Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Harry Potter or whatever or what have you or… stuff.

::AN:: The were some faithful/anxious reviewers this past time! I hope you know that I take no joy in forced reviews (unless I'm reading the review obviously)! I really hate it when some people are all, "I want at least 40 reviews before I post chapter whatever." I'm all like, "GAH! WTF! NO!" But thank you for all the nice reviews! (yay) But I don't think I'll ever give you guys a limit again… Even if I have the next chapter already done… It's too stressful… And I had to keep COUNTING! Honestly! School ended for a reason you know! Geez!

Okay, this is a loooong chappie (10 pages on Word!)... So, plze review really good and long and, you know, reccomend this fic to everyone you know and all that jazz (whoa, having a Catherine Zeta Jones moment... lol) I think this is actually my fav chapter so far! (with the "kiss & bathroom" chapter as a close second! lmao) It was so easy to write, too! It was like my finger(s) just kept flying over the keyboard all gracefully (with the occasional angry pounding at the backspace button...) lol. Anyway, I hope you like it and all... blah blah blah... I'll save you from this long author's note right after I tell who this one goes out to... [Oh yea! I didn't wait for 10 reviews cuz I really couldn't handle the pressure (haha) but I did wait for 9 so that's okay I suppose! Thanks!]

Also, this one goes out to Spunky, who said I develop characters well! (I try, I try…) lol Thanks everyone! It also goes out to Evil Cheese Of Doom who has the BEST Pride and Prejudice fanfic (ever!!), so you should all check it out, even if you haven't read the book (or seen the movie, which I so haven't... lol). Okay, now for the chapter!

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"Faylinn! Upsy-daisy! Come on, sweetie! You don't want to sleep away all of Christmas, now do you?"

"Sirius and James left late last night already. They're not here. You can remove yourself from your room."

Faylinn rolled her eyes and flopped lazily onto her side, staring blankly into the faces of Mel and Remus. "It's Christmas? She mumbled groggily. "So soon?"

Mel just laughed and tugged playfully at a few pink strands of the girl's head. "Up-up dear. It's time for presents and food. I made some really good-looking bacon, you know."

Remus kicked Faylinn's foot. "I'm going to open all of your presents!" And with that he ran out of the room like an anxious three-year-old.

"What?!" Faylinn shrieked, jumping out of bed and out of the room, only half-aware that Mel was laughing hysterically behind her.

When Faylinn reached the parlor room where the Christmas tree and presents were kept, she pounced on Remus's back. "You greedy git!" She screeched, becoming aware of the foul taste of morning breath in her mouth.

"Geroff!" He laughed.

"Kids. Don't make a mess." Mel sounded from the other room. "I'm going to let you decide whether to eat first or open presents."

"Let's open presents." Remus suggested.

At the same time, Faylinn pumped her hand into the air enthusiastically, cheering, "Let's eat!"

Remus glared at her before turning back to the doorway. "MOM!"

"Stop bickering." Mel laughed cheerfully.

"I'm hungry!" Faylinn whined, tugging on Remus's sleeve.

"You're always hungry." He scowled. "You just like Sirius, you know."

Faylinn tensed, pulling away. "Wanna open presents?" she asked to change the subject.

"Cool." He grinned. "Mom! Come on! We're opening gifts!" He turned back to Faylinn. "You should watch out for the present James got you. It's potentially dangerous."

Faylinn grinned slyly. "It's potentially what?" She said in a mock-innocent voice.

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"Remus. Sink. Dishes. Now."

"Okay, okay." Remus grumbled, making his way to the sink.

Faylinn glanced dizzily at her stack of presents that she had placed on the kitchen table. "I think I'm gonna start reading that book you got me tonight." She said to Mel.

Mel smiled warmly. "I thought you'd like it. It's not really my style, but it's hilariously funny."

"Comedy is always good." Faylinn grinned.

"Where are you going next week?" Remus asked over the running water.

"I don't know." Faylinn shrugged. "Maybe back to school."

"I wish we could bring you along to Remus's grandparent's house." Mel said disappointedly.

"So let's take her then." Remus suggested.

"I'm not allowed to leave the country." Faylinn said dumbly, as though Remus should have already known. "You said your grandparents are on holiday in Italy."

"What?" He asked. "Why?"

"Illegal magical creature roaming." Mel explained. "She'd only have to pay a fine if she got caught, but it's not worth it. They usually catch you. And they're never lenient on the fine."

"Illegal what?" Remus stared.

"Illegal magical creature roaming." Faylinn snapped. "Geez, Remus! You'd think you had good hearing what with being a puppy and all."

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"Oh, sweetie, be sure to visit us soon, alright? I'm sure the summer holidays should be no problem. Run the idea by Dumbledore next time you talk to him, alright?" Mel said sweetly, hugging Faylinn.

"If I'm alive." Faylinn grimaced, recalling where she was headed.

"Come off it, Faylinn." Remus said, rolling his eyes. "I wish I could go hang out with James and Sirius for the week, instead of going to play endless games of wizard's chess over pecan pie with my grandfather."

"Don't be disrespectful, boy, or you'll be washing those dishes in the sink for the next three years." Mel said. She turned back to Faylinn, smiling. "Oh dear! I'm going to miss you! You're such a sweet thing! Good luck in school, okay? And good luck with all those boys! You let me know if you meet anyone, I'll see if they're good enough for you. I have connections, you know."

"Mom!" Remus scowled. "That's gross! Faylinn doesn't even like guys!"

"I what?!" Faylinn exclaimed.

"You. You don't date." He explained as though he couldn't be bothered. "Besides, if you did, they wouldn't be good enough, anyway. I'll petition for a school wide beat-up fest on whoever you date, by the way."

"YOU'LL DO WHAT?!" She yelled.

"Well, we can't have anyone defiling our precious little fairy, no can we?" He said mischievously.

"He's just teasing to get on your nerves dear." Mel commented, giving Remus a deathly glare, which he only slightly cowered in. "Good luck, sweetie. If we return early, I'll have Remus go get you from James's house in a second flat, okay?" She paused. "Although I'm sure it won't be that bad. Mrs. Potter is very kind and sweet, you just wait and see."

Faylinn nodded. "I'm not scared." She flat-out lied.

"That's a good girl." Mel cheered. "Right. Now, grab your floo powder, right… Like that. Now, it's 'Godric's Hollow.' Yes, just like that dear. Ooh. Bless you, now try not to hold the powder too close to your nose. Yes, I'm aware that it smells like coal. Try not to sneeze. Are you positive that you're ready?"

"Thanks. Yeah." Faylinn mumbled, wiping her nose with the back of her free hand and holding back the urge to heave her trunk at Remus, who was having a fit of giggles next to Mel.

"Bye, then." She smiled and stepped into the fireplace, holding on tightly to her trunk. "GODRIC'S HOLLOW!" She said, throwing the floo powder down, hearing Remus and Mel call out "bye" as she felt the dizzy sensation come over her.

She ended up on a clean, wooden floor, minutes later. "Oh ow." She winced, feeling a sharp pain in her knee as she hit the ground.

"You okay?" She heard someone ask.

She frowned. Were they talking to her? She looked up to see a very amused James standing over her, grinning like a madman. "I'm good." She mumbled, pulling herself up off the floor. "Um, thanks for letting me stay here…" She shrugged, unsure of what to do or say. She felt as though she didn't even know James anymore, as she had stopped hanging around him in the past few months.

"No problem." He grinned. "When I first ran the idea by my mum and dad, they didn't go for it. But a bit convincing professions of my love for Lily told them that Sirius and I weren't going to ravish you the second you walked in the door. Well, that I wasn't going to. Or, well, not the second you walked in the door."

Faylinn raised an eyebrow, fully aware that he was just trying to push her buttons. "I haven't walked in the door, James."

He grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Then there's nothing holding us back, my little sex kitten of love."

She giggled to amuse him and turned to look around the room. "Where're your parents?" She asked. "Are they busy?"

"Yeah." James said. "Real busy. They haven't been home most of last week, either. Left just after Christmas, they did. Won' t be back 'till we're already gone for Hogwarts."

Faylinn's eyes widened. "You're joking?" She gasped when he shook his head, the look in his eye telling her that he was serious. "You're parents are GONE?" She hissed. "And they're letting me stay here all week alone with you and Sirius?!"

"They're cool like that." He grinned.

"I didn't say they weren't cool, James." She scowled. "But maybe they're not all there in the head, you know. What am I supposed to do?! I can't be alone in the same house as you and Sirius?! In the same house?! Alone?! ALONE?!"

He rolled his eyes, still smiling. "Sure you can. You're rooming with Sirius, anyway. There's only one guestroom. I told him to pretend to be nice and clean it up a bit, though, so that's what he's doing. In case you were wondering."

Faylinn tensed. "Wondering? Wondering? There was no wonder of the, um, sort." Her eyes widened suddenly. "I can't room with a boy!" She said, hitting James upside the head.

"Ow, sure you can." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Sirius can't sleep in my room anymore. He always pours water on me or something like that."

"He does what?" Faylinn said helplessly.

"It's okay, Fay!" James laughed, putting his arm around Faylinn. "It'll be like he's not even there! You know, if you ignore those loud, smelly farts he makes in the middle of the night."

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"This place is a mess." James stated as they entered the guestroom. He pulled Faylinn's trunk into a nearby corner and glanced around the room. "I guess Sirius figured it was clean enough." He said, wrinkling his nose and waving his wand a few times, causing a few shirts and dust bunnies to fly off of the floor and into a trunk that Faylinn assumed was Sirius's. "Slob." He mumbled as he turned back to the doorway, where Faylinn stood. "Come on, let's go find Padfoot. He's got to be around here somewhere."

Sure enough, just as James had said, Sirius was around there somewhere. The living room, to be exact, where he was sifting through one of Mrs. Potter's cook-books and laughing at such ideas as beef-pie and apple-teriyaki.

"Padfoot!" James exclaimed, plopping onto the couch next to his best friend, ignoring Faylinn who stood awkwardly in the doorway. He glanced at the cookbook. "Ooh. Mashed cauliflower. Looks repugnant."

"Whoa, big word, Prongs!" Sirius laughed, sparing a nonchalant glance at Faylinn, who wouldn't even have noticed that he looked at her if she hadn't been staring at him like a stunned salmon.

James flopped towards the other end of the couch, closer to where Faylinn stood. "Come sit with us." He said. "We can pick out gross foods to have the house elves make, and then dare each other to eat them." He paused. "Or send them to Moony and Wormtail. Belated Christmas gifts, of course."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not good enough. Has to be something a little more spectacular." He shrugged. "I am kind of curious what this wasabi-beer tastes like, though."

"Hah!" James laughed. "Too bad mum and dad gave strict orders against alcohol."

"Radish and green olives…" Sirius was murmuring. "Hmmm…"

"Strawberries and guacamole?!" James shouted, glancing at the book once more.

Sirius shrugged. "The picture makes it look good, though, huh? Look at it."

"Chocolate mayonnaise cake." James said wistfully. "Now that was good."

"Ew." Faylinn squeaked from the doorway. She blushed when they both looked at her, not realizing that she had spoken out loud.

"It's actually good." Sirius said with a grin. "Not as good as that pickle and tomato and peanut-butter sandwich!" He gave James a shove on the shoulder. "Eh, Prongs? That was good!"

James just grinned and sat up straight. "Come on, guys. I mean, guy and girl. We have to do something. Faylinn's been here, what? Twenty minutes at most? And she's already bored out of her mind. Look at her." He stared blankly at Faylinn. "She's going to go mad."

"Not unlike you." Sirius muttered, flipping another page to wrinkle his nose at the idea of 'jalapeno-cider.'

"Let's play Quidditch." James suggested, playing with the threads of the fluffy carpet, still lounging on the couch lazily.

"Faylinn can't play Quidditch." Sirius said, not looking up from the book. "Quidditch sucks with two people."

"Let's see if Remus is at home, then." James said to the ceiling.

"Are you daft?" Sirius asked with a laugh. "He's at his grandparents… Faylinn's here… Duh, James."

"Oh. Yeah." James mumbled. "We could floo to Lily's. Faylinn knows where she lives now."

"She's a muggleborn." Sirius pointed out. "Not connected to the floo network, most likely. And even if we went over there, she'd only kill you faster."

"Pig out on chocolate?" James asked.

"Ate it all yesterday. You should've asked your mom to go out and get some more before she left. You knew it wouldn't last." Sirius filled in.

"Watch muggle TV?" James suggested. "Or a movie-thingy on the muggle TV? Dad showed me how to work the square thing with the little wannabe-wand."

"Remote, was it?" Sirius laughed, sort of glad to be taking muggle studies. When James nodded, he shrugged and closed the cookbook. "Sure, let's go."

They stood to leave the room, but paused to stare at Faylinn. She blinked. "What?"

Sirius stepped forward, smirking, and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning in close enough so that she could feel and smell his breath (minty-fresh). "You're kind of blocking the doorway, love." He said solemnly.

Faylinn blushed and stepped backwards into the hall. She looked at the ground, silently berating herself again, for being so awkward around Sirius. "What are we going to watch?" She asked James nonchalantly, trying to overcome her short moment of shyness. She was glad that she at least knew what a TV was—she had only found out when she had spent those three days at Lily's home.

"Not sure." James shrugged, still standing behind Sirius, his eyes flickering back and forth between each of them briefly. "We'll think of something."

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"HAH!!! Hah Hahhahahahahha! HAHAhaHahahAHAHhahhaHAHAH! Hahahaha!" Sirius laughed, clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor.

"Yeah, Padfoot, we get that it was funny." James said flatly. "But you don't have to have a hernia about it."

"Shhhh!" Faylinn hissed, her full attention on the screen in front of her. "I think he's gonna kiss her! That's so sweet!"

James and Sirius exchanged a look. "Girls." They said in unison.

Faylinn glanced at them briefly. "Shut up. You two have no compassion. He just saved her life! That is so cute!"

"HAH!" Sirius scoffed. "But did you hear what he said about her BREASTS?!" And with that he doubled over with laughter once more.

"SHHHH!" Faylinn ordered, waving her hand at him carelessly, turning back to the television. "Aw!" She squeaked when the hero of the story and the 'damsel in distress' finally kissed.

Sirius stared at Faylinn, as though he had seen her for the very first time. James, in turn, looked back and forth from Faylinn and Sirius, confused but smirking. Faylinn was still lost in her own little world—or rather, the world in the television. She sighed happily as the screen turned black and the credits started to roll.

"That makes you happy?" Sirius asked her suddenly, his face in an expression that not even James could tell if he was being serious or not.

Faylinn nodded. "It's so cute! Did you see the way he—Oh and when she—That was so romantic!"

"Why?" Sirius asked.

Faylinn rolled her eyes. "What do you mean why?! It's romantic, that's why! Don't you know anything about romance stuff?"

Sirius continued to stare at her in his expressionless way. "How can that make you happy? It's not even realistic. Love like that doesn't exist. It's just a bunch of crap made up for people to spend their lives, dwindling away to nothing, waiting for 'that special someone.'"

"Quite the optimist, I see." Faylinn jibed. Her face turned a bit more serious after a few moments. "I'm tired." She mumbled, standing up. "Goodnight." And with that, she walked out of the room without sparing even a backward glance at them.

"Stupid." James chuckled, tossing a throw pillow in Sirius's direction. Sirius, however, didn't seem to notice the pillow hit him on the side of the head. He was still staring, but not at the chair where Faylinn had been sitting. He was staring at the doorway.

And then he stood up.

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To the little thing I am writing in while I am in the guest bed, in my pajamas, and in a very comfy spot,

Hah. I just let out the LOUDEST burp.

Whew. And the most odorous. Talk about foul.

Blehg. Anyway. That movie was so sweet! How romantic!

But what the heck is Sirius's problem?! I mean, what was with those questions?! And I don't like the way he was just STARING at me.

Yeah, that's right, STARING.

Talk about rude.

And he was so mean, what with all that "love like that doesn't exist" and all that! I mean, come on! Maybe he just hasn't experienced any kind of love (not that I have…), but that doesn't mean people can't TRULY love each other. And who cares about all that "meant to be" stuff and "special someones"!

Maybe they do exist! What the heck would he know?!

How can he be so hateful, mean, uncaring, tactless, careless, cute, nice, funny, understanding-

I mean! AGH!

I hate him!

He's so

Faylinn paused as the door opened. She shoved her journal underneath her pillow and pulled the blankets tighter around her. She didn't care that the light was still on. If she pretended to sleep well enough, it wouldn't matter. It would just look like she fell asleep with the light on.

"Faylinn, are you still awake?" She heard Sirius whisper. She didn't move. She didn't even breathe, and began to wonder how long she was going to have to hold her breath. She knew that if she let it go, she'd sit up and start shouting at Sirius in the worst way possible.

"Faylinn." He said a little louder and from the dimming of the lights that she could see through her eyelids, she knew he was standing closer to her, blocking the lamplight. "Faylinn." He said again. He gave her arm a small nudge. "Faylinn."

She rolled over onto her other side, facing away from him. "Go to sleep." She mumbled into the pillow.

"Faylinn." He sighed again. "I knew you were awake."

"Sure you did." She yawned, still not looking at him.

"I'm sorry."

She turned over again, staring at him. "For what?"

"For being such a jerk."

"When were you a jerk?" She asked, even though she could think of more than a few times he had acted 'jerk-ish.'

"Earlier. About the movie." He shrugged. "I'm thinking maybe I was just mad that you and James kept telling me to shut up." She could tell he was lying. There was more to it than that, she just didn't know what it was.

She smiled. "Okay. Goodnight." She rolled back over, facing the wall.

"Faylinn…" He stopped.

Faylinn turned her head slightly so that she could look at him out of the corner of her eye. "What is it?" She asked.

"Youhavewings." He said suddenly.

She rolled her eyes and shifted so that she was lying on her back. "What are you doing? Checking up on me?"

He shook his head. "I remember Mel saying something about how you might be moody and tired all the time because you've had your wings retracted for too long."

She shrugged, although since she was lying down in bed, it looked more like a spastic-seizure moment. "It's okay. Sometimes I can't feel them."

"Sometimes?"

"Sometimes I can, okay? Sometimes it hurts."

His eyes softened. "Why don't you take them out then? I'm sure no one would mind… Or you could just do it in private."

"It's not that easy." She whispered. "It hurts." She paused. "When I change, it's like someone's taken a sledgehammer to my wings. It's painful. They kind of shrivel up and shrink inside and then… And I feel all heavy because I can't fly anymore…" She winced. "When they come out… It's like someone's cut me open from the inside and is pulling a big old rope or something out of my back. It's dangerous to do it often if you're not a pureblood. Pureblood fairy, I mean. You could bleed or something. Or break something… Like your spine or whatever."

He frowned. "Can't you remove them? Like, permanently? So you don't have to be in pain anymore?"

She shook her head. "No. Well, yes, but." She stopped and blinked at the ceiling. "I don't want to. They're my wings, you know? I can't fly without them."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Sure you can. You're a witch. It's called a broom, Faylinn."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not the same…" She smiled to herself. "Flying is like… And the other fairies would help me because their magic was more powerful…" She giggled softly. "I remember they used to shrink me to be the size that they like to be in, you know? That was so much fun." She shook her head again. "I could never remove my wings. I love them too much."

"You can't shrink yourself like pureblood fairies?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. Well, I can. But it's like the wing thing. Except not as painful. But still… I would have to stay small for a long time, to gather my strength. It was just easier when the other fairies did it for me. It didn't even hurt then."

He smiled. "Remus told us you were born in the Forbidden Forest."

She smirked. "Yup, that's me. Hogwarts's resident fairy-from-the-forest."

"So, when you said your dad obviously went to Hogwarts, you mean you were born while he was still in school?" He questioned.

She winced. "No. Well, sort of. I was born the year after, kind of. Nine months is awhile, you know. That's how I know he doesn't know I exist. He had already graduated and left by that time. My mom never told him before he was gone. I don't know, maybe she didn't even know at that time."

"Do you ever wish…" He trailed off for a moment. "Don't you wonder who your father is?"

She shook her head. "Well, I do, but… I know I shouldn't. It's for the best." She paused. "Mel knew him. She said he was a Hufflepuff in her year." She turned her head to look at him. "Not to change the subject, but what happened to Remus's dad? If Mel was in my dad's year, then that means she had Remus when she was pretty young."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't actually know. I know his dad died, but it was a long time ago." He paused.

"Oh." She said, gazing at the ceiling, her brow furrowing.

"Don't, Faylinn." Sirius said softly.

She blinked at him. "Don't what?"

"Don't ask him about it. Or hint at it. Or anything to do with it or anything to do with anything relating to it." He said.

"Why the heck not?" She shot back. "What if I wanted to know?"

He shook his head. "No, Faylinn. See, we—James, Peter, and I—don't know much about it. Just that he died when Remus was really young. He died… And it has something to do with Remus's being a werewolf."

"Oh." Faylinn said, wide-eyed. "You mean when he got bitten, don't you? Like, whatever bit Remus probably got to his dad? Like, his dad was trying to protect him and what did it get him? Dead, that's what."

Sirius sighed. "I don't know, Faylinn. It's best not to think about it. Remus doesn't like to talk about it for a lot of reasons. But you know he doesn't want your pity."

She shook her head. "I'm not… I wouldn't say anything… I mean, I know what it's like to not really want to talk about your family. Sure, it's for different reasons, but that doesn't mean I don't get it."

He nodded and blinked slowly a few times. "I…" He started, but seemed to think better of it and shut his mouth, shaking his head.

"What about you?" Faylinn asked, not noticing his short moment of 'contemplation' since she had been staring intently at the ceiling at the time. "You didn't go home for the holiday. And I remember that at the beginning of the term, James said you spent your summer at his house most of the time. And when you weren't there you were at Remus's. Or Peter's."

He shrugged. "I don't go home for the holidays. Big deal."

"But it is a big deal." She said softly. "Since we have to stay at Hogwarts, the holidays are the only times that anyone can see their family. When was the last time you went home?"

"It doesn't matter." He mumbled.

"Yes it DOES!" She insisted, sitting up slightly. "It's your FAMILY!"

"So I don't live at home okay?!" He snapped loudly. "Maybe I don't get along right with my family, did you ever think of that? Maybe I hated it there and I'm NEVER going back! Maybe I'd rather think of James and the Potters and Remus and Peter as my family! Hell, even Mel is like family! And the same goes with Peter's family!" His eyes glowed with anger. "I don't go home on holiday, not only because I don't want to—ever, but because I don't have a home to go to anymore! Even if I went back now, they wouldn't accept me! Especially my mother!" He was fuming by now. "Are you happy now, Faylinn? You finally got that out of me? Are you happy?!"

She blinked at him. "Sirius…" she whispered.

"And don't even bother feeling sorry for me! I am so sick of everyone feeling sorry for me! It's not like I'm not okay! I'm fine! In fact, I've been better than fine ever since I got out of there! It's people like you, who just can't mind your own business! It's like, you have to know everything! You know about Remus being a werewolf! You know about the rest of us being animagus! You just kept pushing! And you keep pushing! You would have pushed Remus into a depression, probably, going on and on about his dad, if I hadn't said anything!"

Faylinn's vision started to get blurry. "I didn't… I… I wouldn't… I… Sirius…"

He didn't seem to be listening to her, though. "When are you going to learn?! It's not about you! You don't have to know everything! You don't have to help get James and Lily together! You don't have to hang around Peter so much just because he doesn't have many friends! You don't have to be all chummy with Remus just because he's a werewolf! And around me! You don't have to be all…!" He scowled, unable to find a word suitable enough.

"Stop it…" She whispered, unaware that tears were falling rapidly down her cheeks.

"No, I won't stop! You don't stop! Why the hell should I?!" He said loudly, but not enough to shout and wake up James, who was far down the hall.

Faylinn stared at him. He expected her to be angry or disgusted, maybe even pitying. But she wasn't. She was just staring at him sadly. And… crying.

"Faylinn, I…" He said softly, wishing he hadn't lost his temper. It was just that he didn't like talking about his family. It made him get overly defensive in all the worst ways. He wished he could tell her that, but all he could do was look back at her as the tears rolled down her cheeks and she began to cry harder, her body shaking and a sob erupting from her lips.

"Don't… cry…" He said softly, which was only followed by an even louder sob than before. Sirius reached forward, patting her hand. "I didn't… I don't… I'm sorry… I…"

Then suddenly he was sitting next to her on the bed, hugging her tightly as she sobbed into his shirt. "It's okay…" he whispered. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean it… I'm sorry…"

She clutched tightly onto his shirt, unable to control the sobs that overtook her. "Shhhh…" She heard him say as he patted her hair and kissed her forehead, trying to comfort her. She suddenly felt very exhausted, but she didn't know why. A few moments after her sobs had ceased, he looked down at her only to find her eyes closed, her cheeks—and his shirt—wet with salty tears. She was asleep.