Disclaimer: I own nothing, no matter how much I wish I did. Anyway, you know the drill. No money is being made by my part from this story, yah, yah, yah. Normal disclaimer stuff.

(A/N: Two weeks have passed since the last letter was sent.)

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Wolf's Bane

Chapter 4

School Shopping

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Sabriel found that not much had changed since she left Godric's Hollow two years before. The place was still a mostly magical community surrounded by a wooded forest, with a few sparse Muggle families somewhere in between. She and her parents had moved into a small house down the road from the Black's own home. She had avoided going outside so as not to run into Sirius or the rest of her old friends in case they were around. Shehad not know that they were staying at James' house for the rest of the summer, which would have saved her a lot of grief. When they finally did see her, she wanted them all together. She also was not sure of the reaction she was going to receive from the group, so she avoided seeing them until the last minute.

Much toher surprise, her parents had been sent on a job to Bulgaria by the Ministry almost immediately upon their arrival back. They had packed and left the same day they had arrived at the new house, leaving the majority of their things still packed in the shrunken boxes.. They had left her plenty of money for school supplies, and that was presently where she was headed. Since school wouldbe starting in just a few days, and she didn't want to unpack all the stuff yet, she decided to go get her school supplies. So, with supply list in hand, and a full pouch of Galleons,she threw some floo powder into the fireplace, shouting "The Leaky Cauldron".

Meanwhile, at the Leaky Cauldron..

Sirius grabbed James and drug him to the Quidditch store as soon as their feethit the road behind theThe Leaky Cauldron that led into Diagon Alley.

"Come on, Prongs!" he nearly yelled, "You're our team Captain this year. And you need some more Seekers' gloves! The other ones are falling apart!"

"Can't that wait until later? Look at all this other stuff we have to get." James countered, holding up his Hogwart's materials list, a frown on his face.

"We'll get that stuff later. We've got to get your priorities straight, my friend!" Remus and Peter glanced at each other and grinned. When Sirius was on a Quidditch high, nothing else mattered, unless it had long legs and wore a skirt. James had been chosen as team captain and Sirius was one of the two Beaters for the house team.

This could go on for hours.

"We'll meet you two in an hour at Flourish and Blotts." Remus said. He looked at Sirius and grinned. "You should have it all out of your system after an hour in Quality Quidditch Supplies." He laughed at Sirius' hurt expression before turning to follow the blonde headed Peter down the lane to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Remus pushed his way through the crowded street. His tall, lean frame wove in and out of the busy people. His shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes, but he pushed it out of his way. His blue eyes darted from face to face, trying to locate Peter. He spotted the boy in front of the robe shop. Pushing his way into the shop, he prepared to be attacked by the pudgy shop owner who had a smile for everybody.

Back in the Leaky Cauldron..

Sable stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was sparsely populated by haggard looking witches and old wizards. She smiled at Tom and made her way out the back door of the pub where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. After opening the archway, Sable stepped into the bustling wizarding town, ready to gather all of her school supplies.

Her first spot was the apothecary. Since she had a large supply of her own potions ingredients at her house, she just refilled her supply of a few basic ingredients. She stepped out of the doors to the shop and reached into her pocket of her blue jeans for her materials list. After doing a quick scan, she decided to head for Drangstun's for a few extra potions vials. She set off for the store, humming a pleasant tune as she went along the way to Flourish and Blotts.

By now, Peter and Remus were finished at the robe shop. They took the new robes and headed to find the other two Marauders. Sure enough, James and Sirius were still at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Peter glanced at his watch and frowned as they walked into the store.

"Sorry fellas." he said, "Your hour is up. Time to go to Flourish and Blotts." He watched as Sirius' face fell, but James looked relieved. Sirius was the biggest Quidditch fanatic in the wizarding world, and not even James shared that much enthusiasm about the sport. The two boys paid for their purchases and stepped back out onto the street, heading for Flourish and Blotts, with Sirius complaining about having to leave the Quidditch store.

"You can go back later, Sirius." James said, acting like he was talking to a young child. "Term starts day after tomorrow, for Merlin's sake! We have to get this stuff today!"

"Yeah, there's more to school than just Quidditch." Remuspointed outas he pulled the door open to the book store.

"Maybe for you two." Sirius replied pointedly. "The only reason I go there is for Quidditch and the chance to annoy those stinking slimy Slytherins."

"So the fact that girls are there have absolutely nothing to do with it?" Peter asked incredously.

"That's just one of the many extra side perks." Sirius replied with an easy grin. The other boys laughed, knowing that Sirius was a walking bag of hormones when the opposite sex was involved. The four friends enter the store and looked around carefully. They noticed a few familiar faces and waved at them. In the course of trying to get to Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher to ask about Lily, Remus bumped into a girl with black hair causing her to drop her books and bags.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he said, quickly bending over to pick up the fallen books, never looking at the girl's face...

Sable had turned around and bumped into someone rather hard in the crowded room of Hogwarts students. Many of them she had recognized, but so far, no one seemed to remember her. That itself was a relief, unfortunately, it seemed as though her luck was quickly running out when the force of the body hitting her caused the books she was holding to fall out of her hands and clatter to the floor.She glanced up to see who had hit her, but he had already bent to retrieve her stuff. All she could see was a head of brown hair. She stooped down to help him, but the next thing she knew, she saw a kind face with blue eyes that were rimmed in amber. She stared at Remus, not saying anything. All she could think was, 'Oh, shit! What am I gonna do know?"

Remus looked up at the face of the dark headed girl, and blinked. Her violet eyes were wide and her mouth was open in an 'o' shape. He looked at her carefully, trying to place the familiar shocked expression. 'I know this girl,' he said to himself, 'Where have I seen her before?' His mind raced as he saw the girl regain her composure. She blushed and looked away.

"Are you okay?" he asked, handing her the fallen books.

"Yes, thank you so much." Sable replied quietly. 'Oh, shit. Say something Sable.' she thought.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump you like that." Remus said after she had taken the books back. 'I know her, but from where?' he thought.

"It's alright. I'm clumsy anyway." Sable replied, still not looking at his face. She knew she was blushing, her face felt like it was on fire. She adjusted her bags and chanced up a glance at the brown-haired boy. 'Oh Merlin, Remus,' she thought, ' When did you start looking THIS good?' "Well, thank you for the help with the books." she said quietly, trying to get out of the awkward situation. She knew that he was trying to place her; she had seen the flash of recognition in his face when he looked at her. She turned, intending to go pay for the books, then get the hell out of there. But someone stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She knew it was Remus, but she did not want to blow her cover. He obviously had not recognize her yet, and she wanted to keep it like that for now. 'This isn't going to be pretty.' she thought to herself.

"Wait a minute." Remus said quickly, trying to stop the retreating girl. He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to stop her from leaving abruptly. The skin to skin contact made his hands tingle. 'What's happening to me?' he thought. He removed his hand when she turned to face him. Her eyes held a guarded expression, and most of her face was covered from view by her long hair.

"Who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you a new student at Hogwarts?" he asked. The crowd lurched and Sable looked in horror as the three remaining Marauders sidled up to their friend.

"Who you got here, Remus?" Sable recognized the long black hair and mischievous glint. It was Sirius Black, or she was a dead woman. "A friend of yours?"

"I don't know, that's what I was trying to find out." Remus replied quickly. 'Maybe they will recognize her.' he thought. He continued to stare at her with a puzzled look.

"Well, you obviously aren't getting anywhere fast." Sirius replied sarcastically. He pushed Remus aside and bowed low to Sable, a grin on his face.

"Who are you fair maiden? She who graces us with her beauty in this building of scholarly knowledge?" he asked poetically. Sirius had noticed the pretty mystery girl, but she seemed a little shy.

Sable looked at Sirius' bowed figure and laughed. She picked up her bags, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten due to his familiar antics. For a moment, it seemed as though she had never left them.

"Let me give you a hint, brave Sir knight." she said with a smile. Sirius smiled at the others and waited. Sable paid for her books and turned to the four boys. With a mysterious smile she said,

"Maybe I'm someone you already know." She looked directly at Remus and smiled. "Question is, are you Marauders smart enough to figure it out?" She watched as their faces turned to puzzlement. But before any of them could stop her, she turned and ran, leaving the four confused boys staring at her.

It took a few seconds for the girl's words to sink in, and when they did the boys watched in surprise as the pretty girl fled the store. They turned to look at each other in complete bewilderment. After standing there for a minute, Peter finally broke.

"Who was that?" he asked breathlessly.

"I'm not sure, but she obviously knows us." James said with a grin. He looked over at Remus, who just shrugged. "I know her from somewhere, but where?" Sirius walked over to the counter, depositing his new texts with a thud. He turned to the other three boys with a wide grin on his face.

"Don't worry about it." he said happily. "She's obviously a Hogwarts student, or she wouldn't have known us. We'll see her again in two days. Personally, I can't wait." Once again, Sirius' hormones were talking. Remus, however, knew the girl.

The black heir, violet eyes, and creamy skin.

The embarrassed, shy look on her face.

Then, the smile when she turned to leave.

He rubbed his neck in frustration, remembering the tingly feeling earlier when he touched her. 'This is crazy!' he thought. He and the other boys picked up the new books, paid for them and left the store to finish the rest of their shopping. It was turning out to be an interesting day for the four pranksters.

Sable, on the other hand, was nearly hyperventilating by the time she struggled through the crowd. She turned a sharp corner and ran down an empty alley. She dumped everything and proceeded to pace up and down the alleyway, growling herfrustrations out through gritted teeth.

They weren't supposed to have seen her. Now they were all suspicious, and probably trying to find her while she was pacing upand down the alleyway like some crazy idiot. She was wracking her brains out for a solution to her problem.

"How the Hell am I going to get out of here now? They'll be looking for me!" she said out loud. She sat down on a crate and tried to calm down. Her mind kept going back to the four boys she left standing at the book store. They had all changed dramatically since she last saw them, and the pictures she had been getting did them no justice what so ever.

Sirius had gotten much taller, all of them had. That mischievous glint still remained though, as did his thick, black hair. James was forever the same. Tall and scruffy with messy black hair and dark pools of blue eyes. All the years on the Quidditch team had made defined muscled come out everywhere on the two boys. Peter had changed too. No longer as pudgy as before, his flaxey blonde hair framed his face messily. Hehad turned into an alright looking guy, no where near as good as the two leaaders of the posse, but still. And not to mention Remus.

"What the Hell!" she said. "It's just Remus!" His hair had gotten longer, and he was the tallest of the four, next to Sirius. His eyes were a crystalline blue, tinged with the amber circle lining, meaning a full moon was approaching. He had never played Quidditch, but he looked to be in good shape, despite the recent bouts of sickness he'd been having because of the full moon.

"This is ridiculous!" she said loudly. She grabbed her bags and walked back into the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, going straight to the fireplace. All the way, she waited for a set of hands to grab her and spin her around. But none did. She pulled some floo powder out of a nearby pot and threw it into the flames. She grabbed her bags and jumped into the fire. All she kept thinking was, "What the Hell!"

A/N - Don't have much to say right now. Just remember to review the chapter, please.

Later,

A.A.