Autumn Darkness: You most certainly can join me in killing Quick Edit! How are you doing? I miss you… only three more weeks!

"Morgaine of Ithil": Lol. I think everyone hates Quick Edit… thanks so much!

Panny Savage: Hm… magic carpets… (taps chin)

little elfling: I'm sorry that it took so long… this chapter is extra long, though, so I hope that makes up for it.

Xylem (x4): No, Casey is not Riley. Casey is nervous and shy. She has to learn to defend herself against Sirius, though, so you'll see a bit of attitude from her. Feel free to commandeer "Frodo of the Nine Fingers." It's the title of a fan song, actually. Lol… I might eventually do and Traveler – Pirates, but one never knows, eh? Oh… and I can't tell you about Haldir's fate. MWAHA!

"RainySunshine": I absolutely adore Sirius in anything as well, which is why he was chosen. You really have to love him… Lol. We might see Bellatrix. I never really know how I'm getting to the end of the story… I just know I'm on my way, and nothing short of loss of limb will hold me back from reaching it!

Tapdancing Parakeet: Well, I would be the real Mrs. Sirius Black, so those pennames always bug me too… (grins sheepishly) I love time paradoxes! They're so fun to analyze… you just can't go into it too much, or you confuse people, and lose readers/viewers. (sigh) Alas for illogically-minded individuals. Watch for many more paradoxes in the future… she has to have a point in being there, you know. And about the journals… I love writing from Casey's point of view. She shows a bit of attitude with Sirius, but with the others, she's quite shy, so the journals are a great way to see how sharp she really is.

"Brat": Aw, thank you, sweetie, and you're welcome!

Pirate of the Pool: That's great that you're in the group! We need to start livening things up a bit, I think. Perhaps another contest?

InflictedEclipse Lol. I actually vacuumed my room for the first time since I moved in. I'm not afraid to sit on the floor anymore, yey! I'll be checking out your LotR story soon, by the way…

Kay50: Thanks for the review! Sorry for the long wait…

Alahria Silvermoon: Thanks for the review! Sorry for the terrible wait...

Cassandra Thacker: Oh, dude, how'd you guess? Of course we'll see Snape again… he won't be a central threat, but he is there, after all, and it's not as if the Marauders laid off of him after The Incident…. Sadly, I can't tell you about any more time-sucking. You'll just have to read to find out. MWAHA!

Author's Note: How can I possibly even begin to apologize for the enormous wait for this chapter? I can't really, and that's the thing. I am so freaking sorry that it's taken this long, and I have absolutely no excuse. To tell the truth, the past few months have gone by so quickly that I didn't even realize it had been as long as it had. (sigh) I'm sorry! I did, however, decide to hold off for another couple weeks while I added loads of pages… I decided that I'd make the read worth the wait, and moved up my plans a bit. So here you have it: the longest chapter I've ever written at a whopping 18 full pages (that's without all the thank you's and author's notes). I hope you enjoy it… I'd like to think that it's exciting. :)

Thank you to the most gorgeous, intelligent beta in the world, Hathor (who I've just found out is 'Hathor the Horribly Ill'), for still being there for me after all this time. Thanks, sweetie!

January 5, 1977

"No." Casey shook her head adamantly, glaring at Sirius with as much hatred as she could muster.

"Come on, Casey. All you have to do is wear it." Sirius dangled a crystal on a silver chain and smiled appealingly. Only two weeks in the general vicinity, and Casey already knew better. Sirius had had a wickedly mischievous look in his eyes when he'd first produced the necklace, and Casey had discovered, after the majority of the students had returned, that very few could detect the maniacal glee with which Sirius brought about a prank. He would get a tiny little gleam in his eyes as they narrowed, pinpointing their target, and the right corner of his mouth would twitch. It made him look dangerous and not wholly unappealing, but Casey knew it, and immediately ran from it full tilt.

"No," Casey snapped, pinching her lips together and scrunching up her nose in distaste. "It's ugly," she said by way of an excuse. It wasn't entirely ugly, but it was rather large and flashy… not much to her taste.

Sirius blinked and stared at her in disbelief. "This," he said slowly, as if explaining to a child, "is of the latest style. You cannot possibly think this is ugly."

"Well, I do," Casey said shortly, turning back to her breakfast, and attempting to ignore the envious looks from various girls around the Hall.

She felt Sirius stare at her for a moment before he plunked the necklace down on the table next to her. "Casey, you are so unhip," he said in exasperation, "I'm amazed your bum hasn't fallen off."

Catching herself just before she giggled girlishly, Casey demanded sharply, "Been eyeing my bum, have you?"

"I have!" Sirius declared loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. "Not," he added as an afterthought.

Feeling that this was the easiest possible way she could contrive to get away from him as soon as possible, Casey slammed her fork down on her plate and hissed, "I would appreciate it if you would keep your perverted tendencies out of my life."

"All right, all right," Sirius muttered, shaking his head in frustration. "Don't get your knickers in a twist…"

Casey snatched the necklace from the table and threw it into Sirius's lap. "Keep your stupid necklace, Black." With that, and having finished her breakfast, Casey stood up and marched proudly out of the Great Hall, feeling quite accomplished to have fended him off yet again.

Her annoyance flared into full force, however, when Sirius stormed out of the doors behind her. "What is your problem? I tried to give you a gift, and you threw it back in my face!"

"I threw it back in your lap, thanks," Casey said smartly, stomping on.

Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her back, staring at her with flashing eyes. "Why do you insist on making this so difficult?"

Thousands of answers she could have given flitted through her mind, but she chose one from Peter Pan for its coolness and applicability. "Sir, I find you both ungallant and deficient."

"How am I deficient?" Sirius demanded softly, dangerously.

Casey shook her head slowly, pulling her arm gently out of his grasp. "You're just a boy," she said softly, and continued her way up to Gryffindor tower to retrieve her books. Take that, Sirius Black, she thought to herself smugly. Let's see you try and impress me after that.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sirius asked her later that day as the older students lounged and studied in the Common Room. He was hanging upside-down on a couch, fluffy black hair falling in choppy layers toward the floor.

"No," Casey muttered distractedly as she attempted to understand her Potions textbook.

Sirius leaned his head up to give her a disgruntled look, and then let it flop back to its upside-down position. "Don't be a brat," he grumbled.

"Don't ask rhetorical questions," she replied, flipping to the next page.

They were quiet for a moment longer before Sirius informed her, "I'm going to ask you a question now."

"Mmhmm."

"Do you like midnight walks?'

"Mmhmm."

"Casey."

"Hmm." Sirius sat up, snatched her textbook from her, and tossed it away toward Remus, who was studying at a table by the windows. "Hey!" Casey protested, standing up to retrieve her book, but Sirius grabbed her arms and pulled her back down so that he could look at her.

"Do you like midnight walks?" he asked again.

Feeling thoroughly frustrated with him for throwing a school book across the room, Casey narrowed her eyes and answered childishly, "I'm not telling."

The corner of Sirius's mouth twitched, but he determinably kept a serious face. "This is very important, Casey…"

"So was my Potions homework!" Casey interrupted

"You can do that anytime," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"I can not!" Casey exclaimed, staring at Sirius in exasperation. "If you hadn't noticed, I am so far behind, I'm in danger of falling off the train."

"It's not that hard," Sirius replied, relaxing back into his upside-down position. "You'll catch up faster than you can say 'Petrificus totalus.'"

"Which is a useless hex, because it takes so long to say," Casey continued. "How is it that you never have to study?"

Sirius tapped his increasingly pink forehead knowingly. "Photographic memory, m'dear. I remember everything I see, which is why I'll never forget your bum and…"

Casey had just raised a hand to slap him when she found Remus Lupin standing in front of her, holding out her Potions book, and smiling tiredly. His skin was the whitest she'd ever seen, and for a moment, Casey stared at him in surprise, wondering when, exactly, those rings had appeared beneath his eyes, and how long it had been since he'd been able to smile easily.

"Don't mind him," Remus said softly, glancing at Sirius, who was looking quite happy with himself. "He was dropped on his head several times as a baby, and has never recovered."

Casey grinned and accepted her book back gratefully, saying a quiet, "Thanks."

Remus was holding his left wrist in his right hand, and twisted his hand around his wrist almost as if he was nervous. "If you're having trouble catching up, I can tutor you in some of the subjects, if you'd like."

Casey's face lit up hopefully. "Which subjects?"

Remus stopped twisting his hand around his wrist. "Oh, well, my favorite subject is Defense Against the Dart Arts…"

So predictable, Casey thought to herself happily.

"And I'm fair, I suppose, in Charms…"

Is he shaking? Casey focused on his hands, which weren't twisting his wrist anymore, but rather trembling slightly, as if he was exhausted.

As if sensing her gaze, Remus went back to twisting a hand around his wrist as he continued, "If you want help with Ancient Runes or Transfiguration, I study once a week with a girl from Ravenclaw. She'd more than likely be happy to help you…"

Is he twisting his wrists like that so that no one notices that he's twitching? "Uh huh…" she said distractedly before turning her attention to actually answering him. "That would be great, Remus, thanks." Now that she thought of it, even his smile was quivering a bit…

"Moony, you look tired. Why don't you get some sleep before you head home?" Sirius suggested.

Home? Why would Remus be… oh. Oh my word.

Playing ignorant, Casey asked, "Oh, are you going home, Remus?"

Remus nodded, forcing himself to stop twisting his wrist. "Yeah. My mum gets sick a lot…"

"We all think that Remus is a mummy's boy and has to go home to get his monthly dose of maternal affection," Sirius whispered loudly.

Remus tossed him a look. "… so I go home to visit. She likes it when I'm there."

Is he… swaying? "Oh." Casey tried to smile. "That's really sweet of you Remus… but you really do look tired. Why don't you go and get some rest, and I'll talk to you about tutoring when you get back?"

Remus smiled, gave her a grateful nod, and shuffled toward the dormitory staircases. Casey stared after him pensively before stating nonchalantly, "He seemed awfully exhausted."

Sirius only shrugged. "He studies too much for his own good."

"Hmm." Turning away from the stairs, Casey settled back into the couch and reopened her Potions book.

"So," Sirius began, still hanging upside-down, "do you like midnight walks?"

Casey sighed heavily and answered, "Yes, Sirius, occasionally, I do enjoy a late-night walk."

"Well, don't go tonight," Sirius commented, as if it were something she should simply accept.

Although she had to agree, Casey couldn't help but feel that she should retaliate in some way. "It's sort of a weird time for Remus to be going home, isn't it?" she hinted. "It's Wednesday."

Again, Sirius only shrugged. "His mum's proper ill."

"Really sick."

"Don't correct my grammar."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't screw it up."

"I mucked up that one on accident. Lay off."

"'On accident' isn't right either! It's 'accidentally.'"

"Tart."

"Twit."

"So long as we're clear on the subject."

"Agreed."

"I'm going to the kitchens. You want to come?"

"Yeah. I never liked studying anyways."

Two minutes later, they were strolling down a deserted corridor deep within the castle. Sirius kept "accidentally" bumping Casey's shoulder, and she occasionally (and also "accidentally") bumped back a bit more forcefully.

"You… are… so… beautiful," Sirius sang softly, giving Casey's shoulder a good bump with his own, "to me." Casey glanced at him oddly out of the corner of her eye. "You are so beautiful," another bump, "to me…" Sirius slid an arm around her waist and whipped her around so that he could capture her arm in the other. "Can't you see?" With that, he began to dance Casey down the hall, continuing with his Ray Charles impression. "You're everything I've hoped for. You're everything I need!" Casey pinched her lips together to keep from laughing as his really quite brilliant voice cracked comically. "You are so beautiful," he finished quietly, slowing down the dance, pulling Casey a bit closer, and staring into her eyes very seriously, "to me."

For a moment, Casey was understandably speechless. Here was this boy, who could rightfully be called an Adonis, and he was singing a love song to her. Never before in her life had she been hit on so incessantly. How was she to know how to handle this, and how long it would last? Part of her really did want to give him a chance; he was, after all, Sirius Black. That tragic little feminine part of her longed to correct a hopeless case, and date him just so she could say that he would change for her.

But she was smarter than that by far.

"You," she said carefully, "have got to be the most self righteous person on the planet." Immediately, the analytical and logical part of her brain leapt up and demanded that she admit that that was not true. "No, I take that back," she muttered. "Riddle is much more self righteous than you, but still! You need to cut it out, Sirius. This is getting old." Casey pulled out of Sirius's arms and, spotting a large picture of assorted fruit, stalked toward it.

Sirius stared after her for a moment before stomping after her. "Now, that is just unreasonable," he said sharply, stopping next to Casey, who was scanning the portrait for a certain pear. "The thing that is getting old is you rejecting me. I have been nothing but friendly since you've gotten here, and you're fending me off like I'm asking for something horrible. I would like to be your friend, McCarthy. If you want me to give up on the 'more than friends' thing, then so be it!"

"Ha!" Casey exclaimed. "Sirius Black never gives up; it's a known fact." She finally caught sight of the pear and reached up, standing on tiptoes to tickle the painted fruit. The pear wriggled, and the portrait opened with a strong click.

"Well… I could pretend that I'd given up, but secretly be working towards my goal, couldn't I?" Sirius demanded, stalking after Casey as she strolled into the kitchens.

Casey rolled her eyes and scanned the room for a House Elf. "That would make you a Slytherin, Sirius, and I highly doubt you want to be accused of that."

Sirius huffed. "What's the big deal, anyway? Most girls would love to be in your position."

"Girls in general are stupid, Sirius; it's something you're going to have to learn. Besides, why do you like me, of all people? I'm not witty, I'm not pretty, you've known me a grand total of eleven days, and I've been nothing but rude to you the entire time!"

Sirius frowned at her. "I think you're pretty, and how the bloody hell did you know where the kitchens were and how to get in?"

Casey froze.

In the echoing silence that followed, a House Elf shuffled out from behind a counter and approached hopefully, wringing its hands together. Sirius eyed it before smiling tightly at Casey. "Want anything?"

Casey swallowed. "Reuben sandwich?" she whispered.

Sirius turned stiffly back to the Elf and gave it a genuine smile. "A Reuben sandwich and spaghetti to go, please, Tibby. Perhaps a thermos of butterbeer too?"

Tibby tittered and fluttered happily out of sight, appearing only seconds later with a small picnic basket. Sirius accepted it, thanked the Elf, and marched out the door. Casey watched him go anxiously before saying a quiet thank you to Tibby and following.

They had been walking for a good five minutes before Casey realized that they weren't heading toward the Gryffindor common room. Biting her lip nervously, she asked quietly, "Where are we going?"

"Outside," Sirius replied shortly. "The walls have ears, so I think you would prefer to have this conversation where they cannot hear."

"Oh." Casey folded her arms across her chest. Well, that proved that he was at least thoughtful.

Sirius didn't slow his pace once they got outside. He pushed relentlessly through the snow, forcing a trail for Casey to shuffle along behind in. They had both, luckily, been wearing their robes over their warmer clothes, as the castle was drafty during the winter, and Casey pulled her hands back in her sleeves before pinching the ends shut in her fists. It was a perfectly clear, crisp day, but still bitingly cold.

Just as Casey was ready to give up and ask again where they were going, they reached the Forbidden Forest, and Sirius announced, "It's not far now." Fortunately, the snow thinned once they made it into the shelter of the trees, and Casey was able to catch her breath.

As they walked past tree after identical tree, Casey began to wonder if they were actually heading to a specific place, or if Sirius was just attempting to get them far enough into the dangerous forest for something exciting to happen to them. This theory was proved wrong, though, in another minute, when Sirius stopped before a particularly large tree. He set the picnic basket on the ground and spread his arms. "This," he said proudly, "is my tree."

Casey stared blankly at the tree. It was… a tree. A rather ugly one, at that. "It's… great," she said with attempted enthusiasm.

Sirius was entirely focused on "his" tree, grinning at it like an old friend. "I found it in my second year when I was wandering around during a full moon… there was a werewolf prowling around and I hid in this very tree until it had gone away. I come here when I want to be safe from it all."

Casey shifted her weight to her other foot uncomfortably. "Are there werewolves in these woods?" she asked cautiously.

Sirius's grin widened. "Only one, and he won't be out until after the sun goes down."

Casey blinked, astonished by his carelessness. Of course, someone who had no idea about Remus might not have caught the obvious hint, but to her it was quite apparent.

"So," Sirius said, sitting down and leaning against his tree, "what is a Reuben sandwich, anyway?" He patted the spot next to him invitingly, and then began shuffling through the picnic basket.

"Corned beef and sauerkraut on rye bread," Casey said absently as she sat down next to Sirius. "Sometimes there's mustard too."

Sirius nodded, handing her the wrapped sandwich and an opened bottle of what she assumed to be butterbeer. "Interesting. The mustard might not go too well with the butterbeer."

Casey wrinkled her nose, peeking into the bottle with interest. "What's in it?"

"Butter and beer, I would assume. Though, James and I did try to make it ourselves that way when we were eleven, and we didn't fare very well."

Casey chuckled and unwrapped her sandwich, pulling the bread apart to make sure that everything was in place. There was mustard. "There's mustard," she informed Sirius off-handedly.

"Mm," he replied, mouth already full of spaghetti. Swallowing, he said matter-of-factly, "They never can get spaghetti quite right. I imagine that perfect spaghetti will have the tiniest spice to the sauce. The noodles have to be perfect, too. Not many people can get noodles perfect."

Thinking back to the hundreds of ramen packs that she'd cooked over the years, Casey mentioned, "I'm good with noodles."

Sirius only shrugged. "Not to put you down or anything, but I've heard many a person say that, and it's never true."

Casey shrugged back, not really caring what he thought as long as she got her Reuben sandwich. It didn't take either of them long to finish their snacks, but Sirius was done a few seconds before Casey, and he watched her until she'd polished off the crumbs of her sandwich.

Finally, as she crumbled the sandwich wrapper in her hand and eyed the untouched bottle of butterbeer, Sirius asked, "So how did you know where the kitchens were?"

Casey picked up her butterbeer and stared into it. "You had stopped walking."

Sirius's eyes narrowed skeptically. "How did you know how to get in the kitchens?"

Casey chewed her lip and stared harder at the butterbeer. "The pear… stood out. So I touched it, and the door opened."

Sirius sighed heavily and sat his butterbeer bottle down with a thump. "I may play the part well, Casey," he said coolly, "but I am anything but stupid. Now how did you know?"

Casey shifted uncomfortably. Unable to think of an inconspicuous answer, and knowing that she'd run out of time to give one, she blurted out, "Who has their own tree, anyway? I mean, unless you're an environmentalist, and you're trying to save it from getting cut down, it just isn't done!"

Sirius glared. "Don't bash the tree," he said dangerously.

"I'll bash whatever I want!" Casey shrieked hysterically, throwing her butterbeer to the ground and standing to her feet. "If you aren't going to tell me one of your big secrets, I'm not telling you how I got in the kitchens." Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but she wagged a finger at him, ranting, "And it can't be about your parents and how 'they don't love me, and I hate them, and they're just stupid Death-Eaters.' I can figure that out on my own, thank you very much."

A muscle in Sirius's jaw twitched. For a moment, he simply stared at her coldly, and then he stood up slowly and stepped closer to Casey than she would have liked. "Do not presume," he said warningly, "that you know everything about me. Granted, it seems that you are quite fully aware of my big secrets, but you have not the slightest idea of who I am."

Determined not to take a step back in fear, Casey gritted her teeth and bit out, "Ditto."

Sirius watched her pensively for a long minute before turning his gaze uninterestedly to the ground where her butterbeer bottle lay, long bereft of its contents. "You dropped your butterbeer," he informed her quietly.

"I know," Casey said, a bit annoyed at the sudden change of subject.

Sirius continued to stare at the bottle. "You won't get to try it now."

There was something about the way he was addressing her. They had both successfully maneuvered around the real issues, neither one trusting the other enough to reveal anything. That may have been the problem, Casey realized. She had assumed that she knew him well enough to make every judgment in the world about him. Sirius was attracted to her for some reason that only God knew (which probably had something to do with her being a bit of a mystery), and automatically assumed a semi-intimate relationship with her that there was no basis for. In short, they had both moved too far too fast.

Meekly, she asked, "Do you have any left?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, shuffling his feet as if he didn't know what to do next.

Casey rubbed her cold nose with a stiff hand. "Can I have a sip of yours, then?" she requested softly.

The corners of Sirius's mouth tilted upwards. "Yeah," he said. "You can try mine."

Casey trailed to the side of Lily and Alice as they headed down for dinner later that day. The girls were discussing anything and everything that girls normally did, but Casey still felt a distinctive gap between them and herself. They had, after all, been going to the same school for six years, and she hadn't even been there for six weeks yet. They were kind enough to automatically include her when they headed down for meals, though the same could not be said for most of their other activities. Half of the time, Casey was being accosted by Sirius, and the other half, Casey holed up in the safety of her bed, drawing the curtains just enough to give herself privacy without closing out the light.

As they strolled down the corridors and through throngs of students, Casey felt the urge to walk entirely separately from her companions, as she wasn't really included in the conversation, but the other students were still watching her carefully and whispering at her every move, so she stuck close. In the sea of faces, she could only name a few, and only because they were in her classes and made particular impressions on her (boy-crazy girls who sat behind her in Transfiguration and perverted boys who sat next to her in Charms to name a few).

Because she wasn't deeply absorbed in the conversation between to the two other female Gryffindor sixth years, she was the first to notice the commotion. There were several students crowded around something, and spiteful voices could be heard from within the throng. She frowned.

"What in Merlin's name...," Lily muttered, finally noticing the disturbance. "Excuse me!" she immediately declared, elbowing her way through the crowd. "I am a Prefect; please excuse me…"

Alice raised her eyebrows at Casey before snatching Lily by the back of her robes and Casey with her other hand. The three of them took a quick, straight route through the onlookers, but Lily stopped short when she reached the inside. Scowling at her friend's back, Alice shoved her to the side and yanked Casey up to the front so that all three of them could see what was going on.

They had come up just behind the Marauders, two of which were standing back, watching the show with unenthusiastic interest. The only active participant on their side was Sirius, who was nearly trembling with fury as he and Severus Snape traded stinging insults, clenching their wands in white-knuckled hands.

A bump from the rowdy crowd behind them sent the girls into the inner circle just behind the Marauders. Casey immediately stepped in-between James and Peter, giving them each a questioning look. Peter looked typically nervous, and even James appeared to be the slightest bit worried. What exactly was going on?

"What your family must think of you, Black. I heard they even struck your name from the family tree. Isn't that reassuring?" Snape purred sadistically.

Sirius's chin lifted defiantly. "Everyone knows about that by now, Snape, really, is that the best you can come up with?"

"That's a fine speech coming from you, Black, a mudblood-loving Gryffindor. You're as good as a Muggle."

Casey glared. Muggles weren't all bad, thanks.

"Why don't you give up like the weak, slimy git that you are, and go back to playing with your chemistry set," Sirius snapped, every inch of him rigid with hatred.

"We'll see who is weak tonight, Black, won't we?" Snape sneered.

"Yes, we will," Sirius said in an equally venomous voice.

Unconsciously, Casey took a step toward him, not hearing Lily's worried, "Casey!" What are you playing at? she wanted to hiss at him.

Her small movement called more attention to her than she wanted. Snape's gaze fell on her, and an icy chill flew up her spine as she recognized the malevolent glee. Wishing she could squirm away, she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight so that she was further hidden behind Sirius.

Seeing that Snape's attention was somewhere else, Sirius followed his gaze until he saw Casey trying to make herself look small behind him. Slowly, his muscles relaxed and his face softened. He held out his hand, forcing a comforting smile. "Come on, Casey," he said reassuringly.

Preferring him to Snape, Casey promptly slipped her hand into his larger one and allowed him to draw her close enough to slip his arm around her waist. He gave Snape one last cold look before pulling Casey with him out of the crowd, which parted readily and with awe. James, Peter, Lily, and Alice followed close behind.

"What was that about?" Casey asked once they had gotten far enough away from the other students.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius replied shortly, still keeping his arm snug around her waist.

"Sirius," Casey said with a hint of laughter in her voice, "if it has to do with you and Snape, I'll always be worried." Sirius smirked for a second, but quickly withdrew into his own thoughts again. Casey looked up at him solemnly. "Was it about that thing that you won't tell me?" she asked quietly.

He was silent for a few long moments. "Yes. Do you know about it because of the thing you won't tell me?"

Casey bit her lip. "Yes."

"So long as we're clear on that point."

"Okay."

Sirius continued to escort her until he had seen her seated comfortably at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. With a gallant bow, he bid her a good meal, and strode away to sit with James and Peter several seats away. Lily and Alice sat down with Casey, all three of them staring at the Marauders.

"That is, I think," Lily said slowly, narrowing her eyes at the boys, "the first time that they haven't sat with us since you arrived, Casey."

"And they only ever sit away from Lily when they're plotting something or distracted," Alice added, "so don't feel too badly about the change."

Lily rolled her eyes regally at her friend before turning her attention to the food in front of her. Alice smirked at Casey and did the same, but Casey couldn't quite pull her eyes away from the Marauders. The wheels turned frantically in her head, trying to figure out how badly Sirius and Snape had angered each other. Had her encounter with Snape the other day had anything to do with it?

Sirius glanced up and caught her eye. His mouth twitched into a brief reassuring smile, but it was gone before she'd realized it had been there, and he turned back to his friends, brow furrowed darkly.

"Potter, where's Remus? I have a question about our Charms assignment."

Casey looked away from the window, which she was huddled up against, to watch Lily and James once again interact. Lily was standing stiff as a board, anticipating having to defend herself from unwanted advances yet again, but it didn't happen. James simply checked his watch, and then flipped to the next page in his book. "Remus went home for the night, Evans. You know how sick his grandmum gets."

Casey frowned. "His grandma?" she thought aloud. "But… he said his mom was sick…"

James glanced up at her sharply, and exchanged glances with Sirius. "Well, yeah, Casey. It's his mum's side of the family, see, so he just always says it's his mum."

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What about when his father's sick?"

At a nearly imperceptible nod from Sirius, James whined, "Why are you so interested in Remus, Evans? He isn't near as interesting as me. Granted, he's got the whole mysterious element, but this is just ridiculous!" At that, James and Lily began hollering at each other about their various faults.

Casey smiled at the display and turned back to gazing out the window at the beautiful Scottish landscape.

"What're you looking at?" Sirius asked quietly as he joined her on the window seat.

Casey shrugged and leaned her forehead against the glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius eye her uncertainly. He scooted a bit closer, his gaze fixed on her face. Casey resisted the urge to shrink away, and instead squirmed uncomfortably.

As if ignoring her discomfort completely, Sirius reached out and snatched one of her hands. "What do you know?" he asked.

Casey shrugged absently, using the movement as an excuse to pull her hand away.

Sirius immediately snatched it again. Trying not to be too obvious, she gave a little tug, but found that it was held fast. "What do you know?" Sirius asked again.

"Please don't touch me," Casey murmured, trying again to pull her hand away, her skin crawling uncomfortably.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, a playful grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I don't… I'm not…" she stuttered, stomach clenching nervously.

"Casey," Sirius interrupted, scooting closer so he could see her eyes, "you hate it when I touch you. When I get close to you, you shiver. At first I thought it was the fact that I'm handsome, and you know it…" Casey rolled her eyes, "…but you don't… why do you do that?"

"I… I was homeschooled…" she began, voice trailing off as she tried to think of a way to explain it without sounding prudish. She glanced up at Sirius to see him watching her with outward patience. His eyes, though… his eyes betrayed him. He was itching to find out the truth, desperate to have what he wanted at the exact moment he wanted it. "I'm not… touched… often." She gave a jumpy little laugh. "I'm not around guys that often. You just… I'm…."

"You're nervous," Sirius concluded, sitting up straight.

"No," she immediately said, knowing instinctively that she was anything but that around him. "The thing is… do you remember, the other day in the library, when you asked me if all men make me nervous?" Sirius nodded slowly. "Well… I think that all men make me nervous… except you." Casey glanced hesitantly up at Sirius to see his reaction.

He only blinked and stared at her with an oddly fascinated gaze.

Casey shifted in her seat and turned back to look out the window again. The moon glowed brightly, the sky around it littered with millions of stars. Far below, the trees of the Forbidden Forest cast haunting shadows over the lawn, the main entrance of the castle just visible before the building wound away in another direction. Frowning she leaned her head closer to the window. Was that… had she just seen someone come out of the doors?

Sure enough, a small black speck crept down the walkway a few meters before veering to the left and slithering down the dark, grassy slopes. Casey had been at Hogwarts long enough to recognize the sweeping, stalking gate of Snape when she saw it. "What…?" she muttered, staring in mild alarm as Snape disappeared down the hills.

"Do you see something?" Sirius asked.

"Snape's outside," she answered automatically, eyes fixed on the spot where Snape had vanished.

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, a grin pulling forcefully at his lips. "Yeah, he'll get a scare. He won't bother you again, Casey."

She almost didn't catch it. It nearly flew over her head before she grasped it and turned sharply to stare in horror at Sirius. "No…" she said quietly. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "No!" She nearly fell in her haste to jump off the window seat and race to James, shoving Lily out of the way carelessly. "Snape's headed towards the Whomping Willow," she said before either Lily or James could protest at the sudden interruption of their argument.

James blinked, and then visibly forced himself to relax. "So? I'll say, he deserves a good whomp."

Casey practically dove at him, leaning so that their faces were unusually close. "He is not going to get whomped," she bit out angrily.

Again, James blinked, but this time realization sneaked onto his face, and Casey had to leap backwards so their heads wouldn't knock together as James sprang from the couch.

"Ah, give it a rest, Casey," Sirius said, sauntering into view. "He's just getting a good scare; nothing's going to happen to him." He smirked confidently.

Casey stared at him in disbelief. "He is going to die!" she shouted.

The muscles in Sirius's jaw spasmed in determination, but he visibly paled.

"Padfoot," James said slowly, "what did you do?"

Sirius shifted ever so slightly, something he never did. He was beginning to doubt himself, and it showed. "Just told ol' Snivellus how to handle the Whomping Willow, that's all," he said shakily, trying to pass it off as his normal cocky speech.

"What is going on?" Lily finally jumped in, perturbed.

James stared at Sirius. For one long moment, he looked as if his best friend had just betrayed him. Finally, he whispered, "Bloody hell, Sirius," and then he turned around and dashed out the Portrait Hole.

Casey had never realized how many emotions that night must have held. "How could you do that?" she hissed, looking with loathing on the boy she now considered to be the most unintelligent in the world. "How could you be so stupid? Don't you know," she spat, stomping toward Sirius and glaring at him with every ounce of disappointment she could muster, "what you've just done to him?"

"Snape'll be fine, Casey, if that's what you're—"

That was when Casey punched him, using every muscle she knew to hurt him as much as possible. Sirius staggered backward, a hand flying to his cheek and strings of black hair falling over his face. For years, she had wanted to tell Sirius off for that evil deed; now, she had that chance, and she used it with relish. "He will never forgive you," Casey snapped, carefully leaving the specific name out. "He may eventually let you be his friend again, but he will never forgive you." Catching her breath and stepping back, trembling, she glanced at Lily and Peter, who were both looking very awkward and very alarmed. A tear slipped down her cheek as she turned her eyes to the floor. "I'm going to get Dumbledore," she said softly, and left quietly.

She didn't get far before Sirius caught up with her. They walked quickly and silently together, both understanding that it was not the time to talk about what had just been said. It was during that short walk that Casey began to wonder if she had been a bit too harsh. After all, Sirius would have a full twelve years to regret every mistake he'd ever made… did he really need her to tell him about it too? By the time they had reached Dumbledore's office, Casey had succeeded in making herself feel very guilty about bashing her favorite character… verbally and physically.

Surprisingly, she didn't have to speak to the headmaster at all. Sirius did all the talking, explaining quite thoroughly the situation, including his own fault. Casey couldn't help but gain back a little of her admiration for him. Whatever mistakes he made, and despite his pride, Sirius was a Gryffindor, and Slytherin enough to know when to admit that he had done something and when to brush it off without concern.

Casey shuffled her feet and glanced around the room, quickly losing interest as the story she'd heard told a thousand times was repeated for the thousand-and-first. Dumbledore unquestionably had the coolest office ever. It was full to the brim with books, odd-looking little gadgets, and warm light. The walls were chalk full of portraits of past headmasters, all of whom were leaning forward, peering with interest at the two visitors. One of them, a particularly severe-looking man, caught Casey's eye and gave her a very cool once-over. Casey frowned and moved on to the next portrait, which, she discovered, was empty. As she continued to stare at it, a tiny figure came bounding into the painting, skidding around a far corner and charging to the front of the picture.

"Albus!" the little figure shouted as it drew closer. "Headmaster, there are two boys – James Potter and Severus Snape – they've just entered the castle together. Snape's got his wand drawn, and Potter's got a broken arm, I think."

Casey blinked up at the portrait, staring blankly as something occurred to her. "That portrait… is talking," she said slowly.

"A quite ingenious invention, isn't it, Miss McCarthy?" Dumbledore said, only a slight tint of cheerfulness present in his voice. He stood up, moving as if stiff, and nodded to the talking portrait. "Thank you, Aurelius. Please inform Mr. Snape and Mr. Potter that I am on my way."

The little panting man nodded and disappeared out a side door in the portrait.

"Mr. Black, Miss McCarthy, please go back to your common room. I will handle the situation now, I think."

In any other situation, Casey would have expected Sirius to smirk and say firmly, "No." But in this situation, he simply nodded meekly and left the office with a bowed head.

Casey made to follow him, but paused when Dumbledore called her. "Miss McCarthy." Casey turned to look at him. Dumbledore lowered his head to gaze at her seriously. "You would be best to remember that that boy depends a great deal on those he trusts."

Casey shook her head sadly. "He shouldn't trust me," she said softly.

Dumbledore smiled. "But he does. Sirius does not trust many as readily as he trusted you, and that is something to be treated with care."

Casey nodded and made her way out of the office, anxious to get back to the common room to find out what else was going on. Adrenaline still pumping, she sped down the corridors, ignoring screaming lungs and a frantically beating heart, and pushing herself to run faster.

As she stepped through the Gryffindor portrait hole a moment later, she came upon Lily pleading with Peter. "Peter, please, tell me what is going on. Casey knows; it's not as if you can't tell me."

"He can't tell you," Casey said as she stepped aside so the portrait could close. "James, however, can, so I suggest you ask him."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Casey," Lily said harshly, "James isn't here. He acted as if Sirius had killed his best friend, and then ran out the door after something you told him. To save Snape, of all people, from what I can gather. Now, Casey, tell me something, since you obviously know these boys so much better than I do. Why would he do that? James hates Snape more than he hates steamed carrots."

Throughout the speech, Casey felt progressively more taken aback. Lily had seemed sweet and nurturing since the first moment that Casey had met her, but as she spoke, her hair became more red, and her eyes flashed. Power seemed to swell around her… and then she mentioned the steamed carrots, and Casey couldn't help snorting.

Peter stared at her in shock. "Casey, this is serious. James hates steamed carrots almost as much as he hates Snape!"

Casey blinked. "I… gathered that, Peter." Giving him another blank look, Casey turned to Lily. "Lily, I can't tell you. To be completely honest, I have next to no idea of what's going on right now. James will be back, though, okay? Don't worry."

A slightly disgusted look crossed the redhead's face. "I'm not worried about Potter, Casey, but something wrong is going on tonight, and I intend to find out what it is."

Casey clenched her hands and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling to keep from glaring at the other girl. Lily may have been one of the coolest people to ever exist, but she was asking Casey to break an oath, and a very important one at that. While she had never actually made the oath to anyone that mattered, she had somehow managed to decide once and for all that this was a secret that she would have to keep, along with a thousand other secrets about herself.

Unable to think of something to answer Lily with, Casey lowered her eyes to the floor and shuffled past the other girl, heading back to the window seat and climbing up onto it once again.

"Casey," Lily reiterated forcefully, "you can tell me! You know all of us so well." Casey opened her mouth to say that she didn't really, but Lily held up a hand. "I don't need to hear how. Just… you know that you can trust me."

"But she can't tell you, Evans," said a tired voice from the portrait hole. Lily whipped around to glare at Sirius, whose once arrogantly tilted head hung at a shameful angle. Sirius gazed at her for a moment before heaving a tired sigh. "Look, Evans, I promise it'll all be explained in the morning, all right? Just lay off." He shuffled over and sank down onto the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a pained expression. "You girls go up to bed. Dumbledore's coming, and you don't need to be in the middle of this."

"You mean you don't want us to hear what he's going to say to you," Casey pointed out testily, scrunching her nose distastefully at him.

"Casey," Sirius snapped before catching himself and forcing his voice to calm to a resentful but tolerant level, "I realize that you saved Snivellus's life tonight, but this is still not your problem, so unless you want to tell me how you know what you do, I have absolutely no desire to talk to you."

Casey's nose scrunched even further in insult. She raised her chin curtly and stalked straight past Peter, joining Lily on the stairs as they both grudgingly left the room. At the top of the stairs, Lily gave her a sideward look of disappointment and swept through the door to the girls' dormitory. Sirius's voice floated up from the common room, tersely prodding Peter to head upstairs as well, as apparently he wouldn't be of much use in the situation. Casey bit her lip and hid behind a pillar as Peter dragged his feet up the stairs and into the boys' dormitory. When she was sure that Sirius thought they'd all gone to bed, Casey crept halfway back down the stairs and crouched on the steps, ears straining to take in every sound from downstairs.

No way she was skipping something this important…

… especially if Sirius didn't want her there.

An interesting little tidbit: January 5, 1977 actually was a full moon in the England. MWAHA! I spent some of my time looking that up so I could get it just right…

Sirius's tree was entirely inspired by Solarism's Deconstruct, A Memoir, one of my favorite stories of all time. It's a classic, and very poetically written… don't miss it!

I promise to try and update sooner this time… in fact, I can almost guarantee it. I only have 3 weeks left at school, and then I'm home for a month (WOOHOO!). Suffice it to say, I'll get just a bit of writing done during that time…

Don't forget to check out the Yahoo!Group at http:(double slash)groups. yahoo. com/ group/travelers(underscore)universe/

Review, please!