AN: Another chapter, …yes I'm aware that was quite obvious. Just call me captain obvious from now on I suppose. I finally have an artist willing to draw Kit (Yay!) so whenever I get that, I'll be sure to send the picture to whoever would like to see it. It should be done by tomorrow, so if you want it leave your e-mails with your reviews and I'll send it right away.

I have no life. For those following along, this chapter takes place in/during chapter nine (Grim Defeat) of POA.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

(Present Day)

Kit had never felt better when she had awoken next to Remus, if she just lay there with closed eyes, smelling and feeling his arms wrapped around her, she could almost pretend that she was back in the Gryffindor boys dorms, and that any moment both she and Remus would be prodded with Sirius's wand or pulled apart by James to wake them up.

If only pretending made things real.

The Dreamless Sleep potion had worked, and thankfully didn't poison her like she thought it would. For a moment she lay there in Remus's arms wondering what had woken her up. For a moment nothing was heard, and then she heard the rumble of thunder off in the distance. It was still quite dark in the room and with a sigh she rolled around so she could face Remus rather then have her back to him. Even though he said he was going to watch her all night, she had doubted it. The full moon was so close, he wouldn't be able to stay up all night.

This was the first time she really got to study his face since she came to the future. He looked so much older then he actually was…most likely due to the stress that being a werewolf created. There were scars over his face, twin scars that she didn't remember being there the last time she saw him. Remus even had a five o'clock shadow, a smile touched her face. He had always used to complain that he would never have facial hair…and now look at him.

She was touched that after all these years he still wanted her. Isn't that what he told her so long ago? That they would be together forever no matter what? A boom of thunder caused her to jump slightly and bury herself closer to Remus. While she herself liked the rain and storms, she didn't like to here thunder during the night. It had always scared her, and as two arms tightly held onto her, it would have seemed that Remus remembered that fact.

"I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I was just resting my eyes." He said, taking a few moments to blink open his hazel colored hues.

"Do you snore often then, while you rest your eyes?"

He gave a small grin and kissed her forehead, "You should go now, sneak into the Tower before anyone notices."

She was fairly certain that people had noticed, but did they care if her bed was empty? Probably not. This was due to the fact that she took great care not to make friends in this time so none of the other fourth year girls would have cared that she wasn't in her bed.

Kit nodded, snuggling close to Remus for another moment before getting up with a sigh. "I suppose so." She said, moving out of the nice warm bed and grabbing her folded up uniform that sat on the sofa where she left it. As she was heading towards the bathroom to change she heard Remus call out behind her,

"You know, I really missed waking up with you in my arms."

She grinned, he grinned, and the thunder boomed in the distance.

The world at that very moment was very peaceful for both Remus and Kit

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Kit's peaceful world didn't last for long, between classes and wondering about not only Remus but Sirius as well, took it's toll on her as she tried to concentrate on her classes. During lunch, while she took very little time to eat Harry asked about his cloak and she had to apologize profusely because she had forgotten to give it to him when she got back. Harry though easily forgave her, and she frowned…so much like his father, except she had yet to see Harry try to dye McGonagall's hair blue or pull another prank of the sort.

Instead of going to dinner, Kit disposed of her book bag onto her bed in the girls dorms and grabbed the invisibility cloak, planning on using it one last time before giving it back to Harry. She had made her way down to the kitchens, which were very busy thanks to the fact that it was during a meal time. The house elf's however were very helpful, packing her a rather heavy picnic basket that made her arms feel like they would break if she carried it to long.

With the added weight of the picnic basket, and the horrible rain pelting her and the cloak it was a longer journey to the Whomping Willow then she had thought it would be. Kit was thankful though when she managed to get into the passage way under the tree without getting stabbed by a random tree limb. In the passage way she set down the picnic basket for a minute before she took the wet cloak off of her and secured it over one arm, picking up the basket again she started her hike up the passage way and into the shrieking shack.

Sirius like yesterday was no where to be seen when she stepped into the shack, probably out pressing his luck in dog form. He was always a damn risk taker. Kit tossed the cloak into a corner and put the picnic basket down with a sigh of relief, her arms were aching thanks to that damn thing. Apparently she was too used to having the boys carry it.

She took a seat on the floor in the same corner that she had sat in the other day, eyeing the food for a moment but deciding that eating wasn't something she felt like doing at the current moment, besides if Sirius was really as hungry as he said he was then he would need all the food possible.

As she sat she wondered about Remus, during lunch she had heard Harry and his friends talk about how Severus had covered Remus's class. It figured though, Remus did look rather ill that morning. The full moon fast approaching…all she could do was think about how much pain he was going to be in. Ever since she had figured it out, whenever the moon was in the sky that was all she could think about. He had never told her how painful it was, whenever she asked he said it wasn't that bad and left it at that. Kit knew better…if only she could help him in some way.

Lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice Sirius standing there with a wild grin on his face. He startled her out of her thoughts with his voice, "You came."

Kit nodded, and shoved the picnic basket his way. He took now time at all in sitting on the ground and digging into the basket that was filled with not only chicken and sandwiches, but all sorts of things like mince meat pies, and pastry's it would seem that the house elf's really out did themselves. "Said that I would, besides I wanted to make sure you got some food…"

"I've been living off rats…"

She blinked, watching as he said that without even missing a beat as he tore into one of the pieces of chicken, obviously forgetting his manners (but then again, when did Sirius Black have manners?). "I really could have lived without knowing that."

They fell into silence as he ate with a vengeance, leaving Kit to wonder how long it had been since he had food that didn't live off garbage or was garbage itself. She felt so bad for him…he was an innocent man and no one could see that. Watching him she figured that she should have probably brought him a new set of robes, Remus's robes could fit Sirius well. It looked like Remus was taller then him, and Sirius obviously thin enough to fit into Remus's robes, they'd probably look just as funny on him as they did on Kit.

"So what happened?" He asked, finally as he finished off the food, while he still had that wild look on his face he looked more relaxed then the first time Kit had seen him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why'd you disappear?"

"Someone used the wrong pronunciation in class, and the spell hit me, next thing I know I'm in the hospital wing, and Remus is older then the last time I remember him." Kit explained with a shrug, she honestly wasn't used to this Sirius, he wasn't making witty comments, he wasn't planning a prank, he was just…hollow almost.

"How'd you take the news…?" He trailed off, and it was obvious what he meant.

"Not as good as I could have."

"You didn't--"

"No I didn't try and end it all. Is that all you and Remus think that I do when something depressing happens?"

"Your like a sister to me, so I'm entitled to worry."

"You're also an escaped convict…you think you'd be worrying about something else."

"I'm a man of many talents."

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Her visit with Sirius lasted longer then expected, he wanted to know all about Harry, and Kit wanted to know all about how James and Lily finally tied the knot. It had been a funny story involving the Giant Squid and a Hippogriff, a tale that Sirius couldn't even finish because he kept making snide remarks about Peter.

After the visit she had returned the invisibility cloak to Harry (as promised) and fell into a deep sleep. This sleep, unlike last night wasn't very peaceful, in fact all she could see was Lucius Malfoy coming at her with his cane, tearing off her clothes…

She woke up with rapid breathing and screaming her head off, looking wildly around as if Lucius Malfoy would be springing up from under her bed Kit noticed that no one was in the dorm room with her, all the beds were empty and made. It took her a moment to realize that the Quidditch game was today, as the rain pelted at the windows and the thunder rumbled above she frowned slightly…not a great way to start a Quidditch game.

Kit honestly didn't feel like going to the game, not with the way it was raining, she also entertained the idea of going to visit with Remus, but he had told her not to come. He might not be a vicious beast during the daylight, but those were the worst times of his transformations, he didn't want her to see his pain. So she sat in her bed, wondering what to do.

It was finally decided, as she got up out of bed that she would head down to the library. Might as well finish her weekend work now when she had the chance. Between Remus and Sirius it was like she hardly got anything done anymore, and was fairly certain that her grades were slipping because of it.

She bathed and dressed per usual before grabbing her book bag and slinging it over one shoulder, going down to the library was different now. Walking without someone beside her just felt so weird, like she suddenly had no protection bubble around her…like anyone could come up at any moment…

"Not going to watch your own nephew play Quidditch?" A voice sneered at her, causing Kit to jump ever so slightly. Severus…Merlin, what was he doing lurking around?

If he thought that he could torture her with his words now just because he was a Professor and she was a student, he was mistaken. "I don't feel like freezing to death today." She stated simply and quickly while folding her arms across her chest with an arched brow, trying to look as menacing as possible but failing horribly.

"So you are doing what exactly, wandering around the halls alone? Causing trouble no doubt."

It took all of Kit's willpower not to slam her fist into Severus just then, he had always been so brash with his words. Now he was just rubbing in the fact that he could speak to her that way without getting in trouble. He also seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that she didn't have one of her 'bodyguards' with her. "Yes, I sure do cause a ruckus when I head down to the library to do my homework."

"Five points for back talking a Professor…"

"What kind of bloody--"

"Five more for back talking again…" He gave a smile and she bit her tongue. Severus Snape, truly was an evil Git.

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Of course by the next day Kit had heard the news of Harry and his brush with death when the Dementors stormed the Quidditch stadium, it was when she heard this news that she was glad she hadn't been there. She was well aware of what Dementors did, and didn't want to think about the effect they would have on her. It was also on this day when Kit decided to visit Harry in the Hospital Wing, waiting until she was fairly certain that everyone else had visited him.

He was laying in bed, surrounded by bits and pieces of his quite obviously broken broom. Harry tried to smile at her as she approached to take a seat in the chair next to his bed. "Bad weekend?" She asked, trying to remain as cheerful as possible and not think about how much she missed James.

"You could say that." He stated simply, looking down at his broken broom with a sigh. "I lost the game."

She rolled her eyes, sounded just like James he did…as if the whole game rested on his shoulders, "Well, there are other people on the team right?"

"Yeah, but--"

"It's not only your fault."

"Nobody else seemed to loose it when the Dementors stormed the field." He told her, peering at Kit with his mothers eyes. Kit looked away, focusing on the empty bed next to Harry's.

"Yes well those people have had the luck of not living a horrible life…you know that right? Dementors suck the happiness out of you, so that for people like you and me we don't have a lot of happiness to begin with…"

"You faint whenever your around Dementors too?" He asked, arching his brow in skepticism.

"Well, I've never been around one to find out…but I'm fairly certain that I'd end up reacting the same way as you." She explained, shrugging her shoulders thoughtfully. She had in fact, never seen a Dementor in her life. But she heard of them, heard enough about them to know that if they sucked all of her happiness away she'd most likely end up in the same state as Harry.

"How can you be certain?"

"Because I'm a genius of course." Kit stated, avoiding his question and trying to get him to be a little more happy while she did so.

"A genius?"

"Maybe that's stretching it a little bit."

"Kit, what was my Mum like?" Harry asked, seemingly out of no where, causing Kit to cant her head to the side with a painful look on her face.

"Your Mum was my best friend, she was beauty and brains…" Kit started, and the night went on with her telling him all about his mother trying to avoid the pain that was in her own heart as she had to remember to used the past tense when referring to Lily…

She hated to think that they were dead. She didn't want to think about it…but Harry needed to know about the wonderful people that were his parents.

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AN: Another chapter done, whew. We had a little bit of everything in here, and man can I just say…I love writing Snape. He's just so wonderfully mean! I'm aware I'm weird.

Hmm, next up for present time the winter holidays.