, Narcissa, Katia and Anastasia, but they often attended the Quidditch practices so he didn't really think much of their presence that morning.

His heart did sink slightly though when he saw Lauralie. He hoped he was hiding it. But again no one seemed to be paying attention. He was starting to wonder if his friends were just really oblivious or if he had become an excellent actor all of a sudden.

He watched silently as the group of Slytherins got up and started out of the Great Hall.

"Come on," Sirius said. "The Slyths have the pitch all day but we get it in the evening, so I want to get that essay on Kappas done before then." He lowered his voice. "Plus that way you'll not have to worry about it when you get back."

Remus nodded and got up with his group of friends.

The Slytherins were still in the entrance hall, waiting, it seemed, for Ludo who was just emerging from the dungeon. They moved in a herd towards the front doors.

Severus hung back. Lauralie turned to him, gazing at him quizzically. "I'll be right back", he said.

Severus turned and stalked quickly towards where the Gryffindors were. "LUPIN!"

The whole group stopped, Remus looked up, his face unreadable.

"This can't be good," Lily said quietly.

"When it involves Severus Snake it is never good," James pointed out.

Severus wasted no time. Once he reached them he grabbed Remus, violently slamming him up against the stone wall.

There were several loud protests from the Gryffindors but Severus paid them no mind. He kept seeing the sad, angry look in Lauralie's eyes the night before.

He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word dangerously. "If you ever so much as touch Lauralie without her permission, I swear to GOD they won't be able to recognize your body, Lupin."

The wolf in Remus urged him to fight back, to beat Severus right back. But he became aware that Lauralie wasn't too far away. She was walking down the hall towards the doors but she would surely notice if a fight broke out.

Severus pulled him forward, slamming him against the wall again. "Are you hearing me Lupin?"

Remus nodded. Severus released him and he slid to the floor. Every one seemed too stunned to react as Severus ran to catch up with Lauralie.

Remus' heart sank even deeper as Severus placed a friendly hand on the small of her back, holding the door open for her.

"What the hell was that all about?" Sirius asked Remus.

Remus pulled himself to his feet. "Nothing," he said, brushing himself off. "Nothing at all."

He walked up the stairs towards the library.

Lily watched him go, concern in her eyes.

"I'm fairly sure that was far from nothing."

* * *

Remus was already well immersed in his Defense Against the Dark Arts book when the others arrived in the Library.

No one moved to start working after they sat down.

"I don't want to discuss it," Remus said dully, not looking up from his book.

"Maybe you should," Lily said.

Remus glanced around the table, stopping briefly at Sirius. The thought of telling him that he had kissed his sister and that she had felt violated by it didn't sound too fun.

"No, I don't think I should."

He went back to working, and this time the others did as well.

But Remus was quite sure it would not be the last time that question was raised.

* * *

Lauralie loved Halloween. Where she could dress as wacky and strange as she wanted.

This year Narcissa and Lauralie had decided to go with a fairy theme. Sparkly luminescent fairy wings, Narcissa's in blue, and Lauralie's in lavender.

But what Lauralie really loved was their bags of "Fairy Dust", shimmering powder in colors to match their wings.

Severus couldn't even be mad when Lauralie sprinkled some on his head as she took a seat at the Slytherin table. "Happy Halloween Sev!"

"You are so insane," he said, shaking the sparkles out of his hair, and then brushing it back out of his face.

"That's what makes me fun!"

Everyone at the Slytherin table was excited. Later that afternoon was the Quidditch match against Gryffindor.

Lauralie was antsy. Waiting anxiously for some one to finish their breakfast so she could go do something to distract herself.

"I'm going to the Library," she said, standing. "Can't just sit here waiting. I'll be back."

As she approached the Library, Lindsay McConnaugha was leaving it, a pile of books tucked under her arms.

One of her rolls of parchment fell silently to the floor behind her.

"Hey, Lindsay," Lauralie called after her, picking up the scroll. She trotted to catch up with the Gryffindor.

"Oh, thanks," Lindsay said, taking the scroll.

"Are you coming to the game this afternoon?" Lauralie asked.

"I don't know. I'm not a real fan of our Quidditch team at the moment."

"Understandable I guess, I heard about Lockhart not even letting you try out."

Lindsay grimaced. "He wants to be the only girl on the team."

Lauralie laughed. "Listen, come to the game. I promise you won't regret it."

"Why?"

Lets just say we'll be breaking down barriers today." Lauralie walked away.

"We?" Lindsay echoed.

* * *

The stands on the Quidditch pitch were packed as they usually were for Slytherin versus Gryffindor matches.

Lauralie and Narcissa took seats farther down than usual.

Lindsay McConnaugha and Magdalene Martinez, a Gryffindor in Sirius' year, sat down near by.

Lauralie smiled, caught Lindsay's eye, and winked.

~~~~~~

Next Chapter:

The Quidditch match. Sirius presses Remus to tell him what happened. Lots of good deception.